Tale of Two Tanks conclusion

After learning of the brine spill at the tanks and speaking with the landowner that Saturday, I called the EPA and detailed what I had been made aware of and seen.

I was asked a lot of questions such as dates in question, the name of the company who owned the mineral rights, the tank numbers, etc., which I answered to the best of my ability. I was informed the information would be turned over to the EPA for investigation and f necessary, they would contact me.

Since I am still on dial up I remained off line as much as possible for a couple of days in case they called, but heard nothing from them. On the following Wednesday I noticed the coming and going of several dump truck loads of dirt on our little road as well as a county truck or two. Throughout the day I heard equipment running just up the road in the vicinity of the oil tanks.

That evening when I had time enough I took a stroll up the road to the site again with camera in hand.

This is a "before" photo of the drain off at the back of the tanks and pit.

And below is after.

This is the trench that had been dug for the run off.

And this is after.

Overall the place looked a lot better than how it had the days prior.

It appears everyone did their job and made things right. Let's hope this proves to be the case.

Aside from the actual desecration created by their negligence, the thing that upsets me most is that this company (and how many others?) have done whatever they can get away with to control costs because they are too cheap and/or greedy to do things responsibly. I hope it cost this particular company a lot of money to right their wrongs. I know it did last year when they polluted the well water of a nearby family and had to replace the well. Maybe they'll realize that it would have been cheaper to do things responsibly to begin with.

On my way back to the house I took this photo of the fields to the south and the intensely beautiful sky, thankful that things appeared to have been made right and hoping that this company will realize that environmental responsibility is more cost effective in the long run. In the very least maybe they'll realize that others are watching.

We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap. ~Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. ~Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before. ~Robert Lynd, The Blue Lion and Other Essays

snowy aftermath

Coop after clearing a path from the garage door

We were fortunate in having no power outages over the past weekend during the storm. We didn't get the high winds and drifting reported in other areas of the state Saturday and Sunday either, just lots of snow...about 18-20" of it.

(yes, we're those folks who leave the patio furniture out all year round.)

wintery reminiscing

Yesterday Coop spotted a coyote passing through the woods behind the house. As a safeguard we kept the ducks penned in for the day. We watched Shadow as he guarded the edge of the property, fully aware of the coyote’s presence. I think the ducks would have been safe because of that, but there is no sense in tempting fate.

Last night brought terrible winds and cold. The gusts are so strong at times they are forcing air through the window seals, making a whining hum despite having this place sealed up quite well. That’s when you know it’s windy! I’m glad we have nowhere to go and can stay in. I will spend today doing small things…balancing the checking account, finishing up a crocheted capelet I began the other day and cooking a pot of soup.

This type of winter weather brings to mind days past when we lived here the first time. I remember a day the electric was out for 16 hours. Kandice and I stayed huddled on the sofa under a blanket a good share of that day with the kerosene heater taking center stage in the living room. Fortunately our electric co-op seems to have improved lines and service since then and we seldom get a power outage anymore. And when we do it is short lived.

The high winds of today bring memories from even further back of the blizzard that hit our area thirty years ago. The weather service declared the blizzard of January 1978 as a severe one that was rarer and far more dangerous, one of “unprecedented magnitude”. At that time I was 22 and living at home with my folks. We thought for sure the plate glass window in the living room was going to blow out. Fortunately it didn’t. Dad and my brother left work early that day and were fortunate they did, else they would have been stranded there. Days after the blizzard, I recall driving on roads still covered in layers of icy ruts, my old ’71 Plymouth Duster literally bouncing this way and that as I pushed forward to make it to work on time. Twenty foot drifts lined the roads, some higher, burying the countryside (and a few travelers) and hiding the view, giving the effect of being in a tunnel of snow. But enough reminiscing about the past, it’s time to get on with today.

photo courtesy ohiohistory.org

Getting the message out-we made the front page!

Photo By Times-Gazette photo/Tom E. Puskar
Sallie and Ken Cooper pose with some of the things (computer monitor, canister set and breadmaker) they have obtained through Freecycling.

7-16-07

Times-Gazette.com

Another way to recycle / Avid recyclers enjoy trading items with others through Freecycling

11 hours ago

By JARRED OPATZ

T-G Special Projects Editor

Ken and Sallie Cooper got their computer monitor from a lady in Jeromesville, their bread machine from a Sullivan resident and their vintage canisters from someone in Mansfield.

They didn't have to pay for any of them.

The Rowsburg-area couple got the items through freecycling -- a grassroots, nonprofit movement of people who give and get stuff for free that really has grown since it began four years ago in Tucson, Ariz.

The Freecycle Network is made up of more than 4,000 individual groups across the globe with more than 3 million members, according The Freecycle Network Web site, www.freecycle.org.

Members contact each other through e-mail to get and give away things that otherwise might end up in the trash by joining local Freecycle groups. The Coopers belong to both the Ashland County and Mansfield groups, which have 724 and 1,269 members, respectively. It's free to sign up for a group, but there are guidelines to follow, such as not reselling items received from freecycling or not just joining to get things.

"There are some people who get into it just to get stuff, but I think most people are glad to trade things, get rid of stuff and not have to throw it away," Sallie said.

"It's a good thing, but, like with anything, you have some people who abuse the system," she added.

The Coopers have given away quite a bit of things through freecycling, too, such as organic tomato plants, clothing and canisters.

"I had some blue canisters he bought at an auction," Sallie said looking at her husband one day last week while talking about their experiences with freecycling to a reporter in their rural home. "They were really nice, but I had a pink kitchen and didn't use them.

"So, when I had a chance to get these," she added pointing to the canister set she now has in her kitchen she got through freecycling, "I freecycled the blue ones."

For the Coopers, freecycling has fit their lifestyle perfectly. They have been avid recyclers for many years and they like to live a simple, frugal lifestyle.

"We're big recyclers," Ken said. "I would rather recycle something than send it to the dump."

Freecycling has given the Coopers another "recycling" option with the benefit of getting things they usually need and not having to throw away things they don't need and can't take to the Recycling Center.

"We don't throw away things unless there's no alternative," Sallie said. "In the process," she added looking at stereo speakers and a few of the other things she has decorated her house with through freecycling with a big smile. "I really like my stereo speakers. They would have taken up a lot of room in a landfill."

If there's something the Coopers want, they can post an offer on the group's Web site or goes to members' e-mails.

"If you're the first one to respond, you're mostly the one to get it," Sallie said. "Most people will respond to the first person who responds to their ad."

Freestyle discourages sharing private information with the group, such as phone numbers and addresses.

"A lot of times when you're dealing with someone you don't even exchange phone numbers," Sallie said. "You just contact through e-mail, and a lot of times it's just on a first-name basis."

"A lot of times you don't even meet the people," Ken said. "If you're not going to be here and someone is coming to pick something up, you just leave it on the porch or where ever."

What makes it fun is some of the unique things you can find with freecycling or unique ways people use some of the things you give them, the Coopers agreed.

"When we moved to our home (about a year ago) we had a barn full of stuff we gave away through Freecycle," Sallie said. "We had a lot of huge wooden spools we got rid of. One couple from Jeromesville had the most unique reason for getting some of them. They had goats and said they were going to make pyramids for the goats to climb because goats love to climb."

Muscovy ducks have been the most unique things the Coopers have gotten through Freecycle.

"We had talked about getting ducks," Sallie said. "We really liked Muscovy ducks. I had read a lot about them. They are really unique ducks.

"Then, a lady in the Polk area had an ad for Muscovy ducks, and I thought, 'What are the odds?' " Sallie added.

The Coopers have four Muscovy ducks, which they said are quiet ducks who don't quack. They eat the eggs they get from the three females.

A basket of yarn from a Nankin woman is another interesting item they have received through freecycling, Sallie said.

As much as they enjoy the things they receive and get rid of through Freecycle, the Coopers said they mostly do it because they believe in the movement to reduce waste and ease the burden on landfills.

"We have grown up as a nation of mass consumers and a throw-away society," Sallie said. "We have to stop that.

"This seems like a small thing," Sallie added about freecycling. "But when there are so many people doing small things, it makes a difference. I think this makes a difference."

Jarred Opatz can be reached at 419-281-0581, ext. 256, or by e-mail at jopatz@times-gazette.com, regarding this story and other story ideas.

peacocks & herbs (repost with photos)

This past weekend Kingwood Center held their spring herb sale, so Coop, my niece Jenni, (who lives nearby and is like a daughter to me) and I took a trip over this morning. If you live in Ohio in proximity to Richland County, Kingwood is a place you’ll want to visit often. It’s a gorgeous 47 acre former estate garden brimming with flora and fauna amidst the bustle of Mansfield, Ohio. It’s free and open to the public year round. I have been there many times and will return many more. In fact, June is a highlight for me when the myriad of roses come into bloom. There are about 500 roses in bloom between June and September that result in thousands of blooms in every imaginable color and scent.

I was smart enough to take my camera along this morning and capture a few photos of Mr. India Blue Peacock. Along with photos (which should be showing up here but seem not to be) I came home from the sale with a few herbs; lemon verbena, woodruff, chocolate mint, hot and spicy oregano and bronze fennel. I thought the hot and spicy oregano would be a nice addition to some of my sauces and salsas this year! Can’t wait! I use a lot of oregano in my cooking anyhow, so this will be fun to try. The bronze fennel I was thrilled to find. I do like fennel seeds, especially mixed into sausages and spaghetti sauce, but the beauty of bronze fennel is exquisite. At least I think so, with its feathery fronds of bronze. I would plant it whether it was culinary or not, due to its eye appeal. The chocolate mint is deliciously chocolate and minty, of course! I have grown it before and it is a deep green mint that is very eye appealing, too. The lemon verbena…mmmmm, the scent alone is worth its presence in the garden. I like to add it to my herb tea blends, hot or cold. And the sweet woodruff will be a nice addition as a garnish or to add to teas, also. All in all, a nice little start to my herbal garden.

Towards the end of the month Jenni and I will be going to Quail Crest Farm in nearby Wayne County, Ohio to browse more herbs. I am really looking forward to that and spending the day with her.