Daily Archives: January 18, 2014

WARNING: Skunk alert for Williams

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striped_skunkWILLIAMS—No. We are not talking about staged Democratic or Republican rallies or politicians in town seeking re-election.

We’re talking about the real chemical warfare experts.

With the pleasant springtime weather we have enjoyed so far this winter, skunks are apparently coming out to dig into the trash cans in the evenings for food.

Unfortunately the long-range forecast shows not even a hint of rain, much less snow. The forecast shows sunny and dry through next Saturday. While this could change over time, recent history does not bear out that possibility.

Another problem is the snow that we have had is nearly gone and the ground is drying up. This leaves us open to the possibility of a catastrophic fire during what should be a safe season.

Special Report: Lost hooves, dead cattle before Merck halted Zilmax sales

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A cowboy moves livestock in a cattle feedlot next to a Tyson slaughterhouse near Pasco(Reuters) – The U.S. beef industry’s dependence on the muscle-building drug Zilmax began unraveling here, on a sweltering summer day, in the dusty cattle pens outside a Tyson Foods Inc slaughterhouse in southeastern Washington state.

As cattle trailers that had traveled up to four hours in 95-degree heat began to unload, 15 heifers and steers hobbled down the ramps on August 5, barely able to walk. The reason: The animals had lost their hooves, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture documents reviewed by Reuters. The documents show the 15 animals were destroyed.

The next day, the hottest day of the month, two more animals with missing hooves arrived by truck. Again, the animals were destroyed, the documents show.

The animals’ feet were “basically coming apart,” said Keith Belk, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Belk said he reviewed photos of the lame cattle, though he declined to say who showed them to him.

Read more at Reuters