Kathryn Petry got a letter posted in today’s Pal-Item:

I received information from an AG liaison of IDEM that there are permits for 44 CAFOs, 228,000 hogs, 100,000 chickens and a dairy wanting to expand in Randolph County and at least three more hog CAFOs are pending. If this county is going to be suitable for anyone to live here, regulations must be made and enforced for the survival of the CAFOs and residents of the county. Families will not consider moving to this county when they are going to be next to a CAFO. What will happen to our schools, towns when we have more hogs than people?

Link.

As did Randolph County resident Rachel Carpenter:

I commend the Randolph County Commissioners for passing a moratorium on new CAFOs until community concerns can be addressed. I have heard many people who have initially been in favor of CAFO expansion say that they think we have enough for now. It’s time to wait and see how things go.

Maxwell Foods, the North Carolina company bringing 78,000 new pigs to Randolph County, has said over and over that they want to be good neighbors. Now they are suing the commissioners for expressing the concerns of the community. Is that being a good neighbor?

Link.

More CAFO action in Carroll County, Indiana:

Pasman’s Pleasant Dairy owned by Erik, 45, and Heidi, 47, Pasman, will join two operations in various stages of development - Optima Dairy near the Carroll-Cass County line in the northeast, and Boerman-Carroll Dairy near Cutler in the south.
Like the Boerman operation, Pasman’s owners come from Holland and chose Carroll County following several visits to the Midwest.

Link. (Herald Journal).

I loved the comments from the dairyman as to why he chose Indiana:

Pasman said Holland is such a small country - about a quarter the size of Indiana - that space is extremely limited. Space limits plus a government initiative to build tourism in Holland, were added incentives to relocate.

So, Holland wants to make itself attractive to tourist by keeping livestock operations in check (Pasman currently has 150 head of cattle in Holland): What does that say for Indiana? That we don’t care about our image, I guess. This dairy will be located on Pleasant Run creek which feeds into the “Mighty” Wabash, but with 2 pig farms already spreading manure in the neighborhood, maybe the cows will not be noticeable.

Senate Bill 200 cleared the Indiana House yesterday, and is headed to the Senate with the amendments - including Rep. Dvorak’s “good character” etc. amendments.

Alexander maintains innocence is the title of the follow-up piece in the Star Press on Michael Alexander’s arrest:

“I did not conspire to bribe any witness and I never conspired to bribe a witness in my entire career, ” said Alexander, who has practiced law for 33 years. “There is no reason why a defense attorney ever would.”

The article has additional background on Alexander’s investigator, Jeff Hinds, who was subject to an investigation in relation to a guy who was killed outside of Alexander’s law office in 2000:

Henry County Prosecutor Kit Crane - appointed special prosecutor in that case last June - eventually concluded “that Jeff Hinds was justified in using reasonable force against Scott Bartlett to protect himself from what Jeff Hinds reasonably believed to be the imminent use of unlawful force.” Police raided Hinds’ Hamilton Township home in February 2005 and said they seized approximately a half pound of marijuana, several vials of steroids, $10-$15,000 in cash and several guns. Charges stemming from the raid were ultimately dismissed after a judge ruled the raid had been improperly conducted.

Story sort of reads like a Nero Wolf novel gone wrong. . . .

As I discussed Tuesday, the EPA is ditching plans to regulate CAFO air emissions (Washington Post story). This disclosure comes on the same week that the PEW Commission is set to conduct a congressional briefing on the issue of the impact on public health of confined feeding operations. This report has the Ag industry nervous - they have already started criticizing it, even though the report has net been issued yet.

The briefing will be done tomorrow in DC at 10:am in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 406. IT will be conducted by John Carlin, Chairman, Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, Executive-In-Residence, Kansas State Univ., former Archivist of the United States (1995-2005), former Governor of Kansas (1979-1987) and Bill Niman, cattle rancher, and founder of Niman Ranch.

Former Delaware County Prosecuting attorney, Michael J. Alexander, who now apparently does criminal law, was arrested yesterday at his office by county and federal agents. He is accused of witness tampering, bribery and/or conspiracy for these offenses - The Star Press says he was charged with bribery as a class C felony (Ex-county prosecutor, private investigator charged in bribery probe). Delaware County shows that James D. Luttrull, acting as a special prosecutor, filed for an arrest warrant on Tuesday. The case is pending in Delaware Circuit Court III before judge Robert L. Barnet.

The account of the crime in the Star Press is a little to circuitous for me the follow, but at heart, Alexander is accused of employing a private investigator to act as a go between to funnel payments to a witness in one of his client’s case. I say the story is not clear in that is start out saying that Alexander’s client (Bryant) was paying a guy, Stanley Chrisp and his 2 sons $20,000 to change their testimony-which had been against Bryant, but the story ends with Chrisp recording a conference with Alexander in which Alexander is request for an accounting of his $50,000 (!) fee, at which point Alexander allegedly agrees to refund $5,000. I just can’t see how it was that Chrisp paid $50K when he was getting bought off for part of $20k, but I am probably missing something.

Apparently some discussions happened between the PI working for Alexander, without direct involvement of Alexander - sounds like a lot of folks with felony convictions and/or pending charges making accusations of payoffs against an attorney - Should be interesting to watch.

What I found interesting about this case is that this Michael J. Alexander is the same attorney who made an appearance in the Indiana Supreme Court case Outback Steakhouse vs. Markley (PDF -856 N.E.2d 65 (IND. 2007)). This is another case involving funny business with a witness: A waitress at Outback was interviewed by Alexander and his investigator, but never disclosed to the other side. This later caused the verdict to come undone:

The alleged injured parties were hit by a person served alcohol at the restaurant. Their counsel did not reveal that the restaurant’s waitress said she served the person alcohol when intoxicated. She then deposed that he was not intoxicated, after which she testified, at trial, he was intoxicated. The supreme court held not identifying her in response to the restaurant’s interrogatory as one with knowledge of relevant facts breached discovery duties, whether or not counsel intended to call her, and, with a closing argument that the restaurant did not keep its promise that the waitress would say the person was not intoxicated, was misconduct allowing relief from judgment, as the restaurant’s defense was prejudiced.

(Lexis case summary).

Rep. Dvorak’s amendment to Senate Bill 200 passed yesterday on a narrow, party-line, vote:

Amendment 2 (Dvorak), prevailed; Roll Call 235: Yeas 49, Nays 47

Well, it looks like the EPA is ready to look the other way on that whole nasty air business when it comes to CAFO’s:

Under pressure from agriculture industry lobbyists and lawmakers from agricultural states, the Environmental Protection Agency wants to drop requirements that factory farms report their emissions of toxic gases, despite findings by the agency’s scientists that the gases pose a health threat.The EPA acknowledges that the emissions can pose a threat to people living and working nearby, but it says local emergency responders don’t use the reports, making them unnecessary. But local air-quality agencies, environmental groups and lawmakers who oppose the rule change say the reports are one of the few tools rural communities have for holding large livestock operations accountable for the pollution they produce.

Washington Post

Locally, it is being reported that State Rep Ryan Dvorak has offered an amendment to Senate Bill 200 which would put a good conduct requirement into CAFO approvals, meaning that, prior enforcement actions against an applicant could be taken into account- something not permissible now. The proposed amendments are extensive. You can review them here.

Update: Rep Dvorak was kind enough to point out that his amendment includes the requirement that the applicant provide financial assurance and further, that the operator obtain approval from the county.

Maxwell vs Randolph County Update:

Farmers Aaron Chalfant, Gary Foulke and Greg Sickels all raise pigs for Maxwell Foods, and last month they filed improvement location permits a week after the board of commissioners approved a moratorium. The moratorium blocks all CAFO and confined feeding operation (CFO) expansions. As a result, their permits were denied.Chalfant, Foulke and Sickels are entitled to hearings with the board of zoning appeals because their permits were denied, and those hearings are scheduled to be heard tonight in the 7 p.m. meeting.

Dan McInerny, one of the Indianapolis attorneys representing Maxwell Foods, said, “We do plan on asking for a continuance.”

Star Press.

Update: The continuance was granted until April 21st (link).

The Indiana Court of Appeals issued a decision today on Indiana’s Grandparent Visitation Statute (IC 31-17-5-1, etc). It is an interesting decision that pits the whole “grandparent’s rights” issue against a parent’s constitutional right to determine things for their kids.

The decision is Christi J. Hoeing vs. Jean I. Williams, and it involves a paternity case where the dad takes off. Dad’s mom picks up where dad left off and starts having routine access under the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines, including time over Christmas and the child’s birthday.

Trouble hits when mom reverts to her original religion and rejoins the Jehovah’s Witnesses. As such, she does not want her daughter exposed to the celebration of Christmas or her birthday. The trial court says that, yes mom’s got custody, and therefore the right to determine the child’s religious upbringing, but this should not permit the custodial parent from cutting down on the access under the Parenting Time Guidelines.

Court of Appeals says, nope: mom’s right to determine the child’s religious upbringing trump’s grandma’s Christmas time access.

Attorney for Randolph County, John Tanner, is not commenting on the lawsuit filed by Maxwell, Inc. against the county. The county has yet to formally answer the lawsuit, and Tanner cited the pending litigation as the reason he could not further elaborate on the issue of the legality of the county’s CAFO moratorium.

House Bill 1276 has cleared the Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee and it on its way to the full senate (it’s already cleared the house). This is the so-called “Tarra’s bill,” which I have previously commented on here.

An aside, I always get a kick out of strange sentencing provisions, like when judges sentence defendants to to put a sign in their yard, or hang a picture up of someone they have hurt. In Valparaiso, Porter County Superior judge David Chidester ordered a woman to keep the remains of her totaled vehicle in her front yard during her 3 years of probation for OWI - She hit another driver and tested .317. link (Indy Star).

The good milk update: Masson’s Blog has coverage of Senate Bill 219 :

It requires state and local government to provide for reasonable paid breaks for an employee to express breast milk for the employee’s infant child; to make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location in close proximity to the work area where the employee can express the employee’s breast milk in privacy; and to make reasonable efforts to provide for a refrigerator or other cold storage for keeping breast milk that has been expressed.

Breast Milk: Not Just for Breakfast Anymore

The “bad” milk? Remember I told you about House Bill 1300, a bill that would have barred companies from advertising their milk products as hormone free (here and here). Well, the supporters of this measure (who makes these hormones?, I wonder) have started in on Senate Bill 123. This bill now provides that the Indiana state board of animal health review, study and make recommendations about the claims made about milk and milk products marketed to the general public. The report would be due to the legislative counsel by November 15, 2008.

For background on this issue, I’ll point you to this video that tells the tale of how a story on hormones in milk for killed off Fox news when a manufacturer allegedly got upset: FOX News Whistle blowers.

This one is sort of obvious. Humane Society runs an undercover camera into a slaughterhouse and captures a video allegedly showing cows being abused. What is surprising is that the stolen video resulted in the local prosecutor charging a manager with felony animal cruelty, and now, how prompted the USDA to issue the biggest meat recall on record:

“We don’t know how much product is out there right now. We don’t think there is a health hazard, but we do have to take this action,” said Dr. Dick Raymond, USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety.Federal officials suspended operations at Westland/Hallmark after an undercover video from the Humane Society of the United States surfaced showing crippled and sick animals being shoved with forklifts.

Two former employees were charged Friday. Five felony counts of animal cruelty and three misdemeanors were filed against a pen manager. Three misdemeanor counts — illegal movement of a non-ambulatory animal — were filed against an employee who worked under that manager. Both were fired.

AP Article.

So, let’s see what this is all about, watch the video on You Tube

Tim Evans has a lengthy article up on the Indy Star today on the calls for Indiana to adopt some type of independent complaint process for child in need of services cases following the deaths of children under DCS supervision: Deaths of kids raise oversight questions.

The idea floated in the article is for the DCS to have an ombudsman, a position used in 33 other states to look in to circumstances leading to a child’s death in cases involving the child welfare system. The article highlights criticism of Indiana’s DCS from the relatives of TaJanay Bailey, who recently died and also the DCS accountability watch-group, Honk for Kids.

We’ve been over these grounds before: The Powers of the State. You can see a healthy debate on the issue of DCS accountability in Indiana over here: Forums to target state agency complaints - Topix.

Well, rural Randolph County resident Allen Hutchison wants to know why several dozen starlings rained down on his property. It appears they were poisoned, and the question becomes who and how:

Starlings are a nuisance to feedlots. They not only consume the feed but contaminate the feed and water with bird droppings that can spread disease, Loven said. Before using the pesticide in a certain area, USDA notifies local health departments, extension offices and the state department of natural resources in case they are called by concerned citizens like Hutchison, Loven said. “That sounds like an awful lot of dead birds,” said Tim Dale of Critter Control of Muncie, who suspected the birds were killed by large farms using Avitrol in Hutchison’s neighborhood. “Avitrol is not meant to kill off a lot of birds; it’s meant to scare birds away.”

link in today’s Pal-Item. Also see coverage in the Muncie Star Press: Dead birds pile up in Randolph County

As I mentioned on Sunday (over here), Randolph County was sued by Maxwell Foods last week. The suit was an action for a declaratory judgment, seeking to invalidate the county commissioners’ CAFO moratorium. Yesterday, the sitting judge of the Randolph County Circuit court recused himself and the clerk appointed John M. Feick, the judge of the Delaware Circuit Court, as special judge in the case.

Three Randolph County farmers who were turned down for building permits under Randolph County’s CAFO moratorium have sued the county, along with North Carolina super hogs producer, Maxwell Foods.

There is a piece in today’s Pal-Item by Gannett wire writer Joy Leiker: County Sued Over CAFO.

The suit was brought Wednesday in Randolph County Circuit Court and is against the County Commissioners: 68C01-0802-PL-006. Maxwell is represented by Daniel McInerny of Bose, McKinney.

The suit seeks to have the moratorium  invalidated as an improperly enacted zoning ordinance. The assertion is that, as the ban impacts land use, it must go through the same process as any other zoning ordinance, which would include being passed by the local planning commission before adoption by the county commissioners.

The article also notes concerns expressed about the fact that Aaron Chalfant is the son of county commissioner Ron, claiming that this is a conflict of interest for the father to be making decisions on CAFO zoning issues when his son’s in the business (actually, Aaron’s farm started out in the father’s name). I do not see a conflict under Indiana’s zoning code.

Keeping the price of pot in Pittsburgh nice and high:

Police recovered almost 15 pounds of marijuana Tuesday afternoon that they said had a street value of $37,500 after stopping a Pennsylvania man for what they said was unsafe lane movement. A vehicle driven by Shawn Wormack, 34, of New Salem, Pa., was stopped on Interstate 70 near the Centerville rest area, said Scott Owens of the Richmond Police Department.

Police make I-70 drug bust (Pal-Item)

Bob Oliver, the attorney representing Randolph County’s area planning commission claims the county commissioners violated the law in imposing a moratorium on CAFO’s:

In a letter between attorneys, Oliver asked John Tanner, who represents the board of commissioners, “[by] what authority the commissioners implemented a moratorium as we find no indication that it was passed as an ordinance.”

Link

Tanner declined to address the issue in the commissioner’s meeting on Monday, but told reporter Joy Leiker that the fact that the ban was not enacted as part of an ordinance might be an issue. Oliver claims there is legal authority holding that moratoriums related to land use are zoning issues and not proper issues to be addressed by the county commissioners.

The stakes might be getting higher: 3 CAFO applicants have been denied under the ban.

Last week, I talked about House Bill 1300, a bill that would have barred companies from advertising their milk products as hormone free. (See Sour Milk?).

Well, that bill was withdrawn in large part due to the groundswell response that reached the sponsors of the bill. Spearheading this effort was Planet Green’s “green lifestyle expert,” Indianapolis resident Sara Snow.

Mrs. Snow tells her story in a column up on Tree Hugger, today:

A similar labeling ban was presented in the House in Indiana as HB 1300 late last month and passed uncontested. As it headed for the Senate floor, we rallied. Emails flew. Letters were sent to state representatives. I spoke with advocates and farmers and they spoke with other consumer groups. I even got an email from a representative of the governor because he heard of my distaste for the bill and offered his help. If it came down to it, I was prepared to take a cow onto Monument Circle as a form of protest. I just hoped I wouldn’t be there alone.

In the end, the cows stayed home, because the bill was withdrawn by its sponsor “due to the overwhelming consumer opposition.” In fact, every single member of the House and Senate in Indiana heard from constituents who opposed the labeling bill. Victory.