A real life problem: placement of older kids removed from their families due to abuse and/or neglect. Indiana foster care system struggles to meet the incredible demand. A harder issue is the permanent placement of these kids into adoptive homes when it is ultimately concluded that the kids will not go back.

This is a big problem in Indiana. Indiana removes kids from their homes at a much higher rate than most states (The Powers of the State), so we end up with a lot of kids needing placement.

The Star Press covers the Indiana Department of Child Services new effort to get kids out of the system: post a picture and brief profile on the web: Indiana’s Adoption Program. This is similar to the newspaper ads that Marion County runs in the Star for adoptable kids. I understand the problem and the motivation, it just seems to treat these kids in a way that I would not want to be treated. Sort of more like a pet dog than a human being:

Cynthia will be an adult in 5 years. I wonder if she was consulted about being put up on the web begging for adoption.

Kpaul’s Muncie Free Press has a piece up by Cathy Goins covering her attendance of a recent meeting between Andy Miller, the Director of Indiana’s Department of Ag, and several citizens from various regions who are concerned with the growth of CAFO’s.

The group started out by presenting Mr. Miller with a 8,000 5,000 signature petition indicating concern for the rapid growth of CAFO’s in the state. Mr. Miller seemed pretty confident in the capacity of IDEM to assure protection of Indiana’s environment from sloppy operators. The group did not seem to share this confidence:

It was pointed out that the state does nothing to track operators for violations not directly related to water. Some operators have been here for over a decade with multiple violations and the state continues to allow them to operate. Andy Miller’s suggestion was to contact the county health department because it isn’t a state level issue.

Link. Mr. Miller asked for 5 specific things the group wants from the state and the group is to respond: “bonding for all waste haulers, financial assurance, and plan review by licensed certified engineers.”

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Not eating meat myself, I missed out on any actual turkey consumption yesterday (the pumpkin mushroom lasagna was incredible, though), but I still participated in the process as my 3 carnivorous children would not stand for a missed opportunity to eat meat.

Being somewhat sensitive to factory raised meat (understatement), heading down to the local grocer to purchase a “generic” bird was out of the question. I have also become increasingly skeptical of commercially produced “organic” solutions offered with more frequency in local stores as these “organic’ products tend to involve the shipping of products thousands of miles before they are consumed, which does not strike me as a sensible or sustainable process.

So on the advice of a local organic farmer (over at Bouler Belt Farm), we took a drive to West Alexandria, Ohio to the farm of Dale Filbrun and his family where we picked up a 24 pound bird, grown under organic and traditional circumstances.

We found Dale to be a genial guy and more than willing to share his opinions as to why the animals he raises on his farm are better for you and your family than the meat coming out of the meat industrial complex. The kids loved it and we felt good about giving it to them. Anyway, when was the last time you had a conversation with the farmer who raised your Thanksgiving bird?

So that’s the “good turkey” from the title, the lame turkey you can read about in the Detroit Free Press today, where the paper editorializes against plans by the “lame duck” Congress to push through regulations to exempt CAFO’s from some of the nations most important environmental regulations, including the Superfund law, and the Clear Air Act:

CAFOs produce millions of tons of manure nationwide, and the industry continues to grow, including in several Michigan locations. Air quality has become an increasing concern in addition to the worries about fouling local wells and surface water throughout the watershed.

A series of reports earlier this month in Environmental Health Perspectives catalogued some of the health damage and called for even more intense studies. Researchers also have increased concerns that CAFOs, which make heavy use of antibiotics, play a substantial role in rendering those antibiotics useless as germs become resistant to them.

Speaking of efforts in sustainable living, Paul Retherford might not be willing to take the plunge off the grid, just yet, but Joel Achenbach with the Washington Post visited with a band of North Carolinians who decided the only way to live a sustainable life was to do just that:

THE KEY TO MODERN LIFE IS STRATEGIC IGNORANCE. There are so many things we don’t know about our lives and that, frankly, we don’t want to know. We don’t know much about the basic things that sustain us. We are clueless “end users” in elaborate industrial supply lines. Energy comes from distant power plants and oil refineries and pipelines and electrical grids, but we don’t think about them when we flick on a light or turn the key in the ignition. We live in a world we didn’t make, by rules and customs and laws we didn’t invent, using tools and technologies we don’t understand.

The community is called Eathaven, and it has been going on for some time. In the article, Mr. Achenbach learns the patterns of the simple lives led there while discussing the current state of those trying to do something about the energy picture in the US:

Mainstream culture can be cynical about those who are self-consciously green. To be ecologically centered is to be eccentric. To tread softly on the planet is to be “crunchy.” What Earthaven seeks to be, an “ecovillage,” at first blush may sound a bit silly, a bit theme-parkish. But the mainstream is its own vast theme park, built around the themes of consumption, convenience and more of everything. We talk a good game about nature, even as we become more and more removed from it. We’re all environmentalists these days but cannot imagine life without paper towels and a microwave.

Change is hard. We have to start somewhere.

Through the Progressive Richmond site, I learned that local homeowner (and computer dude, father, and until recently, soccer coach) Paul Retherford posted an mp3 of the Cope Environmental Center’s Phil Seybold, talking about sustainability options for the homeowner.

If you are interested in this field, I strongly recommend giving the audio a listen. as Paul Says:

If that is the simple cost of sustainability, and we know it isn’t always simple, then we have a starting place. There is no risk to going down this path. The technology is proven. It is reliable. It makes use of a limitless energy source. There _is_ risk to continue down the path of burning coal to power our homes.

From today’s Pal-Item, Kathryn Petry of Lynn, Indiana (that’s Randolph County) has an opinion piece up:

From a report from IDEM, we have 30 large livestock operations in Randolph County. Another one is the Union Go milk cow operation. Fifteen (including permits) of these are hog CAFOs new to the county and will put over 100,000 more hogs (sows, pigs and finishing hogs) in Randolph County. Corporations from North Carolina (Maxwell) and Pennsylvania (Country View Farms) have contracts with local farmers to raise these animals.

As county residents, we need to consider the effect this will have on our water supply (pollution and quantity) and air pollution from the hogs in confinement and disposing of manure. As taxpayers we need to be concerned about the cost of road repair, devaluation of homes and farmland near these operations. Consider how this will affect the number of children we have in our schools with younger people not coming to the county or staying here.

Link.

The South Bend Tribune reminds us that the public comment period runs on the proposed dairy CAFO for Walnut Grove on December 3rd:

Perhaps you agree with its critics. They say the concentrated animal feeding operation, which would put about 3,500 dairy cattle on more than 100 acres near Lakeville, would hurt the health of nearby residents, limit their quality of life and send their property values plummeting.

Or maybe you agree with advocates of the operation, who say that it would be safe and well-maintained, would create jobs and would represent the future of American agriculture, as farmers turn to larger operations to stay competitive in a tough 21st-century market.

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There are lots of things relating to CAFO’s out on the net today. I’m a little buried, but I’ll give you a brief rundown of where you need to look:

Start out at the Indiana Law Blog. Marcia has a piece up about a Marla Cone LA Times Article. Ms. Cone says she has reviewed pertinent scientific studies on the impact of CAFO’s on rural residents and communities and the news is bleak: “More than an unpleasant odor, the smell can have dramatic consequences for rural communities whose lives are rooted in enjoying the outdoors,” says the report, compiled by researchers in Iowa, Illinois and North Carolina. “The highly cherished values of freedom and independence associated with life oriented toward the outdoors gives way to feelings of violation and infringement…. Homes become a barrier against the outdoors that must be escaped.

But Ms. Cone is not alone in her effort to review the existing science. A well financed and highly placed study commission was started in March of this year to take a fact based look at existing CAFO impact science, gather information in 8 public meeting and issue a report in 2008:

The National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production continues to conduct its two-year study of how concentrated animal feeding operations may impact public health, animal health and well-being, rural sociology, and the environment.

Formed in March, the NCIFAP held its second public meeting in September in Washington, D.C., and, at press time, was gearing up for the next meeting in November 2006 in San Francisco.

The independent commission was formed by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Pew Charitable Trusts provided a $2.6 million grant for the commission to JHSPH.

Link (American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)).

Grant County’s new health oriented CAFO ordinance (discussed here) is drawing criticism by state Ag officials:

Sara Simpson, with the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, said the formula would leave almost no room in the county for the animal farms.

Link. (Star Press)

Ag businessmen are not too happy with it either, as county commissioners found out during a public meeting on the new ordinance held yesterday. Other citizens expressed concern that the ordinance did not go far enough to protect residents (and their property values) from the potential negative influence of the super farms.

Commissioners are considering the proposed new ordinance with the 6 month moratorium coming to an end on December 13th.

A 3,360 dairy operation with a permit currently pending before IDEM has been set for a public discussion in LaGrange County:

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management will host a public meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. at the LaGrange Community Building on the LaGrange County 4-H Fairgrounds, 1030 East County Road 75 North in LaGrange, to present information about their regulatory role and answer questions from participants.

Link. (FortWayne Journal Gazette).

The Wall Lake Association and Bob Hedges gets some print in the article over  their concerns:

Hedges said he isn’t aware of any Wall Lake residents vowing to sell their lakefront homes if the dairy goes in, but several residents – including his brother and sister-in-law – have stalled improvement projects until after IDEM’s decision.

“They haven’t done that, but that’s not to say that they won’t,” he said of potential sales. “When you get something like this that moves in close … you have to re-evaluate how you invest in your property.”

Marcia at the Indiana Law Blog is reporting that Matt Klein, head of IDEM’s enforcement and compliance division is resigning effective 12/1. Link.

The fact that I do not even have a category for this item is probably a good sign that it is outside the scope of this blog (whatever that has become), but I cannot pass this one up. Lots of people are picking this one up, but I love this type of case. It’s like when the US Supreme Court determined whether a tomato was a vegetable:

Is a burrito a sandwich? The Panera Bread Co. bakery-and-cafe chain says yes. But a judge said no, ruling against Panera in its bid to prevent a Mexican restaurant from moving into the same shopping mall.

Link. (Yahoo News)

The case centers around a lease provision giving the Bread company the right to prevent a competing “sandwich” shop from coming in. Somewhere some attorney it kicking himself or herself for not defining the term in the definitions section of the lease. And people wonder why legal documents are so complicated. . . .:

“A sandwich is not commonly understood to include burritos, tacos and quesadillas, which are typically made with a single tortilla and stuffed with a choice filling of meat, rice, and beans,” [Superior Court Judge Jeffrey] Locke wrote in a decision released last week.

Newslink Indiana is reporting that plans are underway to restore the old high school in Fairmount, Indiana, up in Grant County:

The Fairmount Foundation has joined with Hollywood for a Beverly Hills fund-raiser to save the high school where James Dean learned to act.

Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper and several other A-list celebrities are helping the foundation raise money to restore the vacant Fairmount High School. Singer Pat Boone and actress Shannen Doherty are hosting the event.

Link.

With all the falling down buildings in rural Indiana (the school will need to be gutted), pouring money into an abandoned school strikes me as wasteful. Maybe these stars would have a better impact n Fairmount if they offered to build something for today’s Fairmount students in honor of Dean, instead of shoring up a bunch of old masonry.

I do have some personal contact with the school, so maybe I should be grateful: My great aunt went to that high school with Dean some 60 odd years ago, and my grandfather and all of his siblings gradutated high school there.

The conservative came to Ball State University in Muncie to speak, only to have 2 students try to hit him with a pie:

One student quickly approached Horowitz in a doorway during an interview with NewsLink Indiana and attempted to hit him with a cream pie. The pie missed Horowitz and instead hit Gene Burton, the university public safety director and Horowitz’ bodyguard for the night.

Link. (Newslink Indiana)

The author was also nice enough to throw some words at a university professor, George Wolfe, one of Horowitz’s “101 Most Dangerous Academics” and the university president Jo Ann Gora.

The pie technique harkens back to the incident at Earlham College involving conservative William Kristol (see: YouTube - Bill Kristol Gets What’s Coming To Him).

Madison Jefferson County Commissioners voted to impose a 90 day moratorium on the issuance of building permits for new CAFO construction in the county this Saturday, despite a warning from the county attorney that there was no basis for such a moratorium in Indiana law:

The resolution approved unanimously by the three county commissioners uses wording from the county zoning ordinance as the basis for why the county is taking the unusual step of imposing a moratorium. The resolution cites a zoning ordinance provision that “each proposed land use shall not create an adverse effect upon the surrounding land uses, health, safety, or general welfare of the county by overburdening the land, existing utilities or the road network.”

The resolution says that the location of confined animal feeding operations “may create the potential for adverse effect upon surrounding land uses, health, safety or general welfare of the county” by such overburdening.

Link (Madison Courier)

The article also notes that IDEM rejected noted as deficient an application from Wandering Waters, LLC (got to be the worst name for a CAFO to date) for a hog CAFO, demanding particular changes in the application before approval. There is to be a public meeting with IDEM on this CAFO in Jefferson County on December 13th.

[Correction: Jefferson County, Madison is the county seat. Thanks]

One of the most frequently violated environmental laws has to be the lead-paint disclosure rules (see Lead).  The EPA issued a press release yesterday announcing a $596 fine imposed on a couple who rented out an apartment in Wisconsin without giving out the proper disclosure to the tenant.

Basically, if the property was constructed prior to 1978, landlords and sellers of property must provide to tenants and buyers with a generic federal lead disclosure. Property owners are under no compulsion to test for lead, but if they find out about lead on the property, they are also required to disclose this information.

I have not seen federal investigators out looking for these violations. Generally enforcement comes as a result of a complaint. Issuing a press release on a $600 fine seems a bit over the top to me.

Karen has a scope on a new dairy CAFO going in up in Jasper County. There are some heavily underground activities going on up in Jasper, if Karen’s sources are right:

There is an important, and potentially dangerous precedent about to be set with this Nov. 13th hearing. You see, the location for this planned Dairy CAFO is surrounded by residential zoned land.

Check out Karen’s complete post on her Wahm Diary.

The Pal-Item announced today its new online feature, My PI where us simple common folks can contribute our own stories and photos for others to view. Hey, That sound sort of like a blog, no?

The Terms of Service make clear that you continue to own the stuff you post, but you grant the paper an unlimited license to reuse, and even profit from your stuff once you post it on their service.

I give Jason Truitt credit for implementing this idea. Hopefully, it will last longer than the now deleted and forgotten Pal-Item Forums

Richmond, like many other communities, is concerned with the growth of adult oriented businesses. i guess all development is not good development:

The Richmond Common Council on Monday night passed a new adult entertainment ordinance for the city, one that will require such businesses to pay an annual $500 fee, face planned and unplanned inspections, and be required to locate in C4 general business districts

Link. (Pal-Item)

The big challenge under the ordinance will be finding a location that is not within 1,000 feet of a residence, church, school or public park. The 2 existing adult stores would not meet the terms of the new ordinance, but they will be permitted to remain as a nonconforming use.