Sadler’s Works to Correct Violations

HENDERSON — A Henderson meat processing plant has until August 15 to correct violations of city health codes or face additional fines, City Manager Mike Barrow said. Sadler’s Smokehouse on Frisco Street was cited and fined $14,000 this past week for two health code violations. One had to do with a nauseous odor emitting from the business, and the other was the unauthorized discharge of wastewater, Barrow said. “We’ll have another day in court if these problems aren’t remedied by the middle of next month,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of complaints from residents and business owners near the property about how bad the smell is.”

James Reed, president and CEO of Sadler’s, said the company is working with the city to resolve the problem and expects to meet the deadline. “We had an engineering study commissioned as soon as we became aware of the problem and will begin construction this week on rebuilding the retaining wall of the lagoon that needs to be fixed,” Reed said. Sadler’s has hired 7-H Construction of Tyler to supervise the renovations, Reed said. Total cost of bringing the plant into compliance with the city codes will be about $100,000. “We’re trying to do it better this time around than the original construction, so that we won’t have a repeat of this problem,” Reed said.

Some of the violations were discovered as the result of routine inspections by city health inspectors, while others were investigated as the result of specific complaints called into city offices, Barrow said. “This is a long-established business, and we understand its importance to the local economy, but we have environmental laws in place and they must comply the same as any other individual or business,” Barrow said. Sadler’s has been in business in Henderson since 1948. The company expanded and relocated in 1984, and opened the 300,000-square-foot processing plant on a 40-acre business site.