|
(Continued from page 16)
SD teens take part in Youth Trooper Academy
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A group of South Dakota teens recently learned what it takes to be a member of the South Dakota Highway Patrol.
• The young adults ages 16 and 17 took part in a Youth Trooper Academy in Pierre last week.
• Maj. Rick Miller, assistant superintendent with the Highway Patrol, says the academy exposes the teenagers to what it's like to be a trooper. Troopers and officers from other agencies provide hands-on training on firearms safety, defensive driving, crash investigation, traffic stops, leadership, police service dog handling and criminal law. Highway Patrol troopers acted as mentors and chaperones to the teenagers.
• This was the second year for the academy, which was co-sponsored by the American Legion.
•
Keystone XL foes turn focus to local government
GRANT SCHULTE,Associated Press
• LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Frustrated with state and federal officials, opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline are turning to low-level county commissions and zoning boards in a new attempt to slow a project that has become a focal point of national battle over climate change.
• Landowners and other opponents of the pipeline, which could carry 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Canadian tar sands to refineries on the Texas Gulf coast, are asking county commissions along the route to pass resolutions formally opposing the project to show the federal government there is local opposition. They're also pushing for local zoning regulations -- no matter how small -- that could make it harder for the project to proceed.
• "If enough counties have regulations -- real, meaningful regulations to protect the groundwater -- then maybe it hits a point where it's not very economical to run this thing through Nebraska," said Brian Bedient, a farmer in eastern Nebraska, the state where the opposition effort is based.
• The new local strategy comes as most state officials in Nebraska have dropped their opposition since Calgary-based pipeline owner TransCanada agreed to move the proposed route away from an ecologically sensitive area. Federal agencies and other states on the route have not raised obstacles to the plan. President Obama, who has expressed some concerns about the impact on climate change, could make a decision later this year on whether to give final government approval.
(Continued on page 18)
|
|
