And this builds momentum against closures of other institutions. We told you last week that the Department of Corrections had rescinded its proposal to close Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women in Medical Lake-at least until they get better numbers.
And tomorrow, Tuesday, members from Naselle Youth Camp Local 2263 bring their opposition directly to the Legislature.
Naselle has generated community solidarity. For instance, the Long Beach Merchants Association started a blog to make their case that closure of Naselle Youth Camp will have a crippling economic ripple effect throughout Pacific County. It would affect not only employees at the facility, but school district and other community jobs dependent on the dollars generated by Naselle employees.
"A positive answer to the governor's economic stimulus goal of job creation-is the retention of 120 jobs in Pacific County vs. the negative impact of cutting jobs and recreating them elsewhere!" the merchants' blog says.
And the local school superintendent makes the same case in a recent letter to the Chinook Observer newspaper in Long Beach.
"The fiscal impact of a closure of the camp is simply too big of a hit and affects too large a percentage of our community to implement...," wrote Alan Bennett, superintendent of Naselle Gray's River Valley School District. "The scale of losses here needs to be explained to our legislators in the context of our small community. There are roughly 85 jobs at Naselle Youth Camp and 60 at the Naselle Grays River Valley School District. The closure of the camp would eliminate about two-thirds of those jobs."
As Federation Legislative and Political Action Director Dennis Eagle told member lobbyists in Seattle Saturday: "By saving a penny today, it'll cost you a pound tomorrow."
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