Letter to the Editor

Matter has been taken care of

Monday, October 13, 2008

To the Editor:

Concerning ("City should do better job with restaurant inspections," which appeared in The Brazil Times, Oct. 6, 2008), I would like to submit the following.

This matter was brought to my attention on Sept. 10, 2008, by the Indiana Attorney General's office.

I had 45 days to respond, but responded immediately.

The State of Indiana does not require registering in any organization for food and sanitary inspection, nor does the Clay County Health Department.

Therefore, Mr. Wm. Hale, with double degrees in Environmental Health and Health Science, qualifies for the position he has been holding for 19 years.

I informed the Attorney General in a separate addendum that Mr. Wm. Hale was advised to correct any erroneous information on his record.

I am pleased to note that all errors have been corrected as of this date.

As far as the food ordinance is concerned, since 1972, we have presented several food ordinances to the county.

We have, however, followed the state statutes concerning restaurant and food establishments inspections.

My thanks to (the writer of the Oct. 6 letter) for bringing the matter of the lack of food ordinances to public attention.

However, due to the fact that any ordinance has some financial encumbrance, at the present national economic difficulty, I do not feel comfortable adding any further financial burden.

S. Rahim Farid, M.D.,

Clay County Health Officer,

Brazil