A fire that closed the giant Con Agra beef processing plant in Garden City, Kansas last Christmas has left many of the 2,300 workers with little hope as the company continues to debate whether to reopen the plant. The economic slowdown and rising unemployment exacerbates the situation for these workers, who live in a sparsely populated area with few job opportunities. Many of the former workers have had difficulty finding jobs elsewhere but are also reluctant to move for the sake of their children’s education.
See "Needy Workers Wait for a Kansas Plant to Reopen", John W. Fountain, The New York Times, July 9, 2001