The Economic Crisis Strikes Home

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

Our future son-in-law was laid off from Barrett Minerals here in Dillon last night. After a steady stream of layoffs that began just before Christmas, a Barrett's official reported in The Montana Standard on Tuesday that the work force was now "down to a sustainable level and that no more layoffs were foreseen." I guess that should have read "no more layoffs were foreseen for the next 2 days."

If Dillon were the size of Dallas or Denver, finding a job might not be the challenge it will be here. Unfortunately, even minimum-wage jobs and part-time jobs paying a lot less than minimum-wage are few and far between in our area. David is a go-getter, however. He's already out looking for work this morning. He's not afraid of hard work, and he's one of those guys who has a lot of talents in various areas. Even so, Dillon and Beaverhead County just don't have many job opportunities in any field.

Our daughter owns the only dance studio between Idaho Falls and Butte, so leaving her business for the unknown isn't something she can or would want to do. Her business, too, can suffer from the poor economy; dance lessons, like manicures and eating out, are things that people can dispense with until times are better. Her classes are still full, however, and she's thankful for that. So, David needs to find work in the area because Hillary's School of Dance is a dependable source of income, with the added blessing that Hillary is passionate about and loves her work.

The sun is out and shining brightly. Maybe that's an omen. We hope the sun shines on him and our daughter as they work their way through this difficult time.

Carolyn

[Delaine and Lindy]

Sorry to hear about you SIL job. I really think what is taking place is going to have a lot of people having to relocate. Which is horrible for small town USA. We have 25% unemployment in our little county, their jobs went to Mexico. No one is listening. The kids that are finishing School are moving and then there is no tax base. We can only hope this mess stops. GBY...

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

You hit the nail on the head. I know first-hand, because I teach in the only high school in the county, that our graduates are NOT returning to Dillon. There are no opportunities available for work here, unless they come from a ranching family. Even ranching is suffering, too, and stories about one child returning to work on the ranch but the others having to go elsewhere for jobs are common. We have only 3000 plus or minus residents in Dillon proper. Many independently-owned businesses have closed in the last 2 years. Couple the nationwide economic situation with Montana's notorious poverty level, and the picture is grim, much more so than ever before.

I don't know of a single student I've taught in the last 5 years who has returned to Dillon after college graduation. We don't get many young families moving in unless a parent is employed by the hospital or schools. We are officially an elderly community. (That includes me, unfortunately.) With a dwindling school enrollment year after year, and no economic base to attract new, working residents, Dillon is definitely on the small-town endangered-species list.

For the record, when I went to work at Beaverhead County High School in Jsanuary of 2004, we had approximately 450 students. When I ran the federal lunch program figures last week, we had only 330 students enrolled, and of those, we have 2 withdrawals in progress, dropping that enrollment to 328. Without young families and job opportunities, the future appears bleak.

Carolyn

[stiles watson]

We live in a small town where many of the residents are new comers or actually, they are retirees returning to the family property after many years of seeking their fortunes elsewhere. They left, as you describe, after high school.

My son-in-law found himself sabotaged by new management after a merger. He had been the old company's top salesman. Unable to find an equivalent position, he launched his own business. He asked himself, "What needs to be done that others don't want to do, but will pay someone to do?" He ended up cleaning tile. His business is going well, but he has to work hard at it. He is on the verge of needing to hire workers to move to the next plateau.

I realize in a town of 3000 that if you cleaned every floor in town, it wouldn't sustain you long, so that is not the point. The philosophy is the point. All honest work is good work. Unsolicited counsel is very cheap, so for what it is worth..............Your future son-in-law has my empathy.

[richfaa]

Well lets all hope for the best. We got the stimulating news that our Federal Government TSP( thrift savings plan)... a 401K.. lost 38.62 % in 2008. That is not a miss type..38.62%.Out of the 10 funds that you could choose from only ONE had a + in front of it and that was .33% YTD. I was thinking of all the folks who rely on that as their primary source of income then wondering how they, including us, as others have pointed out, could have been so stupid, irresponsible, uneducated, uniformed as to invest in a fund that would lose 38.62% in one year. Did I mention that our home decreased in value by 30% over the last 18 months.What irresponsible act did we commit to cause that???

Our home town community care of which we as Lions heavily support has reported that request for help have increased 4 fold over last year. We do not have the resources to help all the families in need.Our town is in Ford County, What did those Ford workers do wrong to get them on the needy family list. Let us all hope and pull together..for the best.

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

Stiles, you are right about thinking outside the box, as in "What could I do in this small town, something that people need, so that I could make money and stay here." David is very good with his hands and his brain, and he may find a lot of small things he can do to stay afloat until he finds a steady job again.

Dillon could use an appliance repairman. (Officially, we have one in the phone book, but he doesn't answer his phone and he's closed most of the time.) Unless appliance repairs are something that the homeowner or a handy friend can do, we have to call someone from Butte, which is 60 miles from Dillon and nearly 100 miles from us.

We also need general "fix-it" people. While we are fortunate to have several very good contractors and builders in the area, it's hard to find someone to do the smaller things that we sometimes need to have done. David can do that sort of thing and enjoys that kind of work. But, with hard times here, people seem to be putting off those little jobs. And, it's not only David who will be seeking work; his crew of 4, all of them, were laid off yesterday. That adds up to 25 young men, plus an accountant and an executive, recently laid off from Barretts. Most of the young men have families and homes here, so they can't easily leave.

My daughter and David want to stay in Dillon. I talked to them this morning, and they are determined to find a way to stay here, where they have friends and where Hillary has a good business which she started from the ground up, and which she loves. I thought she might jump at the chance to return to Austin, but she said no, that in spite of the inconveniences that sometimes go with a small town , there's a lot to be said for walking through her neighborhood of old homes and visiting with the neighbors who are also out walking, walking to the little IGA grocery 5 blocks from her home, walking to to her dance studio . . . you get the idea.

As for me, I'm fairly certain I will lose my teaching position for next year because I was the last hired, and you know the other part of that old song. Our projected enrollment for the 09 - 10 school year is significantly lower than it is now, and we've lost $150,000 from our school budget because of the county's shrinking tax base. I'll still have the secretarial part of my school job, including running the federal free/reduced hot lunch program. But I'm a teacher--I love what I do, I love my subject matter, and I love working with teenagers. I really feel that I do make a difference in the lives of some of them. (OK, the truth is that I love their goofyness, their unabashed honesty--whether I want it or not--and their willingness to hang in there with me through a tough course that they didn't have to take. )

Well, enough rambling. David will create a job for himself, something to tide him over until he has something steady again. He did have a 401K, but as richfaa pointed out, those double-digit losses of the money you thought you would have one day are cutting into everyone's 401K comfort zone.

[richfaa]

As a add on Disney here in Florida finally came right out and admitted that the economy is a mess and tourism is in he crapper. There is rarely any bad news from the Mouse as this is fantasy land where everything is magical.Everywhere you go in mouse land the greeting is " have a magical day" There is not much magic left among many. Disney has announced buyouts reorganizations and massive layoffs. There as been a hiring freeze for many months. The seasonal and part timers do not get lay offs they just are not scheduled hours so that makes he numbers look better. Some Attractions are "closed for renovating" and many restaurants in the park are not open.The same applies to Universal Orlando, sea world and all the other theme parks. I was surprised to hear that over 200,000 jobs in this area are directly related to tourism. Hotel's Motels, restaurants, stores are feeling the downturn. Helen has worked about 1/2 of the 16 weeks we have been here and that is more than most seasonal. The bad economy has been good to us and many snow birds. C.G fees have not increased, Restaurants have lowered their prices, There are huge discounts everywhere.We have a big budget surplus.... Oh Crime is on the increase. We now have security cam pictures of clean cut bank robbers some in suits and ties. The will rob to pay bills bunch... There have been several instances of Gun holding citizens killing bad guys during the commission of a crime.None of this is good.. This area needs help really bad.As do many......

[goin2themountains]

I feel for your SIL. It's no fun chasing a job in a limited market like Dillon. However, with a willing attitude and creativity, I am sure he will turn up, or make something work.