Death Watch in a Mill Town

Katahdin Reopening?

Dead Tree Edition has an item about the Millinocket mill possibly reopening with a biomass plant that not only provides steam for the mill but also sells electricity into the grid: http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2008/10/katahdin-may-enter-green-energy.html

Native...exiled by lack of economic opportunities

Lack of leadership in the Union, in the town leaders, and in Augusta, a changing globalizing economy based on information/data/knowledge, and the lack of ability to think outside of the box has brought economic disaster to the region I am proud to have hailed from.

Taxes are too high and harsh in Maine to provide any incentive to create or move businesses to the area.

Lack of understanding of technology and it's potential also hurts the area. Example - people in Maine think they're getting 'high tech jobs' when call centers that require little capital startup and are therefore easily shutdown to take advantage of globally competitive wages have been heralded.

The work ethic of those who work, their strong family and community values have served the people of the region well and make me proud to have lived there until it was clear that there was no economic future for an electrical engineering graduate.

I've since relocated to and fallen in love with the fiscally responsible NH legislature (though that's taken a slight jog to the left of late as well). I miss my Family and Friends in the town and region.

When I come home to visit I'll shop for ONLY necessities in town because I don't want to contribute to a fiscally irresponsible leftist state that Maine has become.

I pray to God that a revolt will happen and an effective leader will emerge in Maine that can marry the independent, self-reliant nature of Mainers with their strong work ethic and the information/data industry that is the future, leaving the unions and one-horse manufacturing nature of the economy in the dust. Only then, when employers can compete for my talents in trade for a salary/wage that'll allow my young Family a secure financial future, would I consider moving back.

I love and miss the recreational activities, particularly the native brook trout, hunting and hiking. I Love and miss proximity to Family. I wish the region best of luck and hope they wake up to the reality that businesses and their employers are not inherently adversaries. Until that happens they'll have no long-term future financially speaking and they'll simply be trading their moneys amongst one another rather than creating wealth and importing/creating monies from outside the Katahdin region and exporting the services/goods etc..that those good people from God's country are capable of producing.

Paper mill closing

I can feel for the workers at the Millinocet mill. The paper mill in our village of Kimberly, WI.closed today after making paper since 1889. Like Miilnocket the paper mill was the largest employer at one time employing up to 1700 workers in this village of 6300 people. Again big business bought them out but this time shut the mill down totally. The last 475 workers were let go today. The effect on the economy in this village will be devastating!!!

Bright future for Millinocket but a while to wait

It would be sad if the mill closes and many things in the article are true. But there is hope! A "new" economy is emerging in Katahdin Region and Millinocket is the gateway to a still small but growing recreational playground. The area has what many people from the overcrowed cities to the south yearn for - open spaces, unspoiled scenic beauty, on of the greatest mountains east of the Missisippi (Katahdin), and a whole lot more.

The cafe mentioned in the article is the Appalaichan Trail Cafe who's ex-hiker owners moved to town about a year ago and turned it into a flourishing business in double quick time. It serves the locals, the tourists, and the hikers. The area is ripe for more businesses that can serve all three communities in like fashion.

Each summer the number of vehicles with out of state plates in town grows snd this year was no exception. Last year Millinocket was rated #6 in the USA on Trip Advisor report on hot spot destinations.

Things will change but it will take time. The best possible scenario would be for the mill to stay and for the economy to diversify as well.

Leadership and Arrogance

The death of Millinocket is a shame. At the heart of it is poor leadership at all levels within the community, its primary employer and the employee's who can't get past "what is in it for me." The failure of the community to work together, to waste money on silly things like a "pool" and to buy buildings for no apparent reason but to knock them down are good examples of poor leadership and arrogance. Unless more responsible financial decisions and more long term planning become the norm the town will continue to die. Look in the mirror...there is no one to blame! Take some ownership! The predators are watching AND WAITING...ask Roxanne. The Town of Millinocket got themselves in this position with consistent poor decision making...come up with a plan, execute it and be open to change. Take thoughtful action and hold yourself responsible.

Sad day for Millinocket

It will be a sad day in Millinocket if and when the mill closes. I am pretty sure there will be no IF's about it. I grew up in Millinocket and my Dad, brothers, godfather, brother-in-law, and grandfather worked there for years...it is sad to see something like this happen. When the biomass boiler was put in East Millinocket they should have done the same thing with Millinocket. But they didn't because Millinocket's mill was older and they didn't upgrade like they should.

Millinocket needs someone to step up and say...."Hey, this town and mill still has a lot of potential...WE need to help save it!" If the mill closes the town will die. It has already seen way too much death when the mill temporarily closed. It's bad when the only thing you can now buy in town is food, alcohol, and cars. There is NO clothing store because retailers don't want to take the chance!!! You have to drive 1 hour to buy clothes. But yet you have a $1 million dollar pool facility that isn't even open in June or some of July. This doesn't make sense to me. HELP YOUR TOWN!!!

Katahdin Death Watch

You should investigate further the relationship between Fraser Paper (which operate Katahdin) and Brookfield, which incidentally, is a major shareholder of Fraser Papers. They also purchased and currently own the power dams in the Katahdin region. They are also the current owners of Katadin Paper and have done nothing to help out in this energy crisis. I am a retired Fraser Paper employee and have seen this coming for the past two years. Call this a political play for government help, hand outs or grants, but the math doesn't add up. We are talking energy and the energy available to "help" is there and only needs to be diverted until a biomass boiler, which everyone agrees to, can be built. The company, Brookfield, is holding its employees hostage in the region to gain some political dollars from the state and federal governments. They also have poorly planned this because their customers do not like instability in their delivery plans. Management and corporate powers that be are not thinking right. Or are they?

Vanishing of American Industry

I worked three years at the East Millinocket Mill in a support capacity with a engineering company out of Atlanta, Georgia.The work was good and the people great. The people in East Millinocet and Millinocet treated this ole Southern boy with a lot of respect,support and wanted us to stay after the project was completed. Two of our best friends were born and raised in Maine and Hartford, Conn.respectively We see them at least twice a year.As mentioned in the article, if the mill closes the area will essentially close down as well.Most of the homes are heated with fuel oil.As mentioned by many now, we must "drill now" and built new refineries.It will not take ten years to increase production and refine the oil.I believe it would be more like 1 1/2 to 3 years to come on line. We must become independent or perish in the matter of energy and industry.What would be wrong with bringing our jobs back to the US?

kathahdin

alternative energy may be use in the future,operating cost would be todays energy illusion.

Alternatives

There is no mention of the company's efforts to increase hydro power in the 80's which would have elimnated some of the dependency on oil. This effort faced roadblocks from certain special interest groups that ultimatly made the project cost prohibitative.

The Maine State leadership have stood by and watched this industry which was vital to Maine economy be strangled by their tax stucture, and special interst groups.

You reap what you sow.