Poking the Hornet's Nest

The Vermont State Health inspector has done an inspection for the Hornet's Nest and Steven's Dining Hall, or has he?

It has come under scrutiny that the Hornet's Nest snack bar has an expired State Board of Health License. The posted license expired in May of 2011.

Adam Vigue, Lyndon State College Food Service Director, acknowledged that the snack bar does indeed have an expired license posted on the wall.

"We keep the current license in the office. There's just never a good place to put them," said Vigue.

An expired health license posed the question of whether or not the health inspections for Steven's Dining Hall and the Hornet's Nest were current or expired as well.

"The last inspection at the snack bar was around the beginning of 2011. I believe it was January or February," Vigue said.

The website for the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) says otherwise, stating that the last inspection for the Hornet's Nest was conducted Dec. 14, 2009. When asked about this information, Vigue did not have a definite answer.

"I am not sure why the state website has an incorrect date," said Vigue.

Elisabeth Wirsing, Food and Lodging Program Chief, confirmed Vigue's assertion that both the Hornet's Nest and Steven's Dining Hall had indeed received an inspection earlier this year and that both held current licenses.

"Our records indicate an inspection was conducted at the Lyndon State College ‘Hornet's Nest' on Jan. 11, 2011 and the establishment received a score of 96. This inspection data does not appear to have successfully uploaded to the VDH website application for public search; we are looking into a fix for this problem" said Wirsing.

According to the website for the Vermont Department of Health, Steven's Dining Hall received an inspection score of 94. Both establishments were not marked off for any critical violations.

"There were no issues with food, temperatures, or safety," said Vigue. "The issues in the snack bar were facility related issues."

The state requires a score of 70 or better and no critical violations in order to pass health inspection.