Chickens Dumped, Customer Stumped

John Martin of Elmore County informs us that the county government there is wasteful. I'm shocked. SHOCKED I tell you!

Martin writes:

Is there any effective way to abate the grievances imposed by a county health department? Better yet, how can we abolish the department outright?

"What's your beef?" you ask. I'll tell you.



On the night of July 14, I stopped by the Wal-Mart in Wetumpka to buy some groceries. As I was walking in, I noticed a lady taking all of the cooked, ready-to-eat chickens out of the display and putting them onto a cart. I asked her where she was taking them.

"I'm going to throw them away," she responded.

"Could I buy one of them for a dollar?" I asked.

"No. I have to throw them away."

"Why can't you let me buy one for a dollar? Why do you have to waste them like that?"

"It's just our policy. Our manager is over there. You can ask her."

So I did. She said the county health department mandated it. She would not be allowed to sell the outdated chickens.

"The county health department?" I asked. "Not the state or federal?" She said it was the county.

I said, "That's criminal. The health department ought to be prosecuted for wasting food like that."

"I'm sorry." she said. "You'll have to take it up with them."

They threw away 20 or more perfectly good chickens that one night, not to mention the likelyhood of numerous other food items. They probably do the same thing every night.

Multiply that times all of the grocery stores in Elmore County (except, perhaps, one or two that have enough backbone to stand up for our rights--that's where I'd do my shopping if I knew which ones). It's no wonder people call it "El-Moron" County.

I'm madder than the proverbial "old wet hen." Aren't you?

Of course, this isn't the first time a county health department has done something nasty. They have sucked up our tax money and decreed all kinds of oppressive regulations for many years. It's long overdue to add the county health departments to the long list of government "services" that we are a whole lot better off without.

Fire every last one of them.