AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 7, 2002 OPINION Delivered From Disaster These days, it seems that Somerset County is the center of the world. First there was Flight 93 that crashed on Sept. 11 last year. Then there was the Quecreek coal mining accident at the end of July where, thank the pow ers-that-be, all nine miners were rescued. What a story! We read on page 1 this issue about Lori and Bill Arnold and their round the-clock efforts to ensure a physical and even moral victory as well as a much-needed morale victory for the entire country in the rescue success. The Arnolds operate a dairy. But their work exemplifies a lot bigger story of the need for volunteers and cooperation. It also touched home. The reason I am editor of Lancaster Farming could very well be attributed to a mining accident. My father was a coal miner in Schuylkill County for about a decade. One day, there was a mining cave-in, and miners were killed. My father, spooked by the whole thing, decided he didn't want to die in a mine. So he escaped the industry, enlisted in the Army-Air Force during World War 11, entered college on the G.I. bill, graduated from Penn State ... and, in the 19505, moved his family to Lancaster County. Later on, he bought land from a farmer in Lancaster, purchased a house, and began a life far removed from mining. That’s why my family is here. A mining accident! How many people’s lives will be affected the same way? Who will move out and get away from the dangerous job of coal mining? Who will stay? In what drastic, far-reaching ways will the families of the Somerset County coal min ers be affected? What impacts could this entire event have on agriculture? It certainly makes you wonder. Saturday, September 7 Central Susquehanna Valley Sheep and Goat Field Day, Paradise Valley Organic farm, Limestoneville, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. “Enhancing Wildlife Habitat on Private Property” Workshop, Dauphin County Agriculture and Natural Resources Cen ter, 8 a.m., (717) 921-8803. Bradford County Youth Field Days, Mt. Pisgah State Park, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Fall Garden Wrap-up, Master Gardeners of Westmoreland Editor. On Aug. 29 at his town meeting in Towanda, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter announced that he would take the inequities facing all dairy farmers to the U.S. Senate floor. During the senator’s presentation to the crowd, I reminded the senator ot his speech to the U.S. Senate fol lowing former U.S. Secretary of Agri culture Dan Glickman and Specter’s visit to Keystone College a few years ago. After I reviewed current milk prices (comparable to 1979) and the problems with an excessive amount of dairy products being imported into the U.S., Sen. Specter paced the floor and announced he would go to the How To Reach Us To address a letter to the editor: • By fax: (717) 733-6058 • By regular mail; Editor, Lancaster Farming P.O. Box 609,1 E. Main St. Ephrata, PA 17522 • By e-mail: farming@lancnews.infi.net Please note. Include your full name, ictuin address, and phone numbei on the letter Lancaster Fanning reserves the right to edit the letter to tit and is not lesponsible lor returning unsolicited mail ❖ Farm Calendar * County, Donohoe Center, Greensburg, 9 a.m. Advanced Topics in Raising Goats, Mifilinbr- — County Fairgrounds, Austin, Minn., thru Sept. 11, (765) 463-3594. Green Township Community Fair, thru Sept. 14. (Turn to Page A 26) ❖ Farm Forum ❖ Senate floor with the dairy farmers problems. Specter said he was annoy ed to see consumers (like himself) pay more for milk while dairy farm ers are continually receiving less. Specter told the crowd he favored a reasonable floor price under the dairy farmers prices based on the dairy farmer’s production costs. The senator further told the crowds both in Towanda and Wellsboro that the excessive amounts of dairy products being imported must be addressed. He also agreed there should be an in vestigation concerning the dairy farmers’ continuing inequities. Let’s hope that Senator Specter’s remarks to the U.S. Senate will in spire other senators to support him. All dairy farmers should immediate ly contact their elected officials and have them support Sen. Specter’s ef forts. Remember there are nearly 12 bil lion pounds of milk coming into the U.S. per year in the form of manu factured products. Remember these imports are clogging up our markets and forcing prices to our dairy farm ers down to the 1979 level. It’s evi dent to me there are dairy fanners across the U.S. talking about various methods to consider in an attempt to correct the inequities facing dairy farmers. Pro Ag can be reached at (570) 833-5776. Arden Tewksbury Manager, Pro-Ag To Continue To Conserve Water And Develop Emergency Water Supply Options While recent rainfall has brought some short-term relief, drought con ditions continue to worsen. In Lan caster, rainfall for August was 2.5 inches, one inch below normal. This brings the rainfall deficit for the last 365 days to 14.3 inches. Since Janu ary of 2000 we are 36 inches below normal rainfall. Obviously it will take a lot of wet weather to begin to re plenish our water table. Surface flows are way below nor mal as well. On Sept. 3, flow in the Conestoga River at Lancaster was 66 cubic feet per second (cfs), which is only 27 percent of the normal flow for this time of the year of 244 cfs. The Susquehanna at Safe Harbor had a flow rate of 3,500 cfs on Sept. 3, compared to a normal flow rate of 12,300 cfs. The long-term accumulation of rainfall deficits is continuing to put pressure on our groundwater sup plies. Well drillers are swamped with work and have a waiting list that can ‘THE SHEEP’ AND ‘THE GOATS’ Background Scripture: 2 Chronicles 33:1-20; 2 Kings 21 Devotional Reading: 2 Chronicles 6:36-42. Our state is engrossed in an elec tion contest for the office of gover nor. It is the most expensive cam paign in Texas history, and it is also one of the most demoralizing. To me, it appears that both candidates seem devoted to the dehumanization of their opponent. One might truly wonder whether voting for either of them is justified. Unfortunately, our political life is hobbled by a “sheep” and “goats” mentality. We are the “sheep,” the “good guys” and our opponents are the “goats,” the “bad guys.” We as sume that the “bad guy” can never do anything “good” and the “good guy” can never do anything “bad.” We see nothing wrong with our can didate and nothing good about his opponent. The “sheep” are real Americans and patriotic and the “goats” are not. It is tragic that, after more than two centuries of democracy, we are no further evolved than that. We also have a “sheep” and Lancaster Farming An Award-Winning Farm Newspaper • Keystone Awards 1993,1995 • PennAg Industries 1992 • PACD Media Award 1996 • Berks Ag-Busmess Council 2000 • Recognized for photo excellence throughout the years by the Northeast Farm Communicators run two weeks or more. If you are dependent on a single well for your water supply, it would be a good idea to develop a backup system in case your only well goes dry. One plan could be to get on the well driller's list and drill a backup so you don’t have to wait if that oc curs. If you do want to drill, I would recommend consulting a hydrogeo logist first to help you chose locations to drill. Another backup plan would be to install a storage tank so you could utilize trucked-in water for a short-term solution, if needed. To Participate In Horse Owners’ Survey Penn State’s College of Agricultur al Sciences will conduct an economic impact study of the Pennsylvania equine industry beginning fall 2002. The study will provide knowledge of the current scope and nature of Pennsylvania’s equine community, enhancing government and citizen understanding. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, through the State Horse and Harness Racing commissions, has contracted with the department of dairy and animal science to con duct the survey. It will assess the composition and nature of Pennsyl vania’s equine industry, including its direct and indirect impact on the state’s economy through sales, em ployment, taxes, and other indica tors. Contributions to the quality of life of equine owners and participants in equine activities also will be assessed. Data from Pennsylvania’s last study of the economic impact of horses in the state was collected in 1990. It showed that the equine industry generated $4 billion in annual eco nomic activity, was responsible for 22,000 jobs, and provided local and state governments with more than $66 million a year in tax revenue. “The Pennsylvania Quarter Horse Association, Pennsylvania Equine Council, and the Pennsylvania Horse and Harness Racing commissions have committed to support this very important survey by providing ad dresses,” said Ann Swinker, exten sion horse specialist, who is directing the survey. “It is key that the list we “goats” problem when we consider the reign of Manasseh, King of Judah from 687 to 642 B.C. Manas seh was the son of King Hezekiah, the moderate reformer of Judah, and Queen Hepzibah and the biblical ac count of his reign, 55 years, the long est in Judah, is recorded in 2 Chron. 3:1-20 and 2 Ki. 21:1-18. (That re minds me of the teacher who said that, not only was little Johnny the worst kid in her class, “but he has such perfect attendance!”) Remembered As ‘Evil’ Manasseh, however, was not “a chip off the old block” and he is re membered as one of the most evil kings of Judah. Both sources stamp him as a “bad guy.” “He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominable prac tices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel” (2 Chron. 33:2; 2 Ki. 21:2). It is ironic that one of the best kings of Judah is followed by one of the worst. Simply put, he undid all of the reforms which Hezekiah, his fa ther, had instituted. More specifical ly, “ ... he rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah bad bro ken down and made altars to Baals, and made Asherahs, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them” (2 Chron. 33:4; 2 Ki. 21:3-5). The “high places” were Canaanite shrines on hilltops and the Baals and Asherah were pagan gods. 2 Kings 21:6,16 lists three additional charges: “And he burned his son as an offer ing, and practiced soothsaying and augury,” and “Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood ” Why did he choose such an evil course? Perhaps, as with so many sons, he was driven to demonstrate that he was his own man and no longer under his father’s thumb. Per- develop be representative of the en tire industry. “We will be asking every equine association with membership in the state and individual horse owners to provide their addresses so they are represented in this study,” she said. “The addresses will be held in confi dence and used only for the distribu tion of questionnaires. After the study is completed, all records will be destroyed. We want to assure every one that this will be horse people measuring horse people.” Swinker pointed out that the sur vey needs a high return rate to devel op valid results. “We will be under taking a public relations campaign to ask that those who receive a ques tionnaire take the time to complete and return it,” she explained. “A postage-paid envelope will accompa ny the questionnaire. Returned ques tionnaires will be coded and informa tion entered into a computer database for analysis. A descriptive report of the findings will be prepar ed and published.” Swinker encourages all horse own ers and equine organizations to par ticipate in the study. Equine groups interested in contributing their mail ing lists or individual horse owners wanting to participate in the study should contact Ann Swinker, The Pennsylvania State University, 324 Henning Building, University Park, PA 16802. For more information, call Swinker at (814) 865-7810 or e-mail her at aswinker@psu.edu. “We prefer the lists be sent on disk, but will gladly take them in any form,” she said. “The Pennsylvania Horse and Harness Racing commis sions are to be commended for their efforts to have the state agriculture funds awarded to conduct this much needed equine population study for Pennsylvania.” The findings of the study will be available to user groups, free of charge, both in print and in electron ic format. The project report is slated to be completed and available in the spring of 2003. Quote Of The Week: “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. ” John C. Maxwell haps he did these things because they were popular with his subjects. The priests of the high places were proba bly supportive of the re-establish ment of their shrines. Furthermore, we know that Assyria dominated the known world then and Manasseh probably held on to his throne at the sufferance of the Assyrians. The As syrianization of Judah’s religious life may have been an attempt to main tain Assyria’s favor. Good Intentions Manasseh may have been impelled by what he regarded as good reasons to overthrow his father’s reforms. Even “bad guys” often think they are justified by good intentions. But his reign would be judged by the results and these were so devastating that even “good” King Josiah, who suc ceeded Manasseh’s son, would be only partially successful in reforming the nation. For all their agreement, 2 Chroni cles and 2 Kings give two differing accounts of Manasseh, the former telling us that he was carried away into captivity by the Assyrians, and then repented, returning to Jerusa lem and attempting to remove the pagan cults. 2 Kings 21 says nothing of any of this, depicting him as a thoroughly evil. But 2 Chronicles sees him as a “bad guy” who wasn’t totally “bad.” Who was the real Manasseh? We will never know, but I would like to believe that 2 Chronicles is the more accurate one, for it reminds us that God will grant mercy to us if we are repentant. None of us are intended to be “goats.” Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St. Ephrata, PA 17522 — by — Lancaster Farming, Inc. A Stemman Enterprise William J Burgess General Manager Andy Andrews, Editor Copyright 2002 by Lancaster Farming
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers