COLUMBUS - The state warned farmers that spreading manure on frozen fields could be banned if they do not follow fertilization regulations to prevent water pollution during rains and thaws.

Ohio farmers are allowed to spread manure on frozen or snow-covered fields, but regulators discourage the practice because of increased risk of runoff to streams and lakes. Some states already ban the method.

Farmers said they prefer to fertilize in warmer weather, but spreading manure in the winter is sometimes unavoidable when waste containers fill up.

While frozen ground provides a firm surface for mechanical manure spreaders, it also heightens the risk that the manure will wash away.

Recent pollution complaints led state officials to increase testing for manure runoff in streams, said David Hanselmann, chief of soil and water conservation for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

If pollution continues, spreading manure on frozen ground could be banned for all farms, he said.

Runoff can kill fish and taint drinking water, said Rick Wilson an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency engineer.

The winter is the worst time to apply manure to soil because plants in frozen soil won't absorb nutrients, he said.

Fletcher to attend Bush fund-raiser

FRANKFORT - Gov. Ernie Fletcher will join President Bush at a fund-raising event for Bush on Thursday in Louisville.

Bush made two campaign appearances in Kentucky on Fletcher's behalf during the 2003 gubernatorial campaign.

The first was a fund-raiser in Lexington that raised $1.25 million for Fletcher's campaign and the Kentucky Republican Party.

Bush's fund-raiser is to be at the Galt House East on Thursday, according to invitations for the event.

Fletcher is to make Bush's introduction, press secretary Jeannie Lausche said.

Call right now for do-not-call listing

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana residents have until midnight tonight to add their home telephone numbers to the state's do-not-call list, despite legal challenges to the registry.

The numbers will be added to the next quarterly update of the list, effective April 1.

Four nonprofit groups sued the state in April 2002 because the charities that hire professional fund-raisers must forgo calling numbers on the Indiana list. The suit is pending in federal court in Indianapolis.

The state's no-call law exempts nonprofit organizations that use their own employees or volunteers to solicit by phone, as well as insurance and real estate agents and newspaper subscription calls.

Since Indiana's law took effect two years ago, about 60 percent of Hoosier residential phone numbers - nearly 1.5 million - have been registered, said Attorney General Steve Carter.

Carter has received about 6,000 complaints from consumers saying telemarketers have called despite their numbers being registered.

Those have led to citations against about 150 companies, which have paid penalties totaling $350,000.

To enroll, call the Indiana Telephone Privacy list at (888) 834-9969