Hog Farm

Brian Glover, 63, the robust English character actor who liked to joke about his hefty size, died yesterday of complications from a brain tumor, his agent Bruna Zanelli said. Mr. Glover began his career as a teacher and professional wrestler, turning to acting in his 30s.He made his film debut in 1969 in the influential low-budget English film "Kes," directed by Ken Loach and went on to be a familiar, likable face on television, in movies, and in the West End and subsidized theater. He had supporting roles in, among other films, "An American Werewolf In London," "The Company of Wolves," "Leon the Pig Farmer" and "Aliens 3."

In Frederick County Brunswick records studied for evidence of corruption BRUNSWICK - State police examined Brunswick City Hall records yesterday for evidence of financial mismanagement after a recent audit revealed accounting discrepancies. About $30,000 appears to be missing, Frederick County State's Attorney Scott Rolle said. He said the investigation could lead to charges against a city employee but declined to discuss details of the probe. City offices were closed Monday while police gathered evidence.

DELTA, Pa. -- Mark and Diane Thomas were accustomed to farm life when they moved from Maryland into a charming 1830s log home on 19 acres. But in the two years since then - as Diane suffered headaches and a persistent skin infection and her husband and two children struggled with diarrhea and other digestive problems - they began to suspect that their health problems were caused by the hog farm next door. And they grew further alarmed when the farm announced plans this year to expand from 450 pigs to 4,400.

SMITHSBURG -- Joe and Audrey Willard hope public opinion will persuade state officials to reconsider plans to relocate the Appalachian Trail through the family farm."

The Frederick County commissioners gave preliminary approval yesterday to the first local hog farm regulations in Maryland and ordered a public hearing on them. The proposal, which would establish strict requirements keeping large feedlot operations well away from residential areas, is likely to be approved by the end of July and take effect Sept. 25, the date a moratorium on new hog farms expires. Environmentalists say runoff from hog farms has polluted waterways with waste and that factory farming methods have driven small family farms out of business.

EMMITSBURG -- Alarmed by the sudden appearance in Maryland of a few big factory-style hog farms, some residents fear the state is about to be besieged, as others have, with noxious smells, tainted rain and water pollution.At a 1960s-style teach-in at Mount St. Mary's College in Frederick County yesterday, speakers from as far as North Carolina and Iowa urged about 125 listeners to fight big agribusiness.But in this part of the world, agribusiness is the farmer next door. And so far, the struggle is more like a family feud.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening has decided to appoint a task force to study the economic and environmental effects of large, factory-style hog farms in Maryland.Responding to a request from House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr., Glendening said he has directed his secretaries of agriculture and environment to pick "qualified individuals" to conduct the inquiry."We must avoid the well-publicized mistakes that have been made in other states," the governor wrote in a July 6 letter to Taylor. "Ultimately, we want our farmers to have the opportunity to profit from this agricultural enterprise without compromising our commitment to environmental excellence."

ROCKY RIDGE -- The smell from Rodney G. Harbaugh's hog farm hasn't been so bad lately, his neighbors say. But there are good days and bad days, and the bad days are pretty awful. "Sometimes, it's horrible," says Karen Kuhn, whose two-story colonial house is less than a mile from the Frederick County barns that hold Harbaugh's hogs. "It depends on which way the wind blows." Controversy over Harbaugh's hogs combined with growing concerns over large lot feeding operations elsewhere in Maryland and reports of hog-farm related environmental disasters in North Carolina have led to efforts put the brakes on the swine industry here.

FREDERICK -- The Frederick County Commission unanimously passed last night Maryland's first moratorium on new large hog-raising feedlots, despite farmers' warnings that the ban could push some of them into bankruptcy.The one-year moratorium, which takes effect March 26, bans new hog farms of 250 animals or more. Commissioners said their goal is to allow county officials time to draft zoning ordinances that would limit "concentrated animal feeding operations" for hogs -- big feedlots where thousands of animals are raised in tightly packed, enclosed barns.

RIDGELY -- Alfred Saathoff has been raising hogs on the family farm for 32 years."It's was always a good business," he said, adjusting the bill of a yellow John Deere dealership baseball cap. "It was the mortgage payer. That's what we always said."But not anymore. Saathoff, 54, is quitting the business -- driven out, he says, by the lowest hog prices in 50 years and annual losses "running into the thousands and thousands of dollars.""It doesn't make sense," he said. "You raise the pigs. You buy the feed.