AG’s office says hog farm owner is in contempt of court

EATON, Ind. (AP) — The Indiana attorney general’s office wants the owner of a hog farm with a history of manure spills to explain why he shouldn’t be found in contempt of court for allegedly violating a 2005 restraining order.

On Feb. 25, an inspection of Muncie Sow Unit LLC owned by Jacobus “John” Tielen found that manure in the farm’s 12-million-gallon lagoon was again less than two feet from overflowing. The inspection by a state environmental inspector also found a collapsing hog barn.

Valerie Tachtiris, a deputy attorney general, filed a motion last month asking Delaware Circuit Court Judge Marianne Vorhees to order Tielen to appear before her to explain why he wasn’t in contempt for violating a restraining order she issued in 2005.

A June 2005 lawsuit filed by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management accused Tielen of knowingly or intentionally failing to maintain at least two feet of freeboard in the lagoon to prevent spills, as state law requires. Criminal charges filed against Tielen in that case are still pending.

Defense attorney Todd Janzen told Vorhees in court documents that “there has been no intentional disobedience of the court’s order that could justify contempt sanctions.” Janzen also said in those documents that the farm is now “broke.

“Soon it will be empty, closed and hopefully sold to pay off its creditors,” he wrote.

Janzen said the manure lagoon still has plenty of freeboard to prevent a spill, and the level of manure is unlikely to increase because the farm is being depopulated.

IDEM spokesman Barry Sneed said the judge was monitoring the level of manure in the lagoon and the depopulation of the hog farm through telephone status conferences with the parties every week or so.

The farm in Eaton, about 40 miles northeast of Indianapolis, has a history of manure spills, including fish kills in February 1999 and July 2004 that followed manure releases that flowed into a nearby creek.

City ban on genetic crops stirs controversy elsewhere

MONTVILLE, Maine (AP) — A new ordinance in Montville that bans the cultivation of genetically modified crops has stirred up controversy well beyond the town’s borders.

A Maine group that represents the biotech industry warns that the ban approved at town meeting two weeks ago could put a damper on research and development efforts and hurt the state’s economy. Meanwhile, the state Department of Agriculture is seeking an opinion from the attorney general on the legality of the ordinance.

Critics of genetically modified crops say changes in a plant’s molecular biology may have unintended, harmful consequences. Advocates of the technology cite positive benefits such as making crops more resistant to drought or disease.

Woman who may have had rare brain disease dies

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) — Officials at a Portsmouth hospital say a woman who may have had a rare degenerative brain disorder has died.

One type of that brain disorder has been linked to eating beef from cattle infected with “Mad Cow” disease. A nursing supervisor said the 22-year-old woman, who had been unconscious at Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center, died the afternoon of April 9. The Virginia Department of Health said it was investigating the case.
One possibility for her illness was a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, known as vCJD, a rare brain disorder that has been linked to consumption of contaminated beef. State health officials say there are also other forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, known as CJD, that are unrelated to beef consumption.

Two sentenced in theft of copper from farm irrigation equipment

STANTON, Mich. (AP) — A second person who pleaded guilty to stealing copper from irrigation equipment at a western Michigan farm has been sentenced.

Tonya Shirley Dow, 32, of Cedar Springs, was sentenced April 10 to two years’ probation and ordered to pay at least $1,000 in restitution. The Daily News of Greenville says she already has served 61 days in the Montcalm County Jail.

“My client realizes that this is an opportunity to redeem herself from all this,” Dow’s attorney, Thomas Wilson, told Circuit Judge Charles Miel.

Allen L. Harding, 56, of Stanton, pleaded guilty to the same charge earlier this year. He was sentenced to 16 months to five years in prison. Karl P. Gasper, 48, of Edmore, pleaded not guilty and faces trial June 17.

Kansas slaughterhouse recalls 406,000 pounds of cattle heads

HARPER, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas slaughterhouse has voluntarily recalled more than 200 tons of frozen cattle heads because tonsil parts were not completely removed.

The USDA said April 7 a processor reported that some of the product from Elkhorn Valley Packing in Harper had incomplete removal of the tonsils. Removal of tonsils from all ages of cattle is required because of the risk of “Mad Cow” disease. Brain and eye also are a risk material if the animal is older than 30 months, but Elkhorn owner Mike Grant said the animals in question were younger.

Cattle heads are sold primarily for parts used to make menudo, a traditional Mexican dish. Grant noted the weight of heads recalled – 406,000 pounds – is somewhat misleading because that is the amount sold since January 2006.

Accidents at disease lab acknowledged by government

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — The only U.S. facility allowed to research the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) experienced several accidents with the feared virus, the Bush administration acknowledged last week.

A 1978 release of the virus into cattle holding pens on Plum Island, N.Y., triggered new safety procedures. While that incident was previously known, the Homeland Security Department told a House committee there were other accidents inside the government’s laboratory.

The accidents are significant because the administration is likely to move FMD research from the remote island to one of five sites on the mainland near livestock herds. This has raised concerns about the risks of a catastrophic outbreak of the disease, which does not sicken humans but can devastate the livestock industry.