AlO-Lancuter Farming, Saturday, November 26, 1994
OPINION
Neighbors Across
The Urban Fence Row
We celebrated Thanksgiving day this week, and our grateful
ness continues throughout the year. When President Lincoln in
1863 proclaimed the fourth Thursday in November, he said this
day would be “henceforth a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our
beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”
On the national scene we give thanks for an election process
that does not incarcerate (or worse) those persons who lose. Only
in America can we brush off the ego, polish up the public image,
and go back on the campaign circuit again in two or four years.
Locally, we talk about the “Garden Spot” of the world. The
garden in this spot is not only com, cows, and plows, pigs, and
poultry. We also have manufacturing, tourism, houses, distribu
tion centers, and retail stores. In addition, we have churches, syn
agogues, mosques, and temples. And we have much more.
Everything and everyone together forms the composite of the
whole “spot” we enjoy.
That’s why the ag/industry banquet held in Lancaster this
week and the similar fann/city events held around the country are
so important. These events give us an opportunity to say to our
neighbors across the urban fence row: “You are important to us.
We recognize that what we do or what we are is made more sig
nificant because of what you do and who you are.”
Competition has helped many people to achieve great things.
But cooperation helps more. “United we stand; divided we fall” is
a quote from history that is still revelant today when you count
your blessings in this Thanksgiving season.
Farm Calendar
Lehigh Valley Horse Council
meeting, Whitehall Mall Com
rmjnitvßoom 1 7^0D i in^_
Summit On Risk Management In
American Ag, Omni Shoreham
Hotel, Washington, D.C., 7:43
Westmoreland County Extension
dinner meeting, Lakeview
Lounge, Gteensburg, 7 p.m.
Government Regulations Com
pliance Seminar, Berks County
Liquid Manure Application Sys
tems, Rochester Marriott Thru
way Hotel, Rochester, N.Y.,
thru Dec. 2,
Beaver County DHIA meeting,
Estate Planning Seminar, Colum
bia Inn, Columbia. Md., 9
National 4-H Youth Congress,
Orlando, Fla., thru Dec. 8.
Estate Planning Seminar, Howard
Johnson Plaza Hotel, Hager
Agronomy Ag Service School,
Brynwood Inn, Lewisburg.
Intensive Grazing For Dairy Cows
Seminar, Franklin County
extension, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Lehigh County annual meeting.
Bake Oven Inn, Germansville,
7:30 p.m.
Regional Vegetable Growers
annual meeting. Arena Restaur
ant, Bedford.
Dauphin County Ag Conservation
Easement Purchase program,
Ag and Natural Resources Cen-
Mid-Atlantic Cooperative Exten
sion Meeting (MACE), Univer
sity of Delaware, Newark, Del.
Agronomy Ag Service School,
Sinbad’s Restaurant, Wysox.
Lancaster County DHIA meeting.
Good and Plenty Restaurant,
11:30 a.m.
Berks County DHIA meeting, 4-H
Center, Leesport, 7 p.m.
Bradford-Sullivan Forest Land
owners Association directors
meeting, extension office, 7:30
Agronomy Ag Service School,
Berks county Ag Center,
Leesport
Wayne County DHIA meeting,
Bethany Church, Honesdale,
7:45 p.m.
Clinton County DHIA meeting,
Big Wrangler. Mill Hall, 11:30
a.m.
McKean County DHIA and Hols
tein Club annual meeting, First
Baptist Church, Port Allegany,
Extension Strategies For Dairy
Farms National Conference and
Trade Show, Turf Valley Hotel,
EUicott City, Md., thru Dec. 9.
Adams County DHIA annual
meeting, Fire Hall, Hamey,
Md., 7 p.m.
Agronomy Ag Service School,
Quality Inn, Carlisle.
Centre County DHIA meeting,
Logan Grange, Pleasant Gap, 7
p.m.
York County Ag Land
tion Board annual public meet
ing and application workshop,
York County Vo-Tech School
Auditorium, 7 p.m.
To Plan
Worker Training
Starting January 1, 1995 train
ing must be provided for any work
er who has the potential to come in
contact with pesticide treated
areas, and any worker who will be
applying or who will assist with
the application of pesticides.
Owners of the agricultural
establishment, their immediate
family members, and certified
applicators are the only persons
exempt from training requirement
Workers who will enter treated
areas on farms, forests, nurseries,
or greenhouses must receive work
er protection training before they
accumulate more than five days of
entry time into areas where in the
past 30 days a pesticide has been
applied or a restricted entry inter
val has been in effect. Pesticides
include herbicides, insecticides,
fungicides, etc.
Workers must be trained in the
following areas:
• Where and in what form they
may come in contact with pesti
cides or pesticide residue.
• The hazards of pesticides
resulting from exposure.
• Routes of pesticides into the
body.
• Signs and symptoms of pesti
cide poisoning.
• Emergency first aid.
• How to obtain emergency
medical care.
• Routine emergency deconta
mination procedures, including
eye flush techniques.
• Hazards of pesticide residues
on clothing.
To Train
Handlers Of
Pesticides
Those persons who are applying
or in some way assisting in the
application of pesticides must be
trained as handlers.
Handlers must be trained before
they are allowed to complete any
handling task. Training must
include;
• Hazards of pesticides.
• Routes of pesticide entry into
the body.
• Need for and appropriate
clothing.
• Prevention, recognition, and
first aid treatment of heat-related
illness.
• Safety requirements for hand-
Agronomy Ag Service School,
Lancaster Farm and Home
Center.
PennAg Nutrient Management
Seminar, Eden Resort Inn, Lan
caster, 10 a.m.-noon.
Armstrong County DHIA meet
ing^onelloM^jin^^^^
Sund.iv, IKh cnilu'i 11
ling, transporting, storing, and dis
posing of pesticides.
• General procedures for spill
cleanup.
• Environmental concerns such
as drift, runoff, and wildlife
hazards.
• Explanation of Worker Pro
tection Standards (WPS) require
ments designed to protect workers
such as notification of application
and entry restrictions.
To Develop
Your Training
Program
There are many sources of infor
mation on the Worker Protection
Standards (WPS).
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) training materials
are available free of charge or on
an on loan basis at your local
cooperative extension office.
These materials include worker
and handler training handbooks
BY SS~,« '"
m
ISQI3ILII
ON BEING TOO SMART
November 27,1994
Background Scripture:
1 Kings 11
Devotional Reading:
Proverbs 16:1-7
According to the Old Testa
ment, King Sole was one of the
great intellects of his day. Just as
his answers to tough questions
had astounded the Queen of
Sheba, his mental acumen was
legendary throughout the Middle
East.
But, when we read 1 Kings 11,
we have to wonder just how smart
Solomon really was. For one
thing, the man was insatiable in
his appetite for women: 700
wives, princesses and 300 concu
bines. How smart can anyone be
with that kind of home life? Note,
too, that although some of the
wives may have cemented diplo
matic arrangements, the real rea
son behind their sheer number
was Solomon’s lust: “Now King
Solomon loved many foreign
women...” and “Solomon clung to
these in love” (11:12) (One doesn’t
have to be a Biblical scholar to
how that “love” here is used in a
physical sense.)
Just on the grounds of common
sense which he was supposed
to possess Solomon should have
known better than to build himself
a harem. What kind of loving rela
tionships can one sustain with
multiple partners? This proclivity
on Solomon’s part was stupid, but
how can we explain that with a
man reputed to be so wise? The
answer, I think, is that if Solomon
was ever so wise, arrogance of
power eventually permitted him to
act tffth uncommon stupidity. He
probably thought assembling such
a harem was “smart,” but arro
gance led him to do what he
should have realized'was patently
unwise.
COMMON SENSE '
Beyond the grounds of com
mon sense, Solomon also should
have known better because God
had commanded that he not join
himself to foreign wives. (Of
course, I don’t believe God would
have been any more satisfied if
Solomon had taken 1,000 Israelite
wives and concubines.) What did
God have against these foreign
wives? God knew that Solomon
would try to please this multitude
and videos in both Spanish and
English.
Training must be provided in a
language the workers can under
stand. As you hire employees, con
sider developing an employee
handbook and orientation program
for employees. This orientation
program will help you document
your efforts.
Also, you may be able to secure
a reduction in your insurance pre
miums while reducing your risk to
a lawsuit There are many people
available to help you. These
include your local county agent,
insurance agent, adult farmer
instructor, chemical company rep
resentative, etc.
Take advantage of their exper
tise and develop your own employ
ee orientation and continuing edu
cation program.
Feather Prof s Footnote: "Yard
by yard, life is hard. Inch by inch,
life’s a cinch."
of wives by tolerating and even
assisting their pagan religions.
“You shall not enter into marriage
with them, neither shall they with
you, for surely they will turn
away your heart after their gods”
(11:2).
Can’t you just hear Solomon
protesting, “Don’t be silly, this
won’t happen; I’m too smart for
that.” But what God foretold
came to pass: “For when
Solomon was old his wives
turned away his heart after other
gods; and his heart was not whol
ly true to the Lord his G0d...”
(11:4). He not only tolerated the
gods of his foreign wives, but he
supported their efforts in estab
lishing the worship of Ashtoreth
of the Sidonians, Molech and
Milcom of the Ammonites, and
Chemosh of Moab.
This was no simple mistake
that he made, he made it at least
700 times. Furthermore, God had
specifically forbidden him this
course. As the writer says,"... the
Lord God was angry with
Solomon, because his heart had
turned away from the Lord, the
God of Israel, who had appeared
to him twice, and had command
ed him concerning this thing, that
tie should not go after other gods;
but he did not keep what the Lord
commanded” (11:9). Solomon
may have been very wise, but he
was much more arrogant than he
was wise. Arrogance will cancel
out wisdom every time.
God tempered the conse
quences of Solomon’s folly. He
would continue as king of Israel,
but his son would become heir,
not to all of Israel, but just one
tribe. And enemies would rise up
to threaten Solomon’s kingdom
and ruin the dynasty he had
planned.
Solomon may have begun as a
man of great wisdom, but he
ended up as a foolish man who
squandered a great kingdom for
arrogantly thinking he could
make his own rules. Unlike intel
ligence, wisdom is not a constant
in our lives; we must cultivate it
and renew it every day, lest we
become “too smart” for our own
good.
Lancaster Farming
Established 195 S
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main SL
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Sfhmtn Gntwprfat
Robert Q. Campbell General Manager
Evans a Navwwtngor Managing Editor
Copyright IH4 by Lancaatar Farming
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