May 31st, 2019 by WCBC Radio
On the eve of the Luke Mill ceasing operations- Allegany County Commissioner Creade Brodie Jr blasted the Verso Corporation for what he believes has been a systematic strategic long term corporate plan to shut down the plant- and to make certain it never produces paper again…
Brodie advocated for putting together a legal team to fight any effort on the part of Verso to down grade the facilities at Luke; as well as working with state and federal representatives to make the location as attractive as possible for potential buyers by way of incentives. Part of his proposal is to request U.S. Senators Cardin and Van Hollen from Maryland and Manchin and Capito from West Virginia to try to arrange a meeting with the president to discuss the plight of the Luke Mill and its employees…
Operations at the mill end today- with the official shutdown set for the end of June.
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May 31, 2019 at 10:55 am, mac said:
While I sympathize with the former employees (as I too have been unemployed in the past) and I applaud Commissioner Brodie for wanting to something, anything, to help, the plant belongs to Verso. Every item belongs to them, every light bulb, every door knob and they can do want they want with it.
My prediction is that all of the bluster and righteous indignation will amount to nothing. Verso has taken their marbles and has left for home.
June 07, 2019 at 6:06 am, Ken said:
> mac, While Verso does own “every light bulb, every door knob” what we own is a rusting hulk of a facility which will eventually become a real problem for us. Looking down the road a decade or two, who is going to get stuck with the bill of tearing down a hazardous site and quite likely an ecological disaster once Verso walks away?
May 31, 2019 at 12:38 pm, Dale said:
Shutting down this mill is the way capitalism works. Why is Commissioner Brodie insisting that we should use a socialist response to retain it?
June 01, 2019 at 9:38 am, mac said:
> Dale, this is yet another black eye for Allegany county and hopes for any economic revitalization. Excluding the low wage, revolving door hires at the blind and cabinet companies this was the last true manufacturing company in the county. How will the county promote an area where history has proven that no large manufacturer wants to remain here to do business? This is a lose, lose situation. Lose employers now and lose any prospects for future growth.
June 07, 2019 at 6:02 am, Ken said:
> > Dale, at the risk of stating the obvious, this version of capitalism isn’t really working for us at all, is it?
I’m not a big fan of socialism, whatever that term has come to mean today, but the fact remains that this county is going to have a difficult time replacing those 675 jobs.
June 01, 2019 at 5:09 pm, Ed Dodrill said:
Socialist response? Okay.