Free Republic

Most citizens would probably agree that the military services put considerable effort into being good neighbors and friends of the environment. To these ends, they have established and maintained expensive and manpower intensive programs to comply with laws and regulations designed to protect the environment. When the military commits to a program, it does so with its characteristic enthusiasm, which usually goes beyond an effort to just barely comply. Sometimes the cost and effort put into compliance can negatively impact other priorities more closely related to mission, such as training and readiness. At some point, it is incumbent upon senior...

Legal Tug of War Over Shoplifting Costing Village Thousands The theft of some elastic hair ties worth less than three dollars has the Village of Plover snarled in a nearly three-year legal battle. The case has cost the village nearly 15-thousand dollars and threatens to change the way police deal with evidence in simple shoplifting cases. The village attorney characterizes the fight as important to Wisconsin law enforcement agencies that investigate retail theft. The woman accused of the shoplifting was found guilty of stealing from her employer by a jury. Then a judge threw out the case, but the village...

Oregon Coast - The state's parks and recreation commission last week approved a scaled back version of its plan for protecting Western snowy plover habitat along Oregon's sandy beaches, but it wasn't enough to satisfy officials in affected counties, including Tillamook.

Oregon’s beaches are for everyone. Those lucky enough to live here point to them with pride. We tell the story of how forward-thinking Oregonians have kept the beaches in public hands, safe from private ownership and development. That took planning, debate and consensus. We need those same skills now that we're faced with a challenge: protecting the western snowy plover (a threatened bird covered by state and federal Endangered Species laws) and allowing people to continue to use the beach. Snowy plovers and beach recreation For nearly two years, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has been collecting information, holding...

Tillamook county commissioner Charles Hurliman is a man with a missionj these days. Hurliman has been traveling up and down the county, speaking at public meetings about a plan by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department that would limit public access, and halt many recreational activities...