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February 9, 2010

Protest of Sanders statue brings Corbin positive attention

By Becky Manley / Staff Writer

A proposal by an animal rights group to erect a statue of Colonel Harland Sanders made from chicken droppings drew national media attention to Corbin.

During Monday’s Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission meeting, Chairwoman Suzie Razmus said the attention was positive, with one Los Angeles newspaper account portraying Corbin as a plucky little town trying its best to celebrate its history.

Razmus said the reports also netted contacts with about six companies that create statues.

The flurry of media reports came after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals proposed their own statue to protest modern slaughterhouse practices by KFC suppliers.

Razmus said the Sanders statue isn’t about current corporate practices by KFC but rather aims to celebrate the man who likely served chickens that were raised in local backyards.

“This is more about the man and what he started,” Razmus said.

Commissioners also agreed not to sponsor a pow wow organized by the Kentucky Native American Heritage Museum.

Representatives from the Corbin museum attended January’s tourism meeting to talk about a second event, highlighting the area’s heavy concentration of people with Native American heritage.

One of the representatives, Ken Phillips, said the 2008 event was attended by about 3,000 people and brought an estimated $24,000 to the local economy based on reports of what vendors said they spent at area stores.

The tourism commission was the primary sponsor for the first pow wow, providing $15,000 for the event, Razmus said.

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