Baxter Bulletin from Mountain Home, Arkansas • Page A12

GANNETT AU.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation determined that the affected cucumbers were shipped from Mexico. JACKSON, Miss. As the death toll in a salmonella outbreak linked to Mexican cucumbers has rown to three nationwide, vidence exists that the roduce was distributed in ore states than initially thought, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of cases of Salmonella Poona linked to cucumbers supplied by Andrew Williamson Fresh Produce of San Diego has increased by a third to 558 since last week, the CDC reported Tuesday.

The cucumbers ere said to have been distributed in 24 states, but 33 states have reported sal- monella cases linked to the vegetable. About 20percent of the illnesses reported have occurred in California, but eight states have had more than 20 cases each, the CDC said. One death has been reported in each of three states: Arizona, California and Texas. AU.S. Food and Drug A dministration investigation determined that the firm Rancho Don Juanito de R.L.

de C.V. in Baja, Mexico, was the primary source of cucumbers shipped to Andrew Williamson, that agency said. It issued an import alert for the cucumbers on Sept.14. Andrew Sept.4 recall of Limited Edition brand cucumbers sold between Aug.1and ept.3 also led to Parlier, Custom Produce recall Sept.11 of Fat Boy label cucumbers as well as unlabeled cucumbers from the distributor. Those have been traced back to Andrew Williamson and Rancho Don Juanito.

The cucumbers grown at Rancho Don Juanito typically have a length of 7 10 inches and a diameter 1.75 to 2.5 inches, acc ording to the FDA. ustomers unsure whether their cucumbers have been recalled should ask their grocer. At a store, the cucumbers typically are sold in a bulk display without packaging or plastic wrap, the FDA said. Food-service companies also could have received the cucumbers and typically use them in salads and deli sandwiches. in doubt, at, sell or serve CDC officials said.

throw them Deaths from salmonella contaminated cukes now 3 33 states report salmonella cases linked to vegetable BRACEY HARRIS THE (JACKSON, MISS.) CLARION-LEDGER SALMONELLA SYMPTOMS Most people infected with salmonella bacteria develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after eating a ontaminated food. The illness usually lasts four to seven days a nd most people recover without treatment. But children younger than 5, adults older than 65 and others ith weakened immune systems can face severe diarrhea and an infection that spreads from the intestines to the bloods tream. If the proper antibiotics are not administered quickly, hey can die. PAGE12A BAXTER BULLETIN baxterbulletin.com FRIDAY on behalf of other Baxter County residents that onth, and the AHA oined in the suit.

chulze, along with Monica L. Miller, of Washington, D.C., and David A. Niose, of Fitchburg, iled a pretrial brief outlining their contentions and itnesses. According to the brief, the witnesses hey plan to call include Blackthorn, Pendergrass and Rick Spencer, a Mountain Home lawyer who wns the nativity scene and places it on the court- ouse lawn. Potential witnesses include Eddie Majeste, executive director of the Mount ain Home Chamber of Commerce, to whom Pend ergrass leased the northwest corner of the courthouse lawn for $1, and John Eberhard, who had asked Pendergrass about lacing the solstice banner the lawn.

No standing Defense counsel Jason E. Owens, of Rainwater, olt Sexton in Little ock, also filed a pretrial rief. According to his brief, the defense plans to call Pendergrass and Spencer as witnesses, and possibly call Majeste. Both sides said in their filings that deposition may be submitted to the court in lieu of his testifying. In his pretrial brief, Owens contends there are no genuine issues of mat erial fact, and that Pend ergrass and the county are entitled to qualified i mmunity and a summary udgment dismissing the case.

wens has maintained i earlier filings that Blackthorn and the AHA ave no standing because trying to vindicate the constitutional rights of third parties. He said lackthorn suffered no personal injury because of the nativity scene and that her objection to the dis- lay was that it excluded ther people from being a ble to display their beliefs alongside it. In a brief, Owens said the U.S. Supreme Court as held that individuals must show they have omething more to gain in alawsuit the mere i deological or psychological satisfaction of upholding the Owens also has con- ended there was no state action in displaying the na- ivity scene since it is owned by Spencer and the northwest corner of the courthouse lawn was eased by the chamber of commerce. I his earlier motion for summary judgment, Owens argued the suit is moot because the nativity scene currently is not on display a nd there is reason- a ble of it being displayed in 2015.

The nativity scene has been displayed every Christmas season for about 40 ears. Issues of law In his summary of the case, Schulze contends Baxter County has maintained exclusive sectarian Christian on public property in violation of the U.S. Constitution and the establishment clause of the First Amendment. According to the suit, Blackthorn and the AHA want the county to ei- her allow displays from hose of other or no faiths, or remove the nativity cene. Blackthorn has said he would prefer the county share the lawn with oth- rs during the December oliday season.

Schulze argues that the ativity scene, even with Santa Claus, reindeer, tree and sleigh, remains a predominantly Christian dis- lay, and by denying other displays, the county appears to establish Christianity the preferred a nd favorable religion of he county to the exclusion all Schulze maintains Pendergrass tried to bypass the Constitution by leasing he northwest corner of the public lawn to the hamber of commerce for $1in order for Spencer to lace the nativity display there. However, in his deposition, Spencer said he had no idea the chamber ad leased the corner nor had he ever talked with ajeste or Pendergrass about it. Majeste said in his deposition he had never talked with Spencer of a nyone else about putting the nativity scene on the orner. In addition, Schulze said in the brief there was no public notice or public hearing about Pender- intent to lease the ublic property to the chamber. According to the brief, Schulze contends the issues of law expected to be ontested include: Whether the nativity cene is sectarian as a matter of law Whether the display in effect advances or endorses the Christian religion Whether the display, as it was in 2014, violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment Whether the county has opened the courthouse lawn as a public forum uring the holiday season, a nd if the county has discriminated regarding the isplay based on content And whether Baxter County has a ecular purpose for the isplay and if so whether that purpose is a Nativity Continued from Page 1A ens (the only Marylander to receive the Confederate Medal of Honor) at Lothia a statue of Kenneth Davis at Harding University in Searcy, a linemen memorial at the North Arkansas Electric Cooperative in Salem honoring linemen who ied on the job and a bust of Abraham Lincoln that as displayed at the Ark ansas State Capital.

I August, Moore of- fered to give the veterans busts to Mountain Home for display on the plaza. Some city council members objected, contending they would clutter up the plaza and adversely impact its symmetry. They contended noth- i ng more needs to be added to the plaza and recommended placing the busts at Arkansas State University Mountain Home, the Donald W. Reynolds Library, Baxter Regional edical Center or in a city park. A fter three meetings, wo visits to the plaza and a ommittee recommenda- tion to place the busts on the plaza, the council voted 6-2 on Sept.

17 to reject the plaza proposal. However, responding to a question from Alderman Nancy Osmon who supported placing the statues on the plaza Moore said he ould be open to considering another location for the busts. Subsequently, Pendergrass was contacted about possibly placing them at the courthouse. Pender- rass said Moore finished either bust and it ikely will be next year be- ore they can be placed a nywhere. Busts Continued from Page 1A est approach.

Hutchinson aid the changes seek- i ng to the private option, which include requiring some participants to pay remiums and eliminating non-emergency transportation, require a tate-run exchange. utchinson said his re- uest would not affect the plans to move forward with setting up its exchange for small business- this fall. request omes a little more than a eek after a legislator co- chairing the oversight commit- ee asked the exchange to hold off on looking at vendors for its information echnology services. utchinson also told he council that a consultant hired by the state Department of Human Services said his proposal to equire private option part icipants to go on their em- health plans if a vailable would save about $29 million a year. Under that proposal, the private ption program would provide assistance for deductibles and co-payments for a bout 7,700 people.

Health Continued from Page 1A The amount of land burned by wildfires in the this year has sur- assed 9million acres, acc ording to data released Thursday by the National Interagency Fire Center. This is only the fourth ime on record the country has reached that ark, center spokesman Randall Eardley said in an mail. The area burned is roughly equivalent to the size of New Jersey and Connecticut combined. A ll of the top years for acres burned have oc- urred since 2000, Eardley said. The worst year occurred in 2006, with 9.8million acres.

In 2007 a nd 2012, 9.3million acres were burned, he said. If a nother 800,000 acres are burned this year, an all- time record would be set. Accurate wildfire records go back to 1960. Be- ore 2000, the U.S. surpassed 7million acres nly one time in 1963.

year 2000 seems to have been a turning point in the number of acres seen Eard ley said. This fire season as been unusually severe in the Northwest. Wildfires burn over 9 million acres DOYLE RICE USA TODA NOAH Jesse, the dog, cools off with help from Cal Fire Santa Clara firefighter Tim Quickel and owner Claudia Uyeno near iddletown, Calif. Sept. 21as homeowners sort through the destruction left by a wildfire..