Public Expresses Concerns on Chicken Barns at City Work Session
Concerned citizens of Henderson County listen and ask questions in regard to the the proposed gas line project being ran to the Westover Community. The concerned citizens also had issues with it being ran close to the area of the new chicken barns that are being built.
Photo by: W. Clay Crook / The Lexington Progress
Article by W. Clay Crook-
There were about forty to fifty extra guests at the Lexington City Board workshop meeting and Mayor Griggs took the opportunity to greet them and explain the social distancing requirements and the work session/board meeting system, the agenda format, and that there are no votes taken at the work sessions. “We always welcome visitors to the meetings and encourage participation,” Griggs said. Before going to the Huron gas line bids, Mayor Griggs said that he wanted to address the public. Mayor Griggs said he watched a video of the meeting at Westover and that he heard Henderson County Mayor Eddie Bray say that he did not know until recently about the project, and that the city would not work with the county. “This just isn’t so,” Griggs said.
In February, the County Mayor was in the Henderson County Leadership Class where the gas line project and barns were mentioned. “When he had that information, he should have shared it with his commissioners,” Griggs said. There was a USDA public notice in March in The Lexington Progress, and also articles in July and August. “We that live in the city are county residents as well, and we pay county taxes,” he said. “I love my city, love my county, and I want us all work together.” Harper said that five bids have been received for the project running from $1.17 million to $1.49 million, and the mayor opened the floor for public comment or questions.
Issues from the public
One resident, Vanessa Hunter, said that Crucifer Road is dangerous and does not have a shoulder in many areas. “I have also lived in Arkansas, you can smell these barns five miles away, and the trucks from the barns will run the same time people are taking their children and picking them up from school.” Her daughter, she said, has severe health conditions and “will have to leave Lexington, leave their family, leave their school and home. We are begging people to consider the damage these poultry barns will cause. And why are half of the forty-two planned barns planned for our community? Has anyone run the numbers on how Lexington will benefit…we don’t want Tyson, we don’t want these…
For the complete story, see the September 23rd edition of The Lexington Progress.
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