Lawmakers jump on community's anti-Tyson bandwagon

The four-person legislative delegation representing the Tonganoxie area didn't have to brood long about a proposed $320 million Tyson Foods Inc. poultry complex before coming out against it Friday evening. Surrounded by a Chieftain Park town hall crowd roughly half the size of Tonganoxie's 5,500 population, the lawmakers initially pledged to remain neutral on the proposal until more facts were known. But after more than an hour of public comment, including not one peep in favor of the plant, state Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, made a well-received announcement on behalf of himself and two other state lawmakers who sponsored the event and fielded the crowd's questions and concerns."Given the response we've seen tonight," Holland said, "myself, Representative (Jim) Karleskint (R-Tonganoxie) and Representative (Willie) Dove (R-Bonner Springs) can unconditionally guarantee to you that we're going to work to defeat this proposal."State Sen. Steve Fitzgerald, R-Leavenworth, was not part of the panel on Friday but addressed the crowd to voice his opposition to the Tyson complex.