09/25/06 Loveland Promoted & Lame Duck Session

Loveland promoted & Lame Duck Session. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. The director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the first woman to fill the job, Valora Loveland, has been elected president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. She is the first woman to be elected president of NASDA since the association`s founding in 1915. As president of NASDA, Loveland will represent Washintgon state`s interests in national farm policy. Loveland said in a statement that she will continue to bring a western perspective to national agriculture issues with insights into water policy, grazing on public lands, grain crops and specialty crops like apples, cherries and potatoes. NASDA is composed of the commissioners, secretaries and directors of the 50 state departments of agriculture. The group represents the state departments of agriculture in the development, implementation and communication of public policy and programs that support and promote U.S. agriculture. With only a handful of days to conduct business - and several items left undone - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has reportedly made it clear to members of the Senate they will return to Capitol Hill for a lame duck session in November. In fact - according to Iowa Democratic Senator Tom Harkin - Senators will return to Washington the Monday after the November elections. Harkin says Senators will work from than Monday the 13th until a break for Thanksgiving. Once Senators return from Thanksgiving - he says it`s unclear how long the Senate will remain in session. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. It has always frustrated me that Christians typically haven't taken an active role in protecting the environment. The bible teaches that God gave man dominion over nature then plopped man in a garden, not the woods, or a savannah so obviously He expected man to cultivate and care for creation. Of course we made a mess of things, for it seems we revel in the dominion aspect but recoil when it comes to responsibility. Thankfully the tide is changing, churches like the Vineyard Christian Fellowship, pastors like Rick Warren and groups like the Evangelical Environmental Network are urging their organizations to incorporate a passion for the natural world into active Christianity. The Vineyard Christian Fellowship church in Boise has been in the spotlight recently for their recycling programs, noxious weed irradiation and trail preserving campaigns. In unpredicted move a Sierra Club representative was invited to speak at their event. While it is doubtful that most mainstream protestants will ever call themselves environmentalists for fear of being "radical," in the coming years pro-life could take on a new meaning in regards to the environment. Thanks Susan. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.