When a town
of 8,449 people suddenly loses 830 jobs, everyone is affected.
Last week’s
announcement that Pilgrim’s Pride, the poultry producer, is closing
its Siler City operations and laying off more than 800 workers, will
have a widespread ripple affect.
The lose of
the industry will mean, for instance, a 20 percent loss of Siler
City’s annual water and sewer budget.
Pilgrim’s
Pride Corporation, 602 South Chatham Avenue, announced last
Wednesday it is closing its doors in Siler City. The plant is
expected to close in late May or early June.
Pilgrim’s
Pride officials say the feed mill and hatchery in Staley will also
close. The hatchery on West Raleigh Street in Siler City will remain
open because it is associated with the company’s Lee County
operation.
"Our Company
and industry are struggling to cope with unprecedented increases in
feed-ingredient costs this year due largely to the U.S. government’s
ill-advised policy of providing generous federal subsidies to
corn-based ethanol blenders," Clint Rivers, president and chief
executive officer of Pilgrim’s Pride, said in the press release.
"The cost burden is already enormous, and it’s growing even larger.
"Based on
current commodity futures markets, our company’s total costs for
corn and soybean meal to feed our flocks in fiscal 2008 would be
more than $1.3 billion higher than what they were two years ago,"
Rivers continued.
"We simply
must find ways to pass along these higher costs. Additionally, we
believe that the recent impact of food-based inflation, coupled with
the need for food producers to continue to increase prices for their
products, will further stimulate inflation, weaken consumer
confidence and negatively affect demand for products in certain
market channels. This will require that the industry adjust its
production output to levels commensurate with a reduced demand, at
higher and necessary prices, sufficient to sustain the industry as a
whole."
In an
interview Thursday, corporate communications director Ray Atkinson
confirmed the company’s reason for closing.
"These
actions are part of a plan to curtail losses amid record-high costs
for corn, soybean meal and other feed ingredients and an oversupply
of chicken in the United States," he said.
Atkinson said
the cost of corn and soybean mill is rising due to government
ethanol policies.
"Costs of
corn have risen 116 percent in the last two years while soybean
costs have risen 104 percent," he said. "Corn trading has risen from
$3.45 to $5.50 in the last four months."
He said
Pilgrim’s Pride purchases approximately 325 million bushels of corn
and 3.2 million tons of soybeans each year.
"Think about
what happens even if the cost of corn increases one penny," he said.
"Even then, the cost of corn increases by $3 million dollars for us.
The cost has increased two dollars in four months and ethanol is the
driving force behind it."
In addition
to the Siler City location, the industry will close distribution
centers in Iowa, two centers in Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and
Ohio.
The industry
is the third plant in Siler City to close in three weeks. Both Joan
Fabrics and Trusty Building Components, a division of 84 Lumber,
have closed their Siler City plants.
Both
industries employed approximately 200 people combined.
How does the
closing affect the community?
Siler City
officials say that when the Pilgrim’s Pride plant closes,
approximately 20 percent of the town’s annual water and sewer budget
will be lost.
"The company
pays, on average, $100,000 monthly for water and sewer," Siler City
town manager Joel Brower said in an interview last Wednesday. "That
is approximately $1.2 million a year. If someone does not come in
and purchase the plant, Siler City will lose this money."
Brower added
that if that happens, average water bills will increase by $30 to
$40 a month. Customers who now pay $25 a month for water could pay
as much as $55 for the same amount each month.
"The town
will be looking for ways to reduce operational costs in its water
and sewer operations," Brower said. "While we can raise water bills
and reduce operational costs, we can do nothing to lessen the town’s
debt for the reservoir."
Mayor Charles
Turner said the loss of Pilgrim’s Pride is "bad economically for
Siler City.
"It makes me
feel bad," Turner said, "especially for the people who are losing
their jobs."
Turner said
bringing new jobs to Siler City is now more important than ever. The
Mayor’s Job Search Committee meets monthly in ongoing efforts to
boost economic development.
"We’ve been
working hard but now we’ve got to work twice as hard to get
industries to come here," said Turner. "And the harder we work, the
more some people work against us. We’re not going to let that stop
us."
Turner said
the town has contacted N.C. House Speaker Joe Hackney and officials
with the state Department of Commerce.
"Mr. Hackney
told us the governor intends to send people to train these people
who’ve been laid off," he said.
Chatham
County manager Charlie Horne said he and the County Board of
Commissioners met with Speaker Joe Hackney and state Sen. Bob
Atwater last Thursday morning to discuss how they might help
Pilgrim’s Pride employees find other jobs.
"We discussed
other business opportunities and how we might ease the transition
here," he said. "Chatham County stands ready and willing to help."
He added
members of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Chatham office
were at the meeting to "provide current information on poultry
growers in the area."
"We’re
finding ourselves in an unfortunate situation right now," Horne
said. "This is a hard hit on the county, particularly Siler City."
The county is
working to "find out how we can help and what we can do," Horne
said. "Certainly, this is something that will ripple back into the
economy. Retail sales at businesses will be lost and rental
properties will be empty. This is certainly an unfortunate
situation."
The State
Department of Commerce released its Quarterly Report in November
2007.
According to
the report, Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is the second largest
employer among manufacturers in Chatham County.
Townsend
Foods, which employs more than 1,000 people, is the largest
manufacturing employer.
The report
states approximately 58,000 people reside in Chatham County.
In November,
more than 31,000 people in the county were considered employed while
1,221 people or 3.7 percent were unemployed.
These numbers
do not reflect the Pilgrim’s Pride plant closing.
What is being
done to help bring industry to the county?
Tuner formed
a committee in 2006 for the sole purpose of bringing industry to
Siler City.
The Job
Search Committee is comprised of city commissioners, city leaders
and town staff members who meet once a month to discuss the town’s
economy.
The members
look for and try to attract potential industries to the town.
The committee formulated an
economic incentives package last year and is in the process of
updating the town’s website to make it more attractive to
businesses.
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County pledges
help as Siler City copes
By Randall Rigsbee
Chatham
County commissioners resolved Monday to fully support Siler City as
the town grapples with the economic blow dealt last week by
Pilgrim’s Pride’s announcement.
A resolution
adopted unanimously Monday by the Board of Commissioners M says the
county "views this latest loss of economic strength as a very
serious and critical issue."
The county
aims, the resolution continued, "to offer the highest support
possible for our existing businesses and to work diligently to
enhance our attractiveness for businesses interested in locating in
Siler City and our County."
The Board of
Commissioners "goes on record as fully supporting the community of
Siler City," the resolution noted.
In the
resolution – entitled "Resolution of Assistance to Siler City with
Closing of Pilgrim’s Pride" – the county board acknowledges Siler
City as a "critical and an integral part of Chatham County."
more- See Thursday,
March 20, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.15
Chatham may
foot bill for state roads
By
Angela Delp
Not since the
days of Prohibition have North Carolina counties been responsible
for footing the cost of road maintenance.
But a bill
approved by state legislators last year could shift that
responsibility – and the considerable cost of it – to cities and
counties, a representative of the N.C. Association of County
Commissioners warned Chatham officials Monday.
"Not many
folks know what’s happening here," said Paul Meyer of the N.C.
Association of County Commissioners, who met with Chatham County
commissioners to discuss the potential local impact of House Bill (HB)
1513. "This is happening rather quietly."
What’s
happening, Meyer said, is that HB 1513 allows counties to spend
local revenue in conjunction with the state Department of
Transportation (DOT) for road construction, improvements and
maintenance, all of which has – since the early 1930s, been handled
by the DOT in North Carolina
"The bill
kind of went under the radar screen and now we have it," Meyer said.
The
legislation is a result of dwindling DOT funds and an effort by
state lawmakers to find new revenue for roads.
Currently, the DOT spends
approximately $4.7 million on road maintenance in Chatham County.
According to Meyer, those maintenance funds are not in jeopardy.
more- See Thursday,
March 20, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.15
Harrington
wins board seat
By
Randall Rigsbee
While only a few votes
separated Pittsboro Town Board candidates Hugh Harrington and
Michelle Berger in the disputed results of last November's election
the two candidates faced off again Tuesday and this time the results
were more decisive with Harrington emerging as the clear winner.
Harrington won Tuesday's
election with 383 votes to Berger's 296, according to
unofficial results provided Tuesday night by the Chatham County
Board of Elections (BOE).
The results include votes
cast Tuesday and absentee votes. The votes will be canvassed
and certification of the Election will be Tuesday, march 25.
The State BOE in December
called for Tuesday's special election after it was revealed that 17
ballots in the election last November were cast incorrectly.
The mistake occurred when
some county voters were given town ballots and vice versa.
Last November, Harrington and
Berger finished third and fourth in the race, with Harrington who
had 477 votes to Berger's 471, initially declared the winner.
However, Tim Keim, Berger's
partner, filed a protest with the county Board of Elections on
Berger's behalf citing multiple violations of election law.
more- See Thursday,
March 20, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.15
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Jeff Davis photo
Another plant closing . . .
Pilgrim’s Pride workers, above, make their
way across the street, head to work. The company announced they
would be closing, affecting over 800 jobs. The plant, left, is
located on South Chatham Avenue.
Every segment
will feel ripples
By Milburn Gibbs
When a major
industry closes, it causes ripples into every segment of the town.
By no means
is the impact of the imminent closing of Pilgrim’s Pride (formerly
Gold Kist), which the company announced last week, felt only by the
830 workers who are to be laid off in Siler City by June.
Community
response seems unanimous in that no one knows what the outcome will
be when all of this upheaval shakes out.
The one thing
it seems everyone agrees upon is that the community will be
adversely affected in every area.
Luz Gumucio
opened the first tienda (Spanish for store) –Tienda y Joyeria
Diana - in Siler City in 1993. She has lived in this community for
20 years.
"My business
is very slow," Luz said. "When Pilgrim’s Pride closes and if my
customers don’t find other jobs, then many of them will have to go
to other states or back to their native lands."
She said that
with Joan Fabrics, 84 Lumber and now Pilgrim’s Pride closing, her
customers are very scared of losing their jobs and homes here.
Many
Hispanics own homes in the community.
Juan Carlos
Alcantara has worked for the poultry processor for five years.
For the last
three months, he has worked for Pilgrim’s Pride, the company that
bought the plant from Gold Kist.
"I will have
to find another job," he said. "We don’t know what to do, but we all
have to get other jobs. Over a thousand jobs lost is a lot."
Siler City
Elementary School is composed of 65 percent Hispanic children,
according to Principal Angie Brady Andrew.
"The school
system’s human resource people are talking about what this will mean
to us for next year’s planning," Andrew said two days after the
plant closing was announced.
"Two parents
came in the next day and said they were moving to Texas and said
others would probably have to leave the area as well," she said.
Andrew said
there will likely be far-reaching and long-range ramifications of
the huge number of job losses.
"This will
have a great effect upon this community," she continued. "If our
enrollment drops, our staffing will drop proportionally. There are
far greater implications than anyone is saying at this point."
Sherry Allen,
lead broker at REMAX/Southern Advantage Realty in Siler City, said
the real estate market throughout the country is struggling and
foreclosures are steadily increasing.
"We expect a lot of
foreclosures here also," Sherry said. "Now, the average house is on
the market for six months to a year. We expect the market to get
much weaker. The outlook is bad and looking worse."
more- See Thursday,
March 20, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.15
Groups object
to plant permit
By Angela Delp
Several
environmental groups are contesting the renewal of Siler City’s
wastewater treatment plant permit.
The permit in
question enables the Siler City Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) to
discharge four million gallons of treated wastewater daily into
Loves Creek.
LeToya D.
Fields of the Western National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) Permitting Program, mailed a letter to Siler City
town manager Joel Brower March 7 saying the state Division of Water
Quality had received 28 letters regarding the permit renewal.
"Twenty-five
of these letters requested a public hearing," she wrote.
She enclosed
10 of the letters in her correspondence to the town.
One letter,
written by "landowners along the Rocky River, nearby residents,
recreational users of the river and other citizens concerned about
the water quality and quantity," included a petition and signatures
requesting a hearing.
The writers
sought a hearing because "the Rocky River watershed constitutes 34
percent of Chatham County and encompasses eight natural heritage
areas."
The group is
concerned with "cumulative impacts on the river resulting not only
from the water and wastewater uses involving Siler City but also
impacts resulting from the many stresses on the river that now are
appearing due to both commercial and residential development in the
Rocky River watershed."
The letter
continued, "Unless all of these impacts are considered, the Rocky
River ecosystem most likely will undergo dramatic decline in the
next four years."
The
Department of Water Quality (DWQ) also received a letter from the
Rocky River Heritage Foundation written and signed by Chatham County
Commissioners chair George Lucier, who is president of the
organization.
Both Lucier’s
letter and a letter from Allison Weakley, chair of the Chatham
County Environmental Review Board, are nearly identical to the
previously mentioned letter.
In a letter
from Chatham Citizens for Effective Communities, president Loyse
Hurley cited high nutrient levels and algae blooms as primary
concerns.
"Since the
Siler City Wastewater Treatment Plant is the prime source of the
flow in this river, this NPDES permit needs to monitor this nutrient
discharge carefully," Hurley wrote.
The letter
proposed DWQ study nutrient discharges for another year and that
Siler City submit "a plan to address these high levels of nitrogen
and phosphorus."
Shari Bryant,
Piedmont region coordinator of the state Wildlife Resources
Commission, mentioned nutrient levels and algae growth as well.
"Excessive
algal blooms have been documented in the Rocky Rover downstream of
Loves Creek," she wrote. "Although nutrients such as nitrogen and
phosphorus, are a needed component of the food chain in aquatic
ecosystems.
more- See Thursday,
March 20, 2008
paper:
Vol 88, No.15
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