Ball Ground Recycling, based in Cherokee County, Georgia, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  The move will likely allow the company to continue operations.

Ball Ground Recycling currently owes the county approximately $1.7 million and had been given a 10-day eviction notice to pay the county $60,000 or be removed from the property on which the recycling plant sits.  

In 2006, the county had sold $18.1 million in bonds to help move Ball Ground Recycling to its current location.  When the economy soured and Ball Ground's business slowed down, county taxpayers were left responsible for $100,000 a month in bond payments to Bank of New York.  

The decision to issue the bonds has garnered significant attention in light of the payments.  Last week, local Tea Party Chairwoman Carol Cosby claimed Jimmy Bobo, the owner of Ball Ground Recycling, may have made “illegal cash campaign contributions to influence commission votes” to get the deal done.

She called for a grand jury investigation and local District Attorney Garry Moss said that it is a possibility.