Hamlet North Carolina Newspaper

Chris Fitzsimon: Twenty years later, safer workplaces Hamlet's legacy

Twenty years ago this Saturday, 25 workers died in a fire at the Imperial Foods chicken processing plant in Hamlet, N.C. They were trapped in the blaze, their footprints left on the locked door they couldn’t force open before they died.

The owner had said he was worried about people stealing chickens.

The plant had never been inspected by safety officials in the 11 years it had been open.

The deaths prompted legislative leaders, most prominently then House Speaker Dan Blue, to create a special commission to make policy recommendations for tougher safety laws.

The General Assembly passed a version of the commission’s recommendations the following summer, giving workers in North Carolina more protections on the job. But passing even that compromise version of the new safety regulations wasn’t easy.

Supporters of the commission’s recommendations held a news conference at the Legislative Building before the legislative session began. Speakers included workers who were in the plant when the fire consumed it, people whose friends lost their lives as they screamed that they couldn’t open the door. The tearful testimony stunned the crowd of reporters, legislators, and advocates in the room.

When the news conference was over, reporters asked a powerful senator who had been listening in the back of the room what he thought of the recommendations and the appeal by the workers who had spoken.

He said that the absolutely most important thing was not to overreact and put any new burdens on North Carolina companies.

No acknowledgement of the deaths, no expression of sympathy for families of the workers who had died or the trauma suffered by those who had survived. And no outrage at a company that would lock fire doors and put employees’ lives at risk.

The Senator’s reaction seemed incomprehensible at the time. But it reflected a view held by the lobbyists for many of the state’s corporate business interests and more than a few legislators.

FIU's T.Y. Hilton and South Carolina's Melvin ... - Sporting News CT

About the Award: This is the eighth year that the Walter Camp Football Foundation will honor one offensive and one defensive player as its national Bowl Championship Subdivision player of the week during the regular season. Recipients are selected by a panel of national media members and administered by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Florida International senior wide receiver T.Y. Hilton recorded a school-record 201 receiving yards and added two touchdown receptions (74 and 83 yards) as the Panthers defeated Louisville, 24-17. Hilton had seven receptions and finished with 268 all-purpose yards. It was FIU’s first-ever victory over a BCS automatic qualifier opponent. Instant Replay Radio – 9/10/11 – SCSU at West Liberty

WEST LIBERTY, W, Va. – Keyed by a defensive effort that forced eight turnovers, including six interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Steven Teague (Hamden, Conn.), the Southern Connecticut State University football team captured its first win of the year on Saturday at West Liberty State, 27-19. The Owls actually trailed [...]

Yale Sr. quarterback Patrick Witt joins us for an informative interview on a variety of topics including his recent award  the Francis Gordon Brown Prize, one of the school's highest undergraduate accolades.  We also talk about high school football in Texas and his decision to first go to Nebraska and transfer to Yale.

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