EPA Feedlot Regulations Workshop.

The University Outreach and Extension, Jasper County Soil and Water Conservation District, Farm Services Agency, and Natural Resources Conservation Service will cosponsor a workshop at the Joplin Stockyards on April 19 to provide information about new proposed EPA regulations that would further restrict livestock operations. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.

According to University of Missouri Outreach and Extension Ag Engineering Specialists Ed Browning, most regulations in the past have been aimed at large facilities, especially those above 1,000 animals.

"This has had a tendency to keep family farm operations below that size because of the cost of constructing some of the waste containment facilities," says Browning. "It would appear that the economic impact (of the new regulations) could be great enough to close the business."

The EPA is requesting public comment until May, 15, 2001.

For more information about the workshop, contact the Jasper County University Outreach and Extension Center at 358-2158.

The City Council Public Safety Committee is scheduled to meet this evenin’ in the Fire Station. It should be interestin’ ‘cause ever’one ‘cept the Chair is new to the Committee.

Now this doesn’t mean it won’t be an effective group, it’ll just take a couple a meetin’s for ‘em to get used to workin’ with each other I’d guess.

They’ll get a good opportunity to get a feel for how each other thinks as they work through the question of where ta measure the 300 feet that alcoholic beverage sellers have ta be away from churches, schools, parks, and hospitals. The last Council decided not to vote on the proposal of the old Committee and sent it back for more thinkin’.

Maybe some fresh ideas will emerge.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Workman's Loan

The Super Handyman

by Al Carrell & Kelly Carrell

Dear Al: I always start off each growing season with sharp shovels and hoes. You wouldn’t believe how much faster you can chop down weeds or dig a hole for a tree when you have a sharp tool. It takes about 10 minutes to sharpen each tool, and it usually lasts me a whole season.

Sharpening a shovel also takes the strain off its handle, since you don’t have to put so much weight behind it when you’re using it. - M.K.

Q. I have 4-inch ceramic tiles around my kitchen sink and on my counter tops. The filler between the tiles has worn down in some spots, and it looks bad when it is dirty. Is there a way to fill in these bad spots? - G.P.

A: The filler between the tiles themselves - the grout - is available in a ready mix or powder form.

The filler between the sink and the tiles is usually caulk. Get a caulk specified for use on tubs or sinks. Since the caulk has some flexibility, it can better handle the problems of expansion and contraction between the two different materials, tile and sink.

Remove the old grout and fill the joints with the right color of new grout, and use the caulk where it is needed.

A SUPER HINT - Instead of mowing over your lawn sprinkler heads or trying to edge around them, use a tin can. Empty the can, and clean it out. Place it, open-side down, over the sprinkler head and push down. The can will cut right through the grass, and you can pull the sod right up.