Ridge Administration Observes
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Agriculture Secretary
Samuel E. Hayes Jr. recently
joined representatives of state
and community-based food
assistance agencies to observe
World Food Day at the Capitol.
“Today we pledge our contin
ued efforts to ensure that all
Pennsylvanians have access to
food,” Hayes said. “We urge all
Pennsylvanians to help elimi
nate hunger and malnutrition.”
This year’s theme is “A New
Century Without Hunger.”
Hayes noted that Pennsylva
nia is a national leader in pro
viding emergency food
assistance to needy Pennsylva
nians. In 2000-2001, the Agri
culture Department provided
$l6 million in cash grants to
counties to purchase and distrib
ute food through the State Food
Purchase Program.
Hayes recognized individuals
from food-assistance agencies
across Pennsylvania who have
volunteered their time to work
in food banks, soup kitchens,
and other programs to help
those in need. They include:
• Adams County: George and
Dottie Colman, Gettysburg
Food Pantry, Gettysburg.
• Allegheny County: William
G. Nichols, Whitehall Church of
Christ Food Pantry, Pittsburgh.
• Berks County: Betty Quire,
Greater Berks Food Bank,
Reading.
USDA To Change Absentee Ballot Procedures
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Kathleen Merrigan, administra
tor of USDA’s Agricultural
Marketing Service, recently an
nounced that USDA will amend
the final rule on the conduct of
the pork checkoff program re
ferendum.
An interim final rule will clar
ify requirements for counting
absentee ballots and establish an
additional five business days for
challenging absentee votes.
In-person voting took place
Sept. 19-21 at Farm Service
Agency (FSA) county offices.
Absentee voting was conducted
Aug. 18-Sept. 21. “These
changes will ensure that every
body has an equal opportunity
to challenge absentee voters and
that all eligible absentee votes
will be counted,” said Merrigan.
The final rule required absen
tee ballots to be received by FSA
county offices before a produc
er’s vote could be challenged.
Helicopters To Land On Ohio Herdland
BARNESVILLE, Ohio
Helicopters will be spotted from
different points in southeastern
Ohio headed toward Dickinson
Cattle Company north of
Barnesville in Belmont County.
Helicopters will land in the
area of Texas Longhorn cattle
herds on the Dickinson prop
erty. This will not be a medical
emergency, a drug search, live
stock mutilation or unidentified
flying objects from another
planet, even though numerous
landings will be during late
night hours.
The West Virginia Army Na
tional Guard Company C 2nd
Bn 104th Aviation, under the di
rection of Harold F. Nicely
(CW4), will be training aviators
primarily to provide transport of
men, supplies, and reconnais
sance to the 28th Infantry Divi
sion Mechanized. The unit is
made up of 36 aviators with 17
aircraft, 11 UH-1 Huey utility,
and 6 OH-58 scout reconnais-
• Blair County: Frank
Thompson, The Salvation
Army, Altoona.
• Bucks County: Martha
Miller, No Longer Bound, Bris
tol.
• Butler County; Cindy
Gilch, The Lighthouse Founda
tion, Butler.
• Carbon County: Isabel Zic
kler, Shepherd House, Lehigh
ton.
• Chester County: Elmer
Duckinfield, The Gleaning Pro
gram of Chester County, West
Chester; and Patricia Sobecki,
The Lord’s Pantry, Downing
town.
• Elk County: Lenora T.
Hepner, Christian Food Bank,
St. Marys.
Hayes also presented awards
to student winners of a state
wide poster contest who submit
ted posters under the theme “A
New Century Without Hunger.”
The first-place winner in the
elementary-school category was
Luke Fetkovich, a sixth-grader
at Greensburg Salem Middle
School in Greensburg, West
moreland County. Kristi
McManus, a seventh-grader at
Greensburg Middle School,
Greensburg, Westmoreland
County, was named as the
winner in the junior high-school
division. The high-school divi
sion winner was Marisa Her
manovich, a senior at
Stroudsburg High School,
Persons voting by absentee
ballot were required to print
their name and address on the
outside of the mailing envelope
so that FSA county offices could
check whether the absentee
ballot had been returned.
Because of incorrect comple
tion or missing names and ad
dresses on some envelopes, FSA
county offices were not able to
determine the name of the
person returning the absentee
ballot. The office was then
unable to post a complete list of
absentee voters for public review
and challenging.
As a result, AMS is amending
the final referendum rule to
clarify that if a producer failed
to print his or her name and ad
dress correctly on the official
“Pork Referendum” envelope
(LS-73-1), it will not automati
cally invalidate the ballot. The
amendment will allow for an ad
sance helicopters.
National Guard Aviators
must train to the same stand
ards as active duty counterparts
and-conduct 96 flight hours of
training annually per crew. This
involves flight with low level ter
rain of Pinnacle and Ridgeline
operations. The reclaim land at
Dickinson Cattle Company is
perfect for this training. Flights
will be conducted during both
day and night and include the
use of night vision goggles,
which is the most demanding
mode of flight training. Opera
tions will originate at the Ohio
County Airport.
Test landings and flyovers
have been conducted during
September to evaluate livestock
reactions. Helicopter close prox
imity lands are not a normal
protocol for cow herds. Chief
Nicely and Aviator Lt. Matt
Hasslock found the Texas
Longhorn cattle at Dickinson
Cattle Company to be quite cu-
Stroudsburg, Monroe County.
First-place winners each
receive a $lOO U.S. Savings
Bond donated by the Pennsylva
nia Food Merchants Association
for their efforts.
Hayes also presented honora
ble mention awards to the fol
lowing students:
Grade School
Honorable Mention
• Nick Ciccone, St, Mary’s
Visitation School, Grade 6,
Dickson City, Lackawanna
County.
• Kendra Srebro, St. Mary’s
Visitation School, Grade 6,
Dickson City, Lackawanna
County.
• Amanda Krawczyk, St.
Mary’s Visitation School, Grade
6, Dickson City, Lackawanna
County.
• Eliza Hall, Montgomery El
ementary School, Grade 4,
Lycoming County.
Junior High School
Honorable Mention
• Miranda Miller, Keith Jr.
High School, Grade 9, Altoona,
Blair County.
• Josh Tezak, Prince of Peace
School, Grade 8, Steelton, Dau
phin County.
• Jennifer Scott, Apollo-
Ridge Middle School, Grade 7,
Spring Church, Armstrong
County.
• Brittany Sleasman, Berlin
Brothersvalley High School,
Grade 9, Berlin, Somerset
County.
ditional five business days for
interested parties to review the
absentee voter request list
posted in FSA county offices
and challenge producers who re
quested absentee ballots. Absen
tee voters whose ballots are
challenged will be given five
business days after notification
of a challenge to submit proof of
eligibility.
“The ballot-counting process
will still begin on Nov. 29,” said
Enrique Figueroa, deputy under
secretary for USDA’s Marketing
and Regulatory Programs. “We
do not anticipate that the final
interim rule will change the date
when ballots will be counted.”
Final results are anticipated for
announcement by the end of De
cember.
Producers who owned and
sold one or more pigs or hogs
from Aug. 18, 1999-Aug. 17,
2000 were eligible to vote.
rious and relaxed during the nu
merous test runs.
Dickinson Cattle Company,
owned by the Dickinson family
of Barnesville, is well-known for
championship Texas Longhorn
and BueLingo registered cattle.
Ranch manager Joel Dickinson
said, “We are quite willing to
allow the property to be used for
military training. It is the least
we can do to assist our nation in
local and global emergency
readiness.” The recent test land
ings were just a precautionary
experiment to check the Long
horn’s reactions before full
blown training schedules began.
The Dickinson property in
Kirkwood Township was se
lected by military authorities as
an ideal location with its rough
but open landscape. Chief
Nicely has been hunting such an
area and is also pleased with the
air time distance. He said,
“There is no such property in
the Wheeling area and flight
• *<4 >
‘World Food Day’
High School
Honorable Mention
• Ryan Plucienski, Glen Mills
Schools, Grade 11, Concord
ville, Delaware County.
• Mike Meyers, Exeter Town
ship Senior High School, Grade
12, Reading, Berks County.
• Austin Wells, Antietam
Leuenberger Joins Council
MIDDLETOWN (Dauphin
Co.) Paula K. Leuenberger,
MS, RD, has joined the organi
zation as Director of Nutrition
and Health at the Pennsylvania
Beef Council.
Illinois born and Ohio raised,
Leuenberger graduated from
Penn State with a bachelor of
science degree in biological
health/nutrition and Case West
ern Reserve University with a
masters of science in public
health nutrition, in addition to a
dietetic internship. Because of
her marriage, Leuenberger
moved to Switzerland, where
she attended the University of
Bern for German/Swiss German
proficiency. She subsequently
obtained positions at the Ludwig
Institute for Cancer Research
and later the Institute for Social
and Preventive Medicine, Uni
Board Mandates An Increase
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Pennsylvania Milk Mar
keting Board Chairwoman Bev
erly R. Minor recently
announced that the board mem
bers voted unanimously to add
20 cents to the current over
order premium of $1.25, which
includes the fuel adjustment of
$.25 per one hundred pounds of
milk.
The over-order premium is
paid on Class I (bottled) milk
produced, processed, and sold
within the state. The additional
$.20 will be in effect for the
months of November and De
cember 2000.
Beginning Nov. 1, 2000, the
total over-order premium placed
on Class I milk that is produced,
processed, and sold in Pennsyl
vania will be $1.45. This action
is the result of an emergency
hearing of the board held Oct. 4,
2000.
The hearing was held in re
sponse to a petition submitted to
the board by Dairylea Coopera
tive Inc. and Dairy Farmers of
America North East Council.
travel time of 30 minutes or less
is suitable to allow us enough
time on station to conduct our
training needs without refuel
ing. The large acreage allows
sufficient maneuver room for
climbs and turns without over
The West Virginia Army National Guard is making test
training landings on Dickinson Cattle Company north of
Barnesville, Ohio. This is the beginning of a major helicop
ter aviator’s training program, which will be held for years
, ( to come., t
Middle/Senior High School,
Grade 12, Reading, Berks
County.
• Brian Hannon, Philadel
phia High School for Creative
and Performing Arts, Grade 12,
Philadelphia.
versity of Zurich.
Trading Swiss chocolate for
Hershey chocolate, Leuenberger
returned to Pennsylvania where
she enjoyed a half-time faculty
position at the Milton S. Her
shey Medical Center, Penn
State, as a member of an osteo
porosis research team in the Di
vision of Orthopedic Surgery.
Most recently, while raising
three daughters, Leuenberger
has continued to work part-time
as a consultant for Cooperative
Extension and industry; as an
undergraduate instructor for
Penn State; and as a German in
structor. Leuenberger is a 4-H
leader, a member of the Lebanon
County 4-H Board of Directors,
and is active in the community.
At the Pa. Beef Council,
Paula will connect with both
health professional and con
sumers.
The board based its decision
on testimony presented at the
hearing showing that the addi
tional $.20 for November and
December responds appropri
ately to the cost-price squeeze
resulting from higher produc
tion costs and lower milk prices
to Pennsylvania dairy farmers.
Representatives from the
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and
the Pennsylvania Milk Dealer’s
Association voiced their organ
izations support for the $.20 in
crease.
The over-order premium is a
dollar amount added to the min
imum Class 1 price to be paid to
Pennsylvania dairy farmers that
is announced by the Federal
Government and the Milk Mar
keting Board monthly. Pennsyl
vania has mandated an over
order premium on Class I milk
produced, processed, and sold in
Pennsylvania since 1988.
Though September 2000, the
premium has generated an addi
tional $213,472,000 to Pennsyl
vania dairy farmers.
flight of inhabited residences,
which could cause disturbance
of people living there. In any
area we train, there is a possible
noise problem so this type of
remote area is very helpful to
our long range success.”