oddly enough

oddly enough

Pa. school union wins ‘right’ to eat expired food

SHARPSVILLE, Pa.

Unionized cafeteria workers in one western Pennsylvania school district have won the right to eat expired food for free — at their own risk.

The Herald of Sharon, Pa., reported Monday that the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed a grievance against the Sharpsville Area School District last year after school officials “violated established past practice” by no longer allowing workers to eat the expired food for free.

The newspaper got a copy of a settlement approved by the school board last month.

Under the agreement, food items that are past their expiration date or reheated in a way that they no longer can be served to students may still be eaten for free by the cafeteria workers.

The workers still must pay for nonexpired items they eat a la carte.

Woman’s loud praise — and curses — lead to charges

BRISTOL, Tenn.

A Tennessee woman says she was just praising the Lord, although at high volume, when she received a citation accusing her of violating the city’s noise ordinance.

She later was arrested by police on a disorderly-conduct charge.

Fifty-four-year-old Betty Jones tells WCYB-TV that her routine every Sunday includes five hours of praising and dancing while she listens to music by Johnny Cash, Randy Travis, Alan Jackson and The Judds.

But neighbors in Bristol complained about loud music, so police showed up May 27, a Sunday.

A police report says officers helped her lower her stereo’s bass and warned her.

But officers say they came back less than two hours later after being called again.

This time, they cited her under the city’s noise ordinance, and Jones tells the station she gave the officers a message, too.

“Randy Travis was singing ‘I’m going home to pray to God tonight and hopefully he’ll forgive my sins.’ I looked at that officer and said, ‘You better go home tonight and pray for your sins because that’s what Randy is telling you,’” she said. “That’s the gospel truth. Randy Travis told that man to go home and pray.”

After more neighborhood complaints, officers went back May 28 and arrested Jones after she concedes that she was “going off and cussing.”

Still, she says she should have the right to praise God in her own home.

She was charged with disorderly conduct and violating the noise ordinance.

She spent the night in jail.

Associated Press