Residents of Georgia’s Kensington community accused Walker County government officials of secretly “conspiring to install a large-scale chicken slaughterhouse” in their area Wednesday.
The McLemore Cove Preservation Society, a nonprofit in the rural region where Lookout and Pigeon mountains meet, filed a complaint for injunction in Walker County Superior Court. The group asked a judge to block the county and Pilgrim’s Pride from opening a plant in the area.
Rumors about the company moving its Chattanooga chicken plant to Walker County have swirled for months. County officials have never confirmed they are in talks with the company. A Pilgrim’s Pride spokesman has also declined to comment on the rumors.
But Nathan Locke, an attorney representing the preservation society, said his clients feel confident enough in their information to bring this case to court. They see only one other alternative: Wait until the county confirms the deal, when it’s too late to stop it.
“The commissioner and everybody involved in this is hiding behind a non-disclosure agreement,” Locke said. “They’re not asking for any public input. That’s probably what stings more than anything else. This is a big decision that affects the community.”