FARMINGTON – An early October surprise inspection of SAD 9 by the Bureau of Labor Standards turned up 34 violations, costing the district $2,100 in fines.

Many of those citations have been corrected, SAD 9 facilities director David Gould said, and the district is appealing the fines.

The fines are levied for infractions that impact employee safety, not student safety, Superintendent Michael Cormier explained.

Collecting the most citations was the district’s bus garage, which was cited eight times for everything from not having a guard on a large air compressor, which netted a $300 fine, to having no program for use of respirators in the spray booth, which cost $750.

Both the Mount Blue Middle School and the aged W.G. Mallett School received six citations each; Foster Tech and Mount Blue High School picked up four each and Academy Hill School collected two citations.

The Weld Elementary School, Cascade Brook School, Cushing School and the Central Maintenance Shop each chocked up one citation.

The 10-year-old Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon was the only school that did not get cited.

Farmington:

SAD 9 OK’s irradiated meat

FARMINGTON – Despite strong protests from several members, the SAD 9 Board of Directors voted 9-3 in November to authorize the district’s hot lunch director to purchase irradiated meat for use in school cafeterias.

Food irradiation is a process used to preserve food and improve its quality through the use of radiant energy to zap bacteria such as E.coli that can cause serious illness or even death.

According to a letter written by Susan Gendron, commission of Maine’s Department of Education, “… Irradiated foods can provide a critical extra layer of food safety for our school children.”

Although the 9-3 vote authorizes hot lunch director Cheryl Ellis to purchase irradiated meat at her discretion, Superintendent Michael Cormier said if the district does decide to serve the irradiated meat, parents and students will be notified first.

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