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VOL. 29 No. 36
For amber waves of grain...
Right to know
will have
impact on ag
BY LAURA ENGLAND
HARRISBURG - A legislative
bill, currently awaiting action of
the Senate Labor and Industry
Committee, calls for the posting
and labeling of hazardous
chemicals in the workplace, in
cluding nonmanufacuring in
dustries such as farming.
The “Right to Know” bill is
designed to provide employees in
all occupations the right to know
what chemicals or hazardous
substances are in their workplace.
Blie bill also extends the same to
lommunity members wanting to
obtain information on chemicals in
me workplace and the community.
Termed the labeling bill of
hazardous and toxid substances,
House Bill 1236 goes one step
beyond the federal standards set
by the Occupational Safety arid
Health Administration (OSHA),
according to Ken Lee of the
research staff on labor relations.
“Federal OSHA standards
provide the same information as
this bill asks for,” Lee said, **bid if
only covers the manufacturing
sector. It doesn’t deal with the
(Turn to Page Al 7)
Vert Cp It AL S' DIVISIHN
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Four Sections
Fourth of July
vs. July 4
It’s the All-American Day.
But it’s a different kind of a day for different
people.
For the majority of Americans - more than
97 percent that are not engaged in production
farming - it’s the Fourth of July -- a holiday.
For a minority of less than three percent of
Americans who are production farmers, it's
July 4.
There's a big difference.
For the majority, it was a welcomed mid
week chance to get an extra dose of sun and
fun and a head start on this weekend.
For the minority, the sun was welcomed as
an opportunity to get caught up a bit of field
work that was delayed by the previous
weekend’s rain.
For the majority, it was a day of outdoor
leisure - at the lake, beach or backyard pool.
For the minority, it was 20 hours outdoors,
(See editorial A 10)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 7,1984
BY DICKANGLESTEIN
(Turn to Page Al 2)
Rabies moving to NE
Current center is Franklin County
BY JACK HUBLEY
HARRISBURG - A disease that
took hold in West Virginia during
the late 1970’s is continuing its
movement north and east, ac
cording to State Health Depart
ment epidemiologist Dr. Robert
Jones.
Caused by a virus, rabies is an
acute disease of the central ner
vous system that almost in
variably results in death once
symptoms appear. Though these
symptoms may result in dramatic
behavioral changes in the ad
vanced stages of the disease,
rabies is readily transmitted by
victims that often appear quite
healthy, Jones stresses.
“Dogs and cats will begin to shed
the virus three to five days before
symptoms appear,” Dr. Jones
points out, “and skunks may
transmit the disease 17 to 18 days
before they show symptoms.”
Because of the broad spectrum
of symptoms displayed by infected
animals, laboratory testing
remains the only reliable
diagnostic technique, says Dr.
John Cable, a veterinarian with the
Bureau of Animal Industry. Cable
advises that any form of abnormal
behavior exhibited by wild animals
is reason for caution.
$7.50 per Year
“We’ve seen a number of cases
where raccoons have climbed into
dog kennels, and were either killed
by the dogs or walked right in and
took over the dog bouse,” Cable
says. “Loss of fear is common.
Wild animals that aren’t normally
seen during the daylight hours
may be seen wandering aimlessly
when infected, and some animals
may try to approach or follow
humans.”
As the disease advances, Cable
states that a general weakness in
an animal’s rear quarters will lead
to dragging of the hind legs.
In its terminal stages rabies may
cause paralysis in the muscles
located in the jaws and throat
resulting in an inability to swallow.
This condition, when coupled with
hypersalivation, according to Dr.
Jones, may lead to the “foaming at
the mouth” appearance of some
rabid animals. Jones points out,
though, that the animal may
simply fade away in a stupor,
exhibiting none of the
aforementioned characteristics. In
either case, death usually results
from paralysis of the chest
muscles.
Franklin County district game
protector Ron Schmuck points out
(Turn to Page A 25)