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Seven months after this city's largest
employer, North Star Foods, was consumed by fire, Guillermina
Sandoval still pines for her old life.


      Before the fire, Sandoval, 32, lived a life of steady
employment, packing and processing chicken at North Star. The job
paid for the basic necessities of life and gave some sense of
building toward something better. The work environment was
comfortable, family-oriented.


      Now unemployed except for an occasional house-cleaning job,
Sandoval recalls that former, more secure life that she once had
with a sadness that lingers to this day.


      "If they (say) they are going to rebuild, she is thinking she
will stay," Sandoval said through an interpreter.


      From the plant worker to the highest city official, there
remains a common refrain to the fire of last April 17 a disaster
that destroyed the North Star Foods plant, forced the evacuation of
this city of 3,500 and resulted in the loss of approximately 250
jobs. It is one of mourning, as if the fire marked on this city's
collective consciousness an ineradicable scar.


      "It's a grieving process. It's like losing a member of your
family," said St. Charles City Administrator Nick Koverman.


      As devastating as the fire was, a series of worst-case scenarios
that city officials feared might play out in the immediate
aftermath of the fire haven't happened, at least not yet. There has
been no domino effect of downtown business closures, as some
worried might happen with the sudden disappearance of a $100
million business.


      "The one thing that's happening is a lot businesses are still
afloat and that was one of the biggest worries," Mayor Bill
Spitzer said.


      Nor, as many feared, did North Star's demise trigger a mass
exodus of community members who were employed by the plant.


      Community leaders attribute a number of factors for that
collective decision. Many are still waiting to see whether North
Star will rebuild the plant, a possibility city officials are
"cautiously optimistic" will happen.


      Another reason is today's economic climate. With a national
unemployment rate above 10 percent in the wake of the national
recession, there aren't that many jobs for people to migrate to
even if they were so inclined.


      By contrast, the unemployment rate of the Rochester area,
anchored by Mayo Clinic, stands at a moderate 5.8 percent, offering
the best chance for employment anywhere in the country.


      Some people speculated that members of the Hispanic community
might leave after the plant's demise, but many consider St. Charles
their home.


      "Many of the employees at North Star, Anglo and Hispanic, have
a stake in the ground," said St. Charles schools Superintendent
Tom Ames, who says enrollment has been minimally affected by the
fire.


      "These are not transient people," he said. "Many of them own
their own homes. They have family here. They have friends here.
Their kids have been going to school here for a long time."
      

Gallery

Disasters

Seven months after this city's largest
employer, North Star Foods, was consumed by fire, Guillermina
Sandoval still pines for her old life.


7 months after fire, St. Charles plant still closed

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