Braving the changes, Plant's future may also determine Ravenswood's

DAILY MAIL STAFF

RAVENSWOOD - In a town where good economic news has been hard tocome by in recent years, word that the aluminum mill that employssome 900 locals could be up for sale again isn't a bombshell.

After a vicious labor dispute 10 years ago, parts of the mill havechanged hands three times. Along the way, there have been plenty ofcutbacks and layoffs as the world aluminum market continues to slide.

"I guess we're kind of numb by now," aluminum worker Wes Swainesaid after a day largely spent in meetings about the implications ofthe possible sale. "You can't panic at everything that happens, oryou'd just be a wreck."

Swaine works for Century Aluminum's Ravenswood plant, which isn'ton the block. But, Century shares the sprawling facility locatedalong the Ohio River with Pechiney Corp., which is now innegotiations to sell out to Canadian aluminum giant Alcan Inc.

This makes almost everyone in Ravenswood something of an expert onfederal anti-trust laws.

The U.S. Department of Justice has decreed that Alcan cannot ownPechiney's operation in Ravenswood, and ordered that if the proposedsale goes through the company would have to divest itself of themill. But since the facility has been bleeding red ink for the lastseveral years, a likely buyer isn't waiting in the wings.

The fear in this Jackson County town is that the next sale won'tmean another hundred jobs cut, but rather the outright closure of thePechiney plant - which might spill over into Century's operation.

"I suppose we could take it if they cut back some more - we'repretty lean as it is, but we could probably tighten our belts again,"Ravenswood resident Dan Palmer said. "But that mill's the only thingthat keeps this town going. If we lose it outright, I don't figurethere'd be any town at all."

Palmer, who works for the city but regrets not getting on at themill 40 years ago so he could be retired by now, has seen Ravenswoodchange as the mill was plunged into uncertainty in the early 1990s.

"The biggest part is what it does to the young people startingout. The ones trying to buy a home and get established used to havesomething to count on," Palmer said. "But now they don't know fromone day to the next if there's going to be work or not. That makeseveryone real careful."

Jason Dennis, a Century Aluminum worker for the last five years,said that he would like to retire from the mill someday, but knowsthat the modern business world is different than it was a generationago.

"You can't worry so much about this stuff," Dennis said. "I've gota good job today, and that's a good thing - and something noteverybody can say. We'll just have to take it as it comes."

Eldon Shingleton retired to Ravenswood after a career as aMethodist minister and opened a bicycle repair shop with his wife,Ruth.

They picked the town because of its historic charm and proximityto their adult children.

"We all hope that things stay the same, but we have to accept thatthat isn't always possible," Shingleton said. "So we just have to tryto make the changes come for the better. I don't know if there can beany good news in this, but we'll have to find a way to make it apositive."

Writer Chris Stirewalt can be reached at 348-4824 or by e-mail atcstire@dailymail.com.