News from Neighbors
Cargill settles dispute with fired workers
STERLING JOURNAL-ADVOCATE, Sept. 18 — Cargill Meat Solutions, Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC and the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced Friday that they have reached a settlement to resolve charges filed on behalf of 138 Somali-American Muslim workers fired from Cargill’s Fort Morgan plant.
Last year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found that the workers were fired in 2016 after protesting a decision by plant management to stop permitting Muslim employees to take short breaks for prayer.
In their charges, the workers alleged wrongful termination based on discrimination and the wrongful revocation of a religious accommodation policy that permitted them to take short breaks to perform their obligatory prayers in accordance with their sincerely-held beliefs.
While Cargill does not accept the basis of these EEOC complaints, it decided to settle the matter out of court to avoid a protracted legal proceeding and provide all parties with a path forward.
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Smith takes top honors at SASS Championships
HAXTUN-FLEMING HERALD, Sept. 19 — Over the weekend of Sept. 8-9, Riley Smith competed alongside 165 other participants in the Colorado State Single Action Shooting Society Championships hosted by the Briggsdale County Shootists at the Pawnee Sportsmen’s Center.
Cowboys and cowgirls dress in a style reminiscent of the Old West from 1860-1900. Smith’s alias is “Clover Kid.”
A competitor uses two single action revolvers, a lever action rifle and a shotfun similar to those that might have been seen on the Overland Trail in the late 19th century. All of the competitors are split up into smaller groups to form a possee. A marshall then moves the posse through stages that are made up of scenarios.
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15-year-old faces drug charges in school incident
IMPERIAL REPUBLICAN, Sept. 20 — A 15-year-old student at Chase County Schools in Imperial, Nebraska, has been cited for possession and intent to deliver charges after allegedly distributing edibles containing the drug THC last week at Chase County Schools.
THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects.
Imperial Police Chief Ryan Wisnieski said his department was initially contacted last Thursday afternoon by 7-12 Principal Jon Lechtenberg.
An investigation at the school was then conducted by officers Daniel Morales and Rob Rust, which included several student interviews.
“Several students stated they’d received the edibles” and had admitted ingesting them, Morales said. He said they were able to confirm two students who had actually ingested them on Thursday.
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