In the News from freshare.net

Governor Beebe Appoints Mahony to Commission

2009-07-06T10:24:00-06:00

Governor Mike Beebe has named Emon Mahony of El Dorado as the newest commissioner of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Mahony was named to the Commission in a short ceremony held today at the AGFC’s Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center in Little Rock. “Emon is a true conservationist, the result of being a lifetime outdoor…

Ham on the Lam Becomes Pool Hog

2009-07-03T18:07:00-06:00

An 800-pound fugitive hog that scurried to freedom last week after its ride to the sausage factory wrecked found a way to beat the heat Monday by taking a dip in LeAnn Baldy’s pool. Read the Arkansas Gazette article.

AGandF Plans Drawdown for Harris Brake Lake

2009-07-03T13:06:00-06:00

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will begin a drawdown of Harris Brake Lake on Aug. 1. To keep adjacent landowners informed, the AGFC will be holding a public meeting to discuss management actions and answer questions concerning the drawdown. The meeting will be held July 9 at 6 p.m. in the Perryville High School cafeteria. The lake…

Dog Escapes Coyotes by Catching a Bus

2009-07-01T13:42:00-06:00

A Calgary, Ontario Transit driver was alarmed when she saw a couple of coyotes picking on a puppy along her route. The two coyotes had the little dog pinned under a pickup truck. That’s when driver Dawn Hagel decided to take action. She stopped the bus and opened the door to let the scared puppy board her bus. …

Oklahoma Hosts National Agroterrorism Conference

2009-06-30T22:30:00-06:00

It is not uncommon to hear about emergency preparedness planning for threats to human and animal health caused by disease, natural disaster or deliberate attacks of terrorism. But it is uncommon to hear about such preparedness being developed in case of attacks against agricultural crops, rangeland and forests. One of the leaders in that area has been the…

New Name for an Old Pond

2009-06-29T15:04:01-06:00

The English language just recorded its millionth word. If multiple definitions of the same word were noted, someone would still be counting! Certain name changes, such as those now used for “pond,” are well placed intentions to modernize a subject. In farming circles, the terms “water impoundment,” “catch basin” or “rain garden” may result in a look of…

Chicken on the Grill and Smoke in the Air

2009-06-29T15:02:00-06:00

The smell of barbecuing chicken filled the air as a dozen 4-H’ers participated in the state 4-H Broiler Barbecue Contest at the Arkansas Poultry Festival recently at Bentonville. When the smoke cleared, Rebecca S. of Cave Springs was declared the new state senior champion. The junior winner was Rachel S. of Cross County. The winners each…

MO Teams Take Top Honors at Grassland Contest

2009-06-26T13:53:01-06:00

The Columbia FFA team and the Boone County 4-H team took top honors at the 10th Annual Mid-America Grassland Evaluation Contest held in Springfield June 9-10. Twenty-four teams with 96 students from throughout Missouri, West Virginia, Arkansas and Ohio participated in the national competition. The contest was the final level after the students qualified in district and then state competitions.…

Cows That Burp Less

2009-06-24T15:35:00-06:00

Cattle have long been pointed to as large producers of methane gas and most of their productivity comes from belching. Now, scientists at the University of Alberta in Edmonton are looking at the animal’s genetic code to see if they can alter it to breed a more burpless cow. Stephen Moore, professor of agricultural, food and nutritional science…

Weather Forecasts of Great Value to Americans

2009-06-24T11:31:00-06:00

Close to nine out of 10 adult Americans obtain weather forecasts an average of more than three times each day, a new nationwide survey by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., has found. The value Americans place on forecasts appears to be far more than the nation spends on public and private…

Two Arkansas Women to Compete in Air Race

2009-06-22T22:02:00-06:00

Arkansas will be represented at the 2009 Air Race Classic from tomorrow through Friday. The air race features all women pilots and is the only all female transcontinental air race in the world. Laura Berry of Harrison along with Camelia Smith of Hindsville will be competing in the race. Berry directs the Institutional Research and Assessment department at…

Satellites Guide Relief to Earthquake Victims

2009-06-22T21:30:00-06:00

On Thursday, May 28th, at 2:24 a.m. local time, a deadly earthquake rocked Honduras, killing seven people and injuring several others, demolishing homes, damaging scores of other buildings, and sending terrified residents running through the streets. “I woke up immediately, and all I could do was hug my youngest son and pray,” says Dalia Martinez of San Pedro…

Beating Radar: Getting a Jump on Storm Prediction

2009-06-22T18:46:00-06:00

Satellite observation of cloud temperatures may be able to accurately predict severe thunderstorms up to 45 minutes earlier than relying on traditional radar alone, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center. Scientists from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) have developed a way to measure temperature changes in the tops of…

Gorilla with Knife

2009-06-18T23:43:00-06:00

A gorilla at the Calgary Zoo picked up a knife that had been dropped by a keeper, pointed it at a second gorilla then placed the knife on a chair inside the exhibit so that zoo officials could remove it. About 20 or so visitors were startled to watch the creature pick up the knife and some said…

Tom Tidwell Named to Head Up Forest Service

2009-06-18T23:32:00-06:00

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has named Tom Tidwell, a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Forest Service, to head up that organization. Tidwell currently oversees the Northern Region of the Forest Service which includes 25 million acres of forest land in Montana, northern Idaho, the Dakota grasslands and northeastern Washington. This is the third consecutive time a…

Seventy-Six-Pound Flathead Sets New Oklahoma Record

2009-06-18T23:16:00-06:00

When Tommy Couch of Howe was reeling in his 76-lb. state record flathead catfish from the Poteau River June 13, he just knew it was going to be a carp. “He stayed right along the bank and right along the bottom,” Couch said, similar to carp he has landed in the past. “When his tail finally…

Heat in Parked Cars Can Be Deadly for Children

2009-06-17T20:38:00-06:00

Oklahomans are beginning to feel the heat of the summer. With temperatures indicating that summer has arrived, it is important to remember to never leave children in a parked car. Although it can be tempting for parents and other caregivers to leave young children in a car while they run into the store for a quick errand, it…

Missouri Stream Team Turns 20

2009-06-15T10:45:00-06:00

Missouri Stream Team turns 20 this month, and if you happen to be out on a Missouri stream the weekend of June 13 and 14, you are likely to see evidence of the trailblazing organization in action. The Show-Me State’s citizen-led stream conservation movement traces its roots much farther back than two decades. However, Missouri Stream Team – a joint…

Homemade Drought Helps Researchers

2009-06-12T10:20:00-06:00

Droughts have a devastating effect on farms. In Missouri and most of the world, droughts are the leading cause of crop failure. They increase consumer costs, kill livestock, reduce crop yields, and trigger wildfires and dust storms. They also can cause malnutrition and famine, social unrest and political instability. Researchers in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture,…

Gator on the Loose

2009-06-11T21:40:00-06:00

An alligator, reported missing since last Thursday, is apparently still at-large in Morgan County, Missouri and may have ended up in Lake of the Ozarks. It appears that the gator was stolen from a private residence where its owners had kept it as a pet, legally. The alligator is four to five feet long and, so…

It Keeps on Ticking

2009-06-11T21:39:01-06:00

A fisherman in Hawaii waded into the water with a bamboo stick used to strike fish until they can be taken. He spotted a fish called a nenue that seemed to be swimming strangely, gave the fish a few taps with his stick and it went limp. The fisherman, Curt Carish, hauled in his catch and tossed it…

87 Pound Catfish Caught on 4-Pound Test Line

2009-06-11T21:17:00-06:00

Adam Hinkle, a bass fisherman in California, got something more than he bargained for when he went after his favorite quarry with 4-pound test line. He caught and landed an 87 pound blue catfish. Hinkle said he was working a Scrounger jig in the Lower Otay Reservoir when he felt a jolt in his line. Soon, his reel…

Working Up Through the Ranks

2009-06-11T21:01:00-06:00

I suppose that summer jobs for kids follow similar patterns, whether in town or country. Back home in cotton country, jobs that resulted in income might begin with odd tasks like picking strawberries, moving geese or fencing, but invariably ended with chopping cotton and weeding soybean fields. It was as essential then, as now, for kids to have…

Missouri Department of Conservation Wins Top COPS Award

2009-06-10T19:00:00-06:00

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) recently became the first law enforcement agency in the country to receive the national Concerns of Police Survivors’ (COPS) 2009 Distinguished Service Award. As the COPS’ highest recognition, the annual award is presented to an active, retired or deceased law enforcement officer/official or organization for services beyond the call of duty when addressing police-survivor…

Shredded Tires on Play Surfaces Could Be Toxic

2009-06-08T14:58:00-06:00

The Obamas have installed it as a surface for their children to play on at the White House, and it is used on playgrounds and playing fields across the nation, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is rethinking its endorsement of shredded tires as cushioning material to reduce injuries from falls. According to EPA documents released today by…

More Than Just the Tailpipe

2009-06-08T14:35:00-06:00

Trains, planes, buses and automobiles do not only effect the environment via their exhaust pipes. There is a full life-cycle of processes associated with getting from a to b that we rarely acknowledge. Published today in IOP Publishing’s Environmental Research Letters, Monday, June 8, 2009, researchers from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of…

Sweet Fuel

2009-06-05T10:50:00-06:00

During World War II, when sugar was rationed, bootleggers used the juice of sweet sorghum to make moonshine. Now researchers at the University of Missouri Delta Research Center are studying ways to boost the plant’s potential to brew not booze, but biofuel. The corn-like grass, which can grow to 12 feet, shows promise as a source of ethanol,…

Can a Dog Bowl Start a Fire?

2009-06-04T19:12:00-06:00

Turns out, blaming a fire on a dog water bowl isn’t as goofy as it sounds. A Bellevue [Washington] Fire Department investigator said earlier this week that he suspects a house fire started when a partially filled glass bowl, resting in a wire stand on the home’s deck, concentrated the sun’s rays like a magnifying glass. …

Michigan Cemetery Squirrels Love Old Glory

2009-06-04T19:08:01-06:00

If he didn’t see it happen, Ron Ceglarek said he probably wouldn’t believe it. A squirrel—weighing about 3 pounds—got up on its hind legs, tore a small American flag from a small staff next to a grave stone, rolled it up and carried it up a tree to a waiting mate building a nest.

Inventory Household Possessions in the Event of a Disaster

2009-06-04T19:02:00-06:00

Powerful acts of nature have been capturing news headlines around the state. Many Oklahoma residents have experienced powerful tornadoes, wildfires and flooding over the last few months. If you have yet to do so, now is a good time to take careful inventory of your possessions. You may have some valuables that need to be professionally appraised, said…

New CD Highlights Arkansas Stories in Song

2009-06-03T16:02:00-06:00

Singer-songwriter Jim Hightower writes and records songs about Arkansas. He has just finished a new recording, More Arkansas Stories in Song, set to be available in Arkansas State Park gift shops by mid June. “I like to think of my music as old time, down home, real life stories of real people,” said Hightower. This is…

The Art of Chicken House Democracy

2009-06-01T20:34:00-06:00

Dad’s last instructions of the morning were, “You boys clean out the chicken house, and then help your mother get the garden fertilized.” Sounds simple enough, but that occasion back in the late 1950s was my first opportunity to experience the corporate decision-making process. Older brothers were often nice to have around, but in times like this, little…

The Conservation Fund Launches National Summit On Infrastructure and the Environment

2009-06-01T20:30:00-06:00

The Conservation Fund is hosting an innovative event to help national leaders rebuild the American economy through infrastructure projects that also benefit our environment. The National Summit on Infrastructure and the Environment: Seeking Better Outcomes Through Better Process, to be held this fall, will bring together a powerful alliance of leaders in the energy, transportation and water sectors who seek…

Artificial Sweeteners Remain in Groundwater

2009-05-25T10:55:00-06:00

Scientists may have found a sweet way to track pollutants entering water sources. Groundwater contamination is becoming an increasingly significant environmental problem throughout the world. Pollutants can come from such diverse sources as chemical and fertilizer runoff, industrial waste, vehicle fluids and household items. Researchers studying water pollution have sought a marker that could help them better identify…

Invasive Algae Found in Lower Mountain Fork River

2009-05-25T10:29:00-06:00

The recent discovery of an invasive alga in a southeast Oklahoma river serves to remind anglers of their role in helping prevent the spread of aquatic nuisance species. Biologists with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and the University of Oklahoma recently confirmed the presence of Didymosphenia geminata, also known by anglers as “Didymo” or “rock…