By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

LAMAR, Mo. — Churches, state government, economic developers and even the company that’s putting 735 people out of work are searching for ways to soften the blow of the closing of the O’Sullivan Industries plant in Lamar.

Jasen Jones, executive director of the Workforce Investment Board of Southwest Missouri, said the economic-development community has been preparing for the displacement of the hundreds of workers as O’Sullivan’s future became more and more uncertain.

A preliminary plan is under way that includes applying for national emergency grants to help pay for everything from health-care coverage to rent payments or relocation assistance.

“We had seen some signs over the last few years that made us look into it,” Jones said of the plant closing.

“It didn’t take anyone by surprise.”

Jones said the board will have a series of meetings with O’Sullivan employees to connect them with the agencies and services they need. He said his organization also is working closely with the Workforce Investment Board of Southeast Kansas.

The Southwest Missouri board is putting out calls to all employers in the area who are looking for skilled workers, hoping to connect workers with job openings.

Jones said his goal in the next few months will be to either find jobs or provide training for the displaced O’Sullivan workers.

Mike Gage, president of the Barton County Ministerial Alliance, said the group of local pastors gathered Wednesday for their weekly meeting and discussed how the churches in Lamar and the surrounding area can create a safety net for people in the wake of the plant closing. The alliance doesn’t have a formal plan in place yet, but Gage said the group is continuing to pray about it and talk with people throughout the community.

“We’ll keep working on it,” Gage said. “I know people will look to the churches for help during this time.”

Wes Barbee, community development specialist for the Economic Security Corp., said he had contacts with Lamar residents after O’Sullivan’s announcement Monday, but he said funds are limited. Through a Federal Emergency Management Agency program, the agency has funds to pay up to one month’s rent and one month’s utility bills for workers.

Residents also may apply for rent assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Barbee said there is a waiting period for that program, but once they are qualified, people can get help with their rent payments each month. Regular emergency funds are available, with income-based guidelines, to help with summer cooling costs.

“It will go quick,” Barbee said of the funding. “It doesn’t last long.”

He said he doesn’t see any additional sources of funding in the immediate future, but he said that can change at any time.

Paul Britton, manager of the O’Sullivan plant in Lamar, said the majority of the employees will stay on during a transition period from now through July. Some will remain until October, when the plant closes.

Britton said that in the weeks to come, he will dismiss between 5 percent and 10 percent of the 735-person work force. He said the rest should stay on for at least three months, continuing their health-care coverage, vacation pay and benefits.

“It was the best option from O’Sullivan’s standpoint,” Britton said of continuing the production schedules for three months. “It’s the lesser of two evils. We were hoping and planning to give these people as much time as possible to find another job.”

Britton said one of his employees’ biggest questions is what will happen to their pensions after the company folds. He said that when O’Sullivan was sold several years ago, the employees’ pensions were rolled into a 401(k) account that remains untouched by the company’s financial problems.

“It’s all safe,” he said. “That money is completely separate. It’s not ours, and we’ve always known that.”

Ana Compain-Romero, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Social Services, said the Family Support Division is always ready to help on a day-to-day basis and during an emergency. She said people affected by the Lamar plant’s closing can go to their local Family Support Division offices to sign up for food stamps and child-care help.

“Our doors are always open,” she said. “We’re always here, so this won’t change it.”

Melissa Dunson is the business writer for The Joplin Globe.





Cash-flow crisis



O’Sullivan Industries’ decision to close came after it declared bankruptcy in 2006 and tried to restructure its debts. The company struggled for months to survive its cash-flow crisis, asking the city of Lamar to delay its utility payments and shutting down the plant for two weeks before the announcement was made Monday.