Durango paper mill closing, 900 workers lose jobs

ST. MARYS - Durango-Georgia Paper Co., one of Camden County&#39;s largest employers since 1941, is shutting down all operations and putting 900 people out of work. <br> <br> ``This plant has been part of our community for so many years, it&#39;s almost incomprehensible,&#39;&#39; St. Marys Mayor Deborah Hase said. ``This is going to have an impact on our community.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Hase, whose husband works at the paper mill as an environmental engineer, said the city of St. Marys, a town of about 8,000 on the Georgia-Florida coast, will lose at least $600,000 a year in property and franchise taxes. <br> <br> Company officials told employees Thursday that the plant would shut down in 60 days. Jim Johnson, a spokesman for Durango, could not be reached for comment Friday. <br> <br> Donnie Rominger, a 22-year maintenance worker at the mill, said he wasn&#39;t surprised when union officials told them the plant was closing. He said the mill was outdated and could not produce paper as cheaply as foreign producers. <br> <br> ``I don&#39;t know what I&#39;ll do,&#39;&#39; Rominger said. ``I don&#39;t want to leave the county, but I might have to.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Woodbine Mayor Burford Clark, who retired from the mill after 43 years, described the announcement as ``a sad day for Camden County.&#39;&#39; He said timber and pulp businesses in southeast Georgia also will be hurt because they rely on Durango to purchase their products. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s just going to have a devastating effect,&#39;&#39; Clark said. <br> <br> Mexico-based Durango Paper Co. purchased Gilman Paper Co. in December 1999, nearly two years after the former owner, Howard Gilman, died. At the time, Gilman Paper Co. was the largest privately owned paper mill in the United States. <br> <br> After the purchase, Durango officials said they had no plans to lay off employees, but eventually hundreds of workers lost their jobs while the company struggled to keep the plant open. Fifty workers were laid off last month. <br> <br> ``This is, first and foremost, going to impact families,&#39;&#39; said Camden County Administrator Barry King. ``I&#39;m worried about the people.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> King said he called state officials and Rep. Jack Kingston on Thursday to get help for the workers. An aide to Kingston said the Savannah congressman would do as much as possible to help the workers. <br> <br> Durango worker Kevin Nobles of Folkston has worked at the mill for 27 years. <br> <br> ``I&#39;ve never worked anywhere else but here, straight out of high school,&#39;&#39; Nobles said. ``I know I&#39;m not going to find another good-paying job around here. It&#39;s hard to deal with.&#39;&#39;

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