End of an era for C. Falls mills

The last logs rolled through the Weyerhaeuser Co. plywood and lumber mills in Columbia Falls Thursday, marking an unfortunate end to a long run for timber in the North Valley city.

While the fiberboard plant will continue to operate in Columbia Falls, the two mills employing 230 workers are shut down. Thursday was the last day the mills peeled and sawed logs.

Some employees will continue to finish up work at the mills for a few weeks and 130 of the jobs are being shifted to Evergreen, but the end result is the loss of well-paying jobs for 100 workers.

This a sad ending for lumber operations that have spanned almost 70 years.

The original Columbia Falls sawmill, built by businessman and Plum Creek founder D.C. Dunham, dates back to the 1940s.

Dunham’s operation later developed into the land and timber giant Plum Creek, which earlier this year was taken over by a bigger wood-products firm, Weyerhaeuser.

That takeover obviously has not been good for the Northwest Montana timber industry.

Despite Weyerhaeuser’s initial promises that Flathead Valley mills would see no changes with the merger, the mill closures represent very real and troublesome changes for a major industry and, more importantly, our neighbors and their jobs.

We mourn the damage from the mill closures and wonder if more difficult news is ahead from Weyerhaeuser.

Welcome sidewalks

On a brighter note, we welcome the construction crews building new sidewalks in Kalispell.

Of particular interest is the work along Three Mile Drive that will at last provide sidewalks and bike paths along that busy road in front of Kalispell Middle School.

As traffic has increased on Three Mile and Kalispell grows to the west, the walkways will provide much-needed safer routes for students and residents.