Red flags

Pit & Quarry, Feb, 2004

* St. Charles County, Mo., executive Joe Ortwerth says the county's quarry blasting rules should be tightened to reduce annoyance to nearby residents, not just to minimize the chance of damaging their homes, according to a story in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "The county cannot legislate to a point where there's going to be no impact or feeling whatsoever," Ortwerth said as his administration unveiled its blasting plan at a County Council work session.

"I can try to minimize the degree of the annoyance. Somebody has to draw the line someplace."