News from Jan. 29, 2003 issue


County doesn't want chickens back
Everyone from the mayor and judge-executive to businessmen and a school principal say Tyson Foods' chickens are unwanted and should not return to Crittenden County.

Magistrates took up the issue at their regular meeting earlier this month and suggested that the fiscal court enact some type of ordinance to regulate large-scale, confined animal feeding operations like the Tyson Foods broiler houses on the edge of town.

The poultry facility has been the center of controversy since 1997 even before it raised the first chickens there. Civil action by several Greenwood Heights residents tried to stop the 16 broiler houses from being built. That failed.

In 2000, a group of residents filed criminal nuisance charges against Tyson and its contract farmer B&G Poultry. The case languished in court for over two years before a Crittenden County jury found the defendants guilty of stinking up the area with their chickens.

Last fall, B&G Poultry pulled out of the business, leaving behind $2.8 million worth of land, buildings and other improvements to sit idle. Tyson, meanwhile, will not comment on its plans for the facility, which it apparently now owns.
Marion Mayor Mickey Alexander and Crittenden Judge-Executive Pippi Hardin say the chickens are not wanted, especially that close to town.

"The majority of people are against it," said the mayor, who supports the county's plan to beef up regulations for such confined feeding operations.
Judge Hardin also thinks the chicken facility is too close to a heavily populated area, but stops short of pledging his full support for any type of strict zoning laws for the entire county.

"I am a big supporter of individual rights," said Hardin, who admits that his campaigns in the past have been partly in opposition to the chicken facility.
"I don't think they are wanted, especially in the area where they're at," added Hardin. "They really don't bring much to the county in the form of jobs or income, but if they were further out in the county I don't think there would have every been as much of a problem."

Hardin says he likes chicken whether it's barbecued or fried, but putting the houses next to the city's largest subdivision was a poor decision and he thinks the fiscal court is ready to deal with the issue.

"I think there could be something done and I believe this fiscal court is more likely to pass something than some have been in the past," the judge added. "I would like to take care of the problem, but I would hate to see it get into a lot of litigation."

Magistrate Greg West, who initiated discussions last week in fiscal court about the chickens, says he thinks it is the responsibility of county government to do something.

"I would tell (Tyson) they should have used common sense and built it away from a heavily populated area," West said. He also makes it clear that he would not support creating greater regulations for the average farmer.

"Something needs to be done about this type of operation, but it should not affect the private farmer," he said.

Judge Bill Cunningham, who heard the 1997 case seeking an injunction to prohibit construction of the chicken houses, commented in his ruling at that time on the case. He wrote that it is incumbent on counties to enact laws to protect themselves.

"The lawsuit would probably have never been precipitated had there been countywide planning and zoning in Crittenden County, Kentucky," the judge opined in his ruling. "Countywide planning and zoning has been continually rebuffed by local governments across the state."

Judge Cunningham finished his thoughts on the lack of planning and zoning by noting that without it, "the chickens have come home to roost."

Cunningham also made it clear that if the chicken houses ever became a nuisance, nearby landowners had the option of suing for relief. While many in the neighborhood say they would like to take Tyson back to civil court, most agree that the cost of litigating the issue is far too great for them to afford.
"If I had the financial resources, I would fight them all the way to the Supreme Court," said Allen Lynn, a former Greenwood Heights resident who says he sold a home there at a loss because of the chickens.

In recent years, a handful of cities and counties across the state have passed local laws to regulate confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and many states have reported having controversies regarding CAFOs. Yet most of the regulations are aimed at pre-construction setback laws that keep them from being built too close to homes or contaminating water sources.

If the chicken houses are re-opened, the mayor hopes Tyson acts in what he calls a more neighborly fashion.

"I would like to see them have a more transparent operation with more disclosure about how they're dealing with things and what steps they are taking to prevent the smell from bothering their neighbors," Alexander said. "I think they will need to acknowledge complaints when they get them and respond to them properly.

"They could be more proactive in efforts to be a good neighbor," the mayor added.
Steve Carter is principal at Crittenden County High School and lives in Greenwood Heights. He has never been part of the litigation or official complaints against the chicken facility, but doesn't want Tyson to start up the operation again.

"As a resident, it truly is disturbing when you cannot go outside due to the odor. It is even more disturbing to have someone who doesn't live in the area such as Tyson executives tell you that the smell is within governmental regulations or that the smell is not that bad," Carter said. "I am sure there is someone who wants them here, but I doubt it is anyone who lives in or visits Greenwood Heights, outside of the vultures."

Others who live and work in the city are in favor of strict guidelines for operations like Tyson's chicken facility and say they support the city's and county's efforts to increase the pressure on the company to stay away from Marion.

"I would very much be in support of city ordinances that would prohibit such facilities," said Darrick Myers, who works as a loan consultant with an office in downtown Marion. "I do not live near Greenwood Heights, but the chicken houses create a disturbance well beyond the subdivision. Our local leaders and officials definitely need to prevent any chance of this venue reopening."
Myers said that Tyson might be more welcome if it did more for the community or employed several workers.

"Without a doubt, the Tyson chicken facility is not wanted here. The only way I would have a glimpse of optimism toward it reopening is if it offered an abundance of resources and jobs for our community, and to my knowledge that is not the situation," he said.

Tyson spokesman Ed Nicholson, at the company's Arkansas headquarters, said Monday that he didn't know what plans the nation's largest poultry producer has for the Marion facility. He said he would check into the situation, but never called back.

As far as the ongoing legal battles, Tyson's guilty verdict remains on appeal. Circuit Judge Tommy Chandler will hear oral arguments in the appellate case at 11 a.m., Feb. 12. If Judge Chandler upholds the District Court jury's guilty verdict on two charges and the subsequent $500 fines for each of the two misdemeanor counts of violating a city nuisance ordinance, Tyson will likely take the appeal one step farther. The next stop would be the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

Fohs Hall gears up for 3rd annual ball
Fohs Hall is again this year offering the perfect Valentine venue for dinner and dancing Feb. 14.

The third annual Fohs Hall Ball will begin with an elegant dinner served at 6 p.m., followed by dancing. Music will be provided by The Temple Airs of Evansville.

The Fohs Hall Board of Directors has received many positive comments about the past balls, which have drawn a capacity crowd of 100 people.
Dinner and dance tickets are $50 each; however, people may just attend the dance for $25.

The catered meal will consist this year of a choice between prime rib and salmon with white sauce. Conrad's Food Store, who received rave reviews for its elegant meal last year, will again prepare the meal.

There are no paper plates nor plastic spoons at this formal event. In fact, attire generally consists of semi-formal ball gowns. Black-tie is optional for men.
Anyone who wishes to pre-purchase tickets may do so by calling any Fohs Hall Board member, or call Alan Stout at 965-4600 or Allison Evans at 965-3191.
Proceeds from the ball help maintain Fohs Hall, a former Marion school turned civic center which hosts numerous cultural and private events each year.

Man posing as doctor arrested in pill fraud
When a man posing as a doctor phoned in a prescription to CVS it alerted the pharmacist that something wasn't just right. By the time the man showed up for his refill, police were waiting and charged him with obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.

Marion police officer Ray O'Neal arrested Bobby Dale Belt, 24, of 9301 U.S. 60 East, Sturgis, Friday after he allegedly called in a refill for a prescription of Hydrocodone. Police say Belt had also phoned in the original prescription a few days earlier, saying he was from a doctor's office out of town.

The pharmacy saw red flag when Belt allegedly called back to get the prescription refilled much sooner than normal. Police say Belt told the pharmacist that his prescription drugs had been stolen.

When the CVS pharmacist became suspicious, he phoned the doctor's office, which denied ever providing the original prescription.

When Belt showed up at CVS last week to get his refill, the police arrested him.