Columbia

Two former employees of Maurice’s Piggie Park are suing the famed BBQ restaurant chain over alleged racism and sexual harassment they encountered in the workplace.

The lawsuit filed Monday by the Strom Law Firm says that a woman who worked at the Piggie Park on Clemson Road was forced into a sexual relationship with manager Jeff Harrison in exchange for a pay raise in February and March 2022. When the woman tried to refuse his advances, Harrison “forced himself onto her before becoming belligerent, violent and descending into racist rants and threats,” according to a press release announcing the lawsuit.

A second lawsuit was filed against Maurice’s last month by a second employee who said he attempted to stop the harassment of his friend. When confronted about his behavior, “the Piggie Park manager went off the deep end,” calling the employee “a ‘n****r’ and ‘porch monkey’ while threatening to break his jaw,” the release said. Both employees are African American.

“It’s appalling but, sadly, not surprising. After all, the Piggie Park is known more for its blatant racism than its sauce,” said the plaintiffs’ attorney, Bakari Sellers. He said the woman was treated as “an object that they owned and they could do whatever they wanted to her.”

Company President Lloyd Bessinger on Wednesday said Maurice’s took quick action when the incidents alleged in the lawsuit were brought to management’s attention, and Harrison was fired a year ago.

“We don’t condone or accept any sexual behavior like that or intimidation by employees against other employees, or customers for that matter,” Bessinger said. “We’re a local family business that’s been in Columbia over 60 years, and we’ve never had any issues like this before. We just want to serve the community, be part of the community and serve great BBQ.”

Any response to the lawsuit would come from Maurice’s legal counsel, Bessinger said. Harrison could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Maurice’s Piggie Park for years was the center of racial controversy. Late owner Maurice Bessinger was a prominent and long-time advocate for segregationist views, who appealed to the Supreme Court to defend his right to refuse service to Black customers after passage of the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s. His restaurants long displayed the Confederate flag in front of them and offered diners pamphlets defending a “biblical view of slavery.” After Bessinger’s children took over the chain of barbecue restaurants, the flags were removed.

The lawsuit argues the manager’s behavior shows the restaurant “continued to embrace and behave in a manner exemplifying their discriminatory beliefs and carried forward a well-honed pattern of disrespect and disregard for persons of color.”

“Bigotry and intimidation like this has no place in the 21st Century,” said attorney Amy Gaffney with the law firm Gaffney Lewis. “It’s time the Piggie Park enterprise and its leadership learned that lesson once and for all.”

Originally published March 22, 2023, 11:18 AM

Originally Appeared Here

Recognition …

Recipients from Benton, Randolph, Schuyler, St. Louis counties recognized

PUBLISHED ON March 19, 2023

The winners of the 2022 Missouri Dairy Hall of Honors were recognized at a special ceremony for their outstanding leadership in the Missouri dairy industry. (Courtesy Image)

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri Dairy Hall of Honors recently honored its 2022 winners in a special ceremony, according to Gloria Johnson, executive secretary for the Missouri Dairy Hall of Honors.

Tom Oelrichs of Mora is the recipient of the Dairy Leadership Award. Oelrichs is a fourth-generation dairyman currently producing Grade A milk on the 1,200-acre O-Rich Dairy Holstein farm in Mora. The 245-acre “home place” is designated a Century Farm, having been purchased by Oelrichs’ great-grandparents in 1903. He farms with his brother Randy and nephew Russ. They take pride in maintaining profitability through on-farm sustainability initiatives. Managing the dairy and cropping enterprises in a complementary approach allows the resources to be maximized. Oelrichs exhibits leadership in all roles he embodies, nominators said. He was pivotal in the creation of Missouri Dairy, providing a strong leadership presence as board chairman in 2020-2021, and he currently serves as treasurer. He has also served on several Dairy Farmers of America committees and currently represents Missouri as a member of the Midwest Dairy Promotion Board.

Ridge View Farm of Lancaster is the recipient of the Distinguished Dairy Cattle Breeder Award. Owned by Mike and Jennie Droste and their family, the Ridge View herd was built on many years of experience, with both Mike and Jennie raised on dairy farms. They are nationally known for their top-quality Ayrshire cattle. Ridge View consists of 370 acres in which about 150 acres of corn for silage and 80 acres for hay are grown. The milking herd includes 75 to 100 Ayrshires and 150 replacement heifers. They focus mainly on grazing their herd, and the cows receive total mixed rations year-round. Bulk tank average is 50 pounds with a 4.2 fat and 3.5 protein. The Drostes show their cattle at local, state and national shows. They have bred several All American and Reserve All American animals and have had Grand Champions at Missouri and Iowa state fairs, along with Supreme Champion at the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa. Mike and Jennie are also very supportive of their local fair and dairy show and are passionate about supporting the youth programs, nominators said. The Drostes have been members of the Missouri Ayrshire Breeders Association for many years.

Dave Drennan of Chesterfield is the recipient of the Meritorious Service Award. Dave was the first full-time executive director of the Missouri Dairy Association, serving in that capacity for more than 23 years, until 2019. His national experience in agriculture trade organizations, which was instrumental in guiding dairy programs in Missouri, included legislative, educational, organizational, promotional and production efforts. Drennan also founded a dairy meeting in Springfield that became the fourth-largest multistate dairy conference in the U.S., and he served as sales manager for the highly successful Heart of America Dairy Expo for seven years. Drennan also promoted the idea of a new dairy milking parlor and restaurant under one roof at the Missouri State Fair and was instrumental in raising $150,000 in private donations for the Gerken Dairy Center, which was built in 1999.

The late Sam and Ethel Messer of Cairo have been recognized with the Pioneer Dairy Leader Award. The Messers farmed for more than 70 years, exhibiting excellent-quality Guernsey cattle at local, state and national shows. At one point, they were milking more than 100 head of registered Guernseys at Timber Ridge Guernsey Farm in Cairo. The farm was recognized at the Missouri State Fair in 1997 as the Distinguished Herd of the Year. Sam and Ethel were active supporters of 4-H, serving as project and club leaders. In 2012, they were inducted into the Missouri 4-H Hall of Fame. The Messers were also lifetime members of the American Guernsey Cattle Club. Sam Messer was one of the first artificial insemination technicians in the state of Missouri, traveling throughout most of northern Missouri to perform AI on cows, sows and goats for a multitude of people and was very sought after for his ability to breed cattle.

The Missouri Dairy Hall of Honors Foundation was established Dec. 9, 1988, following the merger of the Association of Missouri Dairy Organizations with the Missouri Dairy Association. The Foundation has two goals: to maintain and perpetuate a Dairy Hall of Honors to recognize outstanding leadership in the Missouri dairy industry, including excellence of achievement among dairy cattle breeders; and to provide an archive for the preservation of records and memorabilia of the Missouri dairy industry in cooperation with the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri.

For more information, go to www.missouridairyhallofhonors.com.

— MU Extension

Originally Appeared Here

The city’s strategy for how to spend about $1.6 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be up for discussion on Monday’s meeting of the Columbia City Council, as will a plan to give the Columbia Housing Authority $2 million in assistance with replacing public housing on Park Avenue.

The council will hear a proposed update of its 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan to allocate a little more than $1 million in Community Development Block Grant funding and $603,540 in HOME allocations, according to a staff memo to the council. Columbia gets CDBG and HOME money annually.

The action plan is intended to have impact in four major areas: affordable housing, economic and workforce development, neighborhood revitalization and stabilization, and community facilities.

The city identified 16 objectives as a part of the plan. Of these, they include financial assistance and education to new homebuyers and tenants, construction on public facilities and areas, improvements to accessibility conditions and assisting small businesses in an effort to retain jobs.

The largest delegation of CDBG funds in fiscal year 2023 will be $182,039, which the city will use to rehabilitate homes. The largest amount of HOME money — $133,186 — will go to the city for homeownership assistance.

The plan calls for distributing some of the money to local organizations. Love Columbia, for example, would get $125,000 to acquire and demolish homes for future redevelopment, while Fun City would receive $175,000 to buy land. Central Missouri Community Action would get $100,000 for home building.

Park Avenue public housing project

The agenda also includes a bill that would authorize the city to provide $2 million from American Rescue Plan Act money to help the Columbia Housing Authority replace public housing apartments on Park Avenue. The council committed to the plan in September to support the authority’s application for low-income housing tax credits.

The funding will be given as a 0% interest loan and will be forgivable after 20 years, according to a staff memo.

The housing authority plans to remove 70 apartments and build 79 new ones. The apartments slated to be demolished were built in 1964. They have significant foundation problems, electrical issues and collapsing sewer lines, the memo said.

The new apartments will be accessible and energy efficient, according to the memo. The authority plans to build 22 one-bedroom, 36 two-bedroom, 15 three-bedroom and four four-bedroom apartments. 

Broadway hotel sidewalk closure

A resolution that would authorize the closure of a sidewalk along Walnut Street between Orr Street and Hubble Drive and lane shifting of traffic on the street also is on the agenda. It would accommodate construction of a second tower at The Broadway hotel.

The City Council in 2017 approved tax increment financing to assist with the expansion of the hotel. Owner Dave Parmley said at the time that he anticipated construction would begin in the spring of 2018.

Plans for the $20 million, eight-story tower include 80 new guest rooms and suites, ground-floor meeting rooms and a top-floor ballroom.

Marijuana tax

The council also will introduce an ordinance imposing an additional tax of 3% on the retail sale of recreational marijuana. This tax was approved during the April 4 municipal election by a vote of 12,165 in favor to 5,757 against, according to a staff memo.

This sales tax will become effective on Oct. 1, but the city won’t get any of the revenue until Jan. 10. Revenue from businesses that file tax reports quarterly won’t come until March 10.

The final vote on the marijuana tax is scheduled for the council’s May 1 meeting.

Originally Appeared Here

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Chamber of Commerce will host its first annual Business Expo Wednesday. The new event has received unexpected, but welcome support, chamber officials said.

“Our goal was 25 businesses,” said Chamber Director Rita Witte. “We actually got 47.”

The expo is an outgrowth of the chamber’s regular Business After Hours events, Witte said. Britney McLeod, the chamber’s office assistant, and board member Jenni Bates put out the word on social media and in the chamber’s newsletter, and that was all it took to get businesses signing up.

For most businesses, participation is free. The goal isn’t to make money on the expo, Witte said, but to get businesses connected.

“The only booth that was charged was, if somebody was not a member, they were allowed to come in, but they had to pay $50,” she said. “And if they decided they wanted to become a chamber member, then that $50 went towards their membership. So it’s just trying to get businesses out there talking to each other.”

The expo will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Ephrata Rec Center, 112 Basin St SW. There will be light hors d’oeuvres and some giveaways, Witte said. The chamber is putting together a gift basket, she added, and some of the participating businesses are planning giveaways as well.

“Hopefully this works,” she said. “If not, we’re gonna have a lot of businesses visiting, and that’s OK. And next year, maybe we have to see how we need to up our game. If it works, then we’ll go with what we did, and add more.”

Ephrata’s population is growing, Witte said, and the business community is growing as well. That’s something not every town can say.

“We’ve got a great community,” she said. “We really do. It may be small, but it is a great community. And it’s fun to put these events on and bring people into town and see what we have to offer. Because we have a lot to offer.”

Joel Martin may be reached at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com. He covers the Homes beat and the communities of George and Royal City.

Participating businesses:

4 Seasons Farm Services

Amy’s Artistic Expressions

The Bookery

Central Painting

Churchill Mortgage

Clear Risk Solutions

Cloudview Farm

Columbia Basin DRC

Columbia Basin Foundation

Columbia Basin Hospital

Desert Oasis Design

Devine Chiropractic

Dolz

Ephrata Chamber of Commerce

Ephrata Community Dental Clinic

Ephrata Eye Care

Ephrata Senior Center

First Interstate Bank

The Glamour Garage Salon & Spa

Gordon Gardens

Granco Credit Union

Grant County Health District

Grant County Journal

Grant’s, Inc.

Grocery Outlet

Heart Matters

Heavenly Painting & Remodeling

Heavenly Roofing

iFiber Communications

JBH studio

Kiwanis International

Moberg Rathbone Kearns

Moore Furniture

Paul Lauzier Foundation

QCL Inc.

Realty Executives of Grant County

Roof Maxx

Rotary Club of Ephrata

The Rustic Rooster

Sole Performance

TOPS Club Inc.

U.S. Bank

Windermere Real Estate

Originally Appeared Here

The next step in Missouri’s adult-use marijuana rollout is to license 144 microbusinesses hoping to join the growing pot industry.

Under the recreational marijuana amendment passed in November, these licenses are intended to give smaller businesses a chance to have a place at the table.

Preference will be given to veterans with service-related disabilities, people who have been negatively affected by marijuana prohibition and others with a net worth of less than $250,000. Licenses will be granted through a lottery.

Illinois tried to achieve the same results after legalizing marijuana in 2019, but a complicated system of granting dispensary licenses unraveled with messy results.

Final decisions were delayed more than a year in Illinois, and some licenses took nearly two years to resolve. The early lottery system turned into a maze of applicant pools, each with its own selection system.

And then, many of the finalists included “wealthy white owners, some with political connections,” according to the Chicago Tribune.

Illinois’ first round of applicants were able to apply by Jan. 2, 2020, with licenses expected to be awarded by May 1. But initial decisions were not made until Sept. 3, 2021.

Then the original lottery system turned out to be flawed because it “did not include the correct number of qualified entries based on the application fees applicants paid,” according to state documents.

A series of three “corrective” lotteries were then held, with a total of 55 more licenses initially up for grabs.

Later, an Illinois Circuit Court ordered another 51 licenses to be divided among applicants who claimed they were wrongfully excluded from the original lottery or “inadvertently omitted.”

It took until the summer of 2022 for these lotteries to happen.

The long delays frustrated applicants who claim they caused a serious loss of money while waiting for a decision.

Ambrose Jackson, CEO of Parkway Dispensaries Group in Danville, Illinois, said he waited over two years to receive his license. He believes the delays and setbacks were intentional.

“There are parties in Illinois who benefit from delay after delay after delay, and so there’s a lot of people who believe that a lot of these delays were intentional,” Jackson said.

“Part of their playbook is to keep competition from entering the market for as long as they can.”

At the outset, Illinois hired a consulting firm for around $6.7 million to score applicants and award an original 75 dispensary licenses, as well as more than 80 craft grower, infuser and transporter licenses, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Like Missouri, the goal of the licensing process was to provide opportunities to a disadvantaged population that had been hurt by previous cannabis restrictions.

The goal of the Illinois social equity program was to ensure that “the makeup of dispensary ownership reflects the diverse, inclusive nature of the population of Illinois while also undoing decades of wrongs by the failed war on drugs,” according to Chris Slaby, public information officer for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Applicants could receive social equity licenses if 51% of the business fit the following qualifications: They had lived in disproportionately impacted areas for five of the last 10 years, they had been convicted of certain cannabis crimes or they had a family member convicted of a cannabis crime.

Disproportionately impacted areas have high levels of unemployment and federal assistance to residents, low high school graduation rates and other qualifiers.

The applicants were scored, and those who received at least 252 points moved into one pool — called the “tied applicant lottery” — to compete for 75 licenses.

Those with at least 213 points were automatically entered into one of two pools, either the “qualifying applicant lottery” or “social equity justice involved lottery.”

These two lotteries had 55 licenses each to award, for a total of 110.

The department then planned to issue 17 more licenses in each of the three lotteries — or 51 more licenses total — under the court-ordered corrective lottery.

To date, Illinois has issued 195 conditional adult-use cannabis dispensary licenses to social equity applicants, with just 13 completing the steps toward full licensure and in operation.

These 13 are among the 123 adult-use cannabis dispensaries that are currently operating in the state, according to Slaby.

In Missouri, applicants will be able to seek licenses by June 6, and the Department of Health and Senior Services will begin accepting applications on or before Sept. 4.

A microbusiness dispensary or wholesale facility is “designed to provide a path to facility ownership for individuals who otherwise might not easily access that opportunity,” according to the DHSS website.

Originally Appeared Here

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Residents across Boone County and in its cities voted to impose 3% taxes on marijuana sales in their political subdivisions.

This comes after Missouri residents voted to pass the legalization of recreational marijuana in November.

The propositions gave voters the opportunity to vote on a sales tax of 3% on all retail sales of adult use marijuana. Other counties and municipalities around Mid-Missouri are voting on marijuana sales taxes, as well.

“City of Columbia, City of Ashland, City of Centralia, City of Hallsville and City of Sturgeon, all of those will see this proposition about a 3% sales tax on adults recreational use marijuana. They’ll see it twice,” Boone County District 2 Commissioner Janet Thompson said. “Every other jurisdiction has put that on the ballot. If you live in unincorporated Boone County it’ll just appear once.”

Thompson said the reason this was on the ballot is because when voters passed Amendment 3 last fall, this proposition was part of the language used in the amendment. The state currently collects a 6% tax from recreational marijuana sales

Thompson referenced the language in Amendment 3.

“Any local jurisdiction that puts it on the ballot can ask the voters to approve up to three-percent sales tax on those adult recreational use marijuana sales,” Thompson said.

Thompson said that many people believe if the sales taxes gets passed, the taxes would be stacked onto each other. She previously said it could be decided by a court.

“That’s normally how we work it,” Thompson said. “If you live in the City of Centralia and buy a candy bar at the local convenience store, you’re going to pay a state sales tax, a county sales tax and a city sales tax. That’s how it normally works.”

There are six licensed dispensaries in Columbia and one in Boone County.

“Instead of trying to play catch up, it’s doing it now when people still have the memory of passing the constitutional amendment,” Thompson said. “Moving as one just makes more sense. Any kind of educational process you can do for everybody at the same time.”

According to Thompson, it’s too hard to tell how much money would come in with this tax.

“The opportunity right now for Boone County if the courts determine the only sales tax that the county would be able to collect from the dispensary outside of Columbia, that’s going to be pretty minimal I would expect,” Thompson said.

Boone County is planning to put the money gained in its general fund.

“When you look at the pie chart that says where sales tax for Boone county goes, the vast majority of sales tax goes into two areas of the county,” Thompson said. “It goes into public safety and roads and bridges. Any Sales tax that comes in would be distributed along the same lines as the pie chart now.”

The City of Columbia previously said the additional 3% tax would go into effect in October. The city estimates it will collect between $400,000 and $1 million in the first year.

Originally Appeared Here

FFA members from across the meet in Columbia on April 20th and 21st for the 95th Missouri FFA Convention to honor fellow members for outstanding achievements, conduct association business, elect new officers, and participate in leadership workshops. Ignite, Embrace, Empower is the theme for this year’s annual convention, which is expected to attract more than 8,000 students and guests to the Hearnes Center on the University of Missouri campus.

The convention will be led by Missouri FFA President Colton Roy of Trenton.

According to Missouri FFA Advisor Keith Dietzschold, formerly of Chillicothe; the state association will present State FFA Degrees to 962 members who have qualified for the state’s highest FFA degree. Dietzschold also said Missouri had 582 members receive the American FFA Degrees last October during the national convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the most of any state.

During the state FFA convention, announcements will be made of the State Stars in farming, agri-business, placement, and agri-science. Over 500 (554) FFA members will receive awards in 45 agricultural proficiency areas for the development of their supervised agricultural experience program (SAE). Proficiency areas include production, management, and communications disciplines. SAE programs in Missouri, during the 2020 record year, generated more than $58 million in student income. FFA members also participate in program areas, including career development events such as agricultural sales, floriculture, livestock evaluation, and public speaking competitions.

The Missouri FFA will present honorary state FFA awards to 32 adults and groups for their support of agricultural education and FFA. An additional 16 honorary degrees will be presented to parents of the retiring state officers. Three FFA chapters will be chartered during the Friday morning session.

The new chapters are at Blue Eye, Laquey, and North Pemiscot.

National FFA Secretary Jessica Herr, from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, will address FFA members and guests during the second general session Thursday evening. Herr has worked on the family farm, consisting of dairy, poultry, and crops. After her year of service as a National FFA Officer, she will return to Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania to study agricultural sciences and leadership development. Herr was elected as a national officer in October during the national convention. The six-person national officer team will collectively log more than 100,000 miles representing FFA to top leaders in business, government, and education. National officers also lead numerous personal growth and leadership training sessions, and promote agricultural literacy.

The first session at the FFA Convention will include remarks from Christopher Daubert, vice chancellor and dean of the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; Chris Chinn, Missouri Department of Agriculture director and Margie Vandeven, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education commissioner. The fifth session will include remarks from Mun Choi, president of the University of Missouri and a keynote address from Morris Morrison of Windmill Park Media. Morrison’s journey, from growing up as an orphan to a career of motivating others, ignites his audience to make their own positive impact.

The Missouri FFA has 25,920 members representing 355 chapters. The national organization has more than 850,000 members representing nearly nine thousand (8,995) chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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JEFFERSON CITY — Concerns both old and new were heard Wednesday at the latest of a series of hearings on Senate Bill 4, the broad education bill which includes language known as the Parents’ Bill of Rights.

SB 4 passed the Senate after lengthy debate and will have to be approved by the House to become law. If the House makes changes to the legislation, it will need to return to the Senate for consideration. The similar House bill has been sent to the Senate.

Consistent and vocal opposition to SB 4 has come from teachers and people of color, who say language in the bill which prohibits the teaching of “any idea, concept, position, or viewpoint” relating to the superiority or inferiority of any race would intimidate teachers from teaching about historic and current inequalities and atrocities.

”Are we going to talk about how we move forward in our public education, without being able to draw the bright line between slavery, to Jim Crow, to redlining, to the GI bill, to generational poverty because African-American people cannot get credit and buy houses?” said Dava-Leigh Brush of Missouri Equity Education Partnership. “All of those things matter, and it’s not just about history class.”

One witness, a lobbyist for conservative policy organization Opportunity Solutions Project, spoke in favor of the bill. Speakers in opposition represented groups including the NAACP, LGBTQ+ advocacy organization PROMO, and the Missouri National Education Association, the state teachers’ union.

Noelle Gilzow, president of the Columbia Missouri National Education Association, which represents Columbia teachers, told the Missourian in an interview that the legislation is a tool to discredit and defund public education.

“It’s a gateway for people who haven’t been trained to dictate what we teach,” Gilzow said.

SB 4 is part of a larger trend, both state and nationwide, of attempts at the legislative level to limit and regulate what can be taught or discussed in schools.

“It is a morale-killer,” Gilzow said. “We are being treated like we’re not professionals, highly trained in what we do. We’re already struggling with retention and recruitment. How are we supposed to be able to recruit quality teachers?”

The bill’s supporters frame it as a common-sense measure.

“We don’t want white kids being told that they’re the oppressors,” said Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, the bill’s sponsor, in describing what he sought to ban with the legislation. “We don’t want Black kids told they’re the oppressed.”

Democratic representatives on the House committee questioned whether the behavior Koenig described was happening in Missouri schools.

Koenig’s office provided the Missourian with a sheet depicting a ‘matrix of oppression’ it said was used by Rockwood School District in St. Louis County. The graphic uses an axis from ‘privileged’ to ‘targeted’ on subjects such as race, gender and class to describe various social inequalities, but makes no mention of inherent superiority or collective guilt.

Other provisions in the legislation that drew criticism include a prohibition on allowing students to access video-sharing apps, such as YouTube, on school-distributed devices. Witnesses in opposition noted that this would block access to a wide range of educational material.

Brush also expressed concern that the bill’s mandated statewide transparency portal would create an undue burden on teachers, who cannot always know exactly what teaching materials they will need to use to meet specific student needs.

“I don’t know what questions my middle school kids are going to ask,” Brush said. “No one knows what questions middle school kids are going to ask.”

Originally Appeared Here