House votes to take EPA off clean water beat
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — The Republican-controlled U.S. House passed a bill July 13 that would sharply curtail the federal government’s role in protecting waters from pollution by barring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from overruling state decisions on water quality.

The bill passed on a 239-184 vote. Sixteen Democrats joined the majority of Republicans in supporting it. The White House threatened to veto the bill, saying it “would roll back the key provisions ... that have been the underpinning of 40 years of progress in making the nation’s waters fishable, swimmable and drinkable.”

Under the Clean Water Act, states have primary responsibility for protecting waterways after the EPA signs off on their plans. But the agency can step in if it thinks water resources aren’t being adequately protected. The measure strips the EPA of that oversight authority.

Drafters of the bill said the goal was to restore cooperation between the federal government and the states, and to rein in an agency they argue is running roughshod over states’ rights for a political agenda that kills jobs and harms the economy. The bill included a provision requiring the EPA to determine the toll its actions to protect water quality would have on jobs.

Similar arguments have been used to advance a series of measures in the Republican-controlled House aimed at reining in EPA’s powers over pollution. There has not been much success in the Democratic Senate.

Deadline for 2009 SURE help is July 29
WASHINGTON, D.C. — USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds producers of the deadline rapidly approaching under the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE). The deadline to request assistance under the 2009 SURE program is July 29.

SURE requires that producers provide a complete acreage report to be eligible for disaster assistance.  This includes all crops in all counties; even pasture or hay on non-cropland. The deadline for many 2011 crop acreage reports was July 15. There are late-filed provisions when physical evidence still exists to verify the existence and disposition of the crops.

A producer interested in filing a SURE application for 2009 crops must do so before close of business July 29 at their local FSA office. SURE enrollment for 2010 crops will be announced at a later date. To learn more, visit http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov

Boy, 14, dies after farm accident in Sanilac Co.

MAPLE VALLEY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a 14-year-old boy has died following a farming accident in Sanilac County.

The Times Herald of Port Huron reported Ben Troyer was operating a feed grinder July 7 in Maple Valley Township when he got caught in a belt-and-pulley system. He was taken to two hospitals before being pronounced dead. The farm is located about 55 miles north of Detroit.

The sheriff’s department investigated and released information last week.

Harvard man dies when tractor hit by car

HARVARD, Ill. (AP) — Authorities in northern Illinois said a 66-year-old Harvard man was killed when the tractor he was driving was hit by a car trying to pass him.

McHenry County sheriff’s police said Mancel Beard was driving on Illinois Route 23 when the car hit his tractor July 12. Beard was thrown about 10 feet by the accident and died later at a hospital. Police said a 54-year-old woman was trying to pass Beard when her Ford Taurus hit the tractor. She wasn’t hurt.
The crash remains under investigation.

Iowa congressman, family safe after home invasion

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A home invasion at U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell’s (D-Iowa) farm ended when his 22-year-old grandson fetched a shotgun and aimed it at the intruder, according to a statement from his office. No one was seriously injured.

The incident started about 10:45 p.m. Saturday when an armed man came in through the front door, attacked Boswell’s daughter, Cindy Brown, and demanded money, the statement said. Boswell, 77, heard his daughter’s screams, came into the entryway and attempted to disarm the intruder.
As they struggled, Boswell’s grandson, Mitchell Brown, got a shotgun from another room. When he pointed the shotgun at the intruder, the man fled into the fields around the house outside Lamoni.

Boswell’s wife, Dody Boswell, 75, also was home during the attack. His spokesman Grant Woodard said the whole family is safe and unhurt, aside from some scrapes and bruises.

Man injured after being pinned by tractor

BARTONVILLE, Ill. (Peoria Journal Star) — A local man was in serious condition at Saint Francis Medical Center July 12 after a tractor accident.

Out on his property that afternoon with his new blue Ford, Roger Johnson took a tumble down a hill, and the machine came, too. The tractor broke in half and pinned Johnson down deep in a valley. After an hour of hollering and hoping, he caught wife Pat’s ear, and she spent the next 10 minutes following the voice.
“He was way down in there,” Pat said. “He was hard to find. Finally, when I got to him I grabbed the cell phone I always keep on me and called 911.”

Capt. Chris Matzke’s Logan Trivoli Fire Protection District got the call from dispatch at 3:12 p.m. “It took some time to get him out,” Matzke said. “He was in a difficult spot, trapped under the mower deck. We took him out in a Stokes basket. There were no obvious signs of injury.”

Jerry Wright, an old school friend of Johnson’s, lives down the road and heard his friend’s name over the police scanner. “I came down here and found Roger joking,” Wright said. “He’s a tough guy.”