More public comments were aired at last night’s Lexington City Council meeting, continuing concerns first raised last month about the condition of the grass at Greenwood Cemetery the closure of the Tyson Foods plant.
Among those speaking on the cemetery were Dan Willets, a Lexington native now living in Grand Island, who told council members the cemetery’s appearance is “a poor representation of the people” of Lexington.
Rhonda Groves Fokken had a social media post several weeks ago on the condition of the grass at Greenwood Cemetery northeast of Lexington. She said what is being seen at Greenwood and Evergreen Cemeterys “goes beyond drought, beyond seasonal challenges and beyond isolated concerns”…
Fokken created an online and paper petition asking the City to review it’s cemetery maintenance practices and consider a restoration and long-term care plan to be shared with the community.
Fokken presented packets to the Council on her own proposal for maintenance and restoration of the Greenwood Cemetery.
Earlier Tuesday, the city released a document outlining a long-term plan to transition Greenwood Cemetery to more drought-tolerant native grasses. Following the meeting, City Manager Joe Pepplitsch said the city is moving in the right direction, noting the plan could take several years to fully mature throughout the cemetery.
Public comments also included workers displaced by the closure of the Tyson Foods plant. Abigail Miranda, who worked at Tyson for 25 years, told council members many former employees remain in the community and are concerned about long-term job opportunities. Miranda said many families have children and grandchildren to support and do not want to leave Lexington, calling it their home.
Liseth Yanes has lived in Lexington for 24 years and worked at Tyson for 23 of them. Yanes said she is grateful she has a job but, many of her former co-workers have a house payment and not enough money from unemployment payments. She said they’re “hard-working people” and “not freeloaders”. She said “if there’s nothing coming to Tyson or just be clear with us and we can move on”.
In response, Mayor John Fagot said the City is doing everything they can “to bring jobs to town”. But, he said that it’s going to take some time and will not be a quick fix. He said he hated to tell Tyson workers that “but I also believe that honesty is what we have to give you.”
The City is acquiring three tracts of Tyson land near their main building and access to the railroad spur for future development but, no development prospects have been confirmed. Tyson’s main plant building will remain Tyson property for the time being.
