{"id":8414,"date":"2012-06-21T06:32:23","date_gmt":"2012-06-21T12:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/?p=8414"},"modified":"2013-02-18T13:46:37","modified_gmt":"2013-02-18T20:46:37","slug":"an-entrepreneur-stimulus-money-and-an-idaho-mill-town-that-wants-to-rise-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/06\/21\/an-entrepreneur-stimulus-money-and-an-idaho-mill-town-that-wants-to-rise-again\/","title":{"rendered":"An Entrepreneur, Stimulus Money, And An Idaho Mill Town That Wants To Rise Again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-8414 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/06\/21\/an-entrepreneur-stimulus-money-and-an-idaho-mill-town-that-wants-to-rise-again\/dick-vinson\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"138\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Dick-Vinson-e1340302661475-150x138.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8416\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8416'>\n\t\t\t\tDick Vinson began logging at 16, when he was a high school junior in Polson, Montana.  Now 75, he&#8217;s trying to start up a sawmill in Emmett, Idaho.    \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/06\/21\/an-entrepreneur-stimulus-money-and-an-idaho-mill-town-that-wants-to-rise-again\/boise-cascade-fence\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Boise-Cascade-fence-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Boise-Cascade-fence-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Boise-Cascade-fence-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Boise-Cascade-fence-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8418'>\n\t\t\t\tMuch of the area where Boise Cascade used to operate is fenced off and boarded up.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/06\/21\/an-entrepreneur-stimulus-money-and-an-idaho-mill-town-that-wants-to-rise-again\/boise-cascade-building\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Boise-Cascade-building-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8417\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Boise-Cascade-building-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Boise-Cascade-building-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Boise-Cascade-building-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8417'>\n\t\t\t\tJudging by a faded sign next to its front door, this building once housed administrative offices for Boise Cascade&#8217;s local mill and beam plant.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/06\/21\/an-entrepreneur-stimulus-money-and-an-idaho-mill-town-that-wants-to-rise-again\/emerald-forest-products-log-deck\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Emerald-Forest-Products-log-deck-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Emerald-Forest-Products-log-deck-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Emerald-Forest-Products-log-deck-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Emerald-Forest-Products-log-deck-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8420'>\n\t\t\t\tThe new Emerald Forest Products mill is just getting started.  Here, logs await a machine called a debarker.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/06\/21\/an-entrepreneur-stimulus-money-and-an-idaho-mill-town-that-wants-to-rise-again\/emerald-forest-products-stacker\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Emerald-Forest-Products-stacker-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Emerald-Forest-Products-stacker-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Emerald-Forest-Products-stacker-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Emerald-Forest-Products-stacker-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8422'>\n\t\t\t\tOnce cut, boards are stacked according to size.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/06\/21\/an-entrepreneur-stimulus-money-and-an-idaho-mill-town-that-wants-to-rise-again\/flowers-heideman\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Flowers-Heideman-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Flowers-Heideman-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Flowers-Heideman-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Flowers-Heideman-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8424'>\n\t\t\t\tThree generations of mill workers: Ray Flowers, his daughter Debbie Flowers, and his grandson Casey Heideman\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/06\/21\/an-entrepreneur-stimulus-money-and-an-idaho-mill-town-that-wants-to-rise-again\/emmett-idaho\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Emmett-Idaho-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-8423\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Emmett-Idaho-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Emmett-Idaho-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Emmett-Idaho-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-8423'>\n\t\t\t\tEmmett, Idaho, where farmer Vaughn Jensen raises corn, wheat, alfalfa hay, clover seed and cattle\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Stories about mill towns tend to go something like this: generations of families work at the local sawmill.\u00a0 Then, the mill shuts down, taking hundreds of jobs with it.\u00a0 Emmett, Idaho is one of those towns.\u00a0 Boise Cascade closed its mill here in 2001.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not where this story ends.\u00a0 Instead, it picks up with a Montana entrepreneur and millions in stimulus funding.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The expanse of ground where Boise Cascade used to operate is quiet and overgrown.\u00a0 Buildings are boarded up.\u00a0 A pair of quail struts across an open lot.\u00a0 But on one corner of the property,<em><\/em> there\u2019s activity again.<\/p>\n<p>There, Dick Vinson admires a massive machine called a debarker.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of the first machines logs encounter on their way through this new sawmill.\u00a0 &#8220;Look at that thing working!&#8221; he exclaims.\u00a0 &#8220;There\u2019s a ring spinning around inside there.\u00a0 It has six arms on it and it takes the bark off.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Vinson is the mill\u2019s primary owner.\u00a0 He got most of the equipment here second-hand, when other mills called it quits.\u00a0 In the Pacific Northwest alone, more than one hundred mills have gone out of business in the last decade.\u00a0 They\u2019ve been hit not only by the housing crash, but by pressure to upgrade and consolidate.\u00a0 Still, Vinson says this mill will work.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I believe that we\u2019ve got it set up right, and it\u2019s the right size, and there\u2019s a need for it,&#8221; he says.\u00a0 &#8220;When the nearest mill is 125 miles away and diesel is $4 a gallon, it\u2019s pretty easy to figure that out.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8424\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Three generations of mill workers: Ray Flowers, his daughter Debbie Flowers, and his grandson Casey Heideman\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Flowers-Heideman.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8424\" title=\"Flowers &amp; Heideman\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Flowers-Heideman-300x222.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Flowers-Heideman-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/06\/Flowers-Heideman-620x459.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Molly Messick \/ StateImpact Idaho<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ray Flowers and his daughter Debbie Flowers both worked for Boise Cascade.  Now, Flowers&#39; grandson Casey Heideman has a job at the new Emerald Forest Products mill.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Vinson has a lifetime of experience in the timber business.\u00a0 He began logging at 16, and he\u2019s 75 now.\u00a0\u00a0 What he sees in Emmett is a niche for a small mill.\u00a0 He points out the town\u2019s relative proximity to Boise, Salt Lake and Denver.\u00a0 He says Canadian mills are in for trouble, because pine beetles have ravaged their timber supply.\u00a0 He says this operation \u2013 Emerald Forest Products \u2013 can be profitable by next month.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019ve been telling my wife by my birthday, the 26 of July, I think we\u2019ll be making a profit,&#8221; he says.\u00a0 It would be a\u00a0 pretty good birthday present.\u00a0 &#8220;That would be great,&#8221; Vinson says.\u00a0 Then, he corrects himself.\u00a0 &#8220;<em>Will<\/em> be great, yeah.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If that indicates anxiety coupled with determination, here\u2019s why.\u00a0 Vinson has mortgaged his Montana ranch and accepted $4 million in stimulus funding.\u00a0 That federal money makes the mill worth a close look.\u00a0 And that means going back a few years.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If there was anyone who was going to make a go of a new mill in Idaho, it was Dick Vinson.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content alignleft\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/06\/27\/was-a-small-idaho-sawmill-a-smart-way-to-spend-stimulus-dollars\/\">Was A Small Idaho Sawmill A Smart Way To Spend Stimulus Dollars?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2011\/08\/Emerald-Forest-Products-stacker.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/topic\/logging\/\">Logging: Recovery in\u00a0Sight?<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>That endorsement comes from former Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick.\u00a0 When federal agencies were weighing where to put stimulus dollars, Minnick, a longtime timber industry executive, supported the mill without reservation.\u00a0 He says no business is a safe bet, but he thought Vinson could make it work.\u00a0 Plus, Minnick wanted badly to bring jobs back to Emmett, a town that was once the center of Southwest Idaho\u2019s timber industry.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I guess I had a soft spot in my heart for an entrepreneur as skillful as Dick Vinson who thought he could put together a mill and do it in a place that I had a strong affinity to in the middle of my congressional district,&#8221; Minnick explains.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s defending that now because this isn\u2019t the first time the Emerald Forest Products mill has tried to get off the ground.\u00a0 It opened in 2010, but stopped running less than a year later.\u00a0 Vinson says he rushed to get started, and some equipment didn\u2019t work right.\u00a0 A family illness took him home to Montana.\u00a0 Last year, he and his partners filed for bankruptcy protection.<\/p>\n<p>For residents of this county where unemployment stands above 11 percent, <em>how<\/em> the mill gets up and running is less important than <em>if<\/em>, and <em>when<\/em>.\u00a0 Debbie Flowers worked in Boise Cascade\u2019s plywood plant for 11 years.\u00a0 &#8220;Any kind of type of business that\u2019ll come in and help support our town, that\u2019s a plus!&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p>She sits on a couch between her son, Casey Heideman, and her dad, Ray Flowers.\u00a0 Together, they\u2019re three generations of proud timber industry workers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was a maintenance man, fix it man,&#8221; Ray Flowers says.\u00a0 &#8220;Fixed machinery, whatever.\u00a0 Weld.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em><\/em>\u201cMillwright\u201d was Flowers\u2019 official title.\u00a0 He spent 41 years doing that job at Boise Cascade.\u00a0 Now, his grandson Casey Heideman has the same position at the new mill.\u00a0 Younger guys like him will take most of the 40 or so jobs Emerald Forest Products will provide.\u00a0 Heideman thinks those jobs could make a big difference in Emmett, population 6,500.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A lot of guys I know are in North Dakota working, and they\u2019re away from their families,&#8221; he says.\u00a0 &#8220;So when the mill gets going, it\u2019ll bring a lot of guys back from working out of state and they can be home more.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Heideman hopes a working mill will bolster local business.\u00a0 He hopes that could begin a revival for his hometown, so people won\u2019t have to take work in Boise, let alone the North Dakota oil fields.<\/p>\n<p>Mill owner Dick Vinson can tick off half a dozen reasons to believe his mill will work.\u00a0 Here\u2019s one.\u00a0 He has hired experienced supervisors from other mills and timber businesses that fell on hard times.\u00a0 Dave Flackus was laid off last year after 20 years as a lumber buyer.\u00a0 He just moved to Emmett from Oregon.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I have seen a lot of mills go down,&#8221; Flackus says.\u00a0 &#8220;You know, a lot of people lose their jobs.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Flackus got his start at a mill in California.\u00a0 &#8220;When I was running the mill in Alturas, I was the last employee,&#8221; he continues.\u00a0 &#8220;I had 177 people that I had to let go.\u00a0 And that \u2013 that really hurts.&#8221;\u00a0 Decades later, his voice cracks at the memory.<\/p>\n<p><em><\/em>That experience is part of why Flackus is here, in Emmett.\u00a0 It feels good to be in another small town, he says, <em>bringing<\/em> jobs, instead of watching them dry up.\u00a0 If he has any say about it, this mill will succeed.\u00a0 &#8220;By god, I\u2019m going to put my heart into it,&#8221; he says.\u00a0 &#8220;We\u2019re going to do everything in my power to make it work.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Dick Vinson first got the idea to open a mill in Emmett in 2004, before the housing boom went bust, taking demand for lumber with it.\u00a0 He is trying to make good on a business decision made at a completely different economic moment.\u00a0 If the mill does well, that will help not only him and Emmett.\u00a0 It will also be a bright spot in an industry plagued by losses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stories about mill towns tend to go something like this: generations of families work at the local sawmill.\u00a0 Then, the mill shuts down, taking hundreds of jobs with it.\u00a0 Emmett, Idaho is one of those towns.\u00a0 Boise Cascade closed its mill here in 2001.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not where this story ends.\u00a0 Instead, it picks up [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":8416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[68,233,52],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8414"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}