Denounces meat packing plant

This letter was read at the recent Leitchfield City Council meeting by it’s writer.
I am not a native son of Leitchfield/Grayson County, however I am proud to now be a Kentuckian and also a Kentucky Colonel. I am a true American and a patriot. I (attended the city council meeting) to fight for the security and sanctity of my home and that of my family’s, friends’ and also those of complete strangers.
This council of elected officials is on the verge of destroying this wonderful town and the surrounding area(s) that we all call home. You men are elected officials, but in place by the people and for the people. Yet, recent dealings without the input of these voting people/citizens of this town/county, in the eyes of this man are viewed as dealings that lack moral character and verge on the border of being illegal. Ronald Reagan stated “It is the Government’s job to protect its people and not run their lives.”
The recent work being done to bring in a proposed slaughterhouse/meat packaging plant places in jeopardy the health of, the safety of, and the way of life of all of us whom call Leitchfield home.
This great country has slid into the condition it is in at this time because we have become a nation of cowards no longer willing to fight for what is right. Abraham Lincoln states, “To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards of men.” I cannot and will not stand in silence.
I have nothing but the best interest for this community and my neighbors in mind. I will support my elected officials with all I have if their actions and choices are being done for positive change and advancements and the betterment of my community. However, I will not stand quietly or idly by when these same elected officials act in manners/fashions and choose to make decisions that jeopardize that which we have been blessed to have had, and continue to have. The working to get the proposed packaging plant here is doing just that.  This council should be trying to gain cutting edge technology and high paying skilled labor jobs that could work in conjunction with the newly approved technical school. Instead, this council has determined that bringing in a plant that pays low wages for unskilled labor, that has tremendous turnover rates of employees, and has across the nation been shown and proven to be a deciding factor in future plants/factories to eliminate the host community as a location for their businesses due to negative factors that arise with the introduction of meat packaging/rendering facilities.
Statistics show across the board, in states/areas with meat packaging plants, that the negatives FAR outweigh the positives. Negatives include environmental catastrophe, health degradation, an increase in crime rates including violent crimes, rampant drug and alcohol use/abuse, infrastructure strains, influx of illegal immigrants, these are but a few of the items that arise due to the presence of these plants.
These plants are not typical, per say, like an automotive or parts manufacturing plant where the local populous fills the positions. The meat packaging industry is centered on a migrating immigrant workforce that speaks little or no English, many practicing non-Christian religions, and which do not live the type of lifestyles that this town has as its foundation. This is just one small negative point associated with these plants. One of the main items that infuriates me is the fact that the quality of life and our health comes into play. The costs of health care has gone through the roof, and now add to this equation a plant that produces gases that not only foul the air constantly but jeopardizes the respiratory systems to all that live in the area. Not to take into account the amount that is drawn into the atmosphere that settles as rain that eventually ends up in all of our surrounding streams, which in turn makes it’s way into our area’s two greatest treasures and also our water sources, Rough River and Nolin Lakes.
What will happen to our water sources when the proposed plant uses millions upon millions of gallons of water to do their daily business? In a year of drought that could occur, our lakes would be strained to meet our living situation. To think that the future of this community could go past the point of no return in a very short timeframe is disturbing. The point that disturbs me the most is the fact that our elected government would take $700,000 of taxpayer money to make a loan to this company so that it could meet a deadline.
For several years now, this council has promised this community amenities such as the proposed aquatic/fitness center. Yet, year after year, this council states it cannot be done due to finances. Funny how there are no funds for this, and yet three-quarters of a million dollars were so easily in hand to keep this company on the hook. Why would this company need our city to provide this funding? What is this company’s record? This company as well as the council is touting this plant as the save all to the locally unemployed. Many of the unemployed people in this area are not working due to choices. There are jobs out there. Many people are not going to work if a job landed on their doorstep. The majority of the positions will be filled by the national standard of having immigrants migrate here and fill them. This company is no different than all of the competitors. Promises. Promises. Promises. You, as community leaders, are in line believing every word and promise that this company and it’s salesmen are making. Does ego come into play with this? Is it better to say, I helped bring in jobs here, even though the negative repercussions and demise of our health and town occurs?
You are going to come back with “This is a different scenario as this is not the company we are dealing with. They are doing an underground tank system that would eliminate this. This plant will be high tech.”
If you believe this,then the  company’s rep/salesperson has done their job. If this plant comes in, there is no question we will become known for the negatives that come with these plants. Not the beauty of the surrounding area, not the quality and healthy water and air that surrounds us and provides life to us, not the safety of small town life, not the we-can-leave-our-doors-unlocked security that we currently have. The majority of our tourist dollars come from people that reside in city living (i.e. Louisville, Nashville). They come here for the escape back to nature and our beautiful lakes and surrounding lands,, to a place that lacks high crime rates, rampant drug use, over-congestion, heavy traffic, and the odors/chemical stench that come with city life. No longer will people want to come here, as that will no longer exist. It will become a town with a fog of stench, a town with record numbers of immigrants, both legal and illegal, a town whose drug problems will be overwhelming, a town whose infrastructure would be overtaxed. All of this leads to more money being taken from each citizen in the long run. I ask the citizens and council, are you willing to fight for what is right? What will you do for your home, which is the hometown for many of you? For the people that have elected each and every one of you?
How do you perceive your own actions and community responsibility? In my 11 years of having Leitchfield as my chosen home, I have seen the loss of several major plants/factories. Upon speaking to friends and co-workers that have been born and raised and continue to live here, all of them have said, over the last 20-25 years there has been a loss of 10-plus factories/plants. Obviously something has not and continues to not be handled correctly. There is something seriously wrong when a community loses plants and thousands of jobs like this.
Yes, downsizing, plant relocations, weak economy, etc., does occur, but the percentage of loss in this community is mind-blowing. This is also a community that tops the state in the amount of children that are in foster care and one where teen pregnancy rates are double the national average. It is also community that sits stagnant in the gaining of new restaurants, shopping centers, etc. The people of this community need positive changes. The people of this community deserve positive change and not to be boxed in to having to accept your choice.
This proposed plant is not the fix all to the negativity. This plant locks us into being a community that is stepping backwards and not preparing or looking to the future. Is the time to clean house upon us? Are the wrong people sitting on this council? Have egos gotten in the way of positive change?
One of the greatest aspects of this town is and has been the small town feel/life. Many family and friends on trips here comment on this. They were amazed to think that somewhere in this downwardly spiraling nation that there was a community that still placed God first, where alcohol and its advertising was not rammed down your throat. Where neighbors knew neighbors and had their best interests in mind, where people still lift hands to help those less fortunate. I am saddened to think this is all on the chopping block, per se, due to your lack of knowledge and poor decisions. I ask each of you to think on what I have brought here tonight, to think of your community and its values and morals. I also ask you what restaurants will want to come into a community that makes one sick from the smell? What factory/plant will want to invest it’s money into a community that has high crime, drug and transient numbers? Documents and witness accounts in community after community, and state after state where these plants are located show that the negative impacts are overwhelming. In closing, I thank you for your time and your ear.
Sometimes progress and what is perceived as moving forward is not always the best decision or the wisest choice, especially when so much is at stake. I cannot sway your choices. I can however leave here tonight and rest easily knowing that I voice concerns, brought forth documentation showing the negatives and gave voice to those that are in the dark about your actions and choice. Should this plant come in, I can pack up and leave, as many longtime residents will certainly do also. As stated previously, I am 100 percent for new jobs and positive growth for this community. I would think that you, as our elected would want nothing but the same. The proposed meat packaging/rendering plant is not the answer.
Tobey Hill, Leitchfield