Cotton Plant locals have concerns with the work application for medical marijuana cultivation facility

COTTON PLANT, Ark. (KTHV) - 11 Listens after folks in Cotton Plant reached out to THV11 with concerns over the application process to work in a new medical marijuana cultivation facility.

Some have called the medical marijuana cultivation facility Cotton Plant's saving grace. When residents heard rumor that only certain people were going to be given the chance to apply, they reached out to us, asking for answers.

The sight, sound and smell of freshly paved road; a sign of progress in Cotton Plant, Arkansas. Just around the corner, one of the state's five licensed cultivation facilities.

It's the medical marijuana industry that brought us to Cotton Plant.

Construction at the new cultivation facility was well underway Wednesday, Sept. 19 as crews burned brush on the lot.

"Crazy. Just out there. Just ridiculous,” said Lakeyia Alexander, a mother of two young kids.

She's been counting on the cultivation plant promised to Cotton Plant.

"We have to go to Searcy, Batesville, Little Rock to work," she said. "This is right here in town. That's easy. We can get to it. It's right there. Most of us don't have vehicles. That's why most people in Cotton Plant do not work. They don't have a vehicle to get back and forth to work."

That's why, Alexander said, she was so upset to learn that some in town had gotten applications after she was told they weren't ready.

"Everybody should have a chance to apply for it, even if they don't qualify,” she continued, shaking her head.

She and others were told the Mayor, Willard Ryland was picking and choosing who got an application.

Mayor Ryland said that’s not true.

"I spoke with a Bold Team representative yesterday afternoon to find out the status of their application process. They indicated to me that the facility is currently under construction and they have not established applications for jobs here at this time. They assured me that when that time comes the public will be informed of the availability and how the application process will work."

Bold Team LLC representative Mark Drenner confirmed that the applications were not yet ready, but should be sometime between November and December. He didn't have a figure yet on how many people they'd be hiring.