The installation commander at Twentynine Palms, California, has ordered the commissary closed until further notice after Army veterinarians found evidence of a \u201csignificant\u201d rodent problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The produce department and the bakery\/deli area were closed Wednesday after evidence of rodents was found in those areas of the commissary, located at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. The entire store was shuttered Wednesday night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn recent weeks, the installation had received complaints about produce quality issues, prompting Army veterinarians to increase their inspections of deliveries and produce handling and stocking techniques,\u201d said Defense Commissary Agency spokesman Rick Brink. \u201cTwelve days later, after a Sept. 29 health and sanitation inspection found no \u2018substantial complaints,\u2019 the vets found evidence of a significant rodent infestation, prompting the installation commander to order the commissary to close until the issue is fixed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That commander, Maj. Gen. William F. Mullen III, \u201cextends his apologies for the inconvenience this closure will cause,\u201d according to a news release from the command. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe safety, health and well-being of Combat Center patrons is of utmost importance to the commanding general and his staff,\u201c the release states. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defense Commissary Agency officials have dispatched a team of experts \u2015 public health, sanitation, engineers, store operations \u2015 to the store to find out where the rodents are entering, Brink said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to DeCA\u2019s director of health and safety, Brink said, \u201crodent infestation can grow quickly under some circumstances, usually related to weather or construction activity that can disrupt areas where rodents normally reside or create access points to a building. The commissary contracts for pest management services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DeCA is working with a pest control contractor and military health officials to make sure the facility is thoroughly cleaned and to completely resolve the issues, Brink said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
No illnesses have been reported, said Capt. Karen Holliday, spokeswoman for the combat center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile there are no indications that any food is at risk, if commissary patrons choose to return products for a refund, they may do so,\u201d Holliday said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though the commissary was closed, a customer service representative will be available and a register will be open for returns and refunds until 7 p.m. local time Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A “pest control issue” has resulted in the indefinite closure of the commissary at Twentynine Palms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":58355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":84,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,84,25,15],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3343],"class_list":["post-38981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-military-benefits","category-newsletters","category-pay-benefits"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"BNLLSQAZBFHDLBAVB6P23HLJ5U","arc_canonical_url":"\/pay-benefits\/military-benefits\/2017\/10\/12\/twentynine-palms-commissary-closed-indefinitely-for-rodent-problem\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n