If Ironton and Lawrence County are to recover economically from recent plant closures and job losses, everyone has to be committed to building a better future, a local group of displaced workers said.

Sunday, February 13, 2000

If Ironton and Lawrence County are to recover economically from recent plant closures and job losses, everyone has to be committed to building a better future, a local group of displaced workers said.

The Ironton-Lawrence County Action Committee is a small group, but the members are working hard to bring information to others who are seeking ways to weather the storm.

"We want to let people know that there is a committee working for them," said Debbie Horner, former Cabletron employee and committee member. "We’re still here, we’re still writing letters to our state officials to try and get more assistance or to get the stipulations on available assistance changed to help more people. And we’re focusing on the good points of our community instead of the bad points. That’s something all of us need to do."

While working to find assistance for themselves, the members of the committee met and decided to gather information for all the county’s displaced workers.

The group originally formed last year with a letter-writing campaign and petitions to get unemployment assistance extended for Cabletron’s displaced workers. But, the job losses and the needs now extend beyond former Cabletron employees, said Teresa Pyles, herself a former Cabletron worker. Mrs. Pyles’s family suffered a second blow when Intermet announced the impending closure that will eliminate her husband’s job as well.

"We’re talking about services like HEAP assistance and where to pay mortgages and things like that," she said. "There are services available and if we can help people find those services then it is something tangible to do to help them."

In addition, the group said the offer is extended to more than Ironton residents.

"This is not just for us, and we’re just working in the background," said former Cabletron employee and group member Brenda Myers. "But we thought that if people know that there are people working for them and that there is progress being made, it would help."

Community unity is the key to rebuilding Ironton – and bringing jobs back into the Lawrence County area, said Brenda Adams, also a former Cabletron employee and committee member.

"It’s going to take the whole community to boost our image, not just our elected officials and appointed leaders," Mrs. Adams said. "(Potential businesses) are not just looking at a building and the workers, they are looking at the entire community. We have to work on a positive attitude and a positive image if we are going to recover from these losses."

With an impending marketing analysis coming to the area, every resident of each part of the county will play an important role in potential job gaining. The analysis will study all aspects of the county and city’s image both at home and away from the area in an effort to find the right way to boost economic development and industrial recruiting, officials said last week.

"Every person in this county has to do their part," she said. "We all want to see this turned around and I think it can be if we all work together and focus on the positive. We have to market our community ourselves."