Rose's Blog

Hammered by losses in its chicken business, Tyson Foods swung to a quarterly loss compared to the year-earlier period.

     Tyson reported a fiscal first-quarter net loss of $112 million, or 30 cents a share. Sales rose to $6.52 billion from $6.48 billion. Its chicken unit posted an operating loss of $286 million.

          The performance marks a sharp reversal from last year, when Tyson earned $34 million in the quarter. This month, CEO Dick Bond abruptly resigned, and interim CEO Leland Tollett said his chief goal is to make the company's poultry business profitable again.

     The chicken market, one-third of Tyson's overall sales, has been battered by weak prices, oversupply, high feed-grain costs and fewer sales at sit-down restaurants. This pushed big producer Pilgrim's Pride into Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month. Producers are cutting production and reducing the number of eggs set to hatch chicks in response to losses.

(Portia, AR)  Some residents of tiny Portia, Arkansas got an unusual wake-up call in the pre-dawn hours.

     The USGS reports a 2.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Portia-Walnut Ridge area at 4:52 a.m.

     State Police at Newport say they didn't feel anything from the Lawrence County temblor, but reminded RNS of another in Illinois a couple of years ago that was felt from northern Arkansas to West Virginia.  There were no calls to law enforcement.

     Just 446 people live in Portia and there have not yet been reports of damage or injury.

     Still, a USGS site reports several residents felt a quake they referred to as light to moderate.

     The quake apparently was linked to a large region called the Illinois-Basin, Ozark Dome region and borders the much more seismically active New Madrid seismic zone on the seismic zone's north and west.

     The Illinois basin - Ozark dome region covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis. Moderately frequent earthquakes occur at irregular intervals throughout the area.

(St. Louis)  --  A jailed inmate has been mailing bodily fluids to the St. Louis circuit clerks at least four times now.

   Officials say Tyler Johnson of St. Louis began sending what appears to be blood and semen and sometimes urine in the mail.

   Legally, the clerk cannot refuse letters from jail and the office has been told by federal authorities that they are unlikely to convict Johnson of any postal violations because they believe he is mentally ill.

   Johnson is in jail on charges of first-degree robbery and armed criminal action.

   His legal letters are supposed to be sealed while an officer watches.

   Extra precautions are being taken to prevent anymore letters from reaching the clerk's office.

What rights do you think this man had that was being arrested?

http://biggeekdaddy.com/humorpages/Misc/lawnmowerDU
Itaserarrest.html

 Computer experts say the worst computer infection since 2003 is spreading rapidly around the world today.

   Known as Conficker or Downadup the most recent malicious software program has reportedly affected corporate, educational and home network systems by the millions.

   The infection is spread mostly via so called 'sneaker-ware,' the hand carrying of the virus from computer to computer via memory chips or USB keys.

   On the Internet, the infection looks for unprotected Windows operating systems then works its way into a system by guessing at passwords.
   So far the worm may have infected up to nine-million personal computers worldwide.

   The "New York Times" quotes Georgia Tech computer scientist Merrick Furst as saying "this is like having a mole in your organization that can do things like send out any information it finds on machines it infects."  Rick Wesson, chief executive at the computer security consulting firm Support Intelligence says "if you're looking for a digital Pearl Harbor, we now have the Japanese ships steaming toward us on the horizon."  Windows users who've updated their virus checking software and downloaded a patch released by Microsoft in October don't have much to worry about but a Silicon Valley security firm, Qualys, estimates about 30-percent of Windows-based computers are vulnerable to infection because they haven't been updated.

   One problem with fighting the infection is that its real intent, whether it's to steal information from individual computers or to act as a 'bot' sending out Spam without a users knowledge hasn't been completely sorted out.

   Alfred Huger, vice president of development at Symantec says "this is a really well-written worm."  He says security companies like his are still trying to unlock the secrets it holds.

(Branson, MO) -- A Branson man is sentenced to ten years in prison for his involvement in trafficking methamphetamine.
   
Taney County Prosecutor Jeff Merrell says that 59-year-old Charles King, also known as "Prime Time Charlie," was charged following a search of his home last June.
   
That's when COMET drug task force members seized more than fifty grams of meth from his residence.

(Atlanta, GA)  --  Health officials say a peanut butter plant in southern Georgia is the sole source of the nationwide salmonella outbreak that has been tied to six deaths and has sickened more than 450 people in 43 states.

   The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta say the salmonella stems from peanut butter and peanut paste produced at a plant in Blakely, Georgia by the Peanut Corporation of America.

   Inspectors earlier found salmonella in a sample from the plant.

   Further testing was needed, however, to determine if it was the same salmonella implicated in the outbreak.

   Peanut Corporation of America distributes to institutional buyers and not retail outlets.

(Bolivar, MO) -- As many as 80 employees of the Tracker Marine aluminum boat production plant in Bolivar may be looking for work.  The company announces it will move its aluminum boat operations from Bolivar to its Lebanon plant, which also makes aluminum boats.  The consolidation is expected to take place in phases over the next couple of months, according to a statement from the company.

Tracker Marine cites the tight credit market and weak customer demand for new boats as the reason for the consolidation. 

"Our realignment will result in better use of resources with better efficiencies and continued improvement in production quality," said Terry Shook, Senior Vice President of Operations. "Our flexible operations in Lebanon give us production capacity to respond with appropriate volume as market conditions dictate."

The company said the merging of production could affect approximately 80 associates, although the number will likely be lower because some Bolivar employees would be considered for positions in Lebanon and other company sites in the area.

Even with the soft economy, the company said it's share of the leisure boat market grew in 2008 in every area where Tracker Marine boats are sold, in part because of the continued growth of Bass Pro Shops which sells the Tracker brand.

PetSmart is voluntarily recalling seven of its Grreat Choice Dog Biscuit products that contain peanut paste made by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA).

PCA is the focus of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation into potential salmonella contamination of peanut butter and paste made at its Blakely, Georgia facility.  Here is the FDA news release about this recall:

 PetSmart is voluntarily recalling seven of its Grreat Choice® Dog Biscuit products that contain peanut paste made by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). PCA is the focus of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation into potential salmonella contamination of peanut butter and paste made at its Blakely, Georgia facility.

Although PetSmart is not aware of any reported cases of illness related to these products, it has removed these products from its store shelves and website and is conducting the recall as a precautionary measure.

The recalled products include only the following types of Grreat Choice Dog Biscuits sold between Aug. 21, 2008 and Jan. 19, 2009:

    * Small Assorted 32 oz., UPC 73725702900
    * Small/Medium Assorted 4 lb., UPC 73725700601
    * Small/Medium Assorted 8 lb., UPC 73725700605
    * Small/Medium Assorted 10 lb., UPC 73725702755
    * Large Assorted 8 lb., UPC 73725700638
    * Extra Large Assorted 8 lb., UPC 73725700779
    * Peanut Butter 4 lb., UPC 73725700766

Customers who purchased the recalled dog biscuit products should discontinue use immediately and can return the product to any PetSmart store for a complete refund or exchange. Customers can visit www.petsmartfacts.com for more information or contact PetSmart Customer Service at 1-888-839-9638.

No other products or flavors are included in this recall.

Tracker Marine will close its plant in Bolivar within the next two months. The move could affect as many as 80 workers. They'll be given consideration for open positions at other plants.

The plant had 234 employees before its seasonal layoff of 38 workers last May. Then, another cost-cutting move last October slashed 100 jobs. Now, Tracker Marine is shutting down its Bolivar plant.

Some dads would give their lives to protect their daughters. Others will hire hitmen to beat their daughter to a pulp and leave her incapacitated and unable to take care of her child so they, the fathers, can then obtain custody of their granddaughters.

Police have arrested David Ward of Pacific Missouri for plotting to have his daughter beaten up. Ward tried to hire a hitman to carry out the task of beating his daughter near enough but not quite to death. Apparently his daughter wasn’t letting him see his granddaughter, so he figured he would pay someone to break a few of her bones.

He got to talking to the hitman, an undercover officer (naturally he didn’t know that part), explaining how he didn’t want his daughter killed, but he did want her pretty thoroughly hurt. He gave the hitman full details, including a map to his daughter’s house and three pictures of his daughter to help the hitman identify his daughter in a crowd. He figured beating up his daughter would help him get custody of his granddaughter.

What’s unfortunate here is that daddy dearest probably won’t spend very much time behind bars for conspiracy to beat someone to a pulp. It’s possible he won’t do any time at all.

A British ice-skater gave birth to a baby two days after dying of brain haemorrhage. Ice-skating coach Jayne Soliman collapsed and died from a brain haemorrhage but doctors at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading managed to keep her heart beating long enough to deliver Aya Jayne by Caesarean section.

Jayne was given big doses of steroids to help the child’s lungs develop and within 48 hours she gave birth to Aya. The kid, born 15 weeks prematurely, was her first child.

Her Egyptian-born husband Mahmoud Soliman said: “I can’t believe my little daughter has survived. In the space of 48 hours, I have experienced joy at the birth of my child and endured torment over losing my wonderful wife.”

“The two things she always wanted were a loving husband and a kid. I know she fought with all her might to keep our child alive, but it breaks my heart to know that she will never know Aya Jane.” he added.

The couple married in Abu Dhabi in 2007 while Jayne was teaching ice skating in Dubai. She converted to Islam and the couple moved to the UK.

Jayne was 25 weeks pregnant when she collapsed after a headache. “I am devastated. We enjoyed Christmas and future looked bright. There wasn’t a hint Jayne was ill. She went to bed with a headache and collapsed. I called 999 and she was taken to hospital but there’s nothing anyone could do,” Mahmoud said.

(St. Louis)  --  The U. S. Attorney's office said Tuesday that a Missouri Department of Social Services employee took bribes to approve applications for ineligible people.

   According to a police report, Larry Richard Brown of Hazelwood was arrested Monday after being indicted last week on seven felony charges of graft and conflict of interest and one felony count of transfer of unauthorized use of food stamps.

   Brown allegedly took between $75 and $150 to approve or maintain food stamp approval for various people.

I have never heard of these.

An Ohio-based peanut butter distributor is recalling two brands of peanut butter that may be linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak, including cases in Missouri.

King Nut companies issued the voluntary recall this weekend for King Nut peanut butter and Parnell's Pride peanut butter.

Friday, health officials in Minnesota issued an advisory for King Nut brand creamy peanut butter after they found traces of salmonella in one jar.

The outbreak has sickened more than 400 people in 42 states.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, eight cases of salmonella have been reported in Missouri.

King Nut began contacting customers immediately to stop distributing all peanut butter with lot codes beginning with “8,” and immediately cancelled orders with the manufacturer.

Customers are asked to take all King Nut peanut butter and Parnell’s Pride peanut butter distributed by King Nut out of distribution immediately. For more information, go to www.kingnut.com.

Forty-year-old Tonia Peterson of Fair Grove is accused of trying to poison her husband.

Court documents show Tonia looked online for ways to kill Cecil Peterson, and eventually put Visine in his drink, thinking that would do the trick.

But the Sheriff says it just gave him stomach problems for a few months.

With the help of Poison Control and one of Tonia's co-workers, deputies had enough information to make an arrest.

She's now charged with first-degree assault, and is held in Greene County in lieu of $100,000 bond.

 

http://ozarksfirst.com/content/fulltext/?cid=104851