Cradle and All February 16, 2007
Posted by politicsranter in Economics, News.trackback
the trico plant moved to mexico
left my uncle standing out in the cold
said here’s your last paycheck
have fun growing old
-Ani DiFranco, “Cradle and All”
Basically, my hometown is done for. The two major employers are closing within the next two years. There are going to be a lot of families with at least one person out of a job. With my parents’ best married couple friends, one works at Hershey and one at Rideau Regional, which is closing by 2009. They’ll both be out of jobs roughly around the same time.
Hershey is also the only reason anyone comes to Smiths Falls. Invariably, when I say I’m from Smiths Falls, people either say “Where is that?” or “Ohhhh, the chocolate place!” There’s really going to be nothing left.
Plus now they’re going to have to repaint the water tower, which says, “Chocolate Capital of Ontario.”
Thanks Bronwyn, for sending me the link.
800 people losing their jobs at the Rideau Regional, 500 at Hershey’s, plus all the lost revenue in tourism (Chocolate and Railway festival, Hershey bus tours that stop in at the local museums, boaters stopping over on their way along the Canal etc.), plus layoffs at Shorewood…I’m not usually one for gloom and doom talk, but GLOOM AND DOOM!
Fingers crossed that the Canal receives the World Heritage designation this summer…if the designation really does bring in the millions of people that everyone is anticipating, then maybe we’ll be okay.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/02/24/hershey-rally.html?ref=rss
CBC had an article about smith falls and hershey