| ||||||||||
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... |
Fruit of the Loom plant closing catches area somewhat off guard But area has been through this situation many times. After the seemingly grim picture is annualized, what's next? Roadmaps for response is in place, with memories of the closing of Oshkosh B'Gosh plants in Columbia and around the area and the cataclysmic initial impact of the areas then largest employer, Fruit of the Loom Campbellsville, in the late 1990s. Each time, some heartbreak was worsened for a few who made poor judgment calls, but overall, the area has always met the challenge, with new training, increased entrepreneurship, sometimes newer, better employers to replace the ones who leave; with nationally recognized responses like the Campbellsville's Team Taylor. Click on headline for full stories, with link to the most comprehensive off site story on the plant closure, to date, and other links. By Ed Waggener The announcement that Fruit of the Loom, headquartered in Bowling Green, KY, is closing its Jamestown plant caught the area off guard. Adair County Judge Executive Ann Melton said last night that the announcement came as a total surprise to her, and that she is will be gathering more information on how many Adair Countians will be affected. "We were still celebrating the Dr. Schneider plant announcement," (Gov. Beshear welcomes Dr. Schneider Automotive to Russell Co.) she said. "This (the FoL plant closing) came out of the blue." She said that addressing the effects of the plant closure and replacing the jobs will be a top priority and her and other CJE's and economic development teams, including the Lake Cumberland Area Development District in the coming days. Judge Melton is Chairperson of the Lake Cumberland Area Development District and, fortunately for her, is not facing primary opposition in her candidacy for a third term. A breakdown of where the plants 600 workers live wasn't obtained but the assumption would be that, after Russell County, Adair County would have the most workers at the plant, as more of Adair County's population lives in closer proximity to Jamestown than any other neighboring county. Columbia faced plant closure in 1996 While the closing was a surprise, leaders are not waking up this morning like a goose in a new world. While this closing, at this time, comes as a surprise and body blow, it has happened so often here, that communities are more and more wary of the opportunistic ways of huge corporations. Columbia was in shock after the closing of the OshKosh plant in 1997 which cost the community, at the time over 400 jobs. (Wisconsin's Oshkosh B'Gosh Inc. to Close Kentucky Apparel Plant.(Originated from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Landing softened by some factors That hurt. But the landing was softened by the unemployment safety net, aid to workers to go back to college and trade schools, and seemingly fewer single income families dependent solely on Oshkosh in Adair County. For many, OshKosh was supplementary, not the only income they had. A new wave of entrepreneurship followed - as it always does - upheavals in employment patterns. That happened here. A new appreciation of the solid citizen corporations and localism That time saw the a renewed appreciation of the DeLaval - now IMO Pump - plant on Industrial Drive, Columbia's dream employer, which has, over the years (Note: How many years has IMO Pump/DeLaval been here? it's been decades. - EW) and for all the locally developed industries who couldn't be run out of the counties, no matter how under appreciated they were. (So this is a time, now, to celebrate those local businesses, and learn lessons when incentives are passed around. -EW) A time to be wary That time also proved a time to be wary, and so may the new period. A few laid off workers enrolled in training which did not help get jobs, sunk money into dubious pyramid schemes, and bought into "business opportunities" which ensnared the gullible and actually exacerbated their plights Renewed interest in education followed Aid for employees following that plant closure sent a large number of the plants employees back to school at Lindsey Wilson College, Campbellsville University, Somerset Community College and area vocational schools. One such came about in Campbellsville. "The Technology Training Center at Campbellsville University was started as a response to the closure of the Fruit of the Loom plant in the late 1990s in Campbellsville." Joan McKinney wrote in a July 28, 2010 article published on ColumbiaMagazine.com (Almost 10,300 trained at the Technical Training Center)." Team Taylor a model of response to plant closing There's a roadmap from the dire story Campbellsville/Taylor County leaders faced in 1998, when Fruit of the Loom closed the area's major plant. Team Taylor was born, and the saw an actual increase in numbers of jobs, in just a few years. Team Taylor, is one of Kentucky's most effective economic development organizations, Team Taylor, was formed. "Team Taylor County is a collaborative community alliance of the CTCEDA, Campbellsville-Taylor County Chamber of Commerce, Taylor County Tourist Commission, Campbellsville-Taylor County Industrial Foundation Inc., Greater Campbellsville United, Community Ventures Corporation, Campbellsville Renaissance, Campbellsville University, local school systems, local businesses and city and county governments," according to the Team Taylor Economic Development Authority. For now, the net results are and the challenges are still to be analyzed, with many questions yet to be answered, but should be coming fast in the next few days and weeks. - CM Related links
This story was posted on 2014-04-04 05:30:06
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic News:
His Heart will perform at CV Christian Sun., April 6, 2014 Mark Twain Shriners to conduct Road Blocks for Kosair Charities Gladys McKinley will celebrate 90th birthday at Bernard Ridge Allman Pleads guilty in Russell Circuit Court Russell Co. Judge with Governor following Fruit of Loom news (AD) Gospel Band DRIVEN coming to Liberty Road Grocery & Deli Murder of Dr. Sarah Brooke Hart: Hearings today in Russell Circuit Court Wendy & Ben: 13 minute midnight drama on Little Cake Rd. Jackson Brower comments on the Joe & Travis scenic oil rig (Ad) Yard sales springing up - but not quite like dandelions View even more articles in topic News |
|
||||||||
| ||||||||||
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
|