Dear editor,

As a lifelong resident of Dallas County and as an employee of Bush Hog for the past 37 years, I felt the need to take this time to impress upon the citizens of Selma and the city council members of Selma the importance of closing the streets around Bush Hog.

Bush Hog has been located in Selma for well over 50 years. During this time many, many residents of Dallas County and surrounding areas have been employed by this company. Today they employ 288 employees.

Many good employees over the past few years have either been terminated or laid off due to current economic downturn. These employees are some of my best friends. But, this was necessary to try to preserve the future of Bush Hog in Selma. Hopefully, once the economy is flourishing again the number of employees will increase.

Over the years Bush Hog has supported the city, county, and private schools in this area. They have also supported the United Way yearly, various civic clubs and a host of other organizations in this country.

If Bush Hog were to close thousands in tax revenue would be lost to the city. Can Selma really afford to lose this revenue? Hardly so.

The City Council has said many times that we need more industry in Selma. Let’s also concentrate on keeping what we have. Will residents in the affected areas be slightly inconvenienced to reach J.L. Chestnut Boulevard? Yes. But the grave danger presented to the neighborhood by trucks entering and exiting on these streets far outweighs the slight disruption to the residents.

Will they be fenced in? No. This fence will only help protect the neighborhood and the employees. The employees who now drive to Bush Hog using different streets through the neighborhood will now have to enter and exit via J.L. Chestnut Boulevard. They are more than willing to do this.

The streets that are now surrounding Bush Hog need to be closed for several reasons:

1. Security and safety of the employees and neighborhood.

2. Keep drivers and children safe from the many trucks that enter and exit on a daily basis.

3. Eliminate the speeding drivers that are not obeying the speed limit.

4. To reduce Bush Hog’s liability.

5. And most importantly, to keep Bush Hog in Selma for economic reason that are beneficial to the city.

Economic perspective closing of Bush Hog will only have a negative impact on Dallas County and surrounding areas.

To the member of the City Council, please vote to close the streets and to secure jobs for many employees for years to come.

Connie Morton

Selma