Tuesday,
Jan. 31, 2006
Study by Wal-Mart indicates
meth abusers costing employers millions nationwide
The methamphetamine epidemic, which began in rural
America and remains disproportinately rural, is taking
its toll on corporate profit and loss statements nationwide.
"A recent study funded by the Wal-Mart
Foundation determined that each meth-using
employee costs his or her employer $47,500 a year in
terms of lost productivity, absenteeism, higher health-care
costs and higher workers' compensation costs,"
reports Erin Moriarity of MSNBC.
The study, conducted in 2004 in Benton County, Arkansas,
the home of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., surveyed
2,934 workers at several companies about meth, notes
Moriarity. Using an economic model, researchers calculated
that one county's meth problem was costing employers
about $21 million a year. A 2005 study of a neighboring
county showed employee meth abuse cost employers $24
million a year.
Katherine Deck of the Center for Business and Economic
Research at the University of Arkansas,
which conducted the study, told Moriarity, "People
were absolutely shocked. The numbers are really big
when you think about what $21 million means to a relatively
small community."
Deck recommends employers educate themselves about
meth and raise employees' awareness about the drug.
She told Moriarity, "Employers everywhere certainly
need to be aware of what's going on. It's a problem
that is becoming dramatic very quickly. It's sneaking
up on folks." (Read
more)
Proliferation of meth labs causing
farmers fertilizer problems, reports Ohio paper
Anhydrous ammonia fertilizes crops and makes methamphetamine,
so the latter makes it a target for thieves. That, along
with handling hazards, makes it unattractive to sell,
reports the Mount Vernon [Ohio] News.
"Anhydrous ammonia is no longer available from
any Knox County farm supply dealer," writes the
newspaper's George Breithaupt. Jim Boyd of B&B
Farm Service, the last area dealer to sell
anhydrous ammonia, told Breithaupt, “It [security]
was one of the factors — probably the final straw
— but not the only one. We knew they’d [the
thieves] been here. They’d leave tanks and leave
valves open. Most everything they were into was empty.
We were debating before that started to happen and I
guess that was one of the things that pushed us.”
Knox County Sheriff David Barber told Breithaupt the
proliferation of meth labs is becoming more and more
of a problem in rural areas because of the relative
ease of obtaining the anhydrous ammonia. He advises
area farmers to bring the tank back in from the field
and store it in a well-lit secure structure. (Read
more)
Anhydrous ammonia can causes severe burns and damage
the eyes and respiratory tract, notes Breithaupt.
Drugs, not poverty, are driving
force behind crime, say East Tennessee officials
Sevier County, Tennessee, is finding that drug use
is playing a much larger role in crimes of desperation
than does poverty.
Detective Jeff McCarter told Jeff Farrell of The
Mountain Press in Sevierville, "[With]
most of the people we deal with on poverty-related crime,
the money is going to support a drug habit." McCarter
said methamphetamine, crack, oxycontin and similar pharmaceuticals
are often the drugs of choice.
Sheriff Bruce Montgomery told Farrell, "If poverty
is that bad, they don't have the resources to (commit
crimes)." Montgomery added that "when poverty
is really the primary issue facing local families or
residents, they tend to focus on finding work or getting
jobs that pay more." (Read
more)
Sociologists like Lois Presser of The University
of Tennessee are reevaluating the role poverty
plays in crime rates. Presser told Farrell, there is
some correlation between poverty rates and street crimes,
but sociologists are considering what underlying factors
contribute to that. "We have a boatload of theories,"
she said. "I'm a professor and I have things to
lose, including intangibles ... like reputation. They
[the poor] have fewer things to lose." The U.S.
Department of Justice has also looked at the
relationship between poverty and crime and one study
found more domestic violence in poor households and
in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Very small daily probes potential
impact of Maytag leaving Newton, Iowa
When the 15,550 residents of Newton, Iowa, learned
Dec. 22 about Maytag Corp.'s pending
sell to rival Michigan-based Whirlpool,
the town started wondering about the deal's impact.
Just last year, Maytag had laid off employees, but still
accounted for roughly 72 percent of the the county's
manufacturing jobs.
The 5,476-circulation Newton Daily News,
backed by its parent company, Shaw Newspapers,
took a proactive approach to the possible impact of
Maytag's sell. "Instead of hiring a full-time reporter
from outside the newspaper, Editor Peter Hussman insisted
that a local person cover the story. He took on that
responsibility and the paper hired a full-time employee
to assist in the newsroom. Shaw Newspapers and President
Tom Shaw also funded the hiring of Steve Gray, managing
director of the American Press Institute’s
'Newspaper Next' project and Inland past president,
to facilitate the process of informing the public,"
writes Randy Craig for The Inlander,
the periodical of the Inland Press Association.
In addition to a series, the newspaper hosted a community
forum that attracted 100 people to examine the potential
risks to the community should the sell be approved,
the community’s strengths that will remain and
avenues for continued economic prosperity.
"Perceptions have changed since the series began
in August, Hussman said. The forum revealed the community
had strengths beyond Maytag’s presence. The series
showed that some signs of the economy remained strong
even during the first onslaught of Maytag job reductions.
These were things that the competing media outside of
Newton failed to see or report," writes Craig.
(Read
more)
Mine-safety agency mulling new
rules after recent disasters; regs rejected earlier
Federal mine regulators are considering safety improvements
to help miners survive underground fires and explosions,
after one of the deadliest months for coal mining in
years. The proposals include mandatory caches of oxygen
tanks and breathing masks inside every coal mine.
"The idea may have struck some miners as familiar,
because it was. A similar proposal was put forward by
the same regulators six years ago, only to be scrapped
by the Bush administration shortly after it took office.
And the oxygen caches were not the only proposed safety
improvement to be withdrawn," writes Joby Warrick
of The Washington Post.
A review of agency records shows the administration
abandoned or delayed implementation of 18 safety rules
proposed in the closing months of the Clinton administration.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration
has revived at least two of the dropped proposals in
the wake of deadly accidents at the Sago and Alma mines
in West Virginia, writes Warrick. Ken Ward Jr. also
reports on the MSHA developments in today's
Charleston Gazette. (Click
here to read Ward's story)
In addition to the proposal to require caches of oxygen
tanks, MSHA is again considering expanding the number
of mine rescue teams available to respond to disasters.
A similar proposal to beef up rescue teams was scrapped
by the agency in 2002, agency records show. MSHA acknowledged
dropping Clinton-era safety proposals to pursue its
own regulatory agenda, but an agency spokesman told
Warrick the commitment to safety has not diminished.
(Click
here to read Warrick's storyt)
N.Y. Times spotlights closure
of Courier-Journal bureaus, especially Hazard
The closing of The Courier-Journal's
bureaus in Hazard, Paducah and Elizabethtown, Ky., reported
here last month, got a close examination yesterday from
New York Times media reporter Kit Seelye.
"The paper is shifting its resources to Louisville's
growing suburbs, following a national trend of enhancing
local coverage, and it wants to build its presence online,"
Seelye writes. "Newspapers across the country are
retrenching, redeploying their employees and resources
while they try to ride out what they hope is a temporary
slump but one made all the more worrisome as readers
and advertisers migrate to the Internet. These strategic
decisions, about what to keep and what to cut, determine
which regions and which issues receive attention and
which do not." In this case, coal mining, which
needs more coverage, will get less.
"The Hazard bureau . . . is closing just as the
coal-mining industry is resurgent and mine safety issues
are back in the news," Seelye wrote after a trip
to Hazard. Former state and federal mine-safety regulator
Tony Oppegard told her, "In this climate, you need
a watchdog like The Courier-Journal all the more. The
Courier-Journal has really been the voice for people
in Kentucky who don't have a voice otherwise."
Courier-Journal executives told Seelye that mining
issues would be covered by reporters in Louisville.
Special-projects reporter R. G. Dunlop, who was the
Hazard reporter in 1978-86, told her, "It's hard
to have your ear on the ground when the ground is 200
miles away." He added, "We will bring less
expertise to the table when the time comes to cover
issues in Appalachia, if we choose to do so at all."
Another Hazard bureau alum, C-J Editorial Director
and Vice President David Hawpe, told Seelye his section
is recruiting writers around the state to spotlight
issues beyond the metro area. "Breaking-news stories
are not the issue," he said. "The issue is
will we have the contacts, the eyes and ears ... . If
we don't do a good job, our historic connection with
the rest of the state will fall apart."
(Read
more)
Near Kentucky's eastern tip, Marty Backus, publisher
of the thrice-weekly Appalachian News-Express,
recalls "when the big dailies used to be plentiful
around here. Papers from Ashland, Huntington, Louisville,
but all have pulled out of our area. But don't worry,
we're here to provide you with the news happenings in
Pike County and with some news from Kentucky. We're
here to stay with you, Pike County!" (Read
more)
Officials closing loophole that
allows overweight trucks on Kentucky coal-roads
While the Courier-Journal has abandoned its presence
in Eastern Kentucky, the Lexington Herald-Leader
is still there with veteran reporter Lee Mueller, who
has covered coal-related issues for decades and this
week did a story that appears to have prompted the closing
of a loophole for heavy coal trucks.
"Kentucky transportation officials have stopped
issuing permits that allow coal trucks with extra axles
to exceed state weight limits on Eastern Kentucky highways.
The decision, announced after highway officials met
with Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement agency officers, will
let die a little-known exemption that state attorneys
agree should never have been issued, said Doug Hogan,
a spokesman for the Transportation Cabinet," writes
Mueller, who did a story about the loophole in yesterday's
paper.
Hogan told Mueller, "This was just a blanket approval,
basically, to be overweight and that's an approval we
are rescinding immediately and there will not be any
additional approvals in April when the existing permits
expire." Hogan also told Mueller that fewer than
30 permits will be affected, and that he did not know
when the cabinet decided to begin issuing the truck-axle
exemptions. The numbers increased from one in 2000 to
19 in 2005.
The provision was included anonymously as a committee
substitute in Kentucky's 1986 law that already allowed
coal trucks to haul 46,000 pounds, or 23 tons, more
than the 80,000-pound federal weight limit on other
trucks. More than 2,900 of those permits have been issued,
writes Mueller. (Read
more)
You heard it here first: USDA
proposal for China to process poultry for U. S.
The Associated Press is now reporting
what The Rural Blog first reported Nov. 29, that the
Department
of Agriculture wants to allow shipments
of poultry that have been processed in China into the
U.S. Thousands of birds and several people in China
have died from bird flu.
The U.S. does not accept live poultry imports from
countries where the virulent bird flu strain is present,
and it still would not under the new proposed policy.
[But] critics of the plan want the proposal dropped,
and the U.S. industry says allowing the shipments could
create safety concerns with consumers, writes AP's Libby
Quaid.
China would process poultry slaughtered in the U.S.
or in other countries from which the U.S. accepts poultry.
Senator Tom Harkin, who is on the Senate Agriculture
Committee, told Quaid "it is not wise" to
allow processed poultry imports from China right now.
National Chicken Council spokesman
Richard Lobb told Quaid, "The timing is a mystery
to us. We did not seek this rule. We're not objecting
to it, but we didn't support it, either." (Read
more) For The Rural Blog's initial item, click
here.
Landfill lighting homes, powering
community with methane-recovery project
A Missouri landfill project has given new meaning to
the adage "One man's trash is another man's treasure."
"Randy Haggard fires up a massive boiler [that]
sits inside a shack at the county landfill. Within moments,
the shack is filled with a whine as pressure rises in
the boiler, creating steam that cranks a turbine to
a 525-kilowatt generator. The electricity will be pushed
onto Empire District Electric Co.’s
grid, the first time electricity will be provided to
the Joplin utility from a [trash-to-cash] landfill methane
project," writes Adam Bednar of The Joplin
[Mo.] Globe.
Haggard told Bednar the idea struck him as he was watching
the flame used at the site to burn off excess methane
caused by the decomposition of waste at the landfill.
Clyde Longan, who installed and maintains the boiler,
told Bednar, "There was a lot of energy just burning
off into the atmosphere."
Generating electricity from methane is not unique to
the Newton-McDonald County Landfill, notes Bednar. Other
operations are using landfill methane to heat schools
and businesses, or selling the power generated by the
rotting coffee grounds, newspapers and other materials,
he writes. Jim Hull, solid waste management program
director for the Missouri Department of Natural
Resources, told Bednar, "It’s something
that most landfills, if it’s not already on their
plate, are considering it. "Haggard predicts that
the sale of electricity will pay for the $150,000 in
setup costs within a year, writes Bednar. (Read
more)
Connected in crisis: Ideas to
resolve emergency-call problems of Internet phoning
If you live in an area covered by 911 service, you
probably take it for granted, but that's not how it
has been for the first few years of VoIP (Voice over
Internet Protocol) services, writes David Radin, technology
reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Emergency phone service in rural areas is an especially
critical issue.
"If you use VoIP to connect your phone to the
Internet instead of using a standard phone line, your
call might have been forwarded to the 911 switchboard
-- or it might have gone to an administrative number
at a local police or public service department. If it
went to the latter, you might have reached a voice mail
box and your message might not have been heard for hours
-- hardly a good solution for time-critical emergency
situations," writes Radin.
Radin notes that "despite the warnings of the
VoIP services ... that they didn't offer your father's
911 service, people didn't realize that there was a
significant difference between their VoIP 911 and traditional
911. So problems have resulted. A woman in Deltona,
Fla., blamed Vonage because her baby died after the
woman was unable to reach 911 assistance. In Texas,
a girl was unable to obtain emergency aid by dialing
911 after she saw her parents shot by an intruder."
This has prompted the FCC to require VoIP vendors to
provide an equivalent to traditional 911 in order to
connect their calls into the public telephone system.
"The vendors have been implementing the orders
so your 911 calls now should go to the proper 911 switchboard,"
writes Radin. (Read
more)
Hitchhiker's guide: Thumbing
becomes one man's necessity, journey, cause
For many, especially military personnel and thousands
affected by the Great Depression, hitchhiking was a
necessity of life through much of the last century,
when a waiving thumb was a widely accepted ticket to
ride through the vistas of rural America. For one suburban
Washington, D.C. man, transit has become his cause.
John Schindel, a 40-year-old construction site foreman,
is a hitchhiker. "Since a drunken-driving conviction
a decade ago that left him unable to drive to sites
around Washington, he has relied on the kindness of
strangers and neighbors who see the vest and working
man's lunchbox and feel moved to share their nice, warm
cars with a musty-smelling stranger," writes Michelle
Boorstein of The Washington Post.
In the 10 years since he was declared a habitual offender,
Schindel has depended on hitchhiking to get to his job
site, wherever it is in the area. Schindel has to decide
each morning "whether to stick with the ride or
to try to connect with some other patch on his quilt
of transportation methods," writes Boorstein.
And, Schindel has become an unelected statesman for
carless, struggling exurban workers, lobbying for bus
service everywhere from the Stafford County supervisors'
meetings and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's recent Fairfax
transportation forum to the Pentagon slug line, notes
Boorstein.
Known as "Hitchhike," Schindel has ridden
with assistant Redskins head coach Joe Bugel, and three
men who were about to rob him before he bailed out into
a snowbank at 35 mph. "He has been spat at, yelled
at, swerved around -- deliberately, he believes -- and
been the target of flying bottles. He has become more
grateful for what he has but also more ruthless, confronting
people at neighborhood picnics who don't pick him up,"
writes Boorstein. (Read
more)
Jim Amoss of Times-Picayune
chosen Editor & Publisher's 'Editor of the Year'
Jim Amoss, editor of The Times-Picayune
in New Orleans, is Editor & Publisher's
2006 Editor of Year.
"In an unprecedented 10-page profile for the February
2006 issue, E&P's Mark Fitzgerald reveals that Amoss
is being honored for directing his newsroom in its remarkable
coverage 'before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina
hit' in New Orleans last August," writes Greg Mitchell
of Editor & Publisher.
The story recalls the newspaper's extensive past reporting
on the city's vulnerability, especially the "Washing
Away" series by reporters John McQuaid and Mark
Schleifstein that predicted with eerie accuracy the
horrific consequences of poor emergency preparedness
planning by local, state, and federal governments.
Times-Picayune journalists accomplished all this, E
& P notes, despite being forced to evacuate their
newsroom and produce a paper on the fly with help from
two other Louisiana dailies. Amoss, E & P writes,
"has presided over the final burial of a reputation
for mediocrity that dogged the paper for so long."
(Read
more)
Rural
Calendar: Entry deadlines for three media contests
TODAY
Feb. 1: Deadline for entries
in Inland Press Association non-daily contest
The Inland Press Foundation invites
non-daily newspapers to enter the Nation’s
Best Non-Daily Newspaper Contest. This contest recognizes
non-daily newspapers’ efforts in producing high-quality
editorial material; presenting innovative, attractive
packaging of that material; and serving their communities
effectively as a source for news and information.
The contest is open to all U.S. newspapers published
for general circulation at least weekly but not more
than three days per week. There will be one award in
each of three circulation categories: Under 5,000; 5,000
to 10,000; Over 10,000.
Winning newspapers will be honored at Inland’s
Weekly Newspaper Conference Feb. 23-25 at the Hilton
St. Petersburg Bayfront. First, second and third-place
awards will be presented for each category. Each of
the following judging criteria will be given equal weight:
Quality of Writing and Reporting: In
news, features, sports, columns, business, entertainment,
enterprise projects, editorials and other types of stories.
Readability, clean copy, strong headlines, and stories
that maintain the readers’ interest while provoking
thought and emotion will be valued.
Story Selection: Breadth and depth
of community coverage, intensity of local focus and
commitment to adding value for the reader. Judges will
look for fresh treatments of tired subjects and stories
that offer guidance, possible solutions, helpful explanations
or sources for additional information.
Design and Presentation: Quality of
graphics, photography, layout, typography and other
art elements, and how they work together to enhance
readership and the dissemination of information.
Community Focus: Features, special
sections or niche publications, news packages, editorial
series and other newspaper services that increase the
value of the paper to its readers and community. Judges
will look at ways the newspaper advances the public
good.
A newspaper’s entry will consist of three issues:
one issue of the newspaper from each of two specified
weeks, and one issue that will be the entrant’s
choice. Pre-selected weeks are April 3-9
and July 3-9, 2005. The entrant’s
choice can be any issue published in 2005.
Entrants must also fill out an entry form and provide
a short narrative in support of their entry. Forms are
available from the Inland Web site, www.inlandpress.org.
Go to the File Gallery and select “Current Contests.”
An entry fee of $15 will be required for Inland member
newspapers; $25 each for nonmembers. Make checks payable
to Inland Press Foundation. For more information, contact
Elaine Lange at Inland, (847) 795-0380 or e-mail elange@inlandpress.org.
Entries must be received by Feb. 1. Entries should
be sent to: Inland Press Foundation, ATTN: Non-Daily
Contest, 701 Lee St., Suite 925, Des Plaines, IL 60016.
For an entry form, click
here.
Feb. 1: Nomination deadline
for Eugene Cervi 2006 award, honoring editor
The International
Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors is
seeking nominations, justification for nomination, and
biographical information for the organization's Eugene
Cervi 2006 Award.
If you know of anyone in your state or province who
might be deserving of ISWNE's Eugene Cervi Award, you
can contact Chad Stebbins at the International Society
of Weekly Newspaper Editors at
Missouri Southern State University,
3950 E. Newman Road, Joplin MO 64801-1595.
The Eugene Cervi Award was established by ISWNE in
1976 to honor the memory of the late editor of the Rocky
Mountain Journal in Denver. It recognizes an
editor who has consistently acted in the conviction
that "good journalism begets good government."
The award recognizes consistently aggressive reporting
of government at the grassroots level and interpretation
of public affairs, writes Stebbins. Letters of nomination
along with a biographical data sheet must be sent by
Feb. 1. For more information, go to the Web
site and click on Contests.
Feb. 1: Nominations due for
Spadaro Awards for media arts and technology
One of the Jack Spadaro Awards is given annually
to recognize the best documentary on Appalachia or its
people. The award recognizes the producer for outstanding
work in film, video, television, or radio. Eligibility
and technical requirements for nominations are available
from Jack Wright at 740-597-3080 or jwright@ohio.edu.
Complete nomination materials are due Feb. 1, 2006.
A second award, the e-Appalachia Award, is given annually
to an outstanding Web site that provides insight on
Appalachia and its people, or provides a vital community
service to Appalachians. Nominations should be made
to: Roy Silver at 606-589-3139 or at rsilver@uky.edu
before February 1, 2006.
Monday,
Jan. 30, 2006
N.Y. Times spotlights closure
of Courier-Journal bureaus, especially Hazard
The closing of The Courier-Journal's
bureaus in Hazard, Paducah and Elizabethtown, Ky., reported
here last month, got a close examination today from
New York Times media reporter Kit Seelye.
"The paper is shifting its resources to Louisville's
growing suburbs, following a national trend of enhancing
local coverage, and it wants to build its presence online,"
Seeyle writes. "Newspapers across the country are
retrenching, redeploying their employees and resources
while they try to ride out what they hope is a temporary
slump but one made all the more worrisome as readers
and advertisers migrate to the Internet. These strategic
decisions, about what to keep and what to cut, determine
which regions and which issues receive attention and
which do not." In this case, coal mining, which
needs more coverage, will get less.
"The Hazard bureau . . . is closing just as the
coal-mining industry is resurgent and mine safety issues
are back in the news," Seeyle wrote after a trip
to Hazard. Former state and federal mine-safety regulator
Tony Oppegard told her, "In this climate, you need
a watchdog like The Courier-Journal all the more. The
Courier-Journal has really been the voice for people
in Kentucky who don't have a voice otherwise."
Courier-Journal executives told Seelye that mining
issues would be covered by reporters in Louisville,
but special-projects reporter R.G. Dunlop, who was the
Hazard reporter in 1978-86, told her, "It's hard
to have your ear on the ground when the ground is 200
miles away." He added, "We will bring less
expertise to the table when the time comes to cover
issues in Appalachia, if we choose to do so at all."
Another Hazard bureau alum, C-J Editorial Director
and Vice President David Hawpe, told Seelye his section
is recruiting writers around the state to spotlight
issues beyond the metro area. "Breaking-news stories
are not the issue," he said. "The issue is
will we have the contacts, the eyes and ears ... . If
we don't do a good job, our historic connection with
the rest of the state will fall apart."
(Read
more)
Near Kentucky's eastern tip, thrice-weekly
Appalachian News-Express Publisher
Marty Backus recalls "when the big dailies
used to be plentiful around here. Papers from Ashland,
Huntington, Louisville, but all have pulled out of our
area. But don't worry, we're here to provide you with
the news happenings in Pike County and with some news
from Kentucky. We're here to stay with you, Pike County!"
(Read
more)
Canadian miners escaped catastrophe,
retreated to 'safe rooms' until rescued
Seventy potash miners took to safe rooms as refuge
from an underground fire at a potash mine in the province
of Saskatchewan until rescue crews were able to bring
them back to the surface this morning, reports Tim Cook
of The Canadian Press. "Officials
breathed a huge sigh of relief as they were able to
extinguish the blaze and determine all the workers were
safe and healthy," writes Cook.
Mosaic Company, a U.S.-based firm,
operates the mine about 130 miles northeast of the provincial
capital of Regina. Rescue teams wearing breathing apparatus
rotated shifts every few hours in the mine. About 20
hours after the event began, the fire was finally put
out and work was begun on clearing the smoke so the
miners could be brought out safely, reports Cook.
"The miners, who had been on shift since 7 p.m.
on Saturday night, reported smoke and then headed for
the safe rooms, sealed-off areas that can be as large
as 15 meters by 45 meters and have an internal supply
of oxygen that lasts up to 36 hours, along with food,
water, chairs and beds," writes Cook. (Read
more)
West Virginia governor gaining
national largess from coal mining deaths, actions
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin's handling of back-to-back
coal mining tragedies has caught the attention of a
nation and a region, and political observers "with
his caring, compassion and commitment to action,"
reports The Associated Press.
Marty Backus, publisher of the thrice-weekly Appalachian
News-Express in Pikeville, Ky., praised Manchin
in a column yesterday and joined those who are saying
he could be a national figure. "There will be one
rising star as a result of the recent disasters in our
mining communities," Backus writes. "Right
now, he has the highest rating of any governor in the
United States. His citizens give him an 80 percent approval
rating, and if the national Democratic Party is looking
for a new hero then they need to keep an eye on Manchin."
(Read
more)
AP's Vicki Smith writes, "The first-term Democrat
ushered a landmark mine-safety bill through the state
Legislature, then went to Washington to urge federal
lawmakers to do the same." Donald Boylen, a retired
coal miner, told Smith, "I'm a Republican, but
if I ever meet the man, I will shake his hand because
he has done a great job." Manchin spent nearly
90 hours with miners' families over three weeks, first
at Sago where 12 coal miners were killed, then at Aracoma
Coal's Alma No. 1 mine in Melville, where two
died, notes Smith. Boylen told Smith, "There's
governors who came and left, but he came and stayed."
Republican U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito has given
Manchin the title "comforter in chief," and
praised him for an "excellent political response."
Manchin, writes Smith, "plays down his newfound
popularity, saying he'll use it to improve education
and job opportunities for West Virginia families."
He told Smith, "I'm very honored by this, but I
think it's something that should be used very constructively
for our state." Larry Sabato, director of the Center
for Politics at the University of Virginia,
told AP that Manchin could make an appealing vice presidential
candidate in 2008. (Read
more)
Newspaper notes shame of 16
deaths to prompt mine safety actions
The Appalachian News-Express,
noting the push for mine safety legislation at record
speed in West Virginia followed by similar actions and
proposals in other states, observes with a critical
pen, "It's a shame it took the deaths of 16 miners
to make it happen."
The newspaper details the tragedies
in Sago and Mellville, W.Va. and at Fords Branch near
Pikeville, where the 16 miners were killed. The newspaper
opines, "We at the News-Express can't help but
be thrilled that state and federal officials are finally
giving serious attention to the topic of mine safety.
We also appreciate the hard work of the Office
of Mine Safety and Licensing. We can see they
are taking their jobs seriously."
The editorial concludes, "Collectively, these
efforts have the potential to change the entire industry
- for the better. We just hope that as the memory of
these most recent mining disasters fades, the desire
to improve safety for our miners doesn't fade right
along with it." (Read
more)
Loophole lets loose larger,
leviathan trucks on Kentucky coal-haul roads
Because of a newly disclosed provision in Kentucky's
extended-weight law, the state Transportation Cabinet
has begun issuing new permits to trucks with extra axles
that raise the existing weight limit from 126,000 pounds
to at least 152,000 pounds.
"The new development has dismayed some Kentucky
Vehicle Enforcement officers while it frustrated some
veteran coal haulers," writes Lee Mueller of Lexington
Herald-Leader.
Trucker Elzie Kesinger, 55, of Sitka, referring to
a crackdown on overweight trucks that started in 2004,
told Mueller the effort has made highways safer for
everyone while reducing costs for heavy-load haulers.
He added, "It seems like every time we get something
good going, they want to change it." State Rep.
Hubert Collins, D-Wittensville, veteran chairman of
the state House Transportation Committee, asked, "Does
this mean they can just keep adding axles?"
A top transportation official told Mueller he did not
know how many new permits. A transportation official
said a subsection of the 1986 law apparently allows
coal trucks to haul an extra 20,000 pounds above existing
weight limits for each new axle added to a truck bed.
Kesinger told Mueller some 22-wheel coal buckets have
already been turned into 28-wheelers. (Read
more)
Rural homelessness puts victims
out of sight, mind, says poverty center
Rural homelessness is the invisible kind, say experts.
Shelters are few and far between. Public services are
spare. Homeless people in rural areas are more likely
to be sleeping in cars, campers, crowded or dilapidated
structures, or on the couches of friends and relatives,
reports Caitlin Cleary of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
According to the Rural Poverty Research Center,
the rural homeless are more likely to be women, married
with children, currently working and homeless for the
first time. The Rural Poverty Research Center is an
institute spearheaded by the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, which examines
the causes of rural poverty and helps to shape public
policies concerning the issue.
Often thought to be an urban phenomenon, homelessness
is an issue even in such places as rural Bedford County,
Pennsylvania, where cows outnumber people, notes Cleary.
Angelo Donia, a transitional housing case manager for
Somerset County's Tableland Services, told Cleary, "It's
rough around here. They're not considered homeless because
they're not sleeping on a storm grate. You won't believe
the places I pull these guys out of."
The rural homeless might be invisible, but their ranks
are growing, notes Cleary. Social service agencies in
predominantly rural counties report drastic increases
in requests for aid from the Homeless Assistance Program
and other services. In just one county, she notes, the
number of people receiving HAP aid has risen from 165
in 1996-97 to 685 in 2003-04, according to state Department
of Public Welfare statistics. (Read
more)
Bizarre funeral
protests by anti-gay group prompt legislation in five
states
At least five Midwestern states are considering legislation
to ban protests at funerals including those of Iraq
war casualties, because demonstrators say the deaths
are God's punishment for U.S. tolerance toward gays.
The protests are by Rev. Fred Phelps and members of
his Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church. "Though
the soldiers were not gay, the protesters say the deaths,
as well as Hurricane Katrina, recent mining disasters
and other tragedies are God's signs of displeasure.
They also protested at the memorial service for the
12 West Virginia miners who died in the Sago Mine,"
writes Kari Lydersen of The Washington Post.
Kansas state Sen. Jean Schodorf, who has proposed legislation,
told Lydersen, "The families weren't able to bury
their loved ones in peace. We felt pretty strongly that
we needed to do something about it."
Kansas has a law banning demonstrations at funerals,
notes Lydersen, but Schodorf said the law is vague and
hard to enforce. "The new proposed bill would keep
protesters 300 feet away from any funeral or memorial
service and ban demonstrations within one hour before
or two hours after a service," writes Lydersen.
Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Oklahoma are looking
at similar bills. Proposed legislation in Indiana would
keep protesters 500 feet from funerals, and make a violation
a felony punishable by a three-year prison term and
a $10,000 fine. State Sen. Anita Bowser told Lydersen,
"These people are ... waiting for someone to do
battle with them so they can go to court and win. They
want a big liability case to pursue. I don't think they
actually give a diddly wink about the arguments they're
making." (Read
more)
Eastern Kentucky women turn
tragedy into cause, push for tougher ATV laws
Two Pike County, Kentucky, women, spurred by incidents
in their families, want to end the state's No. 1 ranking
for All Terrain Vehicle deaths in the nation, reports
the Appalachian News-Express.
Linda White of Turkey Creek lost her two-and-a-half
year-old grandchild. DeAnna Parker, a Virgie resident,
had a nephew seriously injured in an ATV crash, notes
Stanley. The two have started a petition asking for
stricter safety standards and they have 85 signatures.
White told wrter Rachel Stanley, "The laws need
to be changed, or a lot more children will die.”
Two ATV safety bills are before the Kentucky General
Assembly, including one that would require children
under 16 wear helmets. Another bill would prohibit children
16 and under from driving ATVs. That measure would also
require all operators to wear helmets. Similar bills
have failed in past years. Parker told Stanley she believes
politicians haven't supported previous efforts because
"they'd lose a lot of votes because a lot of people
have four-wheelers." (Read
more)
Michigan farm battle features
chemical-free growers, 'Frankenfood' advocates
A battle is brewing in Michigan over legislation that
pits natural, chemical-free crops against genetically
engineered seeds. The bill addresses questions about
food safety and who should regulate it. The legislation
aims to prevent local governments from barring the planting
of seeds, including genetically modified crops, reports
David Eggert of The Associated Press.
"Five California counties and cities have restricted
growing genetically modified organisms since 2004. Fourteen
states have since passed laws pre-empting similar measures.
. . . Up to 85 percent of U.S. soybeans are genetically
modified along with 45 percent of corn. It's estimated
that 70 percent of processed foods on U.S. grocery shelves
contain genetically modified ingredients. Critics worry
that so-called 'frankenfoods' pose allergy risks to
humans, contaminate the natural ecosystem, lead to more
chemical spraying and create other unknown, long-term
health dangers," writes Eggert.
Douglas Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist at the Washington-based
Center for Food Safety, says the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration lets the agricultural
industry decide how to test the safety of genetically
modified seeds. "It is a classic case of the fox
guarding the hen house," said Gurian-Sherman. Since
there are few federal regulations, he told Eggert, "the
state and local jurisdictions are necessary to protect
the public and send a message to Washington that they
need to do a better job." (Read
more)
Illegal immigrants rush to Tennessee
for driving certificates, allegedly bribe officials
"Tennessee's driving certificate for illegal immigrants
isn't valid as a form of ID, but people are paying hundreds
of dollars on the black market and traveling hundreds
of miles to get one," reports Duncan Mansfield
of The Associated Press bureau in Knoxville.
Tennessee has issued 51,000-plus certificates since
it became the first state to offer them in July 2004,
but not every certificate has gone to someone living
there. Two recent federal stings exposed shuttles bringing
South and Central American immigrants from as far away
as New Jersey to state licensing centers in Knoxville,
where immigrants used fake residency papers to get certificates.
A third bust last week revealed a conspiracy in which
prosecutors say state license examiners in Murfreesboro
accepted bribes to provide illegal immigrants with driver's
licenses and certificates without testing, writes AP.
Tennessee's system is being considered a model for
handling "non-conforming drivers" under the
Real ID program enacted by Congress that will set a
national standard for driver's licenses by 2008. Applicants
must provide two documents, such as utility bills or
a lease, to show they live in Tennessee, and a Social
Security number or a sworn affidavit if there is none.
They also must pass an eye exam, a driving exam and
a road test.
"What we tried to do in Tennessee was to recognize
that there are people who may be legally here but they
are not completely documented," Gov. Phil Bredesen
told reporters. Driving certificates were created in
2004 to satisfy homeland security concerns, notes Mansfield.
(Read
more)
Appalachian Confederated Tribes
seeking to preserve ancestors' way of life
The Appalachian Confederated Tribes
are trying to restore a heritage that survived while
others were scattered westward during the government's
program to clear the way for Southern settlements.
"In 1838, while other American Indians were being
rounded up and herded westward along 'The Trail of Tears,'
Lee Vest's Monacan forefathers were hiding out in the
rugged terrain along the border of Floyd and Montgomery
counties in Virginia, a place so isolated that no decent
white person would want to live there," writes
Jessica Fischer of the Kingsport, Tenn. Times-News.
"But their struggle to survive didn't end with
Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act, which forced the
Cherokee nation and other tribes east of the Mississippi
River to give up their lands, their homes and many of
their
possessions and migrate to present-day Oklahoma,"
writes Fischer.
Members of the Confederated Tribes, including Chief
Lee Vest, gather regularly near Kingsport to keep alive
the traditions of their ancestors. Oppressed by laws
that prohibited them from graduating high school, voting
and even owning land, Vest's family and other Native
Americans often found it easier to hide their heritage
than to embrace it, notes Fischer. Vest told Fischer,
"If you were part Indian you could own land, but
if you were Indian you could not." (Read
more)
Half of Arizona county's inmates
used meth, reports Flagstaff newspaper
A survey by Coconino County, Arizona, jail staff reports
50-plus percent of the local inmates have used meth.
"Especially of concern to local law enforcement
is that 57 percent of the inmates surveyed who use meth
do so several times a week, every day or more than once
a day. Additionally, more than 55 percent of the inmates
have gone through some kind of treatment in the past
for alcohol or drug addiction," writes Larry Hendricks
of the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff.
Sheriff Bill Pribil told Hendricks his office recently
conducted the survey of 227 local inmates in the jail
in order to give hard statistics to the newly formed
Meth Task Force for the county, notes Hendricks.
Law enforcement officials have reported meth has been
on the rise over the past few years and is becoming
a serious problem in Coconino County, notes Hendricks.
"The high property crime rate in Flagstaff and
throughout the county has been directly linked by police
officials to substance abuse -- primarily alcohol and
meth. But officials have been unable to back up the
opinion with hard numbers, and so the task force is
working, through the help of a grant from the governor's
office, to acquire those numbers," he writes.
Pribil told Hendricks, the survey results "mean
that a significant portion of the population in the
county jail have a tendency to use alcohol or illegal
drugs. It reinforces for me that we need to have a comprehensive
in-custody treatment program with aftercare for when
people re-enter the community." (Read
more)
Small Flagstaff newspaper takes
on big tasks covering Arizona with staff of five
The Arizona
Daily Sun in Flagstaff has a David vs.
Goliath attitude. The newspaper is "committed to
succeeding in an industry where giant media organizations
wield formidable power," covering its beat with
a a staff of just five, reports ANAgrams,
the publication of the Arizona Newspaper Association.
Sun Editor Randy Wilson told ANAgrams,
"As a daily ... we're trying to keep up to the
level of the corporate giants and succeed." Wilson
stresses "his biggest, almost daily challenge is
serving his coverage area with his five-member team,"
writes ANAgrams. "We're a fairly small paper in
a big market," said Wilson. The Daily Sun has a
circulation of 11,462.
Wilson says they're looking for an education
reporter who would cover not only K-12 but the city's
largest employer, Northern Arizona University.
Punished for parody, student
sues school; ACLU says posting protected
A Pennsylvania high school senior who was transferred
to an alternative school as punishment for parodying
his principal on the Internet is suing the district,
arguing it violated his freedom of speech.
"Justin Layshock had used his grandmother's computer
and the Web site MySpace.com to create
a phony profile under the principal's name and photo,"
writes Paula Reed Ward of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The site asks questions, and Justin filled in answers
peppered with vulgarities, fat jokes and, to the question
"what did you do on your last birthday?" the
response: "too drunk to remember." School
officials questioned the teenager about the site and
he apologized to the principal, writes Ward.
Justin was suspended for 10 days and transferred to
an alternative program typically reserved for students
with behavior or attendance problems, according to the
lawsuit. He also was banned from school events, including
tutoring and graduation ceremonies. Witold Walczak,
Pennsylvania Legal Director of the American
Civil Liberties Union, told Ward, "The
school's punishment affects his education. In this critical
last semester, Justin's opportunities to gain admission
to college may be irreparably damaged."
According to the lawsuit, Pennsylvania State
University notified Justin his application
had been put on "a registration hold." The
lawsuit states, "It is unknown how or why the university
had received this information, since it is supposed
to be confidential under federal-student-privacy laws."
The Hermitage School District declined
comment. The lawsuit seeks Justin's immediate reinstatement
to his regular school. A hearing for a temporary order
is set for today, writes Ward. (Read
more)
Rural
Calendar: Entry deadlines for three media contests
tomorrow
Feb. 1: Deadline for entries
in Inland Press Association non-daily contest
The Inland Press Foundation invites
non-daily newspapers to enter the Nation’s
Best Non-Daily Newspaper Contest. This contest recognizes
non-daily newspapers’ efforts in producing high-quality
editorial material; presenting innovative, attractive
packaging of that material; and serving their communities
effectively as a source for news and information.
The contest is open to all U.S. newspapers published
for general circulation at least weekly but not more
than three days per week. There will be one award in
each of three circulation categories: Under 5,000; 5,000
to 10,000; Over 10,000.
Winning newspapers will be honored at Inland’s
Weekly Newspaper Conference Feb. 23-25 at the Hilton
St. Petersburg Bayfront. First, second and third-place
awards will be presented for each category. Each of
the following judging criteria will be given equal weight:
Quality of Writing and Reporting: In
news, features, sports, columns, business, entertainment,
enterprise projects, editorials and other types of stories.
Readability, clean copy, strong headlines, and stories
that maintain the readers’ interest while provoking
thought and emotion will be valued.
Story Selection: Breadth and depth
of community coverage, intensity of local focus and
commitment to adding value for the reader. Judges will
look for fresh treatments of tired subjects and stories
that offer guidance, possible solutions, helpful explanations
or sources for additional information.
Design and Presentation: Quality of
graphics, photography, layout, typography and other
art elements, and how they work together to enhance
readership and the dissemination of information.
Community Focus: Features, special
sections or niche publications, news packages, editorial
series and other newspaper services that increase the
value of the paper to its readers and community. Judges
will look at ways the newspaper advances the public
good.
A newspaper’s entry will consist of three issues:
one issue of the newspaper from each of two specified
weeks, and one issue that will be the entrant’s
choice. Pre-selected weeks are April 3-9
and July 3-9, 2005. The entrant’s
choice can be any issue published in 2005.
Entrants must also fill out an entry form and provide
a short narrative in support of their entry. Forms are
available from the Inland Web site, www.inlandpress.org.
Go to the File Gallery and select “Current Contests.”
An entry fee of $15 will be required for Inland member
newspapers; $25 each for nonmembers. Make checks payable
to Inland Press Foundation. For more information, contact
Elaine Lange at Inland, (847) 795-0380 or e-mail elange@inlandpress.org.
Entries must be received by Feb. 1. Entries should
be sent to: Inland Press Foundation, ATTN: Non-Daily
Contest, 701 Lee St., Suite 925, Des Plaines, IL 60016.
For an entry form, click
here.
Feb. 1: Nomination deadline
for Eugene Cervi 2006 award, honoring editor
The International
Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors is
seeking nominations, justification for nomination, and
biographical information for the organization's Eugene
Cervi 2006 Award.
If you know of anyone in your state or province who
might be deserving of ISWNE's Eugene Cervi Award, you
can contact Chad Stebbins at the International Society
of Weekly Newspaper Editors at
Missouri Southern State University,
3950 E. Newman Road, Joplin MO 64801-1595.
The Eugene Cervi Award was established by ISWNE in
1976 to honor the memory of the late editor of the Rocky
Mountain Journal in Denver. It recognizes an
editor who has consistently acted in the conviction
that "good journalism begets good government."
The award recognizes consistently aggressive reporting
of government at the grassroots level and interpretation
of public affairs, writes Stebbins. Letters of nomination
along with a biographical data sheet must be sent by
Feb. 1. For more information, go to the Web
site and click on Contests.
Feb. 1: Nominations due for
Spadaro Awards for media arts and technology
One of the Jack Spadaro Awards is given annually
to recognize the best documentary on Appalachia or its
people. The award recognizes the producer for outstanding
work in film, video, television, or radio. Eligibility
and technical requirements for nominations are available
from Jack Wright at 740-597-3080 or jwright@ohio.edu.
Complete nomination materials are due Feb. 1, 2006.
A second award, the e-Appalachia Award, is given annually
to an outstanding Web site that provides insight on
Appalachia and its people, or provides a vital community
service to Appalachians. Nominations should be made
to: Roy Silver at 606-589-3139 or at rsilver@uky.edu
before February 1, 2006.
Saturday-Sunday,
Jan. 28-29, 2006
W.Va. mine laws prompt consideration
of similar ones in other coal states
"The West Virginia Legislature's speedy passage
of mine-safety reforms last week is prompting mining
agencies and companies in Pennsylvania and elsewhere
to consider similar measures," reports Cindi Lash
in Sunday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"The new law requires mines to stockpile and mark
emergency oxygen supplies, to attach them to 'lifeline'
cords from work areas to the surface, and to install
systems to track and communicate with miners,"
Lash notes. "It also requires mine companies to
notify authorities of serious incidents within 15 minutes
and sets penalties for failure to comply. Left unclear
is how much the changes will cost."
In addition to Pennsylvania, "Officials in Ohio,
Utah and Kentucky also were reviewing the West Virginia
legislation," Lash reports. "On Thursday,
an Alabama circuit judge ordered regulators to reinspect
some underground and surface mines and to study the
use of communication and tracking devices and emergency
oxygen supplies for underground miners."
Massey Energy Co., which owns the
West Virginia mine where two miners died recently, did
not return Lash's phone calls inquiring whether its
mines in other states would implement provisions of
West Virginia's new law. International Coal
Group Inc., owner of the Sago Mine, said it
has used text-messaging devices in Illinois mines and
"intends to implement improved technology at all
of its mines." (Read
more)
Text-messaging devices for miners,
in new W.Va. law, were nixed by feds
The Mine Safety and Health Administration
rejected a proposal two years ago "to give coal
miners text-messaging devices that could warn them of
underground fires and explosions," reports Ken
Ward Jr. of the Sunday Gazette-Mail
in Charleston, W. Va.
With such "personal emergency devices" that
transmit through rock, the 13 miners trapped in the
Sago Mine "could have been told it was safe for
them to just walk out after a Jan. 2 explosion. If workers
at the Aracoma Alma No. 1 Mine three weeks later had
had text-messaging devices, they could have been warned
sooner of a dangerous fire that killed two workers,"
Ward writes, adding that "Only 19 of about 800
underground U.S. mines use PEDs, according to MSHA records."
The devices will be required under a law fast-tracked
through the West Virginia legislature last week, "but
MSHA already could have acted to accept text-messaging
proposals that labor and industry officials made after
a major mine disaster in Alabama" in 2001 that
killed 13 miners and was blamed on "poor emergency
management," according to an MSHA investigation.
The Australian manufacturer of the text-messaging devices
asked MSHA to consider requiring them, and some coal-company
officials in the West endorsed them, but MSHA declined,
saying the device "is generally effective and encourages
its use. However, since technology is constantly changing,
newer systems that may be as, or more, effective than
the PED may be developed.” (Read
more)
Consol Energy has reported mixed results
with the devices, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
reports.
For a report on "Covering Coal," a conference
held for Appalachian journalists on Nov. 18, click
here.
Lots of fines at Kentucky coal
mines go unpaid, Courier-Journal reports
Most of the major fines
levied against operators of underground coal mines in
Kentucky in the last 10 years remain unpaid because
of bankruptcies and a lengthy appeals process, reports
James R. Carroll of the Washington bureau of The
Courier-Journal.
"Since 1995, Kentucky mines have
been assessed nearly $4.7 million in fines of $10,000
or more, according to government data. The Kentucky
mine operators have paid almost $1.9 million of those
penalties," the Louisville newspaper reports. "Nearly
$1.7 million in penalties that can no longer be contested
remains uncollected from Kentucky mine operators, according
to records" of the Mine Safety and Health
Administration. "And $1.1 million in fines
is still being contested."
Tony Oppegard, a former top mining official in the
under Democratic administrations at the state and federal
level, told Carroll MSHA "doesn't have the political
will to collect the fines when they're not paid."
The agency declined requests for an interview but issued
a statement saying it is "committed to fully enforcing
our nation's mine safety and health laws, including
the collection of fines assessed for violations."
"Oppegard said the government needs better tools
to police delinquent companies, such as a computer system
to alert regulators to delinquent payments when operators
apply for new mining licenses," Carroll reports.
Bill Caylor, president of the Kentucky Coal Association,
told him the appeals process should be speeded up. "That
would benefit everybody," he said.
(Read
more)
Two-thirds
of small businesses in rural areas have no terrestrial
broadband
A survey by Hughes Network Systems
and Survey.com, of 250 small
businesses nationwide, found this month that two of
three small businesses in rural areas have no terrestrial,
high-speed Internet access.
"HNS, based in Germantown, Md., provides
satellite broadband Internet access worldwide
-- a [costlier] option that residents and businesses
in rural areas sometimes pursue because they don't have
terrestrial DSL [digital subscriber phone lines] or
cable access," reports Melanie Brooks of Inc.com.
HNS Marketing Vice President Peter Gulla "blames
the lack of broadband Internet use among small businesses
on the fact that it's difficult for these businesses
to learn about their Internet access options,"
Brooks writes. "According to research conducted
by the Small Business Administration
in March 2004, the majority of small businesses use
dial-up services to connect to the Internet."
Why aren't more on DSL? "Telephone service providers
must add special equipment to their existing phone hubs
to enable DSL," Brooks writes. "The equipment
isn't cheap, which keeps service providers from upgrading
in rural areas," because of the areas' lower population
density.
Small rural businesses "are at a competitive disadvantage
because they can't use the same applications" as
businesses with high-speed Internet, Josh Holbrook,
an analyst with the Yankee Group, a
research firm based in Boston, told Brooks.
The Colebrook Development Corp., a
volunteer community organization in northern New Hampshire,
"is taking matters into its own hands," with
federal funds and local, private grants, Brooks reports.
"The CDC is building a wireless broadband network
in Colebrook, a border town with Vermont and in close
proximity to Maine. Larry Rappaport, a Colebrook selectman
and manager for the wireless project, said that the
CDC is two months away from launching the five wireless
hubs in the area."
Across the state line, in northern Vermont, a grant
from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and
the Small Business Development Center,
to 12 towns as part of a two-year study to see how small
businesses would improve with broadband access. One,
the historic Lyndon Freighthouse in
Lyndonville, has a gallery, ice-cream parlor, restaurant,
gift shop and a Starbucks, all with wireless Internet,
which the owners say is a magnet for customers. (Read
more)
Columnist says auto plant closings
should chase workers to small towns
Ford Motor Co.'s closing of 14 plants
and elimination of up to 30,000 jobs shows there is
no future for workers at big-city auto plants, so "
It is time for those workers to think about moving to
small towns," writes business columnist Don McNay
in Sunday's Richmond (Ky.) Register.
"The exodus used to be from Appalachia to bigger
cities," McNay recalls. "Many have spent their
lives in places like Detroit but long for the sense
of family and belonging that small communities offer.
Some of my friends and family moved to Detroit over
40 years ago. Despite all the years in Michigan, they
still consider themselves Kentuckians and Kentucky is
the place that they call home. It is time for them to
return to their roots. It is also the time for small
communities to roll out the welcome mat and encourage
them."
Auto workers "have a lot to offer" rural
areas, McNay argues. "They were making good money
and hopefully saved some of it. . . . With a lower cost
of living, the displaced auto workers would be upper
middle class citizens in any small town. They would
have skills that could boost small town economies,"
to the extent that local government should try to recruit
them. "With a well-trained workforce available,
small and mid-size employers might be interested in
locating in small towns." (Read
more)
Expert sees need for changes
in groundwater policies; news coverage, too
Excessive use of underground water in some states has
created “an environmental catastrophe,”
and “significant reform” is necessary to
prevent further damage to surface waters, Robert Glennon,
the Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy
at the University of Arizona, said
at the Intelligent
Use of Water Summit at Pasadena, Calif.
Glennon, author of Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping
and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters, said
"the legal system has fostered the increasing use
of groundwater . . . by developing two sets of rules
for allocating rights to divert water from rivers and
lakes, and a completely different set of rules for controlling
groundwater use," writes Hembree Brandon of Delta
Farm Press.
“Laws in most states has not kept pace with advances
in hydrology … and have failed to conform with
physical reality,” Glennon said, adding that current
laws “encourage exploitation of the resource…by
permitting the pumping of enormous quantities, regardless
of the impact.”
Brandon explains, "Under the doctrine of 'reasonable
use,' a landowner may pump as much water as desired,
which in many areas has resulted in overdrafting or
'mining' groundwater resources. As water is pumped from
deeper levels, well drilling costs increase, energy
costs escalate and water quality may decline due to
naturally-occurring elements such as arsenic, radon,
and fluoride, or increased salinity. Groundwater pumping
can have 'minimal to catastrophic' impact on surface
water, including lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, springs,
wetlands, and estuaries, Glennon said."
Glennon said journalists who cover droughts in some
part of the country are missing part of the story: “Drought
has prompted the media to pay remarkable attention to
water issues — yet none of the stories, to my
knowledge, has mentioned the environmental consequences
of groundwater pumping.”
In 1995, “Groundwater withdrawals actually exceeded
surface water diversions in Florida, Kansas, Nebraska,
and Mississippi,” he said. Brandon notes, “In
the United States, more than half the population relies
on groundwater for drinking water.” (Read
more)
Muslim
prays for Va. House but only Christians are on Ky. prayer
program
On the day a Muslim imam gave the opening
prayer for the Virginia House of Delegates, Kentucky
Gov. Ernie Fletcher caught hell, so to speak, for a
Christian-only, Jesus-invoking prayer breakfast.
Imam Ibrahim Hamidullah, leader of the
Clarence Sabree Islamic Center in Roanoke,
"said he believes he is just the second Muslim
to deliver the opening prayer of a General Assembly
session and the first from Western Virginia," reports
Michael Sluss of the Roanoke Times. "I
think it's a great thing that they [the House] let Muslims
come because this is a Christianity country," Hamidullah
told Sluss.
Meanwhile, in Kentucky, once a part of
Virginia, the speakers at Fletcher's prayer breakfast
on Tuesday included no Muslims and no Jews. "Christian
songs were sung. Jockey Pat Day shared his born-again
testimony. One prayer was offered in Jesus' name,"
reported Frank Lockwood, religion writer for the Lexington
Herald-Leader, who broke the story on Thursday.
(Read
more)
The Republican governor and former lay
minister in the Lexington Primitive Baptist
Church told the Herald-Leader on Friday,
"I certainly have utmost respect for different
faiths. But I think most people knew when they were
voting for me they were voting for somebody who held
the Christian faith, and I'm not going to be somebody
different than who I am." That remark only brought
more criticism. Anti-Defamation League officials
called it "insensitive and irrelevant," Lockwood
reported. (Read
more)
The only Jewish member of the Kentucky
legislature, Rep. Kathy Stein, who was raised as a Baptist
in Wise, Va., told The Courier-Journal,
"It was very insensitive, and I'm surprised the
governor didn't notice the lack of diversity."
Stein tells us in an e-mail, "I sneaked in an imam
a couple of years ago to give the invocation. Because
his headgear looked so much like he was Jewish, no one
gave it a thought."
Some Christians joined in the criticism
of Fletcher. Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper, executive director
of the Kentucky Council of Churches,
told the Louisville newspaper, "An event like this
held in the name of government ought to be nonsectarian."
(Read
more)
In Virginia, Hamidullah chose a passage from the Quran
that he said orthodox Muslims recite at least 16 times
a day and says "we all serve one creator and that
we all want to be in peace and live righteous."
Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, a Presbyterian who is longtime
friend of Hamidullah and invited him to offer the prayer,
told the Roanoke newspaper, "It's important for
people to know that, down here, everybody respects everybody
else's religion." (Read
more)
Battle Creek paper reminds rural
residents of low-interest federal home loans
For decades, the U. S. Department of Agriculture
has helped people in rural America buy homes, first
through the Farmers Home Administration and now through
its Rural Development program. But
some places, such as Calhoun County, Michigan, are making
little use of the program.
Of the 2,844 Rural Development home loans in Michigan
last year, totaling more than $38 million, only five
— totaling $465,000 — were in Calhoun County.
"That's very low compared to other counties,"Rural
Development specialist Coleen Polley told Stacy Hanna
of the Battle Creek Enquirer. "I'm
confident that it's just a general lack of awareness
in the area."
"Rural Development provides home loans to eligible
families and individuals with interest rates between
1 percent and current maximum rates," Hanna notes,
using as an example a 33-year-old single mother who
was able to buy her first home thanks to a Rural Development
loan.
The loans can be used to buy or build, "and funds
for necessary repairs or renovations can be included
in the financing," Hanna reports. The loans are
available to buyers who have an income 80 percent or
less of the area's median income. "The program
was originally designed for farmland development,"
Polley told Hanna. "Now 'rural' applies to any
community with a population of 20,000 or less."
There could be a downside to the program, Hanna writes:
"Michael LaFaive, director of fiscal policy for
the Midland-based Mackinac Center for Public
Policy, said in some instances, rural home
loan programs could contribute to urban sprawl. "You
get more of what you subsidize, whether it's crops or
irresponsibility," he said. "There's a high
likelihood that this type of program does spread us
out — we've seen a migration to greener pastures
over the past 40 to 50 years." (Read
more)
University of Kentucky
starts scholarship program with tobacco buyout funds
When Congress abolished the federal tobacco program
of quotas and price supports, it included compensation
for quota holders, including educational institutions
that grow tobacco as part of their instructional and
research programs. The University of Kentucky
is using its buyout money to offer a new scholarship
program, writes Terri McLean of the UK College of Agriculture
news service.
The college chose to receive its buyout money, about
$800,000, as a lump sum rather than in annual payments.
It will match donor scholarship contributions in the
program for UK agriculture students. The college will
match half of every contribution of at least $10,000.
To date, the college has received $558,000 in contributions
and has matched it with $279,000, reports McLean.
The program could potentially increase money available
for scholarships by 30 percent and provide financial
assistance to 60 more students, writes McLean. (Read
more) For additional details, click
here for a story by the Kentucky Kernel,
the independent student newspaper at the university.
UK continues to raise about 95,000 pounds of burley
tobacco, primarily for research.
Rural
Calendar: Entry deadlines for three media contests
Tuesday
Feb. 1: Deadline for entries
in Inland Press Association non-daily contest
The Inland Press Foundation invites
non-daily newspapers to enter the Nation’s
Best Non-Daily Newspaper Contest. This contest recognizes
non-daily newspapers’ efforts in producing high-quality
editorial material; presenting innovative, attractive
packaging of that material; and serving their communities
effectively as a source for news and information.
The contest is open to all U.S. newspapers published
for general circulation at least weekly but not more
than three days per week. There will be one award in
each of three circulation categories: Under 5,000; 5,000
to 10,000; Over 10,000.
Winning newspapers will be honored at Inland’s
Weekly Newspaper Conference Feb. 23-25 at the Hilton
St. Petersburg Bayfront. First, second and third-place
awards will be presented for each category. Each of
the following judging criteria will be given equal weight:
Quality of Writing and Reporting: In
news, features, sports, columns, business, entertainment,
enterprise projects, editorials and other types of stories.
Readability, clean copy, strong headlines, and stories
that maintain the readers’ interest while provoking
thought and emotion will be valued.
Story Selection: Breadth and depth
of community coverage, intensity of local focus and
commitment to adding value for the reader. Judges will
look for fresh treatments of tired subjects and stories
that offer guidance, possible solutions, helpful explanations
or sources for additional information.
Design and Presentation: Quality of
graphics, photography, layout, typography and other
art elements, and how they work together to enhance
readership and the dissemination of information.
Community Focus: Features, special
sections or niche publications, news packages, editorial
series and other newspaper services that increase the
value of the paper to its readers and community. Judges
will look at ways the newspaper advances the public
good.
A newspaper’s entry will consist of three issues:
one issue of the newspaper from each of two specified
weeks, and one issue that will be the entrant’s
choice. Pre-selected weeks are April 3-9
and July 3-9, 2005. The entrant’s
choice can be any issue published in 2005.
Entrants must also fill out an entry form and provide
a short narrative in support of their entry. Forms are
available from the Inland Web site, www.inlandpress.org.
Go to the File Gallery and select “Current Contests.”
An entry fee of $15 will be required for Inland member
newspapers; $25 each for nonmembers. Make checks payable
to Inland Press Foundation. For more information, contact
Elaine Lange at Inland, (847) 795-0380 or e-mail elange@inlandpress.org.
Entries must be received by Feb. 1. Entries should
be sent to: Inland Press Foundation, ATTN: Non-Daily
Contest, 701 Lee St., Suite 925, Des Plaines, IL 60016.
For an entry form, click
here.
Feb. 1: Nomination deadline
for Eugene Cervi 2006 award, honoring editor
The International
Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors is
seeking nominations, justification for nomination, and
biographical information for the organization's Eugene
Cervi 2006 Award.
If you know of anyone in your state or province who
might be deserving of ISWNE's Eugene Cervi Award, you
can contact Chad Stebbins at the International Society
of Weekly Newspaper Editors at
Missouri Southern State University,
3950 E. Newman Road, Joplin MO 64801-1595.
The Eugene Cervi Award was established by ISWNE in
1976 to honor the memory of the late editor of the Rocky
Mountain Journal in Denver. It recognizes an
editor who has consistently acted in the conviction
that "good journalism begets good government."
The award recognizes consistently aggressive reporting
of government at the grassroots level and interpretation
of public affairs, writes Stebbins. Letters of nomination
along with a biographical data sheet must be sent by
Feb. 1. For more information, go to the Web
site and click on Contests.
Feb. 1: Nominations due for
Spadaro Awards for media arts and technology
One of the Jack Spadaro Awards is given annually
to recognize the best documentary on Appalachia or its
people. The award recognizes the producer for outstanding
work in film, video, television, or radio. Eligibility
and technical requirements for nominations are available
from Jack Wright at 740-597-3080 or jwright@ohio.edu.
Complete nomination materials are due Feb. 1, 2006.
A second award, the e-Appalachia Award, is given annually
to an outstanding Web site that provides insight on
Appalachia and its people, or provides a vital community
service to Appalachians. Nominations should be made
to: Roy Silver at 606-589-3139 or at rsilver@uky.edu
before February 1, 2006.
Friday,
Jan. 27, 2006
Kentucky expert reports higher
risk in deer meat for mad-cow-like disease
A paper written by a University of Kentucky
professor, published today in Science
magazine, reports deer meat with chronic wasting disease
has been found to contain infectious agents that spread
the disease.
"Until now, state and federal health officials
have reassured hunters they will not be exposed to the
disease as long as they do not touch or eat an animal's
brain, spinal cord or other nervous tissues," writes
Sandra Blakeslee of The New York Times.
There is no evidence chronic wasting disease, which
is similar to mad-cow disease, has been passed to humans,
although it has spread to deer and elk in 11 states
and two Canadian provinces. The paper was written by
Dr. Glenn Telling, a professor of microbiology and immunology
at the university's medical center,
and colleagues.
Bruce Morrison, chairman of the National Chronic
Wasting Disease Implementation Team and assistant
director of the Wildlife Division at the Nebraska
Game and Parks Commission, told Blakeslee,
"There is no evidence humans have ever contracted
chronic wasting disease from eating infected animals.
. . . I hunt, and I'm not worried." States warn
hunters to freeze deer and elk meat while the head is
tested for infecting agents. Morrison said as a precaution,
no part of an infected animal should be eaten.
Stanley Prusiner of the University of California-San
Francisco told Blakeslee, "It's frightening
that there should be so many [of these infecting agents]
in the muscle meat of deer." Prusiner won the 1997
Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research on the infecting
agents or "prions." He also told the Times
recent studies have found prions in the flesh of infected
mice, cows, sheep and humans. Prusiner noted, "So
why not deer and elk?" And Prusiner said why anyone
would eat an animal not tested for prion disease is
beyond comprehension, writes Blakeslee. (Read
more)
Iowa meth study
supports reported trend of home labs down, imports up
A University of Iowa
expert on methamphetamine has found that meth labs have
decreased across the state but the supply and abuse
problems haven't.
"The report issued Jan. 17 by the State
of Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy credits
the state's meth control law, enacted in May 2005, with
a decrease in meth lab incidents. Pseudoephedrine, a
main ingredient in some cold and flu medications, is
also a main ingredient in meth production. The law put
the medications behind lock and key at pharmacies. However,
the report also states the law has not reduced the supply
of imported meth or demand for the drug," a university
release says.
Psychiatry professor Dr. Stephan Arndt said, "The
overall dangers of meth still need to be dealt with,
including prevention and treatment. The report has an
additional indirect positive benefit by highlighting
that need." Arndt directs the Iowa Consortium
for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation.
The report said state-run hospitals and clinics had
fewer meth-related burn cases in 2005 compared to 2004,
down from 14 to four, for an estimated savings of more
than $2.5 million. Arndt also stated, "Production
sometimes is done in the presence of children, so there
are definite problems the law has controlled and will
continue to control. However, the law hasn't done anything
about addiction, use or some of the other negative consequences."
For the release via Newswise, a public
relations and marketing service for higher education
and research institutions, click
here. For additional information about the report
and the law, click
here. Visit UI Health Care online at http://www.uihealthcare.com.
For an audio file of Arndt speaking, click
here.
Stronger Kentucky mine-safety
measures receive bipartisan endorsement
Kentucky coal miners would be tracked underground and
have oxygen supplies as a result of bills that Republican
Gov. Ernie Fletcher and House Democrats said yesterday
would pass this year, reports Tom Loftus of The
Courier-Journal.
"The measures, which might also include two-way
communications with miners, are expected to be similar
to a mine safety law that passed this week in West Virginia
in a single day, a reaction to the deaths of 14 miners
there this month," reports the Louisville newspaper.
Roger Sturgill, a retired miner from Cumberland, told
Loftus, "It's sad that it's taken the loss of a
loved one to change the laws." Sturgill's nephew
died Dec. 30 in a mining accident in Harlan County.
Kentucky Coal Association President
Bill Caylor told Loftus that coal operators support
some safety proposals, including the stashing of oxygen
supplies in mines, but there are concerns about a requirement
for wireless tracking and communication because since
that technology doesn't work in a deep mine. Environmental
and Public Protection Cabinet spokesman Mark
York told Loftus, "We believe improvements can
be made in communication from within a mine to the surface."
House Speaker Jody Richards said of the West Virginia
miners who were killed, "We owe it to their loved
ones, their families, that we try to change this situation."
At a separate news conference Fletcher said, "This
is something that transcends partisan politics."
(Read
more)
W.Va. mine safety
legislation fast-tracked to law as other states rework
regs
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin yesterday
signed new mine safety rules into law, noting requirements
for better communications, underground oxygen supplies
and faster emergency responses would help prevent tragedies
like the two that killed 14 miners in the Mountain State
this month.
"State lawmakers passed the legislation unanimously
just days after a Jan. 19 mine fire killed two men,
and about three weeks after an explosion at the Sago
Mine resulted in the deaths of 12 miners. The only survivor
among the trapped Sago miners, Randal McCloy Jr., 26,
emerged from a light coma Wednesday but still cannot
speak," writes The Associated Press.
Manchin told miners' relatives, "We want to be
the benchmark everyone looks to when they mine.The sacrifice
you all have made will change mining in this country,"
reports AP. The state's law mandates that miners be
provided with emergency communicators and tracking devices,
requires mine operators to store extra air supplies
underground, and sets up a new Mine and Industrial Accident
Rapid Response System and statewide all-hours hot line
to expedite rescue efforts.
The Sago disaster and Manchin's calls for reform have
spurred several coal mining states to re-examine their
mine safety laws. (Read
more) For more on Sago Mine disaster survivor Randal
McCloy, who has been moved to a rehabilitation center,
click
here.
Sago disaster probe begins following
judge's order for UMW participation
Federal and state investigators began their on-site
examination yesterday of the Sago Mine where 12 miners
were killed Jan. 2, after a judge ordered International
Coal Group to allow miners’ union representatives
to take part in the probe.
United Mine Workers of America
spokesman Phil Smith said union officials went onto
the mine site with government investigators. "Earlier
in the day, U.S. District Judge Robert E. Maxwell ordered
ICG to stop blocking UMW officials from entering the
mine," writes Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston
Gazette. Lawyers for the U.S. Mine
Safety and Health Administration sought the
order after ICG refused to allow UMW safety experts
into the mine.
Ed Clair, MSHA’s top lawyer, told Ward, "MSHA
will take every step to protect the miners’ interest
in a fair and open investigation into this tragic accident
— including ensuring that the UMWA can participate
fully as the miners’ representative. We are elated
that the court agreed that the rights of the miners’
representatives must be protected." (Read
more) For the story from Reuters, click
here.
Long Island's last stand? Coalition
seeks to preserve rural landscape
"While there have been some great successes on
Long Island in the area of preservation ... growth continues
at breakneck speed. Planners estimate that Long Island's
population could increase by 250,000 people in the next
ten years. Has enough been done in recent years to preserve
the rural landscape? Many people don't think so,"
writes Annette Hinkle of the weekly Sag Harbor
Express.
The Nature Conservancy and a coalition of over 100
Long Island organizations and individuals -- including
farmers, business leaders, citizens and conservation
groups -- recently announced "Long Island's Last
Stand," an aggressive 10-year initiative to preserve
and protect dwindling natural resources across the entire
island, the western end of which lies in the New York
city boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.
The initiative's goals include saving 25,000 acres
of the most significant remaining open space island-wide
and 10,000 acres of farmland. "Long Island's Last
Stand" aims to restore the health of habitats,
harbors and bays, bring shellfish production back to
significant numbers and protect drinking and surface
water. The Nature Conservancy estimates
it will take $5.1 billion over the next 10 years to
accomplish these goals. Current levels of funding for
the next decade stand at $1.5 billion - a shortfall
of $3.6 billion. Supporters say the difference could
come from public coffers, notes Hinkle.
The 10,000 acres of farmland the initiative hopes to
preserve represent about half of what remains and would
bring to 25,000 acres the amount of farmland preserved
on the island. "The goal is to protect the farm
industry on Long Island," Stuart Lowrie, the conservation
finance and policy advisor for The
Nature Conservancy, told Hinkle. "At some point
the infrastructure of the industry is not sustainable
- the seed and feed stores or tractor maintenance people
are gone." (Read
more)
Hospital in metro area, serving
rural patients, wants rural status to get grants
A New York hospital finds itself caught between definitions
or ruran and urban, and federal regulations that could
allow it to receive money it says it needs to serve
patients in its service region, which includes many
rural areas just south of Adirondack Park and Lake George.
"The rural character of communities like Granville,
Indian Lake and Thurman is obvious, said David Kruczlnicki,
president and chief executive officer of Glens
Falls Hospital. Yet the federal formula used
to determine hospital funding classifies the region
as an urban setting. That's because Glens Falls is located
in a metropolitan statistical area," writes Maury
Thompson of the Glens Falls Post-Star.
Kruczlnicki told Thompson, "This hospital serves
[an area that] is among the least densely populated
in New York state." Hospital officials are working
with U.S. Rep. John Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, on the
feasibility of changing the criteria for designation
as a rural hospital. The special designation, Kruczlnicki
told Thompson, "recognizes rural hospitals shoulder
a disproportionate share of treating the poor in comparison
with urban areas, where two or more hospitals may operate
in the same city." (Read
more)
Kruczlnicki also told Thompson if the hospital fails
to qualify for the status "perhaps the federal
government could establish an intermediate category
for hospitals like Glens Falls that service a largely
rural area."
One-tenth of residents live
in poverty in Tennessee county known for tourism
Sevier County, Tennessee, is home to a huge tourist
industry, based on the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park and related developments such
as Dollywood, but there is still much
poverty amid wealth. In a region where faith and family
are sacred, many people keep their poverty well hidden.
There were 7,517 people living below the poverty line
in Sevier County in 1999, or one in 10 residents, according
to the census, but some parts of the county are very
poor. At Jones Cove Elementary School,
90 percent of the students receive federally subsidized
free or reduced lunches, reports Craig Mintz of The
Mountain Press, the daily newspaper in Sevierville.
Jonathan Pflug, director of Sunset Gap Community
Center, regularly sees the abandoned mobile
homes and decades-old houses in severe disrepair. "In
the mountains it's hidden," Pflug told Mintz. "They're
very proud people. They wait until it's extreme before
they ask for help." Isolation is part of the problem,
Pflug said. Also, many people take seasonal employment
in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, leaving them without
work in the winter. In addition to a poor job market,
physical illness and age take their toll. Sunset Gap
Community Center is trying to help residents by rehabilitating
homes. (Read
more)
Center for Rural Policy &
Development starts journal to focus on rural issues
A nonprofit group based in St. Peter, Minn., is launching
a new publication that focuses on rural issues. The
Center for Rural Policy and Development is
calling the new venture Rural Minnesota Journal.
"The center's president, Jack Geller, said the
first edition features articles from a variety of authorities
on public policy areas that affect rural Minnesota,"
writes Charley Shaw of the St. Paul
Legal Ledger.
The journal will be published twice weekly. Geller
told Shaw, "We are launching this new publication
... to elevate the statewide level of civic engagement
around issues important to rural Minnesota. Think of
it as a way to engage in a long-term, statewide conversation
on the status and future of rural Minnesota."
The inaugural issue of the Rural Minnesota Journal
contains a forward by U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman and 10
articles by well-known Minnesota researchers, policy
analysts and administration officials.
Though the first issue features articles on a range
of topics, Geller told Shaw future issues will focus
on single topics. Geller plans to tie future editions
to the center's annual policy forums, and told Shaw,
"We're hopeful that such a format will heighten
the quality of discussion and lead us closer to some
meaningful policy solutions." (Read
more)
Alaska revives aerial wolf-killing
program, end-runs judge's ruling
Alaska has reinstated a population control program
that allows shooting wolves from the air more than a
week after a judge ruled the practice illegal.
"The program was reinstated after the Board
of Game filed new regulations passed in response
to Superior Court Judge Sharon Gleason's concerns. 'They
are effective immediately,' said Annette Kreitzer, chief
of staff to Lt. Gov. Loren Leman," writes Jeannette
J. Lee of The Associated Press
The program started in 2003 to boost moose and caribou
populations, after residents complained predators were
killing too many moose, leaving too few for food, notes
Lee. In an emergency meeting, the board scrapped its
existing regulations and will seek to make the new rules
permanent at a regular public meeting in March. Animal
rights groups may fight the practice. Jim Reeves, the
lawyer representing Darien, Conn.-based Friends
of Animals and seven plaintiffs, told Lee,
"We do not regard it as an emergency when an agency
needs to adopt regulations to fix a problem of its own
making." (Read
more)
About 400 wolves have been killed so far under the
program, and the state said it intends to kill another
400 this year. Alaska has the largest remaining population
of gray wolves in the country. "State biologists
estimate about 7,000 to 11,000 wolves roam the state,"
writes Lee. For the Alaska Department of Fish
& Game. For the Friends of Wolves,
click
here.
Wyoming biologist says bison
kill protects domestic livestock from disease
Yellowstone National Park has shipped another 64 bison
to slaughter, bringing to 452 the number of buffalo
killed this month to protect Montana livestock from
the disease brucellosis.
"A total of 562 bison have been captured and tagged
for slaughter," writes Rebecca Huntington of the
Jackson Hole News & Guide.
Park wildlife biologist Rick Wallen told Huntington
the National Park Service initiated
the capture-and-slaughter operation after finding efforts
to chase bison back into the park’s interior were
no longer working. The service prevents commingling
of cattle and bison as part of a legal settlement with
the state after court battles in the 1990s, writes Huntington.
(Read
more)
Knight Ridder sale prompts SPJ
call for debate on public-service journalism
The Society of Professional Journalists
has called for "an urgent national conversation
about how to preserve public-service journalism in light
of the likely sale of the Knight Ridder
newspaper company."
"The call, which is being spearheaded by the national
group's Northern California Chapter, continues, 'News
media play a vital role in ensuring a robust and transparent
democracy, a role that is too important to be compromised
by the quest for profits. SPJ believes that both journalists
and the public need to discuss openly the societal implications
of these kinds of business decisions, as several groups
have done in recent weeks'" reports Editor
& Puiblisher.
SPJ says, "We acknowledge that newspapers cannot
serve their democratic role unless they stay in business.
But the increasing corporate pressure to squeeze additional
returns out of already profitable newspapers, at rates
exceeding the margins in most other industries, has
skewed the balance between journalism and commerce.
... Though there is disagreement about what should happen
to Knight Ridder ... there is broad consensus within
the journalism community it should not be allowed to
fall into the hands of those unwilling to guarantee
the continuity of public-service journalism." For
the release, click
here.
Thursday,
Jan. 26, 2006
BB&T nixes loans to developers
who rely on eminent domain to get land
North Carolina-based financial services company BB&T
has said it will not lend money to private
real estate development projects that rely on local
governments to seize land from reluctant sellers, a
gambit authorized by the U.S. Supreme Court but facing
prohibitions from some state legislatures.
"The bank and legal analysts said they believe
BB&T is the first major financial institution to
announce such a policy since the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled in June that using 'eminent domain' powers for
privately owned projects did not violate the Constitution,"
writes Brooke A. Masters of The Washington Post.
"There is the potential for abuse of eminent domain,"
Chief Credit Officer W. Kendall Chalk told Masters.
BB&T already has strict limits on the use of eminent
domain, but Chalk told Masters "the new policy
was sparked by a mixed-use development project in another
jurisdiction that he would not identify." BB&T,
which Alpheus Branch helped start in Wilson, N.C., in
the late 1800s and is still known there as "Branch's
bank," not just Branch Banking and Trust, operates
in 11 Southeastern states. (Read
more)
Institute for Justice senior attorney
Dana Berliner told Masters, "It's tremendous that
BB&T is willing to lead the country in saying no
to eminent domain abuse. It's the right thing to do,
and it's a sensible business decision. These projects
are so universally hated that they get held up in court
and some of them fail."
Report faults rules, judgment
in crashes of a rural mainstay, air ambulances
The National Transportation Safety Board reports
crashes involving air ambulances, used heavily to service
emergency cases in rural areas, have killed 54 people,
most of them pilots, paramedics and nurses, in a three-year
period ending in early 2005.
"The report, which was approved by the board on
Wednesday, concluded that pilots were not good at analyzing
risks and that the rules are too lax for flights that
are not carrying a patient or a donated organ,"
writes Matthew L. Wald of The New York Times.
Wald notes that helicopters and planes used as ambulances
"fly under airline-type rules when carrying a patient
or organs. But if they are on their way to a pickup,
they fly under rules that apply to private planes, which
do not limit how many hours a pilot can work and allow
flights in worse weather. Three-quarters of the accidents
occurred under those rules." Board member Debbie
Hersman told Wald, "It seems like a ridiculous
paper loophole."
Investigators support "flight risk evaluation,"
in which "the pilot and possibly a second expert
would dispassionately score each mission, based on weather
conditions, time of day and other factors," and
which might have prevented 13 of the 55 crashes, Wald
reports. Investigators said adding professional dispatching
might have eliminated 11 crashes.
The Federal Aviation Administration
reports there are about 650 emergency medical service
helicopters. An industry group estimates more than 750.
(Read
more)
Rural America battles persistent
poverty, searches for jump-start solutions
Rural America's economy continues to lag behind urban
America, and debate is raging over whether agricultural
spending or economic development holds the solution.
"Arguments over rural development will likely
intensify, observers say, as the Bush administration
readies next year’s budget proposals, Congress
prepares for a 2007 rewrite of farm programs and world
trade talks continue to take aim at crop subsidies.
At stake is the use of tens of billions of dollars in
tax money as well as the well-being of 59 million Americans,"
writes Paul Barton of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
A 2005 analysis by the National Rural Network
of advocacy groups called rural America a place “where
poverty has persisted for decades, where populations
have been declining for half a century.” The network
says rural areas get at least $100 a year less per person
in federal funds than urban areas, a $6.5 billion disadvantage.
It says at least 70 percent of rural funds come in transfer
payments for Social Security, food stamps, Medicare
and other programs, which cannot be used for economic
development. Some people want rural economic-development
programs reshaped in the 2007 farm bill. (Read
more)
This month's Farm Journal magazine
features an editorial by Sonja Hillgren, How to
Energize Rural Economies. Hillgren writes that
the solution is not farm program payments, but rather
making sure "rural economic development remains
a central goal of future farm legislation." (Read
more)
Tennessee governor requests
review of strip-mine enforcement by the feds
Citing a "significant and growing controversy"
about coal mining in Tennessee, Gov. Phil Bredesen has
asked the U.S. Office of Surface Mining
for a comprehensive review of coal mining in the state,
reports Scott Barker of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
In a letter to OSM, Bredesen also "cited changes
in mining techniques, industry economics and environmental
regulations as reasons for the review. Bredesen asked
for an environmental impact statement for the federal
coal-mining program, which would revise the framework
for regulating the industry in Tennessee," writes
Barker.
The last impact statement was done in 1985, soon after
the state closed its strip-mine enforcement agency and
let OSM enforce the federal strip-mine law alone. In
a follow-up letter to OSM, Tennessee Deputy Commissioner
for Environment Paul Sloan called the 1985 review "inadequate
as a matter of policy."
Barker reports that Sloan outlined "a dozen other
reasons for conducting the EIS," including higher
water-quality standards, "unsatisfactory treatments
for acid mine drainage, new information about threatened
and endangered species," and "need to address
cumulative impacts from landslides, post-mining land-use
problems and abandoned mine lands." He also mentioned
OSM's Jan. 13 denial of a petition to declare 443 square
miles in the New River watershed, upstream from the
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, as
off-limits to strip mining. (Read
more)
Mine officials
ask judge to issue order allowing union presence in
Sago probe
Federal mine-safety officials have sought a court order
to force International Coal Group to
allow United Mine Workers representatives
onto company property to participate in the Sago Mine
disaster investigation. "U.S. District Judge Robert
E. Maxwell in Elkins heard arguments on the matter for
about an hour, but did not make a decision," writes
Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston Gazette.
Mine Safety and Health Administration lawyer
Ed Clair said, “The state and MSHA made a commitment
to the families that we could conduct a fair, open investigation,
and we decided we needed to take this extraordinary
step to keep that commitment,” writes Ward. He
notes that earlier in the day ICG guards refused to
allow UMW representatives to accompany investigators
from MSHA and the state Office of Miners Health,
Safety and Training into the Sago Mine.
The portion of federal mine-safety law that allows
miners to designate representatives specifically gives
those representatives the right to enter mine property
for accident investigations. Tim Baker, a UMW safety
official taking part in the Sago probe, told Ward, “This
company is spending more time and money and energy trying
to keep us out than they have trying to figure out what
happened. We all have the same goal in mind, so let’s
get on with it.” (Read
more)
UMW fighting Bush administration
mine-safety pick over 'unsafe record'
A former coal operator chosen by the Bush administration
to oversee mine safety, Richard Stickler, is likely
to be questioned closely about charges of an unsafe
record at his Senate confirmation hearing, reports Kimberly
Hefling of The Associated Press.
Stickler received a medal from Pennsylvania's governor
for his work when nine trapped miners were rescued in
2002, but, "The United Mine Workers union
has criticized the safety record of the mines in Pennsylvania
and West Virginia that Stickler, 61, operated before
he was appointed to run Pennsylvania's Bureau
of Deep Mine Safety in 1997," writes Hefling.
A union letter asks Bush to pull the nomination.
The Quecreek accident in Pennsylvania occurred while
Stickler was at the helm of the state agency, and the
lawyer who represents eight of the miners who were rescued
said he does not support Stickler's appointment because
of the secrecy involved in the investigation that followed,
notes Hefling. (Read
more)
A grand jury said the state agency should have red-flagged
map problems that were blamed when miners at Quecreek
breached an abandoned mine. The breach created a flood
of water and trapped miners for 77 hours. No criminal
charges were filed, and a grand jury did not fault individuals,
writes Hefling.
Kentucky mine safety chief's
resignation unrelated to mine death, say officials
Kentucky officials have announced the resignation of
Kentucky's top mine-safety official. Environmental
and Public Protection Cabinet spokesman Mark
York said Charles' resignation had nothing to do with
recent mining accidents.
"Paris Charles, a Pikeville native appointed executive
director of the state Office of Mine Safety
and Licensing in July 2004, said yesterday
he handed in his resignation on Jan. 9, one day before
Kentucky's first fatality of the year in a Pike County
roof fall," writes Lee Mueller of the Lexington
Herald-Leader. Charles cited "personal
matters" back home in Pikeville as the reason for
his resignation.
House Democrats are to hold a news conference on improving
mine safety at 1 p.m. today, notes Mueller. House Speaker
Jody Richards said, "In less than four weeks, 16
people have died in coal mines in West Virginia and
Kentucky . . . . We owe it to them, and their families,
and the men and women who work in coal mines ... to
do everything in our power to make their dangerous work
a little safer." (Read
more)
Plain Dealer columnist writes,
'Bless the guys with the guts to dig the coal'
Since the double coal-mining disasters in West Virginia
and the deaths of 14 coal miners, many people have reflected
on mining and the people who "work the rock."
One of those is Dick Feagler of The
Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. Feagler's
change of heart is eloquent, powerful and appropriate.
"People in our part of the state ... have always
looked askance at the folks from West Virginia, the
same way they once looked askance at each other. But
this week, if you walked across the floor to turn your
thermostat up, you were risking a coal miner's life.
Half of America's energy comes from coal - much of it
from West Virginia mines," writes Feagler in his
Jan. 8 column. (Sorry, the newspaper's archives
limit searches to the past two weeks.)
"A coal miner buries himself alive each day. He
kisses his family goodbye and rides a bucket two miles
into the earth. There he toils until they pull him up
and he goes home for a hug and supper," Feagler
writes. "We don't think too much about what keeps
the lights on. Why should we? We are, after all, so
smart. We take so many things for granted. But the power
behind that electricity is those guys in the mines."
Feagler recalls, "Almost 40 years ago, I traveled
with photographer Ted Schneider Jr. to one of the worst
coal mine disasters in history. Farmington, W.Va. Ninety-nine
miners were entombed by an explosion. Seventy eight
died. And, he concludes, "After last week's disaster
at the Sago Mine, the miners said they wanted to go
back underground to work ... One of them explained that
the mines were in his blood. And that his fellow miners
were his brothers. And that you don't just quit. God
bless the hillbilly hicks. They are the pilot light
of America."
For Coal Miners' Slaughter, by Christopher
Cook of In These Times, a liberal journal,
click
here.
Maryland farming bill wins praise,
sparks debate over preservation areas
A sweeping bill to give Maryland farmers more money
to reduce pollution appears to have widespread support
in the state Legislature, but some groups say the pro-environment
bill goes too far.
"A Senate committee began [reviewing] the bill
that resulted from a months-long study by environmentalists
and farmers on how to gird agriculture and help the
Chesapeake Bay at the same time. The bill calls for
millions more in state money to help farmers keep pollution
out of the water, plus a requirement that counties set
aside land for agricultural preservation," reports
WBAL-TV in Baltimore in a staff and
Associated Press report.
The report continued, "The committee isn't ready
to vote on the bill, but it heard from groups as varied
as environmentalists and sport fishermen saying the
bill is a great idea. However, praise for the bill's
mission was mixed with suggestions for changing it.
One disagreement that's already on the table is what
counties should be required to do to set aside farmland."
Maryland Department of Agriculture
Secretary Lewis Riley and the Maryland Association
of Counties testified that the bill's requirement
to set aside priority preservation areas in county development
plans is too tough, and the counties should have more
flexibility. (Read
more)
U. of Virginia researches diabetes
programs for rural African Americans
Faculty and students in the University of Virginia
School of Nursing are conducting studies of the effectiveness
of programs that provide aid to rural African American
adults with Type II diabetes.
The study is being conducted by the Central
Rural Health Care Research Center to deliver
"culturally tailored diabetes education to African
Americans in rural communities," said Sharon Utz,
an associate professor of nursing, reports Maggie Thornton
of The Cavalier Daily, the university
student newspaper.
Utz told Thornton, the center began the research mostly
in 2004 and found many black adults in rural communities
have difficulty administering self-care. The studies
are funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Diabetes care is considered 90 percent self-care, "so
clinicians need to help people make decisions that enhance
their health & optimize quality of life," added
Utz.
Utz said while this phase only included six participants,
the researchers hope to eventually expand the program
to include 30 to 40 rural, black adults with Type II
diabetes, writes Thornton. (Read
more)
Drugs for malaria, schizophrenia
might help fight mad-cow disease
Drugs used to treat malaria and schizophrenia may have
a role in treating brain-wasting disorders like mad-cow
disease, says a doctor reporting for a consumer Web
site.
"The FDA recently gave the OK to researchers at
the University of California in San
Francisco to study quinacrine, a malaria drug, and a
drug used to treat schizophrenia called chlorpromazine,"
writes Dr. Henry J. Fishman in an article for ConsumerAffairs.com.
Fishman explains that "three dozen patients, all
very ill with the brain-wasting disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob
Disease, more commonly known as mad-cow disease, will
receive the medication." He writes, "We can't
currently do much for diseases like mad-cow. But these
two drugs have shown some promise."
Fishman notes, "The drugs help mouse cells ...
and have already been given to two sick women. One showed
significant improvement." And, Fishman writes,
"The two drugs require extensive research, and
a lot more time, before we know if they work. Still,
they may someday be used to treat mad cow and other
brain-wasting diseases." (Read
more)
Report says three in eight Arkansas
students overweight or at risk of it
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
has released a study which shows 38 percent of the state's
public-school children are overweight or at risk of
being overweight
"The finding was the same as last year's, when
UAMS also studied the effects of a 2003 state law that
called for mandatory and voluntary changes in the schools
to address health issues among Arkansas' children. Health
officials said Thursday they hope to see obesity numbers
decline as more schools offer healthier food choices,"
writes Andrew DeMillo of The Associated Press.
Martha Phillips, assistant professor in the UAMS colleges
of medicine and public health, told DeMillo, "It
takes a lot of behavior change to lower an individuals'
weight. Multiply this by a population as large as this,
and it takes even longer." State law requires a
body mass index screen for all public school students.
The study noted the number of schools offering low-fat
milk increased from 15 percent in 2004 to 23 percent
in 2005 and researchers also found schools prohibiting
the use of food as a reward for students increased from
7 percent in 2004 to 15 percent in 2005. Students also
use diet pills less and are not teased as much because
of weight. Phillips told DeMillo, "This is good
news all around." (Read
more)
A song, a song, my commonwealth
needs a song, cries Virginia; Missouri?
"Without a song, the day would never end,"
is a famous musical refrain. For the Commonwealth of
Virginia, the long search for a replacement state song,
which has taken a while, appears near an end.
"Nearly a decade after legislators retired 'Carry
Me Back to Old Virginia' as the state song -- and two
years after a panel failed to find a new one -- it appears
a replacement may finally be on the horizon. Well, make
that an 'interim' replacement," writes Mason Adams
of The Roanoke Times.
A Senate committee approved a bill to make "Shenandoah"
the state anthem until a more suitable song is found.
The General Assembly retired "Carry Me Back To
Old Virginia" in 1997, more than 25 years after
then-state Sen. Douglas Wilder, later the state's first
black governor, declared it offensive for references
to "massa" and "darkies," notes
Adams. State officials would like to have a permanent
replacement before next year's 400th anniversary of
the Jamestown landing.
Several senators questioned the relevance of the song
to Virginia. Sen. Stephen Martin, R-Chesterfield County,
targeted the line, "Away, I'm bound away, cross
the wide Missouri," which is repeated throughout
the song. Sen. Charles Hawkins, R-Chatham said, "'Shenandoah'
is one of my favorite songs, but I find myself as stubborn
as a Missouri mule when it comes to the state song.
The reference to Missouri would be wonderful if I was
from Missouri, but I'm not," writes Adams.
Sen. Charles Colgan, D-Manassas, who played a version
of "Shenandoah" performed by Daniel Rodriguez,
responded that the song is widely identified with Virginia,
especially its western, mountainous regions and noted
the reference to the Missouri River recalls the state's
original western boundary, at least in one interpretation.
The bill will go to the Senate floor later this week,
writes Adams. (Read
more)
Wednesday,
Jan. 25, 2006
Study shows high-speed
Internet access creates jobs but doesn't boost wages
A new
study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon
University and the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology provides strong evidence
that broadband Internet access drives economic growth,
but does little to increase the pay of workers.
"The report looks at data from 1998 through the
end of 2002 and finds that there is a strong correlation
between residential and small business broadband access
(cable, DSL, and satellite)," writes Nate Anderson
of Ars Technica, a "PC enthusiasts"
Web site.
The study states, "For the first time, we can
say unequivocally that broadband access does matter
to the economy. We estimate that between 1998 and 2002,
communities in which mass-market broadband was available
by December 1999 experienced more rapid growth in employment,
the number of businesses overall, and businesses in
IT-intensive sectors."
"The results ... provide real evidence for a claim
that until now has been largely speculative or forward-looking.
One truly surprising result from the study, though,
is that despite all the economic growth that increased
broadband access brings, average wages in an area do
not tend to increase," writes Anderson.
The study also showed that In 2002, "well-developed
and populated states such as Massachusetts, New York,
and Connecticut, had broadband usage rates of just over
20 percent, while rural states such as South Dakota,
Kentucky, and Montana came in at less than 5 percent.
(Read
more)
Rural loans sparking broadband
development, competition after foot-dragging
Officials in Indiana are pushing broadband
in some rural areas using low interest loans from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural
Development program, prompting some previously hesitant
providers to join the growing parade.
"Welcome, citizens of Greencastle,
Indiana. Right now, most of you are using dial up
connections to access the Internet, so I’ll type
very slowly. But in the next couple weeks, many of you
will be able to get broadband access for the first time,"
blogs Alan Stafford on PCWorld. (Read
more)
Stafford notes, "The Rural Development program
granted a low-interest
loan to Cinergy Metronet, which
is installing high-speed fiber-optic cable in several
rural communities in Indiana. Rural communities around
the country have applied for funds from the agency --
look here to see if your berg is on the
list.
Cinergy is signing up customers, with installations
to begin in a couple weeks, writes Stafford. They offer
several packages.
A basic package of a 6Mbps Internet pipe, cable television
service, and local telephone service costs $79 a month.
"After Cinergy inked its deal, Insight
Broadband moved to start offering cable
Internet access. Verizon Communications
has
begun installing fiber in northern Indiana, where
it will compete with Cinergy," writes Stafford.
Stafford notes that "many communications companies
are still trying to prevent anyone but them from offering
broadband access--even though they still don’t
offer it in many sparsely populated areas." He
writes of his colleague Tom
Spring, who reported in last October’s issue
of PCWorld "that some small communities have given
up trying to get those companies to offer broadband,
and instead have made efforts to offer it as a municipal
utility."
Mobile citizens in mountainous
Virginia area get new wireless Internet option
Some rural communities along the Blue Ridge in Southwest
Virginia are jumping into the world of wireless Internet.
"In a week, Citizens, the tiny
telephone and cable company in Floyd, is launching Citizens
Mobile Wireless Internet in Christiansburg, with service
in Blacksburg and Radford expected to follow within
the next few months. It will offer users high-speed
Internet access they can take with them," writes
Andrew Kantor of The Roanoke Times.
Kantor notes that "unlike [some] WiFi "hot
spots," the Citizen service covers the entire town
of Christiansburg, offering access speeds up to 1.5
megabits per second ... slower than most cable or DSL
connections but [with] the advantage of being completely
mobile. Every home, office and road in the town will
have access.
For $45 a month, users get an access card for their
laptops and a 500 kilobit per second connection. The
company also offers 1 Mbps and 1.5 Mbps service for
$55 and $65, respectively. Five dollars more per month
gets a combination wired and wireless router that allows
the service to be used by desktop PCs in a home or office,
notes Kantor.
There isn't an alternative to Citizens' deployment
of mobile wireless Internet in the New River Valley;
the only things close are data services offered by cell
phone companies, writes Kantor. (Read
more)
W.Va. officials
urge feds to take Mountain State mine reforms national
West Virginia leaders have taken their
push for improved coal-mine rescue systems to the White
House, urging the Bush administration to apply new state
reforms at mines across the country.
"The state’s congressional delegation promised
legislation to implement changes where the U.S. Mine
Safety and Health Administration has
not acted," writes Ken Ward Jr. of The
Charleston Gazette. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.
said, "We’re going to work hard, and we’re
going to work with speed.”
Byrd arranged for Gov. Joe Manchin to meet with White
House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and officials at the
Department of Labor, which includes MSHA. "Manchin
hand-delivered a copy of the mine safety legislation
the state Legislature passed in one day, and had what
was described as a “brief but certainly cordial
meeting” with President Bush in the Oval Office.
Bush expressed concern about the dead miners’
families and pledged to do all he could to help them.
Bush could not have been elected in 2000 without the
electoral votes of normally Democratic West Virginia,
where coal-industry officials worked hard for him. Manchin
is scheduled to meet today with Energy Secretary Samuel
W. Bodman. (Read
more)
Mountaintop coal mining would
be safer, some say; others disagree
With Congress looking into the safety of underground
coal mining after 14 workers were killed at West Virginia
mines this month, some in the industry have argued that
mountaintop removal of coal is safer than sending people
under mountains for it.
Mountaintop mining relies on a mammoth machine, called
a dragline, that pulls coal out of mountains after their
tops have been blasted away. It replaces the work of
hundreds of miners, writes Lisa Lambert of Reuters.
Americans for Balanced Energy Choices
Executive Director Joe Lucase told Lambert, "Technology
has driven the fact that we can produce more coal with
[fewer] workers, so there's fewer people exposed to
hazards."
Lambert notes that about 70,000 miners work in the
U.S. coal industry, down from a peak of 700,000 in 1923,
when American coal production was half its current level,
and much of the mining is done in the Appalachian Mountains.
"Some Appalachians ... don't see mountaintop removal
as a safe alternative. They bristle at the phrase 'clean
coal,' coined by government and industry experts to
describe methods that reduce air pollution from burning
the fossil fuel," writes Lambert. Appalachian groups
say the environmental impacts and health threats of
mountaintop removal outweigh any perceived advantages.
(Read
more)
Refurbishing of
roads in Rockies is riling residents of once-rural respites
Highway expansion projects on major roads,
opening up large once-remote areas of the Rocky Mountains,
are being watched with a wary and contentious eye by
residents concerned those plans will erode the very
nature of what made the areas attractive in the first
place.
"The "drama is playing out across
much of the West as once-rural outposts are transformed
into brimming settlements with newfound political and
economic clout in transportation decisions," writes
Kirk Johnson of The New York Times.
The Federal Highway Act of 1956 "established the
Interstate System and helped open vast expanses of the
West [and] changed just about everything by putting
on the map distant places that had been mostly untouched,"
notes Johnson. Now, he writes, "the very places
that were changed are wading in as aggressive and muscular
participants in discussions about what comes next."
In Nevada, work on U.S. 95 has resumed after environmentalists
settled a lawsuit involving increased vehicle emissions.
Utah's proposed Legacy Highway, extending south of Salt
Lake City, blocked for years, has received final approval.
In Colorado, a plan for a toll road across the once-empty
plains east of Denver was put on hold last year after
opposition from residents.
Officials agree "the stakes and implications of
these fights are enormous, touching on tenets of the
West that are scriptural: unbridled growth, local identity,
civic autonomy and an uneasy dependence on government,
writes Johnson. Northwest Colorado Council of
Governments Executive Director Gary Severson
told Johnson, "Do we want to improve it so much
that it changes the character of our communities? That's
the tightrope." (Read
more)
Meth lab drainage damages sewer
line in rural Kentucky community
Meth has plagued rural Kentucky for several years,
but the mayor of Crab Orchard, population 850, says
he's never seen anything like the damage caused by meth
waste that drained into their sewer system.
"Michael Ramey said two sewer lift stations on
Lancaster Street have been damaged by methamphetamine
labs. One sustained $15,000 worth of damage," writes
Stephanie Schell of The Advocate-Messenger
in Danville. Ramey told Schell that meth byproducts
are disposed of through the drains and have eaten away
the insulation of the electrical wiring and rubber float
in the station. The motor and the pump had to be extracted
from the most severely damaged station, writes Schell.
The damaged station is near an elementary school. The
Drug Enforcement Agency confirmed the
presence of meth.
Ramey said of meth makers, "I don’t know
if they don’t realize it or don’t care.
They’re just worried about getting high.”
Ramey gave a list of nearby homes to the DEA to watch.
John Kuhn, utility manager at the sewer plant, told
Schell, “It’s costing the city money and
endangering lives.” Ramey said insurance is covering
the cost of repairs, but he said "he doesn’t
know what’s going to keep the [meth] producers
from damaging the stations again," writes Schell.
(Read
more)
Kentucky refuses PETA request
to oust bust of fried-chicken legend
Anywhere in the world, say "Kentucky" and
the most common responses are horses and fried chicken.
Now a bust immortalizing the man who made fried chicken
into a Kentucky-based empire has escaped an effort to
topple it rom its prestigious perch.
Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher has sided with Colonel
Harland Sanders, creator and founder of Kentucky Fried
Chicken, over Pamela Anderson and People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Fletcher
wrote the actress to say a bust of Sander will stay
in the Kentucky Capitol, despite claims it is a symbol
of cruelty to chickens, writes Roger Alford of The
Associated Press.
Fletcher said, "Colonel Sanders remains a Kentucky
icon. His success story has been an inspiration to many.
The industry he began has employed hundreds of thousands
of workers over the years. His business and his legacy
have been good for Kentucky."
Anderson and PETA say they want to raise awareness
of what she calls abuse of chickens in processing plants
that supply poultry to the Louisville-based chicken
chain. She wrote that Sanders' chief legacy is a company
"that mutilates God's creatures." KFC has
called Anderson's attack on Sanders a misguided publicity
stunt. (Read
more) Bloggers' note: Journalists had some fun
with this story. One newspaper's headline was "Anderson
loses bust battle to Col. Sanders."
Wisconsin State Journal letting
readers choose stories for Page One
News trends have been shifting more to the realm of
consumer-friendly over the past decade, with increased
involvement by and interaction with readers, viewers
and listeners. Now, one newspaper has gone a step farther
and made a place at the editorial content decision table
for its readers.
"If you've ever wanted to pick the stories that
appear on Page One, the Wisconsin State Journal
in Madison is about to give you the power. Under a new
initiative launched Monday, the 101,000-circulation
daily will let readers vote on its Web site each day
for the story they'd most like to see on the front page,
writes Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher.
Managing Editor Tim Kelley explained, "Under the
'Reader's Choice' heading, we'll offer four or five
story choices varying day to day from local to national,
entertainment to sports. [Readers] be able to see immediately
how [their] choice stacks up against others, and check
back later for final results."
The voting choices appear on the right-hand rail of
the Web site's opening page between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
daily, writes Strupp. "Critics may resist what
they see as a popularity contest undermining traditional
news judgment," Kelley acknowledged. "But,"
he told Strupp, "Our unscientific poll is just
another way for [readers] to tell us what you find to
be the most important, interesting or vital information
of the day." but he stressed "editors will
let the majority rule." (Read
more)
Knight Ridder, up for sale,
looking to improve profit margins with cuts
The Wall Street Journal reports that
cuts in jobs, benefits, and even the size of the newspapers
-- "are part of a plan to improve margins by as
much as $150 million a year at Knight Ridder
Inc., according to people familiar with presentations
management has been making to potential buyers."
Editor & Publisher, relaying the
Journal story, reports, "The vision [reportedly]
involves increasing annual earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation and amortization to about $825 million
over the next 18 months. That represents an improvement
of about 20 percent from 2004, when the company reported
earnings of $685.9 million," (Read
more)
Journal reporters Dennis Berman and Joseph Hallinan
write, "To reach that level, the company sees a
buyer relying on 'streamlined' operations as well as
a plan to reduce the physical sizes of some of Knight
Ridder's 32 daily newspapers." Knight Ridder spokesman
Polk Laffoon said he couldn't comment.
Ex-Va. governor remains 'e-buddy'
for special-ed student in the coalfield
The e-mail buddy of a special-education student in
southwest Virginia is moving on to another job, but
has reassured his young friend that their relationship
will continue. The student is Richard Sturgill at the
Alternative Education Center in Wise.
His e-buddy is former Gov. Mark Warner.
Warner left the governor's office last week. "When
Sturgill, 18, found out that Warner would soon be turning
over his position as governor to the newly elected Tim
Kaine, he was worried they wouldn't be
e-buddies anymore. When Warner assured him that they
could continue writing,Sturgill began suggesting jobs
for Warner to consider once his time as governor was
over," writes Jodi Deal of The Coalfield
Progress in Norton, Va.
Special-ed teacher Pam Roberts' got the idea to have
Sturgill and four other students in her class participate
in the e-buddy program, which pairs students with developmental
disabilities with e-mail pen pals who do not have disabilities,
Deal reports.
Sturgill told Warner "he could probably find
work in Wise. In one e-mail, Sturgill suggested that
Warner could serve as mayor of Wise, or perhaps as sheriff,"
writes Deal. The only advice Sturgill has given Warner
is to "make sure no one breaks the laws you made."
(Read
more)
Sturgill told Deal that after Warner wrecked his bicycle
last summer, he "told him he should have put his
feet down." In his next e-mail, Warner agreed,
and said he'd try that next time he hopped on his bike.
Wisconsin reporter pays homage,
tribute to mentor, journalism teacher
Every journalist worth his or her salt has one person
who made 'the difference' in their career. A Wisconsin
reporter has written a moving tribute to his inspiration,
who died earlier this month.
"The greatest journalism teacher I ever encountered
did not teach at Union Grove Union High School, or in
the University of Wisconsin System,
or even at Columbia University's Graduate
School of Journalism all of which I was privileged to
attend. She did not work for the New York Times
or the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette or the
Toledo Blade or The Capital
Times all of which I have been privileged to
write for over the past several decades" writes
John Nichols of The Capital Times in Madison.
Nichols writes, "The greatest journalism teacher
I ever encountered was a working mom from Silver Lake,
Wis., who for several decades edited local newspapers
in southeastern Wisconsin. I came to know Edna Mescher
when she began editing the Westine Report,
the weekly newspaper that I started writing for when
I was still too young to drive. Edna actually recruited
me for the job."
Nicholas concludes his tribute, "The lessons that
Edna Mescher taught have carried this reporter through
a career that has taken me to the White House, to war
zones in Latin America and the Middle East [and] they
have ... inspired my activism on behalf of media reforms
to guarantee that America never has the sort of one-size-fits-all
media in which the questions of rural towns, inner cities
and other neglected regions go unasked." And, he
adds, "It was a fitting tribute for Edna Mescher,
who, until her death Jan. 10 ... remained a faithful
believer in the redemptive promise of American journalism.
It is a faith that those of us who were privileged to
learn the craft from her will strive to maintain."
writes Nicholas. (Read
more)
Rural
Calendar
Feb. 8: Community media ideas
due at Institute for Interactive Journalism
J-Lab’s New Voices program seeks
innovative citizens media projects for funding. Grants
up to $17,000 are available in 2006 for 10 nonprofit
community news ventures. For an application form, guidelines
and other information, go to www.J-Lab.org.
Feb. 8-9: Knight Fellows to
host community journalism conference
The Knight Fellows in Community Journalism program,
known as "The Teaching Newspaper," will host
a conference addressing the relationship between journalists
and the communities they cover Feb. 8 and 9 at The
Anniston (Ala.) Star and nearby
Jacksonville State University, reports
Editor & Publisher.
"A National Conversation on The Emerging Mind
of Community Journalism" will address a marketplace
in which about 1,200 of the nation's 1,450 dailies consider
themselves community newspapers and will work to show
participants how journalists serve their audience by
providing authoritative news coverage and well-informed
editorial leadership grounded in local knowledge.
Alberto Ibargüen, president of the Knight
Foundation and former publisher of The
Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald,
will present the annual Harry M. and Edel Y. Ayers Lecture
on Feb. 8. (Read
more)
Tuesday,
Jan. 24, 2006
Officials say new
mad-cow case confirmed in Alberta won't close border
Canadian and U.S. officials say a new case of mad-cow
disease in Alberta was not unexpected and should have
no immediate impact on the lucrative cross-border beef
trade.
"Lab tests confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy
was found in a six-year-old cow from the north-central
region of the province, the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency announced Monday," reports the
Canadian Press. CFIA spokesman Dr.
Brian Evans said consumers and beef producers have nothing
to worry about and that no part of the cow entered the
human food or animal feed chain.
The Canadian Cattlemen's Association
said animal-health experts around the world have expected
a few more cases would be found by Canada's stringent
testing program, that was improved after a 2003 case.
More than 87,000 cattle have been tested since then.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said,
"I am confident in the safety of beef and in the
safeguards we and our approved beef trading partners
have in place to protect our food supply." (Read
more) For the Edmonton Journal
story, click
here.
Senators excoriate
federal mine-safety regulators; MSHA boss ups and leaves
Citing the recent deaths of 14 miners
in West Virginia, several U.S. senators said yesterday
federal mining officials had failed to enforce safety
regulations adequately.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) said, "These deaths,
I believe, were entirely preventable." He cited
recent budget cuts, staff reductions and "a culture
of cronyism" as factors contributing to insufficient
oversight by the federal Mine Safety and Health
Administration, writes Ian Urbina of The
New York Times. Byrd criticized agency officials
for communication problems that slowed the rescue efforts
after recent accidents. Ray McKinney, the agency's administrator,
said the delay in the Sago rescue efforts was unavoidable.
Urbina writes that acting MSHA administrator David
Dye told the Senate appropriations subcommittee on mine
safety it is too early to identify the cause of recent
accidents. But Tom Doggett and Lisa Lambert of Reuters
report, "The Bush administration defended
the government's oversight of the Sago coal mine and
said none of the previous safety problems cited at the
West Virginia mine appeared to be the cause of the January
2 explosion that killed 12 miners." (Read
more)
About midway through the two-hour hearing, Dye said
he had to leave. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman
of the subcommittee, told him, "I can understand
your pressing other business. It may well be that some
of the senators here have pressing matters, too. We
don't think we are imposing too much to keep you here
for another hour. That's the committee's request, but
you're not under subpoena." After Dye left, Specter
said, "I can't recollect it ever happening before.
We'll find a way to take appropriate note of it."
Dye told the subcommittee handheld communications devices
were unreliable, but Clinton administration MSHA boss
J. Davitt McAteer said the agency had already approved
use of small low-frequency tracking devices and one-way
text messaging. McAteer said the devices had helped
save lives at several mines that had voluntarily adopted
them, writes Urbina. (Read
more)
W.Va. legislators OK tracking
tools, oxygen stockpiles for underground miners
West Virginia legiuslators, responding to 14 mining
deaths this month, passed a bill yesterday requiring
mines to use electronic tracking devices and to stockpile
oxygen to keep trapped miners alive.
Gov. Joe Manchin pressed lawmakers to pass the legislation
by the end of the day, writes Lawrence Messina of The
Associated Press. The Senate and the House
passed the bill unanimously. Manchin's legislation would
require improved communications, as well as faster emergency
response. (Read
more)
Tom Searls of The Charleston Gazette writes,
"In an unusual move, both the Senate and House
... suspended their rules and passed the bill in a single
day." Manchin told the Senate Judiciary Committee
and the full House, "Things are going to change
and they’re going to change rapidly." Manchin
is traveling to Washington, D.C., today to meet with
the state’s congressional delegation and possibly
President Bush, Manchin told Searls, "The technology
is there. These [requirements] are not a great cost."
(Read
more)
Despite recent deaths, coal-mining
fatalities are at a historically low level
Despite the 14 deaths in West Virginia, fatalities
in America's mines have dropped to historically low
levels in recent years, reports Thomas Hargrove of Scripps
Howard News Service, while noting, "Mining
remains one of America's most dangerous occupations,
especially in some parts of the country where deep-shaft
bituminous coal is dug using increasingly sophisticated
and dangerous machinery."
Yesterday, during Senate hearings into the recent deaths,
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) said, "Is enough being
done to protect the men and women who risk their lives
to provide the power and energy for this country? After
the tragic events unfolded in West Virginia's mines,
everyone should finally agree the answer is no,"
writes Hargrove.
For the period 1983 to 2004, Kentucky led the nation
in mining deaths with 354 fatalities, compared to West
Virginia's 271, according to the U.S. Mine Safety
and Health Administration. Forty-three states
suffered at least double-digit mining deaths during
that time. Pennsylvania lost 147 miners, followed by
Virginia with 145, Utah with 85 and Illinois with 83,
writes Hargrove. (Read
more)
Law agents hit Cocke County,
Tenn., 'bad-ol'-boy' cockfighting network
"When agents busted what was reputedly the nation's
largest illegal cockfighting pit, they shined new light
on a tradition of good-ol'-boy vice in aptly named Cocke
County, Tenn. Moonshine, hookers and drug dealing had
for decades been as much a part of the landscape as
the foggy haze that settles over this seemingly quiet
community of 35,000 in the Great Smoky Mountains,"
writes Duncan Mansfield of The Associated Press
bureau in nearby Knoxville.
The cockfighting bust in June netted 143 arrests, seized
$40,000 in cash and captured 305 fighting roosters.
A four-year federal and state probe had "suggested
the bad old days were back again or might have never
left. Agents returned in the ensuing months to make
a series of barroom sweeps for video-poker machines,
prostitution busts and undercover stings," writes
Mansfield.
Five sheriff's officers and two Newport police sergeants
are now charged with a variety of offenses. The crimes
include money laundering, drug dealing, witness tampering,
insurance scams, stealing money from undocumented immigrants
during a traffic stop and receiving stolen NASCAR merchandise.
The accused include the sheriff's nephew, Chief Deputy
Patrick Allen Taylor. (Read
more)
California's high-speed, high-tech
culture not reaching rural areas
California’s high-tech wave isn't reaching the
state’s rural areas. "Parts of the state
are so unpopulated that they still do not have access
to cable television or broadband cable for high-speed
Internet connections. Residents in some rural areas
instead must rely on slow dial-up access," reports
The Associated Press.
Some companies are trying to fill that gap by setting
up wireless Internet service providers which use radio
waves to send data from transmitters to small antennas
atop customers’ homes or businesses. That eliminates
the expense of stringing miles of cable, notes AP.
The Federal Communications Commission reports
nationwide more than 420,000 homes and small businesses
received wireless Internet service in December 2004,
compared with 50,000 five years earlier. Broadband
Wireless Exchange Magazine lists about 75 California
providers of wireless Internet service, notes AP. (Read
more)
Wireless broadband connections
grow, giving U.S. an edge over Europe
Many major U.S. cities now can get wireless Internet
access, at speeds comparable with those of wired home
DSL lines, without having to be anywhere near a wireless
"hot spot" in a cafe or hotel or airport.
"These wireless broadband connections, available
over a wide swath of the major metropolitan areas where
they are offered, have been sold by two big cell phone
companies, Verizon Wireless and Sprint," writes
Walter S. Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal.
The article makes no mention of whether the companies
plan to expand services to rural areas, where wireless
networks are much less feasible.
This, Mossberg notes, "means that, with a properly
equipped laptop or smart phone, you can now get enough
speed on a wireless connection to do everything you
would do with a fast Internet connection at your desk
-- stream video, download large Web sites, open large
e-mail attachments. And you don't have to shell out
$4 for a Venti latte just to gain access to a Wi-Fi
hot spot."
These networks have given the U.S. the edge over Europe
in cellular wireless data networks. Actual speeds on
the networks tend to be ... double or triple the that
of the fastest widely deployed cell phone networks in
Europe. Even the lowest speed the U.S. companies promise
is faster than the maximum speed of today's common European
systems, writes Mossberg. (Read
more)
Health care avoided many of
the budget cuts Congress made in rural areas
Congressional budget cuts for rural health
programs could have been fatal, if the rural-health
lobby hadn't yelled loudly, opines Thomas D. Rowley,
a scholar at the Rural Policy Research Institute.
National Rural Health Association
CEO Alan Morgan told Rowley, "This is a multi-billion
dollar bill that was stopped over rural health care.
Hundreds of other organizations wanted increases and
the only one that got funding restored was rural."
NRHA urged its 10,000 members to phone, fax, email and
buttonhole their representatives and tell them that,
"a vote for the bill was a vote against rural America."
A Washington insider told Rowley, "Rural finally
started playing hardball."
Congress is preparing to pass a budget reconciliation
bill that cuts an additional $40 billion over the next
five years, including funding for rural emergency services,
training rural health care providers and placing medical
personnel in areas with a big demand, notes Rowley.
However, an initial spending bill would have eliminated
funds for the Office of Rural Health Policy
(ORHP) and rural health research. "That would have
silenced the rural voice and analysis in federal health
policy decisions in this country," Rowley notes.
Morgan said, "You can't overstate the importance
of an inside voice for rural." (Read
more)
Dump cleanup funding
loss prompts Ky. paper to offer site-search source
With a proposed state budget that may
cut $18 million dollar from the state's dump-site cleanup
fund, The Courier-Journal offers
a valuable county-by-county search
tool for newspapers to seek out information on their
own dump sites.
"The Kentucky Pride Fund, which
gets most of its money from a fee paid on trash that
goes to state landfills, has been critically important.With
a balance of about $40 million, [the fund] is threatened
by Gov. Ernie Fletcher's proposed budget," writes
James Bruggers of the Louisville paper. The governor
has proposed taking $18 million from the fund and putting
it into the state's general fund in 2007.
One legislative leader described the $18 million as
a surplus. Senate Majority Floor Leader Dan Kelly of
Springfield, like Fletcher a Repupblican, said officials
at the Kentucky Division of Waste Management,
which oversees the fund, "weren't spending all
the money," writes Bruggers.
That's an unfair assessment, said Mary Shinkle, president
of the Solid Waste Coordinators of Kentucky.
She told Bruggers said it takes time for local
and state governments to do the paperwork and inspections
for proper cleanups before reimbursements are issued.
Recycling and environmental advocates and state legislators
are alarmed at the idea of diverting the state's only
dedicated funding for addressing Kentucky's solid-waste
woes. "There's a backlog of cases, including several
hundred old landfills that potentially threaten groundwater,"
writes Bruggers. (Read
more)
Last surviving child of A.P.
Carter dies; she preserved her parents' music
Janette Carter, the last surviving child of country
music's founding Carter Family, who in recent years
preserved her parents' old-time style with weekly performances,
has died. She was 82.
Carter, who had battled Parkinson's disease and other
illnesses, died Sunday. Carter's parents, A.P. and Sara
Carter, and her father's sister-in-law Maybelle Carter,
formed a singing trio that made its first recording
in Bristol in 1927. The best known of her generation
to present-day listeners was country star June Carter
Cash, a daughter of Maybelle and wife of the late Johnny
Cash. Janette Carter had dedicated her life to preserving
not only the Carter Family music, but the folk and country
music of Appalachia.
The Bristol Herald-Courier paid tribute
to Carter in an editorial title "Musical trust
worth preserving; Janette Carter was the keeper of the
flame, the guardian of the music of the mountains."
The editors wrote, "It was a sacred trust –
a fulfillment of a promise. Her death ... ends an era
and leaves a new generation to carry on the family legacy.
Let’s hope the music will not remain silent for
long." (Read
more)
Longtime University of Texas
journalism professor, news reporter dies
John Michael Quinn Jr., a longtime journalism professor
at the University of Texas, died Sunday
at age 76 after a long struggle with a neurological
disorder, reports the Houston Chronicle.
He retired in 2004 as associate dean for student affairs
in the UT College of Communications. Before his academic
career, which began in 1966, he was a reporter and editor
for The Dallas Morning News. He also
worked for Newsweek and in public relations
with Humble Oil and Refining Co., now
Exxon Mobil Corp. Quinn was Born in
North Wilkesboro, N.C. He is survived by his wife of
51 years, Catherine Sellers Quinn of Austin, three children
and seven grandchildren. A memorial service is pending
at St. John's United Methodist Church in Austin. (Read
more)
Rural Calendar
Feb. 1: Nomination deadline
for Eugene Cervi 2006 award, honoring editor
The International
Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors is
seeking nominations, justification for nomination, and
biographical information for the organization's Eugene
Cervi 2006 Award.
If you know of anyone in your state or province who
might be deserving of ISWNE's Eugene Cervi Award, you
can contact Chad Stebbins at the International Society
of Weekly Newspaper Editors at
Missouri Southern State University,
3950 E. Newman Road, Joplin MO 64801-1595.
The Eugene Cervi Award was established by ISWNE in
1976 to honor the memory of the late editor of the Rocky
Mountain Journal in Denver. It recognizes an
editor who has consistently acted in the conviction
that "good journalism begets good government."
The award recognizes consistently aggressive reporting
of government at the grassroots level and interpretation
of public affairs, writes Stebbins. Letters of nomination
along with a biographical data sheet must be sent by
Feb. 1. For more information, go to the Web
site and click on Contests.
Feb. 1: Nominations due for
Spadaro Awards for media arts and technology
One of the Jack Spadaro Awards is given annually to
recognize the best documentary on Appalachia or its
people. The award recognizes the producer for outstanding
work in film, video, television, or radio. Eligibility
and technical requirements for nominations are available
from Jack Wright at 740-597-3080 or jwright@ohio.edu.
Complete nomination materials are due Feb. 1.
A second award, the e-Appalachia Award, is given annually
to an outstanding Web site that provides insight on
Appalachia and its people, or provides a vital community
service to Appalachians. Nominations should be made
to: Roy Silver at 606-589-3139 or at rsilver@uky.edu
before Feb. 1.
Monday,
Jan. 23, 2006
National poll shows
fears of poverty escalating along Katrina-battered coast
A new survey prompted by Hurricane Katrina shows nearly
two-thirds of Americans fear poverty will increase this
year, while almost the same number worry they will be
among the lowest economic class.
"Almost five months after the abject poverty of
New Orleans was televised across the world, in the form
of thousands upon thousands of evacuees languishing
in the punishing heat on the interstate and along Convention
Center Boulevard, the Catholic Campaign for
Human Development Committee released a poll
tracking people's perception of the poor," writes
Gwen Filosa of New Orleans' Times-Picayune.
The survey found that 75 percent of Americans think
the Katrina disaster should become a tool for educating
the public about poverty, while 23 percent said too
much attention already has been paid to the situation.
The survey found 50 percent did not believe racism played
a role in the slow response, while 27 percent said it
did. "Only 23 percent of white people said racism
was part of the delay, while 65 percent of black people
believed it was," writes Filosa. The poll was conducted
among 1,131 members of the general adult population
in December. (Read
more)
Coal industry trade group joins
calls for safer conditions for miners
The National
Mining Association has joined elected officials'
calls for safer conditions for coal miners in the aftermath
of 14 coal-mining deaths in West Virginia alone since
the beginning of the year. Carol Raulston, spokeswoman
for the mining association, said, "This is a time
for all of us who share responsibility for mining safety
to come together and look for ways to make mining safer."
The calls for change follow two deaths at Aracoma
Coal's Alma No. 1 mine in Melville, the second
fatal accident this month at an Appalachian mountain
coal mine. Three weeks ago, 12 men died at the Sago
Mine near Tallmansville in central West Virginia. (Read
more) For the latest edition of of the NMA
Mining Week, click
here.
West Virginia's governor, congressional delegation
and the United
Mine Workers of America said they want
a major overhaul of state and federal mine safety laws.
One proposal by Gov. Joe Manchin would explore the use
of electronic tracking devices on miners to help pinpoint
their location. Another would create reserve oxygen
stations throughout mines. A Senate appropriations subcommittee
has scheduled hearings on mine safety for today. Sen.
Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., who chairs the Senate Health
Education Labor and Pensions Committee that
oversees mine safety, also plans a hearing.
1975 pastoral statement by Catholic
bishops resonates in current mine crisis
More than 30 years ago, Catholic leaders wrote and
signed a statement about the coal industry's impact
on the economy, environment, quality of life and health
in communities in Appalachia. The document is being
hailed again now, in light of recent West Virginia coal-mine
disasters that have killed 14 miners.
"Thirty-one years ago, the Catholic Bishops
of Appalachia gathered, February 1, 1975, [at]
what was then Wheeling College to sign,
'This Land is Home to Me,' a pastoral letter that addressed
the struggles, hopes and dreams of the Appalachian people,"
writes the university via Newswise,
a news and information distribution Web service for
higher education and research institutions. The "landmark
pastoral letter" is being cited for its eloquence
and conscience, and being viewed as significant to the
future of the Appalachian region and its coal mining
industry.
"It is called one of the finest social documents
to come forth from the American Catholic church. The
letter continues to serve as a discussion point in the
continued effort to address the socio-economic concerns
faced by the residents of Appalachia," said Rev.
Joseph R. Hacala, S. J., founder of the Appalachian
Institute and current Wheeling
Jesuit University president. Hacala contributed
to the document.
The University notes the letter "activated an
empowering social analysis, inspiring reflection and
a hopeful vision for the future for the people of Appalachia."
Fr. Hacala, a native of Charleston, is one of only three
Jesuits in the world from West Virginia. (Read
more) To read more about the pastorale letter itself
on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its signing,
click
here.
Sago mine disaster investigation
prompting more complaints, reports Gazette
"As lawmakers in Washington prepare for today’s
start of congressional hearings on mine safety, complaints
continue about the handling of the state and federal
inquiry into the Sago Mine disaster," reports Ken
Ward Jr. of The Charleston
Gazette.
The United Mine Workers of
America has written to the federal government’s
top Sago investigator to object to the secrecy surrounding
the inquiry, writes Ward. UMW lawyer Judith Rivlin told
Richard Gates at the U.S. Mine Safety and Health
Administration, "We strongly believe that
a free and open hearing process is the best way to conduct
all aspects of the investigation,” notes Ward.
Last week, MSHA and West Virginia officials proposed
to exclude UMW representatives and International
Coal Group lawyers from investigation interviews
when ICG objected to the union taking part. Rivlin wrote
Gates, "An open and free exchange of information
and ideas, fully explored by and among all those with
knowledge and expertise of the particular mine and those
with experience developed in other mine disasters, would
enhance the quality of your investigation." (Read
more)
Wi-Fi takes off in Green Bay
area, helps businesses lure customers
Green Bay, Wis., is going Wi-Fi following a push by
Madison and Milwaukee, both of which have approved measures
that would provide blanket Wi-Fi coverage. But, as in
many cases, the state's rural regions continue to lag
behind in Wi-Fi development.
"Wi-Fi — short for wireless fidelity —
is technology that lets people log onto the Internet
without using a wired connection, similar to the way
a cordless telephone works," writes Terri Anderson
of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Linda Galt, who with husband Alex is owner of a cafe
told Anderson, Wi-Fi access attracts college students,
out-of-towners and freelance writers. Curt Cornell,
food and beverage manager at a grill in a Howard
Johnson Inn, said Wi-Fi has
joined the breakfast spread and a workout room as something
that business travelers expect. Cornell told Anderson,
"With the football season over, we'll be serving
a lot of business traffic and they (business guests)
view free Internet as an amenity." (Read
more)
In a related story from Rhode Island, Businesses
connecting with VoIP and Wi-Fi; Mobility, flexibility
seen as advantages, Providence Business
News reporter Marion Davis writes, "At
Rhode Island Hospital, a Wi-Fi system allows doctors
and nurses to access patient data and lab and test results,
order procedures and consult expert sources at bedside."
(Read
more)
Flood of potent Mexican meth
offsetting states' strides in curbing homemade
Ice, or crystal methamphetamine, is continuing to
enter the United States, largely from Mexico, and this
newer version of the drug is more potent than its powder
predecessor.
The University of Iowa Burn Center
spent $2.8 million in 2004 treating burn victims from
meth cooking sessions gone wrong. The center hardly
any cases of that sort now, and child welfare officials
say they are removing fewer children from homes where
parents are cooking the drug, writes Kate Zernike of
The New York Times.
However, the number of children being removed from
homes where parents are using it has more than made
up the difference, writes Zernike. Iowa drug policy
director, Marvin Van Haaften, told Zernike, "It's
killing us, this Mexican ice."
Many states enacted laws last year to restrict the
sales of cold medicines, which are used to manufacture
meth. Betty Oldenkamp, secretary of human services in
South Dakota, told Zernike, "You can't legislate
away demand. The law enforcement aspects are tremendously
important, but we also have to do something to address
the demand." (Read
more)
Rural campaign against meth
gets gubernatorial, funding boost in Ariz.
Some Arizona law enforcement officials are applauding
Gov. Janet Napolitano's call for bringing much-needed
funding to their war on methamphetamine in Arizona's
rural communities.
The "proposed $10.1 billion budget includes $1.9
million in spending for overtime pay for rural law enforcement
officers, increased border security to curtail drug
trafficking, and more available treatment for meth users
in rural areas," writes Joe Ferguson, of the University
of Arizona Department of Journalism in an article
that appeared in the Arizona Daily Sun
in Flagstaff.
Kenneth Kimmel, the Sierra Vista deputy chief of police,
told Ferguson meth has hit rural communities especially.
A majority of the crimes committed in the Sierra Vista
community were meth related, especially vehicle theft
and property theft, forcing the department to pay for
increased overtime for its officers. The department
has hired 12 new officers in 2005. (Read
more)
Ferguson is a Don Bolles Fellow at the university covering
rural and suburban issues at the state Legislature for
the journalism department's Community News Service.
Hispanics experience farming
boom despite national decline in family operations
At a time when many farmers are closing shop, Hispanics
are doing just the opposite on their own farms.
Humberto Moctezuma, a cactus farmer near Livingston,
Texas, "is one of a growing number of Hispanic
farmers in the nation. Between 1997 and 2002, the number
of Hispanic-run farms grew 51 percent. At the same time,
the number of farms run by African-Americans and Anglos
declined, according to the National Agricultural Statistics
Service," writes Jenalia Moreno of the Houston
Chronicle.
Like Moctezuma, many Hispanic farmers are immigrants
who picked up the skill in their home countries. Moctezuma's
father and brother work a 130-acre cactus farm called
Rancho El Periocolo in the Mexican state of Hidalgo,
where Moctezuma was raised
William Kandel, a sociologist for the statistics service,
told her, "Farm labor is a very common point of
entry for Hispanics who are foreign-born who are entering
the U.S. labor market." And, Mario Delgado, a U.S.
Department of Agriculture rural development
specialist in Georgia, told Moreno, "A lot of Latinos
have their roots in the land. They really go for it
with gusto." (Read
more)
Science program helps rural
Montana students explore the unknown
A $1.25 million federal grant will help the
University of Montana with its effort to bring
cutting-edge environmental health science programs to
elementary and high schools in rural Western Montana.
"The five-year Science Education Partnership Award
was presented by the National Institutes of
Health to increase public understanding of
science and encourage student interest in research careers.
The grant went to UM's Center for Environmental
Health Sciences, which studies human disease
and how environmental contamination adversely affects
people," reports the Associated Press.
The center plans to use the award to promote environmental
health education among the state's rural youth, AP notes.
CEHS Director Andrij Holian told reporters, "Hopefully,
they will be inspired to carry that interest on into
college and maybe become researchers themselves."
(Read
more)
In a related story example, Rob Chaney of the Missoulian
reports, "'The Health Careers Opportunity
Program at the University of Montana . .. has been sponsoring
Saturday Science Days for several years in Missoula.
Every month or so during the school year, the program
puts together a new science exploratory camp and invites
up to 25 students to attend." (Read
more)
Photos show rural areas' shift
to suburbs along Mississippi in Minn., Wis.
For some, black and white photographs evoke sadness
or nostalgia. To others, they suggest romance or progress.
But an art professor has used them to document the disappearance
of rural America.
"When David Heberlein sets up his tripod and focuses
his camera on a cul-de-sac carved from a cornfield,
he sees change and feels a need to record it,"
writes Kevin Harter of the Pioneer Press
in St. Paul, Minn.
Heberlein, a University of Wisconsin-River
Falls art professor, "has been photographing
the changing landscape of the east metro area for about
20 years," writes Harter. Heberlein told him, "I'm
interested in how we make our marks on the land and
how that changes over time. It has changed so quickly,
and Woodbury and St. Croix County are good examples."
"When Heberlein returns to photograph a site,
concerned neighbors often spot his camera and tripod
and ask what he's up to. He usually carries earlier
pictures of the area and will show residents how it
appeared five or 15 years ago," notes Harter. (Read
more)
Community newspaper writes of
coping with crow invasion, resultant nuisances
"How should a city of 60,000 humans respond to
an annual invasion of 30,000 to 70,000 crows? Pass out
free umbrellas?" asks Mark Bennett of The
Tribune-Star, of Terre Haute, Ind., circulation
27,000. And he's written about 2,000 words answering
that question.
"Terre Haute has become the Panama City of America’s
crow population. But ... that Florida coastal town gets
some economic jolt from the college students who flock
there for spring break," writes Bennett. He notes
that "the crows make us their resort town from
October to March. They caw, peck through our garbage
and leave only droppings on our sidewalks in return.
That’s the thanks we get."
Bennett writes of other cities on the crows’
list of vacation hotspots including Auburn, N.Y., which
he writes "mushroomed to 63,000 birds in 2004 before
that town took action." Auburn Mayor Tim Lattimore
told Bennett, "They seem to like to come into the
city. They’re very intelligent birds. Very social
birds. On weekends, their cousins fly in to visit."
Crows, Bennett writes, "do appear to have a list
of preferred amenities when they pick a town as their
winter home." Terre Haute, Auburn and Danville,
Ill., meet all of their requirements, as listed by experts
such as Peter Scott at Indiana State University,
and Rich Chipman, wildlife biologist and the New York
state director of wildlife services for the United
States Department of Agriculture. Bennett details
a list of items that attract this migratory menace.
(Read
more)
Rural Calendar
Jan. 25-26: Heart of America
Grazing Conference near Mammoth Cave
A five-state Heart of America Grazing Conference comes
to Cave City, Ky., Jan. 25-26. Grazing
experts from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation
Service, Auburn University, University
of Illinois, the University of Kentucky
and Ohio State University, along with
industry professionals and top producers, will be on
the program.
The conference begins at 6 p.m. Jan. 25 and continues
throughout the following day. Pre-registration is encouraged.
The registration fee is $15 per person for one day and
$25 for both days. It includes dinner and lunch as well
as proceedings from the conference. To obtain a registration
form, conference program and to learn about lodging
accommodations, go to http://www.uky.edu/ag/Forages
or call Lacefield at 270-365-7541, ext. 202.
Jan. 28: Kentucky Watershed
Watch conference for Kentucky River Basin
The first in a series of conferences for
major watersheds in Kentucky will be held at Midway
College. For more information, and to register
on-line, go to http://kywater.org/watch.
Kentucky Watershed Watch
has more than 3,000 members who give
their time in an effort to improve waterways through
a coordinated campaign of water quality monitoring,
skills development and advocacy. More than 300 organizations
are contributing to the effort by providing volunteers,
staff, technical assistance, instruction and financial
resources, and more than 100 leaders organized in eight
local Watershed steering committees carry out the work.
Feb. 1: Nomination deadline
for Eugene Cervi 2006 award, honoring editor
The International
Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors is
seeking nominations, justification for nomination, and
biographical information for the organization's Eugene
Cervi 2006 Award.
If you know of anyone in your state or province who
might be deserving of ISWNE's Eugene Cervi Award, you
can contact Chad Stebbins at the International Society
of Weekly Newspaper Editors at
Missouri Southern State University,
3950 E. Newman Road, Joplin MO 64801-1595.
The Eugene Cervi Award was established by ISWNE in
1976 to honor the memory of the late editor of the Rocky
Mountain Journal in Denver. It recognizes an
editor who has consistently acted in the conviction
that "good journalism begets good government."
The award recognizes consistently aggressive reporting
of government at the grassroots level and interpretation
of public affairs, writes Stebbins. Letters of nomination
along with a biographical data sheet must be sent by
Feb. 1. For more information, go to the Web
site and click on Contests.
Feb. 1: Nominations due for
Spadaro Awards for media arts and technology
One of the Jack Spadaro Awards is given annually to
recognize the best documentary on Appalachia or its
people. The award recognizes the producer for outstanding
work in film, video, television, or radio. Eligibility
and technical requirements for nominations are available
from Jack Wright at 740-597-3080 or jwright@ohio.edu.
Complete nomination materials are due Feb. 1.
A second award, the e-Appalachia Award, is given annually
to an outstanding Web site that provides insight on
Appalachia and its people, or provides a vital community
service to Appalachians. Nominations should be made
to: Roy Silver at 606-589-3139 or at rsilver@uky.edu
before Feb. 1.
Feb. 8: Community media ideas
due at Institute for Interactive Journalism
J-Lab’s New Voices program seeks
innovative citizens media projects for funding. Grants
up to $17,000 are available in 2006 for 10 nonprofit
community news ventures. For an application form, guidelines
and other information, go to www.J-Lab.org.
Saturday-Sunday,
Jan. 21-22, 2006
Miners
dead; pols pledge fight for new laws; some put more
faith in media
"Rescuers
on Saturday found the bodies of two coal miners who
disappeared after a conveyor belt caught fire deep inside
a coal mine. The bodies were found in an area of the
mine where rescue teams had been battling the fire for
more than 40 hours," The Associated Press
reported at 5:27 p.m..
Lawrence
Messina writes from Melville, W.Va., "Gov. Joe
Manchin and U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller informed families
of the deaths at a church prior to making the announcement,
along with Don Blankenship, chairman of the mine's owner,
Massey Energy. It was the second major
mining accident in West Virginia in less than three
weeks. Earlier this month, an explosion at the Sago
Mine, on the northern side of the state, led to the
deaths of 12 miners." For CNN's
story and video clips, click
here.
At the Massey
mine, Aracoma Coal No. 1, "the intensity of the
heat and smoke had blocked rescue teams from getting
beyond the burning conveyor belt," Messina reports,
citing Doug Conaway, director of the state Office
of Miners' Health Training and Safety. The
victims were identified as Don Bragg, 33, and Ellery
Elvis Hatfield, 47. "Both were fathers with more
than a decade of mining experience and had worked in
the Alma mine for five years." For more from AP
via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, click
here.
Rockefeller,
who described himself as "very angry," and
a determined Manchin said they would push for new laws
to make miners safer and speed their rescue in emergencies.
"There are going to be a lot of mad people,"
Rockefeller told reporters. "I think we are going
to see change. We're going to have to." Manchin
said, "This has got to stop, and it's going to
stop."
People in
Central Appalachia have heard such vows before, and
some remain skeptical of political promises. "If
John Q. Public doesn't push for these changes now and
for open hearings at Sago, miners are going to be forgotten
again except for the coal they can produce," writes
author Betty Lewis, who lives at Summersville, halfway
between Sago and Melville. "I am just hoping
and praying the media will do their job, keeping these
stories in the spotlight, protecting and advocating
for those who cannot."
Andrew Kantor
writes in Saturday's Roanoke Times,
"The technology for getting air to divers, miners
and astronauts remains firmly rooted in the 19th century."
To read more, click
here. Another story in the Roanoke paper quotes
Tom Novak, head of Virginia Tech's
mining-engineering department, on the difficulties faced
in mining emergencies. To read it, click
here.
New
rule allowed conveyor belt that burned, killing miners,
to act as air intake
"The Alma No. 1 Mine was operating under a new
Bush administration ventilation rule that might help
underground coal-mine fires spread," Ken Ward Jr.
reports in the Sunday Gazette-Mail
of Charleston, W.Va. "The ventilation plan also
might block crucial emergency escape routes, and expose
miners to a greater risk of deadly black lung disease,
according to a review of government studies and interviews
with mine safety experts over the past two days."
The mine used its conveyor belt to draw fresh air to
the area where coal is being mined. "When mines
are arranged this way, and a fire breaks out on a belt,
the belt tunnel can carry flames and deadly gases directly
to the miners’ work area, or to vital evacuation
routes," Ward reports.
The technique required special exceptions until 2004,
when "the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration
rewrote federal rules to allow widespread use
of such ventilation plans. The move gave the coal industry
a regulatory change it had sought for more than 15 years,"
Ward writes. "Davitt McAteer, Gov. Joe Manchin’s
adviser on mine safety issues, had blocked the change
for nearly eight years while he was MSHA chief for the
Clinton administration."
Ward notes, "It is not yet clear exactly what
caused the Aracoma Mine fire, or if the mine’s
use of its belt tunnel as a fresh-air intake played
a role in spreading the blaze." (Read
more)
In another Sunday story, Ward writes, "Before
each of the nation’s worst mining accidents in
the past 15 years, federal regulators overlooked major
violations of safety rules intended to protect miners,"
according to MSHA reports. "Inspectors missed safety
problems, did not take harsh enough enforcement action
or ensure that problems were quickly fixed." (Read
more)
Lexington
Herald-Leader blisters federal mine-safety agency in
editorial
MSHA should
have closed the Sago Mine and now should open a hearing
into the disaster there, the Lexington Herald-Leader
says in a toughly worded editorial
today.
Before the
explosion on Jan. 2, MSHA "inspectors were so concerned
about conditions at Sago that a meeting had been set
for Jan. 6 between the top U.S. mine safety enforcer
and the president of the company that owns the West
Virginia mine," the paper notes. "It would
have been the sixth such meeting between officials of
the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration and officers
of International Coal Group to discuss
safety concerns, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
. . . Why didn't federal officials use their authority
to shut down a mine that had a pattern of serious safety
violations?"
After promising
a public hearing into the disaster, MSHA "began
its usual closed-door investigation," the editorial
says. "Company officials were inside the closed
room listening to witnesses testify. The presence of
their employer exerts an obvious pressure on miners
to echo the company line when they testify to investigators."
Later in the week, both union and company representatives
sat out the interviews.
The editorial
concludes, "Closed-door investigations and reluctance
to halt coal production even when miners' lives are
at stake brings to mind Florence Reece's famous organizing
song from Depression-era Harlan County: 'Which Side
Are You On?' When it comes to MSHA, the answer is the
coal operator's."
Hatfield-McCoy
Institute for Agreement Training sets Feb. 15 signup
date
The Kentucky county that was a site of the Hatfield-McCoy
feud will be the site of a week-long institute to highlight
the basics of mediation, negotiation, facilitation,
and high-performance teamwork. The Hatfield-McCoy
Institute for Agreement Training will be held
Feb. 27 through March 3 at the Pike County Extension
Office. Participants will learn largely by doing through
group exercises and role plays designed by County Extension
Agent for Fine Arts Stephanie Richards, a professional
actress and director who is the first, and perhaps still
the only, fine arts extension agent in the United States.
To read more about the conference, click
here. Registration is $400, made payable to Pike
County Extension District Board, and should
be received by Feb. 15. A limited number of need-based
scholarships are available on a first-come basis, with
first preference given to Pike County residents and
then to Eastern Kentucky residents. Registration can
be mailed to Tim Campbell, UK Cooperative Extension
Service, 148 Trivette Drive, Pikeville KY 41501, faxed
to 606-432-2534, or e-mailed to tcamp@uky.edu.
A detailed agenda is available at http://ces.ca.uky.edu/pike/news/HMIAT.htm.
Friday, Jan, 20, 2006
Sago mine blast investigation
hits snag when union reps get kicked out
International Coal Group officials
want the United Mine Workers of
America kept out of the investigation into
the Sago mine disaster that claimed 12 lives.
"Two UMW officials were kicked out of at least
one interview Wednesday morning, after a Sago Mine foreman
asked to give his statement without the union representatives
being in the room. ICG officials also have threatened
to not allow UMW safety experts onto company property
to take part in the on-site part of the investigation,"
writes Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston Gazette.
The Sago Mine is a nonunion operation, but at least
two miners who work there have designated the UMW as
their official "miners' representative" to
take part in disaster investigation. UMW President Cecil
Roberts told Ward, "If there is nothing to hide
here, it would seem to me that they would welcome everyone’s
involvement, especially a union that represents members
of the rescue teams that went underground to try to
save these miners." ICG charged the union "seeks
to interfere" in the investigation and alleged
the union is trying to "revive organizing efforts
that have floundered for more than a decade." (Read
more) For MSHA's report on the rescue effort at
the mine, click
here.
Miami Herald reporter Fred Grimm has
written a powerful and poetic profile of the people
of Sago and their steadfast faith. "Sago Baptist
Church has stood in a steep hollow above the Buckhannon
River for 130 years ... a testament to the old-time
religion that still grips these mountain folk. But a
church that has hardly changed for 130 years was overwhelmed
by tragedy ... and drawn into awful, maybe even transforming
events," wrote Grimm. The full text of Grimm's
story is available through the Herald's archives for
a fee of $2.95. (Click
here)
Kentucky legislator files bill
requiring more mine inspections, drug testing
Legislation introduced in the Kentucky General Assembly
calls for coal mines to face more government oversight
from a larger pool of inspectors.
Rep. Brent Yonts' proposal, House Bill 404, calls
for increasing the pool of inspectors by an unspecified
number -- the state currently has 54 -- so that every
coal mine can be visited at least once a month. It also
would require drug testing of coal miners, writes told
Roger Alford of The Associated Press.
Yonts, D-Greenville, said, "We don't have enough
inspectors. We need to increase their numbers and pay
them more." But Kentucky Coal Association
President Bill Caylor told Alford, "I
think what you're seeing is a knee-jerk to the disaster
in West Virginia. We really need to ... look at things
objectively." Kentucky led the nation last year
in the number of mine deaths with eight people killed
on the job, according to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health
Administration, notes Alford. (Read
more)
'Coalfields Expressway' revival
sought with coal companies prepping route
Two coal companies say they can mine coal, build a
highway and rescue federal funding for a teetering road
project in Southwest Virginia.
"The Coalfields Expressway, a dreamed-of highway
through some of Virginia's roughest mountains and weakest
economic areas, has needed an infusion since last summer.
The Federal Highway Administration
dropped the expressway ... and withdrew Virginia's eligibility
for $95.3 million because planning and engineering progress
had stopped," writes Ray Reed of The Roanoke
Times.
U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher said money for the project is
still in the federal budget and Virginia can requalify
to get it. State officials said actual construction
work is at least a year away, and the Federal Highway
Administration hasn't acted on the plan. Even if the
federal funds are recovered, they're just 2.5 percent
of the road's estimated $3.8 billion cost, notes Reed.
(Read
more)
Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer said
if the project can be built in small sections, it's
possible more state money could be appropriated for
the expressway and the coal-and-government partnership
may cut expenses. The would mark the state's first road
project with a coal company involved.
Scientists attack possible removal
of clean-air restrictions in rural areas
California air regulators and scientists say a Bush
administration proposal to strip clean-air protections
from rural areas is scientifically unsupportable.
"The rural rollback, supported by the mining industry,
is one of several proposed revisions in the regulation
of tiny airborne particles from vehicle exhaust, power
plants, farming and mining operations and other sources.
In developing the proposals, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency scientists analyzed a mounting
body of science that links the fine particles to heart
disease, strokes, asthma attacks and shortened lifespans,"
writes Chris Bowman of the Sacramento Bee.
Under the proposals, the EPA would set a different
level of clean-air protection for some Americans than
for others. "The daily limit on the amount of particle
pollution in urban areas would be tightened while the
restrictions in rural regions would be removed altogether,"
writes Bowman.
The California Air Resources Board
disputes the federal EPA position that airborne dust
in rural areas is relatively safe and does not warrant
federal regulation. Jerry Martin, air board spokesman,
told Bowman, "Rural areas still have airborne particles
from diesel-powered farm vehicles and equipment, from
animal wastes and from pesticides and fertilizers. We
don't think those particles are any safer just because
they aren't emitted in urbanized areas."
The bulk of the health studies have been conducted
in urban areas. Air board Executive Officer Catherine
Witherspoon said, "There have been too few studies
… to allow an informed judgment as to the relative
toxicity of rural versus urban coarse particles,"
writes Bowman. (Read
more)
Beef producers find recovery
slow from $6.2 billion in mad cow-related losses
"American cattle producers are still trying to
dig out of the hole caused by mad cow disease, even
as Japan has reopened its borders to U.S. imports and
other countries prepare to follow suit," reports
Steve Raabe of the Denver Post.
Analysts estimate the U.S. beef industry has lost
$6.2 billion from the closing of foreign markets. "Financial
losses for Colorado, the nation's fourth-largest beef
producer, are estimated to have reached about $160 million
over the past two years," writes Raabe. He also
notes, "If there is any saving grace, it's that
the export bans occurred during a period of high beef
prices and low supplies, helping to buffer the cattle
industry from some of the fallout."
Platteville cattleman Skylar Houston told Raabe the
first U.S. case of mad cow disease, discovered Dec.
23, 2003, "Turned out to be the cow that stole
Christmas." Houston told Raabe his family's Aristocrat
Angus ranch lost 30 percent of its sales from the import
ban.
Mike Miller, director of research for Centennial-based
Cattle-Fax, told Raabe U.S. producers
won't notice much benefit from resumption of exports
to Japan until sufficient numbers of cattle under the
age of 21 months are processed. Miller said the timing
of the Japanese ban - when U.S. beef prices were high
and cattle inventories were low - averted disaster for
the industry. He told Raabe, "Had the timing ...
been different, it would have been very tough. Quite
frankly, it would have been devastating." (Read
more)
Appellate court rules case against
Wal-Mart anti-union efforts can proceed
A federal appeals court has told a lower court in can
rule on a lawsuit by Wal-Mart workers
alleging the world's largest retailer unfairly threatened
to withhold benefits from employees who unionize.
"A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals in St. Louis reversed a decision by U.S.
District Judge Robert T. Dawson of Fort Smith, Ark.,
who said the court did not have jurisdiction over the
dispute because it fell under the sole authority of
the National Labor Relations Board," writes Marcus
Kabel of The Associated Press. (Read
more)
The original lawsuit was filed by several employees
of a Wal-Mart tire and lube service center in Kingman,
Ariz., who had sought a vote on unionizing in October
2000, notes Kabel. At issue is a so-called union exclusion
clause that Wal-Mart at the time had in its benefits
booklets for employees. An administrative law court
that ordered the company in 2003 to drop the clause,
finding it was meant "to ensure, that [Wal-Mart]
employees were fearful of losing their benefits, and
thus continued to reject union representation."
Legislation calls for helmets,
higher driver-age threshold as ATV deaths soar
Kentucky has recorded the nation's fastest-growing
death rate for ATV users with 106 deaths from 2002 to
2004, according to the Consumer Product Safety
Commission. Now, some Kentucky lawmakers want
to take the state out of that top spot with tighter
restrictions.
"Two bills pending before the Kentucky General
Assembly ... would require that children under 16 wear
helmets while driving or riding four-wheelers. The other
would prohibit children that age from even driving ATVs
and require all operators to wear helmets," writes
Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal.
State law requires helmets only on public property.
The CPSC also reported 33 deaths in Indiana during
the 2002-2004 period. Kentucky reported 328 ATV-related
deaths in the 20 years ending in 2004, with more than
a third involving children, notes the Louisville newspaper.
Ungar writes most of those injured or killed in both
states were not wearing helmets.
Tony Patrick, president of the Eastern Kentucky
ATV Association, told Ungar, "Legislation
is not the answer. Education is the answer." Dr.
Roger Humphries told Ungar he and his emergency medicine
colleagues at the University of Kentucky
have seen too many children suffer. Humphries said,
"It's a major problem and lawmakers have essentially
ignored it." (Read
more)
Wisconsin Web site posts tax
tardy list, prompts delinquents to pony up
Wisconsin posted an online list of 6,346 delinquent
taxpayers this month, and the site collected nearly
$2.6 million from taxpayers in its first week. But,
the site is getting heat for some possible discrepancies
and criticism from a weekly newspaper editor.
The list is limited to those who owe at least $25,000
in sales, income, excise or corporate franchise taxes,
and were at least three months past their last appeal,
reports Ben Jones of the Green Bay Press Gazette.
However, Russell Turco is listed on the "Web site
of shame" as owing $735,545, but he told Jones
that he owes "closer to $50,000" for back
taxes on a failed business venture from 13 years ago.
There are other discrepancies with the amounts listed
on the Web site, Jones reports. The amount that has
been paid so far, $2.6 million, represents only 83 percent
of the debt posted on the Web site. (Read
more)
Warren Bluhm, editor of the Door County Advocate,
denounced the Web site in this week's editorial. "Mostly
these are honest folks who would pay if they had the
money, but their dreams didn’t work out as well
as they hoped," he writes. "Now, on top of
that disappointment, they have the humiliation of having
their tax bills inflated and posted on the World Wide
Web for all to see. What’s next, putting tax delinquents
in stocks on the public square and pelting them with
eggs? This Web site should be shut down as fast as humanly
possible." Editorial no longer available on
newspaper's Web
site.
Meat packer backs down on lawsuit,
wins right to deal with Iowa hog farmers
Cargill Inc. has won the right to
contract with Iowa hog farmers after agreeing to drop
a federal lawsuit challenging the state's ban on corporations
owning livestock.
"Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said the agreement,
which has a term of 10 years, was similar to one he
signed last September with Smithfield Foods
Inc., the largest producer and processor of
hogs in the world," writes Jerry Perkins of the
Des Moines Register.
"Miller acknowledged that it was uncertain whether
his office could successfully defend Iowa's corporate
ban on livestock ownership in court," writes Perkins.
He told the Register, "There will be contract production
in our state ... but along with it will be power and
rights for our producers." The agreement settles
a lawsuit Cargill filed Wednesday in federal court in
Des Moines. (Read
more). For the Dow Jones News Service
version of the story, by Richard Gibson, via the Minneapolis
Star Tribune, click
here.
Except for 18 western corners
counties, Indiana to spring forward this year
Time is a major issue in Indiana with its many zones
and conflicts. But, the hands of time have moved forward
for at least some counties in an artful stroke that
would have inspired even Salvador Dali.
"Eight Indiana counties will move to the Central
time zone April 2, the same day most of the state will
turn clocks ahead one hour to observe daylight-saving
time. The decision by the U.S. Department of
Transportation ends a yearlong debate that
split communities and even neighbors," writes Marty
Beth Schneider of The Indianapolis Star.
Schneider notes that under the change, "Hoosiers
in 74 counties on Eastern time will spring ahead one
hour at 2 a.m. April 2, when daylight-saving time goes
into effect. Hoosiers in the eight counties newly designated
for Central time will join 10 other counties already
in the Central zone and will not adjust their clocks.
On Oct. 29, Hoosiers in all 92 counties will turn their
clocks back one hour."
And, she adds, "The feds' final decision will
move two northwestern counties, Starke and Pulaski,
and six southwestern counties, Knox, Daviess, Martin,
Pike, Dubois and Perry, to the Central time zone. The
rest of the state's 74 counties will stay in the Eastern
time zone, including St. Joseph County." Gov. Mitch
Daniels started the time zone turmoil when he pushed
a bill adopting daylight-saving time through the 2005
General Assembly, writes Schneider. (Read
more)
Lincoln Memorial University
plans medical program to serve Appalachia
Lincoln Memorial University has announced
plans for a new $15 million, four-floor facility to
house the private liberal arts school's planned College
of Osteopathic Medicine.
"Officials said they expect the first class of
150 students to begin their studies at the main Harrogate,
Tenn., campus by fall 2007 as part of what will be the
university's first doctoral program," writes Hayes
Hickman of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
"There's a tremendous need in the Appalachian
area for medical care," LMU Chairman O.V. "Pete"
DeBusk told Hickman. "It is an area that has been
underserved for decades." DeBusk said the college
will attempt to specifically recruit students from the
region who intend to practice in Appalachia. Tuition
is expected to be approximately $35,000 per year for
the four-year medical program.
LMU College of Medicine Dean and Vice President, Dr.
Ray Stowers, told the News-Sentinel more than two-thirds
of doctors of osteopathic medicine serve as primary-care
physicians and often in rural areas. A new master's-level
program for nurse practitioners also was announced.
(Read
more)
Author explores Appalachia's
history to 'dispel myths, misconceptions'
For some people, the Appalachian Mountains conjure
images of backwater mountain men with limited cultural
or historical importance, but an Illinois author wants
to dispel those nations.
To that ends, Macomb, Ill. author Jeff Biggers has
written a new book with the title "The United States
of Appalachia: How Southern Mountaineers Brought Independence,
Culture and Enlightenment to America." Biggers,
who won the American Book Award in 2005, will launch
a national tour promoting the book starting Saturday,
Jan. 28., reports The Macomb Eagle.
The book deals with the "largely overlooked contributions
of Appalachia in the American Revolution, the abolitionist,
labor and civil right movements, and various artistic,
literary and music innovations," according to a
press release from Biggers’ publicist, notes the
newspaper. It explores landmark events that sprung out
of the region and profiles Appalachians who made literary,
cultural and historical impacts. (Read
more)
Rural Calendar
Jan. 31: Apply for the Thomas
L. Stokes Award for Best Energy Writing
The National Press Foundation is now
inviting submissions for the 45th annual Stokes Award
for the best writing in a daily newspaper during 2005
on the subject of energy. The winner will receive $1,000
and a citation. Applications are due Jan. 31.
Feb. 1: Spadaro Awards for documentary;
E-Appalachia award for Web sites
One Jack Spadaro Award is given annually to recognize
the best documentary on Appalachia or its people. The
Media Arts award recognizes the producer for outstanding
work in film, video, television, or radio. Eligibility
and technical requirements for submitting nominations
are available from Jack Wright at: 740-597-3080 or jwright@ohio.edu.
Complete nomination materials are due by Feb. 1.
The e-Appalachia Award, is given annually to an outstanding
Web site that provides insight on Appalachia and its
people, or provides a vital community service to Appalachians.
Nominations should be made to: Roy Silver at 606-589-3139
or at rsilver@uky.edu
before Feb. 1.
Feb. 3-4: Regional Clean Water
Summit for hunters, anglers
This conference in Louisville on February 3-4 will
explore approaches to conserving and restoring watersheds
in order to assure future generations the opportunity
to experience America's hunting and fishing heritage.
Registration cost is minimal. For more information and
to register, contact Tim Guilfoile at tim.guilfoile@sierraclub.org.
Thursday,
Jan. 19, 2006
U.S. Labor Department ends 'preferential'
inspection pact with Wal-Mart
U.S. Labor Department officials have announced the
expiration of a much-criticized agreement they signed
with Wal-Mart Stores
regarding workplace inspections.
The department's inspector general issued a report
criticizing the department's Wage and Hour Division
for giving Wal-Mart 15 days notice before store inspections,
reports The New York Times.
The inspector general said the agreement gave preferential
treatment to the nation's largest retailer. Many Congressional
Democrats and labor groups attacked the agreement as
an opportunity to hide child labor and wage violations.
The inspector general said the notice violated the division's
handbook, writes the Times. "The agreement let
Wal-Mart avoid fines if it brought stores into compliance
within 10 days of being notified of violations,"
writes the newspaper. (Read
more)
FCC chairman worries 'two-tiered'
broadband plan would limit Internet access
Federal Communications Commission
Chairman Kevin Martin is worried about mounting rumors
of a proposed "two-tiered" broadband delivery
system by the Baby Bells.
"Under the plan being quietly pushed in Congress
by the Bells, broadband providers would be able to charge
Internet companies, such as Yahoo,
Google and Amazon,
an extra fee to deliver high-bandwidth content and services
to consumers," writes Roy Mark of Optically-Networked.com
.
Martin told a Consumer Electronics Show crowd in Las
Vegas, "Broadband providers have the right to sell
differentiated services, but consumers should have the
ability to access any legal content on the Internet,"
writes Mark. Internet companies and consumer advocates
did not question the right of the Bells to charge a
fee, but they are concerned the proposed pricing scheme
will ultimately price out smaller firms hoping to deliver
high-speed services, Mark notes.
Martin told Mark, "It is critical that consumers
have unfettered access to the Internet and all the services
it provides. Washington could be concerned if providers
were to block access to information and sites traditionally
available on the Internet." (Read
more)
Audit charges USDA only pretended
to probe stockyards, meat companies
An audit says the U.
S. Department of Agriculture pretended
to investigate anti-competitive behavior among stockyards
and meat companies since 1999, but no complaints were
filed in hundreds of cases.
"Senior officials blocked investigations from
being referred to department lawyers, who can file complaints
or refer cases to the Justice Department, according
to the audit by the agency's inspector general,"
writes Libby Quaid of The Associated Press.
The inspector general said, "Employees were told
to create the appearance of a high rate of enforcement,"
notes Quaid. The audit states, "Competition and
complex investigations were not being performed, and
timely action was not being taken." As of last
August, 50 investigations were being held up by deputy
administrator JoAnn Waterfield, who resigned last month
without giving a reason, writes Quaid.
Grain Inspection, Stockyards and Packers Administration
administrator James E. Link told Quaid, "I
didn't know the agency had those internal problems.
You can't fix a problem till you know you have it."
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin told Quaid top officials were blocking
investigations "and then cooking the books to cover
up the agency's lack of enforcement." (Read
more)
In a related story, Quaid reports the Agriculture Department's
first civil rights chief is stepping down. "Vernon
Parker announced his resignation Tuesday as assistant
secretary for civil rights, a job Congress created three
years ago to confront the department's history of racial
discrimination," she writes. Parker told Quaid
he wants to spend more time with his family. (Read
more)
Community newspaper takes in-depth
look at evolution vs. intelligent design
The Herald Bulletin in Anderson, Ind.
-- a Community Newspapers Holding, Inc.
newspaper -- has ventured into the emotionally charged
topic that some see as the 'wedge issue" in upcoming
national, state and local elections; the teaching of
intelligent design in schools as a faith balance to
the science of evolution.
Bulletin reporters Melanie Hayes and Lynelle Miller
tackled the topic in tandem stories, with Hayes reporting
on those who believe science is taught at school, while
beliefs are learned at home, and Miller presenting the
views of Christian-based school students, educators
and their parents.
Hayes writes, "Many students dedicate themselves
to their study of evolution just to get a good grade,
but revert to creationism, intelligent design and God
as their true belief. Other students, however, feel
that the theory of evolution is supported by scientific
evidence." She notes quite a few remain undecided,
blending material from the different theories. (Read
more)
Miller writes, "This push to teach ID has caused
a heated debate worldwide and raised many questions
including whether or not God has a place in science
class." She notes that intelligent design, in a
broader sense, is the process of detecting or recognizing
patterns arranged for specific purposes. (Read
more)
Note: Anderson, Ind. is home to the conservative-influenced
Church of God of Prophecy.
Federal grants funding police
surveillance for 'Mayberry-size places,' reports Post
Homeland security grants are turning small police departments
into high-tech crime surveillance centers, with some
critics charging politics is propelling the funds over
actual needs with questionable effectiveness.
"Bellow Falls, Vt., a 'snowy village' on the Connecticut
River, with eight full-time police officers, has asked
for 16 surveillance cameras, just three fewer police
surveillance cameras than the District of Columbia,
which has 181 times the population," writes David
A. Fahrenthold of The Washington Post.
Bellows Falls Police Chief Keith Clark told Fahrenthold,
"People don't notice things" as they used
to, so technology helps. In Washington, "the worst
offense caught on police cameras so far seems to have
been a car break-in -- in 2001," writes Fahrenthold.
Michael Scott, director of the Center for Problem-Oriented
Policing, defending the trend, told Fahrenthold,
"Nothing will be happening most of the time. Multiply
that by several cameras with nothing happening, all
the time. It's very difficult for any human being to
be vigilant." An informal search by the newspaper
turned up 17 police departments with 100 or fewer officers
that either had a surveillance system or plans to put
one up. All but two of these departments had either
created or expanded their system since 2001, writes
Fahrenthold. (Read
more)
In a related story by Elisabeth J. Beardsley and Michael
A. Lindenberger of The [Louisville]
Courier-Journal a
former state employee has sued the Kentucky Office of
Homeland Security in U. S. District Court, claiming
that anti-terrorism grant awards were based on politics
rather than need and that she was fired for being a
Democrat.
Linda Wells Back of Frankfort claims current deputy
director Joel Schrader "repeatedly invoked partisan
political considerations in the process of awarding
federal Homeland Security grants, and in the hiring
of personnel to administer the Homeland Security program,"
write Beardsley and Lindenberger. (Read
more)
Fight against drugs could cost
Kentucky millions as caseload swamps defenders
Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher wants to spend an additional
$50 million over the next two years to pay for more
law enforcement, increase the number of public defenders,
expand drug treatment options to inmates, and pay for
more jail space, writes Roger Alford of The
Associated Press.
Fletcher wants to spend $16.7 million to pay local
jails to house state inmates and $15 million to pay
for inmate medical care, $4 million to pay for regional
drug courts, $3 million for drug enforcement specifically
for eastern Kentucky, $4.3 million to add more probation
and parole officers, and $2 million for drug treatment
for nonviolent offenders housed in county jails. Fletcher's
budget proposal also would provide $2 million to expand
home incarceration programs for nonviolent state prisoners,
notes Alford.
The Department of Public Advocacy
would get $6.2 million to pay for more public defenders
and to develop a pilot project aimed at helping inmates
with substance abuse problems. Kentucky Department of
Public Advocacy spokeswoman Shannon Means told Alford,
public defenders handled an average of 483 cases last
year. (Read
more)
In a related story, Community of Faith - Family
ordeal spurs local anti-meth group, Candace Hannigan
of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
writes of Lynn Lenton who began a ministry to help people
addicted to methamphetamine, inspired by her own daughter's
fight against meth. (Read
more)
Before Meth there was, is 'moonshine'
- Ga. authorities bust still, find stash
Three people in Lumpkin County, Ga., are facing charges
of bootlegging after authorities busted a still and
found a stash of hundreds of gallons of moonshine.
"Deputy Commander of the Appalachian Drug
Task Force, Greg Cochran said after a week
long investigation, agents found seven fifty gallon
drums of illegal alcohol and a still," writes Scott
Kimbler of AccessNorthGa.com.
Two people were arrested at the scene. Another was
arrested later at his residence. All are charged with
manufacturing non-tax paid liquor. The Appalachian Drug
Task Force along with the Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office
and the Georgia Department Revenue
were part of the investigation, notes Kimbler.
AccessNorthGa.com, was voted "Best News Web Site"
by The Associated Press in Georgia
for 2005 It is owned by Jacobs Media Corporation
in Gainesville, Ga. Jacobs Media also owns three radio
stations, including WDUN News / Talk 550,
which contribute news to the Web site. (Read
more)
Southwest Va. legislator wants
mining regs to improve rescue communications
A Southwest Virginia lawmaker plans to submit a bill
in the state's General Assembly this week that could
help underground coal miners communicate with rescue
teams during mine disasters.
Delegate Bud Phillips, D-Sandy Ridge, also has met
with mining officials to ensure that the state has sufficient
regulations and laws in place to prevent events such
as the deadly mine explosion in West Virginia earlier
this month, writes Kathy Still of the Bristol, Va. Herald
Courier.
Phillips told Still, "I asked the Virginia
Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to
see if enough protection is in place for our miners
who work near gas and methane wells." The delegate
plans to submit legislation requiring coal companies
to establish wireless communication devices underground
so miners could maintain contact with those above ground,
notes Still. Phillips told her, "If they had had
that in West Virginia, maybe those on the outside could
have directed in clean air." (Read
more)
Missouri counties, farmers struggle
to control livestock odors
In the past decade, more than a dozen Missouri counties
have restricted the location of concentrated animal
feeding operations, but state legislators want to make
it difficult for other counties to follow suit.
"As Shelby County's presiding commissioner, [Chuck]
Wood, 61, is caught in the middle of a debate pitting
neighbor against neighbor in a tight-knit, rural community
desperate for some economic salvation," writes
Alan Scher Zagier of The Associated Press.
Wood said of his constituents, "They don't want
to limit growth; they don't want a health ordinance.
But they sure as hell don't want a hog farm next to
them without a say in it."
State law requires industrial-size livestock operations
where animals are primarily confined indoors to be at
least 3,000 feet from a residence. Those that don't
qualify under the largest designation can be as close
as 2,000 feet. The largest facilities have at least
7,000 beef cattle, 17,500 hogs and 700,000 chickens.
Rep. Pete Myers, R-Sikeston, plans to introduce a bill
that would require county leaders to consult with their
local Soil and Water Board before passing location restrictions.
Terry Spence, a Putnam County farmer who spoke in favor
of local health ordinances at a recent public hearing
in Shelby County told Zagier the current standards are
woefully inadequate. Spence's home is two miles from
80,000 hogs owned by Premium Standard Farms
Inc., which obtained an exemption from a state
law. He told Zagier. "I wouldn't wish that on anybody.
If you're looking for DNR or (the Environmental Protection
Agency) for help, forget it." (Read
more)
W.Va. legislators want changes
after woman fined for rescuing wildlife
A Martinsburg, W.Va. woman's home was raided last fall
by state Division of Natural Resources agents who charged
her with illegally caring for dozens of orphaned and
injured raccoons before releasing them back into the
wild. It seems in Wild & Wonderful West Virginia,
her care was against the law.
Patricia Hoffman-Butler rehabilitates wildlife caring
for animals in distress and then returns them to the
wild. "There are thousands of such specialists
licensed in Virginia, Maryland and most other states,"
writes D'Vera Cohn of The Washington Post.
(Read
more) Hoffman-Butler pleaded no contest and was
fined $20 plus court costs, notes Cohn.
Two West Virginia legislators are now using her case
to push a law that would let trained rehabilitators
like her care for afflicted animals, notes Cohn. "They
are counting on especially strong support in this suburbanizing
northeastern swath of the state, where many new residents
[bring] tenderhearted attitudes toward wildlife that
sometimes clash with West Virginia's hunting culture,"
writes Cohn.
DNR officials said they oppose legislation that would
require them to license rehabilitators. DNR law enforcement
Maj. Jerry B. Jenkins told Cohn, "She knew that
it was illegal, what she was doing. It was unfortunate
that the animals had to be put down, but she's the one
that created the problem." Laura J. Simon, field
director for the Humane Society's urban
wildlife program, told Cohn, "Rehabilitating an
animal is not as good as mom, but if you don't have
rehabilitators, it's the public taking them in."
'Journal Editorial Report' moves
from PBS to Fox following FCC feud
The "Journal Editorial Report," a production
of The Wall Street Journal that formerly
aired on PBS, will begin its run on Fox News Channel
this weekend, the network said Wednesday, reports The
Associated Press via Editor & Publisher.
The program will air Saturdays at 11 p.m. and Sundays
at 6 a.m. (Read
more)
The conservative-leaning talk show ended its run on
PBS last month, where it had been caught in a storm
over political influence in public broadcasting. An
internal investigator at the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting had accused the CPB's former
chairman, Kenneth Tomlinson, of meddling in PBS programming
to promote a conservative agenda, writes AP.
The CPB helps fund PBS but is not supposed to be involved
in programming decisions. Fox called the show interesting
and well-produced, and said it would draw affluent viewers
to the network, AP writes.
Longtime journalism teacher,
who inspired generations, dead at 91
Services were held yesterday for Barbara Garfunkel,
who taught generations of aspiring journalists how to
write and produce newspapers.
Garfunkel died Saturday in her sleep at the age of
91. Howard Kleinberg, a former student of Garfunkel's
and the last editor of the defunct Miami News,
said he owes his longtime journalism career to "Ms.
G." "Next to my mother and wife, [Garfunkel]
has had the greatest influence on my life," Kleinberg
told Carli Teproff of the Miami Herald.
(Read
more)
Garfunkel was president of the Association
of Women in Communications, notes Teproff,
and received the Gold Key from Colombia Scholastic
Press Association and the Most Distinguished
Service Award for her contribution to scholastic journalism
in Florida. Donations may be made to the Miami
High Alumni Association, P.O. Box 331233, Miami,
FL. 33233-1233 or the charity of your choice.
Rural Calendar
Jan. 23: Seminar on covering
the federal budget, Washington, D.C.
The National Press Foundation, the
Center on Congress at Indiana
University, and the Regional Reporters
Association will conduct a free half-day seminar
on Jan. 23 in Washington, D.C. on covering the annual
federal budget. RSVPs are strongly encouraged by Jan.
20.
The NPF provides free educational
programs for reporters, producers, and editors, and
gives awards for excellence in journalism. For more
information, contact Kashmir Hill by e-mail
or contact the National Press Foundation at npf@nationalpress.org.
Meanwhile, the
annual NPF awards dinner, "with more than one thousand
of the nation's leading journalists, news organizations,
and National Press Foundation supporters" celebrating
excellence, achievement and leadership in journalism
is scheduled for Feb. 23 at the Washington Hilton. Those
interested can reserve tables and tickets online.
Feb. 20: First of series of
rural living clinics; registration due by Feb. 10
The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension
Service has scheduled five "Rural Living
- What's It all About?" clinics in Western Kentucky
starting Feb.20 with registration due by noon Feb. 10.
The five clinics are the result of discussions by staff
and clientele of the University of Kentucky
Cooperative Extension Service that identified
the rural-urban interface as a top issue in the west
region of the state. All five sessions will be from
6:30 to 8 p.m., writes Laura Skillman of the U.
K. College of Agriculture Communications Department.
(Read
more)
The initial Rural Living - What's It all About?
clinic will kick off the series Feb. 20 at the Marshall
County Extension office in Benton. Pasture Management
is the March 13 session. Rural Living is March
20. Wells and Septic Tanks will be presented
March 27.
The final session, Maintaining Ponds, is April
10. Registration is $5 per session or $20 for all five.
The fee includes resource materials plus light refreshments.
To receive a form or for more information, contact a
local Cooperative Extension Service office or the Marshall
County Extension office at (270) 527-3285.
Wednesday
Jan. 18, 2006
DNA tests used
to fight absentee-ballot fraud in southwest Virginia
It might seem to veteran observers that vote fraud
in Appalachia has been around almost as long as the
mountains. Now authorities in the Virginia coal town
of Appalachia are adopting modern forensic science to
combat this longstanding, illegal practice.
"An Appalachia resident said she was offered cigarettes
and fried pork skins for her vote. In a town election
where some votes were reportedly bought and others were
stolen, whoever licked the envelope containing a disputed
absentee ballot might also have sealed his own fate,"
writes Laurence Hammack of The Roanoke Times.
Authorities have obtained a saliva sample from a supporter
of a candidate for the Appalachia Town Council in May
2004. They hope DNA testing will determine whether the
man who sealed an absentee ballot taken from a voter's
mailbox, filled it out and fraudulently submitted it
in her name, notes Hammack.
Christina McKinney, a resident of a government-subsidized
apartment complex, has alleged vote buying and ballot
theft. Investigators have spent nearly two years investigating
similar allegations in Appalachia, a town of 1,800,
"where political feuds can run as deep as its surrounding
coal mines," writes Hammack. "It is still
unclear when -- or even if -- the case might go to a
grand jury. According to the search warrant, the suspected
crime is aiding and abetting in violating absentee voting
procedures, a felony that carries up to 10 years in
prison." (Click
here to read more)
Meth cases rising, especially
in rural areas, causing crunch in hospitals
Two surveys to be released in Washington today show
a sharp rise in emergency room cases involving methamphetamine-related
problems, particularly in Midwestern rural areas, straining
local hospital budgets and treatment facilities nationwide.
"The studies ... by the National Association
of Counties, are another indicator of the toll
the drug has taken on local communities, particularly
in rural areas where social service networks are ill-equipped
to deal with the consequences. In July, the association
reported that an overwhelming number of sheriffs polled
nationwide declared methamphetamine their No. 1 law
enforcement problem," writes Kate Zernike of The
New York Times.
In the most recent survey, conducted late last year,
73 percent of the 200 county and regional hospitals
polled said they had seen an increase in the number
of people visiting emergency rooms for meth-related
problems over the last five years; 68 percent reported
a continued increase in the last three years, and 45
percent in the last year, notes Zernike.
Jeri Reese, an emergency room nurse manager in Greene
County, Iowa, told Zernike, "These are labor-intensive
cases, and the money that's put out is money that the
hospitals won't recover." Fifty-six percent of
hospitals said growing meth abuse had increased their
costs. In Arkansas, 78 percent of the hospitals said
costs had increased, writes Zernike. (Read
more)
Meth beat: Bill Poovey of The
Associated Press reports "Fewer kids [are
being] taken from meth homes since [Tennessee's new]
meth law took effect. For more, click
here. Seattle Times staff reporter
Karen Johnson writes that Washington state lawmakers
are backing legislation that would toughen criminal
penalties for meth users while also offering more treatment
for addicts. For more, click
here.
Pressured by parents, California
school system drops intelligent-design class
Under pressure from opposing parents, a rural school
district in California has canceled an elective philosophy
course on "intelligent design."
"A group of parents had sued the El Tejon school
system last week, accusing it of violating the constitutional
separation of church and state with 'Philosophy of Design,'
a high school course taught by a minister's wife that
advanced the notion that life is so complex it must
have been created by some kind of higher intelligence,"
writes Juliana Barbassa of The Associated Press.
The district will halt the course at Frazier Mountain
High next week and never again offer a "course
that promotes or endorses creationism, creation science
or intelligent design," writes Barbassa.
Ayesha N. Khan, legal director for Americans
United for Separation of Church and State,
told Barbassa, "This sends a strong signal to school
districts across the country that they cannot promote
creationism or intelligent design as an alternative
to evolution, whether they do so in a science class
or a humanities class." El Tejon Superintendent
John Wight said the subject was proper for a philosophy
class.
In a landmark lawsuit, Americans United and the American
Civil Liberties Union successfully blocked the Dover,
Pa., school system last month from teaching intelligent
design alongside evolution in high school biology classes.
U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled that intelligent
design is religion masquerading as science. The ruling
is not being appealed because voters ousted the school-board
members who wanted intelligent design in the curriculum.
(Read
more)
With persistence, reporter digs
up revealing data on teacher accountability
"By any standard, Scott Reeder's one-man, six-month
investigation into the many ways Illinois' 'reformed'
tenure system frustrates teacher accountability was
an impressive piece of work," writes Mark Fitzgerald
of Editor and Publisher.
Reeder, state-capital bureau chief for the Small
Newspaper Group of Kankakee, Ill., created
two large databases, one tracking the number of tenured
teachers fired in the past 18 years, and the other showing
the job-performance evaluations of every Illinois school
district. Reeder's investigative series, which ran in
all of Small's dailies, uncovered that of the 95,500
tenured educators in Illinois public schools, an average
of just two are fired for poor performance each year.
Reeder filed more than 1,500 requests for documents
under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act with all
876 school districts in Illinois, and achieved 100 percent
compliance. When The Associated Press
and 14 daily papers conducted a FOIA audit in 1999 by
asking for public documents from school districts, the
reporters came away empty-handed two-thirds of the time,
reports Fitzgerald.
"Essentially, my strategy was to hound the heck
out of them, call them every day, and say, 'Hey, you're
not in compliance with the law,'" Reeder told Fitzgerald.
In Illinois, Reeder used the nation's first-ever "public
access counsel," former AP reporter Terry Mutchler,
who works out of state Attorney General Lisa Madigan's
office. (Read
more)
No Child Left Behind: Rural
Oregon schools struggle to fill teaching posts
Rural Oregon school districts are struggling to hire
core area teachers and instructors as fewer education
students are receiving endorsements in certain education
areas, forcing many schools to compete for qualified
candidates.
"According to the Oregon Department of
Education, the courses teachers must be endorsed
in to teach are: English, reading or language arts;
mathematics; science; foreign languages; civics, government
and economics; arts; history and geography," writes
Jessica Keller of the Ontario, Ore. Argus Observer.
Dr. Carol Lauritzen, chairperson of teacher education,
Eastern Oregon University told Keller
the state needs more teachers endorsed in math and science
at the high school level and special education teachers.
Lauritzen told Keller, can balance the need now but
that could change with the state legislature pushing
to increase math and science requirements. This year
Eastern Oregon University will graduate 10 teachers
endorsed in science and five in math, notes Keller.
Lauritzer told Keller, “It's very hard for (teaching)
students to choose math and science because they can
get into occupations that are more lucrative than teaching
... teaching is not a 40 hour a week job ... Teaching
isn't as prestigious a career as it used to be.”
Lauritzen also said the No Child Left Behind mandate
is placing more requirements on teachers and stricter
guidelines making teaching less attractive for teaching
recruits. She told Keller, “I believe in standards,
but I think right now we just have a climate of outside
voices telling us what to do, and sometimes that's not
very encouraging.” Lauritzen also said the state's
aging teaching force could lead to a greater shortage
of teachers, writes Keller. (Read
more)
USDA will make $950 million
in tobacco buyout payments this year
U. S. Department of Agriculture Secretary
Mike Johanns has announced more than $950 million in
Tobacco Transition Payment Program (TTPP) payments,
better known as the tobacco buyout, will be paid to
quota holders and producers in 2006, according to a
USDA news release.
"Quota holders and producers can enter into successor-in-interest
contracts beginning Jan. 23, 2006 for subsequent payments
which would enable them to receive lump-sum payments
from private entities by selling the remaining eight
payments," the release states.
"Approximately $1.9 billion in payments will have
been paid to tobacco quota holders and producers when
this second round of payments ends," said Johanns,
and he added, "These funds are helping tobacco
farmers transition to the free market and mark the end
of the federal tobacco marketing program."
The TTPP marks the end of the federal tobacco marketing
quota and price support loan programs in place since
the Great Depression, notes USDA. The buyout is funded
by assessments on tobacco product importers and manufacturers.
The payments, made every year on or about January 15,
are approximately $950 million, they write. (Read
more)
For more information, visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov/tobacco/Default.htm
on the USDA Farm Service Agency's Web
site., or call the National Tobacco Processing
Center at 1-800-673-2331.
Opponents in Kentucky say tobacco-tax
plan could cost state millions
Cigarette makers have warned Kentucky lawmakers a proposed
overhaul of the way the state collects money from tobacco
manufacturers under a national settlement could leave
the state empty-handed.
"They flatly predicted that a proposal for tobacco
companies to pay a flat tax of about $4 a carton on
all cigarettes sold in Kentucky would be challenged
in court," reports The Associated Press.
Some small tobacco manufacturers that did not sign
the national settlement in which tobacco companies agreed
to make payments to states to cover smoking-related
costs are backing the proposed flat tax as a substitute.
Critics said it would violate the agreement and cost
Kentucky the roughly $113 million it now gets each year,
plus the revenue projected from the flat tax, notes
writer Bruce Schreiner.
Rep. Rob Wilkey, D-Scottsville, told a legislative
budget committee, "It is an extraordinarily bad
deal for Kentucky." Gene McLean, a lobbyist pushing
for the flat tax, said opponents had resorted to "scare
tactics," and that opponents are wrong to "opine
as to what is legal or illegal or constitutional or
unconstitutional when they haven't even seen the bill
yet."
Proponents say the flat tax would generate a $130 million
windfall for Kentucky each year and contend the state
is being shortchanged under the current agreement. (Read
more)
Wyoming coal production surges
to milestone amid strong prices
Wyoming continues to produce record amounts of coal
amid increasing national demand and strong prices.
"Although unofficial, Wyoming produced a conservative
estimate of 405.4 million tons in 2005," according
to the Casper Star-Tribune's annual
survey of coal production," written by Dustin Bleizeffer,
the Star-Tribune's energy reporter. "Coal industry
analysts at the U.S. Department of Energy's
Energy Information Administration estimate the actual
figure for 2005 is about 407.2 million tons."
The state's economic analysis division reports an estimated
2.4 percent increase in coal production from 2004, good
news for a state that gets most of its revenues from
minerals, Bleizeffer writes. Mineral-related taxes in
2005 well exceeded $600 million. "That does not
include sales and use taxes, secondary business or the
more than $600 million in annual payroll for the industry's
4,600 employees," he notes.
Buck McVeigh, administrator of Wyoming's economic analysis
division, told Bleizeffer, "Coal is the core of
northeast Wyoming [and] coal has always been a steady
revenue generator." Paul Klibanow, a coal industry
analyst for the New York investment firm Force
Capital Management told reporters,
"It's just amazing what's going on in
the industry right now. I don't think it's fully appreciated
how much utilities are willing to pay for coal right
now," Bleizeffer writes. (Read
more)
E-waste: S.C. county hopes to
rid landfill of techy trash; issue in other states
While the start of a new year is a time for renewal,
Barnwell County, S.C. is just trying to cope with lingering
"e-waste." The county secured a $15,000 grant
from the state Department of Health and Environmental
Control in August for the disposal of the landfill's
"e-waste," reports David Berman of the county's
weekly, The People-Sentinel. "E-Waste"
is an industry term for discarded electronic items like
televisions, personal computers and cell phones, basically
anything with a plug, and disposing of such garbage
is becoming an issue for communities nationwide, notes
Berman.
Barnwell County plans to build a 10-by-20 foot building
to house the landfill's e-waste. Global Investment
Company of North, S.C., takes the e-waste and
strips it, looking for precious metals and other valuable
components. The county is also hoping to iron out a
deal for Global Investment to visit schools and corporations,
collect the e-waste, and transport it to its own facility.
That would keep the county's landfill free of e-waste,
writes Berman. (Read
more) Related stories include County coupons
to make e-waste disposal cheaper by The
Register-Guard in Oregon (click
here), Towns to band together in e-waste recycling
effort by the Bangor Daily News
in Maine (click
here), and Higher tech means more e-waste soon
by the Rome News-Tribune in Georgia
(click
here).
"Get ready for e waste," writes Diane Wagner
of the Rome News-Tribune. "Electronic equipment
is one of the fastest growing segments of the national
waste stream, including ... computers and televisions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
estimates 2 million tons of used electronics and 128
million cell phones are thrown away each year."
News-Sentinel columnist tells
'folksy tale' of mountain goats' 'Boer war'
There are a growing number of reporters writing about
"rural." Then some, who've been around a while,
write rural, period. Such is the case with Knoxville
News-Sentinel 'Appalachian Journal' columnist
Fred Brown, who spins a tale of saving an exotic 'meaty
investment' by sickin' the dogs on wily predators.
"Clyde Henry, 70, was losing his valuable South
African Boer goats to the call of the wild feral dogs,
coyotes and a host of other four-legged hungry things
on the upper end of Chestnut Hill of Jefferson County,
farmland shaped like scoops of ice cream. Duke, Queen,
Oscar, Roscoe and George put a stop to all that nonsense,
and a lot of two-legged trouble at the same time. It
was an answer from the Great Pyrenees . . . a dog that
has been around since around 1800 B.C. We are talking
dog, as in small calf, in the animal world,"
writes Brown, blending a mountain storyteller's style
with solid journalism.
"The South African Boer goat got Henry's attention
about six years ago," notes Brown. Henry told him,
"It's a meat goat. Got a red head and white body,
and dresses out to about 40 percent more meat. It's
good meat for anyone that's got heart trouble."
Brown tantalizes his readers to delve deeper, telling
them, "The South African Boer goat is a little
more than just another goat with a goatee, some vicious
curled-back horns and a penchant for butting and eating
hardy. It's history is speckled with oddities."
(Read
more)
Louisiana political columnist
and publisher Sam Hanna dies at 72
Sam Hanna, political columnist and publisher of three
Louisiana newspapers, died Sunday at the age of 72.
"Hanna owned and published three newspapers --
The Concordia Sentinel in Ferriday,
The Franklin Sun in Winnsboro, and
The Ouachita Citizen in West Monroe,
La. Before entering the newspaper business as an owner,
Hanna worked at The Monroe Morning World
and The News-Star-World. He began his
career with Monroe newspapers in 1956, reports The
Associated Press.
Hannah was also known for his weekly political column,
called "One Man's Opinion," published in newspapers
statewide. Louisiana Secretary of State Al Ater told
AP, Hannah "had a sixth sense of the happenings
of the political situation in this state -- police jury
to governor, your source for information was Sam Hanna."
(Read
more)
Papers get new bosses in Ironton,
Ohio; Hernando, Miss.; and Warren, Pa.
Michael Caldwell, managing editor of The Ironton [Ohio]
Tribune since November 2004, has been appointed publisher
and president of Ironton Publications Inc.,
effective Jan. 10. Caldwell, 30, succeeds Kevin Cooper,
who was named associate publisher of The Natchez
[Miss.] Democrat and vice president
of Natchez Newspapers Inc. A new managing
editor hasn't been named.
Ron Caldwell, sports editor of The DeSoto
[County, Miss.] Times Today for the past five years,
has been named editor of the northwest Mississippi daily,
Publisher Ron Tate announced Jan. 12.Caldwell has been
the editor of the Shelby Sun Times, the Germantown News
and the Collierville Herald as well as public relations
manager and account executive for a Memphis, Tenn.,
advertising company.
Eric Paddock, longtime city editor of the Warren, Pa.
Times-Observer, has been named managing editor
replacing Jude Dippold, who left the paper to accept
a position with Blair Corp. Paddock,
a 35-year newspaper veteran, joined the Times-Observer
in 1990. He had worked at The Bradford Era
and at newspapers in Maryland. (These items are from
Industry News by The Associated Press.)
Tuesday,
Jan. 17, 2006
High-school reporters bust sex
offender posing as British royalty in Minnesota
A registered sex offender tried to con Stillwater (Minn.)
High School employees and students into believing he
was royalty, but high school journalists revealed his
identity, reports the Stillwater Courier.
"Joshua Adam Gardner, 23, of Austin, Minn., was
arrested ... after students working for the school’s
Pony Express newspaper grew suspicious
of [his] attempts to present himself as a 17-year-old
member of British royalty during visits to the school
during the past month," writes the Courier's Mark
Brouwer. Investigations found he is a convicted sex
offender in violation of his parole, notes Brouwer.
Gardner tried to enter the high school as "Caspian
James Crichton-Stuart IV, 5th Duke of Cleveland."
Pony Express staffers interviewed Gardner and considered
him "a candidate for an interesting feature story,"
writes Brouwer. But, they developed serious doubts about
his claims. Student editor Matt Murphy told Brouwer,
"He didn’t anticipate that these kids from
Minnesota knew anything about British peerage.”
Chantel Leonhart and Maria Riley, both co-managing editors,
also investigated. Gardner spoke with a British accent,
claimed to be 27th in line to the British crown and
described celebrity parties. (Read
more)
Murphy asked, "Why would a member of the royal
family come to Minnesota to go to school?" write
Alex Friedrick and Mary Divine of the Pioneer
Press in nearby St. Paul. When the journalists
confronted Gardner with questions about his background,
"his accent started to falter, and he became agitated,"
said co-editor-in-chief Karlee Weinmann. (Read
more)
Rural America inspires great
storytelling, Golden Globe Awards show
You might not have expected last night's Golden Globe
awards to produce news about rural America, but take
a look at the big winners in the movie category. The
cowboy romance Brokeback Mountain and the country
music drama Walk The Line took seven of the
thirteen movie awards. "Brokeback" won for
best drama, and "Walk" won for best musical
or comedy, setting up a face-off for best picture at
the Academy Awards. Best movie actor and actress awards
went to Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix for their
portrayals of June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash, who
stayed true to their rural roots in Virginia and Arkansas
all through their musical careers.
Perhaps the results show that cosmopolitan America
still identifies with its rural roots, and that rural
America remains a rich source of stories -- both documentary
and fact-based fiction -- that touch on universal themes
of character, conflict and relationships. In rural America,
character is more often the beginning of identity, and
the isolation of rural areas can make relationships
more difficult to create and maintain, raising the stakes
for relationships and conflicts. We'd like to see George
Clooney, who grew up in rural Kentucky (and won for
supporting actor in Syriana), bring some of
his production and direction talents to those themes.
-- Al Cross, director, Institute for Rural Journalism
and Community Issues
Illinois planing prisons only
for meth addicts; two drug treatment centers
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has announced plans to
open two 200-bed prison units devoted entirely to treating
methamphetamine addicts over the next two years.
"One unit will open this year at Southwestern
Illinois Correctional Center in East St. Louis,
which Blagojevich also plans to turn into a center dedicated
to drug treatment. The other unit will open next year
at the Sheridan Correctional Center
in Sheridan, a drug-treatment prison that the governor
plans to expand to its full capacity of 1,300 next year.
That will make it the largest inmate drug-treatment
program of its kind in the nation, according to Blagojevich's
office," writes Christi Parsons of the Chicago
Tribune.
State prison officials said Blagojevich's plan, to
be announced in his State of the State address tomorrow,
will help stem a growing tide of meth-related crimes
and the criminals who flood the Illinois penal system
each year. Some experts say meth addicts have unique
needs that require special attention, and the Illinois
prisons would be among the first to test segregation
as a treatment approach, notes Parsons.
Deanne Benos, assistant director of the Illinois
Department of Corrections, told Parsons, "Meth
[affects are] more dramatic. Because of the impact on
the cognitive skills of these individuals and their
attention deficits ... what we're looking at doing is
creating very small treatment groups."
Illinois reports meth-related incarcerations rose from
six in 1996 to 541 last year. Although meth has been
considered a mostly rural problem, law enforcement officials
in Cook County (Chicago) report a significant increase
in the amount of the drug seized since 1999, writes
Parsons. (Read
more)
Death of convict at private
prison in Ky. raises concerns there and in Hawaii
Hawaii is sending a medical team to Kentucky to investigate
the Dec. 31 death of a Hawaiian woman who became ill
at a private prison in Floyd County. The review could
have possible implications for prisons as major employers
in depressed rural areas.
"Hawaii, which suffers from severe prison overcrowding,
houses more than 2,000 inmates on the mainland, including
119 women at the Otter Creek Correctional Center
in Wheelwright. The private prison, run by Corrections
Corp. of America, also houses 399 Kentucky
inmates," writes Andrew Wolfson of The
Courier-Journal. The inmate has been
identified as Sarah Ah Mau, 43, who was serving life
in prison for the second-degree murder of her 19-month-old
son.
A Hawaii Department of Public Safety
spokesman said an autopsy found Ah Mau died of natural
causes and a state medical examiner said her death had
no public health implications for other inmates. However,
Hawaiian news organizations have reported Ah Mau had
told relatives her pleas for medical attention were
ignored. Nashville-based CCA, the nation's largest owner
and operator of private correctional and detention facilities,
said a review found her care was "appropriate and
provided promptly, in a quality manner," reports
the Louisville newspaper. (Read
more)
Milwaukee council panel approves
deal for citywide wireless Internet access
As many rural areas struggle for high-speed Internet
access, a Milwaukee City Council committee has approved
an agreement with a local firm to build a $20 million
citywide wireless computer network. Now the matter goes
to the full council.
"Officials are hoping to make Milwaukee the first
major city in the nation to have a citywide wireless
computer network," writes Greg J. Borowski of the
[Milwaukee] Journal Sentinel. "The
full council will consider the agreement [tomorrow].
And the first wireless zone, an area west of downtown
that includes Marquette University,
could be ready to go by summer," continues Borowski.
The firm seeking to build seeking to build the wireless
network is working on the project with other companies,
including Internet provider EarthLink.
A Wi-Fi network allows people to access the Internet
virtually anywhere. Many communities, including some
rural ones, are seeking such networks as an economic
development necessity. Other cities, including Madison,
Wis., have pursued wireless networks. Philadelphia appears
to be further along than most, writes Borowski. (Read
more)
Kentucky watchdog group says
much unclear about business tax breaks
Kentucky lawmakers have created many loopholes for
businesses intended to spur economic growth, but a rural
development group in the eastern part of the state is
worried about unclear requirements, uncollected revenues
and how that affects state spending, especially in the
depressed region.
"The price tag: $571 million annually, according
to one recent analysis," writes John Stamper of
the Lexington Herald-Leader. "However,
legislators have no idea whether most of that forgone
revenue actually creates or retains jobs as intended,"
he writes, and many lawmakers remain doubtful there
is enough money in the next budget for economic-development
efforts.
Justin Maxson, president of the Mountain Association
for Community Economic Development, told Stamper,
"A lot of money is spent each year with very little
scrutiny. If legislators [knew] how much is going uncollected,
they might make different choices." The Berea-based
group recently reported 80 percent of the state's business-tax
breaks have no evaluation or reporting requirements.
They call for an evaluation system to scrutinize all
economic-development incentives based on outcome.
Rep. Harry Moberly, chairman of the House Appropriations
and Revenue Committee, told Stamper, "I think the
public expects more accountability. We should be making
continuing efforts to look at our tax code, and we have
not done as good a job of that as we should have."
Moberly, D-Richmond, called the mountain economic development
group's proposed evaluation system well thought out,
and promised to explore the issue. (Read
more)
Gov. Ernie Fletcher will present his budget priorities
tonight. In all, the budget will cover about $17 billion
over the next two fiscal years beginning July 1.
For a story by Ronnie Ellis, state-capital correspondent
for Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. newspapers in
Kentucky, click
here.
Turf war shaping up between
coal, gas with Sago blast propelling debate
A controversy over drilling natural gas and oil wells
through coal seams is being fueled by the possibility
natural gas from wells could have leaked into the Sago
Mine. "The West Virginia Board of Coal
Mine Health and Safety [has] talked about the
possible role that gas escaping from nearby wells might
have played in the mine tragedy," writes Paul J.
Nyden of The Charleston Gazette
in West Virginia.
In related news, seven coal companies, Pocahontas
Land Co. and the West Virginia Coal
Association have filed a petition against Cabot
Oil & Gas Corp. The petition seeks to stop
Cabot from drilling wells in mining areas. Gas companies
such as Cabot also frequently damaging coal haul roads,
writes Nyden.
Charleston attorney Nicholas C. Preservati told Nyden,
"This is not about coal versus gas It is about
stopping third parties from creating dangerous conditions
on mine property. The problem is only going to get worse.
The number of wells being drilled continues to increase,
while the number of safe locations to drill wells continues
to decrease."
Lawyer Tim Miller, who represents Cabot Gas, declined
comment. Cabot Gas now has the largest drilling program
in its history, with fuel demand and prices soaring,
notes Nyden. It drilled 44 new wells in 2002 and 98
in 2003. Last year, Cabot developed 200 new wells. (Read
more)
In a related column, Coal mining is deep in my
bones - Matt Winters of The Daily Astorian
in Astoria, Ore., writes about the Sago tragedy
reviving American interest in the coal industry. (Click
here)
Yield signs ordered at rural
railroad crossings; currently limited warning
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has signed a bill into law
requiring "yield" signs at all state railroad
crossings currently only using 'crossbucks' - crossing
boards on a poll emblazoned with a minimal warning.
"It's a small step but an important one in the
eyes of a Howard [Wis.] woman who spent years fighting
for safer railroad crossings. Connie Hermans says she
avoids one railroad crossing at all costs. Almost four
years ago, her teenage daughter died at that crossing
[near Suamico] when the car she was riding in was struck
by a train," reports Chris Duffy of WBAY-TV
in Green Bay.
A stop sign was posted at that railroad crossing. Tireless
fund-raising efforts have since put crossing gates there
costing thousands of dollars, notes Duffy. Reacting
to the new warnings, Hermans told him, "I can't
tell you how many lives it has saved, [but] it has saved
a lot of lives and will continue to save lives."
There are more than 3,000 crossings with crossbuck
signs throughout Wisconsin, notes Duffy. Adding a yield
sign next to them will cost about $42 each, and railroad
companies will have to pick up the tab, he reports.
Hermans told Duffy, "People have to be aware that
the train can't stop. They have to stop. They have to
look at their surroundings around them." (Read
more)
Rare alligator snapping turtles
recovered, dropped off at local shelter
Have you ever seen an alligator snapping turtle up-close?
Not too close! The endangered species, hunted for its
meat to the brink of extinction, has made a rare appearance
at an animal shelter in Kentucky.
"When Tracy Centers was called about turtles that
were brought to the Knox-Whitley Animal Shelter for
adoption, she assumed they were the kind of turtles
that can be found in any pet store. Instead, the shelter
found [itself] with the dinosaur of turtles," writes
Kelly Foreman of the Community Newspaper Holdings
Inc.'s Corbin Times-Tribune.
Centers, who works at the shelter, told Foreman four
alligator snapping turtles were dropped there by family
members of their former owner who had moved out of state
and abandoned the reptiles. Centers researched and discovered
the shelter was dealing with a an endangered species.
She told Foreman, "It’s illegal to have them
in your home."
Centers contacted the Knoxville Zoo to find a home
for the turtles but was told it was illegal to cross
the state line with the endangered species. "We’re
trying to place them in the Louisville Zoo or a wildlife
refuge in western Kentucky," Centers told Foreman.
The largest freshwater turtles, the alligator snapping
turtles can grow to weigh between 155 and 200 pounds.
They are native to the southeastern United States but
are now found mainly in Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana,
writes Foreman. (Read
more)
Houston Chronicle publisher
dies, leaves legacy spanning more than 40 years
Richard J.V. Johnson, longtime publisher of the Houston
Chronicle, has died at age 75.
Johnson died Saturday at home, the paper said. His
cause of death was not reported. He started working
at the Chronicle as a copywriter in the promotion department
in 1956 and held seven jobs before he was named president
in 1973 and publisher in 1987. He retired in 2002, reports
The Associated Press.
Johnson orchestrated the Chronicle's transformation
from an afternoon to a morning paper. He also served
as chairman of the American Newspaper Publishers
Association, now the Newspaper Association
of America, and he helped introduce newspapers
as a classroom tool. (Read
more)
Plain Dealer publisher to retire
after 46 years, but not until replacement found
Alex Machaskee has announced he is retiring as president,
publisher and chief executive of Ohio's largest newspaper,
The Plain Dealer.
Machaskee, 68, plans to keep working until a successor
is named. He joined the newspaper 46 years ago, and
rose to publisher in 1990, reports The Associated
Press.
As publisher, Machaskee increased the news staff in
the early 1990s and supervised the development of a
$38 million downtown headquarters and $200 million production
and distribution center in suburban Brooklyn. The Plain
Dealer's circulation is 370,000 weekdays and 480,000
on Sunday. (Read
more)
Rural Calendar
Jan. 23: Seminar on covering
the federal budget, Washington, D.C.
The National Press Foundation, the
Center on Congress at Indiana
University, and the Regional Reporters
Association will conduct a free half-day seminar
on Jan. 23 in Washington, D.C. on covering the annual
federal budget. RSVPs are strongly encouraged by Jan.
20.
The NPF provides free educational
programs for reporters, producers, and editors, and
gives awards for excellence in journalism. For more
information, contact Kashmir Hill by e-mail
or contact the National Press Foundation at npf@nationalpress.org.
Meanwhile, the annual NPF awards dinner, "with
more than one thousand of the nation's leading journalists,
news organizations, and National Press Foundation supporters"
celebrating excellence, achievement and leadership in
journalism is scheduled for Feb. 23 at the Washington
Hilton. Those interested can reserve tables and tickets
online.
Jan. 25-26: Heart of America
Grazing Conference near Mammoth Cave
A five-state Heart of America Grazing Conference comes
to Cave City, Ky., Jan. 25-26. Grazing
experts from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation
Service, Auburn University, University
of Illinois, the University of Kentucky
and Ohio State University, along with
industry professionals and top producers, will be on
the program.
The conference begins at 6 p.m. Jan. 25 and continues
throughout the following day. Pre-registration is encouraged.
The registration fee is $15 per person for one day and
$25 for both days. It includes dinner and lunch as well
as proceedings from the conference. To obtain a registration
form, conference program and to learn about lodging
accommodations, go to this
site or call Lacefield at 270-365-7541, ext. 202.
Feb. 1: Deadline
for Eugene Cervi 2006 award; honors civic journalism
career
The International
Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, ISWNE,
is seeking nominations, justification for nomination
and biographical information for the organization's
Eugene Cervi 2006 Award.
If you know of anyone in your state or province who
might be deserving of ISWNE's Eugene Cervi Award, you
can contact Chad Stebbins at the International Society
of Weekly Newspaper Editors at
Missouri Southern State University,
3950 E. Newman Road, Joplin MO 64801-1595.
The Eugene Cervi Award was established by ISWNE in
1976 to honor the memory of the late editor of the Rocky
Mountain Journal in Denver. It recognizes an
editor who has consistently acted in the conviction
that "good journalism begets good government."
The award recognizes consistently aggressive reporting
of government at the grassroots level and interpretation
of public affairs, writes Stebbins. Letters of nomination
along with a biographical data sheet must be sent by
Feb. 1. For more information, go to the Web
site and click on 'contests.'
Jan.
14-16, 2006
Farm
interests being challenged for water rights in the West,
elsewhere
"From
Montana to Arizona to California and beyond, alliances
of environmentalists, fishermen and city dwellers are
challenging the West's traditional water barons -- farmers
and ranchers -- who have long controlled the increasingly
scarce resource," reports Juliet Eilperin in The
Washington Post.
"Under longstanding federal and
state policies reinforced by farmers' historic political
clout, agriculture has laid claim to about 80 percent
of those scant resources -- at rock-bottom prices --
on the grounds that water is critical to the survival
of crops and livestock," Eilperin writes. But amid
drought and urban growth , demand greatly exceeds supply,
and "other users are arguing that this system is
unfair, uneconomical and a threat to many delicate ecosystems,
and not only in the West." (Read
more)
Eilperin adds, "Some environmentalists
are concerned that even where water is relatively plentiful,
as in the Southeast, irrigation projects can harm valuable
habitat. Two advocacy groups are fighting proposed U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers irrigation projects
along Arkansas's White River, arguing that they are
economically unjustified and could drain swamps that
could be sheltering the rare ivory-billed woodpecker.
In Tampa, the group Earthjustice is
trying to block tomato farmers from using so much ground
water, citing evidence that salt water is intruding
inland at a rate of five inches a day. In Nebraska,
federal and state authorities are struggling to balance
corn and soybean growers' use of water from the Platte
River against the needs of about 220 endangered wild
whooping cranes," whose migrations rely on the
river.
Wal-Mart
health law in Maryland unlikely to be replicated in
other states
Despite union claims that a a law effectively
requiring Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
to spend more on health insurance for its employees
will be a model for other states, "It is doubtful
that the campaign will steamroll across the country,
policy analysts say. Because the other states' bills
are written much more broadly, they are likely to draw
more opposition from companies that watched the Maryland
debate from the sidelines," report Reed Abelson
and Michael Barbaro in The New York Times.
"Only a handful of states, among them Rhode Island,
Washington, Colorado and New Hampshire, are likely to
seriously consider requiring employers to provide a
certain level of coverage, according to health care
advocates and union activists," Abelson and Barbaro
report. "Still, the new Maryland law has already
begun to raise the decibel level of the debate over
how to handle the nation's growing number of people
with no health insurance, which is now at 46 million.
Union activists and others say the law focuses more
attention on the role of employers in providing the
insurance."
The Maryland law requires employers with 10,000 or
more workers in the state to spend at least 8 percent
of their payroll costs on health insurance, or pay the
difference into the Medicaid program for the poor and
disabled -- a program that 5 percent of Wal-Mart employees
use, critics say. Only one Maryland employer meets those
criteria: Wal-Mart, "which has come to symbolize
corporations that do not provide adequate health benefits
to their employees," the Times notes. (Read
more)
West
Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin vows to 'change mining in
this country'
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, often
at the center of two weeks of turmoil during and after
the Sago Mine disaster, said in a live interview on
NBC's "Today" Show Sunday
morning that he wants to see that the 12 coal miners
"did not die in vain" in the state's worst
coal disaster in almost 40 years.
Manchin indicated that he wants public
hearings about the disaster to lead to legislation or
regulations that would prevent another such calamity.
"We are going to change West Virginia mining and
we are going to change mining in this country,"
he said. "I want to make changes so no miner will
ever be faced with the danger of asphyxiation when they
have escaped the initial mine explosion."
Manchin, who lost an uncle in the Farmington
mine disaster in 1968, made a similar vow in his State
of the State address last week. Editorialist Susanna
Rodell of the Charleston Gazette, wrote
of the speech, "We can only hope he’s willing
to take the tough steps that will require, because it
will eventually come down to confronting Big Coal and
making it obey the law, a tough call for any West Virginia
politician."
The occasion for the "Today"
interview was a memorial service scheduled for 2 p.m.
Sunday in Wesley Chapel at West Virginia Wesleyan
College in Buckhannon. For reports on the service:
from Vicki Smith of The Associated Press, click
here; from Scott Finn of the Gazette, click
here. The Sunday Gazette-Mail of
Charleston ran mini-profiles of each miner. To read
them, click
here.
For a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
story about Manchin's last two weeks, click
here. For the paper's special report on the disaster,
click
here. Post-Gazette staffers on the story will have
an online chat Monday and Tuesday; to learn more, click
here.
A one-two punch
on mine-safety issues in Saturday's Washington Post
"Just as Hurricane Katrina put a
spotlight on the leadership and competence of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, so, too, it seems,
is the Sago coal mine disaster destined to shine a light
on the Mine Safety and Health Administration,"
says an editorial in The Washington Post.
After noting controversies under MSHA's
administrator in 2001-04, the Post writers say "the
pattern of repeated, serious safety violations and low
penalties at Sago are on their own an indictment of
MSHA's leaders, who are responsible for noticing such
patterns. Those in Congress who have called for oversight
hearings of MSHA are right to do so. We hope that they
look into not just the causes of any one disaster but
more generally at the relationship between Mr. Bush's
"industry-friendly" policies and the tragedy
in West Virginia Jan. 2." (Click
here to read more)
The Rural Blog encourages all coalfield
newspapers to join in the examination. The Post is doing
its part; the editorial is coupled with an op-ed by
Ellen Smith, owner and managing editor of Mine
Safety and Health News, who again recounts
the increased difficulty of getting records from MSHA.
After 13 miners died in an Alabama mine on Sept. 24,
2001, "a mine tragedy overshadowed by the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks," MSHA for the first time
refused to release interviews of miner witnesses during
an investigation.
"Then, two years ago, without public
comment or input, MSHA secretly changed its longstanding
policy of routinely releasing MSHA inspectors' notes
and information from noise and dust surveys conducted
at mine operations," Smith writes. "While
this secret policy change has drawn ire from both the
mining industry and labor -- and, needless to say, the
media -- MSHA refuses to change its policy, claiming
that releasing this information would "interfere
with law enforcement." MSHA has asserted that it
can withhold this information "until all possibility
of litigation has been exhausted." What this means
is that concerned individuals outside MSHA will have
no chance to examine raw evidence from the Sago disaster
and reach their own conclusions." (Read
more)
Brothers in coal:
Hatfields in Ky. and W. Va., Joneses in southwest Va.
Sunday's Lexington
Herald-Leader noted that twin brothers Dennis
and Ben Hatfield have been the top officials of companies
responsible for two major coal disasters in Central
Appalachia in little over five years. Dennis "was
president of Martin County Coal Corp.
during a 2000 slurry spill described by federal investigators
as the worst environmental disaster in the southeast
United States," and Ben is president of International
Coal Group, owner of the Sago Mine.
That is "interesting, but not exactly
newsworthy," reporter Lee Mueller paraphrased the
brothers' high-school principal, Wilbur Goble, as telling
him. He writes that the Hatfields "were born Oct.
26, 1956, in Matewan, W.Va., and raised in Martin County,"
Kentucky, just across the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy
River. Dennis, now an official with Booth Energy
in Inez, declined to comment, and Ben could
not be reached. Both are "very people-oriented,"
said David Gooch, president of Pikeville-based Coal
Operators and Associates, told Mueller. Click
here to read the full story.
Before yesterday's playoff
game between the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers,
CBS Sports ran a profile of star Bears
running back Thomas Jones, pegged to the Sago disaster.
Jones grew up in the coal-mining towns of Big Stone
Gap and Appalachia, Va., both his parents were underground
miners. "If it's not mining, there's really nothing
here," Diane Bruner, one of Jones's middle-school
teachers, told CBS.
Last summer, Jones and his brother Julius,
of the Dallas Cowboys, were honored in Wise County after
started what they hope will be an annual football camp
at the University of Virginia's College at Wise.
Thomas attended U.Va. For a report by Ida Holyfield,
editor of The Post of Big Stone Gap,
click
here.
Wrapping up journalists'
Sago debacle, this time with a big collection of facts
EditTeach.org
has just added to its Web site "Headlines
past deadline," a comprehensive look at how more
than 100 newspapers covered the Sago Mine disaster on
their front pages. Compiled by Randy
Jessee, newsroom technology director at the Richmond
(Va.) Times-Dispatch, the package includes
two PowerPoint presentations, more than 50 articles
newspapers published to explain how they got it wrong,
and an overview from The New York Times.
Click
here to take a look.
The PowerPoints showcase the front pages of more than
100 newspapers across eight days. One is viewed manually;
the other is automated and runs about 25 minutes. The
coverage, from Jan. 3-10, is annotated with explanations
of how some papers reacted to the news on and after
deadline that early reports of miners being found alive
were "heartbreakingly wrong," as the site
puts it.
The items can be downloaded separately, or as a package
in a folder (84 megabytes for PCs, about 106 MB for
Macs). "If the full presentation is too long for
use in your classes or workshops, you may either delete
some slides from the automatic package or use the manual
version to show selected portions," say Jessee
and Deborah
Gump, Knight Professor of News Editing at the E.W.
Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University,
who runs EditTeach.org. They welcome suggestions and
comments.
Phone deregulation
bills in Kentucky prompt concern about rural service
Legislation pushed by large telephone
companies in Kentucky "would deregulate charges
for any customer who receives phone service as part
of a discount package," but smaller, rural companies
say it could create monopolies for Internet and cable-TV
service in rural areas, reports The Courier-Journal.
"Darrell Maynard, president of Pikeville-based
SouthEast Telephone, which competes
with BellSouth and Alltel
in rural markets, said the larger companies are facing
huge competitive challenges in big cities. But in rural
markets, he fears a lack of regulation will give the
bigger companies the ability to monopolize markets,
Robert Schoenberger writes for the Louisville newspaper.
"Without regulatory protection, he said, the bigger
carriers could undercut smaller providers' prices and
drive them out of business, giving them more leeway
to raise rates later."
"If we take away some policy oversight, where
there is competition, where there are choices, the consumer
will be protected by the open market," Maynard
told Schoenberger. "But you still need some oversight
if you're going to protect the majority of Kentucky
-- rural areas." Schoenberger writes, "BellSouth
and Alltel said they favor deregulation because they
face various competitive challenges from companies in
different parts of Kentucky. The carriers have to charge
the same rate throughout the state, limiting their ability
to respond to smaller competitors." (Read
more)
The bill was the lead story in the Lexington
Herald-Leader, in which reporters
John Stamper and Ryan Alessi said "About half a
dozen states already have passed legislation to deregulate
traditional phone lines in some way, and "Consumer
advocates are concerned that the move would drive up
rates for customers who want just an old-fashioned phone
line." Much of the state "could end up with
few companies to choose from and little oversight by
the [Public Service Commission] to
hold rates down, said Dave Menzer, utility campaign
organizer for Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana[,
a state where the issue is also in play]. That would
mean higher prices for some of Kentucky's poorest residents."
(Read
more)
Maryland governor
in trouble with rural constituents who helped him win
Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich overcame
the state's heavy Democratic tendencies in the 2002
election with help from the western end of the state,
which is more rural and Republican. But he has alienated
many of those constituents, Tim Rowland of The
Herald-Mail of Hagerstown writes in an opinion
piece.
"Western Maryland virtually wept
with joy at Bob Ehrlich's election, believing all local
and rural woes over the years could be blamed on those
arrogant, Democratic Beltway bullies. Further, Washington
County went strong for Ehrlich in the election. Surely
he would not forget such a loyal and supportive group
as us. Well -- you know how it is. No sooner had he
been elected than he served notice he was planning to
make Interstate 81 a toll road. That might have been
the ballgame right there."
Rowland says people in Western Maryland think "a
highway toll is a tax wrapped in a regulation wrapped
in an assault on freedom. And then when you top it off
with a threat -- "You don't pay no toll, you don't
get no six-lane 81" -- you have basically sent
the local electorate wearily back to the drawing board."
And there's more: "The governor also was late
to understand how frustrated Western Maryland corrections
officers have become with his administration's prison
policies; how unsettled some religious conservatives
have become over his obsession with slot-machine gambling;
how angry rural landowners and car owners have become
over the new septic-tank tax and the increased car-registration
tax; and how indignant tax hawks have become over Ehrlich's
mountain of new fees" in lieu of tax increases.
Rowland notes that in the heavily Democratic state,
"A Republican must have an enthusiastic and well-cared-for
base. Plenty of people still like Ehrlich well enough
around here, but notably fewer are willing to throw
themselves under the bus for him as they would have
done four years ago. On the planet that is Maryland
politics, rural counties don't matter much. But come
November, this governor may find out they matter more
than he thought." (Read
more) For Ehrlich's official biography, click
here.
Friday,
Jan. 13, 2006
Md. sets Wal-Mart
health costs; similar bills possible in more than 30
states
Maryland legislators have passed a law effectively
requiring Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
to spend more on health insurance for its employees,
a measure many expect to be a model for other states.
"Legislatures in more than 30 states are considering
replicating" the bill, reports The Washington
Post.(Read
more)
The legislature overrode a veto by Republican Gov.
Robert L. Ehrlich, in "response to growing criticism
that Wal-Mart, the nation's largest private employer,
has skimped on benefits and shifted health costs to
state governments," writes Michael Barbaro of The
New York Times.(Read
more)
"Under the Maryland law, employers with 10,000
or more workers in the state must spend at least 8 percent
of their payrolls on health insurance, or else pay the
difference into a state Medicaid fund" for the
poor and disabled writes Barbaro. "Only four private
employers are large enough in Maryland to be covered
by the bill: Wal-Mart, Northrop Grumman Corp., Giant
Food LLC and Johns Hopkins University. Of those, only
Wal-Mart might fall short of the 8 percent threshold
and therefore pay a penalty," writes Kris Hudson
of The Wall Street Journal. (Read
more)
Wal-Mart's critics say many of its employees have had
to turn to Medicaid. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the
company is considering its options, including a lawsuit
to challenge the law. Wal-Mart hired four firms to lobby
the legislature against the measure and contributed
at least $4,000 to Ehrlich's re-election campaign, writes
Barbaro. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Mia Masten told Barbaro,
"This is about partisan politics and this is poor
public policy driven by special-interest groups."
In Kentucky, where Wal-Mart has 32,000 employees, interest
in such legislation is bipartisan. Republican state
Rep. Melvin Henley of Murray is prime sponsor of the
Wal-Mart health bill, reports The Courier-Journal.
Patrick Howington interviewed Henley for the Louisville
paper: "If large employers aren't 'holding up their
end of the health-care program for their employees,'
he said, 'then we need to either encourage them to increase
their employees' health care or pay it into the Medicaid
system.'" (Read
more)
"Washington and New Hampshire are
among the states labor activists view as most likely
to follow in Maryland's footsteps," Amy Joyce and
Matthew Mosk report in a follow-up story in The
Washington Post. "Organized labor has
a lot riding on this campaign. Companies that provide
higher pay and benefits under union contracts are battling
lower-cost competitors here and abroad. The companies
are attempting to level the playing field by cutting
back on pay and benefits, sometimes by filing for bankruptcy.
Labor is trying the opposite tack: making others pay
more." (Read
more)
Nursing-home reform group checking
staffing ratios; reporters can, too
How many patients does a nurse have to check? This
may sound like the opening line of a joke, but it's
serious business for a nursing-home reform group that
wants volunteers to check their local nursing homes
for compliance with a new federal regulation on posting
nurses-to-patients ratios. This is an easy check for
reporters anywhere, and could produce a story if the
law isn't being followed.
Kentuckians
for Nursing Home Reform is seeking volunteers
to join the "Posting Patrol" and do some snooping.
The group says its mission is "to organize a volunteer
force of Kentuckians who want to be a part of improving
care in nursing homes, and who want to help educate
the public about the problems in nursing homes, mainly
the shortage of front-line caregivers."
"The federal government has finalized its regulation
on posting the number of front-line caregivers in nursing
homes. If the nursing homes comply with the order, you
can determine the staffing ratio in that nursing home
for any day and any shift," writes nursing-home
reformer Bernie Vonderheide. Nursing homes are now required
to"post how many registered nurses giving direct
care, how many licensed practical nurses giving direct
care, and how many certified nurse aides giving direct
care on each shift for the entire facility; post the
facility resident census - how many residents there
are at the time of the staff posting; and they must
post this information in a clear and readable format
in a prominent place that is readily accessible to residents
and visitors" -- who can be anyone, not just friends
or relatives of residents.
By law, Vonderheide writes, "you can request a
copy of the posting whether you are a family member
or visitor. They have a right to charge you for the
copies they make for you." Vonderheide asks Kentuckians
to copy all of the information on the posting along
with the name and location of the nursing home and e-mail
it to KyNursingHomeReform@yahoo.com.
The group will figure the staff-to-residents ratio and
publish the results in a newsletter at this Web
site.
Arkansas
community fears meth rising again, despite cold-medicine
law
Despite new laws restricting sales of cold medicines
with ingredients used in making methamphetamine, there
are reports that meth production is on the rise in some
areas, such as rural Arkansas.
"Sheriff’s deputies [have] uncovered another
methamphetamine lab, alarming law enforcement the initial
effect of last year’s anti-meth legislation has
worn off. A patrol officer discovered a functioning
meth lab in her home, said Sheriff’s Lt. Greg
Williams," writes Joseph Goldstein of The
Daily Citizen in Searcy.
For the same "White County narcotics investigators
who were hard pressed to find a meth lab in 2005,"
Goldstein writes, "the sudden upsurge of meth labs
has caused some to question the effectiveness of a 2005
law that restricts access to cold medicines used in
making meth."
Williams told Goldstein, "Where there is a will,
there is a way. You’ve got people who realize
they don’t need to go down to Mississippi to buy
pills and that you can still buy them right here."
In the first two weeks of 2006, the sheriff’s
department has discovered four meth labs leading to
four arrests. In 2005, they uncovered nine meth labs,
a quarter of the number from 2004, writes Goldstein.
(Read
more)
Montana Indian tribe launches
'get tough' campaign to counter meth spread
Alarmed by rampant methamphetamine addiction, the Chippewa-Cree
Business Committee in Montana has adopted a
rigorous plan to curtail the drug and treat those who
become addicted.
"Leading the charge is the newly created tribal
meth advisory committee. The 12-member panel is tasked
with curbing meth's spread across the reservation, using
a combination of prevention, intervention, treatment
and increased law enforcement. The panel also is working
to forge alliances with other area tribes and existing
anti-meth groups," writes Jared Miller of the Great
Falls Tribune.
Tribal councilman and state lawmaker Jonathan Windy
Boy told Miller, "We want a more unified approach."
Brenda Guardipee, director of the tribe's social services
program told Miller meth outpatient drug treatment has
risen, meth-related child welfare cases are up and more
tribal welfare recipients are failing mandatory drug
tests. She said children as young as 12 have tested
positive. Guardipee told the newspaper, "If it's
accessible (to) a 12-year-old, it's easily accessible
for anyone else."
The tribe's 9-page community action plan notes that
large-scale drug dealers target reservations as distribution
hubs, writes Miller, and he notes a federal court last
year sentenced a drug runner for selling meth on reservations
in Wyoming, Washington, South Dakota and Nebraska. The
man apparently exploited jurisdictional loopholes in
law enforcement by targeting reservations. (Read
more)
Indian gaming group battling
Native American poverty, gambling problems
The chairman of the California Nations Indian
Gaming Association (CNIGA) has announced plans
to help thousands of Indians who still live in abject
poverty and to help people addicted to gambling, an
industry that has helped tribes economically but provided
temptation to their members.
The programs were announced Wednesday by Chairman Anthony
Miranda in his State of the Tribal Nations address to
nearly 900 attendees at the Western Indian Gaming Conference,
notes the group in a press release on PRNewswire.
Center for California Native Nations
at the University of California Riverside
statistics show the average income of tribal people
on reservations in California in 2000 was still 53 percent
of the national average income. In 1990 it was 42 percent
of the national average.
Even within gaming tribes in 1990, 36 percent of the
families were living in poverty. That number improved
to 26 percent by 2000, two years after California voters
approved to state-tribal gaming compacts. The poverty
rate among non-gaming tribes in California in 2000 was
30 percent, three times the overall poverty rate in
California and in the United States. (Read
more)
Meanwhile, speaking of Indian gaming:
"Native American media say that several Indian
tribes are players, not victims, in the scandal involving
lobbyists Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlon and members
of Congress," reports Pete Micek of Pacific
News Service. (Read
more)
Active gas wells near Sago mine
where 12 died; one close to possible blast site
There are at least four natural-gas wells in close
proximity to the Sago No. 1 Mine, including one that
appears to be adjacent to the sealed area of the mine
where a deadly explosion may have occurred.
"The wells are depicted on a Sago Mine map on
file with the mine’s permit and mining plan records
at the state Office of Miners’ Health,
Safety and Training in Fairmont. An exact cause
of the Jan. 2 disaster may not be known for months,
but information about the location of the gas wells
adds to the evidence being assembled and examined by
teams of state mine safety investigators," write
Paul J. Nyden and Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston
Gazette.
State Department of Environmental Protection
records show three of the wells are active. The fourth
has not reported production since 1988. Natural gas
contains about 70 percent to 90 percent methane, an
explosive gas responsible for many coal-mine disasters,
note Nyden and Ward.
The state Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety
said during an emergency meeting yesterday that at Sago,
natural gas could have leaked from the nearby wells
into abandoned areas sealed off from the working mine
sections. One theory is that a lightning strike could
have ignited that gas. (Read
more)
In the aftermath of the mine tragedy, the United
Mine Workers of America is trying to help the
public better understand the work that goes into coal
mining via a Web
site.
This time reporters questioned,
then confirmed, W.Va. mine 'escape' report
Less than a week after journalists falsely reported
that 12 trapped miners had been rescued in West Virginia,
many newspapers' follow-up stories have named sources
in the headlines, unlike many if not most of last week's
faulty reports, according to Editor & Publisher.
Tuesday, "many newspapers reported the trapped
miners had tried to break out of the mine using a rail
car. The only source: relatives of the sole surviving
miner, who said they had been told about this by the
mine company's chief executive, Ben Hatfield,"
writes E & P.
Most papers "placed the sole source right at the
top," notes E & P. The New York Times
headlined "Miners Tried Escape By Rail Car, Family
Says," and it attributed the report to the Associated
Press three separate times in the first three paragraphs.
Many others, notes E&P were also professionally
cautious. (Read
more)
Fatalistic theme, false report
obscure company's responsibility, writer says
"Those first press dispatches out of Sago carried
a sense of inevitability. As if, given the inherent
dangers of coal mining, we must be willing to accept
the occasional disaster. Twelve miners were offered
up to the outside world like a bill come due,"
opines Fred Grimm of the Miami Herald.
Grimm notes, "Miners readily talked about the
risk they assume when they go underground. Others noted
the region's long, brutal history of mine tragedies,
from 3,242 miners dying on the job in 1907 to 22 losses
in 2005. A theme developed: Coal mining deaths are an
unavoidable byproduct of our need for cheap energy."
And Grimm writes, "The federal Mine Safety
and Health Administration's Web site encouraged
this notion that bad things happen to good mines, citing
an 'aggressive' inspection and enforcement record at
Sago Mine." (Read
more)
Grim bemoans news-media gullibility, writing, "I
was wrong . . . to create an impression that tragedies
like Sago are the inevitable by-product of mining. I
should have added a qualifier: Disasters become inevitable
when ''significant and substantial'' safety violations
aren't fixed. . . . And the company's possible culpability
was overshadowed because of the operator's stunning
public-relations error: telling the miners' families
12 men had survived down in that hole, then waiting
three hours to fix the mistake."
Kentucky governor says old equipment
may be putting coal miners at risk
A miner killed earlier this week in Eastern Kentucky
was using a 1970s-era machine to install metal supports
to support a layer of overhead rock when the roof came
crashing down.
"Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher has called on state
mine regulators to look at whether Kentucky has adequate
regulations to ensure the aging equipment used in some
coal mines is not putting workers at risk," writes
Roger Alford of The Associated Press.
"If there is clear evidence that use of technology
can produce a much safer workplace, then we need to
encourage that. This accident led me to believe that
a review of technology is important to do," Fletcher
said.
D. J. Peterson, a spokesman for RAND Corp.,
which monitors science and technology trends, told Alford
that a review of Appalachian mining practices found
that the process of extracting coal underground is largely
unchanged from 50 years ago. (Read
more)
Homelessness not confined to
urban areas; Kentucky hopes to provide help
Homelessness stretches beyond urban boundaries, especially
in Kentucky, where one out of four people live in cost-burdened,
substandard or over crowded housing, writes Ronnie Ellis,
state-capital correspondent for Community Newspaper
Holdings Inc. papers in the state.
"Even in rural areas, there are numerous homeless
folks that we don’t see," said Gina Chamberlain
of Berea. "We think of homeless folks sleeping
in doorways in urban areas or under bridges, but they
might be people who live out on the railroad tracks
in Richmond, or they’re moving from household
to household, among family or friends, for a couple
of weeks here and a couple of weeks there, because they
don’t have a permanent place."
Legislative statistics show that 44,000 people in Kentucky
experience homelessness each year. House Bill 338 would
"establish a permanent source of revenue for the
Affordable Housing Trust Fund of Kentucky," which
according to Chamberlain helps lower the cost of construction
of housing and allows for lower rent payments. Chamberlain
is lobbying for support from state senators.
Chamberlain said most rural counties don’t have
services to help the homeless. "What homelessness
looks like in a lot of rural areas is people who make
phone call after phone call, who go to agency after
agency, and they find there’s nothing there for
them," Chamberlain said. "Or they’re
living in units that don’t have heat or plumbing
that are basically not fit to live in -- but it’s
better than living on the street." (Read
more)
A report from the home of the
Country Boys: more reasons for hope
Yesterday The Rural Blog highlighted the
wealth of background information available about the
subject matter Country Boys, the PBS "Frontline"
documentary about coming of age amid challenges of their
families and Eastern Kentucky. At our invitation, Prestonsburg,
Ky., lawyer John Rosenberg, a member of the advisory
board of the Institute for Rural Journalism
and Community Issues, reviewed geographer Amy
Glasmeier's report on Floyd County.
Rosenberg, chairman of the East
Kentucky Science Center, says there are
reasons, beyond those Glasmeier noted, for hope in Floyd
County: Big Sandy Community and Technical College,
with 3,000 students, where four-year degrees
from Morehead State University can
be earned; the Science Center, which has "a world-class
planetarium," exhibits and equipped classroom ("We
hope for Silicon Hollows eventually," Rosenberg
says); the Mountain Arts Center, site
of many musical and theatrical productions and frequent
venue for traveling artists; the popular Stonecrest
Golf Course, on top of a former strip-mine
site; and several federal and state prisons in the area,
which provide steady employment.
Rosenberg also sees an educational system
that is improving, still too slowly in his view, but
one in which Betsy Layne High School can
produce Governor's Scholars and "forensic competitions
which would have been unheard of years ago. . . . So,
I think it is worth noting that, in some ways, there
are positive changes, although we continue to be economically
depressed." For Glasmeier's report and access to
information offered on the Country Boys Web
site, click
here.
Legislative panel approves rural
seat on Arizona higher-education board
Arizona lawmakers are moving to ensure rural areas
are represented on the state's Board of Regents. A Senate
committee "approved legislation to require that
one board member be from a county of fewer than 800,000
residents," writes Howard Fischer of Capitol Media
Services, on the Web sites of the Arizona Daily
Star and the Tucson Citizen.
The bill would add a 13th member to the board, but
sponsors plan to amend it when it reaches the Senate
floor to instead require that the next vacancy be filled
by a resident of one of the state's 13 rural counties.
One seat is vacant following a regent's death. Most
of the regents have come from the state's urban areas.
Sen. Jake Flake, R-Snowflake, said a rural member could
spur expansion of programs to help students not living
near state's three universities get four-year degrees.
(Read
more)
Thursday,
Jan. 12, 2006
‘Country
Boys’ has run, but the film and lots more remain
on the Web
The six-hour documentary
Country Boys, about coming of age amid challenges
of family and region, concluded its run last night on
PBS's "Frontline," but the producers' Web
site and a special report from a specialist in rural
poverty offer much more information for journalists
and others.
Amy Glasmeier, author of
An Atlas of Poverty In America, details the
economic geography of Floyd County, Ky., scene of the
David Sutherland film. She reports, "A long-standing
lack of economic opportunity, combined with the accompanying
economic uncertainty, wears on and ultimately shapes
individual aspirations." Her report appears in
the Reports section of this Web site. To read it, click
here.
Country Boys can
be viewed on your computer, by going to the
documentary's Web site, which includes much background
information on the film, Appalachia, a "community
engagement campaign" to help young people, and
links to the subjects, Cody Perkins and Chris Johnson.
It also includes a discussion board, maps, readings
and reviews. We agree with Kay McFadden of the Seattle
Times, who wrote, "Intimate and at times
unbearably detailed, [Country Boys] distills
the trappings of poverty and isolation into a classic
coming-of-age saga. And it never condescends . . . "
Why does Appalachia stay poor? The site
offers an interview with Cynthia Mildred "Mil"
Duncan of the Carsey Institute, author
of the 1999 book Worlds Apart: Why Poverty Persists
in Rural America. She blames long-term neglect
and lack of investment. Speaking of the boys, she says,
"We have a responsibility to the Codys and the
Chrises of the world, and ... it is possible to invest
in them, with real commitment, so they have a future,
so they can join the middle class, and their kids can
have middle-class schools, and have middle-class jobs,
and raise strong families." For the interview with
Duncan, click
here.
Before the show ran, there were the usual
concerns that it would amplify Appalachian stereotypes,
but last night, in a Kentucky Educational Television
show after the final episode, lawyer and columnist Larry
Webster, a fierce defender of the region from nearby
Pikeville, said of Sutherland, "He dealt into mountain
life with a broad enough sampling that it was fair to
all of us up here."
Perkins and Johnson appeared on the live,
call-in show. Perkins, now married and out of college,
said he is working for a heating-and-cooling company,
and his Christian, heavy-metal band is about to release
an album. Johnson said he is "still single"
and may become a coal miner -- but may yet go to college.
Indiana bill ties
phone deregulation to broadband expansion; cities skeptical
An Indiana Senate committee has advanced a sweeping
proposal to deregulate the state's telephone market
that would make telephone deregulation dependent on
broadband access.
"The bill would let telephone companies set their
own prices by 2009 and hike their rates by $1 each month
until that date, if they provide high-speed Internet
services to more than half of their customers in areas
with increased prices," writes Michael Martinez
of Technology Daily.
Supporters argue relaxed rules would bolster competition,
that consumers would benefit from the bill and that
existing franchise laws stifle competition. Former U.S.
House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, in written
testimony, said, "Unfortunately, franchise regulations
continue to keep new technologies out of the hands of
ordinary Americans."
Speaking on behalf of the Indiana Association
of Cities and Towns, Linton Mayor Tom Jones
and Bluffton Mayor Ted Ellis said the proposal's stringent
requirements for municipal broadband projects would
deny citizens access to developing technologies. Association
spokeswoman Andrea Johnson told Martinez, the measure
would hurt municipal broadband efforts that were initiated
in part because companies had failed to provide the
service. (Read
more)
Presidential hopeful Clinton
pushing for broadband extension to rural areas
"Likening the importance of broadband deployment's
effect on economic development to the electrification
of rural areas in the 1930s, U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton is calling on the head of the federal Rural
Utilities Service to improve the Broadband
Loan Program," reports Business First of
Buffalo.
Clinton, a Democrat, and U.S. Rep. John McHugh, a Republican
from northern New York, are asking RUS Administrator
James Andrew to explain why more loans are not being
processed to hasten the deployment of broadband to rural
areas of New York, reports Business First.
The two legislators said broadband "holds tremendous
potential to bridge the technological and economic gap
of many rural and underserved communities in New York,"
the business newspaper reports.
"It is critical that the Bush Administration and
the Rural Utilities Service give serious consideration
to our proposed improvements. It is vital for this loan
program to function efficiently and reach the companies
and communities that Congress intended it to,"
said Clinton. "In their letter to Andrew, the two
New York representatives said broadband is 'clearly
an economic multiplier' that has to be brought to all
rural areas as soon as possible," reports Business
First. (Read
more)
USDA Rural Development touts
possible shift: 'farm policy' to 'rural policy'
"Could we be approaching a day in which 'rural'
policy is more important than 'farm' policy? The Iowa
native who heads USDA's efforts in that area says such
a paradigm shift could be in the works," writes
Gene Lucht for Lee
Agri-Media's Farm and Ranch Guide
in Bismarck, N.D.
Lucht reports that Tom Dorr, a native of Marcus, Iowa,
undersecretary of USDA's Rural Development agency, spoke
during the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation's
annual meeting in Des Moines recently, telling them,
"The fact is that today 96 percent of the income
in rural America comes from non-farm sources."
Lucht also notes "many of those non-farm sources
may be connected to agriculture."
But, Lucht writes, "the point is: Providing those
jobs and other items -- such as health insurance, good
schools, rural roads and better Internet access -- might
soon be more important than the level of commodity payments
for many rural residents."
Dorr said rural Iowa residents' want to live in rural
areas, and that better Internet access, and insurance
and education options can give rural communities advantages.
He also cited Iowa's boom in renewable energy that fueled
the building of numerous farmer-owned ethanol production
facilities, writes Lucht.
Dorr told the gathering that rural Iowa should try
to keep some of ownership and investment in the plants,
rather than letting it go to non-resident investors
"who will take a portion of the profits out of
state," writes Lucht. Dorr noted the more that
wealth can be channeled into local communities the more
the state will benefit, reports Lucht. (Read
more)
Consortium aims
to oversee animal movement database, work with USDA
Charles Miller, a cow-calf producer from Nicholasville,
Ky., has announced the formation of the non-profit United
States Animal Identification Organization manage
the industry-led animal identification movement database
as prescribed by the National
Animal Identification System.
"This organization looks forward to working closely
with industry and animal health authorities to move
the NAIS forward. A Memorandum of Understanding has
been submitted by the USAIO to the U.S. Department
of Agriculture to form a strategic partnership
and fulfill Secretary Johanns’ directive for the
industry to develop the database repository," said
Miller.
The organization's initial directors include Miller,
beef producer Rick Stott of Boise, Idaho, and bison
producer Lance Kuck of Bassett, Neb.
Reporters in Kentucky, Idaho and Nebraska could do
a story about the director in their state, putting a
face on a developing phenomenon and developing a source
for future stories. Contact Miller at 859-885-4773 or
cjbeef@alltel.net
for issues regarding USAIO formation and governance;
or Stott at 208-338-2500 or rstott@agribeef.com
for issues regarding operation of the animal-movement
database.
Western N. C. growers join chorus
of disgruntled voices on tobacco buyout
Some Western North Carolina growers dislike the tobacco
buyout and are considering legal action.
"The historic tobacco buyout Congress passed in
late 2004 will put nearly $10 billion into farmers’
hands. But not all tobacco farmers, especially some
burley tobacco growers in the mountains, feel they’re
getting a fair shake," writes John Boyle of the
Asheville Citizen-Times. Before the
buyout, annually about 4,000 mountain growers in North
Carolina would get $8 million to $10 million for their
crops.
Don Smart, a Haywood County grower, told Boyle, "Burley
and flue-cured growers got shorted. When all was said
and done, we lost about 50 cents a pound." Smart
told Boyle growers should have gotten $3 a pound for
their "effective quota" for 2002, but he explains
the U.S. Department of Agriculture
took an average of 2002, 2003 and 2004, writes Boyle.
Smart feels he’s been shorted about $60,000. He
is working with a Virginia attorney on a suit against
the USDA, which administers the buyout through its Farm
Service Agency.
FSA spokesman referred questions to the agency Web
site, which has a page comparing the language Congress
used in writing the buyout legislation to the payout
program, Boyle writes. (Read
more)
Meth and children: Nebraska
study shows drug taking a toll on the young
A Nebraska advocacy group has released a study that
shows methamphetamine is having a devastating effect
on the state's children. They are becoming victims of
their parents' drug habits.
"Voices
For Children released its report showing
that meth is one of the reasons for a 38 percent increase
in abuse and neglect cases. Counselors said the problem
has been exploding over the last two years," reports
KETV Channel 7 in Omaha.
Omaha's Child
Saving Institute's Todd Landry told the
station, "It's a crisis that is affecting our children
and youth in so many ways." Voices for Children
wants stricter laws for meth dealers and makers, as
well as more money for the foster child-care system,
education and treatment. Voices For Children's Kathy
Bigsby-Moore told the station, "It's a combination
of not having enough dollars to prevent them from coming
into care, but then they often stay in care for longer
periods of time."
The Child Savings Institute has an emergency shelter
for abused and neglected kids. A growing number of them
are being taken from homes because of meth abuse problems,
the television station reports. CSI's Shana Romero told
KETV, "I think the kids are just fending for themselves
out there." CSI's Sabrina Schalley told them, "We're
guessing anywhere from 30 to 50 percent come in strictly
related to meth. No other substance abuse." (Read
more)
Ky. governor reacts to a mine
fatality by calling for stronger enforcement
After visiting a Pike County coal mine where a miner
died in a roof fall, Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher "asked
Kentucky mining regulators yesterday to find ways to
strengthen the state's system of enforcing mine-safety
laws," reports Alan Maimon, Eastern Kentucky reporter
for The Courier-Journal.
The Maverick Mining Co. mine "was
cited for more than 100 violations last year, 46 ...
characterized by federal inspectors as 'significant
and substantial.' Several cited roof problems,"
Maimon wrote. "As governor, I take personally the
loss of a life in the workplace, and am committed to
doing what the state can do to help prevent that,"
Fletcher said, adding a reference to the recent deaths
of 12 miners in West Virginia. "In light of the
most recent accidents, we need to do more."
For example, the legislature could give
state officials power "to fine companies that violate
safety laws," as federal officials do, "and
increasing the pay of mine inspectors who currently
make a starting salary of about $30,000" a year,
Maimon wrote. Fletcher had already endorsed the idea
of mandatory drug testing for miners, which no other
state has, but the coal industry opposes paying for
such tests.
Kentucky Coal Association President
Bill Caylor told The Courier-Journal that the increased
attention to mine safety is "a knee-jerk reaction
to a terrible accident," the one in West Virginia.
"Coal mines are much safer than they're being portrayed."
(Read
more)
Safety improvements finished
at Sago Mine before accident, says operator
International Coal Group Inc.'s
chief executive called the Sago Mine a "safe operation,"
despite federal documents reporting that 17 of 208 alleged
safety violations in 2005 were for serious problems.
CEO Ben Hatfield said, "Company officials have
heard nothing in the course of all this debate about
the safety violations that even remotely connects with
any possible cause of the explosion."
Hatfield told reporters that before the explosion
that killed 12 miners, the company rebuilt two miles
of primary escapeway, upgraded the mine's rail transportation
system and implemented employee safety training. The
mine's 208 citations last year contrasted sharply with
its 68 citations in 2004. Still, the mine's employee
injury rate per hours worked of 17.4 in 2005 was nearly
three times higher than the national average of 6.54,
writes David Disheau of The Associated Press.
Dennis O'Dell, the administrator of occupational health
and safety for the United Mine Workers of America,
told Disheau, "I think they were trying to go in
the right direction. They were writing some pretty serious
violations at that mine. ... That mine was headed for
closure."
Hatfield told Disheau ICG inherited many of the mine's
safety problems from its former owner and had been working
to correct the violations. The company took control
from Anker Energy in November, but
started work there as management consultants in June,
Disheau writes. (Read
more)
Huge bottled-water
company forsakes Va., W.Va., N.C. for N.Y. or Pa.
Nestle Waters North America has stopped
searching for water supplies in Central and Southern
Appalachia and instead will look in Pennsylvania and
New York, The Roanoke Times reports.
JoAnne Poindexter writes, "Nestle Waters said
it was looking at pouring an estimated $120 million
into Botetourt and Alleghany counties by drilling a
series of wells and building a massive bottling plant
for its Deer Park products. The company wanted a site
closer to its mid-Atlantic region, but the plans were
dependent on the scientific water testing of numerous
springs."
The plant would have created up to 250 new jobs. Project
leader Bruce Lauerman told Poindexter the testing showed
storm water runoff didn't allow the springs to meet
the stringent U.S. Food and Drug Administration
standards. Nestle spent about $1 million on the yearlong
project, which also looked at sites in West Virginia
and North Carolina. (Read
more)
For
rural preservation, S. C. county proposes a shift in
sales-tax money
In South Carolina, rural Charleston County's advisory
committee has proposed spending seven of every $10 from
the more than $180 million in sales-tax money to preserve
green space.
"Mayors Joe Riley of Charleston, Keith Summey
of North Charleston and Harry Hallman Jr. of Mount Pleasant
had asked the board to make a 60-40 rural-urban percent
split of the money. The 8-5 vote reflected the deep
division between representatives of municipal and rural
interests on the appointed resident board," writes
Bob Peterson of the Post and Courier of
Charleston.
The 70-30 split would be roughly $130 million to $50
million rural to urban. Of that, $10 million of the
rural grant money is expected to be given to a county
conservation bank modeled on the state bank.
Committee Chairwoman Louise Maybank called it "a
defining moment for green space," but Mount Pleasant
Administrator Mac Burdette said the three mayors represent
75 percent of the county's population and ... should
get a fair share, writes Peterson. Other committee members
said the plan represented "the overwhelming desire
of residents they heard at workshops and public hearings."
Committee member Edwin Cooper told Peterson, "This
is a triage situation. The biggest risk ... is the loss
of rural areas." (Read
more)
Arizona newspaper calls for
rural voice on state higher-education board
A vacancy on the Arizona Board of Regents
has prompted the Benson News Sun in
the San Pedro Valley to call for the state's rural population
to be represented on the higher-education panel.
The editors note that most of the regents hail from
the state's major urban areas and write, "There
is opportunity in virtually everything, including unhappy
occurrences" like the death of regent Lorraine
Frank of Phoenix. Like most states, Arizona is becoming
more urban, with only 12 percent of its residents in
rural areas. Four of 15 counties are predominately rural
while seven more are one-third to one-half rural.
The editors continue, "The needs of rural residents
are decidedly different from those of city dwellers.
To a student in Maricopa County [Phoenix], distance
learning is nice but not essential. But to a student
from rural Cochise, learning away from a campus could
be critical."
And, they conclude, "Given that there are 10 appointed
members on the regents, and 12 percent rural population,
we don't think it is unreasonable to ask Gov. Napolitano
to find someone living in a rural area to serve out
Lorraine Frank's term." (Read
more)
Rural Alabama county
reverses decision to purchase terrorism insurance
Clarke County, Alabama, has opted not to purchase insurance
protection against a foreign-based terrorist attack,
after residents questioned the need for coverage and
said the $7,000 premium was not a good use of public
money, reports Andy Netzel of The Mobile
Register.
Commission Chairman Rhondell Rhone told Netzel, "We
should have taken a little more time and studied it."
The commission originally voted unanimously to purchase
the insurance even after some members voiced skepticism.
It called for a policy insuring county-owned buildings
from damages, notes Netzel.
The Montgomery Advertiser wrote that
a foreign terrorist organization would have a hard time
finding Clarke County, which has about 27,000 residents
in rural southwest Alabama. The newspaper opined, "Clarke
County has to be one of the least likely targets for
terrorism on the planet."
Commissioner Joe Hunt told the Register, "The
majority of the people who approached me didn't think
it was worth it .... that's why I changed my mind."
The county's regular insurance policy covers domestic
terrorist attacks. (Read
more)
Rural Calendar
Jan.
19-22: Sustaining Family Farms conference, Louisville
The Southern
Sustainable Agriculture Working Group will
host its 15th annual Practical Tools and Solutions for
Sustaining Family Farms conference Jan. 19-22. The conference
will feature more than 50 sessions, four intensive short
courses, field trips and much more. Promoters say it
"offers a bounty of innovative strategies for those
who are committed to sustainable agriculture."
More than 700 producers, educators, researchers, and
advocates, all working toward sustainable food systems,
are expected to attend the conference at the Hyatt Regency
Hotel downtown. For more information, write Robin Verson,
vendor coordinator, Southern Sustainable Agriculture
Working Group, 8707 Breeding Road, Edmonton, KY 42129;
call 270-432-0567; or e-mail hhcsa@scrtc.com..
Jan. 23: Seminar on covering
the federal budget, Washington, D.C.
The National Press Foundation, the
Center on Congress at Indiana
University, and the Regional Reporters
Association will conduct a free half-day seminar
on Jan. 23 in Washington, D.C. on covering the annual
federal budget. RSVPs are strongly encouraged by Jan.
20.
The NPF provides free educational
programs for reporters, producers, and editors, and
gives awards for excellence in journalism. For more
information, contact Kashmir Hill by e-mail
or contact the National Press Foundation at npf@nationalpress.org.
Meanwhile, the
annual NPF awards dinner, "with more than one thousand
of the nation's leading journalists, news organizations,
and National Press Foundation supporters" celebrating
excellence, achievement and leadership in journalism
is scheduled for Feb. 23 at the Washington Hilton. Those
interested can reserve tables and tickets online.
Wednesday,
Jan. 11, 2006
Rural California school district
site of 'next wave' intelligent-design lawsuit
Some parents are suing their rural California school
district to force it to cancel a four-week high school
elective on intelligent design, creationism and evolution
that is offered as a philosophy course, not science.
A federal judge in Pennsylvania recently ruled that
it is unconstitutional to teach intelligent design in
a public-school science class because it is religious
teaching.
The 11 parents at Frazier Mountain High School
in Lebec, on Interstate 5 between Burbank and Bakersfield,
"are seeking a temporary restraining order to stop
the course, which is being held during the session that
ends on Feb. 3," writes Laurie Goodstein of The
New York Times. Represented by lawyers with
Americans United
for Separation of Church and State, the
parents contend the teacher is advocating intelligent
design and "young-earth creationism."
Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United,
told Goodstein, "This is apparently the next wave
of efforts to bring creationism to schools, and that's
why we want to dry it up immediately." A course
description says, "This class will take a close
look at evolution as a theory and will discuss the scientific,
biological and biblical aspects that suggest why Darwin's
philosophy is not rock solid." The teacher of the
course is married to the pastor of the local Assemblies
of God church. She amended her syllabus and the course
title after parents complained. Kitty Jo Nelson, a school
trustee, told Goodstein, "If we had to describe
this in one word it would be 'controversial.'"
School administrators did not respond to an interview
request. Supt. John Wright said in a Jan. 6 letter,
"Our legal advisers have [said] they are unaware
of any court or California statute which has forbidden
public schools to explore cultural phenomena, including
history, religion or creation myths." (Read
more)
Governor's 'intelligent design'
remarks stir questions, maybe local impact
In Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher's State of the Commonwealth
address Monday night, brief remarks near the end supporting
the teaching of intelligent design in schools have "sparked
more conversation and curiosity" than any other
remarks he made, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader.
"Fletcher said Kentucky school districts have
the freedom to teach intelligent design if they want,
and he said, 'I encourage them to do so'," writes
Ryan Alessi. Fletcher did not propose a law, and Rep.
Frank Rasche, D-Paducah, chairman of the House Education
Committee, said he would block one because the state
leaves curriculum decisions up to school districts.
One statute explicitly gives permission for creationism
to be taught but doesn't require it. The law does not
mention intelligent design.
Rasche, Senate Minority Leader Ed Worley and other
Democrats said Fletcher may be "trying to score
political points with Christian conservative voters,
especially as the governor's poll numbers have dropped
in recent months," writes Alessi. Cabinet Secretary
Robbie Rudolph said Fletcher was not acting on political
calculations. Rep. David Floyd of Bardstown, like Fletcher
a Republican, said, "I think the question is a
good one. Why bring it up?" Fletcher said "he
wanted to address the topic because he had been asked
about it and thought it important," Alessi reports.
(Read
more)
Fletcher's remarks raise the possibility that a Kentucky
school district could decide to teach intelligent design.
When schools in Dover, Pa., did that in science class,
parents sued, resulting in a federal-court ruling that
blocked the practice. Just prior to the ruling, an election
ousted the school-board members who added intelligent
to the curriculum.
On Stinking Creek, parents raise
a stink about plans to close the school
A requirement that schools be evaluated every four years
has some parents and teachers in Knox County, Ky., concerned
that their school may be closed. They fear the regulation
may put and end to Dewitt Elementary along Stinking
Creek, a famous tributary of the Cumberland River.
Teacher Misty Broughton said, "Our area is very
rural, and we're close as a community. I feel if you
take the school out of the community there's nothing
left." Most of the people at a Monday night planning
committee meeting were there in support of the school,
reports WYMT-TV of Hazard.
Student Tori Warren told the station, "I think
a lot of people would have to home school their children
or would miss a lot of school because they wouldn't
be able to get to school all the time." Concerned
parents cited reasons like transportation difficulties
and pride in their community as reasons to keep the
school.
Ken Crawford, a member of the planning committee, said,
"Part of this discussion is money to take care
of problems there versus building a new school in Dewitt,
so where do we get the money?" (Read
more)
The more we hear about the record
of the Sago mine, the worse it gets
"Supervisors at the West Virginia mine where 12
miners died "repeatedly failed to uncover dangerous
conditions before starting a day's production,"
according to inspection records released yesterday,
reports Gardiner Harris in The New York Times.
"Company officials have said that a required pre-shift
inspection done shortly before the explosion on Jan.
2 found no dangerous levels of methane, an explosive
gas that is often the cause of mine disasters. But the
newly public records indicate that these inspections
were often inadequate," writes Harris, who once
covered coal up close from The (Louisville)
Courier-Journal's Eastern Kentucky Bureau.
"The records also show that the mine had by far
the worst safety record last year of any mine its size
in West Virginia," Harris writes. "Federal
inspectors cited the mine 202 times last year, a number
that included 16 violations so blatant that they were
deemed 'unwarrantable failures.' None of the six other
mines in West Virginia with a similar number of employees
were cited for that kind of violation."
The records showed that company officials should have
faced criminal charges even before the explosion, said
Tony Oppegard, described by Harris as "a former
top official with the federal Mine Safety and Health
Administration and a former prosecutor of mine-safety
violations in Kentucky. He told Harris that the violations
amounted to a pattern that should have forced temporary
closure of the mine."You can't just let them violate
the law month after month."
Robert Friend, the acting deputy assistant secretary
of labor for mine safety and health, told reporters
Monday that "pattern of violations takes a history,
more than just a few weeks or a few months" perhaps
two years. Oppegard called that ridiculous, saying "You
just can't let them violate the law month after month.
... The law doesn't say it has to go on for years."
(Read
more)
Company officials may have had more responsibility
for conditions in the mine than has been indicated.
Harris writes, "Company officials have insisted
for more than a week that they were not responsible
for the injuries and citations at Sago over the past
year because International Coal Group acquired
the mine only in November. The Charleston
Gazette
reported yesterday, however, that Wilbur L. Ross
Jr., who formed International Coal, had controlled the
company that owns Sago since at least 2001."
Meanwhile: An Eastern Kentucky coal
miner was killed yesterday when a section of mine roof
collapsed. Other members of the underground crew made
it out safely at the mine at Robinson Creek, south of
Pikeville. Killed was Cornelius Yates, 44, of Shelbiana.
For the Lexington Herald-Leader story,
click
here; for The Courier-Journal story, click
here.
Reflections on Sago from third
generation; tough choices defined by coal
Coal permeates the lives of Appalachian residents.
It often defines them, and inextricably influences their
life's choices, says a third-generation member of a
mining family on National Public Radio.
Natasha Watts, 22, said in a commentary yesterday that
the recent deaths of 12 miners at in West Virginia "broke
my heart" because it reminded her of a bigger disaster
in her home Letcher County in 1976. "I find it
hard to believe that something that happened 30 years
ago can still happen today," she said.
In introducing Watts, NPR said the recent disaster
"reminds her of her own dilemma: whether to stay
in the mountains with her family, or leave the coal
industry behind." She acknowledged the danger of
the work but said, "Mining is still one of the
few jobs in this area with a salary big enough to support
a family," and "I've seen friends leave college
because they can make more money mining."
Watts said she passed up the employment track of her
female cousins, secretarial jobs at a mining companies,
and is borrowing money and working two part-time jobs
to attend Eastern Kentucky University.
"Even when I do get a degree, there won't be many
jobs for me back home," she said, but might stay
nevertheless
"There's something about being from here that
means I know who I am and I won't be understood anywhere
else," she said. "I have to make a choice.
No matter what I choose, I love where I come from, and
coal will always be a part of what I am. This is what
my life is: coal, mountains and family."
To hear the commentary, produced by a collaboration
between Youth Radio and Appalachian
Media Institute (Appalshop),
click here, then click on"Listen."
Study suggests bird flu more
likely in humans; Post says world not ready
A new study suggests a greater-than-expected connection
between direct contact with dead or sick poultry and
flu-like illness in humans. The study was published
in the Jan. 9 issue of Archives of Internal
Medicine, reports Newswise,
an online news service for universities and research
institutions.
The researchers concluded that poultry in the household
was not a risk factor for developing a flu-like illness,
but direct contact with sick or dead poultry produced
the highest risk for such illnesses. The study authors
concluded, “Our results are consistent with a
higher incidence of [avian flu] among humans than has
been recognized previously. The results suggest that
the symptoms most often are relatively mild and that
close contact is needed for transmission to humans.”
(Read
more)
An editorial in today's Washington Post,
citing "a clutch of new bird-flu cases in eastern
Turkey," opines "If the virus really were
to become a global human pandemic, the behavior of the
Turkish government, neighboring governments and international
institutions demonstrate that, for all the hype about
bird flu, the world is totally unprepared." (Read
more)
Former head of Kansas Press
Association pleads no contest to theft
The former head of the Kansas Press Association
has pleaded no contest to theft from the organization.
Jeffrey A. Burkhead, 46, entered the plea Jan. 3. He
could be sentenced to probation or up to two years and
10 months in prison for the theft, reports The
Associated Press.
Burkhead, a former editor of newspapers in Emporia
and Liberal, was hired as the association's executive
director in 2000 for a yearly salary of $85,000. An
internal audit showed Burkhead spent $119,367 for personal
use. He was asked to resign in September 2003.
Assistant District Attorney Steve Karrer told the judge
in the case that he and Mark Bennett, Burkhead's defense
attorney, don't agree on how much restitution Burkhead
should pay. In a lawsuit filed by the press association,
Burkhead agreed to pay $56,000to the association. That
was in addition to payments he made earlier, and a$25,000
insurance settlement. Burkhead is to be sentenced March
17. (Read
more)
Sanders retires in Lubbock;
AP staff changes in New Orleans, Kentucky
Randy Sanders, editor of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
since 2000, has announced he will retire from the paper
after more than three decades. Sanders, 58, said he
will step down Jan. 27.
Sanders began his journalism career in 1966 with the
El Paso Times before joining the A-J's
sports department in 1969. He worked as city editor
and news editor before taking a job as press secretary
for U.S. Rep. Kent Hance in Washington in 1983.
Hank Ackerman, chief of bureau in Kentucky for The
Associated Press, has been appointed chief
of bureau in New Orleans, where he will return to oversee
AP operations in Louisiana and Mississippi and
help direct coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Adam Yeomans, chief of bureau for Tennessee, will assume
additional responsibility for Kentucky, part of AP's
trend toward two-state operations. He will remain in
Nashville.
Ackerman succeeds Charlotte Porter as New Orleans bureau
chief. He has been bureau chief in Kentucky since 2003
and returns to New Orleans after a five-year stint as
bureau chief there in the 1980s. Yeomans, 46, joined
the AP in Tallahassee, Fla., in 1993 after working for
The Orlando Sentinel and Reuters.
He was appointed news editor in Miami in 1996 and assistant
bureau chief in Miami in 1997. (Read
more)
Tuesday,
Jan. 10, 2006 (late postings)
Charleston reporter reflects
on being an intruder among victims' families
When Scott Finn of The Charleston Gazette
hung around Sago Baptist Church to speak with a coal
miner who had asked a good question during the initial
briefing for journalists and families of miners, a woman
got the attention of the crowd and "made her announcement.
A spy was in their midst."
So writes Finn in a thoughtful exploration of the relationship
of reporters to victims. "In essence, I was spying,
although I would argue I was spying for a good cause.
In this case, my motivation wasn’t fame or fortune.
I was trying to tell a good story, to help my readers
understand. If they care, maybe they’ll get involved,
maybe they will help, maybe they’ll make sure
it doesn’t happen again. And I think that as individuals,
each reporter there told himself or herself the same
thing. But in a story like this, the community doesn’t
see us as individuals. They see us as a horde, the proverbial
media circus. . . . When someone consented to an interview,
they could expect a swarm of other reporters to gather
around. I was part of a crowd of a dozen reporters interviewing
one miner’s son. . . . As a group, we were often
rude, pushy and inconsiderate. Maybe there’s no
other way. But that doesn’t make it right."
On a more personal level, Finn writes, "The entire
process of interviewing someone is like a seduction.
I ask a family member for an interview. I use all the
weapons at my disposal to do this. I am charming and
polite. I express concern for them. I appeal to their
sense of duty, their desire for justice or revenge.
. . . At its best, the seduction produces a happy relationship.
The reporter gets the story and the family member gets
to express how he or she feels. But when the person
is unsophisticated or in a vulnerable situation, the
seduction feels somehow wrong. I saw one producer take
the arm of a miner’s relative and guide her toward
the cameras. She looked nervous to me and had just spilled
coffee over her shirt."
Finn concludes, "I know many of my colleagues
won’t want to read this. We are under enough attack
from all sides without suffering from friendly fire.
Besides, there is much we did right. I’ve been
proud of the Gazette’s and [Charleston]
Daily Mail’s coverage of the event. Somehow,
our reporters managed to tell these miners’ stories
with dignity. More importantly, we were tough and relentless
in holding the company and state and federal officials
responsible for their role in the tragedy. We continue
to uncover their shortcomings and look for ways to prevent
this from happening again. . . . But sometimes we hurt
people by our carelessness. In the heat of competition,
in our desire to get the story, we sometimes push aside
the needs of the people we cover. I don’t know
what the answer is here. In this decentralized system,
such media circuses are probably inevitable. That doesn’t
make them right." (Read
more)
The Oregonian wins new prize
for 'Unnecessary Epidemic' series on meth
First place in the new Philip Meyer Awards,
for use of social-science methods in journalism, went
to The Oregonian for "Unnecessary
Epidemic," a package "showing how Congress
and the Drug Enforcement Administration could have stopped
the growth of meth abuse by aggressively regulating
the import of the chemicals necessary to make it,"
reports Editor & Publisher. (Read
more)
Steve Suo's reporting for the Portland paper "included
sophisticated statistical analyses of data on hospital
and treatment center admissions, arrests, meth prices
and purity, and chemical imports," E&P reports.
Second place went to "Discharged and Dishonored,"
a Knight-Ridder Washington Bureau series
"that revealed how disabled veterans were being
harmed by the bureaucratic inefficiencies of the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs," E&P writes.
Third place went to "Vanishing Wetlands,"
a St. Petersburg Times series showing
that "84,000 acres of Florida wetlands have been
destroyed by development since 1990," when a no-net-loss
policy was enacted.
The awards are run by the National Institute
for Computer-Assisted Reporting and the Knight
Chair in Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of
Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona
State University. They are named for Philip
Meyer, the Knight Chair in Journalism at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Meyer's 1973
book, Precision Journalism, sparked much greater
use of social science methods in journalism.
Tuesday,
Jan. 10, 2006
Quota-free tobacco market boosts
crop size, burley in North Carolina
North Carolina's shrinking ranks of tobacco farmers
must "get bigger, get better or get out,"
writes Jim Nesbitt of the Raleigh News &
Observer, relaying advice from growers who
are heading into the second year of production without
a federal quota and price-support system.
Growers can plant and sell more leaf, favoring larger
farms in the eastern counties of the state that are
able to grow enough to still turn a profit at a lower
price, reports Nesbitt. Graham Boyd, executive vice
president of the Tobacco Growers Association
of North Carolina, "predicts a steady
migration of flue-cured production out of the Piedmont
and into the Coastal Plain . . . where land is cheaper,
flatter, friendlier to farm machinery and less pressured
by suburban development."
Economies of scale are important because this year's
prices for flue-cured tobacco are $1.55 or lower, down
from $1.85 under the price-support system. But that
also makes the leaf more competitive in what has become
a global market.
The end of the quota system has allowed Piedmont growers
to diversify into air-cured burley, "a smaller-volume
but more lucrative tobacco variety once geographically
limited to eight states under the old quota system,
including Kentucky, Tennessee and western North Carolina,"
Nesbitt writes. "Because so many burley farmers
in Kentucky, Tennessee and other states have abandoned
the crop, burley is also fetching a higher price than
flue-cured -- about $1.60 a pound."
North Carolina growers are also staking hopes on a
consolidation of the industry, because their state has
long bene tops in cigarette making. Nesbitt notes that
manufacturers are "closing plants in other tobacco-growing
states such as Georgia, where flue-cured crops have
been struck by disease that doesn't hit as hard in North
Carolina." Plants have also closed in Kentucky.
(Read
more)
Kentucky governor wants more
tobacco-settlement money; doubts raised
Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher said in his State of the
Commonwealth speech last night that the state should
get a bigger slice of a $206 billion tobacco settlement
companies negotiated with 46 states to help defray the
costs of smoking-related health issues. Such an effort
that raises a number of legal questions.
State House leaders asked Attorney General Greg Stumbo
two months ago to see if Kentucky could circumvent or
renegotiate the agreement. Stumbo warned of "obvious
pitfalls and legal dangers in this minefield,"
writes Ryan Alessi of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Kentucky's share is about $3.6 billion over 25 years
or about 1.76 percent of the pot, based partially on
how many packs of cigarettes each state sells. Kentucky
sells roughly 3 percent of cigarettes sold in the United
States, notes Alessi. Gov. Fletcher said that could
mean as much as $150 million extra each year.
Fletcher communications director Brett Hall told Alessi,
"What we want to do is open the door and get the
discussion going." The House Appropriations and
Revenue Committee will interview experts on the subject
today. Stumbo said he hopes to provide legislators with
a list of potential problems and key questions in seven
to 10 days. Stumbo, a former House majority leader who
is at odds with Fletcher, told Alessi, "The legislature
spent the money, so obviously ... there was some acquiescence.
Whether it amounts to full ratification, that's something
we're looking into." (Read
more)
Coal vital to nation's energy
but virtually an ‘unknown,’ say experts
A University of Kentucky mining engineering
teacher and an author of a recent book on coal say that
despite the vital role the flammable rock plays in keeping
America powered, illuminated and comfortable, most Americans
are in the dark when it comes to understanding the industry.
The university's Rick Honaker says that in his childhood,
the importance of coal was more widely understood. Honaker
describes how he used to retrieve coal from a coal bin
in the backyard to load into a coal stove. Now, he says
the only time his children have seen a lump of coal
is when he brings one home, writes Adam Geller of The
Associated Press.
"Until this past week's mining tragedy in West
Virginia, coal was very much out of sight, out of mind.
But even as the death of 12 men beneath the ground reminds
the nation of its coal-mining past, the ebony jewel
they sought remains very much part of our present,"
notes Geller.
Barbara Freese, author of Coal: A Human History,
told Geller, "The problem is, it's not burned by
us directly. It's burned in power plants. And because
of that we can live with the illusion that coal is the
fuel of the past." Geller writes, "The notion
of a coal-fired stove seems old-timey, and a coal furnace
almost unimaginable. To see a coal delivery truck in
one of our big cities, or a coal-driven locomotive steaming
across the countryside would be as anachronistic as
a horse and buggy."
He adds, "The coal miners' union is a shadow of
what it once was, when its bulldog of a leader challenged
President Franklin D. Roosevelt for political power.
In cities where factories long ago filled the sky with
soot and smoke, the coal fires have been relegated to
memory. But if we don't see or feel or smell the power
of coal any more, that does not mean we have left it
behind." (Read
more)
Industry stuck
in its past of disease, disasters, writer who covered
it says
A news analysis by New York Times
reporter Gardiner Harris concludes that mining accidents
like last week's Sago mine disaster are the result of
problems that can't be solved until major changes are
made in an industry that he argues hasn't changed much
in a century, in some ways.
"Certain problems are endemic in
the industry: old safety equipment, lax enforcement
and a get-along culture in which safety complaints are
discouraged, according to an examination of government
and court records and interviews this past week and
over the years with hundreds of miners, dozens of mine
inspectors and mine safety experts," writes Harris.
"Throughout the industry, the oxygen canisters,
the telephones, the ventilation equipment and almost
every other piece of safety equipment are nearly identical
to those used more than 20 years ago."
Tony Oppegard, a former top federal mine official in
the Clinton administration and the former prosecutor
of mine safety violations in Kentucky, told Harris,
"Many miners look at inspectors as their enemies."
Harris notes, " Mines are routinely cited for violating
federal safety rules. Federal inspections occur at least
four times a year. For some mining operations, paying
fines is less expensive than adhering to the rules,
miners say. And a few mines do not bother to pay at
all."
The proof, Harris writes, "is that miners continue
to die ... Black lung disease still stalks the coal
fields even though the technology to prevent it has
been available for nearly 100 years, and federal rules
that would eliminate it have been in place for more
than 35 years," he writes. (Read
more) Harris, as reporter in The Courier-Journal's
soon-to-be-closed Eastern Kentucky bureau, wrote a series
of articles in the late 1990s about mines' failure to
limit coal dust and prevent black lung,
Charleston reporter reflects
on being an intruder at Sago Baptist Church
When Scott Finn of The Charleston Gazette
hung around Sago Baptist Church to speak with a coal
miner who had asked a good question during the initial
briefing for journalists and families of miners, a woman
got the attention of the crowd and "made her announcement.
A spy was in their midst."
So writes Finn in a thoughtful exploration of the relationship
of reporters to victims. "In essence, I was spying,
although I would argue I was spying for a good cause.
In this case, my motivation wasn’t fame or fortune.
I was trying to tell a good story, to help my readers
understand. If they care, maybe they’ll get involved,
maybe they will help, maybe they’ll make sure
it doesn’t happen again. And I think that as individuals,
each reporter there told himself or herself the same
thing. But in a story like this, the community doesn’t
see us as individuals. They see us as a horde, the proverbial
media circus. . . . When someone consented to an interview,
they could expect a swarm of other reporters to gather
around. I was part of a crowd of a dozen reporters interviewing
one miner’s son. . . . As a group, we were often
rude, pushy and inconsiderate. Maybe there’s no
other way. But that doesn’t make it right."
On a more personal level, Finn writes, "The entire
process of interviewing someone is like a seduction.
I ask a family member for an interview. I use all the
weapons at my disposal to do this. I am charming and
polite. I express concern for them. I appeal to their
sense of duty, their desire for justice or revenge.
. . . At its best, the seduction produces a happy relationship.
The reporter gets the story and the family member gets
to express how he or she feels. But when the person
is unsophisticated or in a vulnerable situation, the
seduction feels somehow wrong. I saw one producer take
the arm of a miner’s relative and guide her toward
the cameras. She looked nervous to me and had just spilled
coffee over her shirt."
Finn concludes, "I know many of my colleagues
won’t want to read this. We are under enough attack
from all sides without suffering from friendly fire.
Besides, there is much we did right. I’ve been
proud of the Gazette’s and [Charleston]
Daily Mail’s coverage of the event. Somehow,
our reporters managed to tell these miners’ stories
with dignity. More importantly, we were tough and relentless
in holding the company and state and federal officials
responsible for their role in the tragedy. We continue
to uncover their shortcomings and look for ways to prevent
this from happening again. . . . But sometimes we hurt
people by our carelessness. In the heat of competition,
in our desire to get the story, we sometimes push aside
the needs of the people we cover. I don’t know
what the answer is here. In this decentralized system,
such media circuses are probably inevitable. That doesn’t
make them right." (Read
more)
Sago disaster heralds newspapers'
inability to be current, critic opines
A Newsday reporter cites the Sago
disaster as an example of conventional newspapers' ingrained
inability to keep up. Justine Davidson, in an opinion
piece for the Long Island, N. Y. newspaper, writes,
"If you are reading these words on a sheaf of brittle
sheets, with the ink seeping into your fingerprints,
you are participating in an antique ritual that may
be heading toward its final act. If you have arrived
at this story by following a blogger's link, or a friend
has e-mailed it to you, then you are helping to reshape
the idea of what a newspaper should be."
Davidson concludes, "A decade into the Internet
age, newspapers are attempting to transform themselves
into electronic media with one hand, while clinging
to their ink-on-paper past with the other," writes
Davidson. He continues, "It's hard to avoid eulogies
for the news industry, or the Orwellian scenarios in
which propaganda and entertainment all but obliterate
information. What virtually all industry-watchers agree
on is that the news business needs a radical renovation."
(Read
more)
A reporter for the Beckley, W.Va. Register-Herald,
herself a 'victim' of the erroneous reports 12 miners
had survived the Sago mine blast, writes, "I am
perplexed at how the mainstream media have rejected
any claim of wrongdoing after creating the largest error
in journalism history."
Christian Giggenbach continues, "After realizing
the media had botched the story, my first thoughts went
directly to the acute anguish the family members must
have gone through — and will forever feel —
after coming to realize their loved ones had actually
passed away. Every person in America who saw the incorrect
story first can relate to those feelings ... I sure
did." (Read
more)
Minnesota's rural Internet access
varies widely between north and south
Minnesota has a disparity between its various regions
in broadband Internet access, according to a new study.
In the south and east, access is good while in the west
and north, access is lagging behind
"In rural areas, high-speed Internet either is
rarely available beyond city limits or is available
only at relatively high prices from a single provider,
according to the study by the Center for Rural
Policy and Development in St. Peter,"
reports Steve Alexander of the Minneapolis Star
Tribune.
The study of 1,450 Minnesotans in October and November,
showed that in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, 43.9 percent
have broadband, compared to 27.4 percent in rural Minnesota.
Rural internet users are three times more likely to
say broadband isn't available, notes Alexander.
About percent of Minnesota households use broadband,
ahead of the U.S. average of 33 percent reported in
September by the Pew Internet & American
Life Project. Jack Geller, president of the
St. Peter center, said the shortage of rural broadband
service was evident with the finding that some of the
state's most prosperous rural households, with incomes
of $150,000 or more, lack high-speed Internet connections.
He told Alexander, "It's not cost to these people,
it's a matter of availability." (Read
more)
North Dakota meth treatment
center treating addicts as jail alternative
A new treatment center in Fargo, N. D., for methamphetamine
addicts has begun taking patients, part of an initiative
to offer counseling instead of prison to users of the
illegal drug. The state legislature appropriated $500,000
for 20 treatment beds for two years. The state picked
ShareHouse,
a nonprofit treatment center, to provide the treatment,
writes Dave Forster of The Forum in
Fargo.
The new center's clinical director, Andi Johnson, told
the newspaper its first patient last week spent most
of his time sleeping after coming down from using meth,
an illegal and highly addictive stimulant. Johnson told
Forster, "People need to understand that this is
a huge step forward."
The Robinson Recovery Center is named
after state Sen. Larry Robinson, D-Valley City, who
pushed for the treatment program. Robinson told Forster
it is intended to help addicts stay out of prison. Robinson
had asked for a 50-bed program, but he said the facility
is still "a giant first step." (Read
more)
Knight Ridder sets
meeting with potential buyers; decision could take months
Knight Ridder is set to meet with potential buyers
this week in the next step of a possible sale under
pressure from disgruntled shareholders, reports the
Knight Ridder News Service.
"The presentations for potential buyers will take
two or three days each and the entire process could
last two to three weeks, said people familiar with the
situation. A Knight Ridder spokesman declined to comment
Friday," write Pete Carey and Chris O'Brien of
the news service.
The San Jose-based, second-largest newspaper group
has been pressured by three major stockholders to put
itself up for sale, write Carey and O'Brien. Preliminary
bids have been received according to sources familiar
with the bidding process.
The nation's largest newspaper company, Gannett,
and McClatchy, another large
group, have expressed interest, plus a number of others,
including investment groups that could parcel out Knight
Ridder papers to other buyers. A final round of bids
and a decision by Knight Ridder's board is at least
two months away, write Carey and O'Brien. (Read
more)
Journalists in rural Pakistan
start a newsletter on freedom of expression
Several months ago, The Rural Blog ran
an item on the need for computer equipment and other
assistance for rural journalists in Pakistan to help
them start a newsletter. Now, the International
Journalists Network reports the newsletter
has been launched.
"Sadiq News, a bulletin that
covers freedom of expression issues for rural Pakistani
journalists, has published and begun distributing its
inaugural issue," reports IJNet.
The inaugural event to celebrate the launch was Dec.
20.
The Rural Media Network of Pakistan
is publishing the newsletter with assistance from UNESCO
and the Nawa-i-Ahmedpur Sharqia newspaper.
The newsletter includes information on press freedom
violations, ethics, training, and other things of interest
to rural journalists. (Read
more)
Among other things, the Sadiq News collects information
from the Rural Media Network, the National Press
Union, and local reporters on press freedom
violations in remote areas. The newsletter also is a
tool to help rural journalists learn about their rights
and network with colleagues. For the original story
- Newsletter aims to track freedom of expression
in rural areas - Aug. 9, 2005 - from the IJNet
News Archives, click
here.
Rural Calendar
Jan. 19-22: Sustaining Family
Farms conference, Louisville
The Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working
Group will host its 15th annual Practical Tools
and Solutions for Sustaining Family Farms conference
Jan. 19-22. The conference offers many innovative strategies
for those committed to sustainable agriculture. The
conference will feature more than 50 sessions, four
intensive short courses, field trips and much more.
Promoters say it "offers a bounty of innovative
strategies for those who are committed to sustainable
agriculture."
More than 700 producers, educators, researchers, and
advocates, all working toward sustainable food systems,
are expected to attend the conference at the Hyatt Regency
Hotel downtown. For more information, see www.ssawg.org
or contact: Robin Verson, vendor coordinator, Southern
Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, 8707 Breeding
Road, Edmonton KY 42129; call 270-432-0567; e-mail hhcsa@scrtc.com..
Jan. 23: Application deadline
for national diversity reporting conference
The Casey Journalism Center on Children and
Families' national conference, "Crossing
Divides: Reporting on Diverse Communities," will
be held March 12-16, 2006 near Washington, D.C.
Thirty print, broadcast and online journalists will
be chosen to examine the challenges facing today's diverse
families. Participate in discussions with renowned researchers
and build your skills in journalism workshops. Fellowships
cover lodging, materials and a travel subsidy to the
University of Maryland, located seven
miles from downtown Washington. Applications
are due Monday, Jan. 23.
Speakers include Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president
of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, a national
expert on minority student achievement; Hodding Carter
III, journalist, author and former Carter Administration
spokesman; Charles Murray, author and scholar; Annetta
Seecharran, executive director of South Asian Youth
Action; and Tamar Jacoby, writer and television and
radio commentator.
For an application and addition information, click
here or write the Casey Journalism Center on Children
and Families at 4321 Hartwick Road, Suite 320, College
Park MD 20740. The phone number is 301-699-5133. The
fax number is 301-699- 9755 and e-mail is info@cjc.umd.edu
Monday,
Jan. 9, 2006
Disaster underscores
journalism's 'failure to look deeper' into the mines
More, deeper reporting of coal-mine health
and safety issues is being urged by journalists inside
following the Sago mine disaster that killed 12 miners
after there were reports they had survived.
"Much of the press has abandoned
reporting on health and safety regulation until disaster
strikes," writes Howard Kurtz of The Washington
Post. He asks, "How many reporters have
dug into the Labor Department's Mine
Safety and Health Administration?
Kurtz looks at his own paper, noting that since 2001,
"The Post has published three staff-written stories
on mine safety not related to a specific accident; the
New York Times, two; Wall Street
Journal, one; Chicago Tribune,
one; and Los Angeles Times and USA
Today, none. CBS "60 Minutes"
did one segment on a mine safety whistle-blower,"
Jack Spadaro. Ellen Smith of Mine
Safety and Health News told Kurtz, "I
have tried to get the general press interested. I just
kind of gave up."
Kurtz writes that Ken Ward Jr. of West Virginia's Charleston
Gazette has perhaps been the most persistent
reporter on mine health and safety. Ward has reported
"that under the Bush administration, the mine safety
agency 'started clamping down on folks like me' and
'people we dealt with all the time were all of a sudden
instructed not to talk.'" Ward said the agency
didn't tell the Gazette, the state's largest paper,
of a media conference call last week. A department spokesman
said the exclusion was unintentional.
Spokesman David James told Kurtz no reporter checked
with the agency during the early-morning hours in which
the miners were reported to have survived, which he
said he would have explained was unconfirmed. "We
were working all night," he said. "Our phones
did not ring one time." (Read
more)
Meanwhile: The Gazette ran
a piece, Coal-mining disaster hits home for teen,
by Eric Thomas of Richwood High School, who is
the son of a coal miner. Click
here to read it. National Public Radio
ran an essay by Homer Hickam, a Coalwood, W.Va., miner's
son who, inspired by the 1957 Sputnik launch, took up
rocketry against his father's wishes. Hickam was the
subject of the book and the movie, "October Sky."
Click
here to read for "A Life 'Not Afraid' in a
Hardscrabble Mining Town."
Photo exhibit sheds light on
Appalachian mining communities' health, safety
Former Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health
J. Davitt McAteer will be among speakers today at the
unveiling of a photography exhibit, "Our Future
in Retrospect? Coal Miner Health in Appalachia."
The exhibit, sponsored by the Appalachian
Institute at Wheeling Jesuit University,
where McAteer is a vice president, opens at 5:30 p.m.,
at the Wheeling Artisan Center.
"The [institute] hired photojournalist Earl Dotter
to photograph health conditions in southern West Virginia
and Eastern Kentucky coal field region. [From his] pictures,
they have developed an exhibit that documents the progress
and regress in health practices and conditions in Appalachia,"
reports Newswise, an online news service
for universities and research institutions, from a university
press release.
Institute Executive Director Dr. Jill Kriesky said,
"In light of the tragic events of the week, we
hope this exhibit and our guest speakers will help spark
more interest and reflection on health and safety in
mining communities." (Read
more) For more information or to arrange interviews,
contact Steven Infanti at the university at 304-243-2308.
Rural
Arizona schools seek funds to tackle overcrowding, long
commutes
Urban sprawl is changing the dynamic of rural Arizona
elementary school districts which are used to shipping
students to neighboring unified districts for high school.
"Elementary districts in burgeoning areas ...
have seen the number of their high school-aged students
explode over the past two years, prompting administrators
to consider building their own high schools.But for
that to happen, state law first must also change,"
write Lisa Nicita and Meghan E. Moravcik of The
Arizona Republic.
Nicita and Moravcik write, "The mostly small,
rural districts can't raise enough on their own. And
as the law stands now, they can't get financial help
from the state School Facilities Board."
Sara DiPasquale, an elementary district business manager,
told them, "I can't even imagine how many years
it would be before we'd have the tax base to build our
own high school."
If a proposed change to the state board's funding rules
is approved Thursday, students in some districts "could
trade long, early-morning bus rides to neighboring districts
for shorter commutes to their own high schools,"
write Nicita and Moravcik. Cheri White, a school parent
and PTO president told them, "A school district
should have an elementary, a middle and a high school.
We need another building."
Nicita and Moravcik note high schools that accepted
dozens of high school students from neighboring elementary
districts are now forced to accommodate hundreds. "Out-of-district
students are being shuffled to schools farther and farther
away to ensure all can be accommodated," they write.
(Read
more)
Future of small Nebraska schools:
Merger issue back on legislature's agenda
Small schools in Nebraska have become a focal point
for an issue faced by many rural schools across the
country, the issue of having to merge districts in order
to survive.
"A constitutional amendment ... would require
a vote of district residents before any merger or consolidation
takes place. Another would force a state committee to
reinstate dissolved elementary-only districts if voters
decide in November to reject the forced-merger law passed
last year by the Legislature," writes Scott Bauer
of The Associated Press.
Sen. Ron Raikes of Lincoln, chairman of the Education
Committee, told Bauer, “It doesn’t sound
like a good idea to me, but I’ll look at it anyway.”
Raikes told AP the state legislature has already spoken
on the issue and the state's Supreme Court is about
to hear arguments in the case. The law requires all
elementary-only, or Class I schools, to merge with larger
K-12 districts by June 15.
Should the merger law be repealed, a bill before the
legislature would require all districts dissolved be
reinstated. An amendment would require "any future
school merger or dissolution ... be approved by residents
living in the affected districts, taking power away
from the Legislature to make such a decision,"
writes Bauer. (Read
more)
Tennessee, Oregon using on-line
registries to fight meth, keep residents safe
Tennessee law-enforcement officials are posting the
names of people convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine
in an online database modeled after sex-offender registries,
and Oregon police have cracked a meth case thanks to
on-line offender information.
The Tennessee"Methamphetamine Offender Registry
allows Internet users to enter a name or county and
instantly discover convictions dated after March 30,
2005. The Web site ... is the first time the state has
widely publicized the identity of drug offenders, said
Jennifer Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee
Bureau of Investigation," writes Ellen
Barry of the Los Angles Times.
Johnson told Barry, "The whole idea is for people
to know if their neighbors are involved in" producing
meth. Meth labs, she added, "were becoming a public
threat to the extent that you couldn't even feel safe
in your own neighborhood."
Blake Harrison of the National Conference of
State Legislatures told Barry in 1995, "Montana
expanded its public sex-offender registry to include
other violent offenders, including 'meth cooks,' but
there are no other existing models for [the] Tennessee's
registry." Tennessee lawmakers proposed the measure
after pleas from landlords and property owners who would
be bankrupted by the cost of cleaning contaminated properties,
writes Barry. (Read
more)
In Oregon, "A meth lab investigation in Lane County
is the first in which the Oregon State Police
Methamphetamine Task Force built a case using
the state's new pseudoephedrine registry, instituted
... to discourage the use of cold medications in the
illegal drug trade," writes Bill Bishop of The
Register-Guard in Eugene. (Read
more)
Maryland veto-override vote
looms; Wal-Mart health care bill's future unclear
Maryland legislators may vote this week whether to
require Wal-Mart to spend more on employee
health care, a question that appears too close to call.
"Democratic House Speaker Michael Busch said Friday
he hoped his chamber would achieve the three-fifths
majority needed to override a veto of the plan by Republican
Gov. Robert Ehrlich -- but he wasn't certain it would,"writes
Kristen Wyatt of The Associated Press.
Busch told AP, "I believe right now we should
be very close to having the votes we need." The
bill would require Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to spend at
least 8 percent of its payroll on health care benefits
or pay more into the state Medicaid fund. The bill would
apply to all companies with more than 10,000 employees
currently in Maryland. Wal-Mart is the only company
of that size not spending that much, notes Wyatt.
Senate President Thomas Miller told a meeting of the
Maryland Association of Counties he's
confident of a veto override, but said he wasn't as
certain about the House of Delegates. Gov. Ehrlich has
asked for his veto to stand. He said, "Maryland
would be the first state in America with a government-imposed,
arbitrary payroll tax based on a private employer's
health care expenditures." A proposed Wal-Mart
distribution center in Somerset, Md., is on hold pending
the override decision, writes Wyatt. (Read
more)
Arkansas senator seeks remedy
for rural residents without broadband
Residents in rural areas who rely on computers to do
their work often toil without broadband service and
U. S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., is working to find a
cure for what ails them.
"Millions of people and small businesses nationwide
are on the other side of a digital divide where they
can only use slow dial-up modems for access to the Internet.
Experts say affordable access to fast Internet connections
is becoming increasingly important in a world where
much of life's daily chores, from banking and school
coursework to running a business, are moving online,"
KTHV-TV in Little Rock reports from
staff and Associated Press information.
Pryor is co-sponsoring a bill to amendment to the Universal
Service Act, which funds rural phone service through
a levy on phone use. The measure would direct some of
that money to expanding broadband in underserved areas.
Another bill, the Rural Renaissance Act, would authorize
$200 million dollars in bonds for economic development
and infrastructure projects in rural communities, including
broadband. Pryor said broadband has become a necessity
and without it people are unable to fully participate
in the American economy, reports KTHV. (Read
more)
Virginia volunteer
rallying expatriate voters for Mexican election
Mexico's Congress has approved allowing expatriates
to vote by mail in the country's July 2 presidential
election, prompting 3.5 million absentee ballot applications
to U.S. Mexican consulates and organizations.
A Mexican native who lives in Vinton, Va.. has made
it her mission to get people to register. Rosalia Munoz,
"a community leader for the Mexican Embassy in
Washington, D.C., is taking part in an effort to encourage
Mexicans to register to vote before the Jan. 15 deadline
-- an effort taking place both locally and across the
United States, writes Erinn Hutkin of the Roanoke
Times. Munoz told Hutkin, "It's the first
time Mexicans have been able to vote [from abroad].
The people already know, but sometimes you have to push
a little." Munoz has been concentrating on Catholic
churches which draw Hispanics.
Roanoke, a city of about 92,000, hosts a Hispanic and
Latino population of just 1.5 percent -- a number Munoz
said is growing. She and others have left voter registration
forms in Mexican restaurants and grocery stores -- places
immigrants congregate, notes Hutkin. Spanish-language
newspapers and television stations around the nation
are running ads urging registration. Over the holidays,
Mexican election workers traveled to border cities giving
absentee applications to those visiting home, writes
Hutkin. (Read
more)
Lexington [N.C.]
Dispatch executive editor retires; open government advocate
Bob Stiff, who capped a lengthy career in newspapers
in Florida with more than a decade as executive editor
of The
Dispatch of Lexington, N.C. is retiring
and will return to Florida, where his wife has taken
a job for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Stiff plans to step down on Feb. 10, reports The
Associated Press from a Dispatch story.
Stiff is a Michigan native and graduate of Ohio
State University. He worked for the Painesville
Telegraph near Cleveland before joining the
St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
as a copy editor and rose through the ranks to assistant
managing editor. He was a founding board member of the
North Carolina Open Government Coalition
and serves on the foundation board for the journalism
school at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. (Read
more)
Rural Calendar
Feb. 1: Deadline
for Eugene Cervi 2006 award; honors civic journalism
career
The International
Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, ISWNE,
is seeking nominations, justification for nomination
and biographical information for the organization's
Eugene Cervi 2006 Award.
If you know of anyone in your state or province who
might be deserving of ISWNE's Eugene Cervi Award, you
can contact Chad Stebbins at the International Society
of Weekly Newspaper Editors at
Missouri Southern State University,
3950 E. Newman Road, Joplin MO 64801-1595.
The Eugene Cervi Award was established by ISWNE in
1976 to honor the memory of the late editor of the Rocky
Mountain Journal in Denver. It recognizes an
editor who has consistently acted in the conviction
that "good journalism begets good government."
The award recognizes consistently aggressive reporting
of government at the grassroots level and interpretation
of public affairs, writes Stebbins. Letters of nomination
along with a biographical data sheet must be sent by
Feb. 1. For more information, go to the Web
site and click on 'contests.'
Sunday
Special, Jan. 8, 2006
Country Boys subject,
others worry about stereotypes in documentary
When Cody Perkins sees himself on Country Boys,
a documentary that starts Monday night on public TV,
"He will cringe -- if he watches it at all. It's
a good film, he says, but it's like unlocking a teenage
diary and letting millions of people read it,"
reports the Lexington Herald-Leader.
"He hangs his head because the whole world, including
all of his neighbors, is watching. Eastern Kentucky
is so often depicted as a backward wasteland that locals
are wary of another film that could stereotype them,
he says."
Herald-Leader culture reporter Jamie Gumbrecht writes
that the six-hour documentary "focuses on Perkins
and classmate Chris Johnson, two teens growing up around
Prestonsburg and attending The David School,
an alternative high school. It's a portrait
of their teen years, painted on a background of broken
families, depressed economies and faltering education."
Filmmaker David Sutherland spent seven years on the
project. "He initially based his research in West
Virginia, hoping to document life in one hollow. Eventually,
he moved toward Eastern Kentucky and The David School,
where he met Perkins and Johnson," Gumbrecht writes.
"He wanted the teens to tell their own stories,
without a narrator. He shot them close-up, 'like the
TV show My So-Called Life.' He hoped the project
would remind urban-minded Americans that rural poverty
still exists."
Dee Davis, an Eastern Kentucky native and filmmaker
who now runs the Center for Rural Strategies,
said Appalachia is a diverse place "with more stories
than one film or one TV show can tell," as Gumnbrecht
put it, adding, "Many view the area as a rural
utopia where people choose to live happily in poverty,
or as an uneducated wilderness where people choose to
live miserably because of laziness." Davis told
her, "Either way, you don't make a difference.
People are very sensitive. You blame them or say it's
good for them. It's hard to talk about the realities."
Sutherland, who made the 1998 documentary The Farmer's
Wife, told Gumbrecht the film deals with realities:
"Certain subtexts will come out in the film, but
I'm not trying to get a message out," he said.
"I want people to understand the human condition.
These kids have a chance to make it." ( Read
story)
Hearing
into mine blast would force testimony, boost candor,
advocates say
“Mine safety advocates want the Bush administration
to hold public hearings as part of its investigation
of West Virginia’s worst coal-mining accident
in nearly 40 years,” so witnesses can be compelled
to testify and produce documents, Ken Ward Jr. reported
in the Saturday Gazette-Mail of Charleston.
Ward wrote, “The U.S. Mine Safety and
Health Administration has refused to respond
to questions about the public hearing demands,”
made under a 1969 law allowing MSHA to hold hearings
to investigate “any accident or other occurrence
relating to health and safety.” Ward noted, “During
a routine investigation, witnesses can refuse to testify.”
Tony Oppegard, a former MSHA and Kentucky mine-safety
official who ran the last such hearing, told Ward that
it would encourage mine employees to tell all. “When
MSHA does routine investigations, coal company officials
are allowed to sit in on such interviews,” Ward
explains. Oppegard said, “When you do it behind
closed doors, and your boss is sitting across the table
from you, it is kind of intimidating.” He added,
“In light of all of the communications problems,
I think that they owe it to the families to do this
in public.” MSHA has said it will look into “miscommunications
that led anxious relatives to believe for three hours
that 12 of the 13 workers had survived,” Ward
reported.
J. Davitt McAteer, who headed MSHA in the Clinton administration
and is now at Wheeling Jesuit University,
also called for a hearing. “There can be no question
that there is great public concern here, and a public
hearing would certainly serve the public interest,”
he told Ward. (Read
the story)
In another
story, about the investigation and the possibility
that lightning caused the blast, Ward wrote, "Top
MSHA officials have not held any media briefings, returned
few phone calls and declined to answer even basic questions
from reporters since the first reports of the explosion
early Monday." For the Gazette-Mail's compilation
of all its stories on the disaster, click
here.
Knight-Ridder News Service reports
that the Bush administration "has been more lenient
toward mining companies facing serious safety violations,
issuing fewer and smaller major fines than the Clinton
administration and collecting less than half of the
money that violators owed." (Read
story)
Patti Ciliberti holds her daughter,
D’Orsi, in front of the altar in the Sago Baptist
Church in Tallmansville on Friday. The Cilibertis are
from Louisville and are on a skiing vacation near Tallmansville.
They came to the church to pay their respects and make
a donation to the families of the 12 coal miners who
died after a mine explosion Monday.
Photo and caption from
the Saturday Gazette-Mail, Charleston
Miners might have escaped but
went 'by the book,' died waiting for rescue
James Dao and Felicity Barringer of The New
York Times, with help from Gary Gately, authored
a comprehensive and sad recounting of the disaster,
including a report from mine officials that the miners
"apparently had enough oxygen in their respirators
to last an hour or more and no wall of debris blocked
their escape, mine company officials said. They could
not have known it, but there was breathable air inside
the mine, possibly just 2,000 feet away."
The miners went "by the book," building a
barricade to protect themselves from the carbon monoxide
that ultimately killed them and may have disoriented
them, the Times reported: "Cut off from communications
with the outside, surrounded by thick smoke and deep
darkness, they might have believed a fire was raging
ahead of them, or that the mine roof was in danger of
collapsing."
The story also questioned the 11 hours that passed
before a rescue team could be assembled and enter the
mine. "Those delays might have been unavoidable,
and it was not clear that the men could have been saved
even with a faster response. But some experts assert
that the delays point to broader problems in the nation's
mine rescue system," the story said.
"A 1995 federal study concluded that the system
was antiquated, losing people and poorly financed. But
Mr. McAteer said few of those concerns had been addressed.
"Time is the enemy in mine rescues," McAteer
told the Times. "Always is. You know that from
the start." (Read
the story)
The rescue system is depleted and has “serious
flaws,” Ken Ward Jr. reports in the Sunday
Gazette-Mail. A 1977 law required MSHA to write
regulations to “provide that mine rescue teams
shall be available for rescue and recovery work to each
underground coal or other mine in the event of an emergency.”
Now, Ward writes, “As rescuers retire, their positions
are going unfilled. Smaller coal companies are opting
not to have their own teams, and instead contracting
out to rescue companies,” one of the “loopholes”
in the regulations. (Read
story)
U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia called for
more qualified federal inspectors and rescue teams,
reversing recent budget cuts, reported The Inter-Mountain
of Elkins. (Read
story)
Living in coal
country: What kind of a life is it? Geographer asks,
answers
The mine disaster at Sago in Upshur County,
West Virginia, has focused fresh attention on the Appalachian
coal region and its people. Here's a background report
on the county and the region by Amy Glasmeier, a visiting
faculty member of the Carsey
Institute at the University of
New Hampshire and the Miller Professor of Economic
Geography at The Pennsylvania State University, or Penn
State.
"For many communities in the U.S.,
the 70-mile drive between Morgantown and Sago is the
equivalent of a morning’s commute to work. Thus,
according to some measures, Sago is not an isolated
place," Glasmeier writes. "Still, by other
accounts, the community of Sago couldn’t be farther
from urban America in terms of economic conditions and
employment opportunities. For those living in mining
communities, low levels of education, poor health conditions,
unstable work histories, and limited access to jobs
paying a living wage explain why people work in the
mines. With few alternatives, it is no wonder that when
the price of coal goes up people risk their lives to
take jobs in the mines."
Glasmeier cites a Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette report that wages at the mine
were in "the $700-a-week range." Mine-roof
bolters in West Virginia earned a median $38,580 per
year in November 2004, according to an
Associated Press story in the Charleston
Daily Mail, citing the latest available estimates
by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "This
is well above annual wages in West Virginia, which averaged
$28,612 in 2002," Glasmeier writes, citing BLS
data.
Profiling Upshur County, Glasmeier reports, "While
most adults in Sago over the age of 25 had completed
high school in 2000, few had completed a college education.
In the county, the percent of the population over the
age of 25 with one to three, or four or more, years
of college education was only 60 percent of the national
level."
Glasmeier also reports that the county's unemployment
rate is about a sixth higher than the national rate,
and "the population is aging and young people are
leaving," as shown below. Data for these graphs
come from the Community
Economic Toolbox, part of Glasmeier's Atlas
of Poverty in America project. This site can
be used to analyze economic conditions in any county
in the United States.
Glasmeier reports that 49 percent of the working-age
residents of the county are not in the labor force because
of disabilities and lack of jobs. The "non-participating"
rate for West Virginia is just a little less, 46 percent,
much higher than the national rate of 36 percent. She
Recent growth in mining employment partially offset
job losses in other sectors of the local economy. From
1998 to 2003, the county gained 232 mining jobs while
losing 173 in manufacturing and 392 in health care and
social assistance. The nature of another 493 added jobs
was "suppressed due to disclosure rules."
Upshur is a "mining county," defined as one
in which mining provides more than 3 percent of the
total income, the average in the Appalachian coal region.
Glasmeier writes of the coal counties, "These are
poor counties, with poverty rates substantially above
the national median, particularly for white families,
children, and dependent populations (persons under 18
and over 65). These counties have populations with low
median levels of education and high levels of unemployment.
In 2003, median household income was substantially below
the national median. Per-capita disability and Supplemental
Security Income levels are high by national standards.
These are communities that have suffered for many years
through periods of economic uncertainty and have enjoyed
few employment alternatives to coal. The population
lacks education that might lead to better jobs. People
do coal because they have to. It is not a matter of
choice."
For Appalachian regional maps and brief summaries from
the CensusMapper site, click
here. You can e-mail Glasmeier at akg1@psu.edu.
Friday,
Jan. 6, 2006
Coal reporter decries
MSHA attitude, tells comrades to ask tough questions
Veteran Charleston Gazette
reporter Ken Ward Jr. yesterday on Democracy
Now!, a national broadcast, called the
Mine Safety and Health Administration's
handling of the Sago Mine disaster "shocking"
but "typical" of MSHA's efforts under the
Bush administration, and admonished his comrades to
turn up the heat on coal mine reporting.
Ward said, "The only faces the public
and the press are seeing here are company officials,
and it's just shocking as to why that is, because the
Labor Department, of which MSHA is
a part, has at least two, and perhaps more, public-affairs
employees at the mine site with satellite phones and
all sorts of ability to communicate. But they haven't
had any briefings. They haven't answered any questions."
Ward chided his journalistic comrades. "I think
the national media is showing its ignorance about mine
safety issues ... you all are the first one who's raised
the issue with me from the national media about where
is MSHA in providing information here. And I'm certainly
glad that you all asked about that. And I hope that
some of my brethren in the media start asking that same
question." (Read
more)
Ward's definition of his brethren is broad. In November,
at the "Covering Coal" conference of the Institute
for Rural Journalism and Community Issues,
he urged reporters at weekly and small daily newspapers
to pay more attention to the industry, saying he didn't
think anyone was covering it well. For a report on the
conference, click here.
Strip away coal-industry secrecy,
toughen fines, says critic, author
Longtime West Virginia politician Ken Heckler once
labeled some coal-mine reclamation as "putting
lipstick on a corpse." Now a mining critic and
author is charging much the same for the entire industry
and says government secrecy should end and penalties
for violations should be strengthened.
Jeff Goodell, author of the forthcoming Big Coal:
The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future,
writes in the Houston Chronicle, "There's
nothing pretty about the real price of cheap coal"
and says the fuel source may be on comeback, "but
mining is still far from safe."
"In recent years, one of the toughest turnaround
jobs in American industry has been the effort to change
the perception of coal from an industrial relic of 19th
century to an energy source for the 21st century,"
writes Goodell. And, he admonishes, "There is nothing
pretty about coal, as we have been grimly reminded by
the plight of the 12 coal miners killed by a mine collapse
near Tallmansville, W.Va."
Goodell concludes, "If coal is indeed going to
be taken seriously as a fuel source in the 21st century,
it's up to federal and state regulators to make sure
that even 20-inch dogholes are safe ... A good first
step would be to reverse the Bush administration's new
privacy rules, which have made it tougher for outsiders
to obtain federal inspectors' reports. Even better would
be to increase fines and other penalties for operators
who break the rules. (Read
more)
W.Va. Public Radio
reports MSHA slow to release data, omits warnings
West Virginia Public Radio reports
the Mine Safety and Health Administration has
been slow in releasing coal-dam inspection records and
has withheld an inspector's written concerns.
Reporter Dan Heyman told of the network "encountering
difficulty in getting [MSHA] to release public information
concerning inspecting. Sometimes when information is
finally released, it’s incomplete," said
the network. "In two examples, MSHA withheld an
inspector’s concerns that people could die if
problems were not corrected at a Raleigh County coal
impoundment dam."
Ellen Smith, publisher of Mine Safety and Health
News, told Heyman, “You know, it’s
just a very frustrating situation, because government
officials go on TV, and they say we’re going to
do a complete investigation and we’re going to
learn from this. Well, they’ve done complete investigations
after mine disasters, and they’ve learned the
same thing over and over again. If the mining companies
had followed the regulations, the disaster wouldn’t
have happened.” (Click
here to hear MSHA slow in public inspection
records; withholds inspector's written concerns;
then click on the speaker icon.)
Today, Heyman reported that MSHA inspectors "had
significant concerns regarding" construction of
the Massey Energy coal dam that impounds
more than 200 million gallons of coal waste, rock and
water" and overlooks Marsh Fork Elementary
School in Raleigh County. One "said two
of the violations could cause the dam to fail if not
corrected," Heyman reported.
"It took three months for MSHA to release that
citation after Public Broadcasting filed a request under
the Freedom of Information Act," Hayman continued.
"But MSHA didn’t release everything. After
inspector [Jim] Elkins noted that a thousand people
live downstream, he wrote, “If the dam failed,
fatalities would be expected to occur. It’s reasonably
likely an accident would occur if the condition continued
to exist.”
That statement [and a similar one on another citation]
was left out of the documents MSHA released."
"Massey corrected the problems noted in the inspector’s
reports. Altogether, Massey was fined $680 for the two
citations," Heyman reports. "MSHA has cited
the impoundment 17 other times for violations in the
last 10 years. . . . Like the earlier citations, MSHA
also whited-out additional information concerning these
violations. But we can’t confirm what MSHA withheld.
We don’t have copies of previously released documents
to compare them to. . . . Kelvin Wu, MSHA’s chief
dam officer, says there’s no reason to worry.
He says the fact that problems were noted and corrected
is proof that the system works."
Former inspector Ernie Thompson and Jackie Browning,
a retired dozer operator who helped build the dam, "worry
that the sloppy construction practices noted in the
inspection reports indicate there could be other problems.
Thompson says there are many problems that inspectors
don’t catch," Heyman said. Massey declined
to comment. Click
here to listen, here
for a transcript.
Coal disasters now rare events,
says national safety-health organization
As jarringly tragic as the Sago Mine disaster was,
it pales in comparison to industry catastrophes of the
past, according to industry, labor and government sources.
"Collapses and explosions like the one that left
13 miners trapped underground in West Virginia have
been recurring dramas going back to the 1800s.But the
fact is, these disasters are far less common in the
United States than they once were," reports The
Associated Press and the Princeton [Ind.] Daily
Clarion.
Lewis Wade of the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, told reporters "industry,
labor and the federal government have come together
to emphasize safety, and the result has been a gradual
decrease in the number of deaths and serious injuries,"
they write. The Clarion reported, "In the early
years of the 20th century, mine explosions commonly
caused spectacular accidents with hundreds of fatalities."
(Read
more) For a similar report from Voice of
America radio, By Andrew J. Baroch, who also
talked with Lewis, click
here. For another VOA report on mine safety, click
here.
Mine tragedy could hurt recruiting
by an industry hungry for workers
The deaths of 12 miners in West Virginia could hamper
an industry struggling to find workers in the face of
current shortage and an expected wave of retirements
from the baby-boomer generation.
"High energy prices have Appalachia's coal companies
scrambling to expand mining, and to recruit new workers
into jobs long seen to be as dangerous as they are dirty.
With a shortage of workers now estimated at 4,500 in
Kentucky and West Virginia alone, the companies and
local officials have been trying to change that perception,"
writes Roger Alford of The Associated Press.
Bruce Ayers, president of Southeast Community
College in coal-dependent Harlan County, Ky.
told Alford, "We're trying to introduce a new generation
to mining [but] it's difficult to overcome the images
from West Virginia." Ayers predicted the recent
accident would hamper efforts to attract more workers.
Coal-mining employment grew from 73,700 in November
2004 to 79,200 in November 2005, according to the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bill Higginbotham,
who heads the Kentucky Coal Academy,
told Alford "Half of the work force is expected
to retire in five to seven years. High school graduates
going into coal mining can earn $40,000 to $50,000 a
year, writes Alford. (Read
more)
TV critic says mine-tragedy
reporting a bad harbinger of future journalism
Coverage of the West Virginia disaster did much to
drown out reason, and is a preview of journalism to
come, writes the television critic for a major Midwest
newspaper.
"Virtually every national news organization in
America was represented at the Sago Mine disaster ...
as the mood shifted crazily from dread to jubilation
to horror, as reports of 'miners found' had to be amended
to include the word 'dead.' We saw, for better or worse,
the future of modern journalism," writes Aaron
Barnhardt, television critic for The
Kansas City Star. (Read
more)
"If one entity embodied the media coverage of
that terrible night, it was CNN," writes Barnhardt.
"And if there is one person who symbolizes the
way these breaking news dramas play out in today’s
media, it’s Anderson Cooper," CNN's reporter
on the scene, he notes.
"An unknown man walked up while [Anderson] was
on the air and passed along the unverified information
to millions watching. Three hours later, when the families
learned the awful truth, it was a local resident named
Lynette Roby who disclosed it, again to Cooper, again
on live TV," writes Barnhardt. "None of this
was imaginable even 10 years ago." Barnhardt notes.
Barnhardt concludes, "CNN’s reporting left
the impression that responsibility for putting those
families through the wringer rested with the governor,
the CEO of the mining company, and others. It also rested
with CNN, which with a few high-level confirmations
could have done a world of good." To reach Aaron
Barnhart, call (816) 234-4790 or visit http://www.TVBarn.com.
Drained
by wildfires, rural Oklahoma fire departments get added
funding
Cash-strapped rural fire departments across Oklahoma
will be getting much-needed funding from the state this
week, reports The Associated Press.
(Read
more)
Oklahoma Agriculture Secretary Terry Peach told reporters
about $2,100 will be sent to each of the state's nearly
875 rural fire departments. The departments have been
hit hard by grass fires that have burned more than 350,000
acres since Nov. 1 and killed at least two people.
The departments have gotten about one-fourth of their
yearly state funding and were to get the remaining funding
in June, AP reports.
New Jersey's poor, rural schools
denied aid; state launches funding study
The New Jersey Board of Education has denied requests
from 17 rural schools seeking extra financial help,
but says it will re-examine how the state contributes
money to all school districts.
"Thirty-one of the roughly 600 school districts
in the state currently get special aid from the state
in response to a series of state Supreme Court decisions
that found New Jersey was not providing a proper education
in poor areas," writes The Associated Press.
(Read
more)
Most of the districts receiving the extra boost are
in cities, AP notes. The state picks up the tab for
all their necessary school-building projects and all-day
preschools. New Jersey also gives them more money to
assist with operating costs than received by other districts.
The state Board of Education, which recommends but does
not mandate education policy, did recognize the 17 rural
districts are needy.
Technology needed to offset
rural hospitals' pharmacist-staffing limits
Rural areas lack the money to fully implement pharmacy
technology, says the Upper Midwest Rural Health
Research Center and the National
Rural Health Association.
CEO Alan Morgan said in an
NRHA release, "Rural areas continue to be strongly
impacted by the national shortage of pharmacists, and
need more funding to implement health information technology."
The release said, "The study, which assessed how
rural hospitals implement medication safety practices,
revealed that many small rural hospitals have limited
hours of onsite pharmacist coverage."
The research center is a partnership between the University
of Minnesota and the University of
North Dakota. A copy of the report and more
information about the UMRHRC are available here
and on the NRHA’s Web
site.
For more information about the study contact Amanda
Scurry at the University of North Dakota Center
for Rural Health, 701-777-0871, or by e-mail
at ascurry@medicine.nodak.edu
Poultry farms to test for avian
flu; mad-cow precautions called 'inadequate'
Companies that produce more than 90 percent of chickens
for consumption in the U.S. "will test every flock
for bird flu before the birds are slaughtered, and they
expect more to follow," reports Libby Quaid of
The Associated Press.
National Chicken Council spokesman
Richard Lobb said, "We just want to assure people
of the safety of the food supply." Quaid notes
that despite worries about bird flu, chicken-eating
in the U.S. has held steady. Retail chicken prices have
dropped in recent months, mostly because production
is up and exports are down, said David Harvey of the
Economic Research Service of the Agriculture
Department.
The plan is to tests 11 birds from each chicken flock
or farm. That would mean more than 1.6 million chickens
would be tested. Samples will be collected on farms
and tested at state or industry-certified laboratories,
writes Quaid. (Read
more)
Meanwhile, Quaid also reports, US safeguards against
mad cow disease called inadequate, Strict regulations
on cattle feed are needed, critics say." Click
here for details.
'Sustainable' replacing
'organic,' connecting consumers to local growers
"Six years ago "organic" was the next
big thing in grocery shopping, but the term has begun
to lose its luster. It has been co-opted by agribusiness,
which has succeeded in watering down the restrictions
of the definition. Today 'local' and 'sustainable' are
the new culinary buzzwords," reports Marian Burros
of The New York Times, who writes that
at the New Seasons Market stores in
Portland, Ore., "'homegrown' is not only the coin
of the realm, it's the heavily promoted mantra."
Michael Pollan, the author of a forthcoming book, The
Omnivore's Dilemma, told Burros, "I think
there is a gathering sense that organic and local are
not the same," said He added: "Moving organic
food across the country uses just as much energy as
conventional. I think this is becoming more important."
New Seasons customer Kristen Crittenden told Burros,
"It's nice to know where our food is coming from
... you know how it was raised. It makes you feel good
... supporting your local farmer and your local fishing
industry." Customer Justin Miller said, "I
feel at times it's a little more expensive than it has
to be."
New Seasons Chief Executive Brian Rohter told Burros,
"Of the 30,000 items on each store's shelves, 8,142,
or 27 percent, have yellow tags. The company, which
was founded in 2000, sells conventional items like Oreos
and Velveeta, but about 75 percent of its inventory
is either natural or organic," writes Burros. (Read
more)
Thursday,
Jan 5, 2006
Why do they do it? Miners compelled
by economics, limited opportunity
Following the tragic deaths of 12 miners
in West Virginia, many Americans are asking, "Why
do they do it? The answer to that question often is,
"They have to." Others ask, "What's it
like?"
Robin Webb of Grayson, Ky., who was a
miner from 18 to 25, and is now a lawyer and state representative,
answered the second question this afternoon in a 3-minute
commentary on "All Things Considered" on National
Public Radio.
"You know when you go down, you may
not come out, but you just don't dwell on it. You focus
on the immediate task," Webb says, recalling that
on her way in and out of the mine she would say a line
from "The Miner's Prayer" by Eastern Kentucky
native Dwight Yoakam: "Please let me see the sunshine
one more time." To
listen to Webb, click here.
Webb says miners take the risk for many
reasons, including "to be able to stay and live
in the place where you were raised." Chicago
Tribune reporter Charles Sheehan wrote yesterday
that "coal mining offers some of the most financially
attractive jobs in West Virginia, a state with the lowest
household income in the nation and the second-highest
poverty rate."
Cal Kent, vice president for business
and economic research at Marshall University
in Huntington,.told Sheehan that demand for miners is
increasing, and companies are raising wages and offering
bonuses to attract a new generation of miners. "These
are not the old pick-and-shovel guys," Kent said.
"This is a highly skilled workforce. Annual incomes
of $50,000 to $60,000 are not unusual." The average
household income in West Virginia. is about $35,000.
Sheehan notes the region around the Sago mine in Upshur
County is "among the state's most impoverished
areas. Many young people are leaving for better jobs,
contributing to West Virginia having the highest median
age in the nation, 39. Kent said the average age of
miners is "well above 45" and the need for
coal and retirements "will fuel the demand for
more miners." (Read
more) Blogger's note: Most of those killed in
the Sago mine explosion were in their 50s.
Plaintive reports of double
tragedy at coal mine reverberate in Appalachia
The double tragedy of hope followed a
few hours later by abject despair, in the reported survival
then deaths of 12 coal miners at Tallmansville, W.Va.,
is echoing in newspapers of all sizes and stripes in
communities throughout the Mountain State and Central
Appalachia.
The Record Delta of Buckhannon,
the county seat of Upshur County, where the tragedy
occurred, said in a staff report, "Thunder rolled
across the sky above Sago early Monday, but the magnitude
of the storm could not compare to the intensity of what
was about to descend on the close-knit community along
the banks of the Buckhannon River." For more form
the 3,314-circulation paper, which is published Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays, click
here.
The Times West Virginian
of Fairmont had multiple reports. Bill Byrd wrote, "The
bells at the tiny Sago Baptist Church rang again at
6:30 p.m. Wednesday. A flickering yellow light from
lit candles stuck in paper plates appeared in the hands
of about 40 men, women and children." (Read
more; subscription required)
TWV reporter Justin McLaughlin wrote, "A dramatic
reversal of the news ... exposed the difficulties of
keeping information flowing fast enough to keep pace
with a 24-hour news universe." Matt Sheppard, a
specialist in crisis communication and vice president
of Charles Ryan Associates Inc. in
Charleston, told McLaughlin, “You have to have
timely, accurate information. When these reporters are
on the air 24 hours a day, they're going to find someone
to talk to and someone to fill the air. ... You can't
play catch-up in these situations; you need to stay
on top of it.” (Read
more; subscription required)
Mary Wade Burnside of the TWV wrote, "When Anna
McCloy visited her husband, sole Sago Mine disaster
survivor Randal McCloy Jr., she felt he was aware of
her presence in his room at Ruby Memorial Hospital,
said first lady Gayle Manchin on Wednesday. Manchin
told Burnside following a press conference, “She
felt he knew she was in the room. She thought she could
see a glimmer of a smile.”
Citizen journalists, such as Betty Lewis of Summersville,
came to Tallmansville and wrote pieces. "I’m
still reeling and stunned along with the rest of this
nation by the events that took place this week,"
Lewis writes, then offers an evocative description of
the scene at Sago Baptist Church. Click
here to read her article, posted on the Institute
for Rural Journalism and Community Issues Web
site.
West Virginia paper's skepticism
could be an example for others
While national news outlets were wrongly reporting
12 trapped miners in Tallmansville, W.Va. had been found
alive, the Inter-Mountain in nearby
Elkins, an afternoon paper with a later deadline, remained
skeptical. "The 11,000-circulation afternoon daily,
based just 30 miles from the mining accident scene,
mixed lucky timing with local insight to provide an
accurate report to readers Wednesday, under the headline,
Nightmare In Tallmansville," writes Joe Strupp
of Editor & Publisher.
Editor Linda Skidmore, who runs the 21-person newsroom,
told Strupp that her staff never believed the miners
had been found alive because no official word was ever
given. She said no update about miners being found alive
ever appeared on the paper's Web site.
Reporter Becky Wagoner told E&P, "We heard
that they were found alive through CNN, then it snowballed
to ABC, then Fox, and it was like a house afire. . .
. There was so much hype that no one considered the
fact that there was no [official] update," she
said. (Read
more)
Behind the scenes of the 'miracle'
mine story, others did it right
In the midst of the confusion that caught a vast majority
of news media flat-footed and wrong in reporting the
mine catastrophe, there were other newspapers that did
things right.
"There were some bright spots in "the coverage
of the West Virginia miners' deaths. Many journalists
wrote stories yesterday about what went wrong. Let me
focus, instead, on some who did things well," writes
Al Tompkins in his latest Morning Meeting column
for the Poynter Institute. (Read
more)
Tompkins' Poynter colleague, Meg Martin, writes of
how the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette stopped
its presses to get the story right. About 114,000 copies
of the Post-Gazette's 256,000 run were delivered to
subscribers and boxes with the news that only one miner
had survived. (Read
more)
Poynter.org editor Bill Mitchell interviewed
former St. Petersburg Times publisher
Andy Barnes about the pressure for newspapers to print
hot, "definitive" headlines. The story includes
some audio clips with Barnes. (Read
more)
Tompkins takes note of Editor & Publisher's
report of how The Boston Globe "trashed
30,000 copies of the paper that included the 'miracle'
story," and instead managed to get the correct
story into 145,000 of its 414,000 copies. The Globe
also had "reportedly" in its headline. (Read
more)
Tompkins issues kudos for how Raleigh News
& Observer Executive Editor Melanie Sill
explained the situation to readers. "Sill used
her blog to quickly explain Tuesday morning how the
paper ended up printing a headline that said "Miracles
Happen in West Virginia," Tompkins writes. (Read
more)
At least one paper got lucky but didn't
realize it at first. A press malfunction at the Roanoke
Times stalled the Wednesday morning editions
and saved the newspaper from widespread publication
of the erroneous report, Editor Mike Riley told readers
this morning. (Read
more)
Mine owners issue online apology,
call deaths a 'terrible tragedy'
Prompted by anger and frustration over the manner in
which the 12 deaths were misreported, Tallmansville
area residents and the families of the victims are calling
for an investigation, and many want personal apologies
from the mine's owner, International Coal Group.
The company issued an apology via a press release posted
online by relations distribution service PRNewswire.
"International Coal Group Chairman Wilbur L.
Ross has issued the following statement regarding the
accident in which 12 miners died at the Sago Mine in
West Virginia, operated by a subsidiary of the
company," states the press release. "A terrible
tragedy has occurred and everyone at International Coal
Group shares the grief of the families of the twelve
miners who lost their lives despite the best efforts
of our company ... I offer these families my heartfelt
sympathy and my prayers," said Ross.
In the release, Ross announces the formation of a special
"Sago Mine Fund to provide financial support to
the families," with an initial contribution of
$2 million. People who wish to contribute can call 212-826-2174.
ICG President and CEO Ben Hatfield added, "This
has been the most tragic period of my life. Our goal
is always to see that our people get home safely each
day and we will redouble our efforts to make sure that
a tragedy like this never occurs again." (Read
more)
Indiana newspaper editors call
for statewide broadband initiative
In a Fort Wayne [Ind.] News Sentinel
editorial, More Hoosier broadband, the newspaper
calls on the state's governor to "press to make
Indiana an information crossroads of America."
"Gov. Mitch Daniels ... has indicated in recent
weeks that encouraging greater broadband Internet access
in Indiana will be among his top priorities this year.That
can’t come too soon," writes Bob Caylor for
the newspaper's editorial board, and, Caylor opines,
"If he successfully follows through ... he’ll
be taking one of the most important steps to position
this state for economic growth."
"More important," Caylor writes, " high-speed
Internet access is new enough that innovators in every
field are still figuring out new ways to improve their
work with it. ... those advances will leave Indiana
on the sidelines unless it is broadly wired for access.
Caylor concludes the opinion piece, " Fort Wayne
might provide lessons for state government on easing
the path of broadband into a new market. But we’re
better off competing in a state full of 21st-century
communications than being a smug standout in a technological
backwater. Gov. Daniels is on the right track to see
the importance of leading Indiana toward broadband opportunities."
(Read
more)
Invasion of a Body Snatcher:
Youth methamphetamine use up in Idaho
In mountainous, scenic and sparsely populated Idaho,
methamphetamine is taking over young people, reports
a Ketchum newspaper, where one official likened the
powerful narcotic to creatures from a cult science fiction
classic that took over the world one mind and one body
at a time.
Megan Thomas of the Idaho Mountain Express
and Guide quotes Blaine County Supt. Jim Lewis:
"Meth is almost like a body snatcher. It reaches
out and grabs these kids almost overnight." And
Barge Levy, Silver Creek Alternative School director:
"This is a wonder drug for kids. They feel smart,
strong and invisible, and then they crash. . . . I see
more and more meth."
Thomas notes that "In December 2005, a Wood River
High School student tested positive for meth. The result
marked the high school's first positive methamphetamine
test this school year. Now, Blaine County school officials
are worried about teens' use of and access to the highly
addictive white powder."
Vice Principal John Blackman said that so far this
school year he has given 19 urine tests that can detect
traces of cocaine, opiates, THC (marijuana) and methamphetamine.
"Of the tests given by Blackman, 10 were positive
— one tested positive for meth," she writes.
(Read
more)
'Mini-cattle' all the rage on
'farmettes' on Maryland's Eastern Shore
Suburban cowboys and cowgirls hankering to raise a
herd but short on ranch land might want to consider
mini-cattle, reports Alex Dominguez of the Chicago
Sun-Times, who writes: "New breeds of
pint-sized heifers and bulls are making it easier for
small farmers to raise cattle for milk, meat or just
fun. On Bill Bryan's 50-acre spread on Maryland's Eastern
Shore, he sold seven calves in 2005."
Bryan told Dominguez, "We've sold the vast majority
of our calves to people who have these little three-
to five-acre farmettes and they'll fence in an acre,
buy a calf and more or less keep 'em for pets."
While most cattle range from 1,200 to 1,500-pounds,
only about 40 percent of their weight makes it to the
freezer, notes Dominguez. "Miniature cattle, which
often are between 500 and 700 pounds, provide enough
meat to last a family of four six months," he writes.
Bryan also told him, ''Women can raise these steers
just as well as men can.'' (Read
more)
Appalachian activists featured
in 'Women of Courage' book
Mountain women have always been portrayed as strong-willed,
tough, independent and principled. Now, a Radford, Va.,
woman is writing about some of the region's most notable
women pioneers.
Theresa Burriss of Radford, formerly of Wytheville,
was featured recently in the Fall 2005 Radford
University magazine. The university called
her a "Woman of Change, Woman of Courage,"
in honor of a book she is compiling," writes Linda
Spiker of the Wytheville Enterprise.
"Burriss, who has taken an interest in Appalachian
studies at Radford as a graduate teaching fellow. She
and Deanna Smith have sponsored an Appalachian camp
for young people, and Burriss has written papers on
the culture of the Appalachian region. Her aim is to
help people become knowledgeable about their heritage
and take pride in the versatility and perseverance of
their ancestors, " writes Spiker.
The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
is awarding Burris a $10,000 grant to publish her book,
"Women of Change, Women of Courage: Appalachian
Activists," Burris is collecting oral histories
of women who were or are activists, writes Spiker. (Read
more)
Wednesday,
Jan. 4, 2006
Coal-mine disaster
is one legacy of a series of bankruptcies
The coal mine where 12 miners died was recently purchased
by a company that grew out of series of bankruptcies,
beginning with the high-flying brothers Larry and Robert
Addington of Eastern Kentucky, reports Jim Jordan of
the Lexington Herald-Leader.
International Coal Group is "an
heir to the coal empire of Ashland's Addington brothers,"
notes Jordan. Addington once controlled one of the largest
energy companies in the nation, notes Jordan, but Jordan
writes, "Unlike the Addingtons' later coal operations,
[International] is profiting from strong demand and
high prices for coal." For Jordan's details on
the series of bankruptcies and name changes, click
here.
ICG, which is based in the Addingtons' old offices
near Ashland, won't be a Kentucky company much longer,
Jordan writes. It is building a three-story headquarters
building near Interstate 64 at Scott Depot, W. Va.,
just west of Charleston, where 100 of its 1,900 employees
will work.
The Sago Mine where the miners were trapped near Tallmansville,
W.Va., was acquired in March 2005 when International
bought Anker West Virginia Mining Co.,
which was in bankruptcy, writes Jordan. The company
tool control of the mine in November.
Incorrect report
of 'miracle' caught daily newspapers at worst possible
time
Greg Mitchell of Editor &
Publisher pulls no punches today in his account
of the incorrect reporting of the coal diasater: "In
one of the most disturbing and disgraceful media performances
of this type in recent years, television and newspapers
carried the tragically wrong news late Tuesday and early
Wednesday that 12 of 13 trapped coal miners in West
Virginia had been found alive and safe. Hours later
they had to reverse course, often blaming the mix-up
on 'miscommunication'," the word a company official
used.
One minute before midnight, The Associated
Press moved a story that attributed the news
to the miners' families. Little over a half-hour later,
the AP report sounded more definite, treating it as
fact. All across the eastern United States, newspapers
remade their front pages to trumpet the good news. The
AP story contradicting the midnight report moved at
3:06 a.m., according to E & P. (Read
more)
Mitchell cites the banner headline "They're Alive!"
in the Indianapolis Star. "Even
the Los Angeles Times, three hours
behind on the West Coast, carried the front-page headline:
'Suddenly There is Joy: 12 Miners Found Alive.' In many
cases, the same papers stopped the presses later, after
tens of thousands of copies were printed and distributed,
to carry the correct report. Some editors blamed officials
for misleading reporters." The New York
Times was among the papers that headlined the
story with no doubt, and as late as 8 a.m. today, the
original story remained on the paper's Web site.
"It is unclear why the media carried the news
without proper sourcing," Mitchell writes. "Some
reports claim the early reports spread via cell phones
and when loved ones started celebrating most in the
media simply joined in. In reality, rescuers had only
confirmed finding 12 miners and were checking their
vital signs. But what leaked out to anxious family members
was that 12 were found alive."
Staci D. Kramer writes in her Trust
but Verify blog, "The AP's reporting
certainly contributed to some of the coverage, but that
doesn't explain why so many journalists at what had
become a major media event went with what appears to
be hearsay instead of waiting for official confirmation.
The live coverage of the euphoric scene had its own
power. What would I or any of you have done in their
place? The temptation to believe in miracles can't be
underestimated. Neither can group-think. I hope I would
have been skeptical."
Kramer also writes: "I was half-listening to Anderson
Cooper live in West Virginia -- and noting that CNN
was truly live, not Memorex -- when a woman
and children rushed up the camera blurting out that
it had all been a mistake.One man survived; the rest
were confirmed dead. It was a startling moment in so
many ways. With no way of confirming at that moment
what he -- and we -- were being told, the story continued
nearly unchecked. In a way, it was a replay of the way
the news of survival was delivered hours earlier."
Disaster and its handling are
testimonies to miners' demeanor, life, death
COMMENTARY by blogger Bill Griffin,
Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues
Appalachian coal people have a reputation
for being hard, laconic. The truth is they can be as
hard as stone, as soft as mountain laurel, as cold as
the blackness of a damp mineshaft two miles under a
mountain, as warm as sunshine on a rocky creek during
snow-melt in early spring, as happy as clogging music,
and as sad as a funeral under a cold rain.
But hard is their demeanor most often.
They have to be to handle the careening ups and downs
of coal mining. Each time the ground rumbles, hearts
stop. Each time the mine whistle screams, tears well-up
and breathing ceases until the news comes, which often
is crushingly sad. They have to be hard because coal
is both their life and their death.
On the heels of news that an explosion
had trapped 13 miners in an Upshur County, W.Va. coal
mine, all of Appalachia felt the pain, and held the
hope. But, early today heads bowed under the weight
of more crushingly sad news --12 dead, a stark counterpoint
to hope only hours before, errant reports of 12 survivors.
It has happened many times before. Every coal family
in Appalachia knows the drill, hopes for miracles, and
knows the reality of death. They have dealt with it
for centuries.
The experts and officials will investigate.
A troubled mine company may fall. But, mines will continue
to grind out more coal for the nation's factories and
power plants and more miners will work the rock. Shortly,
the "suits" will leave, and attention will
turn elsewhere. We can only handle so much. But, it
will happen again, until hard choices are made by hard
men and women to make it safer.
Kentucky to monitor
truck traffic on nation's busiest coal route
The busiest artery through the heart of Eastern Kentucky
coal country is the pulsating US 23, running north-south
from the mines to coal tipples on the Ohio and Big Sandy
rivers. Its pavement is pounded into submission by heavy
traffic, usually under the weight of the region's main
livelihood, coal. Now the state wants to lower the stress
and strain with closer monitoring of overweight coal
trucks.
"The state has taken the first step to establish
what effectively is the first weigh station on the nation's
busiest coal-haul highway," writes Lee Mueller
of the Lexington Herald-Leader. Kentucky
Vehicle Enforcement Commissioner Greg Howard told Muller
the state will open a commercial vehicle inspection
station near the Floyd-Johnson county line in mid-January.
The project initially will be open on a random basis
and use semi-portable scales.
Howard told Mueller, "This should do the work
for now ... We don't need a big, fancy facility like
they have on the interstates," but Mueller notes,"The
modest Floyd County outpost ... would stand as a kind
of monument to the state's resolve under the Fletcher
administration to enforce hauling limits on coal trucks."
Muller writes that during the 1995-2003 administration
of Gov. Paul Patton, a coal-industry millionaire, Vehicle
Enforcement Maj. Steve Maffett predicted, "You'll
never see a scale on US 23 in Eastern Kentucky anywhere.
They're not going to let that happen up there."
(Read
more)
Telecom firm bringing phone,
Internet service to growing rural areas
A group of communications companies that banded together
four years ago has found a niche in helping small cable
companies bring telephone and Internet service to rural
areas, something larger firms have shunned as not profitable,
writes Jerri Stroud of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"Jerry Howe, a former executive with SBC
Communications Inc., Brooks Fiber Properties
Inc. and NuVox Communications Inc.,
led a group of investors who bought a small long-distance
company and added local calling and Internet service.
They renamed the company Big River Telephone,"
Stroud writes. Big River is based in Cape Girardeau,
Mo., with a satellite office in west St. Louis County.
The company has been providing local and long-distance
service to rural small and medium-sized businesses,
with a limited number of residential customers in southeast
Missouri, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky.
Big River works with five cable companies serving rural
communities in Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas
and will be expanding soon into Mississippi, Nebraska
and West Virginia. It is talking with three other cable
companies that want to offer telephone service. Big
River President Kevin Cantwell told Stroud, "We
see it as a tremendous growth opportunity." (Read
more)
Rural Indiana hospitals gain
high-tech help, access to critical-care specialists
Six Northern Indiana hospitals will participate in
a cyber-medical program designed to provide critical
high-tech services in an underserved, predominantly
rural area.
"The Regional Virtual Intensive Care Unit allows
a critical-care team to be more proactive than reactive
in patient care, medical officials said. The system
has analytical programs that will alert teams to problems
as they arise, according to officials. For instance,
if a patient has a reaction to medication, the team
can make a call in seconds and alter the dosage or change
the medication immediately," writes D. L. Perrin
of the South Bend Tribune.
Hospital officials recently combined resources and
came up with $320,000 in matching funds to obtain a
$321,020 rural development grant, notes Perrin. The
money will assist in the installation of the system,
which the officials called "the latest technological
advancement in critical patient care," he writes.
U.S. Rep. Fred Upton said he had urged the Department
of Agriculture's Office of Rural Development
to support the program. Upton told Perrin the program
offers hospitals the opportunity to tap into a wealth
of medical knowledge in a matter of seconds, Perrin
writes. (Read
more)
Conference to explore
relations between ranchers, urban environmentalists
In what might be seen as an effort to
modify a song from the musical "Oklahoma,"
where farmers and cowboys are at odds, a New Mexico
group feels "Enviros and the ranchers should be
friends," and they have organized a conference
to cultivate middleground in what historically has been
a tense relationship.
"When two Sierra Club
members and a rancher founded the Quivira Coalition
in Santa Fe more than eight years ago, they wanted to
build bridges between ranchers and environmentalists
, urban and rural," writes Staci Matlock in The
New Mexican of Santa Fe.
Quivira Coalition executive director Courtney White
told Matlock, “We wanted to convince the urban
environmental community that ranching is sustainable
[and] help the rural ranching community understand urban
values and why environmentalists feel the way they do.”
The coalition’s fifth annual conference is Jan.
12-14 at the Hilton Hotel in Albuquerque. Speakers will
include scientist Jonathan Overpeck, director of the
Institute for the Study of Planet Earth at
the University of Arizona; New Mexico
Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons; Peter Forbes of Vermont’s
Center for Whole Communities; and Dan
Imhoff of the Wild Farm Alliance in
Northern California.
White told the newspaper the divide involves water
and land. The rural West has it; the urban West wants
it. The divide also involves political power, money
and influence. Urban America has it; rural America is
affected by it," writes Matlock. (Read
more)
American cattle competition
making Japanese gourmet beef extravagant choice
The maxim that competition makes for a better product
appears true in the highly competitive international
beef industry, where cowboys are competing head-to-head
(pun intended) with the industry's samurai and the stakes
(homonymic pun intended) are high.
"For the first time in four years, a gourmet extravagance
— authentic Japanese Kobe beef — is allowed
back into the United States. The question is whether
anyone will care. An American Kobe-style brand has taken
its place on restaurant menus," writes Libby Quaid
of The Associated Press. (Read
more)
American ranchers believe good genetics and careful
feeding are the main ingredients for quality Kobe-style
beef, notes Quaid. Jay Theiler, president of Idaho-based
Snake River Farms, told her, "It's
a great story, and we don't go out of our way to dispel
the myth, but it's really not necessary. The two things
that make Kobe-style beef are genetics and a long feeding
program."
The American version comes from the same breed of cattle
raised in Japan. Called Wagyu, which means "Japanese
cattle," they began arriving in the United States
in the 1990s, and are fattened longer than the average
American breed. U.S. ranchers often crossbreed them
with Angus cattle.
The beef they produce is considered better than prime,
writes Quaid. Most goes to restaurants and hotels. Only
a small amount is sold in supermarkets. Cattleman Gary
Yamamoto of Texas (yes, Texas) says at least 97 percent
of his Kobe-style Wagyu beef is prime. About 2 percent
of beef nationwide earns a prime rating, Quaid reports.
Grant to help keep hills alive
with traditional Appalachian music, dance
Kentucky's Berea College has received
an anonymous $115,000 grant to expand its teaching,
research and preservation of traditional Appalachian
music and dance.
"More than half of the grant will be used to digitize
on a computer hard drive non-commercial recordings that
had been on tape from as far back as the 1960s, said
Harry Rice, the sound archivist in special collections
and archives at Berea's Hutchins Library," writes
Art Jester of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The digital recordings are being added to the Digital
Library of Appalachia, sponsored by the
Appalachian College Association, a
consortium of 35 colleges in the region, including Berea,
notes Jester. (Read
more) For more information, contact Harry Rice,
sound archivist, Berea College, at (859) 985-3249; e-mail
him at harry_rice@berea.edu;
or go to the Berea
College Sound Archives. For a related story
in The Courier-Journal of Louisville,
by Nancy Rodriguez, Dulcimer club awakens Appalachian
spirit within students in Newport, click
here.
Ebling named managing
editor of Faribault (Minn.) Daily News
Garrett Ebling, managing editor of the Stafford
County [Va.] Sun for three
years, has been named managing editor of the Faribault
[Minn.] Daily News, reports
The Associated Press.
Ebling has also been a news editor for The
Potomac News and the Manassas Journal
Messenger. He was a copy editor for The
Journal in Martinsburg, W.Va., and The
Washington Times. He earned his journalism
degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1999.
Rick Wallace named publisher
of Standard Journal in Rexburg, Idaho
Rick Wallace, advertising director of The
Herald Journal in Logan, Utah, has been named
publisher of the Standard Journal in
Rexburg, Idaho. Pioneer Newspapers
owns both dailies. Wallace took over as publisher on
Jan. 1, reports The Associated Press.
Wallace, 48, replaced Rich Ballou, who had been publisher
since 2000. Ballou resigned to take a position with
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
AP reports.
Rural Calendar
Feb. 1: Deadline for 'Nation's
Best Non-Daily Newspaper Contest'
The Inland Press Foundation
invites non-daily newspapers to enter its 'Nation's
Best Non-Daily Newspapers Contest.' This contest recognizes
"high-quality editorial material; innovative, attractive
packaging of that material; and community service from
non-daily newspapers," contest organizers said.
The contest is open to all U. S. newspapers
published for general circulation at least weekly but
not more than three days per week. There are three circulation
categories: Under 5,000; 5,000 to 10,000; Over 10,000.
Entries must be received by Feb. 1, 2006. Entries should
be sent to: Inland Press Association, ATTN: Non-Daily
Contest, 701 Lee St. Suite 925, Des Plaines, Ill., 60016.
For more information, contact Elaine Lange at 847-795-0380.
Tuesday,Jan.
3, 2006
Coal blast follows
least-fatal year for industry, many violations at mine
The blast that trapped 13 miners in a
West Virginia coal mine came just after the end of a
year that saw a record low number of deaths atthe nation's
coal-mining facilities. But the Sago Mine has a long
record of safety violations, continuing even after a
new owner took it over in mid-November.
Lexington Herald-Leader
Eastern Kentucky Bureau Chief Lee Mueller wrote in a
Dec. 29 story, "Barring more accidents before Jan.
1, 2005 could go down as perhaps the safest coal-mining
year in the history of the United States, if not Kentucky.
As of yesterday, 21 deaths related to coal mining had
been posted this year by federal regulators." (Read
more) There was a fatality Dec. 30 at an Eastern
Kentucky mine, raising the national total for the year
to 22 -- five below the record low of 27 recorded in
2002. For the U.S.
Mine Safety and Health Administration "Fatalgrams"
site, click
here.
The safety record of the International Coal
Group's Sago Mine immediately came under scrutiny
from reporters such as Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston
Gazette, who wrote that the mine “reported
an injury rate that was three times that of similar-size
underground mines across the country. And last year,
the Anker West Virginia Mining Co.
operation was fined more than $24,000 for about 200
alleged violations,” according to MSHA records.
Ward added, “During the last six months of 2005,
the Sago Mine reported a dozen accidental roof falls,
according to MSHA records. Only one of those roof falls
caused an injury, the MSHA records show.” Three
of the falls occurred after ICG completed its takeover
of the mine on Nov. 18. The number of roof falls “suggests
that the roof is bad and that the support system is
not meeting the needs of the roof,” J. Davitt
McAteer of Wheeling Jesuit University,
former head of MSHA, told Ward. Also, McAteer said,
“The number of violations is sufficiently high
that it should tip off management that there is something
amiss here. For a small operation, that is a significant
number of violations.”
After their most recent complete inspection of the
mine, from early October to late December, MSHA inspectors
“issued 46 citations and three orders for a variety
of safety violations. Inspectors listed 18 of those
as 'serious and substantial.' These 'S&S' violations
are those that MSHA believes are likely to cause an
accident that would seriously injure a miner,”
Ward reported. In a late-morning press conference today,
ICG President Ben Hatfield declined to discuss the mine's
violation history, but last night, another company official
told reporters that conditions have improved ICG took
over the mine.
Other coal news: For a report
by Amanda Paulson of the Christian Science Monitor,
in which she writes, "Monday's explosion has focused
attention on mine safety, but environmentalists worry
about long-term effects of mountaintop removal,"
click
here. For "Veteran coal miners forced outside
area to find work in industry," by Jim Muir of
The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale,
click
here.
Antiterrorism cuts, based on
likely threat, may shift funds from rural areas
A priority change to be announced today
for homeland security grants could mean less money for
rural communities, which some in urban areas say have
been getting more than their share.
"Facing cuts in antiterrorism financing,
the Department of Homeland Security
... will evaluate new requests for money from an $800
million aid program for cities based less on politics
and more on assessments of where terrorists are likely
to strike and potentially cause the greatest damage,
department officials say," writes Eric Lipton of
The New York Times.
Congress has appropriated $120 million less in grants
for the new year than for 2005 for the Urban Area Security
Initiative antiterrorism efforts, notes Lipton. Domestic
security grants in general have been criticized because
they have sent more antiterrorism money per capita to
sparsely populated states.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff previously
said, "Choices mean focusing on the risks which
are the greatest. And that means some risks get less
focus." Don Thorson, administrator for the grant
program in Omaha, told Lipton, "No one can predict
where a terrorist might strike. Look where Timothy McVeigh
struck. It was Oklahoma City." Omaha received $5.1
million last year to buy bomb suits and communications
equipment, among other items. (Read
more)
Windmills and debate
spin over benefit, sites of alternative power sources
"Giant windmills are popping up on farms, scenic
mountain ridges, prairie grass and now an Indian reservation,
dramatically changing the nation’s landscape and
spinning a debate about where they belong," reports
The Associated Press.
Wind power grew rapidly last year, "becoming more
competitive as natural gas prices jumped and crude oil
prices reached record highs. Improved technology, a
federal tax credit and pressure on utilities to use
clean energy sources helped fuel the growth from coast
to coast," AP reports.
Tom Gray, deputy executive director of the American
Wind Energy Association, told reporters, “The
wind resource in the United States is comparable to
the oil resource in Saudi Arabia. It’s a major
strategic national resource we should be making every
effort to develop.” But, environmentalist Robert
F. Kennedy Jr. said, in regards to a proposed Cape Cod
project, "If you’re giving away public rights,
you ought to make sure the public benefits from this
transfer, [and] that the costs do not exceed the benefits.”
The industry reports it generated an additional 2,500
megawatts of wind power this year, a record 35 percent
increase. Industry officials said wind-power capacity
exceeds 9,200 megawatts in 30 states, enough for 2.4
million average homes. (Read
more)
Digging for tech
workers in coalfield: Contractors target southwest Virginia
Lebanon, Va., has 3,300 people. "Cow pastures
encase the local high school, churches outnumber nightclubs
14 to zero and the unemployment rate is almost twice
as high as the rest of the state," writes Ellen
McCarthy of The Washington Post, but
the tranquil, pastoral but economically depressed setting
is poised for a technological revolution of sorts.
"This is where government contractors CGI-AMS
Inc. and Northrop Grumman Corp. will
in the next few months start building multimillion-dollar
technology centers and hire hundreds of software engineers
at salaries far above the region's average, bringing
a taste of Washington's lucrative tech sector to a coal
country enclave," writes McCarthy.
McCarthy notes, "How the companies came to build
here is a tale of the economic factors shaping Northern
Virginia -- towering home prices and nightmare commutes
that are making it hard to hire new workers at reasonable
wages. But it's also a tale of Virginia politics and
the potential boost that outgoing Gov. Mark R. Warner's
ambitions for this part of the state could give a presidential
bid."
Warner told the Lebanon High School senior class in
October, as he announced CGI-AMS's plans to hire 300
software engineers from the region, "This is the
day southwest Virginia is transformed. These are serious
high-tech jobs that any city in Northern Virginia would
die to get." (Read
more)
First fiber-optic,
high-speed Internet for a W. Va. town nearing completion
The north-central West Virginia city
of Philippi will become the first in the state to have
a fiber-to-home system linking residents to a network
that provides digital cable television and high speed
Internet access.
Construction of the new fiber optic system began during
the summer months, is nearing the final stages and officials
say they expect the network to be operational by March,
writes Ben Simmons of the The Inter-Mountain
in Elkins. City Manager Karen Weaver told Simmons, “A
fiber network increases the possibility of economic
development . . . and provides an underutilized utility
service.”
The project, which covers the city and a portion of
the surrounding area, also lays the foundation for expanding
high speed Internet access to other remote locations
of the county, Simmons reports. Weaver told him the
project cost more than $5 million. It is being funded
by a $2.4 million grant from the USDA Rural
Utilities Service's Community Broadband Grant
Program and city bonds. (Read
more) For additional information, visit http://www.philippi.org.
Kentucky county to add hog rules
after rejecting similar restrictions
Fulton County, Ky., commissioners are set to enact
tougher hog farm restrictions six months after dropping
similar restrictions under pressure from hog opponents,
reports Joe Walker of the Paducah Sun.
"A second reading of the proposed ordinance is
scheduled for Jan. 10. It passed on first reading Dec.
13 by a 3-2 vote with Judge-Executive Harold Garrison
opposing. He said he couldn't’t support the provision
because a June lawsuit by hog farm opponents forced
the county to drop an earlier ordinance that Garrison
deemed sufficient," writes Walker.
Walker notes that hog farmers are now threatening to
sue to block the new ordinance, which has stricter requirements
on the location of barns with regard to schools, homes,
businesses and other structures. The new regulations
double the distance from roads to 300 feet and require
a minimum of 5,000 feet between barns and city limits,
he writes. And, the new ordinance also has stricter
requirements on groundwater monitoring wells and on
any manure or wastewater proposed for land disposal.
Open waste lagoons are barred in favor of concrete pits
beneath hog barn floors, notes Walker.
Fulton County farmer Jim Moss told Walker, “We
view it as extremely restrictive to the point that it’s
financially prohibitive. We don’t believe the
ordinance will stand legally, and there’s definitely
been contemplation of legal action against the ordinance.”
(Read
more; subscription required)
Thousands of government checks
to Kentucky tobacco growers undeliverable
The Commonwealth of Kentucky has been left holding
the check. Actually about 5,000 checks.
"Last June, the state sent out 164,000 checks
totaling $114 million as part of the Phase II Tobacco
Settlement program. The money was paid by tobacco companies
to compensate for years of dwindling quotas," writes
Andy Mead of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The more than 5,000 checks that came back because they
couldn't be delivered total more than $863,000. The
reasons for the returns, notes Mead are: no forwarding
address left, expired forwarding address, recipient
deceased or unknown, and Post Office box closed.
Joel Neaveill of the Governor's Office of Agricultural
Policy told the Messenger-Inquirer of Owensboro, told
Mead, "People move and don't send us change-of-address
forms,"
To find those missing people and get them their money,
the state has set up a Web site that lists the recipients
of all the returned checks, by county.
State Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, D-Lexington, told Mead,
"This money belongs to tobacco farmers and we want
to make sure they get it," he said in a news release.
"The money won't be there forever," writes
Mead. The June 2005 checks expire on June 20, 2006.
(Read
more)
Investigators continue vote-buying
inquiry implicating W. Va. politician
Guilty pleas last week may have resolved all pending
election-fraud charges in southern West Virginia, but
it federal prosecutors have not ended their pursuit
of vote-buying, reports The Associated Press.
"The FBI raided the video poker-machine business
run by Delegate Joe C. Ferrell in June, seizing dozens
of boxes of business and personal records. The documents
included slates and other election-related materials,
court filings show," AP reports.
Acting U.S. Attorney Chuck Miller told reporters, “We’re
not going to stop with these convictions and go to lunch.
We’re going to continue.” Miller refused
comment on his office’s next step, but statements
made during the plea hearings and evidence gathered
indicate several possible directions, AP notes.(Read
more)
Ferrell, a Democrat from Logan, is a co-conspirator
and potential witness in the election fraud case targeting
Lincoln County residents. County Assessor Jerry Weaver
pleaded guilty last week and did not dispute a prosecutor’s
claims Ferrell gave him $4,000 in 1990 to buy votes
in the primary, AP reports.
Dec.
27-30, 2005
Small Okla. daily scrambles
to cover fires, deliver papers and stay safe
The Seminole Producer of Seminole,
Okla., is throwing its all into covering the wildfires
that are devastating parts of Oklahoma and Texas, including
about 10,000 acres in its circulation area, east and
southeast of Oklahoma City, leaving 50 families homeless,
reports Editor & Publisher.
"With a newsroom staff of four and one part-time
photographer[, the paper] has basically put all other
reporting aside to cover the biggest story in years,
according to Managing Editor Karen Anson," Joe
Strupp writes for E&P. "The family-owned daily,
which publishes Tuesday through Friday and on Sundays,
has averaged between 10 and 16 pages this week, a slight
increase over most days, with the fire coverage all
but replacing sports and events pages."
The 5,300-circulation paper has "produced its
first-ever color photos, but only for its
Web site [and without captions]. Since the paper
publishes in black and white, color shots could not
be used in print."
Anson told Strupp that fire lines had been a block
away from the paper's downtown office. "The fire
department told us that if the wind had not shifted,
the whole downtown would have been destroyed, including
us," she said. "We just stood here and hoped
and hoped." Anson's yard caught fire twice. "It
rekindled on Thursday, 15 minutes before deadline and
my husband was an hour away. I had to go home and help
some neighbors who were already hosing it, and then
come back and get the paper out," she said.
Reporter Jennifer Pitts was trapped in her car Tuesday
while reporting on a pasture fire. "Within seconds,
I couldn't see two feet in front of my face," she
told Strupp. "It was smoke and ash. My eyes started
burning and watering and I was coughing." Strupp
writes, "Pitts, who suffers from asthma, said a
water truck pulled in front of her at the same time,
blocking her exit for several minutes." The paper
has maintained carrier delivery despite road closures
in the area. (Read
more)
Editor of a Kentucky hill country
paper writes frankly about her divorce
Even at newspapers in rural communites, where profesional
and personal lives often intersect and overlap, the
really personal stuff usually doesn't get written about.
Angie Brockman, managing editor of The Sentinel-Echo
in London, Ky., broke new ground there this
week by writing about her divorce.
"In the last couple of editions, you may have
noticed my last name has changed," Brockman began
her column. "After nearly 10 years of marriage
I have now joined the statistical ranks of all the millions
of other Americans, one statistic I never thought I'd
be: Divorced."
Later in the piece, Brockman writes, "My ex-husband
Adam -- wow, that's weird -- and I were luckier than
most people who get divorced. We had no children and
we really had no bills to pay other than our house and
one car. So, getting an amicable divorce was easy. Actually,
so easy it's scary. I've signed more to buy a car than
what I had to sign to get divorced. Kentucky makes it
easy if you have no children. You just have to be separated
for three months before you file, wait 30 days after
you file, and then get a court date for the final hearing."
Brockman goes on to explain that her ex is "a
wonderful man with many good qualities," but "We
were going in opposite directions and had virtually
no common interests. That became very obvious after
I took the job as managing editor of The Sentinel-Echo
in July. I was working a lot and 40 miles from my house.
I was not home a lot and it's awful to say, but I really
enjoyed it."
She concludes, "So for all of you people about
to get married, I say go for it. I loved being married
and having the happy homemaker life. I enjoy doing all
those crazy things like cooking and cleaning for a man.
I think it's great. Just make sure your husband isn't
just your friend. Make sure you keep him close to your
heart because you don't know how quickly he can drift
away." (Read
more)
Rural
Calendar
Jan. 9: Kellogg Foundation starts
'Rural People, Rural Policy' info sessions
W.K.
Kellogg Foundation staff will be crossing
the country next week to help launch Rural People,
Rural Policy, "a multi-year national initiative
that energizes and equips rural organizations and networks
to shape policy that will improve the lives of rural
people and the vitality of rural communities,"
announces Dee Davis of the Center
for Rural Strategies in Whitesburg, Ky.
Each year, starting in 2006, five organizations from
each of four regions and one "at-large" grantee
will engage in a multi-year process that will develop
their strategies, skills, efforts and networks to improve
the impact of public and private policy on rural people
and places.
Foundation staff will present information about the
initiative Monday, Jan. 9 at the Charleston, W. Va.,
Marriott Town Center; Tuesday, Jan. 10 at the Radisson
Hotel, 2411 Winchester Rd., in Memphis; Wednesday, Jan.
11 at the Denver Airport Marriott at Gateway Park; and
Thursday, Jan. 12 at the Marriott Albuquerque, 2101
Louisiana Blvd. NE. All meetings will run from 9 to
11 a.m.
If you plan to attend, call Anna Walker at 269-969-2678
with the number of participants and location.
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