... MAKING HARD CHOICES

If prisons are sought-after employers, what about chicken-processing plants? Until last Friday Sikeston was pursuing a Tyson Foods plant that would have employed several hundred people.

The Sikeston Department of Economic Development received word at the end of the week it was being eliminated from further consideration by Tyson.

Why? A memo praised the town's quality of life, public schools, utilities and grain costs -- the latter being a significant factor when you are raising chickens to become drumsticks and boneless breasts. But the same memo from a search firm representing Tyson listed some problems in Sikeston: Labor availability and costs, property taxes and the town's location near the New Madrid earthquake fault.

Chicken-raising operations are sprouting up all over Southeast Missouri, which makes the area a good candidate for a processing plant. But in the face of some $7 million in added expenses ($5 million in property taxes and $2 million in construction costs to withstand an earthquake), Tyson decided to look elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Sikeston is regarding the effort to attract Tyson as a learning experience. Said William O. Green, the city's economic development director: "I believe...we as a community have matured to some degree in our economic development philosophies and attitudes. I hope and trust that the positives of this experience will benefit us in the future."