Noel, Mohd. , A small, rural town in the Ozarks is home to Tyson Foods Inc. It is struggling to find a way forward after the plant’s closure, leaving nearly a third of its residents unemployed.
“People around here are resilient,” said Noel Mayor Terry Lance. fox news digital, “I think sometimes you become as flexible as you need to be, and I’m not sure that’s even unique to small towns in America.”
“I feel like I see more energy from people as far as where they want to go in the city that’s in the right direction, at least I believe, than I’ve seen in some time,” he said. ”
The Missouri town of about 2,000 was dealt a devastating blow last year when Tyson announced it was closing its chicken processing plant in the middle of town at the end of October. Tyson acquired the plant in 1998 after the company purchased Hudson Foods Inc., making it the largest employer in the county with 1,500 employees, including 650 Noel residents.
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The mayor said that when he first learned in August Tyson was suspending operationsHe was concerned that the loss of tax revenue from workers shopping at local businesses would prevent the city from providing essential services for its residents.
“I was worried, very worried that we could lose up to 25% of our population,” Lance said.
He added, “Everyone was worried about it.” “Along with the population I was afraid we might lose, I was worried we might lose half of our small businesses.”
According to the mayor, initially after the closure, the town lost more than 300 residents, including some Somali and South and Central American diaspora Who came to Noel on H1B visa to work in the plant.
John Newby, president of the Lance and McDonald County Chamber of Commerce, organized several job fairs with dozens of companies located in northwest Arkansas and Oklahoma to find jobs for locals left without work.
“It’s like taking the auto industry out of Detroit,” Newby told Fox News. “That was the impact here in McDonald County.”
Tyson Foods closed its Noel chicken processing plant last October to cut operating expenses. (Nathan Pepps/Springfield News-Leader via Imagine Content Services, LLC)
Jimmy Lassiter worked at the plant for 11 years and his sister, Theresa Lassiter, worked there for five years when they learned of its closing.
“I panicked and started looking for a job,” Jimmy told Fox News. “It was hard to find anything.
She remained unemployed for about six months until she finally got a job at another poultry plant nearby. Theresa worked with a staffing agency for several months before finding another full-time position.
“It’s not easy to find anything here that’s worth paying anything for,” he said. “You get someone who wants to pay $11, $12 an hour, but they’re 45 minutes away. How am I going to survive on that?”
People in Noel, Missouri are struggling to find a way forward after Tyson Foods closed a chicken processing plant that employed more than 600 residents of the small town. (Tenny Sahakian/Fox News)
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Lance said population levels have begun to rise back toward what they were before the closures. But the bigger challenge was the impact on local businesses, some of which had to close their doors.
“Most businesses were completely dependent on Tyson,” Theresa said. “It was a complete shock to everyone.”
According to Lance, without Tyson workers spending money at local businesses, Noel’s sales tax revenue is down about 25% this year. The City Council has had to make cuts to several budgets, including the Marshal’s Office.
But despite the economic hardship, some people in the town are happy with the closure and see it as an opportunity to bring Noel back to the vibrant tourist destination it was until the 1990s.
Dustin Schurbach owns several businesses in Noel and said he sees the future of the town as “tourism 365 days a year.” (Tenny Sahakian/Fox News)
“It was a very important moment for Tyson to go,” said business owner Dustin Schurbach. “The entire community was disappointed and depressed, and sales were down.”
He added, “I just had this strong feeling inside that was saying, ‘Hey, we’ll be OK. So, let’s put on a good face and get to work.’
Born and raised in Noel, Schuurbach owns three businesses in the town: Elk River Coffee Shop, River Ranch Resort and a local ice cream parlor.
“Tourism-wise, which is a ton of our revenue, I think it’s a step in the right direction for the city of Noel,” Schurbach told Fox News. “A big shock at first. I felt it even at my ice cream shop – our sales dropped. It was very hard.”
“But I think as the community comes together and focuses its direction on tourism, I really feel like we can have a big rebound without a processing plant in town,” he added.
Many, like Schurbach, believe Noel needs to take advantage of its unique location. Located along the Elk River flowing in the southwest of the state, the area around Noel is filled with caves and rock formations, making it a prime destination for tourists seeking outdoor vacations.
Schurbach said that the odors coming from the poultry plant were detrimental to tourism, and that the immigrants employed by Tyson did not care about keeping the town clean or making an effort to become a part of the community.
three months later in January plant closure, he and several other local business owners came together and formed the Noel Revitalization Team, a non-profit focused on bringing the community together and revitalizing the downtown to make it more attractive to outsiders. His first projects were organizing community garbage collection and installing flagpoles on Main Street.
“I think as the community comes together and focuses its direction on tourism, I really feel like our town can make a big boom without the processing plant,” Schurbach said.
Mayor Terry Lance said that if the city could attract more tourism-based businesses, “Noel could have a good future.” (Tenny Sahakian/Fox News)
But there are some residents in the city who don’t think tourism alone will be able to keep Noel alive.
“I don’t think that type of economy is going to work anymore,” Theresa said. “It would be nice, but now the only thing for tourism here is camping or the rivers.”
lassiter sisters said dream year round tourism This is unrealistic without new businesses coming to town.
Jimmy said, “When we were kids, I remember there was a go-kart track and a movie theater. There were a lot of things to do there. And now there’s nothing there.”
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However, the mayor is confident that if the community takes advantage of its natural resources and can attract more businesses offering arts, crafts, food or music to the city, Noel can foster a self-sufficient economy without relying on anyone. can give. Jobs from Big Business,
“As long as we have reefs and a healthy river system, Noel can have a good future,” Lance said, “It’s there, we just need to take advantage of it.”
Tyson Foods did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
