The Rural Blog

Wash. AG would let local officials record closed sessions, to prevent or resolve questions of legality

2012-01-27T18:23:00.000-05:00

One of the biggest bugaboos of covering elected or appointed boards is the "executive session," in which we presume the discussion often goes beyond the limited topics authorized by the state open-meetings law. That is usually hard to prove, but Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna may have a good idea to address the problem.

As part of his 2012 legislative package, "McKenna is asking lawmakers to adopt a bill that would allow government bodies to record executive sessions. It’s not mandatory, it’s permissive," The Olympian reports in an editorial. "Then if a question arises . . . there’s an audio or video recording to settle the question."

The state-capital newspaper noted that earlier bills to require such recordings have been defeated by lobbyists for local governments, but a permissive law would allow local officials to "refute an allegation of an illegal meeting and provide greater accountability for public attorneys that they are not allowing elected officials to hold illegal meetings."

The paper concluded, "We believe that audio or video recordings of executive sessions would also create a psychological barrier for elected officials – to keep them from straying into subjects and having discussions that they should not engage in behind closed doors." We agree, and hope the bill passes. The only law we know of like this is one in Florida that requires a court reporter for closed sessions for discussion of litigation and makes the transcript public at the end of the litigation.

Drought, high hay costs stress Okla. horse rescue

2012-01-27T16:45:00.001-05:00

Abandoned horses remain a big problem because people can't afford to feed them. Many are left to wander in the wild. Others are abused, and those are a top priority for Blaze's Tribute Equine Rescue in Jones, Okla. Now the rescue isn't sure how it will keep horses alive, reports Jamie Oberg of News 9 in Oklahoma City. Owner Natalee Cross said the rescue is housing more than 100 horses, its full capacity, and not only doesn't know where the next hay supply will come from, but also doesn't know how it will pay. (News 9 photo)

Rising hay prices are costing Cross almost $3,000 a week, and she said if prices don't go down, she might have to pay out of her own pocket to buy hay. She said this is the hardest year since she started at the rescue 10 years ago. Extended drought is making owners beg her to take their horses because they can't afford to feed them. She said she has to find homes for horse's she's nursed back to health before she can take more, but most won't take them because they can't afford hay. (Read more)

Insurance company wants to give primary-care docs more money, including payment for prevention

2012-01-27T16:42:00.000-05:00

Most rural areas depend on primary-care physicians, and at least one insurance company is willing to increase compensation for them. Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., an operator of Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans, wants to increase payments to primary-care doctors and start reimbursing for preventive care management. WellPoint says this would "boost treatment and save money," reports The Associated Press.

The company said it hopes the measure will "give doctors a chance to do more for patients outside ... of just treating a person when they become sick," including helping those with chronic health problems like diabetes develop exercise plans and making sure they're followed. WellPoint Vice President Jill Hummel said the concept will allow doctors to spend more time with patients, "listening to them and understanding their concerns." The company operates insurance plans in 14 states and enrolls more than 34 million people. It hopes to implement the new payment plan across its primary care network before 2014. (Read more)

Conservation groups still aren't happy with latest version of national forest management plan

2012-01-27T16:39:00.002-05:00

The Obama administration provided a new framework the U.S. Forest Service would use to manage national forest land yesterday. Once the regulations are approved, they will update planning procedures that have been in place since 1982 and use latest science and knowledge to create and implement effective land management plans. The rule requires management plans include habitat for plant and animal diversity and conservation, but some conservation groups say the rule weakens national forest wildlife protections, reports Environmental News Service.

Defenders of Wildlife President Jamie Rappaport, who headed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the Clinton administration, said her organization supports "this historic shift in direction," but remains concerned about the "adequacy" of wildlife conservation in the proposed rule. She said the rule "makes promises that it can't fully deliver." Conversely, Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said the rule will sustain jobs and income for local communities, take less time, cost less money and provide stronger protections for land and water.

This is the fourth, and seemingly final, attempt to update the rules since 2000. All previous attempts were challenged in court by several environmental and conservation nonprofits, including Center for Biological Diversity, and found to be unlawful. The Forest Service and its parent agency, the Department of Agriculture, considered almost 300,000 public comments on the proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement to develop the final course of action. (Read more)

Feds question mine plan that would create grade and drain for part of King Coal Highway in W.Va.

2012-01-27T16:32:00.000-05:00

Consol Energy wants to mine 2,300 acres between Belo and Delbarton in Mingo County, West Virginia, but the Obama administration is questioning the Buffalo Mountain mountaintop-removal mine proposal and pressuring state officials and the company to reduce potential impacts. Part of the company's proposed post-mining land use plan involves construction of the King Coal Highway that would connect four-lane US 119 at Williamson, population 3,400, to Interstate 77 at Bluefield, notes Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston Gazette. (Red line on map denotes proposed route)

The Environmental Protection Agency said the mine would be one of the largest ever proposed in Appalachia and would bury 10 miles of streams under 13 separate valley fills if allowed to continue. EPA says the permit includes 159 possible water pollution "outfalls." The agency sent a letter objecting to an Corps of Engineers "dredge-and-fill" permit for the proposed mine issued the day of Obama's inauguration. Consol wants to mine 16 million tons of coal over a 14-year period, and the state Division of Highways said the mine would reduce the cost of the King Coal Highway section from $200 million to less than $90 million.

EPA recently sent a letter to the state Department of Environmental Protection objecting to a specific Clean Water Act pollution discharge permit for the mine. In the letter, it said the DEP hadn't included "adequate pollution monitoring or discharge limits in its proposed water quality permit for the operation." The Federal Highway Administration and state DOH announced this week they would focus a joint study of potential environmental impacts of the King Coal Highway on the Buffalo Mountain mining project. (Read more)

One more time: EPA won't regulate farm dust

2012-01-27T16:27:00.002-05:00

It seems the dust hasn't yet settled around fear the Environmental Protection Agency might regulate farm dust to reduce particulate air pollution. Legislators and farmers have worried for some time EPA has plans to do it, even though the agency has repeatedly said it does not. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey met with regional EPA officials in Kansas last week and was reassured. "We certainly got that reiterated that they are absolutely not going to regulate farm dust. They have no plans to do it," he told Julie Harker of Brownfield Ag News. He also said it won't happen in a "back door way," such as through a lawsuit.

The speculation may stem from dust regulations EPA enforces in Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Pheonix. The agency has enforced dust regulation there since 1996 as part of overall efforts to limit particulates. After major dust storms in the city last year, EPA found the county "had failed to limit dust to currently allowable levels." Some legislators say dust storms there are natural because of its desert location. They maintain farms are irrigated and dust storms are beyond legislation.

Rural school threatened with closure suspends sports so it can focus on academics, improve scores

2012-01-26T14:27:00.004-05:00

The Premont Independent School District, in a rural town of 2,700 in South Texas, is among many rural schools struggling with outdated buildings, budget deficits, dwindling student populations and staffing shortages. Now Premont is facing closure by the Texas Education Agency for failing to "meet the state's criteria" and "certain adequate yearly progress requirements since 2007 under the federal No Child Left Behind program," Christopher Sherman of The Associated Press reports. But in an attempt to save the school and the community, Superintendent Ernest Singleton is taking drastic measures by cutting athletics to focus on academics. (Photo by Michael Zamora, Corpus Christi Caller-Times)

All sports at the school have postponed until at least the next basketball season as Singleton shifts the focus to extra tutoring and test preparation. Singleton told Sherman it was a tough decision in a community that values high school sports so much, but "because we're so far behind with student performance I wanted an environment that was academic only."

Singleton estimates the decision to end sports programs will also save the school about $50,000 in the spring and $100,000 in the fall. The money can be used to update facilities, attract qualified teachers and pay off its $400,000 line of credit, Sherman reports.

The community would lose its largest employer, with 90 jobs, if the school is forced to close. Frank Davila, a Jim Wells County constable and school security officer told Sherman, if "the school shuts down in this town, the town dies. This is all we have." The nearest school district is 35 miles away. (Wikipedia map locates Premont)

Not everyone agrees with the decision to stop athletics. Patricia Bunch, 36, mother of three in Premont schools, "disagrees with the decision because sports helps students stay healthy and keep out of trouble," Sherman reports. Premont student Cedric de la Garza, 15, told Sherman, "Staying eligible for sports is what motivates many students to pass their classes." (Read more)

World's longest fire-truck parade staged in Okla.

2012-01-26T14:12:00.034-05:00

Here's a story for anyone who loves a parade: Firefighters who assembled for Oklahoma State University training sessions put together the world's longest fire-truck parade, 220 of them, on Friday, Jan. 21, beating a 159-truck parade in Switzerland that is in the Guinness Book of World Records.

“Seeing fire trucks lined up for three and a half miles made all the hard work worth the effort,” said Donnie Allen, fire chief of Atoka, where the events were held. “The streets of Atoka were full of supporters, and when truck 160 (the one that broke the record) crossed the end of the parade line the roar was equal to that of the winning touchdown at a Super Bowl.” For the rest of the OSU press release, via the Bixby Bulletin, click here.

USDA's new school lunch rules are not as broad as first written, but will make meals healthier

2012-01-26T14:01:00.001-05:00

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released new, finalized requirements that will make school lunch a healthier meal for students.

The guidelines will mean:

• Students will be given both fruit and vegetables every school day.

• More foods will be made with whole grains.

• Students will be offered only fat-free or low-fat milk.

• Calories will be limited by portion size, based on the age of children being served.

• There will be less saturated fat and trans-fats in the food served.

• The amount of sodium will decrease gradually over the next 10 years.

Though the changes represent the first school-lunch overhaul in 15 years, they are not as comprehensive as the Obama administration initially wanted them to be. A bill passed late last year "would require the department to allow tomato paste on pizzas to be counted as a vegetable, as it is now," reports Mary Clare Jalonick of The Associated Press. "The initial draft of the department's guidelines, released a year ago, would have prevented that." Congress also kept USDA from limiting potatoes to two servings a week. Potato farmers and frozen-pizza companies lobbied hard against those proposals, some conservatives said the government shouldn't be telling children what to eat, and some school districts said the changes were too broad and too expensive.

Some of the changes will be incorporated by September, and others will be phased in. The changes affect lunches that are subsidized by the federal government in the National School Lunch Program, which serves 32 million children. (Read more)

The changes are aimed in part at curbing childhood obesity. That has also been the target of measure to limit junk food in schools, which have been called into question. A recent study of almost 20,000 students found no link between junk food at school and weight gain in children. "The researchers examined the children's weight and found that in the eighth grade, 35.5 percent of kids in schools with junk food were overweight while 34.8 percent of those in schools without it were overweight — a statistically insignificant increase," reports Benjamin Radford of Discovery News. (Read more)

USDA issues new plant hardiness zone map, corroborating evidence of climate change

2012-01-26T13:40:00.005-05:00

Five years ago, the Arbor Day Foundation changed its plant-hardiness zones because of warmer winters. Now the U.S. Department of Agriculture has followed suit, but "made clear that it doesn't ascribe the trend to climate change," reports Bart Ziegler of The Wall Street Journal. "The 30 years of weather data used to create the map weren't sufficient to smooth out weather cycles and determine if there is any underlying climate change," according to USDA spokesman Kim Kaplan.

Also, Ziegler writes, "The agency said the methodology used to build the new map was more sophisticated than that for the 1990 version, so the maps aren't directly comparable. The new map relies on data from 8,000 weather stations and also takes into account topography, prevailing wind, elevation, proximity to large water bodies and other factors not used to create the 1990 map." The map is based on the average low temperature.

However, Cornell University professor David Wolfe, who studies climate change, said "doesn't prove climate change" by itself, but corroborates other evidence, "including shifts in animal migration patterns, changes in snow cover and other temperature readings," Ziegler writes. For the USDA press release, with a link to an interactive map that shows climate zones at the county level, click here.

Only 14% of Iowa farmers lack Internet access, but one-fifth of those who do choose not to use it

2012-01-26T13:22:00.028-05:00

Seventy percent of the 1,276 Iowa farmers participating in the 2011 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll said they use the Internet to get farm-related information. Weather was the most popular type of information, with 84 percent of farmers saying they check it online. Market information was second at 78 percent, while general agricultural news drew 75 percent and information about crop production 68 percent, J. Gordon Arbuckle, Iowa State University extension sociologist and co-director of the study, told Iowa Farmer Today.

Of those with Internet service, 60 percent said they have high-speed access, with 27 percent of those using digital subscriber lines, 14 percent on satellite, 13 percent with a wireless/cell phone service, 12 percent using cable television and 12 percent a standard phone line. Only 14 percent of those surveyed reported no access to high-speed Internet and 21 percent of those who had it available said they chose not to use it, Arbuckle told Iowa Farmer Today.

The average age of the farmers surveyed was 65, and 51 percent earned more than half their income farming. (Read more)

W.Va. post office, closed three years ago, reopens as contract unit after community fights

2012-01-25T14:25:00.000-05:00

The U.S. Postal Service says many rural post offices are in danger of closing because of its budget woes, but communities fighting to keep their offices open might want to pay attention to Hacker Valley, W.Va., where residents rallied to reopen their post office after it closed in 2009. They celebrated winning that fight this week in a ceremony complete with a "ribbon-cutting" of USPS packing tape, reports Rick Steelhammer of The Charleston Gazette. (Gazette photo: First customer at reopened office, Retha Casto, hands letter to its contractor, Cindy Miller)

The Hacker Valley Post Office closed under an emergency suspension order after its lease expired. The Postal Service told community members at a hearing that a survey revealed no suitable replacement sites, and one couldn't be built because of a USPS building freeze. Residents first heard of the closure at the hearing, but later learned the agency knew of closure plans several years before, which should have "given the agency adequate time to find an alternative site," they said.

Dozens of residents wrote letters to the Postal Regulatory Commission about "hardships" the community faced because of the closure, and asked it be investigated. The Commission concluded "the Postal Service is using its suspension authority to avoid the explicit congressional instructions to hear and consider the concerns of patrons before closing post offices." The Hacker Valley closing led to investigation of more than 400 closures of small post offices to make sure USPS hadn't illegally closed them.

The Postal Service announced last year it would allow a contract postal unit in Hacker Valley, 20 miles north of the county seat of Webster Springs. (MapQuest image) Contract units have no salaried postmaster, but offer all postal services except bulk mailing and passport applications. The CPU costs less than half to operate as the old post office. "I would hate to see any postmasters lose their jobs, but it seems like this approach is worth looking at in rural areas with bottom-line problems," said Renee Anderson, a member of the Hacker Valley Post Office Committee. The Webster County school board allowed the CPU to operate in the former Hacker Valley Elementary School cafeteria. (Read more)

Studies about health impacts of surface mining won't be allowed in challenge to new permit

2012-01-25T14:01:00.000-05:00

U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers of West Virginia won't allow citizen and environmental groups to argue the Army Corps of Engineers "wrongly failed to consider" scientific evidence linking health problems, including cancer and birth defects, to mountaintop-removal coal mining, reports The Charleston Gazette's Ken Ward Jr. The groups wanted to present testimony about studies conducted by Michael Hendryx of West Virginia University in permit hearings for Alpha Natural Resources' proposed Reylas mine in Logan County.

Ward says Chambers cited the Federal Rules of Procedure and a U.S. Supreme Court decision that "says lawsuits like this one should generally be allowed to be amended or supplemented unless the proposed amendment would be 'futile'." He made two points in his decision: the Corps had already issued the permit, so any review of it was "over and done with," even though mining hasn't started; and, if the groups had been allowed to put the studies in the permit review, they still couldn't prove the Corps' failure to consider them "was arbitrary and capricious." He also said even if he'd let the studies be considered, the Corps didn't have enough time to review them.

Though some Hendryx studies were published after the Corps' permit review, several others raising the same questions were published before the permit was issued in March 2011, Ward writes. More than a dozen studies by Hendryx and others came out in 2008-10. "It sure would have been interesting to see Corps officials, who concluded 'no human health effects are anticipated as a result of the proposed project,' regularly monitor major public health journals or make it a point to consult with scientists who do follow such things," Ward writes on his Coal Tattoo blog. He also points out the decision was made on the heels of a state Department of Environmental Protection study concluding that drinking water is safe in the community nearest the proposed mine, and a report (see next item) from the Kentucky Environmental Foundation proclaiming "people in Kentucky are sick from coal production." (Read more)

Ky. environmental group wants state's leaders to consider health impacts of coal mining

2012-01-25T13:55:00.000-05:00

Representatives of the Kentucky Environmental Federation say the state's leaders should consider the health impacts associated with coal when they "craft the state's energy policy," John Cheves of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. The organization released a 44-page health-impact assessment on coal yesterday, citing "published, peer-reviewed scientific studies ... that document health risks" associated with pollution from mountaintop-removal coal mining, mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants and toxic heavy metals found in coal-slurry ponds.

KEF Executive Director Elizabeth Crowe said requiring health impact statements before passing legislation about coal would be no different than requiring an environmental impact statement. "Unfortunately, many of Kentucky's elected officials seem concerned about protecting the image and profits of the coal industry with little if any time donated to consideration about the impact on public health," she said. The group endorses House Bill 167, which would encourage energy efficiency and use of renewable energy by utilities. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisvill said she doesn't expect it to get a vote, and that House leaders are unlikely to support "a measure critical of coal." (Read more)

President seeks middle ground on energy issues

2012-01-25T13:51:00.000-05:00

Energy was a common theme in the 2012 State of the Union address, and is an issue that affects mostly rural communities, because that's where extractive industries do most of their extracting. David Worthington of Smart Planet says the president mentioned energy at least 18 times during the hour-long speech. Juliet Eilperin of The Washington Post says Obama was seeking "middle ground" on energy issues by calling for an increase in natural gas and domestic oil production as well as investing more in renewable energy. (Smart Planet photo)

Among the proposals Obama made were: opening more land for oil and gas exploration, investing in renewable energy sources, making drilling companies reveal chemicals used in drilling, providing more money for public research to advance energy production, developing clean energy on public lands, and wasting less energy to conserve more.

Steve Hargreaves of CNN Money reported domestic energy production has increased during Obama's term. Oil production is up 14 percent and gas is up by 10 percent from 2008. The administration has approved new drilling leases off the coast of Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico. In the speech, Obama called for the end of some oil-industry tax breaks, and for greater investment in wind and solar. Production from both has almost tripled since 2008, though both remain a small part of overall energy production. Renewable projects flourished largely because of economic-stimulus grants, which ran out last year. Renewables promoters want industry tax credits extended, and the president in his speech called for such credits to be passed to "create these jobs." (Read more)

Cleaning up, clarifying Obama's 'spilled milk' joke

2012-01-25T13:46:00.001-05:00

President Obama didn't have too much to say about rural America in last night's State of the Union address, but he did attempt a farm joke while trying to debunk the notion that he over-regulates. "We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill, because milk was somehow classified as an oil. With a rule like that, I guess it was worth crying over spilled milk." The quip received much attention, with most thinking it was only "2 percent funny." It may also need some clarification.

The Environmental Protection Agency monitors oil storage under section 311 of the Clean Water Act. Facilities that store oil have to prepare Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure plans for EPA review. Under the 1973 SPCC rule, edible oils, including vegetable and animal fats, could have been considered oils that required regulation. Because of milk's butterfat content, it was included in the SPCC rule, and the milk industry saw a potential threat. EPA announced in February 2009 it would remove milk and dairy farms from the spill rules. The change took effect in April 2011. Obama's statement was true, says PolitiFact.com, in which the Tampa Bay Times checks politicians' speeches and advertising for accuracy, but added, "We’re not addressing Obama’s projection of costs of $10,000 to some farmers." (Read more)

Small movie theaters say they may have to go dark because they lack money to go digital

2012-01-24T15:36:00.001-05:00

The movie industry has decided to completely switch from traditional 35-millimeter film prints to digital files in the next year, causing problems for small, locally owned and often historic theaters that can't afford to buy new digital projectors. The switch is estimated to cost theaters $65,000 to $100,000 per projector. Theaters say they only make money on concessions, and often small theaters that draw small crowds make very small profits and can't afford to make the digital upgrades.

Kevin Bonham of the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota rounds up what theater owners in the Red River Valley think about the studios' mandate, with some saying they are going through a "soul-searching process." In Crookston, S.D., Bob Moore, owner of Moore Family Theaters, which owns the local Grand (Herald photo) and cinemas in three other towns, said he's unsure about the future. He's already made other improvements to screens and sound systems, but making the digital conversion seems like too much to bear. City officials and community groups in Grafton and Park River are thinking about fund-raisers and government grants to save the communities' theaters.

The story of The Roxy Theater in Langdon, N.D. could be an example, writes Bonham. The Northern Lights Arts Council bought the 1930s theater and raised more than $60,000 to renovate it in the 1990s. When the digital switch was announced, the council raised almost $85,000 for a digital projector. Donations came from many sources in the 1,800-plus-population town, including local businesses and farmers. (Read more)

Chris and Tammy Ball, owners of the Towne Cinema in West Liberty, Ky., are attempting a fundraiser to replace the 35mm projector with a digital one because they have a "desire to keep the long-running theater open," reports the Licking Valley Courier of West Liberty. If they don't raise almost $85,000, the theater may have to close. The Balls wrote a letter to the community via the newspaper asking for help. "Instead of throwing our resources into fighting a losing battle (an online petition has started to keep 35mm film), we are putting out efforts into upgrading our little ol' theater into the digital age," they said. They say other local businesses will suffer because people will have to drive a half hour or more to other towns see a movie if the theater closes.

White House aides will take questions on rural issues Thur. and Fri., say they were always going to

2012-01-24T15:24:00.004-05:00

The White House has decided to take Twitter questions about rural and Native American isues Thursday and Friday during events playing off of tonight's State of the Union address. Those issues had been left off the list for those days, as the Daily Yonder's Bill Bishop pointed out yesterday afternoon. Shortly after his write-up about the snub, he wrote another reporting that Doug McKalip, a senior policy adviser for rural issues, sent him an email saying the issues had been on the schedule all along. "There have been many messages distributed by the executive branch today regarding the office hours and, unfortunately, not all of them have the 'complete listings'," he told Bishop.

In any event, Bishop says McKalip will answer questions about rural issues at 10 a.m. Friday, and Kimberly Teehee, senior policy adviser for Native American affairs, will discuss Indian issues at 3 p.m. Thursday. A full schedule of topics can be found here, with explanations of how to participate.

UPDATE, Jan. 27: For the Yonder's report on Friday's exchanges, click here.

New limits on mercury in air may also help animals, which have been affected more than we thought

2012-01-24T15:17:00.000-05:00

The Environmental Protection Agency's new rules limiting power-plant air pollution will affect human and animal health, according to researchers at the Biodiversity Research Institute. The limits will likely have a positive impact on a "broad array" of wildlife affected by mercury, reports Anthony DePalma of The New York Times. Researchers found that methyl mercury, the heavy metal's most toxic form, is widespread in forests, mountaintops, bogs and marshes in Northeastern states where species were thought to be at low risk for mercury contamination. The region was once drenched with acid rain from coal-fired plants in the Midwest.

Researchers said the highest levels of mercury were in marshes and beaver ponds that go through wet and dry cycles. Songbirds and bats suffer neurological disorders from mercury just as humans do, and some feel the effects at much lower levels than previously thought. Birds with only 0.7 parts per million of mercury in their system showed a 10 percent reduction of successfully hatched eggs. Contaminated birds were also more likely to abandon nests and display abnormal feeding behavior, and pass the effects on to chicks. Rutgers University behavioral ecologist Joanna Burger said it's "incredibly important" that someone follow the phenomenon: "The birds not only act as sentinels to what is happening in nature, but the results of these studies propose hypotheses for effects that have not yet been identified for people." (Read more)

Feds cut Marcellus gas estimates by almost 3/4

2012-01-24T15:07:00.000-05:00

New official estimates "severely cut" the amount of natural gas believed to be in the Marcellus Shale under several Appalachian states, but the gas boom will continue, reports Erich Schwartzel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The U.S. Department of Energy estimated 410 trillion cubic feet of gas last year, but now is guessing 141 trillion cubic feet. Researchers were able to reach the estimate because of drilling doubled in 2011, providing much more data.

Industry representatives say the estimates are premature and "as fickle as Goldilocks." Its lobbying adversary, the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said the estimate "underscores the critical and growing role that American natural gas will continue to play in meeting our nation's growing energy needs for decades to come." Spokesman Travis Windle said production continues to increase because of technological developments. The Energy Department estimates production will increase from 5 trillion cubic feet in 2010 to 13.6 tcf in 2035. (Read more)

More and more people burned by 'shake-and-bake' meth labs, overwhelming burn units

2012-01-24T14:58:00.000-05:00

Methamphetamine makers have been mixing the volatile chemical ingredients in two-liter bottles, also known as the "shake-and-bake" approach, for several years. The slightest mistake in brewing, though, can cause an explosion, burning flesh or causing blindness or death. The number getting burned has increased sharply, flooding hospital burn units with victims. Most are uninsured, and because treating one patient for a day can cost thousands of dollars, and some wards are struggling to stay open, reports Jim Salter of The Associated Press.

The shake-and-bake approach is popular mostly because it's cheaper, but also because it's portable, easy to conceal and can yield meth in minutes rather than hours. Larger, non-portable meth labs also explode, but people can escape those fires. Shake-and-bake labs are harder to avoid because makers hold the bottle close to the body, causing burns on the face down to the waist if they explode. "You're holding a flame-thrower in your hands," said Jason Grellner of the Franklin County, Missouri, sheriff's department.

In the country's most active meth-making states, almost a third of burn patients were hurt while doing shake-and-bake. It's overwhelming hospitals and has been a major reason seven U.S. burn units have closed in the last six years. Salter reports it's impossible to know the exact number of people burned while making shake-and-bake meth, because some avoid treatment and no one keeps track of those who do. But hospitals in the most active meth-making areas report a rise in burn patients linked to meth production. (Read more)

Advocates ask Obama to remember rural in speech

2012-01-23T16:16:00.004-05:00

Candidate Obama at forum
of League of Rural Voters
in Ames, Iowa, fall 2007

When President Obama, trying to channel Teddy Roosevelt, went to Osawatomie, Kan., in December and gave a speech about the middle class, "Some of the rural residents and surrounding farmers found it odd that he didn’t mention farming or U.S agriculture, one of the brightest spots in the economy, or the importance of helping small towns through rural development. Expect that to change in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night," writes Sara Wyant of the Washington newsletter Agri-Pulse.

Wyant notes that Obama "had a very organized rural campaign strategy" in 2008, says "The Obama campaign will need every vote it can find in rural swing states" this year, and notes that almost 30 rural organizations sent him a letter asking him to include rural development in the speech.

"As you prepare for your upcoming State of the Union address, we ask you to remember the roughly 50 million Americans who live in rural areas," the letter said, suggesting ways the organizations think rural issues could be addressed, including reauthorizing the Farm Bill in a way that "revitalizes the rural communities that form the backbone of our heartland," and developing a "strong and robust" Rural Development section of the bill that would, among other things, extend broadband services and provide entrepreneurs with needed credit.

The organizations thanked the president for creating the White House Rural Council, which to some observers appeared to be the fist step in a rural re-election strategy, but reminded him, "Rural communities across America are struggling to rebuild in the wake of closed factories, empty Main streets, and record unemployment that exceeds the national average." (Read more)

Head of GIPSA to resign; vow to protect farmers from meatpackers largely foundered

2012-01-23T15:19:00.003-05:00

The forthcoming resignation of J. Dudley Butler, head of the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration, "is big news," Bill Bishop of The Daily Yonder writes, because he is the last of three anti-trust officials who promised to "investigate and break up monopolies in the food business" to leave the agency. Investigations and Department of Agriculture hearings were held in many places, but the Justice Department filed no anti-trust lawsuits. (Yonder photo)

Butler was appointed to GIPSA by President Obama in his administration's early days. "He was a Southerner and a lawyer who had earned the trust of livestock raisers — and the enmity of the meat companies — by representing farmers in lawsuits aimed at companies such as Tyson Foods," Bishop writes. Butler promised ranchers and farmers he would "get out in the countryside" to better understand the "imbalance of power" they faced. At the Organization for Competitive Markets meeting, he said he would take testimony from hog, poultry and cattle raisers and "protect them if meat buyers objected."

He proposed regulations in 2010 that would have given farmers and ranchers more power when dealing with large meat-processing companies. The reforms would have made it easier to sue meat packers and provided poultry raisers more protections and transparency in dealings with meatpackers. The administration collected more than 60,000 comments during an extended 18-month comment period that allowed opposition against the regulations to grow. Last November, Congress prevented USDA from funding the proposed rules, and USDA only adopted a small portion of the regulations.

Fred Stokes, president of the Organization for Competitive Markets, told Bishop that Butler's proposed rules "raised our hopes and expectations and then let us down. Corporate influence and politics have prevailed. Independent family farmers and ranchers remain alone and unprotected." Bill Bullard, head of the cattlemen's organization R-CALF, said Butler followed through on his promise to protect independent farmers and ranchers, but the clout of the meatpacking industry "proved too great," forcing the administration to lose resolve. (Read more)

Fla. prescription pill pipeline starting to dry up

2012-01-23T15:12:00.002-05:00

Attorneys general from Florida and Kentucky say the prescription pill pipeline between the two states is beginning to close, reports Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader. They credit new programs and rules in Florida, but Kentucky AG Jack Conway says more work is needed "to attack the epidemic of prescription drug abuse in Kentucky." The pipeline has also supplied Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee.

Florida became the epicenter of the prescription drug trade to the Appalachian states because of lax regulation of pain clinics and tracking prescription drugs, Estep reports. People from the region traveled to Florida, stocked up on drugs, then returned home to sell them. In 2010, a police raid uncovered 1,400 files in a Florida doctor's office, and most were on Eastern Kentuckians. Police estimated that 60 percent of pills illegally sold in Kentucky were prescribed in Florida.

Florida officials have increased monitoring of prescription pills, boosted enforcement, required pain clinics to register with the state, started a prescription monitoring system and barred many clinics from dispensing pills. The results have been significant, Florida AG Pam Bondi said at a substance-abuse conference in Lexington. In 2010, 98 of the top 100 oxycodone prescribers were in Florida; only 11 are now. Registered pain clinics in the state have dropped from 943 to 579. (Read more)

EPA to replace fracking-affected water in Pa. town

2012-01-23T14:59:00.001-05:00

The Environmental Protection Agency announced last week it will bring tanks of drinking water to four homes in Dimock, Pa., that have likely been contaminated by hydraulic fracturing in natural-gas drilling. People in the township have complained of water troubles since April 2009, when some wells were blown up and tap water caught fire, reports Abraham Lustgarten of ProPublica. Lawsuits were filed and state investigations conducted, but the water problem was never resolved.

EPA reviewed water-well data in Dimock and found "dangerous levels" of arsenic, glycols and barium, known carcinogens. The agency plans to test water supplies in 60 more homes, "apparently concerned that contamination may be more widespread," Lustgarten writes. Pennsylvania's top environmental regulator has called EPA's understanding of the Dimock situation "rudimentary," but state agencies haven't conducted studies of the same scope EPA is planning. (Wikipedia maps)

Environmental groups are praising the decision while callingon EPA to "address water contamination concerns in other communities across the country." The agency concluded in December that fracking was likely the cause of groundwater contamination in Pavillion, Wyo. It is conducting a multi-year, national study about the impacts of fracking on water supplies. (Read more)

Ky. bill could keep Amish, non-Amish drivers safe

2012-01-23T14:55:00.003-05:00

Proposed legislation could relieve the unhappiness of motorists, police and judges with a segment of Kentucky's Amish population, which refuses to place reflective orange triangles on their buggies as state law mandates for slow-moving vehicles. Sen. Ken Winters, R-Murray, thinks he has a solution in Senate Bill 75, which would "increase visibility of buggies and not offend the Amish religious beliefs," reports Tom Berry of the Murray Ledger & Times.

UPDATE, Jan. 24: A similar bill received a good reception in a House committee, reports Jack Brammer of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Men of an Amish sect in Graves, Warren and other counties have been cited for refusing to post orange safety triangles on their buggies and chosen to serve jail time rather than pay fines. In Graves County, nine men appealed 2008 misdemeanor convictions last June, but the state Court of Appeals said "religious practices can't supersede the rights and safety of the public at large." The men have appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Winters' bill would allow buggies to have silver reflective tape on the back and sides instead of an orange triangle, which the strict Old Order Swartzentruber sect says would violate their precepts against bright colors and their belief that man-made symbols should not be responsible for their safety. Winters said the tape would increase "all-around visibility, particularly when illuminated by vehicle headlights." The bill would also require mounted lanterns on both sides of buggies, with the left one higher so drivers can "tell if they are in the correct lane and pass on the left 'high-beam' side." (Read more)

More homeless in rural areas, fewer in metro areas

2012-01-20T17:56:00.004-05:00

Agencies and shelters in rural areas are can't keep up with increasing numbers of homeless, as $1.5 billion in stimulus money for the national Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program runs out, reports Rob Schultz of the LaCrosse Tribune in Wisconsin. The number of rural homeless "using suburban and rural programs" rose 57 percent from 2007 to 2010, while the number in urban areas dropped 17 percent, Schultz writes. Rural homeless live "out of plain sight, often doubling or tripling up with others in small apartments or homes." Some live in cars, motels or stay outside no matter the weather.

Three rural counties in Wisconsin had the largest growth of homeless families and another the largest growth of chronic homelessness in the state in 2010, Schultz reports. The state received $17 million in stimulus money, which was earmarked mostly for rural areas. Jean Sewell, who works with the Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program, said the money helped slow the problem by buying hotel rooms, security deposits and a month's rent to "get homeless people back on track." But now, the agency is trying to stretch $50,000 it received from another federal program. Homelessness prevention programs are also losing money from county governments.

Private agencies and charities are trying to pick up the slack, such as the church-run Family Promise, part of the Interfaith Hospitality Networks that serves areas in 41 states. The program allows homeless families to live in churches for a week while volunteers cook meals, grocery shop and drive children to school. While kids are at school, parents look for jobs. Families complete the program in 70 days. (Read more) For the latest national report on homelessness, with state-by-state breakdowns, click here.

States working on agreement to spur decisions on location of new electrical transmission lines

2012-01-20T17:53:00.000-05:00

State and federal leaders are drafting an agreement that would "create regionally uniform standards for transmitting electricity" and hope to have it ready for legislative review next year. reports Jim Malewitz of Stateline. Stakeholders' competing interests make transmission line siting across state lines difficult, making developers reluctant to invest.

An agreement would solve the problem of varying state transmission rules that often prevent energy from being sent where it's most needed, a process that will touch many rural residents where lines are proposed. In October, a federal interagency team chose seven transmission siting pilot projects to cross 12 states that it hopes to expedite.

Previous attempts at a compact have largely failed, and a successful one would "be a boon" for states with undeveloped renewable energy generating capacity, Stateline reports. Crady deGolian of the National Center for Interstate Compacts said he expects legislatures in Western and Midwestern states to be most interested in the legal contract. (Read more)

Center looks at Latino farmers in Kansas, Nebraska

2012-01-20T17:49:00.000-05:00

The number of Hispanic and Latino farmers in Nebraska and Missouri is declining, and the Nebraska-based Center for Rural Affairs is trying to find the reasons. Its first report gives a snapshot of Hispanic and Latino farmers in both states, and the second discusses possible barriers faced when starting, developing or sustaining farming or ranching businesses. More reports are forthcoming.

In both states, Latinos are more likely to own or operate small farms. Jon Baily discovered that in both states, farming is not the primary income source for Latinos. Latino-owned farms in Missouri are smaller than those in Nebraska, but Nebraska farms are still in the smallest farm-size category. More Latino farmers in Missouri fully own their farms than those in Nebraska, who only co-own.

Rafael Martinez-Feria, who wrote about barriers and challenges for Hispanic and Latino farmers, said the purpose of the study is to "reach out" to them, learn about the barriers and explore their relationships with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, emphasizing access to USDA programs. He identifies some barriers as limited access to land, machinery and equipment and limited economic resilience, financial literacy and education. (Read more)

Plains towns offer free land if you will move there

2012-01-20T17:44:00.003-05:00

An old tactic is being championed in the Midwest and Great Plains for economic and community development. Under what is being called "the mini-Homestead Act," rural places are offering free land to people willing to move to their community, and the idea is gaining popularity, reports the Center for Rural Affairs. The main concept behind this throwback to the 19th Century is: "We have a great town in which to live." (Photo: 10/11 News, Nebraska)

Communities provide land for home building, schools and amenities; job-hunting is left up to newcomers. The Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska has been studying the success of such programs. Several places in Kansas have capitalized on this idea. In Ellsworth, four of 10 available lots were given away, and 20 families got down-payment assistance for existing housing. Almost all 80 lots available in Marquette, Kan., were given away and 27 of 33 were claimed in Minneapolis, Kan. Most new homesteaders have either lived in these places before, traveled there or have family ties to the area.

Most move to these communities because they are looking for a "simpler pace of life, less congestion, lower cost housing and cost of living, and being closer to family and relatives," the Center for Rural Affairs reports. The center provides a FAQ page on its website with a list of resources for communities interested in the method and several local news stories about the trend. A list of other states where this has been successful, including contact information, is also available. (Read more)

Politics aside, Nebraska agricultural interests were the key in delaying proposed tar-sands pipeline

2012-01-19T15:24:00.001-05:00

Republicans charged that President Obama, in denying a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline to send Alberta tar sands to the Gulf coast, is "favoring radical environmental interests over a project they said would provide thousands of jobs and bolster domestic energy security," reports Cody Winchester of the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls. Obama said there was not enough time to review the project's new route within congressional Republicans' "arbitrary" 60-day deadline, which they imposed after Obama earlier deferred a decision until after the November election. And the national political debate obscures the fact that last year Nebraska lawmakers, farmers and ranchers forced Trans-Canada to re-route the pipeline around the state's ecologically sensitive Sandhills region and the Ogallala Aquifer, the lifeblood of agriculture in the relatively arid Great Plains.

TransCanada said it would reapply for a permit for the new route. That will trigger a new review process and environmental impact statement for the entire route. Assistant Secretary of State Kerri-Ann Jones told Winchester the new application would not be expedited, but the agency can use information from the first review in the new one. The department advised Obama to deny the permit.

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard told Winchester the denial was "disappointing on many levels," but mostly because the state needs the project's jobs to help it recover from the recession. A mile of the pipeline would have crossed rancher Zona Vig's land. "This is looking at the whole state, the whole country -- every creek and every dam and every well that would be affected," she said. (Read more)

Native American activists have played a major role in protesting the pipeline, reports Rob Capriccioso of Indian Country Media Network, and some say they are preparing to continue protesting. They have said the pipeline would threaten the health and culture of Native peoples and that the government has not consulted them about the project. Lakota Sioux activist Debra White Plume told Capriccioso the denial is a temporary victory. "The oil industry will not give up its attempt to get their weapon of mass destruction approved for entry to this country. We must keep fighting, we must fight harder. If we say this is our Treaty Territory, we must be ready to defend it." Pat Spears, president of Intertribal COUP (Council on Utility Policy), said Native Americans should ask for more detailed risk analysis of economic and environmental issues for all people affected by the pipeline.

The Washington Post detailed the President's decision to deny the project, and The Houston Chronicle reported that Congressional supporters of the pipeline are "exploring legislation" that would let Congress or an independent federal agency reverse the denial and approve the permit.

Colo. farmers deplete aquifers, turn to surface streams amid drought; will pay more for water

2012-01-19T15:14:00.002-05:00

Drought has forced large-scale commercial farmers in southern Colorado's scenic San Luis Valley to pull groundwater through center-point irrigation systems, but pumping has depleted aquifers by more than 1 million acre-feet since 1976 and has started to affect surface streams, which are strained because of drought. Plans to reduce aquifer irrigation by 30,000 acre-feet a year must be in place by May to avoid well shutdowns, reports Bruce Finley of The Denver Post. (Finley photo)

Farmers have proposed buying surface-water rights to offset aquifer pumping, and while water may be conserved, the increased cost may remove 80,000 acres of farmland from production. This will be an economic blow to the area, where there's a 38 percent child poverty rate, Finley reports. Surface-water rights fees will likely increase from $45 an acre to $75, making an irrigated crop circle cost as much as $20,000. Brian Neufeld, a potato farmer, said this could mean layoffs, fewer employees and less crop production. Some think this starts the decline of their farms.

The farms lie in the upper Rio Grande River watershed. An interstate compact restricts water withdrawals from the river and its tributaries. Texas and New Mexico have sued Colorado in the past for drawing too much. Enforcement of the compact has tightened because of massive drought in those states. Steve Vandiver, manager of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, said it's time for commercial farms "to pay for the impacts they are causing to the river." (Read more)

Army has destroyed 90 percent of chemical weapons, stored mainly in remote rural areas

2012-01-19T15:10:00.000-05:00

The U.S. Army came one step closer yesterday to destroying its stockpile of 20th Century chemical weapons, stored mostly in remote rural areas. After a two-hour process in which 23 projectiles filled with mustard agent were stripped of the agent's ability to blister skin and attack the respiratory system, the last of the "hard weapons" at the Deseret Chemical Depot near Tooele, Utah were destroyed. The facility once housed the Army's largest supply of chemical weapons, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The U.S. signed a treaty to dispose of its chemical weapons by April 29, 2012, but is expected to get waivers for missing that deadline, and the U.S. is farther along in this task than some other treaty signers, including Russia. The Army has destroyed about 90 percent of its chemical weapons. The remaining 10 percent are in Colorado and Kentucky, but those stores may not be destroyed until 2021. For decades, the Tooele facility burned chemicals, releasing toxins into the air. In the 1970s, more acceptable disposal methods were sought. (Read more)

Rural students in California are hit hardest by school transportation cuts

2012-01-19T15:03:00.000-05:00

Rural schools in California will be hit especially hard by school transportation funding cuts beginning Jan. 1 because for some students, buses are their only way to and from school. The cuts are in effect for the remainder of the fiscal year to help alleviate the state's debt, reports Teresa Watanabe of the Los Angeles Times. Next year, they will likely get nothing. (Wikipedia map)

Nowhere are the cuts felt more than in the Death Valley Unified School District, Watanabe reports. Nine students living in the Native American village of Furnace Creek must ride 120 miles to their school in Shoeshone. According to the California School Boards Association, the district spends $3,500 per student per year on transportation, compared to $26 in more populated districts. State funding is based on transportation costs, and some rural districts lose about $200 per student. Districts must find money to transport students or stop busing them. In Death Valley, 85 percent of students are low-income and their families can't afford personal transportation. (Read more)

Educators have said transportation cuts are "particularly unfair" to small and rural districts. They are trying to reverse the cuts with legal action, letter-writing campaigns and legislative lobbying. Some say if cuts are necessary, they should be distributed equally across districts. The Southern Humboldt Unified School District in northern California is organizing a protest in the state capital nest Tuesday, Virginia Graziani of the Redwood Times reports.

Ed Bishop, irreplaceable rural voice, dies at 90

2012-01-18T23:00:00.003-05:00

Funeral services were held today for Ed Bishop, a voice for rural America at the highest levels of higher education. He died Saturday at 90 in Durham, N.C. Bishop was the first chancellor of the University of Maryland at College Park, and was later president of the University of Arkansas and the University of Houston systems.

"He spent his life working to make life better in rural communities," Bill Bishop, no kin, writes in the Daily Yonder. "There isn’t anyone like Ed Bishop in the U.S. today — someone who can command the respect of presidents but understands completely the way people live in the poorest community."

Bishop's career in higher education began with his bachelor's degree at Berea College in Kentucky, "an institution whose motto, 'God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,' became a part of his life," said his obituary, which directed memorial gifts there. After earning a master's at the University of Kentucky, he became a professor and then head of agricultural economics at North Carolina State University, then vice president of the University of North Carolina.

He served on many boards and commissions, including President Carter's Commission on an Agenda of the Eighties and his Advisory Commission on Balanced Growth and Economic Development, and President Nixon's White House Task Force on Rural Development. He was executive director of President Johnson's National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty, which produced a report that Bill Bishop says is still "the federal government's most ambitious plan for driving poverty from the countryside." (Read more)

"Ed married a life-long commitment to the 'people and places left behind" with an uncompromising intellect and the most rigorous analytic standards," said the website of MDC Inc., a North Carolina nonprofit he worked with after retirement. "He was a champion for rural people while remaining unsentimental about the prospects of rural areas in a globalizing economy."

Farmers opt out of Conservation Reserve Program

2012-01-18T14:13:00.001-05:00

Farmers are increasingly removing parcels of their land from the federal Conservation Reserve Program to cash in on higher-than-ever crop prices. The program pays farmers to return some of their land to natural habitat or pasture. As participation declines, Congress may cut funding for the program in the newest Farm Bill, but some say the program should be maintained to prevent soil erosion and protect waterways.

Susan Heathcore of the Des Moines Register said the program is "instrumental" in protecting Iowa's wildlife and environment and reducing pollution. "We can use proactive public policy to protect our soil, water and habitat resources, or we could allow short-term profits to drive sensitive land into row crop production whether or not that choice is the best long-term decision." She offers several solutions that would preserve CRP benefits while still allowing land to be "economically productive" for farmers. (Read more)

Dean Kuipers of the Los Angeles Times reports that the program covers 32 million acres, but Congress has proposed cutting that to 25 million or even in half. Farmers in Great Plains states removed 800,000 acres from conservation programs last year to cultivated them. Protections for 6.5 million acres will expire in September. Kuipers wrote that the smaller acreage will hurt wildlife, most notably ground-dwelling birds like quail. (Read more)

Gas boom brings steel production back to Ohio

2012-01-18T13:36:00.000-05:00

The natural-gas boom is creating a resurgence of Ohio steel production, report Mark Niquette and Romy Varghese of Bloomberg News. Youngstown's steel era ended 34 years ago, but a new $650 million steel mill is being built to produce seamless pipe used in hydraulic fracturing. Other states are taking note and competing for other gas-related projects.

Youngstown has lost more than half its population since the 1950s, and officials hope the new steel plant will make the area "the Utica Shale supply-chain capital." Eric Planey, vice president of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, told Bloomberg, "Our past was exclusively steel. It looks like our future is going to be significantly a part of the oil and gas and energy business.”

State officials are trying to capitalize on other "spinoff investments" related to gas drilling, like processing plants, which Royal Dutch Shell has said it intends to build in Ohio, Pennsylvania or West Virginia. Officials are offering companies incentives. (Read more)

Alaska to let bears be killed from planes to protect human food supply in rural areas

2012-01-18T13:32:00.001-05:00

The Alaska Board of Game announced Tuesday it will allow state wildlife officials to shoot bears from the air. This move is the latest "intensive management" practices targeting bears and wolves, including gassing wolf pups in their dens, reports Kim Murphy of the Los Angeles Times. A similar measure is being considered in Western states to protect livestock and wildlife from wolves. (Alaska Wildlife Voyages photo)

The measure is an attempt to protect from predators a "precarious population of musk oxen" in the high Arctic. It's also "designed to appease long-standing concerns among a broad swath of Alaskans about declining populations of moose and caribou, upon which much of rural Alaska depend for food." The National Park Service says aerial shooting, along with other debated methods like snaring and trapping, should not be used in Alaska's 19 million acres of federal wildlife refuges. "They have a management policy which specifically says you don't manipulate the population of one species to benefit the hunting of another," said Jim Stratton, the state's director for the National Parks Conservation Association.

Other opponents cite humanitarian concerns and say shooting, snaring and trapping conflict with scientists' advice about wildlife management. But Murphy reports the state Department of Fish and Game "has its hands tied" because a 1994 state law mandates "intensive management" policies in "crucial" parts of the state to protect human food supply. Some game officials say stronger methods should be used because current and proposed methods don't target female bears and their cubs, which they say must be killed to create meaningful population declines. (Read more)

Scientists fear white-nose syndrome has killed many more bats than they previously thought

2012-01-18T13:21:00.000-05:00

Scientists have been trying to determine the cause of white-nose syndrome in North American bats since it was discovered five years ago. The disease has been killing bats at an alarming rate, and now researchers fear many more have died than previously thought, estimated at 5.7 to 6.7 million, Louis Sahagun of the Los Angeles Times reports. The disease seems to affect the 25 species of hibernating bats, but scientists say all 45 species of North American bats could be at risk. (Times photo by Mark Boster: Bag holds bat found in cave believed to have syndrome)

The estimate was difficult because common bat species have not been regularly counted. As mortality rates at some sites reached 100 percent, a team of 140 Canadian and U.S. researchers coordinated to come up with a number. Jeremy Coleman, national white-nose coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told Sahagun that since bats have low reproductive rates, it will probably take more than 100 years for populations to fully recover.

The disease has killed mostly little brown bats, one of the most common mammals in North America. The species has lost 20 percent of its population in five years. Bats who contract it exhibit unusual behavior during winter, like flying outside and clustering around cave entrances when they should be hibernating, and they can freeze to death. Researchers are trying to find a treatment, including vaccination or manipulating cave environments. (Read more)

Local reporters were first to probe virtual schools

2012-01-18T13:06:00.000-05:00

Virtual education can connect isolated rural students to students in other places and provide them with resources they may not have otherwise, but as Emma Brown of The Washington Post wrote recently, some are "leery of cyber schools," and that has drawn national journalism attention to virtual schools and the companies that operate them. But she says local news media were first to "raise questions about virtual schools' cost and effectiveness," and should be recognized for this.

She wrote that a public radio station in Greeley, Colo., reported about lax oversight and poor student performance at virtual schools, resulting in the president of the state senate calling for an emergency audit of virtual schools. Local stories in Tennessee, both in newspapers and on television, raised similar questions about its first virtual school, drawing statewide attention to the issue. Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey investigated political and financial connections between virtual-school company K12 and the state's top education official. In Arizona, blogger David Safier reported K12 was outsourcing grading of papers to workers in India.

Brown said she could continue listing top-notch local stories about the failings of virtual schools from local, often rural reporters, but summed up: "Local reporters in farflung places were paying attention to virtual schools long before folks in big cities took notice. And for that, they deserve a heap of credit." (Read more)

Low cost of newly plentiful gas discourages both use of coal and investment in alternative energy

2012-01-17T15:56:00.001-05:00

In the early 1980s, oil as a source of energy was threatened by alternative sources, but when oil prices dropped, the prospect for alternatives quickly faded. Now, a similar situation appears to be happening as a result of the boom in natural gas from tight, deep shales. Energy & Environment News reports investment in alternative energy sources is decreasing with the emergence of gas as a plentiful and cheap source of energy.

The largest U.S. wind energy producer, NextEra Energy Inc. has canceled plans for new wind projects and Exelon Corp. isn't going to expand its nuclear power plants. Even plans for new coal-fired power plants are being shelved as CMS Energy Corp. in Michigan has cancelled plans to build a new $2 billion facility. Electricity pricing in linked to the low-cost gas market, resulting in dramatically lower profits for power producers and discouraging investment in coal, nuclear and wind.

Some are warning, though, that a major shift from coal to gas will leave the industry with few alternatives, especially when gas prices rise again."The way to make $4 gas $8 gas is for everyone to go out and build combined-cycle natural-gas plants. We need to be cautious about how we go about this," Michael Morris, chairman of American Electric Power Co. Inc. told Energy & Environment News. (Read more)

New study outlines best practices for water wells and those who regulate them

2012-01-17T15:54:00.000-05:00

The National Ground Water Association has released a study promoting best practices to maintain water well systems. The study, Water Well Systems Inspection Best Suggested Practice, is meant to be a guide for rural residents who rely on well water, and also for water system managers, regulators, contractors and pump installers.

The NGWA suggests routine inspection of well to prolong operational lifespan and monitor groundwater quality. It recommends anyone hired to inspect a well should have several specific qualifications, such as knowledge of codes and regulations for wells, awareness of safety protocols, understanding of natural and human-caused threats to drinking water supplies, and technical awareness of pump and related electrical systems.

The Water Well Systems Inspection Best Suggested Practice guide can be accessed here.

FDA's proposed ban on certain antibiotics in livestock, new research put fresh attention on issue

2012-01-17T15:43:00.001-05:00

Early this month, the Food and Drug Administration proposed a ban on a class of antibiotics in livestock for fear the practice is fostering bacterial resistance to antibiotics used to treat a wide range of human infections. Public health officials say the move indicates "a new willingness by the government to tackle the longstanding issue," but some think public misconception about antibiotic use in livestock is driving the decision.

It's not clear how how much use of antibiotics in livestock affects humans, but those who work with farm animals are at risk for becoming colonized by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Jill Adams reports for the Los Angeles Times. Advocates of antibiotic use in livestock cite studies that diminish human risk, like a 2004 paper that says contamination between animals and humans is a "two-way street." (Read more)

Resistance to antibiotics has become a global public health issue. Michael Fielding of Meatingplace reports German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner has submitted legislation to limit antibiotic use after a study revealed E.coli in chickens. Germany is Europe's third-largest poultry producer. But Meatingplace blogger Sarah Hubbart writes a new study from the University of Glasgow in Scotland suggests livestock likely doesn't "have a major impact on antibiotic resistance in humans," and the researchers are urging British lawmakers to reconsider antibiotic bans in livestock.

Hubbart says that research is important in light of the recent FDA decision. Iowa State University professor Scott Hurd, a former U.S. agriculture undersecretary, said misconceptions about antibiotic use are widspread. "They think it is just being poured into the feed to make the animals grow better," he said. Tom Talbot, former president of the California Cattlemen's Association, thinks people believe that, too. He told Tim Hearden of Capital Press that "The idea that we're using this enormous quantity of antibiotics in beef cattle prior to slaughter, I think that's a misconception." Hearden reports livestock industry representatives don't think the FDA's recent change will have a big impact on operations, but they fear further restrictions.

The FDA is accepting public comments about the proposed ban on certain antibiotic use in livestock until March 6. Comments can be submitted here.

Pilot program in Minn. to stanch runoff would make farmers exempt from new environmental laws

2012-01-17T14:04:00.013-05:00

A federal pilot program aims to support farmers in Minnesota and protect them from new environmental regulation if they agree to lessen the flow of agricultural runoff into the headwaters of the Mississippi River, reports Energy & Environment news. Federal officials say they hope the program will make farmers more responsible about water quality.

Farmers would enter a 10-year agreement in which they would limit erosion and fertilizer, pesticide and manure runoff. In return, the federal government will provide technical help, funding and certify farmers in a new Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program. Farmers would then be exempt from new environmental requirements that might be imposed generally.

Conservation groups say the program won't provide enough protection for the Mississippi's headwaters. They say farmers will be exempt from following the Clean Water Act, and this will create a bigger burden on other polluters, like cities and sewage treatment plants. Funding for the program would be provided in the next Farm Bill. (Read more)

Climate change cuts snow, lets elk graze longer at high altitude, affecting birds and other species

2012-01-17T10:45:00.000-05:00

Scientists have found climate change is reducing snowfall in mountains and having trickle-down effects on mountainous songbird and plant populations. The U.S. Geological Survey and University of Montana study shows browsing elk are staying at higher altitudes for longer periods of time, thus consuming more plants. As a result, songbirds and deciduous trees in the Arizona mountains have declined over the last 22 years. This phenomenon directly lowers songbird habitats.

To get these results, study authors "mimicked the effects of more snow on limiting the ability of elk to browse on plants by excluding the animals from large, fenced areas," reports Science Daily. They compared bird and plant populations in exclusion areas with similar areas where elk had access. Through this six-year experiment, they found songbird and plant declines were reversed in areas where elk were excluded. (Read more)

Louisville conference will discuss local food movement on college campuses

2012-01-17T09:20:00.020-05:00

Louisville Farm to Table, the University of Louisville and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture are hosting a conference at U of L Jan. 20 "designed to bring resources to colleges that would like to start making the switch to local food." Conference sessions will "address common perceived barriers and challenges to such changes, and will include administrators, food service contractors and local food distributors."

Farm to Table is a Metro Louisville government project that aims to open the local food market to products from Kentucky and Southern Indiana, but the conference, called "Farm to Campus: Exploring the farm-to-food service connection," is aimed at any college educators, contract food vendors and interested parties.

The conference will begin at 8:30 a.m. with registration and end around 3 p.m. Workshops include: "Eating local: What’s in it for you?," "Getting to local: Important first steps," "Making the switch to sustainable," "If you serve it, will they come?", "Finding local food, Safety First: Is Local Food Safe to Eat?" and "Making the Money Work." (Read more)

Rural women less likely to complete cervical-cancer vaccinations; study says vaccine, sex unrelated

2012-01-16T20:03:00.001-05:00

Women living in rural areas of the U.S. were far less likely to return for their follow-up doses after they get the initial injection of the human papillomavirus vaccine, a study in the Journal of Rural Health has found. (Photo by Pete Rodman, Bowling Green Daily News)

The study contrasted the rates of vaccination follow-up by young women recruited from two rural locations and one urban location. "Despite being free, the researchers concluded that uptake of booster doses by rural women was problematic," states an article in the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention's "RAP Time" publication. "This barrier might be resolved by providing the HPV doses at easy-to-access locations in rural communities, such as large grocery stores and area events."

The HPV vaccine requires three doses. The women who went to the rural clinic were seven times less likely to return for at least one follow-up dose.

The vaccine, which has proven to prevent most cervical cancers, has been approved for use in women ages 9 to 26 years, as well as boys. The vaccine is generally given at the age of 11 or 12 and is effective only if administered before a person becomes sexually active. As many as 80 percent of men and women become infected with HPV during their lives, but most do not develop symptoms or illness.

The vaccine has been met with reluctance by parents, some of whom fear it encourages sexual activity, but a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found girls or women who received the vaccine "were no more likely to be sexually active or have more partners than those not vaccinated."

Last year, just 49 percent of adolescent girls nationwide had received at least the first dose of the vaccine, and only a third had gotten all three. In Kentucky, just 25 percent of adolescent females had gotten the first dose and fewer than 11 percent had received all three doses. (Read more)

In Texas, Feb. 1 requirement for fracking disclosures includes water use, not just chemicals

2012-01-16T11:08:00.000-05:00

Texas frack job (Michael Stravato, New York Times)

Opponents and skeptics of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas eagerly await Feb. 1, when drillers in Texas will have to report many of the chemicals they use, "but a less-publicized part of the new regulation is what some experts are most interested in: the mandatory disclosure of the amount of water needed to 'frack' each well," reports Kate Galbraith of The Texas Tribune. " Experts call this an invaluable tool as they evaluate how fracking affects water supplies in the drought-prone state."

Justin Furnace, president of the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association, told Galbraith that most fracking jobs use 1 million to 5 million gallons of water. In rural areas where water is short, that can amount to a significant share of the local supply. The Texas Water Development Board project that in 2020, more than 40 percent of water demand in La Salle County will be used in “mining,” which "in this case means almost entirely fracking," Galbraith reports. "Until recently, no water went toward mining there." (Read more)

Despite some disconnects, Harlan County seems to like being the fictional setting of 'Justified'

2012-01-15T10:18:00.000-05:00

This week's premiere of the third season of "Justified," a show on the Fx channel about a U.S. marshal fighting crime in Eastern Kentucky, got the full treatment today from the Lexington Herald-Leader: a review and story about the show in the arts section, and a Page One news story about how the show is viewed in Harlan County (Wikipedia map), where it is set but not filmed; as usual for Hollywood, that work is done in California. That has helped lead to some obvious inaccuracies, but those declined after the producers did some local research, reports reports Bill Estep of the newspaper's Somerset bureau.

"Despite the less-than-positive image of Harlan residents, the show has a lot of fans locally," Estep writes. "To be sure, some people wish the show would include more positive images of the county." He quotes local historian and school administrator James S. Greene III: "It's not supposed to be a literal interpretation of Harlan. It's not sociology. It's not journalism. It's not history. . . . I think we should just enjoy the fact that Harlan County has a reputation." (Read more)

Herald-Leader arts reporter Rich Copley says the show "is still at the top of its game," with great acting and fine writing. His review is here.

Alaska publisher and Native official, wearing 2 hats in fuel delivery, explains state to media in lower 48

2012-01-15T09:12:00.049-05:00

With a Russian tanker's delivery of desperately needed fuel yesterday to Nome, Alaska (here is a good video report from The Nome Nugget, "Alaska's oldest newspaper"), the publisher of a regional newspaper, The Arctic Sounder, wrote an editorial drawing on his dual role as chairman of Sitnasuak Native Corp., the village corporation for Nome and operator of a fuel company.

Jason Evans (above, with child) wrote that in interviews with media at lower latitudes, he was surprised that he had to explain what a native corporation was (they handle money allocated to Alaska natives from the state's oil revenues), and that some reporters "asked if doing all this effort for such a small community is really worth it. I tried to explain the Coast Guard has a 220-year history of assisting commerce throughout our country. The Coast Guard routinely assists commerce in the Great Lakes, along the Hudson River, across the eastern United States. Shouldn't the citizens of Alaska have the same opportunity?" (Read more)

Small-town sports editor named Kentucky's best sportswriter for the sixth year in a row

2012-01-15T00:33:00.003-05:00

Kentucky is one of the more rural states and has no major-league pro sports teams, but it's a pretty big sports state, with several strong college basketball teams, the Kentucky Derby, many Thoroughbred breeding farms, and much interest in high-school sports. So it attracts some excellent sports journalists, and that makes it all the more remarkable that the sports editor of a 12,000-circulation newspaper has been recognized for six years in a row as the best sports writer in the state.

Larry Vaught of The Advocate-Messenger in Danville and VaughtsViews.com was named Kentucky's 2011 National Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He has won it in seven of the last nine years. “It never ceases to amaze me that my peers deem me worthy of this prestigious award,” Vaught told Gary Moyers of their newspaper. “It's a tremendous honor once again to receive this award, and I'm not sure exactly what I have done to deserve it.”

Well, I read Larry Vaught from time to time, and I am always impressed with his ability to churn out incisive columns, solid game stories and athlete features, often all in the same day, ranging from the University of Kentucky to the smallest high schools. I don't know who else was nominated for this award, but I have no doubt that he deserves national recognition. He will receive it at the association’s banquet in June in Salisbury, N.C.

In Miss., pardons require notice in local paper, which many recipients of Barbour favors didn't run

2012-01-14T23:35:00.005-05:00

One facet of the controversy about the pardons given by Haley Barbour as he left the Mississippi governorship that has not received much national notice is that many of the felons may be re-incarcerated because they failed to publish a timely notice of their pardon application. Such a notice is required by Mississippi law, and such public-notice laws are under attack in many states, from local governments who don't like having to pay newspapers to print them.

"Many public notices pertaining to cases in counties all over the state weren’t published in the proper local newspaper far enough in advance of the issuance of the pardons," writes Layne Bruce, executive director of the Mississippi Press Association. "Many more evidently didn’t run at all. Even a cursory check of ads placed in a Jackson newspaper showed some of the public notices were scheduled to begin running Jan. 12, two days after the pardons themselves had been signed."

Bruce said the episode is just the latest example of a problem with public-notice scofflaws. "The circumventing of public notice law has been a problem at all levels of government since we formed one," he wrote. "And, quite frankly, I’m not sure whether it’s better to say the governor’s office was unaware of what is constitutionally-required or simply didn’t bother to check."

Bruce concluded, "This is a prime example of the importance – and too often overlooked – principle of public notices that appear in newspapers and on their websites in this state and nationwide. They serve the public’s right to know about what is happening with government and public officials within their communities. And when public notice laws are abused – either by mistake or on purpose – a serious right of citizens, taxpayers and voters is compromised. . . . a number of murderers were nearly handed back the right to own a gun. And some molesters were almost excused from registering as sex offenders. Victims of such crimes deserve better. And the public at large has a right to know. Always."

Like many of its counterparts, the Mississippi Press Association puts public notices on a searchable website for free, in an effort to blunt local governments' lobbying arguments that the notices should be placed on government sites, not printed in newspapers. To see that site, click here.

Top unionist Trumka, ex-coal miner: Carbon must be cut, but coalfield concerns should come first

2012-01-14T17:25:00.004-05:00

Former coal miner Richard Trumka, who once headed the United Mine Workers and is the nation's top labor leader as president of the national AFL-CIO, told the United Nations Investor Summit on Climate Risk on Thursday that global warming is caused by burning coal and other human activity, "and we have to act to cut those emissions, and act now." (Photograph of Trumka by Rainer Hosch, which accompaied a great profile of Trumka in Esquire magazine by John H. Richardson)

"We need dialogue between environmentalists and workers and communities about the future of coal," Trumka said. He said the call to "end coal" makes no sense, and in Nemacolin, Pa., where he grew up, "It sounds like a threat to destroy the value of our homes, to shut our schools and churches, to drive us away from the place our parents and grandparents are buried, to take away the work that for more than a hundred years has made us who we are." He said labor unions want power plants retrofitted to "create good jobs [and] save lives."

Congress is "effectively controlled by climate-change deniers," and "mass unemployment makes everything harder and feeds fear," Trumka said. "Sometimes it seems like fear, and the power of money, has paralyzed our government. But the antidote to fear is trust." To build that trust, he said, there must be a measured approach that is gauged not by "how well it fits the needs of the well-positioned. We must ask ourselves, 'How well does this pathway serve the least, the hardest to reach, the most likely to be left behind?' Places like West Virginia and the Ohio Valley must come first, not last." (Read more)

Local health departments hit hard by recession; lose 23,000 jobs (15%), core budgets cut

2012-01-14T16:47:00.000-05:00

Funding and job cuts as a result of the economic recession have weakened the impact public health departments have on their communities, says a series of articles published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

"Continued cuts to public health services will have an unsatisfactory impact on the health of individuals and the community," said Dr. Lloyd F. Novick, the journal's editor-in-chief. "There is a heightened vulnerability at the present time for adverse health outcomes. Above all, the realization of the vital need to maintain resources for our public health delivery system is imperative."

In 2009, 23,000 jobs in public health departments were eliminated, 15 percent of the total. By 2010, more than half the agencies had a cut in core funding. As they scramble to make do with their new bottom lines, more cuts are expected. "The current, alarming trend of diminishing resources, reduced workforce and impaired capacity to maintain public health programs pose major hurdles for local agencies, with consequences that will be felt well into the future," said Dr. Rachel Willard of the University of California.

To view an article on the impact of the 2008-2010 economic recession on local health departments, one on a local health department that is providing only essential services, and one on enhancing public health value in an era of declining resources, click here.

Utilities dump more coal ash in impoundments

2012-01-13T17:31:00.003-05:00

Utility companies are dumping more coal ash than ever into impoundments, with plants in the South dumping the highest amount, according to an Environmental Integrity Project analysis published last week, Sue Sturgis of The Institute for Southern Studies reports. Researchers said they based their findings on the most recent data from the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxics Release Inventory.

Impoundments are often located in rural areas and the ash they contain is laced with toxic materials. EIP found 9 percent more ash was put into impoundments in 2010 than in 2007, despite the recession, and 20 plants were responsible for more than half of it. Of those, 10 are in the South. An impoundment at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston plant in East Tennessee blew in 2008, sending billions of gallons of ash into a nearby subdivision and rivers. (Knoxville News-Sentinel photo by Clay Owen) EPA considered designated coal ash a hazardous waste, but backed off after lobbying by electric companies. (Read more)

Paramedics could help patients with preventive and non-emergency care in rural Colorado

2012-01-13T17:10:00.000-05:00

Rural medical personnel in Colorado are vetting a new method of health care that could help rural patients with preventive care, Reid Wright of the Cortez Journal reports. The community paramedic program "aims to have emergency medical personnel provide health care to patients in their home before an emergency arises." The program is helpful in rural areas where doctors are scarce, especially in Montezuma County, which recently was designated an area deficient of primary-care providers by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It could also become a model for other rural areas of the country.

Almost 80 percent of emergency-room visits in Montezuma County are for non-emergency treatment, which costs patients three times more than visiting a doctor's office. The community paramedic program would employ paramedics to do home visits with patients that have serious illnesses, but don't require full-time care. Paramedics will also determine other needs while visiting patients' homes that may require help from other organizations like the American Red Cross, social services, substance-abuse treatment groups or energy-assistance programs. They can also check homes for environmental hazards. The program will cost an estimated $1.5 million over five years, but will save an estimated $9.9 million in health-care costs. Interested parties have already donated $800,000 to the program. (Read more)

EPA map locates largest carbon-dioxide emitters

2012-01-13T16:53:00.000-05:00

The Environmental Protection Agency has unveiled a searchable, interactive map identifying the country's largest emitters of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The map offers detailed information about large industrial sources, including power plants, refineries, chemical factories and paper mills. Data were compiled from 6,157 sources and are current through 2010. The database covers almost 80 percent of the country's greenhouse gas emitters.

the head of EPA's air and radiation office, Gina McCarthy, told John Broder of The New York Times she hopes the information "would eventually lead to pressure for emissions cuts." The administration is drafting regulations for carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants, but it's unclear when they will be released.

Data shows power plants create 72.3 percent of all greenhouae-gas emissions. The three plants emitting the most CO2 are in Georgia and Alabama and are owned by the Atlanta-based Southern Co. Texas has the highest total emissions from power plants and refineries, and Pennsylvania is second. Broder reports the map has limitations, like not including emissions from agriculture, forestry or transportation, not reflecting the nature of the electric system, and not showing information about efficiency of emission sources. However, David Doniger, Natural Resources Defense Council policy director, told Broder the database is a "very powerful small-d democratic tool." (Read more)

Army Corps ignores ecologists' call not to rebuild Mississippi River levees it blew up

2012-01-13T12:42:00.002-05:00

Missouri farmers lost millions last spring when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dynamited levees holding back the swollen Mississippi River to save many more millions in flood damage in more populated areas along the river. Though soybean crops have rebounded in the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway, farmers are still angry and have filed lawsuits against the corps, and pressure from lawmakers has forced the corps to rebuild levees taller than it had planned. However, Paul Quinlan of Energy & Environment News reports a plan from ecologists about not rebuilding the levees at all has been largely ignored. (E&E photo: levee blows)

The plan calls for buying out landowners at high cost, but ecologists say taxpayer money would be saved long-term because flood-related property damage payments would be avoided. Ecologists say the levee system doesn't allow natural flood basins to absorb periodic floods. They also say removing levees would provide pollution control and wildlife habitat. The levee system makes the river more prone to frequent and intense flooding, they say. Quinlan reports calls to change management of the river have been ignored or met with hostility from Congress, which would have to pass legislation to open the floodway. (E&E News map of Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway)

Quinlan reports the Corps considers the levee, pump and reservoir system for the Mississippi River and its tributaries one of its greatest accomplishments. It was built after massive floods in 1927 took 256 lives and caused the modern equivalent of $5 billion in damage. Before floods last spring, the system had brought a 27 to 1 return on investment to taxpayers, according to the corps, and prevented an estimated $350 billion in damage. Critics such as Robert Criss, earth and planetary science professor at Washington University in St. Louis, say the benefit analysis ignores levee-building and channelizing, which is making flooding worse.

The corps predicted blowing the levees would cost $314 million in damages and prevent $1.47 billion in destruction elsewhere. Ecologists' proposed buy-out would cost about $582 million. The corps has chosen to rebuild levees to pre-demolition height for about $30 million. Quinlan reports the corps has failed to assign a dollar value to avoided flood costs and enhanced ecological benefits of not rebuilding levees and restoring floodplains. (Read more) For a New York Times story on Birds Point, click here.

West Virginian promotes state's past with coal-labor wars as tourist attraction, breaks even, expands

2012-01-13T10:43:00.027-05:00

Not many outside, or even inside, the Central Appalachian coalfield know much about its bloody past with coal-mine labor wars. In the early 20th Century, mines were not unionized, and miners and their families walked onto the picket line often facing deadly retaliation from local and federal officials. Perhaps no state has a more influential and extensive labor history than West Virginia, where miners were shot at, bombed and killed in places like Matewan, Blair and Holly Grove. Doug Estepp (AP photo) is attempting to turn this history into a tourist attraction, reports The Associated Press' Vicki Smith.

Estepp grew up in a coal mining family in Mingo County and started giving bus tours of labor-war historical sites last summer, with no previous tour-bus experience. He told the stories he learned as a history student at West Virginia University in an effort to prove the area, perhaps best known for mine disasters, could become a tourist destination. He broke even last year, and is expanding his tour this year with six new trips, departing from as far away as Washington, D.C. He will extend the trip to four days to allow more interaction with active and retired miners and those who re-enact the Matewan Massacre.

Smith reports Estepp's tour shows "everything from the squalor of company-run camps to coal barons' mansions in Bramwell." Donna May Paternio, who leads the Matewan re-enactment, told Smith the tours allowed her to stage 12 street-theater shows last year, the most she's ever directed. She said if Estepp continues his tours, she may be able to raise money for an outdoor amphitheater. (Read more)

Young people return home to rural Kansas county, boosting economy and school enrollment

2012-01-13T08:55:00.032-05:00

It's a constant worry in rural areas that young people will leave after high school and not return. However, in a northern Kansas county, people from their mid-20's to early 40's are returning, bringing with them children to increase local school enrollment and their college education to boost local economy. Tim Unruh of the Salina Journal reports this trend has filled downtown storefronts, clogged housing and stabilized the population of Republic County (Wikipedia map).

Luke Mahin, 24, told Unruh more than 20 people who completed college degrees within five years of 2005 have moved back to Courtland, a 300-person town in western Republic County. He added more are planning to come back. Troy Newman, 38, who co-owns Ag Marketing Partners in Courtland, said most young people who came back were lured away by big-city living, but "it sounds a lot cooler to go places than it actually is," he told Unruh. He said strong farm economy and Internet service made the move back to his hometown possible. Young residents were welcomed home, busting the myth that returning to small hometowns equals failure. Some returners work in established agriculture businesses or wind farms; others start their own businesses. They report an improvement in their quality of life.

Many wanted to move back to raise their children "in the safe confines of a tiny hometown," Unruh reports. This has reversed thinking that the Pike Valley School District would have to consolidate the Courtland elementary school, which averages about 18 students per class. Kindergarten enrollment for 2013 is expected to be 11, but in 2016 that number should rise to 16 thanks to growing young families, Superintendent Chris Vignery told Unruh. (Read more)

State regulators struggle to keep up with gas boom

2012-01-12T22:07:00.000-05:00

The natural gas drilling boom is moving fast, and state regulatory agencies are having a hard time keeping up, reports Renee Schoof of McClatchy Newspapers. She provides a good overview of concerns about disposal of drilling wastewater and how regulations are lagging behind technology. Twenty-four states contain wells that use hydraulic fracturing to break up deep, dense shale deposits, and since the chemicals used in fracking are exempt from federal environmental rules, it's left to state agencies to pick up the slack.

Pennsylvania's geology doesn't allow wastewater to be stored underground, so companies recycle it. Still, some ends up in landfills and wells in Ohio. Schoof reports state regulators are scrambling to protect water supplies and human health. In Ohio, officials have blamed injection of drilling wastewater for minor earthquakes. New York is taking a cautious approach. It's nearing the end of a three-year fracking study and will decide next year whether or not to provide drilling permits. The state has outlawed wastewater storage in natural deep wells. In Texas, where the shale-gas boom began, there are thousands of waste water storage wells. The state will require disclosure of fracking chemicals and amount of water used to drill after Feb. 1.

The Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a study about effects of fracking on drinking-water supplies that is expected to be complete by 2014. In a draft of the report, the agency reveals it found fracking chemicals in water wells in Pavillion, Wyo. Burning gas creates much less air pollution than burning coal, but Schoof says smog hot spots show up where drilling engines and other equipment are at work. The EPA has proposed new air pollution standards, which the industry opposes. (Read more)

Gas boom drives more of mining 'frac sand,' and that raises more environmental questions

2012-01-12T21:58:00.001-05:00

The natural-gas drilling boom in rural areas of the East and West is having an impact on a piece of the Midwest as well. Steve Karnowski of The Associated Press reports drilling companies are flocking to western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota to harvest soft sandstone that is integral in the controversial drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, in which fine sand is mixed with water and chemicals and shot underground at a high pressure to crack shale formations, releasing natural gas. Though the debate over fracking has largely ignored the mining of "frac sand," Karnowski reports the issues facing the towns where it's mined are very similar to those faced in drilling towns. (AP photo: Dust blows from frac sand piles in Wisconsin)

Industry representatives say frac sand mining brings good jobs to rural areas with little other opportunities, but opponents are concerned about the environmental and human health impacts mining will create. Activists say mining frac sand creates a fine silica dust that travels for miles by wind. They told Karnowski they fear this dust will make people sick, spoil the landscape and contaminate groundwater. Representatives of Houston-based EOG Resources, a company that mines frac sand, told Karnowski it has worked to address citizen concerns at its mines and sand processing plant in Wisconsin. Some counties in Wisconsin and Minnesota, though, have enacted mining moratoriums to "buy time for more study" about the impacts of silica dust, and to determine whether or not to ban further mining.

Nearly three-fourths of the nation's frac sand comes from the Midwest. Frac sand producers sold more than 6.5 million tons of sand worth $319 million in 2009, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Those numbers are likely to double in 2010 data when released. Sand is shipped mainly to gas drilling operations in Texas, Pennsylvania and North Dakota. (Read more)

All families of 29 miners killed in West Virginia coal disaster have agreed to settlements

2012-01-12T21:50:00.001-05:00

All families of the 29 miners killed in the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in Montcoal, W.Va., in April 2010 have agreed to settlements with Alpha Natural Resources, which acquired the mine's former owner Massey Energy after the disaster. The families settled Tuesday after a conference call with Alpha lawyers and more than four days of closed-door mediation. The families' lawyers emphasized that families still want top Massey officials held responsible and prosecuted for safety violation that led to the explosion.

Details of the settlements were kept secret and are subject to confidentiality agreements, including the amount to be paid to each family. Most believe the settlements will exceed the $3 million offered to families by Massey in the weeks after the explosion, reports Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette. West Virginia law sets a tough standard for successfully suing employers over workplace deaths, but a "trial in the Upper Big Branch disaster -- which government investigators have blamed on Massey's culture of deliberately evading safety standards -- could have carried serious risks of punitive damages. And a settlement helps Alpha in its continuing efforts to put behind it Massey's history of environmental and workplace disasters," Ward writes.

The lawyer for two of the families, Rachel Moreland, called the settlements "a milestone for our clients," and said it provides a small measure of closure. Alpha officials told Ward they were not commenting out of respect for the families. At least eight families settled with Massey before Alpha's buyout; another three settled with Alpha by the time the company reached a $209.5 million deal with U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin to avoid criminal prosecution for the company. Goodwin has said his criminal investigation of Massey employees who may have committed crimes or played a role in the disaster is continuing. (Read more)

Situation wanted: Reporter with urban roots and vegetarian diet seeks fulfilling places to eat his fill

2012-01-12T09:44:00.002-05:00

Attention, journalists and others in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and the Dakotas: If you know a restaurant that serves good vegetarian food, especially in small towns, where it is hard to find, email us and we will pass the information along to A.G. Sulzberger, right, of The New York Times' Kansas City bureau, who wrote this week about the difficulties he faces finding vegetarian fare in a region that loves meat and animal fat. (No, he didn't ask us to do this.)

Sulzberger, who is the son of Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, says he decided at age 5 that he would be a vegetarian and does his best to not sound like an East Coast elitist: "It should be stated right up front that the Midwest, with its rich culture, stark natural beauty and superlative decency, quickly defies stereotypes. Living in the middle of the country is very different from living in the middle of nowhere. But make no mistake: meat-loving is one stereotype that the region wears with pride. Lard still plays a starring role in many kitchens, bacon comes standard in salads, and perhaps the most important event on Kansas City social calendars is a barbecue contest."

But Kansas City isn't the big challenge for someone who covers a huge swath of mostly rural territory: "Most difficulty comes on the road during reporting trips in an area that stretches from Oklahoma to North Dakota. And though many meals, particularly in small towns, are of the bread-and-water variety, I have stumbled upon some decent restaurants as well: Japanese in Tulsa, Okla.; Indian in Lincoln, Neb.; Ethiopian in Sioux Falls, S.D.; Italian in Minot, N.D.; and, my favorite place to stop on a reporting trip, Thai Spice, just outside Joplin, Mo."

OK, he knows a few places. Let's let him know about others, especially in small towns. Email me.

In front-page editorial, rural weekly demands that board members of county-owned hospital resign

2012-01-11T13:46:00.004-05:00

In our experience, most weekly newspapers don't have editorial pages, much less editorials, so when one puts an editorial on the front page and also runs an editorial about the decision, and the work is well-written and well-argued, it's worth noting.

The Adair County Community Voice in Columbia, Ky., noted county government's bailout of the "collapsing" county-owned hospital; elected officials' request that they have "a say in any final decision to sell the hospital" and that "the hospital administration will try just as hard to keep the hospital independent as they will to sell it;" and some appointed board members' dislike of the requests.

"It seems like little to ask of someone who is $13 million in debt and asking you for $1.7 million," the editorial said, noting that one member said the board had been "a rubber stamp" for agents who secured the bonded debt. That admission "saves us the trouble of trying to prove that board members acted irresponsibly in overseeing the hospital’s business," the editorial said. "Now the question has to be, 'Why are they still on the board?'" It said the board not only "ran the hospital into the ground" but is "in control of a document that will show if any criminal activity took place," a forensic audit that gives board members "a personal stake in any damaging evidence that may come out."

In her explanatory editorial, Editor-Publisher Sharon Burton said she put the editorial out front because "We believe this is a critical time for our community, and we believe bad decisions will continue if the board is left as it is. We believe it’s our job to bring the issue to the forefront, and there is no better place to do that than on the front page of the Community Voice." The explanatory editorial also included useful background and perspective, including: "At small newspapers we don’t have the luxury of separating the people who cover the news from the people who write opinion pieces. Instead, we work hard to provide fair and unbiased coverage of local news. Then, we look at how that news impacts the people in our community and take a stand as needed on our editorial page."

Burton told us in an email that the editorial generated responses by phone, emails, Facebook messages "and of course being stopped at church and the grocery store," all of them positive except a letter from the daughter of a board member, which is running this week. The Community Voice doesn't put editorials or most news on its website, but PDFs of the pages with the editorials are available on the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues website. The front page, with color, is 3.5 MB; the inside page is 682 KB.

Poverty, diversity, enrollment up in rural schools

2012-01-11T12:31:00.001-05:00

Almost one in four children attend rural public schools and enrollment in these schools is increasing at a faster rate than in suburbs and cities combined, according to a biennial report released by the Rural School and Community Trust, a national nonprofit organization addressing relationships between schools and communities. The report, "Why Rural Matters 2011-12," also reveals increasing rates of poverty, diversity and students with special needs in rural schools. These trends are most prevalent in the South, Southwest and Appalachia.

In a press release, co-author Jerry Johnson said the data show "It is becoming impossible to ignore in the quest to improve achievement and narrow achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged groups. The day of closing our eyes and hoping rural education will just go away are ending." In total, 11.4 million children attend rural public schools, making up more than 23 percent of all public-school students. From 1999 to 2009, rural enrollment increased by 22 percent, or 1.7 million students. The top five states with the largest numerical increases are Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arizona. Comparatively, non-rural enrollment only increased by 1.7 percent, or 673,000, over the same period. (Read more)

USDA to close hundreds of offices in rural areas in response to budget cuts

2012-01-11T12:26:00.001-05:00

The Department of Agriculture will close 131 Farm Service Agency offices and another 118 other offices, facilities or labs to save more than $150 million, in response to more than $3 billion in cuts to USDA's discretionary budget since 2010, Secretary Tom Vilsack announced during the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual meeting in Hawaii. Most of the offices that will close are located in rural areas; this list indicates that Arkansas will take the biggest hit.

Vilsack said the cuts would make USDA more efficient. He admitted the closure of FSA offices will cause inconvenience for farmers, but wouldn't result in a loss of services, reports Chris Clayton of DTN/Progressive Farmer. "They may have to drive five or 10 extra miles from where they once drove. They’re still going to see the same people behind the counter," Vilsack told Julie Harker of Brownfield Network. The FSA closures include 35 offices that have no employees primarily assigned to them, and the others have no more than two employees and are located within 20 miles of another FSA office.

Also slated for closure are offices in the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Food Safety Inspection Service, making some concerned about effects on food safety. The Associated Press reports the FSIS office that inspects all meat, poultry and egg products for Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota and Wyoming will be closed, and it's not clear if operations will be shifted to another office. However, Elisabeth Hagen, undersecretary for food safety, told AP "there wouldn’t be a reduction in inspectors or inspection work." (Read more)

Other USDA agencies facing office closures are the Agricultural Research Service, the Foreign Agricultural Service, the Food Nutrition and Consumer Services, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Rural Development. A press release of Vilsack's statement is here. There's also a USDA map showing where offices will be closed.

Wild hogs could damage Vicksburg Civil War site

2012-01-11T12:18:00.001-05:00

The Mississippi River flooded last spring, but didn't do any damage to the Vicksburg National Military Park in Vicksburg, Miss., site of a pivotal 1863 Civil War battle. However, a pack of wild hogs that has taken up residence in the park since the flood are rooting up the landscape, and could damage monuments, the national cemetery, trenches and earthworks on park grounds, and could also startle or injure the park's 1 million annual visitors, Mary Foster of The Associated Press reports.

Wild hogs are an issue across the Southeast, especially in Mississippi, Jim Walker, spokesman for the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and Parks, told Foster. When the river crested in Vicksburg in May, it forced the hogs to seek higher ground in the northern third of the park, in dense brush. Park superintendent Mike Madell told Foster "it looks like the world's biggest Rototiller has gone through some areas." Eleven hogs have been removed since May, but another dozen are believed to be on the lose. They are not dangerous to humans, though, unless cornered.

The federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is helping park officials "deal with the hogs," which Madell said usually means killing them and discreetly burying them since Mississippi law doesn't allow them to be transported live. (Read more)

The farmland boom is centered in rural Iowa

2012-01-10T13:45:00.004-05:00

Sioux County, Iowa, where land prices have more than tripled since 2000, is the epicenter of the farmland boom. Many look to the county as a benchmark because record-setting deals there become the new mark to reach elsewherereports P.J. Huffstutter of Reuters. However, residents fear the boom may turn to bust and that people will trace the downfall to the 768-square-mile county, blaming farmers and investors for it.

Auction bidders in Sioux County (Wikipedia map) shelled out $13,000 an acre two years ago; this year, they hit $20,000 an acre. It may take farmers years to recoup that money because future estimates of crop prices don't match up to land prices. In neighboring states the phenomenon in which land values are influenced by a single auction is known as the "Iowa effect." Huffstutter reports values can "fluctuate wildly depending on who is doing the math and what income and expense factors are used."

There's also a human factor driving prices up, experts tell Huffstutter: "Extreme high-priced deals are often driven by a regional culture of competitiveness." Still, many think there's "life left in the local boom." The town of Hull, population 2,200, recently bought an 80-acre piece of land for $1 million. Now, dairy farmers are renting the land after a cheese plant announced it would double its milk production. Huffstutter reports local real-estate agents estimated the parcel is now worth $19,000 an acre. (Read more)

Former public-school buildings in rural areas providing venues for new charter schools

2012-01-10T12:55:00.008-05:00

Some rural communities are opening charter schools in former public school buildings as a way to preserve the sites and retain a school for local kids, reports Diette Courrege of Education Week. The number of rural charter schools has increased from 273 to 785 since 2000, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. The total number of charter schools has increased 39 percent since 2000, with rural charters increasing 34 percent and non-rural 41 percent.

Courrege reports the 90 residents of Canaan, Ind. (red dot on Wikipedia map), lost their school when it closed because of low enrollment, losing a third of its students since 2006, reports Ben Skirvin of State Impact, reflecting a trend felt in many rural places across America. But the school was a community center for the small town, and when residents learned about the Rural Community Academy in Sullivan, Ind., they decided to turn their shuttered community school into a charter. Canaan Community Academy will open in the former public-school building in August.

Overall, rural charter schools make up only 16 percent of all charter schools, remain relatively scarce, and their benefits are debated. (Read more)

Data show employment patterns in rural America

2012-01-10T12:02:00.010-05:00

Reflecting national trends, the unemployment rate in rural counties is at its lowest since 2008, with two out of three counties gaining jobs since November 2010, Bill Bishop of the Daily Yonder reports. Through an analysis of federal unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bishop found rural counties added almost 300,000 jobs in 2011, gaining jobs on pace with the rest of the country. The unemployment rate for rural America is now 8.1 percent. (Yonder map; click for larger version; green counties saw job gains, pink and magenta saw job losses; white counties were stable or are metropolitan)
Two rural counties in Mississippi, Warren and Jones, lost the most jobs during the period. Great Plains states, which had the lowest unemployment rate through the recession, lost jobs last year, often in counties with low unemployment rates. Job gains in the Midwest are a reflection of the oil and natural gas drilling boom, Bishop reports. The Southeast gained the most jobs, and data shows counties hit hard by the recession also had job growth last year. California has the highest rural unemployment rate in the country at 12 percent; South Carolina had the second-highest at 11.6 percent. (Read more)

Database of toxic-chemical releases is a good starting point or background for news stories

2012-01-10T11:44:00.001-05:00

The Environmental Protection Agency's Toxics Release Inventory is a database on the "disposal or release of 650 potentially dangerous chemicals used by almost 21,000 facilities," as easy to use as typing in your ZIP code to get the names and addresses of polluters, but the data don't capture all the pollution and come partly from reporting by industries, which often provide estimates, not actual figures, reports Corbin Hiar of iWatch, published by the Center for Public Integrity.

"These estimates in some cases dramatically understate the extent of pollution," as the center and National Public Radio reported recently, Hiar reports. Still, the data are a good starting point for stories about the issue, or good background for stories on facilities that handle toxic materials. For EPA's latest analysis of the database, just released, click here.

Supreme Court not happy with landowners' inability to get a hearing on EPA's threat of fines

2012-01-10T11:21:00.001-05:00

In the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday, "Justices from both ends of the political spectrum seemed to think that property owners should be able to contest administrative compliance orders" from the Environmental Protection Agency, Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire reports. A court decision siding with an Idaho couple accused of polluting a wetland could affect how other federal agencies enforce regulations.

When the landowners received a notice that they could be fined $37,500 a day if they didn't remove gravel and fill dirt from their planned homesite, they sought a hearing. EPA and lower courts ruled that a hearing is required only when fines are actually levied, but justices at yesterday's oral argument were clearly not sympathetic with that position. The case raises the constitutional issue of due process, but "It may be that the justices do not have to reach the constitutional question in order for" the couple to get a hearing, Hurley writes.

"Environmentalists worry that a strong ruling in favor of the Sacketts could undermine the agency’s authority to stop polluters. But the justices sounded inclined to rule that an early hearing is called for," David Savage of the Los Angeles Times reports.

'Honest Appalachia' website created as publication outlet for whistleblowers on businesses, officials

2012-01-10T09:15:00.015-05:00

Appalachia will soon have its "own version of WikiLeaks," according to the creators of the blog Honest Appalachia, which allows government and corporate whistle blowers to anonymously share documents for public viewing. The website launches today and will be a place where co-founder Jim Tobias said people can share information without fear of retaliation. Initially, the website will focus its efforts on West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina.

Tobias, a 24-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate, told Vicki Smith of The Associated Press' West Virginia staff that users will download software that makes their computer anonymous. The Honest Appalachia team removes any other identifying data that could make the document traceable. It will only use documents that are "sensitive, exclusive and authentic." Before anything is posted, staff will work with journalists to verify the legitimacy of information before publication. Tobias said the team will target "people who work for regulatory and other government agencies to build awareness about the site."

Tobias said he and lead technical developer Garrett Robinson, 22-year-old Oberlin College graduate, are "trying to fill a hole as the mainstream news industry evolves." They chose to focus on Appalachia because it's a rural area with little media scrutiny because newsrooms have been closed increasing chances of unchecked corruption. (We would add that AP and Kentucky newspapers no longer have correspondents in Eastern Kentucky.)

"We believe our country desperately needs watchdogs at the local, state and regional level," Tobias said. Other members of the team are from Ohio and West Virginia. (Read more)

Female soldiers and veterans don't get the same scope of medical care as their male counterparts

2012-01-09T20:44:00.002-05:00

Though women now account for almost 15 percent of active-duty troops in the U.S. military, the medical care they receive is often not on par with that of their male counterparts. That's a concern for rural areas, which generate more than their share of military recruits.

A 2007 Department of Defense report showed that "In half of focus groups, women expressed concerns about a lack of female-specific facilities and equipment, such as machinery to perform mammograms, in field hospitals," The Courier-Journal's Laura Ungar reports. Department of Veterans Affairs "hospitals don't provide obstetrics, for example, and most don't offer mammograms on-site."

Military officials acknowledge more needs to be done, but progress is being made. "Are we perfect? No. But we work our hardest to be," said Laura Boyd, public affairs officers for Fort Campbell's Blanchfield Hospital.

Efforts are being made to boost privacy for women and improve training. The VA has also hired managers to handle women's care and has launched an awareness program in which employers are reminded to assume that any woman who walks in is a veteran. Spending has also gone up, with the VA asking for $270 million in 2012, up $28 million from last year.

Still, the 2007 report found medical care was wanting in field centers. Women complained "about limits on access to gynecological exams, procedures and lab tests; and too few birth-control options in field pharmacies," Ungar reports. "In nearly half the focus groups, women said there was too little privacy in field facilities, and many felt they were seen as whiners for seeking care."

Officials at Blanchfield admit they can't provide all the care women need and do rely on outside providers, such as Vanderbilt University, for complicated cases and for routine wellness services. Most outside providers are within an hour's drive of a VA facility, which Patty Hayes, the VA's director of women's health, acknowledged is "not ideal." Still, there are no plans to provide obstetrics or other specialty care for women at VA hospitals. (Read more)

TV station goes to the wall in fight for public records

2012-01-09T17:44:00.000-05:00

In 2011, a National Freedom of Information Coalition study revealed the public has a growing interest in government transparency, but media companies are shying away from open government lawsuits mostly because carrying these lawsuits forward takes time and money news organizations don't have, reports Al Tompkins of The Poynter Institute. Exceptions to this trend matter, though, as Tompkins points out in a case study about TV station WGAL in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which serves a mostly rural area.

News Director Daniel O'Donnell told Tompkins the station has been in a two-year legal battle to retrieve autopsy records about a local college student. When the station asked for the records, the coroner "imposed an old Coroner’s Act statute that said he would not release the cause of death in a case until 30 days after the new year." WGAL appealed the case to the state's open-records office and lost. The Hurst Television Group owns the station and when O'Donnell approached its legal team, they told him to "press on, even though it would be costly and time consuming."

The cause of death has long since been discovered, but the legal battle continues because, as O'Donnell told Tompkins, "We simply cannot allow public officials to dictate the timing of the release of details of something as important as the cause of a person’s death. ... This is purely about legal access to vital and we believe, public, information." He said the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. (Read more)

Eastern Ky. radio station gets community reaction to county's nine proposed post office closures

2012-01-09T11:37:00.010-05:00

Response to the prospect that the U.S. Postal Service might close thousands of rural post offices and processing centers keeps popping up across the nation. Mimi Pickering and Sylvia Ryerson of community radio station WMMT in Whitesburg, Ky., spoke with residents, postal employees and American Postal Workers Union leaders to ascertain the reasons for closures and the feelings attached to rural post offices. WMMT also started a "Post Office Stories" blog on PlaceStories.com on which people from the community can share their stories about local post offices.

Nine post offices in Letcher County (Wikipedia map), where Whitesburg is the county seat, have been slated for closure. The post office in Burdine was opened in 1898, and residents told Ryerson and Pickering it is woven into the fabric of the community. "The post office is really the only identity we've got. I'm afraid the community won't exist when post office closes," Wayne Flemming, the district's representative in county government, told Ryerson and Pickering. "When they talk about shutting our post office down, it's like shutting down our whole community."

The concerns with closure are the same in Letcher County as they are in other rural places where post offices face a similar fate: longer drives to pick up mail, disabled coal miners and veterans fear they won't receive medication on time and fears about the loss of a sense of community.

Tim Reynolds, Postal Service post-office review coordinator in Kentucky, is overseeing consolidation plans in the state. He told Ryerson and Pickering the service has been in business for over 200 years and he expects it to remain in business, but it has to change the way it does business. The agency blames the economic downturn and a societal shift toward electronic media for its dire financial situation. However, Postal Workers Union Communications Director Sally Davidow told Ryerson and Pickering this is a manufactured crisis and closures could be avoided through congressional action. All the agency's financial problems stem from the enactment of the the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, she said. The act requires pre-funding of healthcare benefits of retirees. Ryerson and Pickering report the Postal Service has been running at a loss since that law passed in 2006. To hear the WMMT report, click here.

Va. coal town turns to higher education for growth, puts a Walmart on top of downtown parking garage

2012-01-07T17:03:00.008-05:00

After decades of decline in the local coal industry, Grundy, Va., has become home to a redeveloped and flood-protected downtown and, most notably, two professional schools -- and is about to get another, Brad Parke reports for the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues and The Rural Blog. (Yahoo! map)

"Suffering a substantial outmigration, especially of young adults, local leaders are looking elsewhere for ways to establish sustainable economic development," Parke writes. "The steep topography and narrow valleys have contributed to several detrimental floods that devastated its downtown. Leaders knew they had to tame these waters for the downtown to remain viable and realize its potential, but realized they ultimately had to take a new approach: higher education."

In 1997, the Appalachian School of Law opened in Grundy. In 2005 came the Appalachian College of Pharmacy. And in 2013 the Appalachian College of Optometry is scheduled to open.

Recent improvements include "a floodwall topped by a four-lane highway bypass replacing a winding, two-lane road," Parke reports, and across the river is "the Grundy Town Center, which includes a new Walmart. The steep topography forced an innovative approach. The Walmart, which opened in September 2011, sits atop a two-level parking garage, enabling developers to avoid using the limited available flat land for a conventional parking lot."

"Similar rural communities should take note of this town’s innovative approach to development," writs Parke, a student at the law school. "If ultimately successful, Grundy may become not only a model for strategic economic diversification in Appalachia, but rural America." (Read more)

White evangelicals in urban areas show less aversion to voting for a Mormon, Mitt Romney

2012-01-07T15:11:00.006-05:00

This week's Republican caucuses in Iowa, in which former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, right, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum finished in a virtual dead heat, showed that "White evangelical voters just aren’t as predictable as they used to be," Lisa Miller reports for The Washington Post. "It’s bound to be reflected in Republican primary results all over the country." (Photo by Charles Krupa, The Associated Press)

Romney won in urban areas, Santorum in rural, as detailed by Bill Bishop in the Daily Yonder. "In Iowa, where the vast majority of voters qualify as 'white evangelicals,' these results can only mean one thing," Miller writes. "Conservative Christians who reside in urban areas may have been taught in Sunday school that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a heretical sect, but they’re willing to look beyond those teachings and cast a vote for a Mormon who was once pro-choice. Their brothers and sisters who reside in the country are not."

Miller says that is "very good news for Romney," because about 80 percent of Americans live in urban areas, but she does not address the possibility that continued reluctance on the part of rural evangelicals to vote for a Mormon could still cost Romney a state or two and the presidency. A test of that will come in the Jan. 21 primary in South Carolina, where three polls released yesterday showed him leading.

The new Romney supporters include Shaun Richburg of Florence, S.C., an office manager who originally supported Texas Gov. Rick Perry. “I know he’s Mormon, but that doesn’t bother me,” he told Adam Beam of The State newspaper in Columbia, “I just think he’s an honest person, and I know he’s a good businessman.” (Read more) Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is also a Mormon.

Miller writes, "Following the same path as American Catholics and Jews and other once-insular groups before them, conservative Christians have joined the world," going to college more than before and going to work in cities and suburbs. "They made friends with their roommates and colleagues and neighbors who were Jews and Muslims and Mormons and atheists. . . . The result has been a growing flexibility in the political opinions of urban Christians."

Those factors were also in play in 2008, according to polls by the California-based Barna Group. “The more urban they were, the more coastal they were, the less evangelicals saw Romney’s Mormonism as a barrier,” David Kinnaman, president of the firm, told Miller. (Read more)

Increasing urban water demands concern rural residents and environmentalists in the West

2012-01-06T15:09:00.002-05:00

Nevada is one of three Western states "debating a large-scale and polarizing water project" that could impact rural communities, Jim Malewitz of Stateline reports. The project would move up to 41 billion gallons of water from four valleys in the eastern part of the state to its "economic juggernaut," Las Vegas. Business owners in and around Las Vegas have supported the pipeline since it was proposed in 1989, but many farmers and environmentalists say the impact on rural Nevada would be too severe.

In a letter to Nevada's state engineer, Diane Chipman of Baker wrote, "If you steal our water . . . my well would run dry . . . . There are hundreds of people in peril. Do you have the right to say you are better than we are? That we are just the so-called 'Little People'?"

Jim Barbee, secretary of the Nevada Board of Agriculture, wrote in the board's public comments that the project "will unnecessarily and permanently destroy agriculture, the economy and the environment of Eastern Nevada as well as potentially create an irreversible health and safety debacle in the nature of dust particulate." A U.S. Bureau of Land Management study says water tables could be lowered between 100 and 200 feet over 75 years, resulting in the disappearance of several small springs and species, drying out of valley soil, and harm to shallow-rooted plants and irrigated agriculture.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority says it would leave plenty water for farmers and ranchers because the "withdrawals would not eclipse the rate of water recharge in the four valleys," Malewitz reports. Utah and Colorado are two other Western states considering pipelines. (Read more)

Do wolves help trees in Yellowstone flourish?

2012-01-06T14:58:00.000-05:00

Gray wolves have caused problems for ranchers around Yellowstone National Park since their reintroduction in the mid-1990s, but their return has enabled other species to thrive in areas where they previously could not. They have curbed elk populations in the park, which has allowed aspen, willow and cottonwood trees to take root where the foraging herds once prevented their growth, Matthew Brown of The Associated Press reports.

Other factors such as changing climate and wildfires can play a role in new tree growth, but the wolf is the protagonist, says Oregon State University researcher William Ripple, who discovered the phenomenon. Ripple told AP that wolves "are more than just charismatic animals that are nice to have around. We're finding that their function in nature is very important." Wolves control the elk, trees grow in their place, and as a result there is more habitat for songbirds and more food for beavers, who in turn dam streams, creating ponds that attract fish, reptiles and amphibians.

Some scientist dispute Ripple's findings. Matthew Kauffman of the U.S. Geological Survey told Brown elk only slightly alter their behavior to avoid wolves, and herd numbers would have to drop even more for aspen populations to fully recover. Others say Ripple's work ignores factors such as drought and stream levels which also affect tree growth. (Read more)

Researchers say oil and gas industry's estimate of jobs in Ohio is overblown by a factor of 10

2012-01-06T14:53:00.000-05:00

The claim that natural gas and oil drilling would create or support 200,000 jobs in Ohio "greatly overestimates the economic impact of the industry," according to an analysis by The Ohio State University and the Ohio Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics. Researchers say focusing on jobs and ignoring other factors related to drilling is "misguided," reports Farm and Dairy News. In reality, the industry would only add about 20,000 jobs in the state over the next four years.

Researcher Mark Partridge told Farm and Dairy the industry used a technique that is typically "not accepted best practices for such analyses" to obtain its estimate. Fellow researcher Amanda Weinstein said the energy industry is more capital-intensive than labor-intensive and Ohio shouldn't expect it to greatly impact job growth. In the analysis, employment and income growth in several Pennsylvania counties was examined. Researchers found per-capita income had increased in drilling areas, but job growth there was not always higher than in areas with no drilling.

Researchers told Farm and Dairy the most important thing to glean from the study is that oil and gas development carries "a real gold-rush mentality." It brings a sudden influx of money, but communities need long-term development that the researchers say does not come from energy booms. (Read more)

Lack of education apparently leading to rise in HIV and AIDS cases in the Navajo Nation

2012-01-06T10:18:00.022-05:00

HIV infections drop or reamain steady in other parts of the country, but are rising sharply in the Navajo Nation, reports Stephen Ceaser of the Los Angeles Times. Poverty, poor education, alcohol abuse and a culture where talking about death causes it all combine to create an environment where the virus can spread, and where many know little about it until they contract it.

Ceaser reports the 35 new cases of HIV infection a year seems small when compared to the 173,600 people living on the reservation. However, that is three times the number of new cases recorded a decade ago. When the increase began in 2001, HIV cases were rare among Navajo, with cases coming from people contracting it in cities and returning home for treatment or to die. Then, Navajo began infecting other Navajo.

Many patients choose to mix modern medical treatment with traditional Navajo healing. Ceaser reports the Indian Health Service encourages this, out of respect for the Navajo and to make patients feel comfortable and optimistic about treatment. (Times photo by Barbara Davidson: Jerry Archuleta, left, and his partner, Emerson Scott)

HIV and AIDS are widely considered a "white man's disease," and those who contract it are often shunned in the Navajo Nation. However, a small number of Navajo are coming together to educate others about the dangers of the diseases. Emerson Scott and his partner Jerry Archuleta, both HIV positive, are two. Scott stands outside his local library handing out condoms and encouraging people to get tested, though no one has accepted his offers yet. Both volunteer with the Navajo AIDS Network and several support groups for HIV and AIDS patients, spending hours with those who consider suicide. (Read more)

Agri-tourism shows promise for local economies as more farmers show interest

2012-01-05T11:24:00.020-05:00

Farmers across the country are hoping agri-tourism, or the combination of locally grown food and lodging or entertainment, will bring in visitors and help boost local economies. The Associated Press reports farms from Idaho to Virginia are attempting to bring in customers by making farms a tourist destination.

Some Virginia farmers hope legislation to help agri-tourism operations will pass into law, AP reports. In Arkansas, some are using agri-tourism to reverse the decline of small- and medium-sized farms. A fourth-generation rancher in Montana is trying to turn traditional farm work, like chopping wood, feeding chickens and herding cattle into a vacation. In Idaho, bed and breakfasts are drawing people in from neighboring states with locally produced wine.

The Idaho Division of Tourism is developing year-round culinary events and deals and in 2013 will launch several measures promoting agri-tourism, like an online scenic byways web page that will show where local restaurants, hotels, you-pick farms and farmers markets are located. (Read more)

FDA limits use in animals of a type of antibiotic

2012-01-05T10:14:00.013-05:00

The Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that farmers must restrict use of certain antibiotics in cattle, pigs, chickens and turkeys because overuse may have contributed to development of bacteria strains resistant to the antibiotics, which are also used in humans. The medicines targeted by FDA are cephalosporins, and are most commonly prescribed to treat pneumonia, strep throat and skin and urinary tract infections. They are also popular among pediatricians.

The rule only restricts some uses of cephalosporins, allowing veterinarians to continue using them to treat sick animals in ways the FDA hasn't approved, reports Gardiner Harris of The New York Times. This rule only restricts direct injection of the drug into chicken eggs and large and lengthy dosing in cattle and pigs. A similar rule was proposed in 2008, but Dr. Christine Hoang, assistant director of scientific activities at the American Veterinary Medical Association, told Harris the latest rule is a "vast improvement" from the first proposal. “We thought the original order was too broad and unnecessarily prohibited uses that were not likely to cause problems for human health,” Dr. Hoang told Harris.

When antibiotics were developed, farmers were "enamored" with the effects on their cattle, chickens and pigs, and added the drug in bulk to animal feed and water, Harris reports. By the 1970s, public-health officials worried that overuse in animals was creating "killer infections resistant to treatment." Now, many microbiologists say the drugs' use in agriculture has led to thousands of human deaths because of drug resistance. Last year, the FDA banned use of fluoroquinolones, a powerful class of antibiotics. Harris reports Wednesday's announcement is another step to limit farmers' use of antibiotics. (Read more)

Postal cutbacks will delay delivery of weekly papers

2012-01-04T11:50:00.012-05:00

For months, the U.S. Postal Service has announced post-office and processing-center closures in mostly rural communities as a way to get out of billions of dollars in debt. Much has been said about how these closures will affect rural residents' mail-order prescriptions, bills and business; however, mail processing centers closures have been less discussed and some advocates say the impact on weekly newspaper circulation would be dire.

Save the Post Office, a website owned and operated by literature professor Steve Hutkins of the Gallatin School of New York University, reports the Postal Service admits consolidation of processing centers will slow mail delivery, but aren't revealing the severity of the situation. "One thirty-year-veteran mail clerk ... said the closure of the processing center would result in 'massive mail failings,' and would be a killer for weekly newspapers, which could be delayed several days. If that happens, he said, 'You start producing a history, not a newspaper.'" The impact would be primarily on newspapers mailed outside the paper's home county, since they can deliver papers to local post offices for direct delivery.

Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg writes in the Whitefish Pilot that he's "fighting hard" against processing center closures because "timely news and announcements, and the latest sale at the local hardware store, are important to a community’s vitality..." He said he's delivered thousands of comments from Montanans to the Postal Service and spoken with the U.S. Postmaster General Pat Donahoe about how closures would negatively affect rural places. "Rural communities shouldn’t have to shoulder the majority of the burden in getting the post office back in the black," he writes. (Read more)

Alternative newspaper in Oregon goes far afield to report about rural environmental issues

2012-01-04T09:33:00.013-05:00

Eugene Weekly readers are used to seeing news about Eugene nightlife and the University of Oregon in the alternative newspaper, but it also covers the surrounding rural area, unlike most alt-weeklies. Reporter Camilla Mortensen went 20 miles southeast of the city to rural Dexter for a three-part series about the town's struggle against an illegal gravel-mining operation. For over a year, Lost Creek Rock Products has logged and mined Parvin Butte, a natural Dexter landmark, without proper permits. Mortensen says in an e-mail that the paper is filling a hole left in rural environmental coverage after budget cuts at traditional papers forced those stories to the back burner. (Mortensen photo)

Mortensen said Eugene Weekly's owners, Art and Anita Johnson and Fred Taylor, former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, "have always had a strong environmental focus and with cutbacks at other papers, both The Register Guard (Eugene's daily newspaper) and around the state, there's a lot of rural and environmental issues that aren't getting attention, like this mine." She also reported on a proposed uranium mine about 200 miles from Eugene, saying "It's in a very rural area where it just wasn't going to get newspaper coverage so we decided I should go ahead and write about it so it didn't fall through the cracks and was a done-deal before people knew about it."

Parvin Butte was slated to become a gravel mine, though residents who live within yards of it didn't know this until mining had already begun. Mortensen reports in the first part of the series that Lost Creek Rock Products obtained a logging permit from the Oregon Department of Forestry and a mining permit from the Oregon Department of Geology and Minerals but failed to go through the Lane County site review process that allows the public to comment on the proposal.

The second part of the series focused on efforts to protect Lost Creek, which "is unobstructed by dams and offers some of the last remaining habitat for spring Chinook in the Middle Fork basin," and runs through the property being mined. Finally, Mortensen wrote about the state Department of Geology and Mineral Industries permit for the site and reported that Lane County officials issued a notice of violation to mine operators, though production continues. She also reports the fines levied against the mining company. Most recently, county officials asked the state to revoke the permit.

After Mortensen's first story was published, The Register Guard reported on the mine. That article can be found here.

Lack of staff closes an rural emergency medical service; another gets grant for recruitment ads

2012-01-04T09:30:00.002-05:00

Many rural emergency medical services, like Bagaduce Ambulance in Castine, Me., are struggling to recruit volunteers and remain open. The rural coastal community shuttered its EMS service on New Year's Day after 35 years because of "staffing challenges faced by volunteer fire and rescue crews across Maine," Kevin Miller of the Bangor Daily News reports.

A private EMS provider already serving nearby towns responds to Castine emergencies, lengthening response time by 20 to 30 minutes, but some former Bagaduce members are trying to set up a "first-responder" program to help. Miller reports, the closure is also a blow to the community because it "represents a loss of a local institution that has been part of the literal lifeblood of Castine." (Read more)

In other parts of the country, struggling emergency service providers are trying new tactics. In Minnehaha County, S.D., Jeff Rusack of KDLT-TV reports the county Fire Chiefs Association received a $200,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to broadcast volunteer firefighter recruitment commercials over the next two years. FCA president Mike Harstad said fresh recruits are needed to help with increased calls to the local fire department, and hopes the commercials will bring in recruits "by the truckload." The ads will tell potential volunteers about the benefits of helping their community. (Read more) (Wikipedia maps)

Organic produce may not always be sustainable

2012-01-04T08:54:00.021-05:00

You may believe in the ideal that organic produce is locally grown in an environmentally sustainable way, but Elisabeth Rosenthal of The New York Times reports that much of America's organic produce is imported from Mexico and Central America where crops are increasingly raised through methods that can damage water tables, empty wells and put produce into an energy-intensive global supply chain.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a long list of requirements that farms must follow to label produce as organic. The use of fertilizer, pesticides and hormones is prohibited, but there are no environmental sustainability guidelines. Experts say organic farms are less ecologically harmful than conventional farms, but sustainable-agriculture scientist Michael Bomford of Kentucky State University told Rosenthal organic agriculture is not always sustainable, as it was in the past. He notes such farming has stressed California aquifers in the same ways as those in Mexico.

Rules may soon change, because "Organic standard setters are beginning to refine their criteria so that organic products better match their natural ideals," Rosenthal reports. This includes requiring use of renewable energy for buildings and allowing milk cows to graze instead of confining them to feedlots. However, she says each narrowing of "organic" leads to a political tug-of-war between farmers, food producers, supermarkets and environmentalists. (Read more)

Louisiana editor and weekly win Gish Award for courage, integrity and tenacity in rural journalism

2012-01-03T16:01:00.001-05:00

Stanley Nelson at The Concordia Sentinel

Stanley Nelson and the weekly newspaper he edits, the Concordia Sentinel of Ferriday, La., are the winners of the 2011 Gish Award for courage, integrity and tenacity in rural journalism given by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, publisher of The Rural Blog. The Institute presents the award in honor of Tom and Pat Gish, who published The Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg, Ky., for more than 50 years. Tom Gish, who died in 2008, and his wife Pat were the award's first recipients.

Nelson and the Sentinel showed courage and unusual tenacity in investigating an unsolved murder from the era of conflict over civil rights, and in January 2011 named a living suspect in the 1964 killing of African American businessman Frank Morris. A grand jury was convened and continues to investigate. A prosecutor on the case, David Oppeman, told James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times, “I told Stanley the other day he is the hub in this and everybody else is just a spoke. He did the work that needed to be done.”

The newspaper showed integrity and courage in the face of reader resistance to its dogged, detailed reporting in more than 150 stories. “The owners of the Concordia Sentinel never hesitated in following the story,” Nelson wrote in the fall edition of Nieman Reports, of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. "While most readers read the stories with interest and outrage over what happened so many years ago, many of the most vocal were those who detested the coverage and who questioned our motives," Nelson told the Institute for Rural Journalism. “We knew some would be angered to read about the parish's ugly racial past,” he wrote for Nieman Reports. “Some canceled subscriptions. We were threatened. Our office was burglarized. One irate reader called to find out my ultimate goal. ‘To solve a murder,’ I said. ‘You can't do that,’ she snapped. ‘You're just a reporter!’ She hung up. We pressed on.”

For much more on Nelson, the Sentinel and the Gish Award, click here.

Remote Kansas hospital gives employees time off for mission work to attract, keep medical staff

2012-01-03T15:23:00.001-05:00

Ashland Health Center in a remote area of southwestern Kansas is taking an "unorthodox approach" to getting and keeping doctors, Roxana Hegeman of The Associated Press reports. The center now gives all employees eight paid weeks off annually to do missionary work in other countries. The hope is that people willing to care for others in developing nations will be "content" in a town of 855 people. (Google map)

The approach seems to be working. The hospital staff now includes a chief medical officer, a medical technologist, a nursing director, a nurse practitioner and other staff, Hegeman reports. There is still a need for nurses, a dentist and a physical therapist.

The hospital promoted its new benefit in Christian publications and at Catholic-run medical schools, but employees can use the eight weeks for any volunteer work, not just mission work, Hegeman reports. Faculty at the private Via Christi medical residency program in Wichita, part of the nonprofit Catholic health care system, helped develop the hospital's recruitment model. (AP photo by Orlin Wagner)

"Everywhere in the country we have problems with health care," Dan Shuman, left, a 43-year old family physician that moved his family from Georgetown, Tex., to Ashland for the mission opportunity, told Hegeman. "But this was a place that was really seeking to make a difference." And the program has, according to Clark County Deputy Sheriff Robert Canton, who was treated for heart problems at the emergency room. Canton used to tell friends not to send him to the local hospital but now he tells his fellow deputies, "take me there." (Read more)

Arizona community newspaper examines legal tool developers use to subsidize projects

2012-01-03T13:13:00.002-05:00

Residential and commercial developers in Arizona rely on commercial financial districts to finance public improvements, which allows them to sell homes for less while municipalities deal with obtaining streets, water and sewer lines and other public infrastructure. In Prescott Valley, Ariz., CFDs were created during development of three subdivisions and a commercial corridor along a highway. In a three-part series, Ken Hedler of The Daily Courier in Prescott (A on Google map) "examines the residential CFDs, where bonds issued by the districts finance water and sewer lines, and other improvements," and explores the pros and cons of CDFs.

The first part of the series discusses CDFs' financing of improvements in subdivisions, for which homeowners will pay long-term through property taxes. Hedler reports two Prescott Valley subdivisions with CDFs went out of business and a third sold out to another developer. The second part explains how laws govern CFDs, and the third part is a response from Prescott Valley town officials who told Hedler they are "unlikely to approve community facilities districts for master-planned communities in the foreseeable future" because of the continuing housing slump and previous problems with CDFs.

W. Va. county hopes national pilot project will revitalize its failing schools and communities

2012-01-03T13:09:00.003-05:00

It may take a village to raise a child, but in McDowell County, West Virginia, officials hope a nation can revitalize the school system. The American Federation of Teachers, a union that typically represents teachers in urban areas, has initiated an "unprecedented experiment" bringing together more than 40 public- and private-sector groups to develop an education plan for the county. A five-year project called Reconnecting McDowell will address issues like poverty, technology and transportation that limit educational opportunities in the county. AFT hopes the project will be a successful model for rural districts across the country. (Wikipedia map)

Poster at abandoned school in Iaeger, W.Va.
Washington Post photo by Michael Williamson

Amy Harris of The Charleston Gazette reports the state Education Department took over McDowell's schools in 2001 to fix its high rates of dropout, shortage of qualified teachers, very low reading and math scores and the "deplorable filthy, unsafe and disgusting" schools that were damaged by flooding, but are still in use. The department consolidated schools, hired new superintendents and built new facilities but failed to improve test scores. "There are issues in McDowell that go beyond the school system and get to ingrained cultural feelings about education and a number of economic problems," State Board of Education member Gayle Manchin told Harris. The wife of U.S. Sen. and former Gov. Joe Manchin sought AFT's help for such a project. (Read more)

Lyndsey Layton of The Washington Post reports the project's overall cost is unknown, but AFT has already committed staff time and $100,000 to the planning phase. Investments will directly affect schools, with companies including Cisco Systems, coal company Alpha Natural Resources and Frontier Communications pledging to improve the county's technology, Internet access and broadband service. Nonprofits have agreed to provide books, and the Rahall Appalachian Transportation Institute will work on that infrastructure. Other groups have offered to give families better access to health care, drug prevention and treatment and more recreation. Layton reports a similar initiative created the "Harlem Children's Zone" and has been very successful, but these types of services in McDowell County must be built from the ground up because they don't currently exist. (WIlliamson photo: Students at Bradshaw Elementary, which doesn't have enough computers or Internet bandwidth)

Methamphetamine use is down, but it continues to plague rural areas

2012-01-03T12:38:00.000-05:00

Even though the use of methamphetamine has decreased nationwide, many rural areas continue to grapple with it, and police departments are losing resources they say are necessary to fight the problem. Meth use appears to be most severe in Missouri, where 1,744 meth labs were found in 2010, reports Judy Keen of USA Today. Rounding out the top 10 states were Kentucky, Indiana, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Iowa, Mississippi and Arkansas. (USA Today photo: An ephedrine test is conducted to determine if the substance in the dish is meth.)

Keen writes, "Meth continues to plague communities across the nation despite getting scant attention, says UCLA psychiatry professor Richard Rawson. 'You'd think there's no meth problem, he says, but in many economically depressed rural areas it's still used 'to cope with … difficulty and poverty.'"

Two states now require a prescription for pseudoephedrine, a key meth ingredient found in cold medication. Oregon and Mississippi report big decreases in meth lab seizures since the laws passed there. Law enforcement officials told Keen meth labs are hard to find because the drug is manufactured by individuals and isn't large-scale. There's also a network of people who buy pseudoephedrine to sell to meth "cookers," thwarting electronic tracking of buyers, and cookers now make meth in easily transportable two-liter bottles. (Read more)

Rising crop and land prices, technology are putting more land to the plow in Iowa and the Midwest

2012-01-02T18:19:00.004-05:00

This Iowa golf course has been plowed under.

"Across much of the Midwest the sharp increase in farm earnings has driven the price of farmland to previously unimaginable — and, some say, unsustainable — levels," A.G. Sulzberger reports for The New York Times. "But in the process, to much less fanfare, the financial rewards have also encouraged farmers to put ever more land into production, including parcels that until recently were too small or too poor in quality to warrant a second glance." Those include golf courses, old family homesteads, farmland that had been idled and awaiting development, and land that had been idled or converted to pasture in return for payments from the federal Conservation Reserve Program. (Times photo by Eric Thayer)

The push to plow worries environmentalists and conservationists concerned about soil erosion and water pollution, but in Iowa, "the nation’s biggest producer of corn and soybeans, farmers insist that they are simply getting more value form their land," Sulzberger reports."The force pushing more land into production is the rise in crop prices: in the past five years corn prices tripled and those for soybeans doubled because of swelling worldwide demand, including demand for ethanol production. At the same time yields have spiked because of genetically engineered crops and improvements in farming technology, which are also allowing farmers to grow in previously inhospitable areas. In turn farmers, flush from the most profitable years in decades and looking for better places to store money than low-interest savings accounts or a turbulent stock market, are putting their money in land." (Read more)

Evidence grows that oral health is strongly linked to overall health

2012-01-02T16:16:00.001-05:00

"The eyes may be the window to the soul, but the mouth provides an even better view of the body as a whole," The Wall Street Journal's Melinda Beck writes in her Health Journal column. "Some of the earliest signs of diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, immune disorders, hormone imbalances and drug issues show up in the gums, teeth and tongue—sometimes long before a patient knows anything is wrong. There's also growing evidence that oral health problems, particularly gum disease, can harm a patient's general health as well, raising the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, pneumonia and pregnancy complications." (WSJ graphic; click on it for larger version)

Beck adds, "Such findings are fueling a push for dentists to play a greater role in patients' overall health. Some 20 million Americans—including 6 percent of children and 9 percent of adults—saw a dentist but not a doctor in 2008, according to a study in the American Journal of Public Health this month."

Beck urges her readers not to be fooled by shiny white teeth. "In fact, many dentists worry that people who whiten their teeth may have a false sense of complacency, since their teeth can still be harboring tooth decay and serious gum disease," she writs. "Even people who have no cavities can still have inflamed and infected gums." She quotes Mark Wolff, an associate dean at the New York University College of Dentistry: "Whiteness and the health of your teeth are totally unrelated." (Read more)

Earthquakes prompt cessation of injection of fracking brine into Ohio injection wells

2012-01-02T15:19:00.005-05:00

UPDATE, Jan. 7: "Geological experts . . . expect more earthquakes to come as the industry continues to expand across the eastern United States," Eric Niiler of Discovery News reports.

Recent earthquake activity in Ohio is related to the injection of wastewater into the ground near a fault line, creating enough pressure to cause seismic activity, but "The seismic events are not a direct result of fracking," the short term for hydraulic fracturing, which produced the wastewater, state Natural Resources Director Jim Zehringer told reporters Saturday. (WKBN image: wellhead)

The day before, the department announced that the owner of the injection well near Youngstown had agreed to stop injecting the brine "so that any potential links with earthquakes can be further assessed," Ann Sanner of The Associated Press reported."Ten minor earthquakes have occurred this year within 2 miles of the well, the department said. Each registered at 2.7 magnitude or lower."

Saturday, there was a 4.0 quake, just at the threshold for causing damage. "Area residents said a loud boom accompanied the shaking. It sent some stunned residents running for cover as bookshelves shook and pictures and lamps fell from tables," the AP reported. On Sunday, state officials said four other injection wells drilled in the area would be indefinitely prohibited from being opened and taking fluid, CNN reports.

Court delays EPA rules on interstate air pollution

2012-01-02T14:41:00.000-05:00

A federal court in Washington has delayed implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency's rules on interstate air pollution, which were supposed to take effect yesterday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled Friday, Dec. 30, on "a request by electric power producers and other challengers to delay the deadline for plants in 27 states to begin reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide while the court considers the rule’s legality," Tom Schoenberg of Bloomberg Business Week reported.

"More than three dozen lawsuits in the Washington court seek to derail the EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which was issued in July and revised in October," Schoenberg wrote. "The court hasn’t scheduled a date for argument, though today’s order suggested the judges would hear the case by April." (Read more)

Project to build houses in Ky. houseboat factories completes prototypes, looks to expand

2012-01-02T13:54:00.001-05:00

Early last year we reported that a home-grown rural industry, houseboats in Southern Kentucky, could be revived by a project to have the idled plants turn out modular units for houses on land. Now two prototypes have been built and the next step is refining the process to reduce costs and make the approach economically feasible, reports Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader. (H-L photo: Half of a modular house was put on its foundation last month.)

The idea was conceived by Kentucky Highlands Investment Corp., a nonprofit venture-capital firm working in southwestern Kentucky, and was refined by the University of Kentucky College of Design, with help from UK's Center for Applied Energy Research. One goal is "to promote development of energy-efficient homes that could appreciate in value, as an alternative to aging houses and mobile homes in rural Kentucky that are not efficient, resulting in high electricity costs for owners," Estep reports. "Federal grants totaling $1.25 million helped finance the design and construction of the prototypes."

The modules were built at the Stardust Cruisers houseboat factory near Monticello, a town near Lake Cumberland that promotes itself as the "Houseboat Capital of the World" but has seen employment in the industry plummet during the recession. "The factory had 12 full-time and 12 contract workers in 2009 when the project started; it had 56 full-time employees in early December, Kentucky Highlands said in a news release," Estep reports. "Not all that growth resulted from the energy-efficient housing project."

As the project tries to meet its goals of $100,000 cost per house and $1 a day in energy costs, it is exploring other products such as multifamily structures, temporary classrooms, "military housing, disaster-relief housing and vacation homes," Estep reports.

Communitarian-conservative blogger goes back to small town, gets write-up from big-time pundit

2011-12-31T23:58:00.001-05:00

"They decided to accept the limitations of small-town life in exchange for the privilege of being a part of a community." That's how conservative columnist David Brooks, a pretty good sociologist, summed up the decision of conservative blogger Rod Dreher and his wife to return to St. Francisville, La., after they witnessed its outpouring of kindness for his sister, who did of cancer this year.

"They moved in just before Christmas," Brooks notes, linking to the blog post about the decision. Dreher's sister and mother "had a tradition of going to a nearby cemetery on Christmas Eve to put candles on all the graves," but her mom "was too sad to do it," Brooks reports in The New York Times. "But, as she was driving by the cemetery that night, she noticed little flames dotting the graveyard." A neighbor had filled the vacuum.

"Dreher is a writer for The American Conservative and is part of a communitarian conservative tradition that goes back to thinkers like Russell Kirk and Robert Nisbet," Brooks writes. "Forty years ago, Kirk led one of the two great poles of conservatism. It existed in creative tension with the other great pole, Milton Friedman’s free-market philosophy. In recent decades, the communitarian conservatism has become less popular while the market conservatism dominates. But that doesn’t make Kirk’s insights into small towns, traditions and community any less true, as Rod Dreher so powerfully rediscovered." For The Rural Blog, it's a nice way to end 2011. (Read more)