Council urges citizens to write to Smurfit bankruptcy judge
The Clark Fork Chronicle, Friday, January 22 [here]
Dear Citizens of the West Valley Community:
As our community absorbs and increasingly understands the impacts of the Smurfit-Stone Mill Closure on us personally and collectively, we all wonder: What can we do about this?
At last night’s Town Hall meeting hosted by the Missoula County Commissioners and the West Valley Community Council, we learned there is a very specific action we can all take: Write a letter to the Smurfit-Stone Bankruptcy Judge and to the Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation and provide them with your opinion about what should be done with the Smurfit-Stone mill site.
Smurfit-Stone has a history of shuttering old mill sites…and not selling the properties to others who could make use of the facility for the economic benefit of their community. Examples included Circleville, Ohio; Alton, Illinois; Carthage, Indiana; and Bathurst, New Brunswick. We don’t want this to happen here.
Please consider writing a letter to Smurfit-Stone’s Bankruptcy Judge, Chairman of Smurfit-Stone’s Board and others listed on the information in the link below. This tactic is also being used in Ontonagon, Michigan, and attached is a sample letter from that community. Here are some suggested examples of what to include in your letter:
* The Smurfit-Stone industrial site is a crucial part of our valley’s economy, providing a $40 million annual payroll and jobs for 417 highly skilled workers.
* The Smurfit-Stone industrial site provides more than $2 million annually to local governments for essential county services, including public schools and a rural fire district.
* The mill supports 34 small businesses which provide services, supplies and inventory to the site.
* The mill site involves thousands of acres of prime agricultural lands and wetlands supporting migratory and domestic birds. Water rights held by the Smurfit-Stone Corporation constitute a significant portion of the valley’s water. Local concerns exist as to the future uses for that water.
* The mill site’s future economic significance to our community is a serious concern. A shuttered mill site for years on end would have a profound negative impact on the area within a radius of at least 50 miles.
* As part of bankruptcy proceedings, an order to sell the mill would provide Montana-based interests the opportunity to purchase the industrial site for alternative and future uses, and provide resources for meeting other Smurfit-Stone creditor demands.
When you write your letter, please send a copy to: Missoula County Commissioners, 200 W Broadway, Missoula, MT 59802 or via email to: bcc@co.missoula.mt.us
A hearing of the Bankruptcy Court is scheduled for January 29, 2010. Letters reaching the court in advance of this deadline would be most effective. … [more]