Franklin Lumber Mill to close

FRANKLIN, Va. - "I think the whole town is a little worried," a Franklin business owner told WAVY.com.

Anxiety is not new to business owners in Franklin. Some have built and lost, and rebuilt businesses after hurricanes forced the Blackwater River to spill into Main Street.

In 1999, flood waters caught up with International Paper and the Lumber Mill. When the water receded, life eventually returned to normal.

But nearly 10 years later, Beverly Myers, who owns City Paint and Supply on Main Street, told WAVY.com, "At least we knew we could come back. We had an option to come back. And I came back. I don't know about coming back from this."

Today, businesses are sinking once again. This time, it's under unprecedented economic turmoil.

International Paper's Desmond Stills said, "When the company looked at the feasibility of continuing to operate this lumber mill, the downturn in the economy made it economically infeasible to continue to operate."

One hundred twenty three people will lose their jobs at the end of May. Once the Union Camp Lumber Mill, it was credited with bringing prosperity to the region since it's beginnings in the mid -1800s. But the industry, and the economy has changed since International Paper bought the mill in 1999.

Stills, a Portsmouth native and 15 year IP employee said, "It's a sad day for our community and our company."

The Communications Manger explained cuts at IP's Sheet Converting Plant will impact about 25 employees. Another 10 will lose their jobs at IP's Converting Innovation Center (CIC).

Stills also said, "The decision to shut down this mill is no way a reflection of the hard work and dedications of the employees who've run this mill. The mill has been in operation for nearly 160 years and mainly because of the hard work and dedication of the men and women who run it everyday."

"The shut down at the lumber mill is not expected to negatively impact the paper mill. After the reductions, we'll still have more than 1,100 employees in the Franklin area," Stills added.

Economic development leaders in Isle of Wight and Southampton Counties and Franklin are studying the eventual economic impact the cuts will have on the area.

Isle of Wight Economic Development Director Lisa Perry told WAVY.com the news was "devastating." She added that immediate steps will be taken to help employees with transition resources.

According to Perry, local leaders are trying to determine if the situation warrants federal aid for retraining.

John Smolak, President of Franklin, Southampton Economic Development, Inc., told WAVY.com the Paul D. Camp Workforce Development Center in Franklin will be available as a resource.

Smolak and Perry both told WAVY.com there are long term plans to bring new business into the City of Franklin and Isle of Wight County.

Desmond Stills said counselors will be at the lumber mill through Friday, and IP will meet with union leaders to work out insurance and pay issues associated with the closing.

The people who depend on the soon-to-be-unemployed workforce are uneasy.

Myers said, "You're talking about 150 people without jobs. You pick up the paper everyday around here and there's foreclosures. It's a trickle down effect."  She said she could lose her family owned business by the end of the year.

There is also uncertainty about how cuts at International Paper will impact hair cuts at Mable's Barber Shop.

Mable Parker wonders, "Where can they find a job right now, especially if that's what they've done for the last 20 years? I just hope and pray that I can just ride the storm."

It's a financial storm responsible for claiming a lumber operation that once weathered the great depression and great floods.