8 I The Lovell Chronicle I January 28, 2009
www. LovellChronicle.com
DAVID PECK
Dick BrinkerhoffofLovell was busy clearing sidewalks during Saturday's
big snowstorm, but even snowblowers had a tough time keeping up with
the white stuff.
BEETS Co.,,..e, from page
impacts" that could be caused by gene-al-
tered crops. The organization is asking the
use of Roundup Ready technology to be halt-
ed until it can be looked at closely through
the NEPA process.
Thomas Schwartz, Executive Vice Pres-
ident of the American Society of Sugar Beet
Technologists and the Beet Sugar Develop-
ment Foundation in Denver, said his com-
ments were limited because the organi-
zation's legal team is very involved in the
litigation.
"We think the grounds for the injunc-
tion are not solid," he said, adding that the
plaintiffs took five years after the Round-
up Ready seeds were approved for use to
request the injunction. An injunction is
usually requested to stop something that
poses an imminent threat or danger, but
Schwartz said the timing of the injunction
request doesn't fit.
"If it was so imminent, you would think
they would be more concerned about it and
move it a little faster," he said. '~We are con-
fident Roundup Ready beets are safe for the
environment and for humans."
Luther Markwart, executive vice presi-
dent of the American Sugar beet Grower's
Association, echoed Schwartz's comments
in his statement about the request for an
injunction.
"The plaintiffs waited five years since
the biotech beets were approved, claiming
imminent harm of a product used in 95 per-
cent of acreage," Markwork ~Ifl: "They are
asking the court to take radical action to
shut down production, causing disastrous
impact to 10,000 sugar beet growers and col-
lateral damage to the economy in 10 states.
This unreasonable request is not justified
by evidence or any real or potential threat.
We look forward to settling it in court."
Many factors weigh against the grant-
ing of an injunction, said Monsanto spokes-
man Garrett Kasper.
Factors include the recent 2008 Su-
preme Court's decision not to grant an in-
junction in the Winter vs. Natural Resource
Council case. The case dealt with sonar
used by the navy that critics claimed caused
damage to marine mammals. The case af-
firms that plaintiffs must show that irrepa-
rable injury is likely in the absence of an
injunction.
Another factor on the side of Roundup
1
Terms to know
Preliminary injunction - A temporary order
made by a court at the request of one party
that prevents the other party from pursuing a
particular course of conduct until the conclu-
sion of a trial.
Roundup - a herbicide containing gly-
phosate that has been on the market for 30
years. This is the same Roundup that is com-
monly used to kill weeds sprouting between
the cracks in your driveway.
Roundup Ready - plants that have been
genetically modified to be resistant to Round-
up herbicide. This allows the plants to thrive
even after being sprayed with the herbicide,
which would kill normal sugar beet plants.
The Roundup Ready system was created by
Monsanto and includes varieties of corn, soy,
alfalfa and a few others.
Ready beets is the Supreme Court's Jan.
15, 2010 decision to grant Monsanto's peti-
tion to review the Roundup Ready Alfalfa
injunction, according to Kasper. Monsanto
had lost an earlier case in a lower court in-
volving Roundup Ready Alfalfa and an in-
junction is currently in place, limiting use
of the seed. The Supreme Court's decision
about the fairness of the injunction placed
on alfalfa could affect the outcome of the
sugar beet litigation, he said.
"We are confident the plaintiffs claims
are contrary to these decisions and would
interrupt the already existing and orderly
process the Court has ordered for the rem-
edy phase of the case," Kasper said.
While sources had limited comments
and other sugar producers and farmers
chose not to comment, some other topics
that will possibly be touched on during the
litigation are the limited supply of viable
traditional seed after GM seed has become
widespread, and the possibility of creating
"superweeds" that are resistant to herbi-
cide.
Kasper said the federal judge met with
the plaintiffs and defendants on Dec. 4.
"There are dramatic claims and also
sound scientific arguments," he said. "We
want to make sure all of the information is
heard before the judgment is placed."
Evidentiary files will be submitted to
the court until around May, Kasper esti-
mated, and the hearing should follow some-
time in June.
MEYER
on businesses, adding to the
cost of doing business.
"With a small business
the profit margin is already
tight," she noted. "The mar-
gin is so tight that it (an-
other regulation) could put
a business over the top and
out of business.
Also at the top of her
list is intrusion by the feder-
al government, which "im-
pacts literally every county
in Wyoming," she said, add-
ing, '%Ve need to pull up to
the table and push the feds
back on issues that, I be-
lieve, are truly at the state
and local level.
Meyer said she spent
four years as Gov. Jim Ger-
inger's chief of staff, work-
ing closely with constituents
and the issues of the day,
noting, "The issues don't
change much. The economy
is what is the greatest inter-
est to people."
Visiting small communi-
ties in Wyoming comes nat-
urally to Meyer, she noted,
because she made a prom-
ise when she ran for auditor
that she would get out into
the state and follow what's
going on in communities.
"I promised I would stay
in touch with local commu-
nities and I have," she said,
"especially the smaller com-
munities. They don't prevail
well in funding formulas, so
frankly I try to keep my eye
on them.
"I've had an eye on your
incubator project for a long
time," she added, referring
Continued from page 1
to the Lovell Inc./Town of
Lovell project to refurbish
the Lovell Inc. building as a
business incubator.
"Sometimes smaller
communities don't have the
number of planners and
grant-writers that larger
communities do," she said.
"I stay in touch with the Big
Horn County commission-
ers. They will tell you that's
been a priority of mine."
Meyer said that, as
governor, she would keep
the federal government at
arm's length, saying that,
for instance, when it comes
to health Care reform, she
prefers an incremental ap-
proach to changing the sys-
tem.
"I don't have great faith
in the federal government
knowing how to run a fed-
eral health care plan effi-
ciently," she said, adding
that the federal government
does not have a good track
record with Social Security
and Medicare.
Overall, she said, she's
optimistic about Wyoming's
future, adding that she has
seen a lot of good things
happening across the state.
EXPERIENCE
Meyer said she has a
unique combination of expe-
rience in agriculture, small
business, government and
the military.
During her four years as
chief of staff, she said, she
earned executive level ex-
perience in the operation of
state government, working
with boards and commis-
sions and the state budget.
She has also served on vari-
ous state boards, including
the State Loan and Invest-
ment Board, as state audi-
tor and served on the Uni-
versity of Wyoming Board of
Trustees and is currently a
member of the UW College
of Business advisory coun-
cil.
"I understand a day in
the life of service to Wyo-
ming and that it's a seven-
day-a-week job," Meyer said.
"I understand the demands
and the pressure."
During her 23-year rail-
itary career, she served in
both Iraq and Afghanistan
as a member of the Wyo-
ming Air National Guard,
retiring as a full colonel in
2007.
She also knows private
business, she said, helping
her husband, Dr. Charlie
Meyer, run his dental prac-
tice in Laramie for 14 years
until the family moved to
Cheyenne when she went
full time with the Air Na-
tional Guard.
"I understand payroll
and that the owner isn't
paid until the staff is paid,"
she said. "That built me into
a tough decision-maker."
Finally, she said, she
understands agriculture on
the ground level, raised on
ranches in northeast Ne-
braska and then western
Nebraska. She said she
grew up milking cows at
4:30 a.m.
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