TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN Enlarge Image

Sam Hofer, a councillor for the RM of Cornwallis, stands outside the pump house that is used to treat the water for the village of Chater on Saturday afternoon. The water treatment facility was recently given a large upgrade, but Chater residents are now seeing the cost of the upgrade reflected in soaring water bills.

CHATER High water rates have Chater residents drowning in "atrocious" bills, and some say it may force them to move out of the village.

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Sam Hofer, a councillor for the RM of Cornwallis, stands in the doorway of the pump house that is used to treat the water for the village of Chater on Saturday. (TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN)

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UV treatment is one of the ways the water for the village of Chater is treated. Chaters pump house water treatment facility was recently given a large upgrade, but Chater residents are now seeing the cost of the upgrade reflected in their skyrocketing water bills. (TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN)

Since the Rural Municipality of Cornwallis took over the communitys water management last summer, residents have experienced soaring water costs in some cases, bills have tripled or quadrupled.

"Somethings got to be done," said Carol Pashnyk, a Chater resident of 15 years. "Were just so terribly, terribly upset with our ridiculous water rates Its unreal."

Carol and her husband, George Pashnyk, are retired and on a fixed income. They were shocked when they received a $500 water bill for two months, when they were used to paying in the range of $300 for six months.

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Drowning in rising water rates

Weedkiller used in parks, millions of gardens and huge swathes of crops could be linked to cancer, a report revealed last night.

Research by a respected agency concluded that glyphosate a chemical found in hundreds of pesticide products including the Roundup range is potentially carcinogenic.

It is used on lawns and on most of Britains wheat supply. Campaigners say residues of the substance are in bread.

Dr Keith Tyrell, director of Pesticides Action Network UK, said: Councils should stop using it and the Government needs to take action. I dont want to alarm people but the safest thing to do would be to restrict this chemicals use.

The report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer part of the World Health Organisation was published in medical journal The Lancet.

It comes two years after scientists linked glyphosate to Parkinsons disease, infertility and other health problems.

Glyphosate is the worlds most widely used pesticide, generating around 1billion in global sales.

The IARC report has been blasted by US chemical giant Monsanto which manufactures the Roundup brand.

Bosses said that when the full facts are properly researched it proved its products are safe and glyphosate is not harmful.

Monsanto chief Dr Philip Miller said: We dont know how IARC could reach a conclusion that is such a dramatic departure from the conclusion reached by all regulatory agencies around the globe.

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Cancer fear over lawn weedkiller commonly used in British parks and on wheat

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) -- The sunshine out means that we're starting to pay attention to our yards.

Lawn companies like Weed Man in Bowling Green said the snow during February has put them behind. Now they're scrambling to spread fertilizer on yards in the area to get up to schedule.

The group is getting a lot of calls asking them to come out to houses as soon as they can.

"We've had four times the regular call volume we usually have in just the first couple hours of the day. It's because of the weather. Everyone is trying to get a break on spring. It's a big difference from this time last week when we still had snow on the ground," said Weed Man General Manager, Rick Ebelhar.

The ground is still saturated from all the standing water and snow during the last month, so Weed Man is using lawn equipment run by hand. Otherwise their machinery may tear up the grass they're trying to make greener.

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Warm Weather Ramps Up Bowling Green Lawn Service Calls

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Five easy ways to get rid of fleas

Mathis Outdoors - Lawn Care and Landscaping Company
Mathis Outdoors (http://www.mathisoutdoors.com/) is a Lawn care and landscaping company that offers outdoor services to suit many clients. It is actually a o...

By: Cory Mathis

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Mathis Outdoors - Lawn Care and Landscaping Company - Video

I must say, this John Deere ride-on mower has been a real treat to work with. What once took half a day to do, now takes a mere 45 minutes. I cut at 3.5 inches and everything is working out smoothly. Also, I now longer sweat like a pig while mowing the lawn. Well, the hillside in the front still needs to be mowed with the push-mower, so there is a whole heck of a lot of sweating and swearing at that one.

These days, the issue isnt so much mowing the lawn, but picking up the leaves. Back in the day, I would just mow over the leaves and hope for the best. I actually liked doing it. I love the sound of the leaves getting all crunched up and shooting out of the side of the mower. Well, with joy, sometimes comes pain. All Winter and once Spring rolls around, all those piles of shredded up leaves are still on the lawn. The create a bunch of dead spots.

The grass clippings from the previous (and current) season create what is called lawn thatch. If you care about the health of your lawn and care about what it looks like, thatch is something you are going to want to deal with.

With all this in mind, I ran down to the local John Deere dealer this afternoon to pick up a shiny new 7-bushel rear bagger for the ride-on mower. I have wanted this for a while, but with the onslaught of leaves falling from the trees, a little mini-fire was lit under my butt.

The rear bagger came unassembled and took about a half hour to put together on the back of the mower. I decided to take photos for all my loyal readers to enjoy. Heck you never knowsomeone might actually Google how to put together a 7-bushel rear bagger for a John Deere X300 and my site may pop up. Im such a genius.

Here are the pics with some short captions

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Assembling a John Deere 7-Bushel Rear Bagger : Lawn Care ...

Omar Gonzalez was originally charged with two counts of felony assault on a police officer, four counts of resisting and unlawful entry, and one count of making threats. But in a plea deal with prosecutors, he will only be sentenced for one count of unlawful entry and one count of assaulting officers.

READ: Report: Drunk Secret Service agents crash into White House barrier

The charges carry maximum penalties of 10 years and and eight years respectively. He will be sentenced on June 8 and prosecutors have suggested a prison term of 12-18 months in addition to possible fines. Both parties have also agreed that Gonzalez be barred from entering the District of Columbia unless it is for a scheduled court appearance accompanied by his attorney.

A recommendation for Gonzalez to participate in a psychiatric evaluation so that the Secret Service is able to asses the risk of him reoffending will also be presented at sentencing.

"He is lucky to be alive," U.S. Attorney Machen said. "Mr. Gonzalez faces significant prison time because of his crime, and at sentencing we anticipate that he will barred from entering the District of Columbia and required to undergo psychiatric treatment."

According to law enforcement reports, around 7:19 p.m. Gonzalez climbed over the White House's north fence as Secret Service officers began running towards him, commanding him to stop and get down. Ignoring the orders, Gonzalez continued towards the residence, gaining access through the north doors of the White House.

READ: Gate-crashing agents make 4 Secret Service scandals in 3 years

Inside, according to the reports, Gonzalez knocked a uniform officer backwards before another officer arrived and tackled him inside the White House. A folding knife was found in his pants pocket and, after Gonzalez consented to a search of his vehicle, officers discovered "hundreds of rounds of ammunition, in boxes and in magazine, two hatchets, and a machete."

"We hope that this prosecution deters others in the future from taking any actions that threaten the first family, the White House, and the public servants who work there," U.S. Attorney Machen said.

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White House fence jumper pleads guilty to two counts

The Log Lane Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved an intergovernmental agreement with Fort Morgan for wastewater treatment at the regular meeting Wednesday night.

While the new agreement had some on the board questioning whether it reached too far in allowing inspection of businesses that contributed wastewater to the Fort Morgan system, Town Attorney Carmen Beery explained that it was mainly a typical agreement. The inspections allowed under the agreement were something that was to be expected by such a treatment facility that has to meet government regulations, she said.

Some of the trustees expressed concerns that the updated agreement was making changes that would target the town's businesses that deal with marijuana. Beery said that they would be treated no differently from other businesses or industries in that regard under the agreement.

Further, Public Works Director Bert Kammerzell pointed out that if the town did not approve the agreement, options for dealing with the town's wastewater would be quite limited. It likely would cost a lot of money to reline and start the town's lagoons again for that purpose, he said, adding that he was unsure whether that would even be legal at this point due to environmental regulations.

Beery also explained that the update to the IGA was due to results of an audit and review of the plant by government agencies that required all entities contributing to Fort Morgan's wastewater system to comply with pretreatment standards.

"This just amends the existing IGA to ensure the waste Fort Morgan gets from Log Lane Village complies with the standards that Fort Morgan has to meet," she told the board.

While the legal wording of the agreement may have made it sound like the Fort Morgan city manager could come in and inspect any Log Lane business at any time, that was the not the intent or likely impact of the IGA, Beery said.

"This IGA does not give carte blanche access at any time," she said. What the board approved Wednesday night was an IGA that was "fair and complies with environmental standards. They were required to make the amendments, and that's what these are. ... It's not any departure from the status quo."

Kammerzell also pointed out that he has worked well with Fort Morgan Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Mike Hecker in the past when any issues had come up, and he did not expect that working relationship to change under the amended agreement.

He also pointed out that if a town wastewater contributor were to be inspected by Fort Morgan officials, the town could always dispute the results of the inspection and have it rechecked at the town's expense.

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Green light wastewater agreement with FM

Lawn Master - Lawn Care Treatment Services
Lawn Master is a nationwide lawn care and lawn treatment service in the UK. We employ qualified greenkeepers and groundsman to provide services such as scari...

By: LawnmasterTV

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Lawn Master - Lawn Care Treatment Services - Video

Tom McCartney suspects it was the childrens toys on the front lawn that explain why a serial rapist chose to terrorize his family on a stormy June night in 1975.

McCartney and his wife, Janet, were watching TV when they turned to see a man with a sawed-off shotgun and a mask standing in their living room. The man, John Rydberg, ordered the newlyweds to bind each others hands and feet; he then pulled pillow cases over their heads and raped them while their 3-year-old son slept upstairs.

In emotional testimony Thursday, Tom McCartney recounted the chilling incident in vivid detail before pleading with a federal judge to consider the plight of rape survivors before reaching a verdict in a trial that could decide the constitutionality of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP).

At one point, McCartney swiveled in his witness chair and asked U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank, If youre really convinced that you want to let these people out, then why dont you take them home with you? Why should we be the guinea pigs?

The account by McCartney, the first assault survivor to testify since the trial began five weeks ago, is part of the states effort to show that indefinite confinement of certain sex offenders in high-security treatment centers is justified, given the violence of their offenses and the deep nature of their disorders. At the same time, the state is trying to demonstrate that it operates a viable treatment program based on sound clinical methods and is not just re-punishing offenders by confining them after their prison terms.

A group of sex offenders has sued the state as a class, alleging that their indefinite confinement, combined with a lack of regular court review of their cases, violates their constitutional right to due process. If Frank rules in favor of the offenders, he could order dramatic changes to the 20-year program, including an accelerated process for discharging offenders and ongoing court oversight.

In a review last year, a panel of four authorities on sexual deviancy concluded that some of MSOPs offenders met the legal criteria for discharge into the community. The experts said they were not being released because the states discharge process had become overly bureaucratic and political, among other reasons.

Offenders who took the witness stand in earlier testimony described an atmosphere of hopelessness, in which the programs failure to discharge offenders contributed to their unwillingness to cooperate in treatment. Only three offenders have been provisionally discharged from the program in its 20-year history, and no one has been completely released.

But attorneys for the state have repeatedly reminded the court of the brutality of many of the offenders crimes and why so many are difficult to treat. About one in eight offenders at MSOP have either killed or attempted to kill their victims. Forty-one percent used a weapon to threaten or coerce their victims. And about half have an anti-social personality diagnosis.

Taken as a whole, the roughly 700 sex offenders held at MSOP treatment centers in Moose Lake and St. Peter have 8,800 victims and have committed 3,400 criminal sexual conduct offenses, according to data disclosed at trial and confirmed by the Department of Human Services.

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Rape survivor recounts night of horror, warns against release of offenders