| OCR Text |
Show i The Salt Lake Tribune. Sunday, August 17, 1986 Small Oregon Town Sees Nickel Mine Closed for Third Time in Four Years By of Smelting Co indefinitely because falling nickel prices, putting about 180 people like Page out of work Nickel is used as a hardening agent in steel production The combination of increased competition from foreign suppliers and reduced steel production in this country have combined to drop nickel prices from $2 52 a pound to $1 77 in the past year, said Hanna spokeswoman Mary Jackson. The decison was frustrating for both the company and workers, since steps had been taken to make Nickel Mountain more efficient after the first shutdown lour years aeo. Falling prices were blamed in April 1982 when Hanna shut down the mine and laid off 500 people. Cutting both power and labor costs, the company rehired about 260 people when it resumed production in November 1983. Jeff Barnard Associated F'ress Writer RIDDLE, Ore. The sign on the road to Nickel Mountain has a line that reads, Permission to pass at any time. That sign has taken on new meaning in this town of 1,115 people in the hills of southern Oregon. For the third time in four years, M.A. Hanna Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, has announced it is shutting down the nation's only combined nickel mine and smelter. d I dont know if Ill go back," said Hanna worker Gerald Page, sitting in the shade of his front lawn. "I ve been out there 21 years. Id like to get my 30 in, but its tough six months at a time." Hanna announced last week it was shutting down its Hanna Nickel The Bonneville Power Administration agreed to give Hanna bargain electric rates if the company would run the smelters during periods at night and on weekends. The off-pea- k company estimated the savings at $5.5 million a year. Cuts in the labor force, a wage rollback of $123 per hour and limited production brought the annual payroll down from $18 million befofe the 1982 shutdown to $6 million when the mine reopened. After negotiating a new five-yelabor contract and securing continued low electric rates, the company shut down the mine in June 1985 to install a new $13 million process that was supposed to get a higher yield from the low-g- . ade ore remaining on the mountain. Operations resumed last October, but production has been spotty as the company worked to fine-tun- e the new proofs. "I know everybody thought this time we were going to go back for at least five years," said Page, who works on the refining furnace. The one consolation was that the economic impact on southern Douglas County wouldnt be as bad as when the mine shut down four years ago, said Wally Farmer, senior vice president of the South Umpqua State Bank. Timber is in pretty good shape right now, so that should lessen the impact, said Farmer. This time the four wood products mills in town are turning out lumber, plywood and laminated beams. The last time, the mine shutdown hit when the region was reeling from a deep recession in the timber industry, the lifeblood of Oregon. Many Hanna workers left the state to find work and some of those who remained had trouble finding jobs because companies were wary of hiring someone who would go back to Hanna as soon as the mine reopened. If I got a job now with a future and it was steady, I wouldn't go back, said Page. It was a wonderful place to work when I first started. Now it's just up and down. By the looks of things its not going to get any better. There is lingering resentment in town over this latest shutdown. People grumble about decisions made by people from Hanna headquarters back East. Though there is talk in town that the mine could reopen after the first of the year, there also are indications Hanna may be its nickel and silicon division, which reported a $2 million operating loss in the first six months of this year, compared with a $1 million profit for 1985. of former Rockwell International Corp. director Martin D. Walker as chief executive officer and chairman of M A. Hanna, the company proclaimed it is on a new phase of diversiWith the appointment embarking fication. We are certainly not abandoning our traditional products and markets, but given the extraordinary difficulties facing the steel and energy industries, it is essential that we broaden our base of activity, outgoing chairman Robert F. Anderson said. Larry Linton, who owns the local hardware store and the Riddle Grocery, remains optimistic. When they opened in 1951, they said it would only run for 20 years, he said of the mine. If the price of nickel goes up, Im sure it will be back open again and the frowns will turn to grins. People around here are pioneers," he added. Theyll tough it out. Even Millionaires Get Hit By Cheaters Sometimes Percy Ross taken. You recently sent a friend of mine $200 so he could supposedly fix his grandmothers leaky roof. This guy doesnt even have a grandmother, let alone a leaky roof. I'm here to tell you he spent the money on new speakers for his stereo and had a good laugh all the way to the bank when he cashed your check. Doesnt it bother you that people can y rip you off just by writing a letter? E.N., Huntington, W.Va. Dear E.: Its not the first time Ive been taken and it wont be the last. Thanks for the info, but sometimes thats how the cookie crumbles. Dear Mr. Ross: Ive managed to help support our family by working in retail fabric stores. Throughout the years Ive acquired a great deal of knowledge about fabric, fashion and people. Im also an excellent, seamstress. Now, after all these years of standing on my feet, theyre simply shot. My doctor has advised me to spend far less time on my feet. Thats when I aspired to my dream, which is to stay home and sew for people. I already do some dressmaking on evenings and weekends. My biggest problem is the need for supplies which I cant afford because, realistically, retail work pays very lit-- , sob-stor- Dear Mr. Ross: Im writing in behalf of my granddaughand this year had a ter. She is in beef steer as one of her projects. She has paid for the steer with money earned by picking rocks and riding the bean sprayer, both of which are a lot of work and not much fun. Grandpa is providing part of the feed for her, but farming being what it is now, there's only so much we can afford. There are three younger children and her father is holding down a e job in addition to trying to farm. 4-- full-tim- When it comes time to show her is supposed to be wearing boots, which she doesnt steer at the fair, she have. Last year she borrowed some and weve been watching garage sales, but so far no luck. Im not sure what a decent pair would cost, but I think $75 would do it. She is quite an exceptional little girl and one Im very proud of. Mrs. M.U., Redwood Falls, Minn. Dear Mrs. Uj From the sincerity of your letter, I can tell you didnt give me a bum steer. The $100 check Im mailing will see to it your granddaughter proudly displays her steer in a pair of new boots. Dear Mr. Ross: This is my third letter to you over the past month. I tie. asked for a custom-madpadded toiIf I Could get started on this, I could the kind with the money let seat work fewer days, sew more at home inlaid in it. The reason being because and eventually it could become a fullhusband seems to think that as time business. Someday I would like my of his castle his throne king to be able to replace my should be gilded. Whats being done sewing machine with a new one. That, about my request? Mrs. A.D., West in itself, would be a dream come true. Palm Beach, Fla. My problem seems very small comDear Mrs. D.: Im having my secrepared to some of the people you help, sit on your request until Ive tary I Do but feel my dream has merit. helped those who have more deservMrs. M.A., St. Louis, Mo. you? ing causes. Dear Mrs. A- - Your dream most You con write to Percy Ross, The Salt certainly has merit . . . enough to Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 35000, Minnewarrant a new Husqvarna sewing apolis, Minn. 55435. Include a telephone machine. number It you wish. All letters sent to Mr. In Ill be in your area soon, so expect a Ross are read. Only a few are answered this column, although others may be acknock on the door from a silvery knowledged privately. haired gent bearing one of their 1986 Percy Ross Distributed by King Features Syndicate models. self-taug- ht As People Live Longer, Attitudes Change About Death Q. With people living longer and longer, will our attitudes about death change? A. Yes. Some day death may be considered a pleasant experience, and people may actually look forward to dying. families cannot afford the thousands of dollars per month that it may cost to care for enfeebled old people. The ability of families to provide care in their homes has greatly declined because of divorce, fewer children, mobility and other factors. Pain may add special poignancy to an elderly persons existence. Physig cians often will not use certain drugs because they threaten the patients life. Thus people may be left to suffer the pain of such diseases as arthritis and cancer. With increasing restrictions on what they can do and little to look forward to, many older people become increasingly haps most ready to die. They have had enough of life; they have seen the show and are ready to yield their place to others. This seems a strange idea today, because we were brought up to fear death. For us death is very unpleasant to contemplate. But biomedical and social trends suggest that death and dying may be viewed very differently in the future. As a result of advances in nutrition, . sanitation, medicines and other factors, average life expectancy for Americans has increased by about 27 ; years since the beginning of this century. Today more and more people are surviving into their 80s, 90s and even 100s. People over 85 now represent the most rapidly growing age group. But there is another side to this development. Medical science has not learned how to halt or reverse senesthe aging process. So people cence become susceptible to more ailments and increasingly feeble as the years pass. A growing number of older people have no one to look after them. Most csaM These facts of life and death in our society today have caused many people to challenge the view that life must be preserved no matter what even if its quality will be extremely poor and to do so requires the use of precious resources desperately needed elsewhere. Society may gradually accept the idea that death can be a pleasant and meaningful experience. first step toward this end might A be to legalize suicide and provide ways for a person whose life has lost its meaning to get help in ending it. Fry example, a person wishing to die could apply to a government board for a suicide license. The board would consult with physicians and others, including family members, to determine whether a license should be granted. Permission would normally be granted only to elderly persons in poor health, though in such exceptions could be made cases as that of a younger person suffering from a painful disease with little hope for recovery. The board would refuse a license to many applicants. In these instances the board might provide special counseling lor the would-b- e suicides to deter them from killing themselves. For threats of suicide often are really a distressed person's call for help. But if a license were granted, the would-b- e suicide could get all kinds of help from physicians and otherj in ending his life as pleasantly as possible. For example, a thanatologist, or death specialist, would be able to dispense a variety of potent drugs. Some would be designed to kill a person painlessly; others would produce a feeling of euphoria as death occurred. Already some hospices in Britain provide dying patients with cocktails made of drugs that make them happy even as they speed their dying. Since the purpose df hospices is to keep the dying comfortable rather than to cure their illnesses, hospices can adopt approaches that hospital staffs would find unacceptable. There might be other ways to make dying pleasant. During a festival of dying a dying person might have an opportunity to say farewell and share happy memories with friends and relatives. Whether it becomes legalized or not, suicide seems likely to become the leading cause of death in the future. When medical science has eradicated most of the ailments that afflict us and the length of human life is extended to 200, 500, perhaps even 1,000 years, for almost everyone there will surely come a time when they desire to move on to something else. e, .This appears as a matter of record only. dgssgp Buy a Mercedes Benz 560 SEL or 420 SEL and a new 1986 HYUNDAI EXCEL WILL BE YOURS FOR The Mercedes Benz 560 SEL The finest and most advanced Motor Car In the World or 420 SEL is based on Mercedes Benz MSRP and limited to cars now in inventory. Expires Offer ZIONS FIRST NATIONAL BANK MEMBER Typewriters Computer Printers OOO Supplies Service FDIC has provided a Revolving Line of Credit of $3,500,000 for If there's a new typewriter or computer printer you have in mind, we probably have it. They're all members of the IBM family. Which means no matter which model you choose, youll get IBM quality and the familiar IBM typing touch". Were a specially trained Authorized Typewriter and Computer Printer Dealer, ytahs largest. Call Y P 0 Primary Lending Officer James C. Anderson, Vice President fl E 246 E. 6400 South (So. of Fashion Place) 261-510- tree 0 for a demonstration The possibilities are . . . endless. 487-840- & a u T MONROC, INC. W R IUUI u TER COMPA OFFICE EQUIPMENT SUPPLIES SERVICE Your source lor over 30 years' 800-431-99- Zions Bank specializes in lending to small and medium sized businesses. N Y 466 W. Lawndale Dr. (2600 South) 487-840- 0 |
