Supervisor makes appeal to top state officials
By Charlie Passut | Tidewater News
Published Friday, February 12, 2010
FRANKLIN—Isle of Wight County Supervisor Phillip Bradshaw said top state officials, including Gov. Bob McDonnell, support having a portion of his county added to an enterprise zone in neighboring Franklin and Southampton County.
Bradshaw, who represents the Carrsville District, said that since last week he has met with McDonnell, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng to discuss the enterprise zone. He and other county officials want a 6.37-square-mile area of southern Isle of Wight, which includes the International Paper Co. mill, added to the Franklin-Southampton zone.
FRANKLIN
In the middle of a crowded meeting room, Teresa McCaskey, a 23-year employee of International Paper, was having a private chat with the governor.
She told him she would soon lose her job as a paper machine inspector, that her family income would be significantly lower, that the family has a mortgage of about $1,200 a month and two car payments.
She said she was concerned they couldn’t pay the mortgage or afford medicine if they were sick. Even on unemployment, she said, she would make too much to qualify for food stamps.
By Diana McFarland
Smithfield Times News editor
Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe has put in a bid to convert the International Paper plant into a wood-fired power plant.
The goal is to create a “green footprint” to better entice business and manufacturing — and jobs — to Virginia, McAuliffe said Tuesday in a phone interview.
“People want to buy as much green energy as they can. “You can’t have too much of it,” he said.
Citing a non-disclosure agreement, McAuliffe said he was unable to reveal details of the plan, but did say that his team has been working with IP officials on the project.
It would be easy to convert the boilers to burn biomass, he said, adding that other states have converted former paper mills into wood-burning power plants.
“This would really put Virginia on the map.”
McAuliffe is also aware that Isle of Wight has plans to build an intermodal park near the IP site.
“We could team up together and that would be spectacular,” he said.
Isle of Wight Economic Development Director Lisa Perry said her team has spoken with Peter O’Keefe, but was unaware that McAuliffe was also involved.
O’Keefe is a political ally of McAuliffe’s, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch, which printed a story on McAuliffe’s involvement Tuesday.
“He’s one of many looking at the IP facility. IP is entertaining proposals from many other entities,” Perry said.
Bid proposals are due Feb. 26.
International Paper announced last October that it would close its mill, putting 1,100 workers out of a job and costing Isle of Wight, Southampton counties and the city of Franklin millions in tax revenue.
Read the entire story in the Feb. 10 issue of the Smithfield Times. Papers can be purchased at newstands, or subscribe by calling 357-3288 or online at www.smithfieldtimes.com
WALTERS—American K-9 Interdiction LLC, the dog-training company that is relocating its operations from Carrollton to Walters, says it will only be using local contractors to build a new facility on Burdette Road.
The company’s owners, Nigel Rhodes and Paul Roushia, said they wanted to only use local contractors because of the impending closure of the International Paper Co. mill in Franklin and the negative economic impact that closure was going to have on the community.
By Josh Brown
The Virginian-Pilot
© February 10, 2010
Former gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe has submitted a bid to purchase International Paper Co.’s mill outside of Franklin and turn it into a wood and biomass energy plant.
The paper mill is scheduled to close this year, eliminating 1,100 jobs. McAuliffe, who ran for governor of Virginia but lost the Democratic nomination to state Sen. Creigh Deeds, estimated the venture could save hundreds of those jobs.
