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Godspeed, Uncle John

By Mike Masterson

Across his 26 years as the congressman for the Third District, John Paul Hammerschmidt of Harrison earned a reputation for helping constituents as well as every Arkansan who needed it. No wonder so many of the influential and ordinary folks loved and respected the humble gentleman.

As a World War II pilot and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak clusters, his heart swelled largest when it came to matters affecting veterans. And they knew and often showed their appreciation repeatedly regardless of where they lived. His service during the war was piloting cargo planes across the dangerous Himalayan "Hump" into China.

My intent in this column isn't to rehash his lengthy impressive resume of public service in the days following his death just a month shy of his 93rd birthday. I'd rather speak of the man I knew as my mother's older brother.

My earliest recollections of Uncle John were in the office at the Hammerschmidt Lumber Company off the town square. He would come and go as would his father, Arthur, in managing the daily business affairs. Even then he was always a gentleman and greeted me with a smile when I came to smell the wonders of freshly cut timber.

He and his wife, Ginny, and their son, John Arthur, were always at family gatherings at Christmas. But as a child, my focus was on playing with the cousins, rather than adults and their conversations.

I was a senior in high school in Albuquerque when Uncle John was elected to Congress. He made a trip to visit the family and told Mom he wanted me to have a tuxedo as a graduation gift. "Every young man needs a tux for special times in life," he told us. So he and I went to the Winrock Mall together where he outfitted me with the perfect black tux and a shirt that buttoned with cuff links.

I remember thinking how thoughtful it was that this uncle I really didn't know that well would even think to give such a grand graduation gift to his nephew.

As years passed, I kept up with Uncle John and his determination to preserve the free-flowing Buffalo National River as the country's first to be designated as such. It wasn't an easy battle. His desire to preserve this treasure for generations was met with resistance by any number of property owners in Newton County who sought to preserve the status quo.
But he stood firm on behalf of what he believed to be the best thing for the majority. And in 1972, the scenic Buffalo became America's first national river.

As ranking member of the House Transportation Committee, he made sure his district and our state saw several highway improvement and bridge projects become realities, including Interstate 49, which bears his name today. He also saw to it legislatively the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport at Highfill came to fruition.

I said upfront this wasn't going to be a resume and here I am rattling off only a few of his major contributions. It's darned near impossible not to.

Suffice it to say John Paul's heart continuously beat in harmony with those of the people. He didn't play self-interested radical politics, choosing to work out differences in a bipartisan manner. He chose never to use his combat decorations in political races.

Successor representatives in the 3rd District tell me the single-most piece of mentoring John Paul gave to each was to never forget that, "they now no longer were Republican or Democrat, they served the Arkansans of both parties equally."

No wonder this insightful and soft-spoken man was continually re-elected by Democrats and Republicans alike until retirement in 1993.

His dedication to helping others never stopped even then. Until his death last Wednesday, he maintained and financed two offices in Harrison, one at Northark College and the other just off the square. There, he and office managers Lisa and Stormy continued to assist those needing a voice. He gave up his formal title, but never stopped using his sterling reputation as a true public servant.

Three summers ago he and I met a couple of times each week in the original Hammerschmidt home near Crooked Creek. It was the house he'd restored to the original condition recalled from his childhood with four siblings, even including joined and sheltered "his and hers" outhouses. We spent precious time reliving his memories and history, both personal and professional. I was amazed by his keen recall of names, events and places. And his devoted son, John Arthur, also blessed with a keen memory, could fill in any blanks.

Together in that home, I could imagine he and Mom and their siblings chasing up and down the narrow staircase, swimming together in Crooked Creek, milking their cow, enjoying their serene grape arbor and sharing close quarters in a loving environment.

So how does a nephew who admired and respected his uncle so much conclude something like this? Godspeed, Uncle John? Endless blessings? Thank you for all you gave to help and improve so many lives? Perhaps it's best to leave it by simply saying you were a fine, honorable man and uncle. And I join thousands in wishing you all of this and more.

You are the finest example of the remarkable difference one relatively selfless man and dedicated public servant can make in this troubled world. You will be remembered in just that way.

KY3 TV News

SPRINGDALE, Ark. -
Former Republican U.S. Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt died Wednesday at age 92 at Regency Hospital. His son, John Arthur Hammerschmidt, announced his death.

In the 1960s, Hammerschmidt was chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party, which was then a predominately Democratic state. He also operated a lumber and business supply company.

Hammerschmidt won his first race for Congress from the 3rd district of northwest Arkansas in 1966. He was the first Republican from Arkansas in Congress since the Civil War.

He spent 26 years in office by winning 12 more elections. In 1974, he defeated Bill Clinton, who went on to become Arkansas governor in 1979 and president in 1993.

Hammerschmidt retired from Congress in January 1993. He remained active in civic matters.

“Today is an extremely sad day for the Third District and the entire state of Arkansas. John Paul Hammerschmidt was a statesman and one of our most steadfast advocates – he always put Arkansas first. As the lone Republican in our delegation for many years, John Paul proudly fought to protect Arkansas’s conservative values in Congress while working bipartisanly to bring critical transportation infrastructure to the Third District, enabling northwest Arkansas’s explosive growth. For this work and for his legendary constituent service, he garnered enormous respect. Simply put, no one did it better. He leaves behind a grateful state forever indebted for his decades of service. My prayers are with his family," said Rep. Steve Womack, R - Arkansas, who currently represents the 3rd District.

Hammerschmidt was a veteran of World War II, and lived most of his life in the Harrison area.

----

The last time that KY3 News interviewed Hammerschmidt was in 2012, upon the 40th anniversary of the creation of Buffalo River National Park by Congress. Ed Fillmer interviewed him and others about the first national river.

The park created a lot of controversy. Landowners whose families lived there for decades suddenly were told they'd have to move. Back then, the promise of millions of tourists coming to float the Buffalo seemed far-fetched -- and it took years for harsh feelings to subside. Even now, mixed feelings remain.

"We were never used to rules on our farm,” said lifelong resident Nina Lee Fowler.

"A lot of people just didn't want their land taken at all,” Hammerschmidt said. “It was very, very controversial.”

When the federal government planned America's first national river, people either welcomed the idea or fought it.

"There were a lot of hard feelings, a lot,” said longtime resident Euldean Clark. “We were satisfied with what we had here. We had a good living here and we wanted it left just like it was."

Hammerschmidt led the effort to create the park. Its supporters honored him in 2012, shortly after he turned 90.

"Well, I grew up on the Buffalo,” he said.

Hammerschmidt’s fond memories of the river and the valley guided him. He didn't want it to disappear. He clearly recalled the animosity as local people debated plans for the government takeover.

"They were all our friends, and it was very difficult to pass that bill because they were totally against it,” he said. "They'd say, ‘John Paul, why are you allowing them to take my land?’"

But the National River was established. As forecast, new opportunities to make money came into the valley. Tourism mostly replaced farming. Many have prospered meeting the needs of a million and a half visitors a year.

"It’s where people want to get away and see a little bit of the past," said Ben Fruehauf, owner of the 111-year-old Gilbert general store, a block off the river.

For the past 35 years, Fruehauf has sold mostly tourist supplies and souvenirs and has rented canoes and cabins. He says Gilbert survives because of the national river.

"If this wasn't Gilbert, forty yards to the Buffalo National River, it would have dried up and blown away, dead on the vine,” he said.

Copyright © 2015, KY3 News

 

Baxter County Bulletin

ADEQ hearing set on C&H Hog Farm modifications
  March 23, 2015

 
LITTLE ROCK – An Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality public hearing for the proposed modification of coverage for C&H Hog Farm in Mount Judea under the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation General Permit is set for 6 p.m. April 20 in the Jasper School District Cafetorium.

Those attending the hearing should enter the school building, located at 600 School St. in Jasper, at the clock tower.

The proposal involves modifying the Nutrient Management Plan to allow land application of wastewater from Waste Storage Pond 2 via tanker wagon. The public notice of the Nutrient Management Plan and Notice of Intent are on the Department's website at http://bit.ly/1BbrCSJ.

Written comments will be accepted during the public comment period, which began on March 18 and ends at 4:30 p.m. April 17. Those who wish to comment on ADEQ's draft permitting decision must submit written comments to the agency, along with their name and mailing address, during the public comment period.

Written or oral comments will be accepted at the April 20 public hearing. Written comments are preferred in the interest of accuracy. No additional comments will be accepted upon adjourning the hearing.

Written comments should be mailed to Water Division Permits Branch, 5301 Northshore Drive, North Little Rock, AR 72118-5317 or by emailing Water-Draft-Permit-Comment@adeq.state.ar.us. Telephone inquiries on the Notice of Intent and Nutrient Management Plan should be directed to (501) 682-0648.

After the public comment period and public hearing, ADEQ will issue a final decision on the request to modify the Nutrient Management Plan. Only comments directly pertaining to the modification will be considered.

ADEQ will notify each person who has submitted written comments or requested notice of the final decision.

A pond leaked?

By Mike Masterson, Arkansas Democrat Gazette

March 22, 2015

I was shocked, downright shocked I say, to read a news account where Cargill Inc., the primary supporter and supplier of the controversial hog factory in the Buffalo National River watershed at Mount Judea, had water from its treatment-plant pond at Beardstown, Ill., end up in a city pond where fish were found dead.

The leak in the company's earthen dam was about 40 feet wide and apparently occurred over the weekend of March 7-8. Its pond leaked millions of gallons into surrounding croplands and into irrigation ditches that flowed into the stocked city pond.

Cargill repaired its leak then said it would restock the pond though officials said there hadn't yet been any direct correlation between the corporation's leaky pond and the dead fish. The Beardstown mayor took it a step further and suggested perhaps the fish had died from "winter kill."

What the heck, I wouldn't rule out Bigfoot or the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

I feel certain Cargill's engineers never in their wildest plannings imagined their earthen dam would ever spring such a massive leak.

Arkansas Business

Environmentalist Calls for Strict Oversight of Hog Farm Near Buffalo River
by Rob Moritz on Friday, Mar. 20, 2015 3:29 pm

CONWAY – Environmentalists must be vocal in their opposition to a hog farm near the Buffalo National River watershed because it's not only a potential threat to the pristine waterway but also the economy of the region, the chairman of the Pulaski County Ozark Society said Friday.

"The science is clear," David Peterson told a crowd of about 75 on the University of Central Arkansas campus, adding the hog farm "is a real threat."

At issue is C&H Hog Farms in Mount Judea, which opened in late 2012 after receiving a permit from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.

C&H is permitted to house 2,500 sows and 4,000 piglets on Big Creek, about six miles from where it flows into the Buffalo National River.

Environmental studies on the impact of the hog farm runoff into the river are inconclusive, because the farm began operating just over two years ago. But there is evidence suggesting increases in phosphates, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and other nutrients in the river, Peterson said.

While the materials remain within legal limits, there is concern a build-up of the nutrients over years and decades could degrade the river and its habitat.


"The science is there, except it’s not dangerous levels," he said, adding that higher levels of e-coli were detected in May and June.

Another concern, Peterson said, is that region consists of porous limestone rock known as Karst. Water in Karst geological formations leaches through fissures and into the underground system and can end up anywhere along the river.

There is also concern, he said, that the permit allows for some seepage from the two holding ponds on the pig farm property. Peterson said a major flood of 7 inches or more in a 24-hour period could overflow the ponds, where pig waste is stored, and flood Big Creek.

The Buffalo National River, which attracts more than a million people each year for hiking, camping, fishing and canoeing, is a major economic engine to region of the state, Peterson said.

Environmental damage to the river would have a significant impact the tourism industry, he said.

Peterson said environmentalists should write or telephone their state lawmakers and urge them to make sure there is strict enforcement of the permit by ADEQ and that additional mitigation plans be implemented at C&H Farms. He also said long-term environmental studies of the waters near the hog farm should continue.

A six-month temporary ban on ADEQ from issuing any new hog farm permits in the region is set to expire in mid-April, and Peterson urged everyone to contact their state lawmakers and Gov. Asa Hutchinson to encourage them to support an extension of the ban.

"I think a ground swell of public support for curtailing hog farms, at least along the Buffalo River watershed … is best done by word of mouth," Peterson said. "If you take people on a trip on the Buffalo River you will have a convert. That’s all there is to it."

Arkansas Democrat Gazette

March 17, 2015

Hogs on the Buffalo: Review the permit

By Mike Masterson

Attorneys for environmental groups have asked the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (cough) to reopen C&H Hog Farms' operating permit for public comment and review because of all the flaws they've found in revisions to the owners' 2014 Nutrient Management Plan.

In response to a lengthy, specific list of significant changes in the way this factory says it will operate, Earthjustice attorney Monica Reimer tells agency leaders several of those alterations appear to deviate from the permit initially issued by the state.

In other words, these deviations clearly constitute a new ballgame when it comes to an operating permit in the Buffalo River watershed. While most are technical in nature, largely involving the amount of raw hog waste applied to various pastures called spray fields close to Big Creek, a major tributary of the Buffalo, they also question conflicting numbers and other relevant data left unexplained in the latest documents C&H has filed with the state.
For instance, Reimer's letter says the field areas reported to be available for waste spraying "have been significantly reduced to 335 acres with no explanation or relevant mapping. There is no way to determine slopes, where soil samples were taken or where waste was applied." This strikes me as especially important since it can only mean more waste will be disposed of in a significantly smaller area than originally stated.

The attorney contends the C&H revised equation of the rate at which soil erodes also has been changed without explanation. "They are much lower than in the original [Nutrient Management Plan] and it appears that low values were used in place of high values without explanation. These are extremely important values for calculating the [Phosphorus] index and are not values which should be changing rapidly over time. An explanation of this change should be required."

To her observation, this nonspecialist in soil erosion a common-sense "Amen."
Reimer adds, speaking of phosphorous, that Soil Test Phosphorus variations were significant, with large declines on some fields and large increases on others. But the problem is there are no maps to show soil-sampling locations so "these unexplained variations raise serious questions about their accuracy. Missing data should be provided by C&H."

OK, my turn again. Shouldn't our Department of Environmental Quality insist on such crucial data without outside attorneys asking for it?

The Earthjustice attorney, whose firm represents local, state and national groups, tells our state agency director: "While the Winter Revision does not appear to show over application, we note that nearly the full annual allowed rate of phosphorus was applied on fields 3, 15 and 17 even though crops were dormant. This would appear to be a case of waste disposal rather than nutrient management and is exactly the kind of disposal practice which should be prohibited in the Buffalo National River Watershed."

That argument makes perfect sense to me. I mean, If the factory's plan is to not apply more hog waste to these fields than the plant life in each field can absorb, why apply it when the plant life is dormant other than to dump the God-awful mess somewhere?

Reimer's concern then shifts to spreadsheets for the so-called 2014 annual report on the C&H Aggregate Phosphorus Index. Yeah, I know the language is enough to make one's eyes blur. Yet this matters a lot because it supposedly measures the amount and application of potentially polluting phosphorus to these spray fields.

The attorney says: "These spreadsheets, submitted in response to your request for seasonal, rather than annual, data, appear to be based on assumptions and data which are not supplied. They deviate significantly from the data provided in the revised [Nutrient Management Plan] and require further explanation."

For example, Reimer says the spreadsheet columns for Field Area and the Application Area deviate significantly from those in the revised plan and account for only 60 acres. She also says there's no data provided on the amounts of nitrogen or phosphorus applied to each field, "which makes it difficult to assure that application rates have not been exceeded."
And so the letter goes, asking why three different documents show three different numbers of millions of gallons of waste applied to all fields, and how many were applied versus being approved. And why the erosion data varies widely with what appeared in the Nutrient Management Plan.

The attorney said she contends these issues that include changing field dimensions without a map, apparently missing relevant data, unexplained assumptions and deviations from the originally approved Nutrient Management Plan together "constitute a substantial modification of the permit requiring that the full permit be reopened for public comment and review."

Stay tuned. We'll see how our state responds to so many legally valid points with this controversial factory supported and supplied by Cargill Inc.
------------v------------
Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at mikemasterson10@hotmail.com.
Editorial on 03/17/2015

Read the story with photos here: The Baxter Bulletin

Buffalo National River: Is industrial hog farm harmful?

Thomas Garrett, sgarrett@baxterbulletin.com 9:57 p.m. CDT March 12, 2015

 
Monitoring of the Buffalo National River in the area of a Newton County industrial hog farm showed runoff from a tributary sent E. coli concentrations above safe standards on the river for a month during 2014. While the study isn't conclusive, it does show potential for harm to the Buffalo, and that monitoring by the National Park Service will continue.

That's the gist of a presentation Thursday evening by NPS aquatic biologist Faron D. Usrey at Arkansas State University Mountain Home. The program was co-hosted by the ASUMH Stream Team and Friends of the White and North Fork Rivers.

C&H Hog Farms received clearance in 2012 from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality for a feeding operation on Big Creek near Mount Judea for more than 6,000 sows and piglets. It's located five miles from the Buffalo.

Hog Farm concerns Buffalo River lovers.

Usrey told the audience that the operation was to have had 630 acres for application of hog waste, but has been using only a little more than 400 acres — 43 percent of which is in the Big Creek flood plain — to distribute 4,238,423 gallons of hog manure annually. That began in December 2013.

Since news of the hog farm first broke, there have been concerns that the operation poses a threat to the Buffalo, the country's first national river. The NPS had no jurisdiction over the area beyond the Buffalo's boundaries, according to Usrey, and received little input from state and federal agencies associated with authorizing the hog farm.
 
Monitoring the Buffalo

As background, Usrey explained to the audience of about 100, that while the NPS began monitoring the Buffalo's water quality in 1985, its priorities changed after a Marble Falls Sewer District lift station on Mill Creek failed after the ice storm of 2009. It dumped 6,000 gallons of waste a day into the creek. He said none of that ran into the Buffalo, but it did make the NPS shift its priorities to protecting people from poor water quality.

The Buffalo gets about 1.1 million visitors a year, and Usrey told the audience that April through August is the busy season for the river, with people canoeing, camping, swimming, hiking, picnicking and other activities. About 30 percent of those activities are on the upper and middle stretches of the river. He said annually the Buffalo generates about $47 million for Arkansas, with about $41 million coming from out of the area.

Between 2009 and 2012, NPS found, for the most part, the Buffalo's E. coli levels were below state Health Department safe standards, according to Usrey. E. coli can cause water-borne illnesses in people. However, it was learned that while about half the river's tributaries did develop a high E. coli level during some periods, they did not present a problem to the Buffalo itself.

"That's good news," said Usrey, noting that the study showed Big Creek did not have high E. coli.
 
E. coli spikes

After the hog farm began operation, NPS monitored Big Creek and two points on the Buffalo above and below the confluence of the two streams. Usrey said they took five samples a month from those sites between March 2013 and this January. He said they found spikes last year when Big Creek and the Buffalo at the monitoring sites were out of compliance with Health Department standards.

For two months between March and July 2014, Big Creek was above the safe standard for E. coli, and the Buffalo was higher than the safe standard for one month, according to figures presented by Usrey. Last year's runoff was higher because of more rain in the spring than in 2013 and would be expected to produce more bacteria in the runoff, according to the biologist.

So, to determine if the high E. coli on Big Creek was more a result of the rainy conditions than the hog farm, last fall NPS added two more monitoring sites on the river. One is below the Upper Buffalo Wilderness and the other is on the Little Buffalo River.

According to information provided by Usrey, with this spring's rains, they hope to determine if there is higher bacteria count in other tributaries because of the runoff, or if the higher concentration is unique to Big Creek.

What to do

One audience member asked what would happen if there was a big flood in that area. "Depends," Usrey replied, explaining the key factor would be if any hog waste had been applied to the fields beforehand.

The worst-case scenario, he said, would be a big flood before summer washing large amounts of bacteria into Big Creek and the Buffalo — which could send it downstream to the White River — then the bacteria settling into the river, reproducing and sucking the oxygen out of the water.

A big concern, said Usrey, is what NPS could do in the event of a high E. coli count. Speaking "off the hip," he said they have signs they could put up, and could make news releases warning about the situation. However, unlike a lake or the coast, the river is flowing, he said.

"If we put up signs, where are we going to put them?" he asked.

An audience member asked what could they do to help NPS, and another said write Gov. Asa Hutchinson, since the ADEQ is responsible for allowing the hog farm. Usrey agreed, adding, "and I will give him this same presentation."

Usrey pointed out what could be a key factor in how the state reacts to future findings. He said the hog farm is not a large employer, and is not that large a part of Newton County's tax base, compared to $41 million the Buffalo brings into Arkansas each year. The state would have to consider that, he said.

"That might be the deciding factor, not because they love the environment," said Usrey.

Massive amounts of manure spills from farm field into rural community

FULTON, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Thousands of gallons of manure has spilled into a West Michigan community.

It's happening in the Fulton area, which is in rural Kalamazoo County.

The manure is running off from a farmer's field and putting the surrounding area in danger.

This nasty situation is developing right near the Norris family's front yard.

"I don't want that in my yard, or in my area. It's kind of disgusting," said Lisa Norris, who lives across from the spill.

The manure was spread over this farmland outside Fulton last week.

"With the warmup on Sunday, that snow started to run off the field along with the manure," said Bruce Washburn, an environmental quality analyst for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

A stream of feces formed, flowing over 42nd Street into ditches and neighboring properties.

The DEQ said it’s already working to contain it.

"Try to keep anymore contaminated water from heading down stream. They have it dammed at the field," Washburn said.

The big concern is this dirty material getting into waterways and hurting wildlife.

"And obviously human health is the other concern that we have. Swimming in it, drinking it, that's what the health department is looking into," Washburn said.

The farming company that spread the manure told Newschannel 3 that it wasn't prepared for a warm up like this.

It reported the spill to the DEQ after its own efforts to contain it failed.

"We haven't determined whether it was an improper application or whether it was bad timing. Winter spreading on snow-covered ground is a more risky practice," Washburn said.

Washburn said the farming company has been proactive in cleaning up the spill.

However, a warmer week ahead could mean trouble.

"Things could break loose and cause more problems," Washburn said.

Lisa Norris hopes this can be taken care of before it impacts her pets and the well water she depends on.

"Yeah I don't want to drink that, absolutely not," Norris said.

The farming company could be fined.

But the DEQ says they're still in the early stages of their investigation.

See link for full story and videos from The Center for Investigative Reporting website

http://www.revealnews.org/article/north-carolinians-say-expansion-of-chinese-owned-pig-farms-stinks/

This link is to an 8-minute report by Jacqueline Froelich for an Ozarks-At-Large segment on KUAF public radio, Fayetteville, AR http://kuaf.com/post/monitoring-buffalo-river-swine