Literary Ruralism (Part VI): Alice Munro wins Nobel Prize in Literature

Here's the lede from yesterday's New York Times story announcing her prize:

Alice Munro, the renowned Canadian short-story writer whose visceral work explores the tangled relationships between men and women, small-town existence and the fallibility of memory, won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday.

Like most everything I have read or heard about Munro's work since the prize was announced, this piece notes that she frequently set her work in small towns.  For example, a fuller feature on Munro in today's New York Times includes this description:

Set largely in small-town and rural Canada and often focused on the lives of girls and women, her tales have the swoop and density of big, intimate novels, mapping the crevices of characters’ hearts with cleareyed Chekhovian empathy and wisdom.

Great to see a source like the New York Times recognizing that you can have swoop and density in small-town and rural places.  The media--and popular culture--so often present these places and their denizens as simple, cardboard cut-outs.

Munro lives in Clinton, Ontario, population 3,082.  She had earlier this year announced her retirement.

Europeans skeptical on fracking

The New York Times ran this story today, headlined "As Drilling Practice Takes Off in the U.S., Europe Proves Hesitant."  Here's an excerpt from Steven Erlanger's story:

France and Bulgaria have already banned it, and in Britain the government’s attempts to promote it have led to heated demonstrations in the countryside. It is complicating Germany’s attempts to wean itself from fossil fuels and forcing Russia to recalibrate the energy-export strategy that sustains its economy.

* * *

Now the temptation to follow the United States in extracting shale gas from rock on a large scale is presenting Europe with contentious trade-offs that could affect the Continent’s economic competitiveness, test its commitment to curbing climate change and determine its place in a 21st-century version of the Great Game. 

The early signs are that densely populated Europe, with citizens generally more sensitive to environmental concerns and more willing to tolerate high energy costs, is unlikely to embrace the technique as the Americans have.

The story features a photo of British designer Vivienne Westwood holding a sign that says, "Lock the Gate, 82% Say No," near a drilling site in Balcombe, West Sussex, England.  Details of France's ban on fracking are in this story.

The Times also reported today on a vote by European Union lawmakers to tighten rules on fracking.  While the details of the rules have not been finalized, they would "to force energy companies to carry out in-depth environmental audits" before they are permitted to use fracking to recover natural gas from shale rock.

Other stories covering the fracking controversy in Britain include this August column by Roger Cohen. He notes that British prime minister David Cameron is a but supporter, but many big-name Brits are opposed:

Bianca Jagger has joined the battle against the dash for gas. A Green M. P. has been arrested. So has Natalie Hynde, daughter of the rockers Ray Davies of the Kinks and Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. 

Here is "With Controls, Britain Allows Hydraulic Fracturing to Explore for Gas from Dec., 13, 2012.  It features a photo of a drilling site near Blackpool, Lancashire.  

Here is, "British Villages, Fearing Fracking, Protest Plan for Drilling," from May 24, 2013.  

Here is "British Company Applies for Shale Gas Fracking Permit," from July 5, 2013. 

An act of civil disobedience in southern Utah: Re-opening national parks by force?

See NPR's coverage here of the decision by nonmetropolitan San Juan County, in far southeastern Utah (one of the four corners of the "four corners" attraction), to storm the national parks and monuments there in order to open them to tourists.  The parks have been closed for 10 days now due to the federal government shut down, and it is starving local businesses.  I had heard a report earlier yesterday about four counties in southern Utah lobbying the government to permit them to operate the parks, but this news of the planned "civil disobedience" in San Juan County was late breaking after the county's commissioners held an emergency meeting on Wednesday.  Here are some excerpts from Howard Berkes's story.

[T]he San Juan County Commission has also decided to storm National Park Service barricades, take control of some parks, and reopen them to the public.

* * * 

The commissioners had decided to take down the barricades at Natural Bridges National Monument as early as Thursday morning but put off that move to give Utah Governor Gary Herbert time to discuss the issue with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

San Juan County is also home to "Hovenweep and Rainbow Bridge National Monuments, the Island in the Sky and Needles Districts of Canyonlands National Park and the Hite Marina inside the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area."

Berkes quotes Phil Lyman, a county commissioner from Monticello, Utah, the county seat:

This is civil disobedience.  What's happening to us is wrong.  ...  The decision has been made.  But decisions change.

That last comment seems to suggest that the commissioners hope they won't have to take this action.  If they do, Berkes notes, it would involve some 60 county employees, including Sheriff's deputies, search and rescue volunteers, firefighters, EMT's", and it would also involve "portable toilets, garbage trucks and three mobile command centers."

San Juan County, Berkes notes, is the size of Connecticut and Delaware combined. Its population is 14,476, and I could tell you its population density, poverty rate, and a whole lot more were it not for the government shutdown, which means no access to Census Bureau data.  Here's an earlier post (with photos!) from Bluff, Utah, a small town in San Juan County that seemed highly dependent on tourism when I was there five years ago this month.

P.S. San Juan County had a not insignificant population of American Indians, as I recall, and it is just over the Arizona state line from Monument Valley. This NPR story, on Oct. 11, highlights how Indian tribes are attracting more tourists to sites they own amidst the federal closure of national parks.  

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women considers rural women

The Committee dedicated half a day to discussing rural women on Monday, as part of its two-week long meeting in Geneva.  The webpage dedicated to the event is here, but on it I cannot find links to the materials I received in a summarizing email.  Here are some highlights:

The aim of the half-day general discussion was to commence the Committee’s process of elaborating a "General Recommendation on rural women". The purpose of the general recommendation is to provide appropriate and authoritative guidance to States Parties on the measures to be adopted to ensure full compliance with their obligations to protect, respect and fulfil the rights of rural women.

* * *

In an opening statement Elisabeth Rasmusson, Assistant Executive Director of Partnerships and Governance, World Food Programme, speaking on behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, United Nations Women and the World Food Programme, said of the 1.4 billion extremely poor people in the world 70 per cent lived in rural areas. Rural women carried most of the unpaid work burden due to the lack of infrastructure and services. Over 150 million people would be lifted out of hunger if women had equal access to land, education, tools, technologies, credit markets and participation.

* * * 

Mayra Gomez, Co-Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, focused on secure rights to land for rural women which was a critical issue and could itself be a prism through which structural patterns of gender inequality could be revealed. Women produced 50 per cent of food globally, and up to 80 per cent in the developing world, but globally it was estimated that only one per cent of women owned land.

Catarina De Albuquerque, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, said in the 12 county missions she had undertaken since taking on her mandate she had found that rural women suffered more than rural men, or urban women, of lack of access to water and sanitation. Lack of access to sanitation affected human dignity and undermined the enjoyment of women and girls’ human rights.

Several country's reports were noted:  

Australia said one third of all Australian women lived in regional communities, and while the number of women living in rural communities was low, the vastness of Australia and the isolation of rural communities presented particular challenges. Australia was working to improve women’s access to key services, including education and training, which led directly to better employment opportunities and enabled women to become drivers of economic growth. Access to information and communications technologies was also an enabling factor. Globally Australia’s aid programme supported the GSMA Women Programme which aimed to expand mobile telephone access to poor women.

Spain said it was a huge paradox that the territorial area where women’s input was most important was where they were least recognized. Gender disaggregated data and statistics collection had to be improved. All public policies must devote a specific chapter to the needs of rural women. Women must be seen as a key element in the economic participation of the rural world. The skills of educated rural women must be better used, for example in Spain, the percentage of rural women with university degrees, was twice that of men (20 per cent compared to 10 per cent).

Cuba said it had been working for a long time on the issue and as a result had identified challenges and problems faced by rural women in Cuba. Some rural communities, particularly in mountainous areas, often did not have jobs for women. When women did work their work was not recognized, as it was often not full-time hours. In 2012 Cuba started a new development phase that included actions to improve the provision of recreational land to women, resulting in over 17,000 women now holding over 10 per cent of the land.

Brazil said in rural areas women accounted for a significant proportion of the agricultural labour force, played an essential role in food production and performed most of the unpaid work. Yet rural women and girls were more vulnerable to poverty, lack of education and violence. The Government of Brazil had taken several initiatives since 2003 to ensure that rural women could participate in and benefit from rural development, and to combat gender-based violence. Rural women’s empowerment was key.

Venezuela said no measure to help rural women could be successful if not accompanied by a policy of measures of equality. The Venezuelan Government had launched several policies, particularly in the granting of loans, equipment, infrastructure, training and technical assistance to rural communities and particularly to women. In its seventh National Agricultural Census Venezuela had included a gender aspect in order to disaggregate data by gender in future.

Syria said the Syrian Government had always considered women to be a driving force in economic development. Rural people, including women, were the hardest hit by violence stemming from the horrors of terrorism currently afflicting Syria; the result of armed terrorist groups supported and financed by the parties known to all, who were guilty of crimes against the Syrian people. Rural areas of Syria and rural women were the first to bear the brunt of sanctions which prevented them from enjoying their right to development and other rights. The speaker also spoke about the suffering of rural women in the Israeli-occupied Golan territory. 

Thailand said as a developing country with a large population of rural women, today’s discussion was timely. A holistic approach was needed to address the issues, especially to enhance women’s political participation, and help rural women access jobs and services. The allocation of resources to support rural women and the prioritization of female-headed households were crucial. The speaker outlined a number of actions taken by the Thai Government to empower rural women and girls.

A February 2012 UN event focusing on rural women was the subject of blog posts here and here.  A November 2012 meeting is discussed here.  My work on Article 14 of CEDAW, which addresses the rights of rural women, can be downloaded here, here, and here.

On the origins of "boondocks"--and its (intra- or inter-) racial implications

NPR filed this report yesterday as part of its CodeSwitch series.  Lakshmi Gandhi writes:

For more than half a century, Americans have used the phrase "the boondocks" or "the boonies" to indicate that a place was in the middle of nowhere. However, few people realize that the phrase is a relic of American military occupation in the Philippines, and that it was later brought to mainstream attention because of a now largely forgotten, fatal training accident on Parris Island[, South Carolina].

She goes onto to explain that the Tagalog word "bundok" means mountain.

Veterans of the Philippines conflict brought the term "the boondocks" back to the U.S. with them, and the term began to be used by military personnel both stateside and in the Philippines. By 1944, the phrase was firmly entrenched in the lingo of the armed forces, and the phrase "out in the boondocks" appeared in that year's Marine Corps Reader.

Gandhi then explains that the phrase caught on in common parlance only after it became associated with a Marine training accident in the United States.  A staff-seargeant awakened his charges during the night and told them they were going into the boondocks.  He ordered them to march into Ribbon Creek, on Parris Island, with him, but six of them drowned, creating "a media firestorm and a national conversation about how Marines are trained."  Gandhi writes:        

Several newspapers and magazines covered every detail of [staff-sergeant] McKeon's subsequent court-martial and trial. ... The word "boondocks" was frequently used in the coverage of the incident, with newspapers noting that McKeon led his platoon "out into the boondocks and eventually into tragedy."

As Gandhi notes, it is interesting that the term so soon lost such a tragic association.  It is, of course, now more associated with all things rural and "country," as manifest in songs like "Down in the Boondocks," Little Big Town's 2006 hit "Boondocks," and Aaron McGruder's comic strip by the same name.  Gandhi explains that in that strip, "two young boys ... leave the South Side of Chicago to live with their grandfather in a sleepy and predominantly white suburb in Maryland."  Suburban Maryland?  doesn't sound very boondocky to me.  Maybe what Gandhi is suggesting is that "boondocks" has come to connote something about race (and racial homogeneity--white homogeneity), and not only about remoteness or rurality.  If that is the case, it would explain why this story made its way into "Codeswitch," which is a collection of contributions, interventions, musings about race and ethnicity.  I was hoping the story's inclusion on Codeswitch might signal recognition that white people have race, too, and sub-groups like those associated with the boondocks aren't quite as white as other whites (to play on the title of Matt Wray's 2006 book, Not Quite White:  White Trash and the Limits of Whiteness).  That would be the intra-racial observation, as opposed to the inter-racial observation that Gandhi appears to be making. 

Some Coloradans want to secede, but is their gripe primarily cultural or economic?

Jack Healy's front-page story in today's New York Times touches on both issues as driving the disgruntlement that has led 11 counties in northern and eastern Colorado to decide to engage in a "quixotic vote" next month on secession from the state.  The headline is "Fed Up on the Prairie, and Voting on Seceding from Colorado," and the story touches on both cultural issues (guns and family) and economic issues (poor funding of schools, roads and hospitals).  I love the lede:

The Old West has decided it is fed up with the New West.

The story features many references to "rural" and rural-urban differences.  And Healy certainly found some, well, extreme views in Cheyenne Wells, his dateline for the story, in the far eastern part of the state. Take those of Cheyenne Wells convenience store owner Lyle Miller: 

I would’ve never believed the state of Colorado would become this liberal.  I’m afraid for my grandchildren. I want them to have the same heritage I had.

Jeffrey Hare, who leads the the 51st State Initiative that supports secession and the formation of what might be called New Colorado, has this to say:

People think this is a radical idea.  It’s really not. What we’re attempting to do is restore liberty.

Gun rights are a theme throughout the story, with the suggestion that this movement really took hold after Colorado passed gun control laws earlier this year, laws that led to the recall of two state senators last month, as discussed here and here.  In relation to the gun issue in particular, Healy features Rod Pelton, a Cheyenne County commissioner whose ancestors moved here during the Dust Bowl era:

The alert tone on his cellphone is a gun loading and firing, and he believes in the possibility of New Colorado, no matter how long it takes. “There’s going to be a revolution of some kind,” he said. “This is the peaceful way to go about it.”

The new state people like Miller and Hare envision would, as the prior quote suggests,

cherish the farm towns and conservative ideals that people here say have been lost in Denver’s glassy downtown lofts or Aspen’s million-dollar ski condos. It would be called New Colorado, or maybe North Colorado — a prairie bulwark against the demographic changes and urbanization that are reshaping politics and life across this and other Western states.

But some residents and politicians--even conservative ones--do not favor secession.  They have practical questions about highways and parks and water rights.  Some Healy interviews suggest that secession is virtually a part of the American dream:

Beyond the logistics, they say, the urge to break free and scratch out a more perfect union runs as deep as an aquifer in American life, and has often been more complex than a breach between liberals and conservatives.

In this vein, the story notes other secession battles, past and present.  You can read the recent Calfiornia history on this, past and present, here and here.  A secession movement involving Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota is mentioned here.

The dateline for Healy's story, Cheyenne Wells, has a population of just 846, and is the county seat of Cheyenne County, population 1,836.  It seems that Healy may have selected the least populous and least dense of the 11 counties to feature (though that is not easily confirmed amidst the government shut down, which means Census data is not available).  Healy notes that the population density in the county is 1 person per square mile and that the county has suffered extreme population loss over the past several decades.  

Don't miss the accompanying slide show with several photos of Mr. Pelton and Cheyenne Wells.   

As odd as some of the quotes in this story seem, I appreciate that the New York Times made an effort at a balanced report, letting Cheyenne Wells residents express themselves in their own words and noting issues such as state funding for schools, roads and hospitals.   Indeed, even Colorado Governor John W. Hickenlooper of Colorado says he is taking the movement seriously:    

There are enough people that feel their views and their opinions aren’t being considered that I think that’s a serious problem, and I take it very seriously.  

An earlier post about the loss of rural clout in state legislatures is here.  

More "everyman" opinions on the government shutdown, this time from "rural" Georgia

Today's story by Trip Gabriel is dateline Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, population 9,623, and it features a photo of middle-ageish man in front of a large gun display on the wall behind him.  Turns out the man, Jeff Epperson, sells Civil War memorabilia, and his shop is just down the road from the historic Chickamauga battlefield.  The closure of that site due to the government shut down is hurting Mr. Epperson's business, but he doesn't mind, Gabriel reports, because Epperson supports his Republican congressman's strong stance linking government funding to Obamacare.  That congressman, Tom Graves, is the author of the Defund Obamacare Act.  Gabriel describes Graves district, the 14th, as  "newly created by Georgia's Republican-controlled Legislature." Graves enjoys strong support in his district, having won 73% of the vote in November. The district is 85% white and has a 16.6% college graduation rate, about half the national average.  Obama lost the district by 49 points last fall.

Gabriel reports that Mr. Epperson is among many staunch supporters of Graves.  Epperson "said the only thing that would weaken his support for Mr. Graves would be if the congressman caved in now. In that case, he might vote for a more conservative choice in the next Republican primary."  Epperson says:

If he backs off, then I would say absolutely I’d be inclined to look for someone else. 

Other quotes are pretty extreme, too, and for me hard to stomach.  They include this one from an 82-year-old antiques store owner from Dallas, in Paulding County.

Obama should not be so dogmatic.  He wants his way and no other.

Peggy Newsome, 73, said of Obama:

Everything he’s put his hands on, he’s screwed up.

Interestingly, Gabriel describes Newsome offering this opinion as she picked up bags of groceries at the Paulding County Helping Hands food bank.

But that isn't the only irony or contradiction in the comments of Mr. Graves's constituents.  Read the full story for more. And here's yet another contradiction:  Graves was sued in 2011 for defaulting on a $2.2 million business loan.

Fort Oglethorpe is in nonmetropolitan Catoosa County, population 63,942.  Paulding County, population 142,342, is metropolitan, and it appears to be an exurban part of the greater Atlanta Metro area.  (The county grew from a population of just 81,678, in 2000).  The county seat of Paulding County, Dallas, has a population of just 11,544, which tells me that Paulding County probably has a rural core--or perhaps I should say, retains its rural heart, rural culture.  The county's largest population cluster is Powder Springs, population 13,940, and it is also home to fast-growing exurb New Hope.

Rural water system not looking so great as rates rise across region

Ever since I wrote this post last month about the new Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority, I have been reading about water rates rising for consumers of that new water system.  A headline in the Sept. 25, 2013 issue of the Newton County Times featured this lede:

Officials with some water associations buying water from the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority report that their water systems are showing record loss of water and some say they aren't using as much water as their minimum use contracts charge.  

Before the $72 million in federal and state funding was agreed for the project, officials with each rural water association had to sign a minimum use contract.  The story discusses what is happening with the Diamond City and Valley Springs water associations, which are not using their minimum and are finding more leakage in their system than was previously there.  Some water associations have contacted the Arkansas Natural Resource Conservation SErvice (NRCS) about this issue, but state director Randy Young said the project is unlikely to garner additional state or federal funds to defray the added costs being borne by the local associations.  He indicated the issue might be revisited after a year of use.

The details in this story seem to mirror what is happening in Jasper, which is featured in a separate story headlined, "Jasper to adjust water rates."

A recent report by the Arkansas Rural Water Association shows that the City of Jasper's water system experienced a 54 percent loss in August.  To put that in perspective, anything above 15% is considered excessive.  Mayor (and water superintendent) Shane Kilgore said the city will begin the process of locating leaks by using observation meters that will be placed in key areas of the city's water system.   He noted that the regional water authority is permitting members to flush out their water lines free of charge, but only one time.  The story reports:

The city will have to increase water rates for the new water supply.  Calculations are being made, Mayor Kilgore told the council.  He said the city has 270 water meters and the rate of water use on average is about 3.2 million gallons a month.  The city's cost of producing its own water from its wells was about $9,962 per month.

Alderman Michael Thomas opined that the city should raise water rates now, and that the rates could then be lowered if the leak repairs lead to significant savings "and the city no longer treats and pumps its own water."

The board subsequently voted at is Sept. 25 meeting to raise some water rates.  The rate for the first 1000 gallons a consumer uses will be $8, with the price going up by $3.25 to $4.46 for the next 1000.  These fees "will about break even with the costs the city had in producing its own water, about $9,807/month." Alderman Thomas noted that this is first rate hike since 1993, and Alderman Eugene Davis noted Jasper still has the lowest water rates in Newton County.

In other water news, the Oct. 2, 2013 issue of the Newton County Times includes an editorial headlined, "Water:  be glad we have it at any cost."  In it, the editor notes the growing water supply problem nationally and asserts that the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority  came at a good time for the county.  All of this reminds me a headline about six weeks ago about the Wayton Water system lifting a boil order.  Those headlines have been very common in the past few years, so I'd say the county is indeed lucky to have this water supply at these reasonable costs.  

In other news generally, the Oct. 2 issue of the paper notes that the Buffalo National River is curtailing some services due to the federal government shutdown.

"Rural" attitudes toward the government shutdown

James Stewart for the the New York Times reports in today's business section under the headline, "In Rural Iowa, Spending, Not Shutdown, Raises Worry."  Stewart tells of time spent this week talking to voters in Iowa's Fourth Congressional District, which he describes as "a sprawling, mostly agricultural region that runs from Sioux City [population 82,684], on the Nebraska border, to Mason City, close to Minnesota."  It is an apparently notoriously conservative district, as evidenced by the fact its congressman is Steve King, a staunch critic of Obama and the Affordable Care Act.  Here's an excerpt from Stewart's story that helps explain why so many Iowans aren't troubled by the government shutdown: 

Iowa has been enjoying unusual prosperity in recent years, with low unemployment, high commodity prices and strong exports of agricultural products and machinery. “When your stomach is full and things are going well, it’s easy to say we have to get these guys under control,” said Stan Speer, president of American State Bank in Sioux Center [population 7,048]. “If we had another agricultural crisis like we had in the 1980s, it would be a whole different story.” He said that loan demand had been strong at his bank, but a continued shutdown would begin to affect construction projects that depend on federal programs. “With winter coming, any delay could have a big impact,” he said. “Then, people may start feeling differently.”

On the other hand, Stewart also reports on the effects for some who are feeling the effects of the government shutdown, and they happen to be in the more rural reaches of the state:

Even in rural Charles City [population 7,652], far from the paralysis in Washington, some people are feeling the effects. Timothy Fox, executive director of the Charles City Development Corporation, said he was troubled that his son’s trip to Effigy Mounds National Monument had been canceled. Government, he said, is “like electricity — you don’t notice it until you don’t have it.”

The NYTimes ran this story about 10 days ago, in the run up to the shutdown, featuring voter attitudes in Northwest Arkansas, which is also quite conservative.  (They have elected a Republican to Congress for some five decades, even as most of Arkansas has voted Democratic until recent elections).  Manny Fernandez's  story, "In Corner of Arkansas, Frustration but No Panic Over Possible Shutdown," dateline Bentonville, Arkansas, population 38,284, features mostly urban/metropolitan voters in the city best known as home to Wal-Mart's "home office."  Although the area is still popularly thought of as hillbilly territory (read more here and here), it is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States.  Also in Benton County, however, are areas like Decatur, Gravette, and Siloam Springs, populations 1,699, 2,325, and 15,039 respectively. Here's a quote from Gravette resident, Johnny Alfrey, age 67, about the looming shutdown:

Wolf’s been called so much. I don’t think they’ll shut it down. But they won’t get anything solved, that’s what I think.

Later in the story comes this from and about Mr. Alfey and his friend, Robert Walker, 66: 

“People’s too worried about putting food on their table and gas in their tank,” Mr. Walker said of why people had not been concerned about a possible shutdown. Both men worked at the same factory before retiring. Mr. Alfrey considers himself a Republican and Mr. Walker an independent. 

“I was a die-hard Republican up to about 12 years ago, and now I’m for neither one of them,” said Mr. Walker, who lives in Siloam Springs. “Neither one of them agree on anything. It’s not Republicans against Democrats. It’s the government against the people.”

There you have it:  a little home-spun wisdom from rural (but metropolitan) Arkansas.

Meanwhile, this story tells of a few states' requests to the Dept. of the Interior to use state funding to keep national parks open--including Arizona's request regarding the Grand Canyon National Park and South Dakota's request regarding Mount Rushmore National Monument.  These national parks are symbols of their respective states and attract vast sums of tourism revenue, including to the states' rural reaches.  The DoI rebuffed both states' requests.  

The rural-urban dynamic in Colombia's 50-year war

Thomas Mortensen reports for The Independent under the headline, "Colombia's 50 year-war:  An end in Sight?"  Here are some excerpts that highlight rural-urban angles in that long-standing conflict.

At the heart of the conflict is land. Five decades of fighting have left 5.7 million people displaced, the highest number in the world. Those who fled left behind six million hectares of land, much of which is now held by armed groups and their allies, or has been bought by big business concerns.

Efforts to return it to its original owners, as is already being seen in some areas, is likely to meet entrenched resistance, including recourse to the courts, and on occasion, recourse to violence.  

* * * 

[T]he peace talks some months ago agreed the first item on the agenda - the “new Colombian countryside”. 

With rural poverty one of the root causes of the conflict, initial agreement was reached that there would be better access to land and services such as health, education and housing, as well as access to credit.

All very promising, but implementation, of course, hinges on the rest of the agenda being agreed. It also begs the question of whether, after ignoring rural needs for so many years, the government really has the political will to change its priorities. 

Recent protests that partially paralysed the country show how urgently rural people want reform.

Mortensen notes that political participation is another issue that must be addressed, with the "poor and vulnerable excluded from a political system dominated by a traditional elite." 

This story reminds me of a number of conflicts around the world in which the rural-urban divide is a significant factor.  See a related post here regarding protests in Turkey this year, with embedded links to other posts.  

Law and Order in the Ozarks (Part CXXII): Locals tangle with feds over roads, cemeteries

Several recent issues of the Newton County Times have mentioned a dispute between a local cemetery board and the National Park Service regarding Shaddox Cemetery, which is contiguous to the Buffalo National River Park.  The most recent issue, from Sept. 25, 2013, indicates that an aide of U.S. Senator John Boozman was in Newton County to meet with members of the cemetery's board.  The dateline is Pruitt, previously home of a post office but now home to just a ranger station and a river put-in point.

Here's the history of the dispute, which goes back six years.  According to the cemetery board, elk (which were transported into the Buffalo National River a few decades ago) damaged the Shaddox cemetery in 2007.  The board sought relief from the National Park Service (NPS), but they declined to assist in any way.  The board proceeded to clean up the cemetery but then were notified by the park service that they must pay the NPS for disturbing an Indian burial ground.   The board later met with park service officials and the board has twice had the cemetery surveyed "to meet park service demands." According to the Sept. 25, report:

The board contends it followed a park service official's oral directions where to build the new fence, but the new fence did not satisfy the park superintendent upon final inspection because he said it crossed into park property. 

Since then the association has tried to buy, lease or trade for the 0.2 of an acre in dispute, but the park service has rejected the proposals, board members said.   

In the last letter from the park service, the association was notified that the park service wants the association to pay $72,000 for the 0.2 of an acre and damages to the park, and $18,000 to move the fence, which cost $14,000 to build.  

The cemetery association went before the Newton County Quorum Court at its September meeting.  The board asked the JPs to individually sign a copy of a Memorandum of Request prepared by the cemetery association.  JPs unanimously and individually signed the document and the cemetery board sent it to the Arkansas delegation in Washington and to the Arkansas General Assembly[,] as well as to the governor. 

The document asks these officials to "inform the Department of the Interior of local, state, and federal laws that protect us pertaining to this matter."   

Since then, a two-strand wire fence has gone up inside the fence built by the cemetery board.  Board members were made aware of this new fence by the person it contracts to keep the grounds mowed. 

Also, board members have photos of an unidentified individual in the cemetery conducting some type of underground scanning of the cemetery.  The Newton County Sheriff's Office was notified and a deputy reportedly escorted that person off the property.  They also said there is a photo of tire marks left on a war veteran's grave.  

Wow!  There is some heavy stuff here--with an Indian grave and a veteran's grave possibly having been desecrated.  I'm glad that Bozeman's staffer came to meet with the cemetery board and to see the desecration of the veteran's grave, which is shown in a photo.  But I'm also really disappointed in the federal government if this story is accurate.  Obviously, it would be interesting to hear the NPS's version of events, and I'm disappointed that the Newton County Times has apparently not sought it.

An earlier issue of the paper, from July 31, 2013, reports on another conflict between Newton County's government and the feds, once again embodied by the National Park Service.  This conflict is over roads, and the report indicates that the county judge (the chief administrative officer for the county, who is elected) has declared that he will not permit the National Park Service to "close or gate county roads," and further that he will not hesitate to have such gates knocked down if they are placed without his authorization.  The story also indicates that the county judge threatened to call the sheriff to escort an apparent agent or officer of the National Park Service off a roadway the agent/officer was blocking.  Here's an excerpt from the story headlined:  "County road work opposed by Park Service," dateline Carver, on the Buffalo National River:

A Newton County road was blocked last week by the National Park Service after the road was improved by the county road department making it easier and safer for large vehicles to navigate. 

Last Wednesday, July 24, Newton County Judge Warren Campbell notified that Newton County Times that the park service had the road blocked and he was in the process of having a park service enforcement officer escorted off the road who was stationed there after the road department removed several large rocks which the park service had placed there across the new section of road. 

The dispute was over a section of County Road 39 that connects with state Highway 123.  It goes past the Carver Cemetery and leads to the Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area.  Campbell said it is a heavily used local traffic route. It is used by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, utility companies, U.S. Postal Service and emergency vehicles as well as residents in the Bass and Cave Creek areas who use it as a shortcut to the highway that leads to Western Grove and U.S. 65.   

* * *  

Campbell cited state laws giving county judges sole jurisdiction over county-maintained roads and [said he] was in contact with state attorneys to seek a remedy to the park service's action.   

He told the park service's enforcement officer that he would have the county sheriff escort the officer off of the roadway where an unmarked white pick up was parked blocking the road.  The officer stated orders were given to write citations to logging trucks that were using the road. 

When the Times called the Buffalo National Park headquarters in neighboring Harrison, Chief Park Ranger Karen L. Bradford told the journalist:

An investigation is in progress and at this time we have no comment other than the road in question is not blocked to through traffic.  

Meanwhile, "Campbell said the park service and he have had issues over county roads since he took office and that he has to be constantly vigilant that the park service does not close or gate county roads."  Campbell cited the example of the closure of the "Blue Hole River Access," near the site of the current dispute.  He said it was popular with locals until the park service closed it at the park boundary.

In other news, the Compton Water Association received a loan for $23,175 from the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission Water, Sewer and Solid Waste Fund.  The loan is for 10 years at 2.5% interest and will be used, along with a grant of up to $67.5K from the same fund, to repair and upgrade the Fire Tower Road storage tank.

The David and Jamie Morgan family of Jasper are the Newton County Farm Family of the Year.  They have two sons, aged 12 and 8, both of whom are involved in the 4H Livestock Club.  They live in a home that has been in the Morgan family for 80 years, onWill Jones road, above Jasper.  The land they work has been in the hands of David's family "for generations."  David works off the farm, too, as a lineman for Carroll Electric Co-operative.  Jamie is a stay-at-home Mom.  They farm 208 aces, 90 owned and the remainder rented.  They raise cattle, Boer-cross goats, and hay for their own use.