{"id":19907,"date":"2024-04-04T20:21:49","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T00:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?post_type=wfsu-news&p=19907"},"modified":"2024-04-04T21:42:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T01:42:02","slug":"west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill","status":"publish","type":"wfsu-news","link":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/","title":{"rendered":"West Fraser mill: Local and state officials are responding to Taylor County losing its sawmill"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

West Fraser\u2019s sawmill is located right off U.S. Highway 19 and is visible as soon as you enter the town of Perry.<\/p>\n

The lumber company makes and ships wood products to areas across the state. But there\u2019s one problem, the sawmill is no longer open.<\/p>\n

West Fraser closed the plant<\/a> last Friday because of \u201chigh fiber costs\u201d and being in a \u201clow-price commodity environment.\u201d WFSU drove out to Perry following West Fraser\u2019s closure and found that a lot of residents saw this coming.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

\n \u201cFollowing the decision in January 2023 to indefinitely curtail the Perry Sawmill in Florida, which saw a small crew kept onsite to maintain the mill, West Fraser is now moving to permanently close the mill by the end of March. The few remaining workers will complete their last shifts this week. The equipment will then be assessed for use elsewhere.”<\/i>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n Joyce Wagenaar, Director of Communications, West Fraser\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201c[It was] devasting news when we heard that West Fraser wasn\u2019t going to open up again,” Taylor County Commissioner Thomas Demps said. “It was a blow to us when they closed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one is surprised by the company’s decision<\/b><\/p>\n

According to a release<\/a>, West Fraser began letting folks go last year. The company said the sawmill originally started with 126 employees but last January cut back operations, leaving just a handful of maintenance workers at the facility. But once Georgia Pacific shut its paper mill down<\/a> in Perry following Hurricane Idalia, West Fraser decided not to reopen as well.<\/p>\n

\"Trees<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family depended on that mill,” said Commissioner Demps. “My dad worked there for years and I had a brother to work there. It\u2019s been a great asset to this county.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the first time Taylor County has been without a mill in over 100 years<\/b><\/p>\n

Now that both plants are no longer running, Commissioner Demps said the people of Perry need somewhere to work.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s turning to the County\u2019s Development Authority<\/a> and the state Economic Development Council<\/a> to help come up with a plan to bring jobs and money back to the agriculture town.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re looking for a place to go and something to do,” said Demps.<\/p>\n

\"Georgia<\/p>\n

What happens to Perry’s sawmill?<\/b><\/p>\n

West Fraser hasn\u2019t said if it plans to sell the sawmill, however a company spokesperson said the equipment will eventually be moved out and reused elsewhere. But if West Fraser decides to go that route, it may take a while.<\/p>\n

Georgia Pacific\u2019s papermill has been on the sellers\u2019 block since November<\/a> and it has yet to find a buyer. Meanwhile, the state and county are losing money.<\/p>\n

According to the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Science<\/a>, once the paper mill closed, Taylor County lost $370 million in local spending and was down 2,000 workers. The state missed out on $10 million in tax revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of ugly but there\u2019s also a lot of opportunity,” state House Representative Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Rep. Shoaf is working to secure jobs for the people impacted by the mill\u2019s closure. He said he’s urging state agencies to house some offices in Taylor County to preserve and attract more people to the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven as far as reaching out to groups like Space Florida<\/a> and trying to find partnerships with industries that are looking for a home with a highly skilled and trained workforce. Taylor County has that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shoaf\u2019s efforts come after the legislature recently approved nearly $3 million of the state\u2019s budget to go towards the expansion of Big Bend Technical College<\/a>. The program has been providing Floridians with special education and career training in the Big Bend region. It helps create jobs for students entering nursing and engineering fields. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":19908,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[],"tags":[1136,1135],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWest Fraser mill: Local and state officials are responding to Taylor County losing its sawmill - WFSU Local Routes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"West Fraser mill: Local and state officials are responding to Taylor County losing its sawmill - WFSU Local Routes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Officials say hundreds of workers are now out of a job.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WFSU Local Routes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-05T01:42:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/repshoaf.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/\",\"name\":\"West Fraser mill: Local and state officials are responding to Taylor County losing its sawmill - WFSU Local Routes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-05T00:21:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-05T01:42:02+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"West Fraser mill: Local and state officials are responding to Taylor County losing its sawmill\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/\",\"name\":\"WFSU Local Routes\",\"description\":\"Local stories from northern Florida and southern Georgia.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"West Fraser mill: Local and state officials are responding to Taylor County losing its sawmill - WFSU Local Routes","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"West Fraser mill: Local and state officials are responding to Taylor County losing its sawmill - WFSU Local Routes","og_description":"Officials say hundreds of workers are now out of a job.","og_url":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/","og_site_name":"WFSU Local Routes","article_modified_time":"2024-04-05T01:42:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1440,"url":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/repshoaf.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/","url":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/","name":"West Fraser mill: Local and state officials are responding to Taylor County losing its sawmill - WFSU Local Routes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-04-05T00:21:49+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-05T01:42:02+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/west-fraser-mill-local-and-state-officials-are-responding-to-taylor-county-losing-its-sawmill\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"West Fraser mill: Local and state officials are responding to Taylor County losing its sawmill"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/","name":"WFSU Local Routes","description":"Local stories from northern Florida and southern Georgia.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wfsu-news\/19907"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wfsu-news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wfsu-news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}