Sheriff Mack to Speak at August Conference In Mountain Grove
It was announced at the June 23 meeting of the Ozarks Property Rights Congress that Sheriff Richard Mack will be the keynote speaker for the 11th Ozarks Conference on Private Property Rights. The Conference is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 6 at the YMCA in Mountain Grove. Details will be available shortly at www.ozarksprc.com.
Mack’s law enforcement career spanned nearly 20 years. He has been NRA Law Officer of the year and is in the NRA Hall of Fame. During the past two years Sheriff Mack has been a speaker at more than 70 Tea Party rallies across the country, from Honolulu to Bangor, Maine. Mack has supported this movement, because it is both effective and peaceful.
Gene Boren, owner of Oregon County Country Music Theater in Thayer, told the OPRC group about a meeting of Citizens for Better Government that will be held at the theater at 7:00 p.m. on July 1. Speakers will include 33rd District Senator Chuck Purgason, 153rd District State Rep. Steve Cookson, Oregon County Presiding Commissioner Patrick Ledgerwood, former State Treasurer Wendell Bailey, and Doreen Hannes from Ozarks Property Rights Congress. Boren invited anyone interested in learning more about government and issues vital to citizen freedoms to attend.
Bob Parker reported on his trip to eastern Missouri to view and photograph damage caused by the Army Corps of Engineers destruction of the Birds Point – New Madrid Floodway Levee.
Blowing a two-mile wide hole in the levee, caused the flooding of 200 square miles of prime farmland and destroyed the small farming community of Pinhook, Missouri.
Parker said, “The levee was built with tax payer dollars and it will take billions of taxpayer dollars to restore the area. But, the way of life of these folks can never be restored.”
The result of the Corps of Engineers action was under-reported in the national news media. “The levee was blown in the dark of night, so no one could take photos,” Parker said. “And, with all the destruction and chaos it caused, blowing the levee lowered the river level only 6 inches.” The reported purpose for blowing the levee was to save towns downriver.
Parker also discussed the Webster County Food Ordinance recently signed into effect by the Webster County Commission. The ordinance was requested by the Webster County Health Unit Board of Directors. Parker said, “This ordinance affects so many activities that people have taken part in for decades and they won’t even know they are in violation of a rule. For example, Section 5: Permit application 5.9 states, “Religious, charitable, educational or non-profit organizations offering meal events at their facilities shall not be required to submit a permit fee, but will be required to fill out a permit application to obtain a permit before serving food. These establishments are expected to follow the rules and laws contained in the Food Code and may be inspected as determined by the regulatory authority. These entities must submit documentation of tax-exempt status.” Parker urged the group to contact their county commissioners to make certain that similar ordinances are not being planned in nearby counties.
Expounding on the food theme, Doreen Hannes followed with, “This all falls under the guidelines allowed by the Food Safety and Modernization Act recently passed by Congress.”
Hannes gave an update on the Missouri Attorney General and Milk Board’s continued attack on Morningland Dairy. The issue has not been resolved and is under appeal. “The owners, Joe and Denise Dixon, have had their lives turned upside down by unproven charges of producing contaminated cheese products. Unproven because the authorities refuse to actually test cheese batches for contamination. Yet, the Dixons have been found guilty,” Hannes said.
She discussed the USDA’s fining of the Dollarhite family of Nixa, which is also in a state of limbo. The Dollarhites were assessed a $90,653 fine for selling $4600 worth of rabbits without a permit. The fine was to be paid by May 23. If they failed to pay by that date, the fine would increase to $3.9 million. The Dollarhites got a lawyer and the story spread to the media and on the Internet.
With light shed on their unreasonable actions, the USDA has offered to suspend the fine, if the Dollarhites agree to never be involved in raising animals again. If they do not agree to USDA terms, the full fine of $3.9 million dollars could be assessed. The Dollarhites have until July 29th to respond. With their spirit of free enterprise, this issue may also go to a higher level.
Hannes said, “The government is on a full-out witch hunt on food. With food shortages looming, the government is making it more difficult for people to raise food. Farmers know how to grow food, but the regulations being imposed make it nearly impossible to do so. It’s no wonder farmers are getting out of business.”
