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www.tidbitscda.com For Ad Rates call: (208) 755-9120 [email protected] of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue #15 April 8th by Patricia L. Cook Flying over land, whether foreign or domestic, is quite an adventure. Observing the checkerboard designs, circles, curves, lines and the greens, browns, blues and other color varia- tions from above tells a lot about the land and water below. Irrigation causes many of the varia- tions. •Irrigation is defined as “artificial appli- cation of water to land to assist in the produc- tion of crops.” Some of the oldest civilizations on earth relied on irrigation to keep their popula- tions alive. •In many climates there is sufficient rain- fall to grow crops, however in dry climates farm- ers must work out a way to get needed water to their fields. Irrigation has been a significant tech- nology underlying the major developments of the world. Early uses of irrigation can be traced back to 6000 BC in Egypt and Mesopotamia (present day Iraq and Iran). •Flooding occurs along the Nile River in Egypt and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia annually from July through De- cember. Early farmers learned to divert the water to fields for 40-60 days and then drain it back into the river at just the right time in the growing season. turn the page for more! TIDBITS® WETS THE FIELDS WITH IRRIGATION
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www.tidbitscda.com For Ad Rates call: (208) 755-9120 [email protected]
of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue #15 April 8th
by Patricia L. Cook
Flying over land, whether foreign or domestic, is quite an adventure. Observing the checkerboard designs, circles, curves, lines and the greens, browns, blues and other color varia-tions from above tells a lot about the land and water below. Irrigation causes many of the varia-tions. •Irrigationisdefinedas“artificialappli-cationofwater to land toassist in theproduc-tionofcrops.”Someof theoldestcivilizationsonearthreliedonirrigationtokeeptheirpopula-tions alive. •Inmanyclimatesthereissufficientrain-falltogrowcrops,howeverindryclimatesfarm-ers must work out a way to get needed water to theirfields.Irrigationhasbeenasignificanttech-nologyunderlyingthemajordevelopmentsoftheworld. Early uses of irrigation can be traced back to6000BCinEgyptandMesopotamia(presentday Iraq and Iran). •Flooding occurs along the Nile RiverinEgyptandtheTigrisandEuphratesRiversinMesopotamia annually from July through De-cember. Early farmers learned to divert the water tofields for 40-60days and then drain it backinto the river at just the right time in the growing season. turn the page for more!
TIDBITS®WETSTHEFIELDSWITHIRRIGATION
Page 2 Tidbits® of CDA
IwouldlikeforTidbitstobeanentertaining, informative and positive publica-tion.Mygoalistoputasmileonthefaceofallofourreaders.Tidbitswillnotcontainanypo-litical, religious or any other controversial mate-rial. Itwill supportonlypositive, light-heartedgood old-fashioned upbeat articles for all toenjoy.My goal is to focus on success storiesin our region, local event announcements and articles highlighting local small business and non-profit organizations. I am hoping to hearfrom real people inNorth Idaho, like you, in-cluding senior citizens, teens and anyonewhodoes good for our area. If you have ideas of a story youwould like to see in Tidbits, pleasecontact me, I would love to hear from you. Call 208.755.9120 or e-mail [email protected].
www.tidbitscda.com
Greetings, my name is
Evelyn Bevacqua
IRRIGATION (continued): •A Nilometer was most likely the firstdevice used for measuring a river’s rise and fall. It consisted of a water chamber with a graduated pillartomeasurethedepthoftheriver’swaterand predict when floods would occur. One oftheoldeststructuresinCairo,Egyptisauniquehistorical Nilometer on Roda (Rawda) Island.While it has been rebuilt and restored numer-ous times, the basics of the structure date back to715AD. •ManyNilometerswereusedinancienttimes along the Nile and several others havealsobeenpreservedbuttheRodaIslandbuild-ing isoneof themostpicturesque.TheuseofNilometers subsidedwhen the firstmajor irri-gationprojectwasundertakenaround3100BC.Thisprojectincludeddamsandcanalstomakethewateraccessibletothepeople. •Other old methods of getting waterwhere itwasneededwereusedaswell.Anir-rigationshadufisadeviceusedbyearlyEgyp-tians. It was a container made of clay or animal skins that was attached to a lever and counter-balanced by stones.The containerwas dippedintotheriverandthenusuallydumpedintoaca-nalthatflowedtowhereitcouldbeused. •Egyptiansalsousedwaterwheelswithclaypotsorbuckets(calledNoria)attachedalongthecircumference.Theriver’scurrentturnedthewheel.As thebucketsor potswerefilled theyturnedaroundthewheeluntiltheywereemptiedby gravity into an aqueduct that took the water where it needed to go. •Noria were the first non-human oper-atedliftingdevices.WhileEgyptiansdevelopedNoriawaterwheels there is a lot of historicalevidence that the Chinese were using similar methods to move water in their country as well.
Page 3 Tidbits® of CDA www.tidbitscda.comwww.tidbitscda.com IRRIGATION (continued): •There were other ancient devices thatwereusedtohelpgetwaterwhereitwasneededforconsumptionaswellasirrigationforcrops.Windmillsandcanalsplayedagreatpartintheearly years. Canals and dams on rivers are the mostimportant“big”introductionstoirrigationfrom the ancient days that are still used today. •In the year 1800AD therewere 19.76million acres (7,996,588 ha) worldwide thatwere irrigated.Today that has risen to an esti-mated600millionacres(242,811,385ha). •Irrigation ismostly used in areaswithannualrainfalloflessthan20inches(51cm). •Therearealsoregionsthat“overwater”usingirrigationinordertogrowcropsthatneedlots ofwater.The two crops that use themostwater are cotton and rice; two of the most essen-tial crops formany lesserdevelopedcountries.InsouthernChina,over70%oftheacres(hect-ares) being cultivated are for rice. •In the arid western U.S., where dryweather is persistent, water rights and waterregulations are big issues for landowners and anyoneinvolvedingrowingcrops.Thefirstwa-terregulationsdatebacktoKingHammurabiofBabylon in1792BC.Theregulations thenandnowinclude:1)distributionofwaterproportion-altoacres(orhectares)farmed;2)thefarmer’sresponsibilities in maintaining canals that cutthroughhisproperty; and3) theadministrativeresponsibility of the canal for all users in itspath. •Many patents related to sprinklers forresidential watering were issued starting in the late 1800s.Asmore homeowners, farmers andranchers moved west and the need for irrigation of lawns, gardens andfields grew,more needswere seen and more inventors got busy.
• "Thawing frozen water pipes can beverytricky.Somepeopleuseahotpadwrappedaroundthepipe;othershavebeenknowntousea hair dryer. (Electricity and water don't mix,though.Becareful.)Hopefully,youlearnedanylessons the easy way this winter, but if you had topatchanypipes,makesureyougetthemre-pairedASAP.Sometimespeopleforgetassoonas theweather turns nice." --APlumber in Il-linois •Whendrillingholesinthewall,tapeanenvelope,open sideout, to thewall just underwhereyou'llbedrilling.Open theenvelopeupa bit so that any dust will fall directly down into theopening.Itwillkeepyourworkingareaniceand neat! •Tomakeaspecialquiltedkeepsake,sewtogetherbaby'sreceivingblankets. •Want a delicious coating for chicken?Try basting with mayonnaise, and then dip incrushedcrackers.Thecrumbs stickwell to themayo,andit'sespeciallydeliciouswithcrushedbuttercrackers,likeRitz. •Whenwashingstockingsbyhand,addatablespoonofvinegartotherinsewater.Itwillkeepthestretchbetter.Also,ifyouline-drythemoutdoors, slip a spoon or a few coins into thetoe.Thiswillkeepthemfromtwistingupinthewind. •"If,likeme,youarewashingyourwin-tersweaterstopackaway,addabitofhaircon-ditionertotherinse.Also,don'ttrytopullthemintoshapewhendrying.Justlaythemflat.Ifyouhaveascreen,youcansetitupsothatthesweat-erdriesfrombothsides.Thisisbest."--D.Y.inKentuckySendyourtipstoNowHere'saTip,c/oKingFeaturesWeeklyService,
P.O.Box536475,Orlando,FL32853-6475ore-mailJoAnnat [email protected].(c)2013KingFeaturesSynd.,Inc
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IRRIGATION (continued): •Most sprinkling and irrigation is usedfor agriculture. In fact, 70% of all water use is foragriculture;landwithirrigationgrows40%of the world’s food. •Aquifersarethemainsourceforwaterfor irrigation in NorthAmerica.An aquifer is“anundergroundbedorlayerofpermeablerock,sedimentorsoilthatyieldswater.” •The High Plains aquifer is one of thelargestaquifersintheworld.Itisunderapproxi-mately175,000 squaremiles (453248km_)ofeightstates:Colorado,Kansas,Nebraska,SouthDakota,Texas,Wyoming,Oklahoma,andNewMexico.Thearea,consideredtheHighPlainsre-gion,usesthisimportantresourceforirrigationandsuppliesaboutone-fourthoftheagriculturalproductionforthenation. •Arecentdiscovery (2012) inNamibia,the driest country inAfrica, may prove to bethemostsignificantdiscoveryinthatcountry’shistory.TheOhangwenaIIaquiferflowsundertheboundaryNamibiashareswithAngola.Theaquifer’s area under Namibia covers approxi-mately43milesby25miles(70kmx40km).Ifthewaterfromtheaquiferismanagedproperly,the country should see a huge increase in sus-tainableagriculturetohelptheresidentssurvive.ResearchersfromGermanyandotherEuropeancountriesarehelpingtosetupproperwellusagefor the locals. •Whenyouhearthe“click,click,click”or the swishing noises ofmodern center pivotirrigationsystemsorseethecanalsopenedandfields“floodirrigated,”be thankful thatpeoplehave studied and invented these items to have sufficientfoodtoeatandcropsthathelptopro-videuswithmanyotherproductsweusedaily.
ThePostFallslocalmarketisbeingpre-sentedbyThePostFallsLionsClubinpartner-shipwiththeCityofPostFalls.TheMarketistobeheldeveryThursdayevening4to7-30pm,startingJune6ththroughtoOctober.TheMarketwillbeheldonthePlazainfrontofCityHallonthecornerofSpokaneStreetand4thAvePostFalls.Therewillbemusicalentertainment.
The Post Falls Local Market
WeareseekingVendorsfor the following: •FreshVegetables •FruitandProduce •FarmFreshProducts •PlantsandShrubs •HomemadeProductsandCrafts •Collectibles •Woodenitems •Jewelry •Accessories •Candles •MetalCrafts Only $20 for a 12 x 12 site Food Vendors by negotiations
To Register and Inquiries:Ken Cook 208-964-0181
Brian Kirk 208-262-6836
Page 5For Advertising Call (334) 505-0674For Advertising Call 208-755-9120www.tidbitscda.com
bySamanthaWeaver
•Itwasworldchampionrace-cardriverMarioAndrettiwhomadethefollowingsageobservation:"Everythingcomestothosewhowait...exceptacat." •Thosewhostudysuchthingssayittakesthreeapplestomakeoneglassofapplecider. •YoumightbesurprisedtolearnthatJohnDenver--bestknownforsinging"TakeMeHome,CountryRoads,"anodetoWestVirginia--wasnotactuallyfromtheMountainState.Hedidn'twritethesong,either.Interest-ingly,thetwopeoplewhodidwritethesong,BillDanoffandTaffyNivert,hadneverbeenthereatthetimethattheywroteit.TheywereontheirwaytoMarylandwhenDanoffstartedwriting a tune about the lovely countryside theyweredrivingthrough.WestVirginiawasputinbecauseDanoffhadbeensentseveralpostcardsfromthestateandwasimpressed. •Politicshasalwaysbeenadirtybusi-ness, with candidates through the years saying whateverwasnecessarytogetelected.Takethe1950senatorialcampaigninFlorida,forexample.IntheDemocraticprimary,incum-bentClaudePepperwasbeingchallengedbyGeorgeSmathers,asittingcongressman.Tak-ing unfair advantage of the lack of education in somepartsofthestate,Smatherssentcam-paignmaterialstoruralareasaccusingPepperof, among other things, having a brother who wasa"practicingHomosapien"andasisterwhowasa"thespian."ThechargeagainstPepperhimselfwasthathehad"matriculated"withyoungwomen.Inavictoryforsleazypolitics,Smathersdid,infact,wintheprimary. •Somespeciesofpenguincanjumpashigh as 6 feet in the air.
***ThoughtfortheDay:
"Ifyouwanttogiveuptheadmirationofthou-sands of men for the disdain of one, go ahead,
getmarried."--KatharineHepburn
(c)2013KingFeaturesSynd.,Inc.
Tidbits® of Dallas County Page 6 Tidbits® of CDA www.tidbitscda.com
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byFreddyGrovesAgent Orange: Gagetown I'm very disappointed, and I can onlyimaginehowSen.SusanCollinsfeels.Lastyear,the senator fromMaine asked the Centers forDiseaseControlandPreventionandtheAgencyfor Toxic Substances and Disease Registry toinvestigate the use ofAgentOrange and otherchemicals at training base Gagetown in NewBrunswick, Canada. Over theyears,manyAmericanservicepersonnel,specificallyNationalGuardandRe-servists, did training at that location. Collins asked for an investigation to determine whether veteranswereexposedtotoxicherbicideandde-foliantchemicalsbetween1956and1986.WhiletheU.S.apparentlysprayedonlybetween1966and1967,theCanadianshadbeensprayingfordecades,likelyfrom1956to2004. The Department of Health and HumanServicessentCollinsaletterinJuly2012sayingthat theCDCandASTDRhadconcerns aboutGagetownandwouldbesendingawayfordocu-mentsfromtheEnvironmentalProtectionAgen-cy, theConsumerProduceSafetyCommissionandtheCDC'sNationalCenterforEnvironmen-talHealthaspartof"athoroughinvestigation"oftheAgentOrangesituation. ThereportfromtheCDCcamebackre-cently.What it actuallydid -- and this iswhatdisturbs Senator Collins -- is review the 2007Canadian report. It didn't do its own research,anditapparentlydidn'ttalktomedicalpersonnelwho are treating the veterans who have illnesses thatcouldwellbetiedtothetimetheyspentatGagetown. The CDC's determination: Americanswhotrainedthere"sufferednohealthrisksfromexposure to Agent Orange and other chemi-cals."TheATSDRrequestedfulldocumentationfromthe Canadian Forces Health Services Group,andseemstobelieveitgot"completereports."Iwonder if it's checked the copies of originaldocuments at www.agentorangecanada.com.
WritetoFreddyGrovesincareofKingFea-turesWeeklyService,P.O.Box536475,Orlan-do,FL32853-6475,orsende-mailtocolumn-
