$385 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS & ROADS

Environmental

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2006 - Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced that more than $385 million in Forest Service revenue will be distributed to 41 states and Puerto Rico for improvements to public schools, roads and stewardship projects.

"This is the sixth and final year of payments as authorized under the Secure Rural Schools Act and Community Self Determination Act of 2000," said Johanns. "The Forest Service has distributed more than $2 billion under this legislation since 2001 to assist counties in maintaining and improving local schools and roads."

Since 1908, 25 percent of Forest Service revenues, such as those from timber sales, mineral resources and grazing fees, have been returned to states in which national forest lands are located. Because receipts from timber sales fluctuate, the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 was developed to stabilize payments to counties. The funds have been used for schools and roads as well as to create employment opportunities to maintain current infrastructure and enhance forest ecosystems, improving land health and water quality. Authority for the Forest Service to make the payments expired at the end of fiscal year 2006.

The fiscal year 2006 payments are listed in the attached table. The payments do not reflect national grassland revenues, which are calculated on a calendar year basis and will be paid to counties in March. Oregon received the highest payment of more than $149 million; California received $66 million; and Washington received $42 million.

An additional provision of the act provides for an additional $32 million this year to be used by local county Resource Advisory Committees to fund projects to improve federal lands.

The Forest Service manages approximately 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands. For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us.

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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC

A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party

Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.

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