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scope it out for October 6, 2009

Posted on Oct 05, 2009 in News

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JeffCo launches cooking oil recycling program
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) _ Jefferson County has launched a recycling program for home cooking oil aimed at keeping the gunk out of the county’s sewers.

The county rolled out the program last week in an effort to reduce the number of sewage overflows from grease blockages. Each spill can lead to a $1,000 federal fine and a messy cleanup.

Residents can pick up jugs provided by the county at five collection sites in Trussville, Homewood and downtown Birmingham. Once the jugs are full of cooking grease and pan drippings, they can be returned for recycling.

The program costs just $6,500. It’s
The county has been under a federal consent decree for repairs since 1996 after a federal Clean Water Act lawsuit.

Alabama deaths from swine flu rises to 15
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) _ State health officials have announced four new swine flu deaths in Alabama.

The deaths announced Friday bring the state’s total number of fatalities from the virus to 15.

Officials say the new deaths are of a woman in her 30s and a man in his 60s from Montgomery County, a man in his 40s from Calhoun County, and a man in his 30s from Mobile County.

Previous deaths of persons positive for swine flu have occurred this year in Bullock, Dale, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Macon, Madison, Montgomery, Russell and Talladega counties.

Health officials say the rising number of deaths is a reminder of the need for everyone to take steps to prevent transmission of disease and to be immunized for both seasonal and swine influenza.
 

Biologists try to rid Mobile ponds of giant snails
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) _ Alabama officials concerned about the rapid migration of giant South American apple snails are about to try to halt their advance in Mobile County.

Ben Ricks, a biologist with the state Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries division, says a heavy dose of poison will be administered on Monday two ponds in Mobile’s Langan Municipal Park and in most of Three Mile Creek, down to Conception Street bridge.

Authorities said they want to stop the advance of the apple snails before they colonize the Mobile-Tensaw Delta.
In addition to poisoning the thousands of fist-sized adult snails, officials say they plan to smash every one of the pink wads of snail eggs they can find, beginning Saturday.

Experts say the snails typically destroy all aquatic plants in areas they infest, leaving behind an algae-filled wasteland.

“These guys may be the perfect snail, and that makes them very hard to kill,’’ Ricks told the Press-Register in a story Friday. “They have gills, they have lungs, they burrow. Every time we say, ‘Well, why don’t we do this to kill them,’ it turns out that isn’t going to work for one reason or another.’’

Ricks and biologists from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service set 25 snail traps in the pond this week. They collected the traps Thursday morning, along with 50 pounds worth of baseball-sized snails.

Ricks said the pond will likely have to be poisoned several times.

The pond will be restocked if the poisoning causes a fish kill.

Report rejects whistleblower in Ala. ex-gov case
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) _ A Justice Department investigation finds no basis for whistleblower allegations against the team that prosecuted former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman for bribery.

Associate Special Counsel William Reukauf says in a letter to President Barack Obama that he’s reviewed the Justice Department report and its findings were “reasonable.’’

Siegelman questioned the results Friday and said he did not believe an honest attempt was made to find the truth.
The whistleblower was Tamarah Grimes, a paralegal for the Montgomery team that prosecuted Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy. She accused prosecutors of mismanagement and failure to report improper contact with jurors.

Siegelman was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison. He’s free on bond while he appeals.