Old Tyson Plant lawsuit, Sheriff’s department equipment needs, industry discussed at May Terrell Commission meeting

DAWSON – Terrell County’s May commission meeting saw the county moving forward with attempts to condemn the old Tyson chicken plant, as well as the Sheriff’s Department sounding the alarm on outdated equipment. 

Terrell County Commission Chairman T. Gamble announced that the county has filed a lawsuit claiming blight at the old Tyson Foods Inc. property. Terrell County Sheriff Vernon Jessie pleaded with county commissioners to purchase new vehicles, cameras, weapons, etc. for the under-resourced department. Terrell County Chamber President Cheryl Cannon talked about potential industry to bring to the county’s industrial plants. 

The move to file a lawsuit against the current owners of the old Tyson plant at 514 Industrial Park Blvd. comes about seven years after the plant caught fire in 2018. This fire led to the plant’s closure and job losses for nearly 350 workers. Since this time, Gamble said the plant has remained a “burned-out shell.” 

Gamble said the site is overgrown with shrubbery and grass. Trash is scattered about the property, which sits open for people to easily go in and out of without monitoring, leading to theft of factory items. All of these factors mean the building is also not within county code, Gamble said. 

“The whole place is dilapidated … we’ve been aware of this for a long time,” he told The Dawson News. “We’ve been trying to see if we can work with the folks who own it now … see if we can work something out, but apparently we can’t. So, we’re going to move forward. We’re trying to condemn it.” 

The current owner is listed on qPublic as Machinery Equipment Sales and Appraisals LLC, based out of Douglas. The company has 30 days to answer the lawsuit. Gamble said it had been about 20 days at the May 6 commission meeting. 

“If they don’t answer, and we get a ruling that it’s blighted, we can immediately condemn the property, take over ownership,” Gamble said on May 6. “We might have to pay something for it. If we don’t do that, we can maybe negotiate something with them. But I’ve tried dealing with this crew, and they just keep dragging us around.” 

Gamble said the site, which resembles “the remnants of World War II,” hampers the county in bringing other industrial opportunities to the surrounding industrial park. He said the county had opportunities arise – it would like to bring industry not only to the surrounding park but also at the old Tyson site. 

Terrell County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cheryl Cannon talked about some of those opportunities to the commission on May 6. Cannon said she was preparing a list of potential industries to bring to the SelectUSA Investment Summit, which began Sunday. While there, she’ll present a list of three to four industries Terrell County is trying to bring to its community to site consultants. Cannon and the commissioners talked about how agribusiness is an obvious industry to ask for, but the county is limited in other areas as it lacks a higher skilled work force or nearby resources like a technical college or military base. 

The Dawson News requested more information about potential industries the county is looking into, but Cannon declined to answer any questions. 

As the county talked industrial park progress, Jessie made requests for progress within his department. In a written request, the sheriff asked the county commission for four new vehicles. He told The Dawson News that all of the department’s vehicles were purchased already used. Out of the department’s 12 vehicles it uses to patrol, eight have more than 100,000 miles and, he said, are in and out of mechanic shops. 

“One of my deputies was on the way to work, and the vehicle broke down,” Jessie said. “If I hadn’t had someone on vacation when that vehicle broke down, then that deputy wouldn’t have a vehicle to patrol.” 

Along with old vehicles, Jessie said the sheriff’s department’s body cameras, radios and body armor are outdated. 

“We don’t have the necessary equipment to do our job in an effective way,” he said. “The deputies can’t do their job efficiently because they’re afraid something bad might happen, and they don’t have good radio or body cameras to interact.” 

Jessie said he’s served with the Terrell County Sheriff’s Department on and off for about 25 years, and previous administrations have always struggled to get much-needed resources for the department. 

He said he worries about the sheriff’s department’s ability to maintain a constant presence within the community with its current equipment. Concerns about consistent speeding through areas like the speed zone in Sasser were discussed among commissioners during the May meeting. 

“Our public officials have to be able to work together,” Jessie said. “If they won’t come to meet me halfway, it’s going to be kind of difficult for me to be able to make it a safe place. If they give us the opportunity … give us that equipment … it’ll be used. We’ll be able to be present and patrol.” 

Gamble said the county cannot afford to buy new vehicles with the current budget. He said the issue can be revisited in October when the new budget is adopted. However, he encouraged the sheriff to send a list of other needed equipment so the county can work on supplying it.