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June 24, 2011

$650K grant to aid Katahdin mill workers

By The Mainebiz News Staff

Workers affected by the closure of the Katahdin Paper Co. mill in East Millinocket are receiving help in the form of more than $650,000 in federal re-employment funds.

The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded Maine a National Emergency Grant of $657,841 to provide job training and placement services to more than 200 workers, according to a press release from U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. The mill has been closed since April 1, at which time owner Brookfield Asset Management was negotiating with a California investment firm, Meriturn Partners, to sell it and its sister mill in Millinocket. That deal fell through, and now Brookfield is in talks with Hong Kong investment firm International Grand Investors Corp., the owner of the former Domtar mill in Baileyville. The state recently approved acquiring a landfill in East Millinocket, where paper-making waste has been dumped for years, in an effort to advance a sale.

In March, the federal government certified workers at the East Millinocket mill as eligible to receive benefits through the Trade Adjustment Assistance program in advance of expected layoffs. At that time, the mill employed about 450 people.

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