*^^@#$%^&**%##&%$&*$!!!
Posted on 06/20/2007 6:20:33 AM PDT by wbill
BANGOR — Five hundred thirty-one soldiers stopped for a layover Tuesday afternoon at Bangor International Airport, but not one of them ate a piece of Debbie Bickford’s decadent peanut butter fudge — nor did any indulge in a homemade chocolate brownie or a Maine-famous whoopie pie.
Homemade treats long provided by the area’s volunteer Maine Troop Greeters disappeared at the airport about a month ago after BIA began enforcing a ban on such giveaways.
"I think I speak for most everybody when I say I think it’s very sad we cannot do it," greeter Gary Mock of Hampden said Tuesday. "The cookies, candy and everything we have here is all in support of the troops and to thank them."
Some greeters grumble that the rules changed because of jealous airport vendors, but BIA blames liability and strict rules that must be followed by airport concessionaires.
The airport has become a prominent entry and exit point for planes carrying U.S. military personnel. The volunteers have welcomed almost 500,000 troops since 2003.
BIA allowed the troop greeters to move into a room at the airport in May 2003.
The room in the airport’s main terminal is filled with memorabilia from all the troops who have passed through, either on their departure or return.
Until last month, troops entering the room encountered tables filled with a myriad of cookies, brownies, doughnuts, fudge, candies and, in season, strawberries and Girl Scout cookies.
About a month ago, BIA management told the greeters they could no longer serve the food or beverages, said greeter Bill Knight.
Asked whether vendor pressure prompted the change, Knight said, "I’ve heard those remarks and so forth."
Tony Caruso, the airport’s assistant director, said Tuesday the issue revolves around liability. "We have people who bake things at home, and that is very hard to regulate."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has strict regulations on preparation, temperature control and handling that all airport concessionaires must adhere to, Caruso said. Ensuring that all food is properly prepared and stored is a safety and security issue, he said.
Caruso said the airport supports the troop greeters. He noted that BIA donates the greeters’ room, and that the greeters were told from the start they could not offer food and beverages.
Not so, said longtime greeters Ina Baker and Cathy Czarnecki. The two said they could not recall a time when food items were limited.
"We don’t want to step on anybody’s toes because we don’t want to get kicked out of here," Czarnecki said Tuesday. "It is kind of disappointing the way some of the troops come in here looking for food because we’ve had it in the past."
All of the greeters appreciate the free space and are willing to concede on the food issue if it compromises the room agreement, Czarnecki said.
BIA has not fielded any official complaints from airport businesses concerned about loss of revenue due to the troop greeters’ offerings, Caruso said.
He said the airport wanted to make sure it did not violate any contracts it has with concessionaires, since they hold the exclusive agreement to provide food to travelers.
Next door to the troop greeter room in the airport is the Red Baron Restaurant and Coffee Shop. No managers returned phone calls Tuesday.
The city and BIA officials have vowed to hold a meeting in the near future with the airport concessionaires and troop greeters to devise an agreement and outline foods that greeters can provide, Caruso said.
The greeters also allow troops to call their families during the layovers on cell phones provided by Unicel and U.S. Cellular. Verizon services the pay phones in the airport. When asked if the airport would ban the cell phone usage if Verizon complained about missed revenues, Caruso said, "That would be something between the airport and Verizon, and right now that is not an issue."
Capt. Robert Merry, a Pittston native, was passing through the airport Tuesday afternoon with his Army Reserve unit after a year training the Iraqi army. Merry’s family was at the airport with take-out food containers to welcome the soldier home.
"When we came through a year ago they had all kinds of food here," Merry said. "It added a nice home touch."
Kudos to the airport for giving the greeters a room of their own....but...
IMHO, Eating Aunt Mabel's world-famous Peanut Butter fudge is very likely the LEAST dangerous thing most of these guys have done over the part year or two. I imagine that they're willing to accept the liability.
Honestly, with the weirdos in the world, they should have a taster.
Somebody with a business and some money puts the arm on the elected officials who in turn screw everybody ordinary citizen they can - somehow that has a familiar ring.
My mr still talks about the cookies and hugs he received when in walked through Bangor.
But these people are not selling anything - would it be against the law if I offer a fellow passenger one of my wife's home-made brownies?
If I was selling her brownies, that would be something different - but aren't these people giving these things away?
Can the US Reps. and Senators from Maine help out with this?
They should hand out beer and smokes...
BIA is is trying to sell a crock here. Airport lounges for frequent fliers, first and business class travelers give out food and drink as part of their service.
The greeters are not preparing or selling any food, so this is an excuse.
Further, has anyone looked behind the counter of food concessionaires at any major big city (flight transfer) airport? Most of the workers have long, unkempt hair. Few wear hats and many have a face full of piercings.
I'd rather take my chances with volunteers serving Aunt Mabel's Peanut Butter fudge. Any day.
You have to wonder if the smoking ban is not involved. Business at the bar and snack bar declined after the airport banned smoking indoors. A lot of our troops who used to head to the bar for a smoke and drink during the layover can now be found outside.
T. Kennedy?
Once again, it’s the few sicko’s out there who screw up everything for the vast majority of good and decent people.
Thank the liberals and hippy scum for this one. It would be just like them to bake a buttload of X-Lax into a batch of brownies and set them right alongside Aunt Millee’s best brownies in the world.
Too bad they don't have regulations on imports from China. Oh they do? Wonder why they aren't enforced.
The concern back then was that the troops needed to have a happy greeting, if not a big celebration. The lessons from Vietnam were still pretty fresh in mind.
It sounds like the troops are still getting a pleasant greeting - just without a home-cooked treat. There are some points in time where bureaucrats just need to get out of the way - this is one of those instances. Hopefully, cooler (and more intelligent) heads will prevail.
While I can appreciate that a lot of people would love to give the troops some homemade goodies and most of the people who would do this are wonderful people, there are also the types who would love the opportunity to show up and pass out cupcakes or cookies laced with laxatives — or worse — just for the perverse thrill of knowing they made some of the troops sick. When we greet the troops at DFW, the USO always informs us in advance that homemade food items are not allowed.
*^^@#$%^&**%##&%$&*$!!!
From the Website:
>>Please check out the Official Maine Troop Greeter’s website for contact information or contact your Veterans Association, Civic organization, or the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce at 947-0307 for further information.<<
BANGOR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
207-992-4600
This action is just one more little way that the PC crowd is undermining our troops. “Love ya, BUT...”
This has nothing to do with the vendors, this is the cowards at that airport denying our guys even a little bit of comfort. Don’t let this happen.
Granted, this article is pretty slanted, but it sounded to me like the airport concessionaires (and there are only a few of them, Bangor is a tiny airport) put the strong arm on management. Sure, they need to turn a buck - but this is not the way to do it, IMHO.
I also think that one of the previous posters is right in that when the airport banned smoking, the soldiers just went outside and stopped hitting the bar/restaurant that's in the building.
Perhaps the people in Bangor preparing the goodies are all known to each other in the community. If any weirdos came along, they would be noted by the group who organized the greetings.
PGR bump for later.
may God forgive us, for creating the land of the perpetually offended.
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