From the Editor's Desk — Close of paper mill hits hard
Saturday, October 24, 2009 11:01 PM PDT
Pat Caldwell
At first glance, it would seem easy to dismiss the closure of the International Paper mill in Albany, Ore., as someone else’s problem in some other part of the state.
It would be nice if that were true.
Unfortunately, it isn’t
While we all focus locally — and especially the Argus because local news is our bread and butter — the fact is events that occur beyond the Malheur County line often are as important as those events we know of in our own backyard.
Albany is a good case in point.
The Memphis-based International Paper Co. pointed the finger at the global recession to justify its move, asserting demand for packaging products continues to tumble.
The reasons, while important, hardly matter to the workers at the plant or the politicians in the Albany area who suddenly face yet another dismal economic paradigm.
One local elected official said the lesson of this story is an easy one to discern.
“It encourages us to keep in better contact with our economic partners,” Ontario Mayor Joe Dominick said Friday.
Dominick said he was saddened to hear of the mill closure.
“That (the closure) is big. Its rough,” he said.
Dominick said the specter of a rapid closure of a big economic engine such as the plant in Albany always haunts area elected leaders.
“We want to make sure they (big employers) stay. We will do everything we can to let them know we are on their side,” he said.
Dominick’s devotion to ensuring the links between elected leaders, the city and big employers is strong is commendable. But it is also much like whistling as you pass the graveyard. Nothing in the current economic climate is a sure thing.
Ontario, Dominick said, is lucky that it has a somewhat diversified economy.
Agriculture is still a main economic engine, but such firms as Heinz Frozen Foods, the school district, Treasure Valley Community College and Snake River Correctional Facility offer, if not a sure thing, at least diverse pillars.
In short, one may go, but the chances of all four suddenly shutting down are not very likely.
Still, Dominick said he worries about the economic impact of a big shutdown. And the mill closure in Albany made those concerns even more poignant.
“It brings home the reality of what could happen if one of our major employers said, “We’re done,’ ” Dominick said.
Albany is a bigger city than Ontario, but the dreary connotations from the mill closure in that city still resonate.
“Two hundred seventy workers is nothing to ignore,” Dominick said.
Dominick said that is why an effort to fortify relations with the area’s biggest employers is essential for the future.
Not long ago, the impact from a massive layoff in one town of Oregon could often mean very little for a city half a state away.
Let’s face it, there used to be a time when small cities or even regions could easily sustain the loss of 100 or 200 jobs and still keep moving right into the future.
The reality now, though, is very different. A loss of more than 200 jobs in a state already reeling from a poor economy can be, and probably will be, felt in towns 100 or 200 miles away.
That’s because jobs are jobs. Each one exudes a residue of resources and cash that weaves its way through our entire piece of Democracy.
When one plant closes in Albany, the implications, as Dominick pointed out, don’t end at the city limits.
They resonate and ripple out across the entire state.
Pat Caldwell is the editor of the Argus Observer. He can be contacted at PatC@argusobserver.com. The sentiments expressed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of the Argus Observer or Wick Communications.
Mother of Four wrote on Oct 30, 2009 3:23 PM: