Liquid lard slickens street in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE -- After a winter of snow, freezing rain, and sleet, authorities in Jacksonville probably thought they didn't have to worry about slippery streets any more.

They were wrong, but the weather had nothing to do with the weekend situation. Three blocks of downtown Morton Avenue were affected Sunday by a spill of liquid lard -- 500 pounds of it.

The inside, westbound lane of traffic on Morton was closed for three hours while 10 city employees armed with brooms, shovels and a chemical compound cleaned up the pork fat.

The lard reportedly was coming from ACH Foods Companies, which has a plant that processes edible oils and shortening.