In one of my previous posts, I discussed all the factories that have been laying off or shutting down in this area. I sure hope that it encourages my former students and future students to pursue post-secondary training of some type (college, tech training, etc.). A lot of people around here used to just depend on going to work at the factory after they finished high school (or before), like their daddies did. Then there was this today in the Messenger. Mowhawk is one of the biggest factories here. I know that the Ft. Oglethorpe plant is smaller than the Dalton one, so thankfully Dalton is not shutting down, but it's still quite a blow to our work force. Unemployment in Walker County has risen by over 300% in the past couple of years - the highest hike in all of our surrounding counties.
I am really glad that Jeff works in an industry that can not be shut down (although one Atlanta county did close three fire stations last year, and then got in to really HOT water with Homeland Security for accepting a grant from them. Turns out, they used the grant money to build the fire stations. Not a good idea to shut them down with in a few years after taking gov't. money. And I am glad that when I was teaching, it was in a position that couldn't be eliminated.
I think things are going to get a lot worse here before they get better.
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