Pablo mill to close

PABLO — Timber manufacturing giant Plum Creek delivered grim news on Monday, as it announced its sawmill in Pablo will be permanently closed in no more than 60 days, ending employment for 87 workers there.

The closure news in Pablo came with the announcement that two other Plum Creek sawmills issued severance packages to more than 200 workers in Evergreen and Columbia Falls.

Plum Creek officials cited continued poor market conditions and the economic performance of each mill as factors in the closure. Company president Rick Holley released a statement in a press release saying that the waning demand for wood products is directly related to the troubled housing market.

“Housing starts dropped again last month and we expect economic conditions to continue to put pressure on new construction,” Holley said in the statement.

The Pablo pine board sawmill has been operating one shift, after cuts in January permanently laid off 26. Remaining employees were issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notices by mill officials and will be paid for 60 days, the release said. The mill will run for the next 60 days or until the log inventory is depleted. Plum Creek will not operate the facility thereafter, the release said.

According to Department of Labor and Industry statistics, the unemployment rate in Montana rose again in February, bringing the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to 6 percent. This was an increase of 0.4 percent from January.

Manager of the Lake County Job Service Debra Krantz said on Monday that the company followed guidelines when issuing the WARN notices, and notifying the employees of their eligibility for Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits.

The Job Service of Mission Valley and Lake County Rapid Response members have organized an unemployment resource fair for the laid-off mill workers. Krantz said the agencies involved will likely go to the plant on May 27 to review things like TAA benefits, provide information on other services, benefits and options specifically tailored to Plum Creek workers.

The event will be similar to the Community Resource Fair held in Ronan last month.

The fair provided information and connections for assistance with food, shelter, medical, financial and credit training and re-employment, unemployment insurance, Tribal resources and more.

The coordination effort was requested through in initiative in early February by Governor Brian Schweitzer to “design a range of proactive strategies” in response to the dramatic job loss across the state, a letter from Schweitzer to the agencies said.