Smiling JOe

Confiscated Donuts in Panama City (video), from www.NewsHerald.com.

As gov't continues to make more choices for us, including what we eat, Mr Day decided to deliver some donuts to the Bay County Health Dept, in the spirit of people making personal choices, rather than the gov't making those choices for us. The Donuts were confiscated by the Director of the Bay County Health Dept. Don't you just love Gov't?

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InletBchDweller

oh lordy....

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John R

Can you provide a little bit of the lead up to this story? Has some kind of edict been issued by the Bay County health Dept. with regards to donuts?

If unsolicited outside food was brought into any health dept by a third party, it would in all likelihood, also be destroyed.

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Smiling JOe

Don't know any background, other than States, such as New York, banning particular fats, or other things. Maybe there is much more to the story, as to why Darrell Day was pissed off enough to do it. I think it is rather silly, and funny, but I certainly understand why a Director would confiscate the donuts, as they might be considered bribes. I would have done the same, but it seems rather trivial and harmless. The donuts might be perceived as a way to persuade the Director of the Bay County Health Dept to not ban donuts in Bay County. The question becomes, where do you draw the line. You don't want govt officials taking bribes, even if they share the bribes with the staff. It starts with donuts, turns into a friendship, and then, returning favors.

I just thought the video was funny, that a Health Dpt would confiscate donuts. I heard this story on the radio, 101.1 (i think), and supposedly, employees of the Health Dept were calling telling the public to please deliver more donuts, because they wanted to eat them.

Personally, I'd be a little more than concerned with eating gifts, if I were employed by the gov't. I'd let the boss test the food and see if he or she survives.

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ShallowsNole

Dang...in my office, we can't accept gifts unless it is something that can be shared with the whole office. We've been brought donuts, cookies, had pizza delivered, etc. However, in each case it's been from someone we know...title companies, process servers, and the recent pizza delivery was from a couple applying for a marriage license who noticed that my co-workers were not getting a chance to go out for lunch that day.

If we didn't know who it was from, though, we'd donate it to the Sheriff's Office.

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SHELLY

Citizen starts doughnut showdown
Jonas Hogg|Florida Freedom Newspapers
Wednesday May 7th, 2008
Comment on this Story | Read Comments


Tuesday morning at the Bay County Health Department begat doughnut drama when local resident Derrell Day brought four boxes of donuts to the 11th Street office.

Health Department director Dr. Jason Newsom has been praised, criticized, heralded and lampooned for his policy regarding food at the Health Department, including recent healthy changes to the available vending machines and a policy that dis-courages (some say bans) employees from bringing unhealthy snacks to share.

It was this attention that motivated Day to charge into the fray, pastries blazing.

“Everybody likes a good doughnut,” Day said.

Popping the lid off one box, Day revealed a platoon of fresh doughnuts, lined up three rows deep and four long, standing guard like a delicious and fattening sentry.

“We’ve got some nice Krispy Kreme here,” he said. “Nice chocolate-covered Krispy Kreme, which is excellent.”

Newsom’s policies have ignited a debate over whether his restrictions are over-reaching or if he is properly concerned that government employees getting paid to promote county health should eat accordingly, at least while on the job.

A March newsletter from Newsom discusses “community food,” in which he writes: “There are no restrictions on this food, but I would ask you to consider the ‘good nature’ of your actions. Is it really ‘nice’ to put a dozen donuts or a batch of cookies in front of a diabetic coworker and say ‘enjoy!’”..................... http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/14242

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aleonard

Donut Nazi

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scooterbug44

I like it when people bring us treats at work, but it definitely contributes to unheathy eating and wasted food.

Given the major issues with obesity and bad nutrition and the related health issues in this country, we should be applauding someone who is at least trying to do something about the problem.

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aleonard

Personal responsibility and ignorance of food labels/nutrition is the problem, imho.

I don't want donut nazi going through my lunch and telling me what to eat. That would get on my nerve and prompt a new job search.

Or I would just start packing heat in my lunch box

I'd like to see this man try and get between me and a donut or a piece of chocolate during certain days of the month.

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scooterbug44

He's not going through their lunches, he is making the vending machine snacks healthier and asking workers not to bring in vast quantities of unhealthy food to share w/ their coworkers.

You'll note that it even says in the article that the guy brought the donuts in JUST to violate the policy, not out of the goodness of his heart.

I think that would fall under the category of risky behavior. Hopefully he knows the unhealthy consequences of messing w/ a cranky woman's chocolate/sugar fix!

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"I hate to break it to you, but this year (and probably the next few) was going to suck even if Jesus himself was president. These problems were not created overnight and they aren't going away overnight." -Jdarg

Smiling JOe

The Director of the Health Dept also stated in an interview on the radio, that his employees could bring in any food to share with their co-workers.

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aleonard

[quote=scooterbug44;405422]He's not going through their lunches, he is making the vending machine snacks healthier and asking workers not to bring in vast quantities of unhealthy food to share w/ their coworkers.[quote]

You'll note that it even says in the article that the guy brought the donuts in JUST to violate the policy, not out of the goodness of his heart.



I think that would fall under the category of risky behavior. Hopefully he knows the unhealthy consequences of messing w/ a cranky woman's chocolate/sugar fix!

Health Department director Dr. Jason Newsom has been praised, criticized, heralded and lampooned for his policy regarding food at the Health Department, including recent healthy changes to the available vending machines and a policy that dis-courages (some say bans) employees from bringing unhealthy snacks to share.


I pass up a lot of treats at work and I like the healthy vending products.

But, he took them and kept them until he could throw them out. I'd say that's banning. One step away from, stay outta my lunch box, Donut Nazi

I agree the other guy is up to no good, but my boss GIVES us donuts so I'm spoiled but I don't work at the Health Dept. either

It's not a bad idea to not accept outside gifts to err on the side of caution and I know in the past our H.D. didn't accept gifts.

The article gave me the impression that he is strongly discouraging this type of eating.

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ShallowsNole

There are valid reasons for dictating what people eat while at work. I might agree that food that the public sees you eat while at your desk should probably be healthy, neat and in small bites if you work at the health department. We have the neat and small bites rule here too; that's just customer service. If you are in close proximity to the public or to other co-workers, really smelly foods or those that some people find repulsive are not good. I haven't viewed the video, but I'm sure the Bay Co dude took Diet Coke away from his employees, which would probably send me into quivering withdrawals, or fall asleep in mid-afternoon.

But, if I am at lunch, either in the back of the office or certainly if I leave the office, do NOT tell me what I can and can't eat. I'll be as considerate as I can, but if you don't like it, don't sit by me.

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aleonard

No diet coke, no sugar and an office full of women. It's about to get ugly up in there

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Mango

Small bites, Ok, I could do that.
Neat? I'd be fired in an instant.

I agree about what is eaten in front of the public, especially at the health Dept. would be setting an example, but I think there is a fine line. What if you didn't eat breakfast, but now your employer bans blueberry muffins and says you have to eat a bran muffin instead?

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ckhagen

Most employers don't let you drink a beer in the break room... I don't really see how this is any different. If you don't like the policies at your workplace, don't work there. We pay taxes to the health dept to promote healthy eating (ever been lectured about diet when going in there for something like WIC or Medicaid?)... I wouldn't hire a personal trainer who didn't work out. If they can't practice what they preach, if only on HD ground, they become pretty ineffective.

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CK

wrobert

The personal trainer, in the van down by the river.

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SWGB

I think that's taking it to the extreme. Doughnuts don't impair your judgement. I don't think you'll ever see a headline like this:

Local Cop blows .12 on pastry bag.

On the same note I don't want a 500lb. nurse telling me what constitutes "unhealthy" living.

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Smiling JOe

This morning, that same radio show brought in the Director of the Bay Co Health Dept for interviews and questions on the air. It seems that he has let his temper flair at a few meetings and several employees are concerned with his behavior and policies. I'm not sure how the donut thing started, but this morning, it sounded as though it started at a staff meeting when someone brought in donuts. They were passing the donuts around the table, and when they were handed to the Director, he dropped the box on the floor and told the staff if they wanted to eat the donuts, they could get eat them off the floor. He said that was not one of his better moments. lol. He has apparently also put signs out in front of the Health Dept noting that Fat is Cheap, for which some people didn't seem to care. The Director sounds like he has had several not-so-good moments and it sounds like some of his staff who were calling in, dislike him greatly. They were given their names, and one even said that he was quitting if he didn't get fired first, for calling in and giving his $.02.

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aleonard

Donut Nazi

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Smiling JOe

Were you the one who called in with the funny voice imitating the Donut Nazi? There was one.

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aleonard

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InletBchDweller

I have to say that Bernie will help bring it out in the open...

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ckhagen

I agree. The beer/donut relationship was just to point out that certain foods can be prohibited by your employer.

Many of the people I've come across at the health dept's are very unhealthy and taking a lecture from one of them on what to eat and what to feed your kids is almost a laughing matter. I had a friend who went in once (for WIC I believe) and she was underweight (always had been). The woman seriously told her she should eat chocolate pudding!

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CK

ShallowsNole

I dunno, the last chocolate pudding I had was pretty good. That could have been due to the alcohol content, though...

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