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Brody Blaber, 15, of Overton, helps to pack baskets during the weekly harvest at Quail Hollow Farm in Overton Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011.
By J. Patrick Coolican (contact) 
Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 | 2 a.m.
J. Patrick Coolican
Sun archives
They don’t make it easy for those of us who believe in vigorous government, the kind that built the Interstate Highway System, put a man on the moon and invented the Internet.
By “they” I mean our public employees, who we want to believe in but who sometimes leave us shaking our heads.
The most recent example: Quail Hollow Farm in Overton had — or tried to have, anyway — a “farm-to-table” dinner last month. This is when a chef takes vegetables and freshly butchered meats and serves them up right there at the farm to fancy food types — “locavores” — who like their food really fresh. Sounds pretty great, right?
Well, someone at the Southern Nevada Health District saw an ad for the event and decided to get on the case.
The health department called farm owners Laura and Monte Bledsoe and said they’d need a special-use permit because it was a “public” event. They complied, or tried to at least.
The night of the event, the guests arrived at the farm, and so did the food inspector. Here were the issues, according to Laura Bledsoe: Some prepared food packages had no labels; some of the meat was not USDA certified; some food was prepared in advance off-site and not up to proper temperature; vegetables were declared unfit; and there were no receipts for food.
(Um, do you not get the whole farm-to-table thing?)
The Bledsoes asked the inspector if they could make the meal a private event, thereby eliminating the health department’s jurisdiction. A church, for instance, can have a pancake breakfast for its congregants, without health department oversight. And for locavores, this meal was to be something like a religious experience.
Nope.
In the end, the health inspector demanded that bleach be poured on the food, including vegetables, to ensure it was not consumed. Bleach really ruins a meal, I gotta tell you.
Of course, the health department and its 50 inspectors do good work in a very challenging environment that includes more than 17,000 permitted food establishments in Clark County. Our own food critic John Curtas said, “I think they do a great job. They have a huge responsibility. If one buffet, one restaurant has an outbreak of food poisoning, and it gets to be national news, think of the impact on our economy.”
Bledsoe said she understands the need for reasonable regulations to protect the public, but added that it seemed the health department was obsessed with shutting down the event. “There seemed to be no solution other than destroy food and destroy everything that had been done,” she said.
I talked about the Quail Hollow incident with Susan LaBay, an environmental health supervisor with the district. She conceded the department hasn’t inspected an event on a farm like this, but said, “We have to apply the law equally.”
She said if there had been an incident of food-borne illness at the event, we’d be asking different questions, like, where were the regulators?
I, for one, wouldn’t be asking that. If some gourmands go out to a farm and someone gets food poisoning, I’m pretty sure I know what the public reaction — including my own — would be: Too bad. You knew what you were getting yourself into. And that’s that.
Strangely enough, LaBay acknowledged that farm-to-table meals will often be safer than a store-bought one, because fewer hands touching the food usually makes for a safer meal. And she said she’s sympathetic to the idea of legislation that would help farmers host these events while still complying with the law. The problem is that the regulations were written for the era of industrial food production and often don’t allow for freshly butchered meat, raw milk and homemade items like pickles.
Until the law is changed, LaBay said, “We don’t have an option.”
Actually, though, they do. Just as prosecutors use discretion to push some cases harder than others, the department could have seen the ad for the uppity food event, pushed it aside and moved on to the next dodgy Chinese, Mexican or burger joint.
How often does the health department or the business license department or the taxation department inspect all these Taco Trailers parked all over the city? Oh wait, the Taco stands open up at 6 at night and there is no way the government workers are going to work that late.
I support what the health inspector did.
"Some prepared food packages had no labels" - How could the inspector verify what they were serving was legit without labels?
"some of the meat was not USDA certified" - Who wants an outbreak of E. coli?
"some food was prepared in advance off-site and not up to proper temperature" - Huge violation to not keep food at the proper temperature. These people should be ashamed that they would serve dinner guests food in this situation.
"vegetables were declared unfit" - Serving substandard or rotten vegetables....who wants that for dinner?
"..and there were no receipts for food." - Ok, so this one is nit-picky considering the circumstances of the event. I get the "eat it from the farm" concept.
Besides the receipts for food situation, the rest of the health inspectors concerns were appropriate and done with public safety in mind. I don't understand how the Sun allows this kind of biased news article to be written...
The inspector was a typical person who thinks that the government's job is to save people from themselves, that people are not able to think for themselves. What a crock! Why didn't the people who were attending throw him out? People can choose for themselves. If this was an egregious disregard for the laws, then he should have stepped in, but it wasn't. What a spoilsport. He ruined what would have been a lovely time and perhaps educational time for a lot of people. Jerk.
As one who was involved in the food industry for more than 20 years - from dishwasher to restaurant owner - I couldn't disagree with Curtas more. They don't do a "great" job; they do an unnecessary job. One that could be done better by the private sector. As you see in this case, they are obstinate and uneven in their enforcement of the rules. One bureaucratic drone interprets the rules one way and another bureaucratic drone comes along and says it's just the opposite. Over the years, I found health "inspectors" who made up the rules as they went along and, if they didn't like you or your operation, could drive you up a wall. If the system were privatized and insurance made mandatory, much like auto insurance, restaurant operators could avoid personality conflicts by changing insurers. Not so under the present set up which gives bureaucratic drones far too much power and can lead to corruption and under the table payoffs. The inspection of restaurants would fall to the insurers who wouldn't take kindly to sloppy, dirty and/or unhealthful practices by restaurateurs and would drop their coverage in a heartbeat, putting them out of business. The public would be safer and better off without the bureaucratic drones and we'd have a freer society, too boot!
"Why didn't the people who were attending throw him out?"
--------------------
Because not everyone is a ignorant TeaHead?
I think this article is right on about out of control public employees. Look at the facts how many major food born illness cases have been from private farms out of control of state and federal health inspections. If you look back to recent events they have been from government approved farms and packing plants run by large corporations for the most part. You see the small farms such as quail hollow take great pride in their product and the owner tends to the crops personally. The one place you missed the mark is these events are farm from uppity. These are events where we bring people from the city some whom have never been to a real farm and educate them as to where their food comes from and how much work is put into their trip to the store. If there is one thing I can say about our community out here is there is nothing uppity about it.
"Not USDA certified"...so how is that better than being USDA certified and having people infected with botulism, e coli, and salmonella? These outbreaks happen with USDA certification, so why is this justification meaningful?
This is the very type of government the Sun espouses at every turn. There is no place for individual freedom- you must depend on the government to take care of the unwashed masses. Please also don't forget that our government has been cut to the bone; we need to raise taxes to ensure the continued delivery of "vital services.". Such as this.
Apparently the inspectors were looking for rotten fish due to the odor that often hangs out at government offices at times labeled as government business or mentally incompetent because you have something 'we want'.
The residents living in Overton and rural Overton are blessed with Quail Farm and the produce from Quail Farm. The size of the radishes and the beautiful color of the skins is a magnificent use of land. These veggies woven into silk chiffon with wild flowers the same color for a short evening dress can say a lot about being alive and in tune with the earth today.
Eggplant color has already been a fashion color for years and years from coats to evening to New York fashionable wear to office to cocktails and afterwards.
So the cruix is that the inspectors have overstepped their kabobs. Some of the Chinese restaurants behind that green curtain will make your intestinal track turn green from the cockroach parts picked up off of the floor adhereing to the food dropped while preparing for stir fry and cooked right in with the stir fry.
No bleach poured here.
buttercup, EXACTLY!!
I know the Bledsoe's personally and they are great people who would never, even remotely, endanger anybody.
I was a professional Chef for many years and if people knew what really went on in a professional kitchen, nobody, and I mean nobody, would ever eat out again.
This is a great example of a government agency not seeing he forest for the trees.
Was TSA busy?
Everyone in the food industry has a story about heath inspectors. Heath inspectors are necessary, we need them. However, sometimes and in many cases, health inspectors can be over reaching.
Laura and Monte Bledsoe did everything right is seems except they did not contact the health department or get local officials involved. In the end the health department did the right thing.
The Bledsoes should reschedule this event, include the health department to ensure success. Great ideal Bledsoe, did it again, now you know what is needed.
before all the hoopla i would go back to the reason they went out. With all the thousands of advertisements for food and events I highly doubt somebody from the health department was just sifting through ads and found this one. Odds are it was some irate, disgrunteled "tax paying" citizen who called demanding action.
Happens all day long for public agencies. Do I care if your dog is on a leash longer than 6 feet (against the law in case you weren't aware) or if your car is parked more than 18 inches from the curb? No I dont. But when your a-hole neighbor calls demanding that we enforce the law or they'll call channel 13 or write the mayor because their taxes pay my salary, hands get tied. Maybe it wasn't the case here, but I wouldn't doubt it.
Overton is an unincorporated city, 67 miles from Las Vegas, about $28 round trip at 20 mpg, and another $28 in mileage and depreciation if the car is less than two years old.
People that drive to these events from Las Vegas are well versed in farm food events and know their way around. People that drive to them from Overton know their way around even better. Fresh means fresh, not irradiated or kept under UV lamps.
The Overton population is about 3700. There are many churches in Las Vegas with bigger congregations, and what happens when food poisoning occurs at a church function? They get prayers. Overton is mostly LDS anyway - a public event out there is nearly the same as a church event and very few people could tell the two apart.
The biggest attraction in Overton is the road out of town in the direction of Las Vegas. One of the residents suggested putting up a Welcome sign but they couldn't get enough cash together for the paint and plywood and the shovels to dig the post holes were all in use on farms.
A Las Vegas restaurant inspector has no business at Overton Farm-Food events. These are two entirely different worlds. A farm-food event in Ely, Elko, Winnemucca or any other small town is the same as that in Overton, except that the Las Vegas restaurant inspector doesn't drive out to Ely to mess things up, and their average life span in Ely doesn't give them enough time for inspections.
How does one get a USDA Certified inspector to come out to the farm and check the meat? That's nonsense. Sent a priest out to bless it instead - priests are affordable, government inspectors aren't. Call it a Faith-Based Farm Food event and then government inspections won't apply. After all, how does one certify Faith? With a towel?
"Vegetables declared unfit?" By what standard? This is "proof by assertion" and no specifics are given. Room temperature, fresh, cooked, half cooked, partially cooked or overdone vegetables can sit for hours and never spoil. What is an unfit vegetable? How is that measured? Maybe if they sat out all day and night by the side of the road they would be unfit but that wasn't the case.
If the vegetables are unfit, give them back to the owners - there is NO JUSTIFICATION for pouring chlorine on them. That is DISGUSTING. A waste of good food for a picky inspector trying to justify his time.
And how much did his time cost? More than all the food at the event. That is what is unfit - not the food.
"Until the law is changed, LaBay said, "We don't have an option."
A private dinner on private property, yet a health cop showed up. Did he have a warrant? Did anybody mention to the fool he was trespassing? Somehow respect for private property has been completely lost in LaBay's and his itty bit o' government's desperate quest for relevance. Pathetic!
"A Las Vegas restaurant inspector has no business at Overton Farm-Food events."
SunJon -- great post, as usual, especially the way you detailed the way this inspector overreached.
Look at the other headlines and editorials in today's Suns about the lack of jobs. This is one huge reason why. I recall seeing stories here and there about kids' lemonade stands being shut down and fined.
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from your government. I'm here to help.'" -- the late President Ronald Reagan
This story misses out in a lot of details that were given in the Overton paper. Nothing had labels because EVERYTHING was farm grown. Even the meat was provided by a local ranch. Sounds to me like the health inspectors just need to adjust their inspecting methods for events like this where the foods won't have labels or receipts. If they don't then it basically means any small scale grown products are against the law because they will never have labels on them. I just don't know what this inspector was expecting.
I laugh at all of these people attacking the health inspectors....they're the same people who raise concerns when there's an outbreak of food poisoning. Does Overton have it's own Health Inspector? I'm guessing not....otherwise the Las Vegas based inspector wouldn't have to drive out there.
This is the law people...follow it! If you want it changed, go tell your representatives to abolish the food safety laws we have in place. Then watch all of the fools who don't care about food safety fall ill. It will be Darwinism at it's best.
The Joe's, Killer's, and Jerry's of the world could learn something here:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseasein...
but they won't.
mschaffer,
Conflicted as usual. If the government's stamp of approval is so essential for society to function, kindly explain to me how government inspected meat packing facilities (with full time USDA officials on site) still manage to kill and sicked people.
My relatives regularly fill their larders with Deer, Elk, Goose and all other sorts of wild game that hasn't had an ounce of Government intervention and yet, miraculously they are healthier than most city folk.
I read your posts, I get it, you have a love affair with all things Government..... maybe you could learn something from self reliant folks... but you won't.
The health inspector was doing the right thing? If you have been following this story the only reason that the farm needed health dept over site is because they posted it as a supper club event. If it had been a dinner event it is considered a private event and would not have needed a permit. Thus NO health dept intervention.
My question is.. Why ,after the inspector was there, didn't she realize what the mistake (wrong event listing) was and just changed it to a dinner event and leave?
I guess "We the People" can not take care of ourselves anymore with out hurting ourselves. This happens around the country more than people realize.
Watch out Farmers Markets. You are threatening big grocery stores so watch out......
I've been in the restaurant business for many years and I agree with Coolican and many of the posters. While health inspectors perform a necessary function, they tend to be arbitrary and inconsistent. They also seem not to have had much experience in the food industry prior to becoming inspectors, which makes them more difficult to deal with.
We have been overdue for an inspection, and now I know why - the short-staffed health department is chasing after farmers in Overton.
The health department is not believable on this one.
They write the regulations that get approved. If they need regulations for this type of event-then they should write them.
What was wrong hear was that they did absolutely no sampling. Samples for microbial contamination either prove a case or not.
This was simple "Blinder" enforcement-just like we use on horses.
A true health professional would realize
You have t pay off the government to get a pass, we all know that but sometimes people forget...
What a shame. Sounds like it would be a cool dinner to try.
In the City of Sin, and everywhere else food is consumed for mass public consumption, we need health inspectors, even if the 'system' is somewhat flawed.
That said, this was a reach beyond reason.
There's something fishy here; I smell a RAT.
What a waste of a perfectly good spread! Now, THAT'S sinful.
Support you local farmers......
http://quailhollowfarmcsa.com/index.html...
"The Joe's, Killer's, and Jerry's of the world could learn something here..."
mschaffer -- exactly which part of "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable seizures and searches shall not be violated" do you need explained to you? YOU could learn something @ http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Const/NVConst...
Government harassment like this is a major deterrent from anyone starting a company and creating jobs. Why do we put up with it -- just so parasites like LaBay can suck on the public teat? Not good enough!
"I heartily accept the motto, 'That government is best which governs least'; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically." -- Henry David Thoreau 1849 "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience"
Last time we purchased greens from a large grocery store we became sick, we learned that there was a recall on them the next day. And these were "inspected" food items. I will trust in my local farmers markets and farms such as these as much as possible from now on.
Keep up the good work Quail Hollow. Hope you are ready to grow. I see a lot more support for you in the near future.
I agree with the article, it's an incredible display of bureaucracy and small mindedness.
But I do have to take issue with the writers statement about the govm't putting a man on the moon and inventing the internet. First, while NASA was funded by the gov, it was run as a "cowboy" (what in reality was an entrepreneurial) organization; a true gov entity (think "EPA") would never have achieved the goal. And as the internet industries liason to Congress in the mid-90's, I can tell you flat out it was invented by dedicated academics (with both gov and corporate grant money, but no oversight or involvement by the funders) and created by venture capital funded entreprenuers; my task, along with many others, was helping keep the govm't out of the internet (successfully, thank god).
Yes, the gov can do some amazing things, as Jefferson and FDR showed. And it can faciliate amazing things by simply staying out of the way, as Franklin, Reagan and Clinton showed. So lets not get carried away here and start giving credit where it's simply not due.
Chunky says:
This is the problem with "Biggie Sized" government and those who trust any form or branch of it to do anything sensibly and with common sense.
The govt should stick with infrastructure and defense and stay out of our personal lives!
You only need to look at the Social Security mess to decide if you want them managing your healthcare and retirement!
That's what Chunky thinks!
Serving consumables for the purposes of public consumption naturally presents public safety issues which are adequately addressed by established health-standards -- complying with such heath-standards is not only the responsibility of the preparers/servers but those who verifier such standards are being adhered to -- it appears the issues presented herein are the result of poor communications, cooperation and coordination between event and health department officials -- perhaps cooperative preplanning between event and health officials will assure the success of future events?
: {
Have the local Farmer's Markets been inspected? What about Gilcrease Orchards? None of their items are labelled and they are sold for profit. What about the food stuffs the restaraunts throw out that get taken to the pig farm? Since the pigs are sold for consumption, shouldn't everything they eat be USDA certified? Where is big brother in all this???? Talk about a lot of nonsense and abuse of power. Next thing you know the Health Department will be beating on your door to confiscate the tomato plants you are growing in your own back yard!
If I choose to purchase from a small farmer rather than a large store chain it is MY choice. I understand the need for gov over site but where does it stop? Next they will tell me that I can not use the brand of toilet paper that I purchased...
Follow events that are happening across our country. Each of the ones that I read do take our individual right of choice away.
http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/farm-raids...
I would not call for the end of the health department. But I would definitely call for more training for the employees of the health department. Have they never heard of the time and temperature principal? More then likely this events food sanitation was more safe for consumption then anywhere on the strip.
And more very proud inspectors lecturing of justice of written law. -
Brilliant verbal diversification of argumentation has been written here.
My sister lives in NC, she grows her own fruits and vegetables AND share them with neighbors!!! The man that lives next door, meaning 1/4 a mile away is allowed to hunt deer and wild turkey on their property. He cleans the meats and cuts them up for them, as well as share the extras with other neighbors. SUPRISE, no one has gotten sick. It's the unnaturally processed foods that make us sick! This "food inspector" is just trying to justify his job. PS.. no pesticides in any of THEIR food.
I'm with Wondering on this one, especially due to my experiences farming, ranching, and having food centered events both in California and Nevada.
It all could have simply been changed, had the government inspector been reasonable,"...the only reason that the farm needed health dept over site is because they posted it as a supper club event. If it had been a dinner event it is considered a private event and would not have needed a permit. Thus NO health dept intervention."
For years, I grew organically raised food: fruits, vegetables, nuts, and livestock. Not once, was there ever an incident with my food. There was plenty of repeat business and referrals.
It is truly unfortunate the parties involved were unable to adjust the status, considering the actual intent with the Bledsoes. This instance will send shockwaves throughout rural Nevada, creating an underground (which is counter productive to food safety) and hinder transparency with food producers. Common sense should have prevailed, but unfortunately did not. What a pity!
Sinatra, do me a favor, google Asparatame and Splenda together. Once you read the findins of what asparatame does to people, lab rats, etc, tell me why the FDA allows this stuff to be on the shelf? Not only Splenda, but all sugar substitutes. Now, why should I be Pro-govt food inspectors? I'm not saying we should be terrified of food, but the government does little to protect us on a larger scale. It's almost like they're trying to control the population by hiding things in food and people are dying. Ever wonder why people have cancer before they're 10y/o, and a woman who is 96 and has smoked all her life is still alive? The 96y/o wasn't exposed to harsh food additives in her younger years.
"...do me a favor, google Asparatame and Splenda together."
buttercup3381 -- take it to the next level with the FDA's war against stevia. And they still won't allow that beneficial, time-tested sweetener it in our food, while aspartame, etc., passes.
Back to what Reagan said...
The prudent thing for the inspector to do, was to shut down the event and tell the owners either comply with regulations next time or make it a private event. Putting bleach on the food is the most ridiculous thing I have read. You can use fruit and vegetable washer (contains potassium permanganate), that removes herbicide, pesticide residuals-but bleach!
Just another example of government gestapo tactics by authorities with titles abusing their power. We Americans have allowed all the wrong people of lesser character power to control and manipulate our lives. This country was settled and built by men and women of strong wills, great character and spiritual values not by the weak willed, bullies exercising unearned power over others through "Pack" mentality. Gutless thugs like the health inspector here are what is wrong with this country. He acts on the misinformation and programming of socialist/communist "societal designers" without being able to think for himself. He is nothing more than a Zombie thug for those who want to dictate the lives of all of us. Common sense was murdered some years ago. We who value individual freedom and liberty must find his body and raise common sense from the dead to restore true intelligence to challenge the pseudo-intellectualism that is destroying rational thinking. This fascist corporate state centralist control of human life must be dismantled to save the human species from extinction. The power mongers seem not to understand that weakening of the species will destroy them as well as us peons.
Both sides of my family come from farming. Large and small farms. I would trust a farm over most restaurants for food prep.
Where are these health inspectors when I get sick from the LV buffets?
1 more comment and I will leave this thread alone.
Ignoring all of the above the real atrocity was that the inspector and her supervisor did not trust these good people to not use the food. They offered to only use it for their personal meals. Then they offered to only use it as animal feed. But that still was not good enough.
They treated these people like criminals knowing nothing about them. And the government wonders why "We the People" do not trust the government any more.
It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words. A video is even better.
There is a video of the inspection, showing the surly attitude of the health department employee, Mary Oates, who called police when she was asked to leave the farm. Police saw no reason to intervene.
Video is here: http://www.8newsnow.com/story/15955627/i...
girly girly, I wonder where they are also. My question is.. Why don't they put bleach on a food line at a buffet ar one of our "WODERFUL" casinos. Most likely because they would serve it anyway. USDA approved??give me a break!!!!!
killer,
You can't be secure in your home or possessions when suffering from food borne illness. Health comes first and you are always dependent upon others for your food and water. If you think you can detect food borne pathogens you are a fool.
Having worked in the back of the house at some strip properties I am aware that all employees are made aware when the health department is coming to inspect the food prep and food warehouse facilities...7-10 days in advance! By the time the health inspector shows, accompanied by the food and beverage director, it is a pro-forma inspection. This advance notice is not shared with other smaller establishments, or farm to table affairs apparently. It still continues to this day.
At the old Dunes it rained hard one day and water came into the bakery from the loading dock. 3-4 inches of black, dirty, water with oily substances off the pavement. The bakery continued to bake at the direction of management while the bakers pulled up their pant legs to avoid contact with the filth that floated in on top of the rainwater. I called the health department to lodge a request for an immediate inspection, described the conditions under which baked goods were being prepared for the gourmet rooms and identified myself as an employee. Their first question? "What is your name?" No concern about conditions there, just a name to share with management.
Thank-you to Mr. Coolican for bringing this travesty to light. I hope this incident boosts interest in CSAs and strengthens the Bledsoe's resolve to continue on. While I'm quite certain the SNDA believes they are only enforcing laws already on the books, I would trust the local farm/CSA far more than I would trust big Agra and GMO substances that Monsanto and their lobbyist shills force upon us. Of course a case of food poisoning can have deadly consequences"however, equally deadly is the slower, insidious offing of one's immune system via eating GMO foods over time.
http://www.foodmatters.tv/_webapp/The%20...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/articl...
Be careful J. Patrick...your Ayn Rand is showing.
"It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words. A video is even better."
tarantula -- thanx with extra cheese (non-USDA-approved) for that link.
My hope is all those attending the Bledsoe's event burned up the phone lines and emails to their legislators and county commissioners about this incident. Fascists like these food cops need to be put on the street with the rest of us scratching for their daily bread with the rest of us.
"Indifference to personal liberty is but the precursor of the State's hostility to it." -- United States v. Penn, 647 F.2d 876 (9th Circuit, 1980), Judge Kennedy dissenting
Sorry but I just have to chuckle at all this. This is what you get when you want "vigorous" government, which is different, by the way, than the government that "built the Interstate Highway System, put a man on the moon and invented the Internet."
Those three things are infrastructure and research investments, which government is usually good at and which benefit all of us. The "vigorous" government of which you speak gets in peoples' business unnecessarily far too often, with the support of people like yourself until it's you who are being scrutinized. One need not be an Ayn Rand acolyte (which I am not) to see the irony.
"The govt should stick with infrastructure and defense and stay out of our personal lives!"
------------------------
Except for abortion and gay marriage yes?
You guys are all ridiculous, defending the farm. The Health District employee was doing her job!!! As dictated by the Federal Government! If you want to make a change...get rid of the people in power and vote them out of office, not blame an inspector like Ms Oakes.
From the Channel 8 news story....
"Susan Labay with the Southern Nevada Health District is Oakes' supervisor. She says it is normal practice to bleach food.
"We did not feel that they were going to dispose of the food and we did not want to take the chance that that food would potentially be served to the public," Labay said.
Not even an informed public, like the Bledsoes' diners. Federal and state law requires, in the name of food safety, that all meat for sale be processed at a USDA inspected facility. There are no facilities in southern Nevada.
"I don't necessarily have the choices that everyone thinks we might," LaBay said. "I don't necessarily agree with every law that I have to regulate, but I can't choose how to apply that law. That is already decided for me."
Private citizen, public official or jack-booted thug? You make the call. We are doomed as a free nation. Apparently, the government, whether county, state or federal has jurisdiction over what comes out of our mouths or goes in. I think it would be a nice gesture by the County Commission to see that Mary Oaks and Susan Labay are relieved of their publicly-funded posts, allowing them additional time during the work week to reflect on the meaning of good judgment.
These Chinese restaurants (99% of them, with few exceptions that are located in a Casino) within the 5 mile radius of the District, that have never been inspected. Some of them filthy and the meat is not USDA but CDA certified. But the inpectors have ample time to scan newspaper ad's and go after rural folks who have more stingent standards than gourmet (clean) Chinese restaurants.
"Except for abortion and gay marriage yes?"
Markey -- I hope you threw that in only as a provocateur. The same fundamental principle applies -- the Bill of Rights promises each of us a private realm where government has no business intruding into, yet it does in this ever-expanding police state. Part of that is our property boundaries. In this context if the Bledsoes had set up a restaurant open to the public then the public authorities would have a compelling interest in their offerings. This is more akin to a garage sale requiring permits and inspection.
"The Health District employee was doing her job!!! As dictated by the Federal Government! If you want to make a change...get rid of the people in power and vote them out of office, not blame an inspector like Ms Oakes."
Sinatra -- no and yes. Ms. Oakes represented the County, not the state nor federal government. Shooing off the camera when confronted by the media while just "doing her job!!!" speaks volumes of her abuse of authority. Ultimately your cure for this kind of situation is sound, the part people often forget -- these food cops were enforcing laws not passed in a vacuum and it's up to us to rein them in.
"Fear is the foundation of most governments." - John Adams "Thoughts on Government" (1776)
From Sinatra -->"We did not feel that they were going to dispose of the food and we did not want to take the chance that that food would potentially be served to the public," Labay said.
Again I ask...What did these people do to not deserve the health dist trust? So what if they used it for animal feed or compost. Now if they had gone against the do not use for HUMAN consumption order then that would have been grounds for the way the insp and super acted.
And they did have choices. Even cops give warnings WITHOUT confiscating or burning your car.
I think the Southern Nevada Health District was the third government agency Rick Perry forgot about in the debate.
If people were paying to attend, this was an unlicensed business and should be held to the same standards that every restaurant everywhere are held to. Let's face it, if they are trying to make a buck off the public they should have to comply.
Thank you buzzbomb, that was the question I was going to ask, what were they charging per plate? If they were preparing and selling food that did not sell at the market, then they are a restaraunt. Sounds like more than a few of the people commenting on here work in places that have been down graded a few times.
I found a link to the event, if you wanted to go it was $75 per person or $125 per couple. Sounds like they needed a permit to me.
http://unicaworld.com/events/local-las-v...
Doesn't SNHD have anything else to do?
Like inspect many of the roach-infested restaurants in Clark County?? These food products were cleaner and fresher than any food products on The Strip...
Government incompetence at its finest!! (P.S. Cooking any of the food products would have killed any bacteria that may have been present...)
I do believe the tide has changed, and the political pendulum is swinging in the direction of greater liberty and freedom relative to people earning a living. The regulations that appear to be in fact a government run protection racket have diverted from the noble cause of the safety of the public to one where we are under a PAY TO PLAY political and business power game. I do recall an interesting story many years past, it is worth the read to refresh our resolve the end the problem: http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2...
Thanks for covering the story.
When you have our government forcing people to throw away food, pour bleach on it, and label it as bio-hazard there is something very wrong!
Wake up.
If you defend this, you are my enemy.
What makes J. Patrick Coolican think the experience of Quail Hollow Farms is especially unique. Does he think oil companies, sheet metal manufactures, and fast food restaurants don't face out of control regulators? Or does he approve of expanding government power because he believes the company HE works for and the enterprises HE approves will be spared? (Or should be?)
He is writing this article as if he thinks the corporation known as Quail Hollow Farms is PEOPLE or something. Crazy.