Drew Jones, the new owner of the 20-acre Henscratch Farms, Vineyard and Winery, has made a big career leap, and it shows in his ankles. ...more

July 10, 2008

LAKE PLACID - Drew Jones, the new owner of the 20-acre Henscratch Farms, Vineyard and Winery, has made a big career leap, and it shows in his ankles. Three days into "management training" from Henscratch's former owners, Jones found his ankles scabbed and bleeding from fire ant bites. ...more

July 9, 2008

If I cut a casserole recipe in half, should I also halve the cooking time? It's a brown rice dish with eight servings. The recipe says to bake for two hours. ...more

June 18, 2008

by the cartoons of hunters he watched. He starting crying, pleading with the elder Martin to spare the animal's life. ...more

June 14, 2008

A startling fact: About 70 percent of antibiotics used in the United States are put in livestock feed to promote growth and prevent disease in chickens, pigs and cattle. ...more

May 2, 2008

The goal of science is not to prove or disprove the existence of God. Science is not a religious belief. Just as psychology is a discipline that explores the workings of the human brain, science is a discipline that seeks to understand and explain the processes of the physical world. Evolution explains, in very specific physical terms, how living things change through time (for example, how does bacteria become resistant to antibiotics? How did jungle fowl become domesticated chickens?) Thousands of sophisticated scientific tests have been used to study evolution and the evidence is overwhelming. When preeminent biologists disagree, it's not the existence of evolution they question. They simply disagree about the specifics of how certain adaptations occurred. These questions are an integral part of the scientific process. ...more

February 16, 2008

SEBRING — As the fair approaches, excitement is mounting in the Bickman house. "We look forward to the fair all year," said Samantha Bickman, leader of Country Clovers 4-H Group. "The fairgrounds are our home away from home." Hundreds of families throughout the county are in the same position as the Bickmans, preparing for the festivities of the Highlands County Fair, which starts Friday. Brothers Michael and Justin Bickman wake up at 6 every morning to feed and water their animals. They each have swine, chickens and rabbits to show at the fair. ...more

February 6, 2008

Two bloody chickens that appeared to have fought were found this morning in a 2005 Ford F-150 pulled over in Valrico, Hillsborough County deputies say ...more

January 31, 2008

The City Council is poised to send a message to residents: We don't want your clucking chickens. ...more

December 14, 2007

SEBRING — Highlands County Animal Control is looking a bit like Old McDonald's Farm these days, due to the recent series of marijuana growhouse busts. Animal control recently picked up 15 sheep following a growhouse raid by the sheriff's office. The day after the sheep were impounded, workers at animal control discovered they had a 16th sheep in their care. "Overnight, one of the sheep gave birth, and we have a baby lamb here now, too," said Darryl Scott, animal control director. Pens and pasture areas at the county facility are also sheltering three horses, three large hogs, four rabbits, a chicken, two yearling cows, and an 8-foot-long Burmese python. Many, but far from all, of these animals came into the county's care from growhouse raids. ...more

December 7, 2007