Posted: November 25th, 2009 - 1:04pm by Doug Powell

Barfing and crapping for days on end is not a minor issue; ask Chapman.

But Deputy County Executive Officer Kim Carpenter of Bloomfield, New Mexico, said that when 150 of the 300 county employees who attended a potluck last week at the County Administration Building became sick later that day,

"This really is a minor issue."

The suspected cause was a poorly prepared turkey.

The turkeys all were prepared at home by volunteers, but officials plan to change to a safer option for future events.

"In the future, the turkeys that we cook for our meal will be done at the correctional facility," Carpenter said.

The San Juan County Adult Detention Center prepares meals for hundreds of inmates and annual events, such as the annual Salvation Army Thanksgiving meal.

It is unclear what caused the illness, but officials believe it may be undercooked turkey.