From hurricane damage to job loss: Big Bend’s fight for recovery and prosperity

As lawmakers returned to Tallahassee this month to begin committee hearings ahead of the 2024 legislative session, many of them traveled through the communities that were devastated by Hurricane Idalia. They may have seen the destruction of Florida’s charming small towns, the blue tarps that cover many homes, or the devastation at chicken farms and through fields of our crops. Idalia’s severe weather, storm force winds and heavy rains inflicted serious damage on Florida’s Big Bend region and changed many lives forever.

We’ve seen this destruction time and time again. After each storm, we witness incredible resilience. Floridians get back on their feet, rebuild their homes and businesses, and come back stronger than ever. We also observe amazing kindness. Neighbors helping neighbors, strangers supporting strangers, people from near and far come to lift up the communities from the devastation they suffered.

After each storm, we also see opportunities for improvement. Idalia demonstrated to us just how different the impact is on rural communities versus urban areas. When power was lost to critical cell phone towers, all communication was lost for many, and it was days before some could reconnect. As we head into the next legislative session, resiliency will continue to be a priority for the Florida Legislature -- this time with an eye toward our rural communities.

Hurricane Idalia, however, was just the first of a one-two punch for Florida families living in the Big Bend. A second storm was brewing, and it hit landfall just days after Idalia. Georgia-Pacific announced its plans to close the paper mill in Perry. This storm of a different kind leaves 525 workers without a job and without a means to provide for their families.

For more than 70 years, the Foley Cellulose mill has been Taylor County’s largest employer. There’s no timeline for its wind-down or specific benefits and community programs outlined by Georgia-Pacific to help workers transition. The impact of the mill closure will stretch far beyond its employees, impacting all local businesses, contractors, and organizations throughout the region. Though this disaster is different than a hurricane, the destruction left in its wake is just as devastating.

As your state representative, I will fight for these families, businesses and surrounding communities.

As a start, I’ve reached out to Florida’s Department of Corrections (DOC), and the agency quickly mobilized to recruit team members in the region.  The jobs that DOC can offer are highly respected, well paid and come with good benefits from the state.

In addition, we must expand access to career training opportunities that can enable former mill workers to pursue new opportunities. In recent years, the Legislature has transformed our workforce system. This year, we invested more than $100 million in technical training, with a focus on linking training available directly to local employment opportunities. We’ve also worked to increase communications between employers, training schools and community leaders so they can collaborate to fill the employment needs in a community.

Now is the time to accelerate the implementation of these programs so that workers in Perry and across the Big Bend can take advantage of them right away.

I believe that with career training, every Floridian can have the chance to prosper. But without opportunity, former workers can find themselves stumbling down a dark path.

Growing up in Port St. Joe, I’ve seen first-hand what a mill closure means for a small town. Our mill was once the lifeblood of our community. It provided jobs, security and hope. When it closed, families moved away, some former workers could not find a new job and turned to substance abuse instead. It was heartbreaking.

As a state, we must do everything we can to support the Big Bend region in the weeks, months and years ahead. We must continue hurricane recovery efforts and strengthen infrastructure for the storms that will come our way. We must help residents and businesses rebuild stronger and better than they were before. And we must support the families and broader community impacted by the closure of the mill.

I’m not talking about a handout. What this community needs is a hand up. And when the region is prosperous again, the entire state will be shining bright.

Jason Shoaf is a Republican from Port St. Joe who represents House District 7, which consists of Dixie, Franklin, Gulf, Hamilton, Lafayette, Liberty, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla and parts of Jefferson, Leon.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Hurricane Idalia and mill closure: A double blow to the Big Bend