Wednesday, August 10, 2011

No Chickens. No Chemicals.


If you're a local or live in the surrounding area, then you know exactly what this phrase means. If you don't then maybe not so much, but what you can get from this picture is that folks don't want a chemical plant operating in middle of their neighborhood. And rightly so.

So, What's Going On

The City of Wilson (COW) is considering granting permission to allow a chemical plant based out of Texas to launch a new operation at 614 Park Ave. The company claims the infrastructure at the old S.T. Wooten site is the perfect spot  for them to manufacture sulfuric acid with a full scale operation that includes using the adjourning rail system. 

The kicker. The City is actually giving it serious thought all at the expense of surrounding neighborhoods who don't want the operation in their backyard.  City Council will vote on the matter at the August 18th session unless it's tabled for another date.

Concerned citizens are asking so where's the support and supporters who voiced their opposition about chicken waste polluting the city's watershed. They haven't chimed in on this community effort as it doesn't affect their affluential neighborhoods and communities. Their children and grand-children won't be directly affected by the possibility of chemical exposure in their backyards. Unlike the smell of chicken-poop.

Ironically, if you recall, it wasn't so long ago the COW was in a million dollar legal lawsuit on behalf of the citizens of Nash County to keep Sanderson Farms, a leader in the poultry industry from setting up an operation that would bring close to 1100 jobs to the region citing ecological impact that would be detrimental to the health of the communty and the water system.

Hummm. However, on the flip side concerning a similar issue within their home county, there's an apparent about face. Instead of standing with their own citizens and givng them as much support to this issue as they did to the Nash county residents and the "chicken" poultry processing plant, city employees are busy trying to persuade citizens who live in the area as to how this would be a good fit for the Wilson community. A complete 360 degree turn. Chemicals are ok. Chickens are not.

In our next post we'll continue the conversation with a comparison analysis. We'll take a closer look at the particulars and similarities of how the City is handling the process between Sanderson Farms and Pencco Chemicals.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please note the community around where the plant will be, (low income,poor, mostly black and Latino)

Chicken Plant, mostly rich, and white..

Anonymous said...

The City of Wilson holds double standards in all it does when it comes to dealing with the citizens in this community. Why would you want to keep a mayor and council representatives who work and cater to the white folks all the time. Minority folk in this place have no place. Just look around this city its not hard to see.