Great rhubarb over rhubarb in Boone County ... - Belvidere Daily Republican

 

 

Belvidere Daily Republican

 

Great rhubarb over rhubarb in Boone County
By Lisa Rodgers
Reporter
BOONE COUNTY – According to Webster’s Dictionary and Daily Writing Tips (www.dailywriting tips.com/rhubarb-is-not-just-a-vegetable/), the word rhubarb may be used in the context of a vegetable, controversy, murmurous background noise, and in baseball.
Quotes provided from the Boone County Health Department (BCHD) were obtained from a public meeting of the Boone County Board of Health (BCBH) on Aug. 31 and from a meeting held Sept. 2 at the BCHD where the Belvidere Daily Republican was invited discuss rhubarb.
In attendance Sept. 2 was Public Health Administrator Cynthia Frank, Director of Environmental Health Bill Hatfield, Boone County Board of Health Member Marshall Newhouse, and Ellen Genrich who was required to attend as they were informed they were on the record.
Rhubarb (the vegetable) is the rhubarb (the controversy) in Boone County. And with this rhubarb (controversy) comes a rhubarb (murmurous background noise).
Where is the confusion originating? Is rhubarb pie permitted or prohibited? Recently at a NFP fundraiser, the rhubarb (vegetable and controversy) emerged once again.
Credible sources from the Boone County Community have complained, expressed anger, frustration as well as mistrust with the BCHD.
Members of non-for-profit’s (NFP’s) who have been issued a food permit said, “We have been informed that any type of rhubarb is prohibited due to ‘rhubarb being poisonous’ and that ‘the restriction is being mandated by the State of Illinois’.
“No information has been provided by the BCHD when the permit was issued in regards to what is at our event. We were informed of the rhubarb restriction at the time of the event and inspection,” said anonymous NFP sources.
On Aug. 31, an explanation was provided to the board/public when the rhubarb issue was raised in public comment about a recent NFP event.
“I received a phone call about the confusion and in about an hour the matter was resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. This was an isolated occurrence and it has been resolved,” Hatfield said.
On Sept. 2, when asked if he stood by his comment that this was an “isolated occurrence” Hatfield responded, “There was no occurrence. We have spoken to them and the matter was resolved in about an hour,” Hatfield said.
On Sept. 2, when different NFP’s were discussed as to having experienced similar problems over rhubarb it was explained.
“I have no written documentation in any of my paperwork from my inspectors in regards to an issue with rhubarb and have not received any phone calls/emails or complaints. I am unaware of any problems,” Hatfield said.
“Rhubarb pie, jams, and jellies are permitted in Boone County if produced in a properly permitted commercial kitchen and may be served at a NFP event or sold at a farmers market,” Hatfield continued in his explanation.
“For the two years I served on the Boone County Board, Hatfield claimed he had no complaints in regards to rhubarb or other issues. Nothing was documented in the reports, but fines could be verified.
Hatfield and I had numerous conflicts over the inappropriate and conflicting actions of the Health Department personnel. This can be verified by the minuets of Health and Human Service Committee meetings and County Board meetings,” said Marion L. Thornberry, former Boone County Board Member District 3 and Legislative Director, Illinois State Grange.
“Based on my conversations I am going to request a line item be added to the agenda of the next BCBH meeting to request a public meeting between the BCHD and the NFP’s in attempt to establish trust and remove any confusion of what is permissible,” Newhouse said on Sept. 2.
Despite all the rhubarb over rhubarb over the existing law there is exciting news for those who wish to have bake sales in Boone County.
While conducting research on Sept. 3, the following website forrager.com/law/illinois/ provided information on an amendment effective Jan. 1, 2016 to the current Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act that currently profit and NFP are subject too.
Unfortunately, the State of Illinois still considers rhubarb to be a Potentially Hazardous Food due to low acidity.
“A home kitchen operation does not include a person who produces or packages non-potentially hazardous baked goods for sale by a religious, charitable, or nonprofit organization for fundraising purposes; the production or packaging of non-potentially hazardous baked goods for these purposes is exempt from the requirements of this Act,” according to www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp….
The next Boone County Board of Health public meeting is Monday, Sept. 28 at noon at 1204 Logan Ave. in Belvidere in the BCHD Conference Room.

(23) Great rhubarb over rhubarb in Boone County By... - Belvidere Daily Republican

California Assembly approves right-to-die legislation - LA Times

 

he state Assembly on Wednesday approved a measure that would allow California physicians to prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients, sending the proposal to the Senate, which had previously approved a similar bill.

Modeled on a law in Oregon, the measure by Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) sparked an emotional debate, with many Republicans saying that it is immoral to assist in a suicide, but with supporters arguing that terminally ill Californians should have a choice to die peacefully without pain.

"I am committed to this issue of people being able to die on their own terms,'' said Eggman, a university professor with expertise in end-of-life care.

The legislation passed by a vote of 42-33 after Assembly members offered passionate, often deeply personal, arguments both in favor and against the bill.

 

Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown (D-Rialto) told lawmakers about her son, who was near death. Doctors urged her to let him go. Nineteen days later, he came off life support. He survived, and is now a husband and father.

"Doctors don't know everything," Brown said.

Assemblywoman Marie Waldron (R-Escondido) during the debate told members that "suicide should not be the first option where hospice and palliative care have not been tried."

Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward), however, said the bill would give Californians choices about the kind, and quality, of life they want to have.

"A life lived in pain is not bearable for some people," he said.

Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Watsonville) argued the bill would allow those suffering from terminal illness to end their suffering in a peaceful and dignified manner.

Alejo's voice choked with emotion as he talked about his father, who is in pain suffering from terminal bone cancer, and how his father wanted to make his own decisions about the end of his life.

"Respect his choices," Alejo said.

The proposal gained momentum after Californian Brittany Maynard moved to Oregon last year so she could end her life with drugs to avoid suffering and the debilitating effects of brain cancer. In a videotaped appeal before her death, Maynard urged California lawmakers to pass the legislation.

However, a similar bill bogged down in an Assembly panel and the proposal had to be revived in a separate bill as part of a special session called by Gov. Jerry Brown on healthcare.

Maynard's husband and mother were joined on Wednesday by a dozen activists who watched the vote from the Assembly gallery. There were cheers, tears and hugs when the vote was cast.

Dan Diaz, Maynard's husband, was emotional in his response.

"There is a sense of pride in the Legislature," Diaz said. "Today it reaffirmed the reason Brittany spoke to begin with. The Legislature will no longer abandon the terminally ill where hospice and palliative care are no longer an option. They can have a gentle passing. "

Eggman recently amended her bill, AB X2-15, to sunset in 10 years, at which time lawmakers could review how the law worked and decide whether to grant an extension.

The End of Life Option Act would require patients to submit two oral requests, a minimum of 15 days apart, and a written request, and for the attending physician to personally receive all three requests.

The written request would be signed in front of two witnesses who must attest that the patient is of sound mind and not under duress.

Opponents of the bill, including the Catholic Church and advocates for the disabled, voiced concern that the legislation might result in those with disabilities being coerced to end their life prematurely.

It is unclear whether the bill will be signed by Brown, a former Jesuit seminary student.

Twitter: @mcgreevy99

California Assembly approves right-to-die legislation - LA Times

College of DuPage financial officials fired - Chicago Tribune

he College of DuPage's top two finance officials were fired Wednesday, following reviews that found weak financial controls and violations of the school's investment practices.

Treasurer Thomas Glaser and Controller Lynn Sapyta, who have been on paid leave since June, are the first employees fired for cause since a new majority took over the Glen Ellyn-based school's board of trustees in April. President Robert Breuder remains on paid administrative leave pending termination proceedings.

"We are going to be embarking on a search for highly capable individuals and it is part of the new era for the College of DuPage," board Chairwoman Katharine Hamilton said.

Glaser's attorney, Shelly Kulwin, said he plans to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination and breach of contract.

Full Tribune coverage: College of DuPageOpen link

"We believe the termination is unjustified. The charges on which the termination was based are meritless," Kulwin said. "The charges themselves reveal it is clearly a political termination."

Sapyta's attorney, Peter Lubin, said in a statement that she "faithfully discharged the duties of her office" and "received numerous accolades" during her employment. She may also sue, he said.

Though the termination decisions were handed down Wednesday, Glaser and Sapyta's fates seemed sealed after a heated spring election in which a Hamilton-controlled majority took a majority on the board. Hamilton had openly criticized both at public meetings and on the campaign trail, and she had promised changes to the college's leadership if the slate of candidates she backed was elected.

Lubin described Sapyta as a "scapegoat" who has had her reputation tarnished to bolster Hamilton's agenda.

"It's a political firing," he said.

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Glaser and Sapyta are now entitled to a post-termination hearing before an officer chosen by the college. The private hearing, which must be requested within five days and then held within 30 days after that, is conducted like a trial, and witnesses can be called. The officer will decide whether to uphold or overturn the firings.

Since June, an outside firm has been handling the college's day-to-day finances and reviewing its financial controls. The board hired the firm after an internal audit found that the school's investment practices did not comply with its policies. The college lost nearly $2 million in one prohibited investment.

A Chicago-based financial management firm, Alix Partners, recently detailed how the noncompliance was greater than the auditor realized, with about 73 percent of the portfolio, worth about $274 million last fall, not in line with school policy.

"That was a monumental failure on many levels," trustee Frank Napolitano said at an August board meeting.

In a letter sent to Sapyta on Wednesday, the college provided nine reasons for termination. They included failing to maintain financial controls over the college's radio station, where an employee for years allegedly stole from the college, and its high-end restaurant, Waterleaf, which lost more than $2 million since it opened in 2011 as senior administrators spent hundreds of thousands of public dollars on meals and drinks.

Lubin said the Waterleaf-related accusations are "an attempt to shift the blame" to Sapyta from her supervisors and the board.

Sapyta also was accused of not following the college's investment policy and not cooperating with the internal auditor's review. The letter also alleged that she violated school ethics policy by using the college's email system to solicit votes on behalf of trustee candidates.

Lubin described the allegations against his client as "vague, unsubstantiated and legally deficient," saying most of them had nothing to do with her professional duties. Saptya, he said, was not responsible for investment decisions during her five-year tenure at the college. Still, she knew some of the investments exceeded school policy and pointed them out to Glaser, as her job required, Lubin said.

In a statement released after her firing, Sapyta said interim President Joseph Collins, who as executive vice president oversaw the restaurant and radio station, was trying to shift blame to her. She said Collins was well aware that she did not control the school's investments.

"I'm being made into a scapegoat for the criticism that the media has leveled at Dr. Breuder and his administration, including Executive Vice President Collins, for lavish spending at the College's restaurant and other issues over which I had no control," she said. "The Board approved these expense accounts and it should answerable for how it approved tax payers money being spent. That was not part of my job duties as Dr. Collins is well aware."

Glaser's salary was $232,112, and Sapyta's was $163,828.

The school's audit and the subsequent outside financial review detailed numerous breakdowns in oversight at the state's largest community college, an issue the Tribune has uncovered in a number of investigations over the past several months. According to the audit findings, the board of trustees did not get detailed quarterly investment reports as required, while the treasurer's committee, which is supposed to meet every four months, went almost two years without a meeting.

Finance administrators acknowledged that although they knew there were instances of noncompliance, the full board received monthly reports summarizing investment activities and "did not raise any concerns," according to the audit report.

The audit found that the college's portfolio exceeded its own policy limits for certain types of investments. For example, the policies capped investments in local government investment pools at 5 percent of the full portfolio. Yet the college eventually put more than 29 percent of its value into the Illinois Metropolitan Investment Fund, a pool that invests tax dollars on behalf of more than 200 suburban governments.

The college's board of trustees authorized investing in IMET in April 2014, and about $10 million was initially invested. Then, without authorization or endorsement, the college increased that amount by September to more than $80 million, or 29.2 percent of the portfolio.

At the time, IMET was providing a higher return than other investments, according to the audit.

The IMET fund, however, later disclosed that it believed it had been defrauded and lost more than $50.4 million for its participants. The college, the fund's biggest investor, lost $2.2 million. If the college had followed its policy and limited its investment to 5 percent, the audit found, it would have lost only $381,436. The college has since removed most of its money from the IMET pool and is attempting to recoup its loss.

The audit also found concerns with other investments. The college invested 43 percent of its portfolio in bond mutual funds, far exceeding the 5 percent limit outlined in its investment policy.

The portfolio's overall performance also was lackluster compared with those of other community colleges in the Chicago area. The college's returns ranked fifth among the area's eight largest community colleges, with an average annual yield of 0.38 percent, according to the audit.

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Top administrators in the college's finance department knew about the audit results in March, a month after the review was completed, but did not act, school officials said. The report surfaced in May, the officials said, after a new board majority took over and voted to place Breuder on paid leave.

College auditor James Martner, who performed the financial review, reported directly to Breuder. The embattled president frequently applauded the school's fiscal policies when defending his controversial tenure that included accusations of lavish spending and excessive perks.

Instead of embracing recommendations in the audit, school administrators attempted to retool the college's financial policies to quietly bring their own past practices into compliance, according to records obtained by the Tribune.

sstclair@tribpub.com

College of DuPage financial officials fired - Chicago Tribune

Group funded by Koch brothers concerns area Democrats - THonline.com: Tri-state News

Koch Brother aims in Iowa seem long term and local.

BY WILLIAM GARBE WILLIAM.GARBE@THMEDIA.COM Telegraph Herald

Americans for Prosperity has ramped up its focus on local politics, concerning many within the Dubuque County Democratic Party.

In little more than three months, the political group backed by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch has established a Dubuque office, held a local town hall meeting with two prominent conservatives and run a six-week, 25-person course on conservative leadership, which ended Tuesday.

"We hope that we're making the right people nervous on both sides of the aisle," said Drew Klein, AFP's Des Moines-based state director. "There's no shortage of projects to be worked on."

The group's rise has tipped off disquiet within the leadership ranks of the Dubuque County Democratic Party.

"All of us on the Democratic Party executive committee have been very concerned about it," said Walt Pregler, chairman of the county Democratic Party.

 

IOWA NOW IS A MAJOR AFP FOCUS

AFP has operated on the national stage for more than a decade, with state-level organizing that originally focused on Wisconsin, Kansas, North Carolina and Texas, Klein said. Before reaching Iowa, AFP organized in about 25 other states.

"You've got to be ready to run when you get to Iowa," he said.

While AFP favors federal candidates who align with its policies -- U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, R-Dubuque, for example, receives a perfect score from the group -- the organization in recent years has turned to state government as a quicker, easier way to change policy.

"States a lot of times get overlooked, but that's where you see a lot of the variation in public policy," said Christopher Larimer, a political-science associate professor at the University of Northern Iowa. "I think it's a case where you have a state (Iowa) that's very competitive, and I think AFP probably sees this state as a pick-up."

AFP's focus on Dubuque has increased in the past several months. In June, the organization hosted a town hall meeting at Hotel Julien Dubuque with Iowa talk radio host Simon Conway and Sioux City conservative Sam Clovis, a former Rick Perry state chairman who is now a top adviser to Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

By early July, AFP opened a Dubuque field office at 1108 Locust St., the site of the former Naughty Dog Coffee Bar.

At that time, the organization announced plans to coordinate a "Grassroots Leadership Academy" in Dubuque. The six-week course featured class topics such as "Making the Case for Economic Freedom," "Part 1: A Brief History of Grassroots Activism" and "Part 2: How the Left Operates."

IOWA SENATE JAMS AFP AGENDA

AFP has issued a five-pronged agenda under the name "Reform Iowa," and Klein estimates the organization will stick with the model for at least five years -- past the 2018 Iowa Senate election. The focus of the reform effort is on education, spending, taxes, regulations and labor.

But advancing AFP's policy proposals would almost certainly require a change in the Iowa Senate, which is under the Democratic leadership of Senate President Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque.

For example, the organization proposes the introduction of "zero-base" budgeting, under which officials in each state government department would be required to "justify every dollar" it receives. A "zero-base" budgeting bill was passed last session in the Republican-controlled Iowa House but died without a vote in the Iowa Senate.

"They certainly would like to replace (Jochum) and replace the majority in the Iowa Senate, and they're going to have a tough time doing it," Pregler said. "I would assume she's the bull's-eye of the target."

Just who would challenge Jochum in 2018 is yet to be seen. Dubuque County GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Smith said she was unaware of potential GOP challengers at this time.

ORGANIZING MODEL KEY TO AFP

Right now, AFP leaders said they are focused on the leadership academy and building a base of volunteers. With an anticipated 31 paid workers in Iowa by 2016, AFP is smaller than the county-by-county apparatus of political party volunteers.

"We're also just arrogant enough to think we're more efficient with our resources than they are," Klein said.

Jochum points to previous organizing efforts in suburban Des Moines as evidence of the group's use of financial resources to improve upon the traditionally Democratic method of organizing voters.

"To me, it says Americans for Prosperity has figured out how Democrats do their work," Jochum said. "They are proving that they are putting together a very sophisticated, grass-roots, computer-generated system."

Jochum, Pregler and Democratic Party volunteer Sue Wilson all voiced concern about AFP's association with the Koch brothers.

"This is outside money that is trying to buy influence," Wilson said.

Klein pushed off the criticism, at once embracing the Koch brothers while asserting the group's independence.

"We're extremely grateful, but at the same time, they provide a sliver of financial support," Klein said. "I think what sets Dave and Charles apart is they work based on principle, not just business."

Klein said AFP has not yet focused its attention on targeting specific 2016 state and federal candidates, but the organization's efforts are aimed at long-term success.

"This is not going to be done in six months," Klein said. "This is bigger than just electing the right people."

Group funded by Koch brothers concerns area Democrats - THonline.com: Tri-state News