The Leapfrog Group's top hospitals list includes 24 rural hospitals, 6 in Maine

The Leapfrog Group has selected 24 rural hospitals—including six from Maine—for its list of 2015 Top Hospitals, "a coveted list of hospitals that performed at the highest levels, nationally, based on Leapfrog’s quality and safety standards, considered the most rigorous of its kind," states a press release from Leapfrog. "More than 1600 hospitals report on those standards through the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey, and the results are publicly reported for use by Leapfrog’s constituency of employers and other purchasers, as well as their employees and the public at large." Of those, 98 were selected for this year's list.

"Overall, Top Hospitals tend to have lower infection rates, higher survival rates for high-risk procedures, decreased length of stay and fewer readmissions," states the release. "Among other metrics included in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey that Top Hospitals tend to excel on: maternity care, evidence of a hospital’s ability to prevent medication errors and appropriate staffing to ensure quality of care."

"The Leapfrog Hospital Survey compares hospitals’ performance on national standards of patient safety, quality, efficiency and management structures that prevent errors and publicly reports the results for use by consumers and purchasers," states the release. "The Survey provides the most comprehensive picture of how patients fare at individual institutions. The data collected also enables hospitals to benchmark their progress and measure the care they deliver."

Top Rural Hospitals 2015:

• Colorado: Mercy Regional Medical Center; St. Anthony Summit Medical Center; Sterling Regional MedCenter
• Illinois: OSF Holy Family Medical Center
• Massachusetts: Fairview Hospital
• Maine: Blue Hill Memorial Hospital; Cary Medical Center; Houlton Regional Hospital; Inland Hospital; LincolnHealth; Sebasticook Valley Health
• Michigan : OSF St. Francis Hospital; Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial; Spectrum Health Reed City Hospital
• North Carolina: Carolinas Healthcare System- Kings Mountain; Northern Hospital of Surry County
• New Hampshire: Littleton Regional Healthcare
• Pennsylvania: Geisinger Medical Center
• South Carolina: Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital
• Tennessee: Bolivar General Hospital; Camden General Hospital
• Texas: Baylor Scott and White Healthcare-Llano; Rollins Brook Community Hospital
• Wisconsin: Beaver Dam Community Hospitals, Inc.

Rider blocking Waters of the U.S. rule a sticking point in budget talks

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said a policy rider included in negotiations for the omnibus budget bill that would block implementation of the Obama administration's Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rules has significant Democratic support, Philip Brasher reports for Agri-Pulse. The rider redefines which ditches, wetlands, streams and other feature fall under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. When asked if the White House was resisting the provision, Cole told Brasher, “They're not as flexible as they need to be.”

Brashers writes, "The appropriations provision would guarantee that the rule could not be implemented even if the court stays were lifted. And once enacted, lawmakers believe the WOTUS provision could be extended beyond fiscal 2016." Another rider, introduced by Democrats, calls for a ban on horse slaughter.

"Lawmakers are trying to wrap up negotiations on the massive, omnibus spending bill by the end Friday so that the Senate and House have time to debate before the continuing resolution that is currently funding the government expires Dec. 11," Brasher writes. "The omnibus is critical to agriculture interests beyond the WOTUS issue because the bill would provide the legislative vehicle for moving several major pieces of legislation that are being negotiated in the Senate, including a repeal of mandatory country-of-origin labeling law for meat and reauthorization of child nutrition programs and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The food industry also wants to use the bill to enact legislation that would block state GMO labeling laws." (Read more)

Enrollment opens for USDA land conservation fund program for farmers

Farmers can begin enrolling in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program, which "pays a yearly rental payment in exchange for farmers' removing environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and planting species that will improve environmental quality," states USDA. Enrollment, which runs through Feb. 26, 2016, is open to landowners for the first time since 2013, reports Tiffany Stecker for Environment and Energy News.

"The 30-year-old Conservation Reserve Program pays landowners to set aside highly erodible and environmentally sensitive tracts for conservation," writes Stecker. "The program hit its peak in 2007, when 36.8 million acres was enrolled. Since then, high crop prices have encouraged farmers to let their conservation acres expire and to plant corn and soybeans instead. In response to declining interest in the program, the 2014 farm bill cut the cap on acres enrolled in the program by a quarter, from 32 million acres to 24 million acres, over the five-year life of the bill. With the lowered caps, conservationists are concerned there may not be enough funding to cover the number of landowners requesting entry into the program." (Read more)

Rural providers should be required to participate in federal pay-for-performance programs, says report

"Rural providers should be required to participate in federal pay-for-performance programs, but the measurements should reflect rural patient volume and demographics and practice size," says a report requested by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Shannon Muchmore reports for Modern Healthcare. The report by the National Quality Forum was designed "to determine how to deal with the difficulties in using performance measures to judge rural practitioners for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pay-for-performance programs."

The report "recommended a two- to four-year phased-in approach for including rural providers in federal quality-improvement initiatives," writes Muchmore. "Programs such as Medicare's value-based purchasing and readmissions reduction programs generally exclude rural providers because they're limited to hospitals paid under the inpatient prospective-payment system. Similarly, the value-based payment modifier for physicians is limited to those in practices with at least 100 clinicians." Initiatives could include paying rural hospitals for "reporting quality data and transitioning to public reporting requirements before pay-for-performance implementation."

The report, which suggests that CMS should use performance-based payment incentives but not institute penalties, "recommends developing quality measures with rural providers in mind," Muchmore writes. "These measures would need to consider the small patient populations as well as the challenges posed by heterogeneous rural populations. The data would have to be easily gathered and reported by small staffs."

The report was met with mixed reviews. The American Hospital Association said "that mandatory participation in value-based performance programs is premature and developing a set of measures that examines the right issues in the right way will be difficult" and that "adopting payment incentives without penalties might be politically unfeasible," Muchmore writes. "The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health said any measures would have to be adjusted to reflect the effects of the rural provider shortage on population health and that they should focus on assessing the quality of primary care and procedures actually conducted in rural settings."

Already 50 rural hospitals have closed this decade, and another 283 are in danger of closing, says an October report from iVantage Health Analytics. (Read more)

Central Appalachia struggling to survive decline of coal industry

The declining coal industry is ravaging some Central Appalachian towns, reports The Associated Press. "West Virginia is the only state in the country where more than half of adults are not working, according to the Census Bureau. It is tied with Kentucky for the highest percentage of residents collecting disability payments from Social Security, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. And the death rate among working-age adults is the highest in the nation, 55 percent higher than the national average, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." (Center for Appalachian Studies and Services map)

"Now, the one main source for decent-paying work, the brutal life of coal, seems to be drying up for good," reports AP. "The thick, easy, cheap coal is gone, global competition is fierce, and clean air and water regulations are increasing costs and cutting into demand."

"Central Appalachia’s struggle is familiar to many rural regions across the United States, where middle-class jobs are disappearing or gone and young people have no other choice but to leave to find opportunity," reports AP. "The problems are amplified in coal country, though, where these difficult economic and social conditions have gripped the region for decades and where there is hardly any flat land to build anything."

"Big federal and state programs and initiatives, some dating from President Lyndon Johnson’s administration, have failed to help the region diversify its economy much beyond digging or blasting coal out of mountains," reports AP. "If anything is going to help the people of Appalachia, poverty experts and residents of West Virginia now say, it’s themselves: local entrepreneurs who know their communities and customers well—and are committed to them."

"Coal employment in Central Appalachia has been declining for decades, a result of mechanization in the 1960s, the collapse of the U.S. steel industry in the 1980s and, now, cheaper rivals at a time when much of the world is trying to turn away from coal," reports AP. "Coal is, by far, the biggest source of carbon dioxide and airborne pollutants among fuels used to make electricity. As jobs disappeared from coal country, people fled, leaving behind abandoned buildings and empty lots."

"Globally, coal will not go away completely anytime soon—it’s the cheapest way to bring electricity to the 1.3 billion people who lack access to it, and even developed nations still need to burn it as they transition to cleaner fuels," reports AP. "However, the thin seams left in Central Appalachia are too expensive to compete with cheaper coal being mined in places like Illinois, Wyoming, Australia and Indonesia. The industry will persist—driven by small, determined operators like Asbury, who are after high-quality coal used to make steel—but as a niche that’s no longer able to support a region’s economy."

Anti-obesity group with ties to Coca-Cola disbanding; group has promoted drinking soda

An anti-obesity group with ties to Coca-Cola is disbanding over scrutiny that the group's views were heavily influenced by the soda manufacturer, reports The Associated Press. The nonprofit organization called the Global Energy Balance Network, which promotes the argument that weight-conscious Americans are overly fixated on how much they eat and drink while not paying enough attention to exercise, "said on its website Monday night that it is 'discontinuing operations due to resource limitations.' The decision was effective immediately."

Global Energy, which in August released a Coke-funded obesity report that said people should keep drinking soda, "had previously said that it received an 'unrestricted gift' from Coke and that the Atlanta-based soft drink giant had 'no input' into its activities," reports AP. Last week AP "reported on emails showing that Coke helped with the selection of the group’s leaders, edited its mission statement and suggested content for its website. When contacted about the exchanges, Coke CEO Muhtar Kent said in a statement there wasn’t enough transparency regarding the company’s involvement."

"The emails obtained by the AP through a records request showed Coke executives and the group’s leaders held meetings and conference calls to develop the group’s mission," reports AP. "A proposal circulated via email at Coke laid out a vision for a group that would 'quickly establish itself as the place the media goes to for comment on any obesity issue.' It said the group would run a political-style campaign to counter the 'shrill rhetoric' of 'public health extremists.'"

Americans' consuming large quantities of soda has been partially to blame for at least 30 percent of adults in 18 states—many of them rural—being obese. Consumption of full-calorie sodas by the average American has dropped by 25 percent in the past two decades, according to a report.

Wyoming releases draft proposal to stop deadly disease affecting deer, elk and moose

Wyoming officials have released a draft proposal to help stop the spread of chronic wasting disease, a neurological disease that is almost always fatal for deer, elk and moose, Scott Streater reports for Greenwire. The disease, which is related to mad cow disease, is easily spread among elk and deer populations through animal-to-animal contact and exposure to contaminated feed and water. Vaccines have so far proved ineffective for the disease, which has spread from southeastern Wyoming into the Bighorn Basin and south-central and northeastern parts of the state. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission is expected to approve a final plan by the end of January.

"The proposal calls for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to better coordinate management of the disease—first discovered in free-ranging deer and elk in the state in 1987—with other state, federal and tribal agencies," Streater writes. The proposal includes increased surveillance to better identify affected animals, restrictions on moving carcasses and a ban on moving animals 'to other locations for any reason within or outside of Wyoming without prior review, approval or permitting' by the Game and Fish Department."

Environmental groups are cautiously optimistic, Streater writes. Lloyd Dorsey, conservation director for the Sierra Club's Wyoming chapter, said one area for improvement "is focusing not so much on numbers of deer and elk but on achieving healthier herds." He said "this should include 'phasing out' winter feeding areas where the disease can spread, as well as acknowledging the 'positive role' of predators that can be used for 'selected predation of diseased deer and elk.'" (Read more) (This June CDC map shows the levels of chronic wasting disease among free-range deer and elk.)

USDA Rural America at a Glance report has data on employment, population, poverty, education

Employment in rural areas is on the rise, according to Rural America at a Glance, an annual report by the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The report, released today, also features valuable information on trends in rural population, poverty and education.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement: "Today's report reflects a rural America on the road to recovery. Rural employment has increased; rural population decline did not increase over the past year and some rural counties have seen population growth; and the rural child poverty rate has declined by one percentage point. These trends are promising."

The report states: "Employment grew more than 1 percent in rural areas during the year that ended in the second quarter of 2015. This is a marked improvement from previous years of very slow growth or decline. Nonetheless, rural employment in mid-2015 was still 3.2 percent below its pre-recession peak in 2007. In contrast, urban employment rose nearly 2 percent in the past year, continuing a trend of consistent growth since 2011, and is now well above its pre-recession peak. In both urban and rural areas, employment growth is slightly ahead of population growth." (USDA graphics)

At the same time, "unemployment rates fell by a full percentage point or more in each of the last 2 calendar years in both rural and urban areas," states the report. "The share of adults who are working (total employment as a share of residents age 16 or older who are not on active military duty or in institutions such as nursing homes or prisons) remains 3 percentage points below its level prior to the recession in both rural and urban areas."

Rural population has declined by 30,000 each of the past two years and 116,000 over the past four years, states the report. "While these declines are small, 2010-2014 is the first period of overall population decline on record for rural America as a whole and stands in stark contrast with the urban population, which continues to grow by more than 2 million per year." From 2010 to 2014, about 300 rural counties lost population due to natural change and net migration, with 230,000 more births than deaths and 346,000 more people having moved out of rural counties than moved in.

Child poverty has increased from 21.9 percent in 2007 to 24.2 percent in 2009 to 25.2 percent in 2014, states the report. Deep poverty rates for rural children have increased from 9.6 percent in 2007 to 11.3 percent in 2014. The poverty rate for rural working-age was 6.2 percent in 2007 and 7.8 percent in 2014.

"The proportion of rural adults with a 4-year college degree or more increased by 4 percentage points between 2000 and 2014, and the proportion without a high school diploma or equivalent, such as a GED (General Education Diploma), declined by 9 percentage points," states the report. "Between 2000 and 2014, the share of young adults ages 25-34 with bachelor’s degrees grew in urban areas from 29 to 35 percent. In rural counties, the college-educated proportion of young adults rose from 15 to 19 percent."

New diabetes cases in the U.S. are on the decline; first substantial decline in 25 years

For the first time in decades, diabetes cases in the U.S. are on the decline, Sabrina Tavernise reports for The New York Times. In 2014, the number of new cases of diabetes in the U.S. was 1.4 million, down from 1.7 million in 2008, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's "the first sustained decline since the disease started to explode in this country about 25 years ago."

Diabetes is one of the symptoms of obesity, an epidemic that has been particularly bad in rural areas. Seven of the top 10 most obese states are in the South, and 23 of the top 25 are in the South or Midwest, led by Arkansas with an obesity rate of 35.9 percent. The obesity epidemic is costing taxpayers $147 billion to $210 billion each year. (CDC graphic: Annual number of new cases of diagnosed diabetes in adults 18-79 from 1980-2014)

While experts say the percent of Americans with diabetes is still more than double what it was in the early 1990s, "there is growing evidence that eating habits, after decades of deterioration, have finally begun to improve," Tavernise writes. "The amount of soda Americans drink has declined by about a quarter since the late 1990s, and the average number of daily calories children and adults consume also has fallen. Physical activity has started to rise, and once-surging rates of obesity, a major driver of Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, have flattened. Type 1 diabetes, often diagnosed in childhood and adolescence and not usually associated with excess body weight, was also included in the data."

Dr. David M. Nathan, the director of the Diabetes Center and Clinical Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, told Tavernise, “It has finally entered into the consciousness of our population that the sedentary lifestyle is a real problem, that increased body weight is a real problem.” (Read more)

Wells Fargo & Co. and Morgan Stanley to decrease coal investments

Wells Fargo & Co. and Morgan Stanley "are the latest banks to announce limits to coal mine and power plant financing," Manuel Quiñones reports for Environment & Energy Publishing. In March PNC Bank announced it was cutting financing to coal firms using mountaintop removal.

Wells Fargo "said its exposure to mountaintop-removal coal mining was small and declining and promised to keep moving away from boosting the practice," Quiñones writes. In a document the company stated: "Due to these significant industry changes, Wells Fargo has and will continue to limit and reduce our credit exposure to the coal mining industry . . . Wells Fargo will not extend credit or facilitate capital markets transactions to individual MTR mining projects or to a coal producer that receives a majority of its production from MTR mining."

Morgan Stanley "said it would continue to reduce its exposure to coal mining worldwide," Quiñones writes. "When it comes to mountaintop-removal mining, the bank said it would not fund companies that rely heavily on the practice." The bank also said "it would stay away from financing coal plants in the developed world without significant carbon controls. The bank said it would scrutinize coal plant financing in poorer countries."

Luke Popovich, spokesman for the National Mining Association, "said the announcements were largely 'for cosmetic effects' timed to coincide with the Paris climate talks," Quiñones writes. Popovich told him, "It's a sign of the low regard in which big banks are held in this country and how they are reviled among leading presidential candidates in both parties." (Read more)

Rural Ky. residents stayed away from polls during gubernatorial election, say their vote doesn't count

In Kentucky, where 400,000 residents gained health insurance through the state's expansion of Medicaid under federal health reform, residents—especially in rural areas—showed little interest in the recent gubernatorial election, even though one of the candidates said scaling back Medicaid expansion was one of his top priorities, Ashley Lopez and Ja'Nel Johnson report for WFPL News in Louisville.

Jackson County (Wikipedia map) has one of the state's highest Medicaid enrollment rates, with about 50 percent of the 13,289 residents on Medicaid and 2,000 gaining enrollment through Medicaid expansion, Lopez and Johnson write. The county is also one of the state's poorest, with 34 percent of residents living below the poverty line, compared to 19 percent statewide.

So when Republican candidate Matt Bevin said he would scale back Medicaid expansion and eliminate Kynect—the state-run insurance exchange program—it would seem like Kentuckians might voice their concern at the polls. Not so. Bevin earned 83 percent of the votes in Republican-heavy Jackson County. But that's not the whole story. Only 2,771 of the county's 9,846 registered voters cast a ballot. Similar numbers were seen statewide, with only 30 percent of the state's registered voters casting ballots in the election.

One reason is that rural residents say they feel ignored by politicians, Lopez and Johnson write. When asked why he didn't vote, Chad Tankersaley of Mckee, a town of 800 in Jackson County, told Lopez and Johnson, "I don’t know. I just didn’t. I just got tired of voting. Because it don’t matter. It doesn’t seem like who got in there or who it was or who you vote for—I don’t know, it always ends up with the same result.” Small business owner Stephanie Wilson told Lopez and Johnson, “I feel like . . . and I know this is going to sound terrible, but it’s not going to matter what we think. Our vote doesn’t really count at all.” (Read more)

Center for Rural Strategies president Dee Davis: Rural America has room, need for Syrian refugees

Struggling rural American towns should welcome Syrian refugees with arms wide open, Dee Davis, president of the Center for Rural Strategies, opines for the Daily Yonder. Here is an excerpt from his column:

Dee Davis

"Rural America is falling further behind. Farms don’t need farmers. Manufacturing moved offshore. And the rate of rural kids living in poverty is worse than it is in the inner cities. Here’s a solution. Let’s take in the Syrian refugees. Make them rural Americans. As many as we can feed.

"I live in a small town. The billboard says welcome to Whitesburg, Kentucky, population 1,534 friendly people plus two grouches. We are losing industry, businesses and people with alacrity. We are losing alacrity, too. Small towns often struggle to hang on to critical mass to keep a tax base or to have enough tuba players for the school band. In small towns everyone is necessary. Not even the grouches are expendable.

"We’ve got room here for more folks. Rural downtowns have empty buildings where dime stores and haberdasheries once catered to customer needs. Those can be converted to lofts and exotic food stands. And everybody’s Aunt Dovie has an empty house with a length of bottomland that she has been holding for her boy, if he ever gets tired of being a schoolteacher in Sheboygan or a comptroller in Orlando. The refugees who have fled across continents on foot, in overloaded boats, with their belongings on their backs and infants on their hips are not basket cases. I see people here who will drive around the Walmart parking lot in their pick-up trucks until they can find a spot by the door. Why not welcome some extra pluck, people who have invented ways to survive harsh times? Syrians can rebuild housing stock, turn weeded fields into gardens and help us create economies where economies once resided.

"In the Appalachian Mountains, Syrians, Lebanese, Persians and Palestinians came in throughout the 20th-century booms and stayed through the busts. They were coal miners and merchants and soldiers in the great wars. This nation welcomed strangers then, and strangers pitched in. Steve Jobs’ people were Syrian. eBay’s Pierre Omidyar is Iranian. There is an upside to an open-door policy.

"What is the downside? That these refugees are Muslims? Rural America was built by religious dissenters, and in my town dissent still thrives. We have a breakaway church in the old bowling alley. We have one where the picture show used to be. One in a warehouse. We do have a new legal moonshine distillery in an old tire shop. Maybe teetotaling newcomers would be troubled by that. But then again, not every Baptist is devout when it comes to booze. Sinners walk among us. Maybe we will all meet in the middle.

"Sharing the future with people who want to be here cannot be as daunting as preserving a present that’s straining under the load. The Statue of Liberty’s plaque plainly states: 'The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me.' That sounds like a plan. And it’s a more thoughtful rural policy than any we have now."

BLM unofficial photographer capturing forgotten National Conservation Lands

Bureau of Land Management unofficial photographer Bob Wick is showing Americans a different side of an agency "long known for promoting oil drilling, mining and grazing but less known for supporting outdoor recreation," Phil Taylor reports for Greenwire. "His images—from a fog-filled, desert sagebrush valley to a lush California redwood forest—have exposed thousands of Americans to the agency's National Conservation Lands, a 30-million-acre system of wilderness, monuments, conservation areas, wild and scenic rivers, and historical trails."
Ken Rait, director of U.S. public lands at the Pew Charitable Trusts, told Taylor, "BLM lands are frequently referred to as the forgotten lands. Bob is making sure these lands are given the iconic status they deserve." (Wick photo: Basin and Range National Monument in Nevada)

Wick "spends up to six weeks a year prowling the agency's starkest landscapes," Taylor writes. "He's hiked hundreds of miles, camped in subzero temperatures and scrambled up dicey slopes to capture scrubby BLM terrain as it unfolds in early-morning sun. He's taken tens of thousands of photographs since the agency hired him in the late 1980s." The photos, which are published on BLM's Instagram account, can be used by the public without permission because Wick shoots as a federal employee. (The San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in Arizona)

The photos have also been used to help environmental causes, Taylor writes. "In March 2014, CBS Evening News reported that Wick's photos of the Northern California coastline helped catalyze grassroots support for President Obama's decision to expand BLM's California Coastal National Monument." Wick told CBS, "My photos did play a role in that people who weren't visually aware of how spectacular this coastline could get a feel for it."

About 50% of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions unnecessary; South leads nation in most antibiotics

Residents in the South are prescribed more antibiotics than in any other part of the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimates "that about 50 percent of antibiotic prescriptions written in outpatient settings, such as primary care offices and clinics, are unnecessary," Lena Sun reports for The Washington Post. West Virginia had the highest rate of prescribed antibiotics in 2014, at 1.24 per person. Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were not far behind.

Over-prescribing is leading to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, causing public health officials to worry that "even minor infections could become dangerous and that clinicians will lose their ability to treat cancer, transplant organs and save victims of burns and traumas," Sun writes. "At least 2 million Americans become infected every year with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. At least 23,000 people die as a direct result of these infections."

A Pew Charitable Trust study found that "45 percent of all antibiotics prescribed in outpatient settings in 2013 were written by primary care physicians, including family practice doctors, pediatricians and internal medicine doctors," Sun writes. "They wrote prescriptions for more than 120 million courses of antibiotics—an average of 512 prescriptions each. Physician assistants and nurse practitioners accounted for 18 percent of antibiotics prescribed in these settings, followed by dentists at 9 percent, emergency medicine providers at 5 percent and dermatologists at 3 percent." (Post map)

Rural Mississippi Delta town passes resolution to accept Syrian refugees

While many states—especially in the South—have said they don't want Syrian refugees, officials in a small rural town in the Mississippi Delta unanimously approved a resolution "in support of the U.S. policy to accept refugees from war-torn areas of the world," Bracey Harris reports for The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. Officials in Louise (Best Places map), which has less than 200 residents, cited a moral religious responsibility to help those in need.

The resolution states: “This town’s governing body fears no threat but rather feels its Christian duty and obligation to divine providence, which has led this great nation from its founding to contribute relief for these poor peoples’ needs.” While the resolution doesn't cite specific groups, Louise Mayor Thomas Ruffin Smith said the town is open to taking Syrian refugees.

Even though Republican Gov. Phil Bryant has said he opposes resettling Syrians in Mississippi, Smith "said he is not worried about the resolution creating a conflict with the state," Harris writes. Smith told Harris, “There’s a long history of Southern governors resisting federal policy, and history has shown us it doesn’t work out well." Smith also said neighboring states have resettled Syrian refugees, which would make it difficult to keep them out of Mississippi. (CNN map: (Kentucky Governor-Elect Matt Bevin, a Republican, said the state will not accept Syrian refugees once he takes office Dec. 8))

Despite methane explosion, dirty water in rural Texas, officials deny any link to oil and gas industry

Rural Palo Pinto County, Texas, (Wikipedia map) residents in the Barnett Shale region whose water wells were found to be contaminated with dangerous chemicals say state officials are refusing to offer any assistance, Brett Shipp reports for WFAA 8 in Dallas-Fort Worth. According to documents obtained by WFAA, state inspectors found wells containing chemicals "that may pose 'adverse health effects' and an 'explosion hazard.'" State officials, who "suggested the contamination could be due to a 'natural occurrence in the groundwater,'" said "there were no baseline water tests to prove the chemicals did not already exist." The state's solution to property owners was to "vent your water well" and consider "installing a well water aeration system," documents show.

One resident said his or her well water turned completely brown, was full of dirt and smelled of rotten eggs, Shipp writes. Another resident's "water well house filled with methane and exploded, severely burning him, his father and daughter. All three survived, but the wells of both families were ruined." Christopher Hamilton, a lawyer representing both families who are suing two oil and gas companies, told Shipp, "These incredibly unnatural events, from methane spewing out of a shower, to methane exploding in a fireball from a water well, don't match 'naturally occurring.' What they do match are the known risks associated with fracking and gas drilling."

The Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the state's oil and gas industry, refused requests for interviews, Shipp writes. Meanwhile, "despite the test results, the contamination and even a near-fatal explosion—there has been no attempt by state officials to suspend operations of the nearby oil and gas wells until a cause can be determined." (Read more)

Lobbyists want to use Syrian refugee crisis to block WOTUS, according to taped strategy session

Lobbyists want to use the Syrian refugee crisis to block the Environmental Protection Agency's Water of the U.S. rule, according to a leaked conference call, Lee Fang reports for The Intercept. During the conference call, "lobbyists representing a number of high-polluting industries agreed that the battle between Congress and President Obama on refugee policy will give them the cover they need to attach a legislative rider to the omnibus budget bill that rolls back newly expanded clean water regulation."

"Attaching a rider blocking WOTUS to the omnibus was potentially going to attract a lot of attention. Until now," Fang writes. "Now, lawmakers are expected to attach a provision to the omnibus bill to block Syrian refugee resettlement—a move that is bound to become the focus of any government shutdown confrontation between Congress and the White House."

"The call was hosted by the Edison Electric Institute, a trade group for major electric utility companies," Fang writes. "Participants in the call included senior officials and lobbyists from some of the largest trade associations in Washington, including the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the American Forest and Paper Association, the National Association of Home Builders and the American Farm Bureau. The total attendance list for the call, however, is not clear given that some participants did not identify themselves or only identified themselves by first name."

Attendees at the conference call deny talking about Syrian refugees, Fang writes. Liz Thompson, director of media relations with the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement, "The Syrian crisis has absolutely no bearing on our discussions. With only two weeks left in the legislative calendar, the purpose of the call was to have an open discussion on the options available to us, including possibly adding a rider in the final omnibus appropriations bill." Other groups refused to comment.

Spirit of Thanksgiving is about respecting the earth year round, opines Indian Country Today editor

Ray Halbritter, editor of Indian Country Today and the leader of the Oneida Indian Nation, wrote a column about the true meaning of Thanksgiving and the importance of giving back to the earth. Here is the column in its entirety.

Ray Halbritter

"Recently, a new phrase has snuck its way onto TV airwaves during a seemingly relentless bombardment of holiday commercials. The word? Thanksgetting, as in now it’s time to go out and acquire products and things you desperately want (which, an optimist might argue, could serve as gifts for loved ones, but there’s plenty of ambiguity in these advertisements). Thanksgetting is the inverse of Thanksgiving, of course, the true meaning of which is all too-frequently lost in the pell-mell rush of modern life, where supermarket shelves are stocked with summer fruits all year round and there is no lack for those with money and the means to afford it.

"For indigenous cultures, the idea of giving thanks to Mother Earth for her bounty is not an isolated notion or a calendar-driven one. It is simply a world-view woven into how we try to live in relation to our environment and all the plants, animals and people in it. Respect for our fortunate place in this world rein forces the spirit of thanks, and in the best of times we are never too far apart from that spirit. It’s not an alien concept. For eons, harvest festivals were common celebrations for most agricultural societies. The more aware we are of the cycles of life, death and rebirth, the closer we are to what is right and true.

"This year, the National Geographic Channel broadcast Saints and Strangers (discussed in this week’s issue), a mini-series billed as the “true story” of the pilgrims’ encounter with the Native inhabitants of Turtle Island. It is rare for Indian history to be presented accurately by non-Natives, and this production has been no exception to criticism. There is little room here to delve into details, but there is a remark by Native actor Kalani Queypo in a promotional clip that speaks volumes about the inherent difference of perspectives. Queypo, who plays Squanto, relates how his character makes a suggestion that can be subtitled as, 'Let’s teach them how to farm here.' The literal translation? 'Let us speak to them so they know how to work the earth.'

"One could say we have been speaking so ever since."

Essay contest to award rural Virginia property goes bust

The growing rural trend of awarding property to an essay contest winner for a minimal entry fee—typically $100 to $150—has led to big cash rewards for property owners, as well as accusations of cheating. Janice Sage netted more than $906,000 for her rural Maine inn, but the new owner—who got the inn for a $125 essay entry fee—says he has been harassed by people who didn't win the contest who claim they were cheated out of the entry fee for a contest that was rigged. Some have been accused of posting negative online reviews of the inn. (Roanoke Times photo: An essay contest to award The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast in Rocky Mount, Va., didn't receive enough entries to make it worthwhile to sell)

Tony and Shellie Leete didn't have the same success as Sage in their efforts to sell The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast in Rocky Mount, Va. The Leetes, who said they were hoping to get $499,000 from an essay contest with a $150 entry fee, failed to award a winner after receiving less than 1,000 entries, Casey Fabris reports for The Roanoke Times. The Leetes needed at least 3,300 entries to get the money they were looking for.

Shellie Leete, who "said she isn’t sure she would have been able to deal with that kind of backlash, and maybe the contest not working out saved them from having to do so," said all entry fees have been refunded, Fabris writes. For now the owners said they plan to keep running the business while trying to sell it the traditional way. (Read more)

USPS 'Letters from Santa' program lets children receive a personalized response

Parents whose children are sending letters to Santa Claus this year can make sure their child gets a personalized response from Kris Kringle. Through the Letters from Santa program administered by the U.S. Postal Service, parents can include a personalized note from Santa Claus inside the letter, which will be returned with a  North Pole postmark. Return letters must be received by Dec. 15. To read more or for more information on how to receive a personalized letter from Santa Claus click here.

Jobs will outnumber grads in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources or environment

From 2015 to 2020 there will be 57,900 average annual openings for graduates with bachelor’s or higher degrees in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, or the environment, says a report by Purdue University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But not enough graduates are expected to be experts in those fields, says the report.

Of those jobs, 46 percent will be in management and business, 27 percent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), 15 percent in sustainable food and biomaterials production and 12 percent in education, communication, and governmental services.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects "a 10.8 percent increase in the U.S. labor force between 2012 and 2022 due to job growth and openings from retirement or other replacements," says the report. Employment opportunities in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and environment occupations are expected to grow more than 5 percent between 2015 and 2020 for college graduates with bachelor’s or higher degrees. "Job opportunities for food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and environment graduates in STEM areas are expected to grow. Expect the strongest job market for plant scientists, food scientists, sustainable biomaterials specialists, water resources scientists and engineers, precision agriculture specialists, and farm-animal veterinarians."

The report says colleges and universities aren't expected to keep up with the job market. "An average of 35,400 new U.S. graduates with expertise in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, or the environment are expected to fill 61 percent of the expected 57,900 average annual openings." That leaves the remaining 39 percent to be filled by graduates with experience in fields such  as biology, business administration, engineering, education, communication and consumer sciences. (Read more)

1/3 of New England high schoolers fail to intervene in cases of dating or sexual aggression, study finds

Two-thirds of high school students who had a chance to intervene in an instance of dating or sexual aggression did so, says a report by the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. The data, gathered from 218 high school youth at three New England high schools, found that 93.6 percent of students had the opportunity to intervene in such an instance during the past year, but only 62.6 percent of them did so. Girls and students with a history of dating and sexual aggression were more likely to intervene than boys.

The main reasons given for not intervening were: "avoidance of drama or a desire to fuel drama, social status and personal repercussions, closeness with the victim and/or perpetrator, the victim being male and the perpetrator female, the failure of the dating or sexual aggression to meet a certain threshold, the dating and sexual aggression occurring online, anticipated negative reactions from the perpetrator or victim and an inability to relate to the situation."

Researchers wrote: “Although most curricula include lessons on healthy relationships and dating and sexual aggression, it is less common for bystander intervention education included. Given the mounting evidence that bystander education is a critical component of prevention, we urge policy makers and educators to enhance the presence of this type of education.” (Read more)

Sanders was most popular U.S. senator this year, polls find; see how your senators rate

Bernie Sanders, a Vermont socialist who was elected U.S. senator as an independent and is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, had the highest home-state approval rating of any senator this year, according to polls by Morning Consult.

The survey, which included 76,569 respondents in all 50 states from May to November, found that Sanders has an 83 percent approval rating, Reid Wilson reports for Morning Consult. The most popular Republican among constituents is Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who received a 78 percent approval rating. Overall, 69 of 100 senators "have approval ratings of 50 percent or higher," Wilson notes.

Senators from rural states seemed to do better. "Members from smaller states tend to have higher approval ratings: All 14 senators from states with just three electoral votes sport approval ratings north of 50 percent, and seven have approval ratings higher than 60 percent," Wilson writes. "On the other end of the spectrum, senators with the lowest approval ratings tend to be either members who have just won election, about whom voters have yet to form an opinion, or those facing political trouble ahead."

Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) tied for the lowest approval ratings, at 37 percent. Peters hasn't been in office long, and Menendez is under federal indictment for corruption charges. Surprisingly, longtime Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate majority leader, received an approval rating of 38 percent. McConnell was the only senator to receive a disapproval rating above 50 percent, with 52 percent of Kentuckians saying they disapprove of him, Wilson writes. Here's a list of how each senator ranked, in order of popularity; for a PDF of this chart, click here.

Three rural Iowa students educate Hillary Clinton on challenges facing rural schools

Three high school students in Keota, Iowa (Best Places map), launched a successful social-media campaign to urge Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to visit their town in the hopes of sparking a national conversation on the challenges facing rural schools, Samantha-Jo Roth reports for The Huffington Post. High school senior Megan Adam told Roth, "It’s a small town in the middle of nowhere. You look around and you see hog buildings, corn fields and bean fields, and that’s about it.”

The town has 1,000 residents and Keota High School, with a student body of 80, is in danger of closing. Even if the school stays open, it doesn't offer much for students. Abby Schulte, one of only 18 members of the school's Class of 2016, told Roth, "There’s not a lot of jobs in Keota because it’s mostly small businesses and farming. We don’t have a lot of things pulling people into our town besides our school.” Schulte "said budget cuts have hurt the quality of her education because many classes are only available online," Roth reports. She told Roth, "Our chemistry, anatomy, physics—all of that is online."

Sociology teacher Schuyler Snakenberg challenged Adam, Schulte and junior Kylea Tinneas "to find a way to improve the community, the state and the nation," Roth writes. "The students decided to capitalize on the upcoming Iowa caucuses, which have presidential hopefuls criss-crossing the state and visiting its 99 counties." Students "launched a Twitter account and corresponding hashtag in September called Keota Hopes For Hillary. They first encouraged their classmates to follow the account and use the hashtag, and then were able to connect with two campaign operatives with Hillary for Iowa." As of Tuesday the account had 1,300 followers. (Keota Hopes For Hillary photo: Abby Schulte, Megan Adam and Kylea Tinneas pose with Hillary Clinton on Nov. 3 in Coralville, Iowa)

On Nov. 3 students traveled to a Clinton event in Coralville, Iowa, where Adam was able ask Clinton, "What are your plans to help other rural schools in our same situation?” Roth writes. In her response Clinton said she would visit Keota and is expected some time next month for a town hall style event. Schulte told Roth, “I think it really demonstrates the democratic process. Such a huge political figure is coming to a school where there are only 80 kids in the high school to talk about her plans for improving society, answer our questions about the issues important to us.”

Most in U.S. know someone abusing prescription drugs; rural areas, rural youth rank high

More than 50 percent of Americans have a personal connection to prescription-painkiller drug abuse, says a report by The Kaiser Family Foundation. The report found that 56 percent of respondents say "they know someone who has taken a prescription painkiller that wasn’t prescribed to them, know someone who has been addicted, or know someone who has died from a prescription painkiller overdose," the foundation said.

Rural areas, especially in the South, have some of the highest rates of addiction to painkillers and drug overdoses, says a 2014 report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also, rural youth are 35 percent more likely than their urban counterparts to have abused prescription painkillers in the past year, said a September report by Penn State University.

Kaiser found that 45 percent of respondents said "they personally know someone who has taken a prescription painkiller that was not prescribed to them, including 6 percent who say they personally have done this and an additional 27 percent who say that a close friend or family member has." Also, 39 percent said "they know someone who has been addicted to prescription painkillers, including 2 percent who say they personally have been and an additional 25 percent who say a close friend or family member has been addicted. About 16 percent say they know someone who has died from a prescription painkiller overdose, including 9 percent who say that person was a family member or close friend."

Respondents said attaining prescription drugs without a prescription is easier than getting a prescription, states the report. Overall, 77 percent said it's easier to access painkillers not prescribed to them, compared to only 58 percent of people who said they medically need drugs who were able to get a prescription.

"Large majorities say a number of efforts would be effective in reducing painkiller abuse, including treatment programs (85 percent), monitoring doctors’ prescribing habits (82 percent), public education programs (80 percent), training doctors (79 percent), and encouraging people to appropriately dispose of leftover medication (69 percent)," states the report. (Kaiser graphic)

Webinar Nov. 30 to focus on American Community Survey 5-year statistics to be released Dec. 3

The U.S. Census Bureau is hosting a webinar on Nov. 30 in advance of the Dec. 3 release of 2014 American Community Survey five-year statistics, which are based on data collected from 2010 to 2014. The survey is the only source of local estimates for 40 topics of statistics on people and housing for every community in the U.S., including ancestry, language, education, commuting, employment, mortgage status, rent, income, poverty and health insurance, the Census says.

"The webinar will show participants how to access the data, review block group-level data and provide a demonstration of Census Business Builder, a Web application that allows users to access both American Community Survey and economic statistics in map form," states the Census Bureau.. "Statistics will be available for all geographies down to the block group level regardless of population size." Embargo subscribers will have access to statistics beginning Dec. 1. (Read more)

Ky. weekly tells its readers tax rates in all counties

It's tax time in many if not most areas of the country, with bills coming due, but most local taxpayers don't have any idea how their local tax rates compare to those in other counties or states. The Adair County Community Voice in Columbia, Ky., got the various tax rates for Kentucky's 119 other counties, which conveniently all come after Adair in the alphabetical list, and published them in a chart in last week's paper. Here it is (click on the image for a larger version):

Migrant workers the lifeline for agricultural industry, especially on small farms

Without migrant farmers, many small farms would be in trouble, Angela Oliver reports for The Messenger-Inquirer in Western Kentucky. More than 10 percent of H visas granted to migrant workers in the U.S. in 2012—65,345 out of 600,000—were for agricultural jobs. Kentucky has about 10,800 migrant workers on 1,400 farms.

"Many local farmers, like Keith Riney of Riney Farms, seek guidance from the Agriculture Workforce Management Association, which educates farmers on the H-2A visa program, acts as a liaison between the hiring farmers and government agencies and 'provides a voice for farmers on labor issues,' the group's website states," Oliver writes. "Through the federal program, employers can apply for nonimmigrant workers for any type of seasonal farm work for a maximum of 10 months. Local migrant workers are usually on the job from March or April to December."

Riney told Oliver, "Without extra people during the season, especially with the labor tobacco takes, our local industry wouldn't be as economically sound. We're able to gain larger incomes on smaller areas; we're able to grow more. [Migrant workers] have saved a lot of small farms." The Messenger-Inquirer, which is behind a paywall, can be accessed here. (USDA graphics)

The number of farm workers not legally authorized to work in the U.S. grew from about 15 percent in 1991 to 55 percent in 2001, reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Since 2001, the share who are citizens has increased from about 21 percent to about 33 percent, while the share who hold green cards or other forms of work authorization has fallen from about 25 percent to about 19 percent."

"Among migrant workers, the largest group are 'shuttlers,' who work at a single farm location more than 75 miles from home and may cross an international border to get there," states USDA. "They made up about 12 percent of hired crop farmworkers in 2007-09, down from about 24 percent in 1996-98. More common in the past, the 'follow the crop' migrant farm worker, who moves from state to state working on different crops as the seasons advance, is now a relative rarity. These workers make up just five percent of those surveyed by the NAWS in 2007-09, down from a high of 14 percent in 1992-94. The final category in the figure are the newcomers to farming, whose migration patterns have not yet been established."

Free digital reporter's guide launched to assist journalists covering climate adaptation

To provide assistance and resources for journalists covering effects of climate change, the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) this week launched the free digital Reporter’s Guide to Climate Adaptation, "featuring an extensive resource database and a series of backgrounders to help improve coverage of society’s preparation for the impacts of climate change," writes Jennifer Nelson for the institute.

RJI executive director Randy Picht told Nelston, “Climate adaptation is an emerging and important story not just for environmental reporters but for those covering business, politics, local news, even sports. We’ve created this guide so journalists can all find the information and sources they need to get up to speed on the topic.”

The guide includes "more than 200 key adaptation resources that reporters can quickly use to identify organizations and sources central to the adaptation story," writes Nelson. "Each resource features an overview of the source and detailed information on how journalists can use it. The resources are categorized by climate risk and policy response and can be sorted by location, timeliness and whether from government, academic, advocacy or media. The backgrounder also features several dozen suggested story angles for beats ranging from health and consumer to religion and military, as well as briefs on exemplary adaptation coverage by other news organizations."

"For journalists who are newer to the climate adaptation issue, the project provides an animated explainer and an extensive backgrounder covering the basics of the issue, such as definitions and infographics illustrating climate impacts," Nelson writes. To find the guide, click here.

Open range laws creating 'Old West' mentality in which drivers pay the price for hitting livestock

In open range territory out West, where fences to keep livestock controlled are a rare sight, those unlucky enough to collide with livestock "are financially liable not only for their injuries and damage to their vehicles but also for the animal they strike," Bill Dentzer reports for the Idaho Statesman. In 2014 in Idaho, 1,100 accidents involved wildlife, compared to about 300 accidents involving domestic animals, according to the state Transportation Department.

Holding drivers responsible for hitting livestock that are roaming free equates to a system still stuck in the Old West, some say, Dentzer writes. Ken Cole, Idaho director of the Western Watershed Project, an environmental group, told Dentzer, “That a rancher is not held liable for accidents that occur on highways in particular just seems kind of outdated and antiquated. These laws were written for a time that no longer exists.”

Open range laws have been pushed to the forefront again after police in Adams County shot and killed an Idaho rancher earlier this month during a dispute over a bull that was struck by a vehicle. State and county officials say the rancher's gun discharged, but the rancher's family claims he was murdered. The incident is under investigation by Idaho State Police.

Advocates of open range laws argue that "ranchers and farmers predate roads and cars, and the burden lies with motorists to remain vigilant for domestic animals, just as they would for wildlife," Dentzer writes. John Thompson of the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation told Dentzer, “If we never had an open range law, or if it had been abolished before that accident happened, nothing would be different today with regard to what happened."

"People seem to think that if you get rid of that law or have some other law, that says all livestock have to be fenced in, that that means livestock are never going to be out again—that’s just foolish," Thompson said. "You think about a bull that weighs 2,000 pounds—plus he’s going to go where he wants to go if he gets spooked or chased by something or whatever.”

Thanksgiving is the most common day for cooking fires; follow simple tips for a safe holidays

On Thanksgiving more cooking fires are reported than on any other day of the year. In 2013, a total of 1,550 cooking fires were reported, 230 percent above the average number of fires per day, says the National Fire Protection Association. The days with the second and third most cooking fires were Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. With that in mind, it's a good time to remind readers to practice safety when cooking this holiday season.

Here are safety tips:

• Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stovetop so you can keep an eye on the food. 
• Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it frequently. 
• Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot, and kids should stay 3 feet away. 
• Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns. 
• Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags. 
• Keep knives out of the reach of children. 
• Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child. 
• Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children—up high in a locked cabinet. 
• Never leave children alone in room with a lit candle. 
• Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.

'World's oldest paper boy' retires at 96; Newt Wallace bought Winters Express in 1947

After nearly 70 years at the Winters Express in Northern California, 96-year-old publisher emeritus Newt Wallace, dubbed the "world's oldest paper boy," retired on Nov. 13. Wallace, who bought the newspaper in 1947, figured Friday the 13th "was a good time to file his last column after a working life that lasted longer than many people live," Hudson Sangree reports for The Sacramento Bee. Wallace told Sangree, "My body has outlived my mind. I can’t walk much anymore. I can’t hear. I can’t remember.” (Bee photo by Renée C. Byer: Newt Wallace)

Wallace, who for years enjoyed delivering papers in the community of 7,000, "delivered his last load of weekly papers by car (Nov. 11) to the rural Yolo County communities of Madison, Capay and Esparto," Sangree writes. "He addressed all the out-of-town papers to be mailed that day. Then he shuffled down to the Buckhorn Steakhouse and traded three newspapers for a beer—another of his longtime traditions."

"The Winters Express, circulation 2,000, started in 1884," Sangree writes. "Newt Wallace was born in 1919 and remembers his grandfather talking about fighting in the Civil War, his children said. Wallace graduated from Iowa State University and participated in ROTC, but the Army rejected him for service in World War II because of a heart condition that doctors worried might affect his longevity."

"Instead, he and his wife Ida Wallace moved around the country working as civilians on defense projects, including building the ALCAN Highway to Alaska," Sangree writes. "After the war, Wallace worked as an editor at small papers in Denison, Iowa and Upland before buying the Winters Express for $8,500 in 1947. At the time, Winters was known mainly for apricots. Hundreds of rail cars would leave the city loaded with the fruit each spring, Wallace said. Like many small-town publishers, he reported stories, sold ads, poured molten lead for type and delivered the paper himself. His wife and children worked alongside him."

"Newt Wallace and his children reckon he’s devoted the better part of 80 years to journalism," Sangree writes. "He started delivering papers when he was 10 in his native Oklahoma. Why did he work so long? 'I had nothing else to do,' he said. 'I don’t play golf. Besides, I enjoyed my work.'” Despite his long tenure, his retirement was being downplayed, mostly because many people don't see how he'll stay retired. His son Charley told Sangree, “I figure he’ll be back in two weeks." (Read more)

EPA scientists criticize agency's report on fracking water pollution

An Environmental Protection Agency panel of independent scientific advisers criticized the agency's June report that said fracking has not led to "to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the U.S.," Neela Banerjee reports for InsideClimate News. The oil and gas industry has used the report "to argue that broad concerns about fracking's impact on drinking water are overblown."

The Science Advisory Board (SAB) wrote: "Of particular concern is the statement of no widespread, systemic impacts on drinking-water resources. Neither the system of interest nor the definitions of widespread, systemic or impact are clear, and it is not clear how this statement reflects the uncertainties and data limitations described in the report's chapters."

SAB "said that the EPA erred by not focusing more on the local consequences of hydraulic fracturing," Banerjee writes. SAB wrote: "Potential impacts on drinking-water resources are site specific, and the importance of local impacts needs more emphasis in the Report. While national-level generalizations are desirable, these generalizations must be cautiously made . . . A conclusion made for one site may not apply to another site."

SAB also said EPA "should have discussed in far greater depth its own investigations into residents' complaints of water contamination in Dimock, Pa.; Parker County, Texas; and Pavillion, Wyo., the panel said," Banerjee writes. "In each case, EPA scientists and consultants found early evidence of contamination, but the agency ended the investigations before further monitoring or testing could be done." The oil and gas industry has used the report "to argue that broad concerns about fracking's impact on drinking water are overblown." (Read more)

List ranks 50 Best Small Town Main Streets in America; Fort Pierce, Fla., is No. 1

Top Value Reviews has selected its 50 Best Small Town Main Streets in America, and Fort Pierce, Fla., earned the top spot. Following Fort Pierce were: Paso Robles, Calif.; Galena, Ill.; Virginia City, Nev.; Staunton, Va.; Hot Springs, Ark.; Nantucket, Mass.; Bardstown, Ky. (photo); Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; and Mackinac Island, Mich.
 
"Each town on this list has fewer than 60,000 residents (according to the 2010 census) and at least one notable attraction," Kelsey Fox reports for Top Value Reviews. Towns were given one point each for: "inclusion on a major register, such as the National Register of Historic Places, national parks, National Historic Landmarks; categories of downtown attractions (restaurants, wineries, antique stores, art galleries, etc.); notable and historic places; and a national ranking of some kind." To see the complete list, click here.

War on heroin, once an urban battle, now being fought in rural white America

The war on heroin, once an urban plight that mostly afflicted African Americans, is now being fought in rural white America, Clyde Haberman reports for The New York Times. Over the past decade, 90 percent of first time heroin users were White, typically people who progressed to heroin from prescription pain reliever drugs such as OxyContin and Percocet. The main reason that users switch to heroin is that it's cheap and easy to get, with an estimated 333,000 heroin users now in the U.S. triple the number from a decade ago. It is also leading to more deaths, with overall heroin overdose death increasing 39 percent from 2012 to 2013 and the rate up four times since 1999.

Attitudes have also changed from locking up users to making more of an effort to treat them, Haberman writes. "The Obama administration has significantly increased to about $12 billion, the federal budget for drug prevention and treatment. In the last few weeks, it granted early release to several thousand imprisoned drug offenders deemed nonviolent. Not everyone is thrilled with this. Some law enforcement officials predict that at least a few of the newly freed inmates will return to crime." (CDC graphic: U.S. heroin deaths)

Some activists say it's not a coincidence that there has been a shift from imprisonment to treatment as the drug has shifted from being used more by whites than blacks, Haberman writes. In any event, winning a war on drugs is a difficult task. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a four-term U.S. senator from New York, who died in 2003, wrote an essay in 1998 on the 100th anniversary of heroin’s introduction: "Since the desire of man to alter his state of consciousness is as old as human history, and technology continues to provide a breathtaking array of drugs capable of producing everything from oblivion to nirvana, I think it safe to assume that we may never win a ‘war’ against drugs.” (Read more)

Just in time for Thanksgiving, apps offer ways to reduce food waste, donate leftovers

Thanksgiving is a time when friends and families gather to eat mass quantities of food. Now is a good time to highlight the problem of food waste in the U.S., with 40 percent of all food going to waste "because of excessive portion sizes at restaurants, misinterpretation of expiration dates on packaged foods and overstocking," Danielle Nierenberg, Emily Nink and Katie Opalinska report for Food Tank. Additionally, grocery stores throw away $15 billion worth of fruits and vegetables every year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

There are simple ways to reduce food waste, many of them inches away, writes Food Tank. "Numerous food waste apps have been created to help consumers throw away less food in their homes with date trackers, educational platforms and recipe generators. Additionally, restaurants, grocery stores and other food businesses can use the apps to donate food they can no longer sell."

Here are some apps to consider:

• AmpleHarvest.org  — connects farmers and gardeners to food pantries.
• Green Egg Shopper — tracks expiration dates, coupons, vouchers and overall food expenditures.
• Feeding Forward — allows California farmers and businesses to donate excess products.
• FlashFood — Connects Arizona food service institutions to food recovery organizations and local community centers.
• Food Cowboy — redistributes rejected deliveries from wholesalers and restaurants to food banks and soup kitchens.
• FoodKeeper — offers storage method tips for extended life.
• FridgePal — tracks expiration dates.
• LeftoverSwap — arranges for pickup with community members who are interested in leftovers.
• PareUp — allows New York City consumers to purchase discounted unsold food.
• Reta — sends timely reminders to phone.
• Spoiler Alert — allows food distributors to donate surplus product to charities in Boston.
• Still Tasty — tips about storing food.
• Waste No Food — connects farms, restaurants, cafeterias and grocery stores in San Francisco with local groups that need donations.
• Zero Percent — allows Chicago retailers to post available donations.

Mine operators under reporting cases of black lung disease, federal mine safety chief says

Mine operators are drastically under reporting black lung disease among coal miners, writes U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration chief Joe Main. Since 2010, miners or their widows have filed nearly 34,000 claims for compensation with the Federal Black Lung Program. "About 14,800 of these cases were first-time claims. Also since 2010, about 3,700 miners from 20 states have been awarded compensation. Yet in that same time period, mine operators reported only 701 cases of black lung from nine states to MSHA."

Since 2010, the National Institute for Mine Safety and Health "has identified 488 working coal miners in 18 states with the disease through its chest x-ray program, in which only approximately one-third of working miners participate," Main writes. "By contrast, mine operators have reported cases in only nine states. For example, NIOSH identified 47 miners with the disease in Illinois and Indiana, but operators only reported one case of the disease."

In Kentucky, "coal companies have reported only 112 cases of black lung to the MSHA since 2010, even though miners in the state were awarded benefits in 1,442 initial claims to the federal black-lung fund during the same period, the agency said," Bill Estep reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. "The disease has been the primary or contributing cause of death for more than 76,000 miners since 1968, costing the government $45 billion in benefits to miners and their families. More than 40 percent of longtime miners in some regions got black lung before Congress approved rules in 1969 limiting underground miners' exposure to coal dust."

"In 2014, NIOSH researchers reported that the most deadly form of the disease, progressive massive fibrosis, had spiked to the worst level in 40 years," Estep writes. "Researchers have identified a number of possible factors for the upswing, including miners' working longer shifts, meaning longer exposure to dust; more mining of thinner coal seams in Central Appalachia, which requires cutting through more rock; inadequate dust-control rules; and failure by coal companies to comply with the rules." (Ute Fans map: Age-adjusted death rates by state, U.S. residents age 15 and over, 1996–2005)