One Stop Activities

New Team Member

Sierra Work Connection welcomes our newest team member Ramona Shelley. Ramona accepted the
position as front line receptionist here in Sierra County. Although she is new to the area she is excited
to be here and hopes her experience translates well to her new position and her new community.
Her eldest daughter and new grandson encouraged her to make the move from Santa Cruz County last
October. Her youngest daughter plans to join her mother this fall to attend one of the local junior colleges.
Since being hired in May, Ramona has had the opportunity to visit AFWD offices in both Quincy and
Susanville where she was greeted with warmth, friendliness and helpfulness from everyone she met. 
Ramona is very happy to be part of the AFWD team and we are excited to have her on board.
This addition to our staff will help us ensure our goal of making Sierra Work Connection the place to go for
job seekers and employers alike here in Sierra County.

Plumas Rural Services-New Partner at the Sierra Work Connection

It is the goal of Sierra Work Connection to become an integral part of our communities’ growth and
development. As we continue our efforts we are always looking for partners who share our commitment
to build our communities and provide opportunities and services for the residents of Sierra County.
We are excited about our most recent partnership with Plumas Rural Services.
 
As of June 1st Martin Rosen, a therapist for the Sierra County Child Abuse and Treatment (CHAT)
Program, is seeing clients at Sierra Work Connection. Martin is a licensed marriage and family
therapist. He has been in Sierra County for several years coming from the Bay Area. The CHAT
program provides no cost services to local children who are victims of abuse. Martin works with
the schools in Loyalton and Downieville seeing his clients in the schools as well as in his office.
PRS has recently expanded into Sierra County and we are glad to be able to be a part of the
much needed services that they provide our communities.
 

 

RENEGY PURCHASING LOYALTON LUMBER MILL

It was announced in April that Sierra Pacific Industries intends to sell its idle Loyalton saw mill to
Renegy Holdings Inc. (A company based in Tempe Arizona.) Renegy is a renewable energy company
focused on acquiring, developing and operating biomass power generation facilities in the western
United States. The sale is scheduled to close by the end of June 2008. Renegy has also purchased
several other power plants including the SPI plant in Susanville and Ione California. Renegy's other
business activities include an established fuel aggregation and wood products division which supplies
the power plants with fuel in the form of wood waste.  .

Sierra Pacific Industries operated the Loyalton lumber mill until 2001 at which time over
100 people were employed at the site. The decision to close the plant was made due to declining
lumber sales and increasing operating costs. This was a devastating blow to the community of
Loyalton which depended on the jobs the Sierra Pacific mill provided. Since the closure SPI has
kept the co-gen plant open and has been selling energy to Sierra Pacific power. The co-gen
currently employs only 18 to 20 people.

Renergy’s primary focus is on buying and operating biomass to electricity power generation facilities.
With their goal of becoming the leader in providing renewable energy in North America and
their desire to increase the capabilities of the power plant Sierra County can look forward to the
creation of more jobs in the plant as well as the jobs created for collecting and transporting the
wood waste which is the primary fuel source for the power plant.      

Success is in the Air in Sierra County

Ellie Turner walked into the newly established Sierra Work Connection office last August as a
dislocated worker. Ellie previously owned her own flooring business in Sierra City, but had to close
her store due to the general economic conditions.  After completing eligibility, Ellie developed her
resume on the state of the art computers, in the computer lab at the Sierra Work Connection. With
assistance from the Work Connection staff, Ellie began her job search and found four job leads as a
flooring specialist. Ellie was right on it – she faxed her résumé off to all four perspective employers.
A week later, Ellie had several interviews lined up in Washington State, as she drove away with
the conviction that she will win, at least one, of the interviews. Working hand in hand with the staff, she
was successful in landing a full time job with benefits.

Cameron Massy came into the Sierra Work Connection inquiring about job search assistance.
He was hard pressed and didn’t know what to do. He was 18 years old without a high school
diploma or a job, and of course his parents were ready for him to start taking action to get on his
feet as a young adult. First he worked on GED prep and getting his car on the road. After that, he
entered a work experience position as a general laborer with the City of Portola. Cameron was
then able to find another living situation and took the big first step as a young adult: he moved out. 
Now the City of Portola has hired him full time with benefits, and he just took the lasts two tests
of the GED. Cameron is feeling proud of himself and happy with the direction of his life.

Economic Development Update

Sierra County is one of the few places in California where broadband is still not available. Brent Smith,
CEO of Sierra Economic Development Corporation (SEDcorp) is working to bring this service to the
rural counties of Northern California. AFWD has been helping Brent to make this a reality here in
Sierra County.

This would enable businesses to come into the rural counties and still be connected to the business
world. Two broadband meetings were held in Sierra County on April 12th. The first meeting was
held on the west side of the county in Downieville where they have no broadband service at all.
There were 49 people in attendance. We are pleased, but not surprised, by the interest of the residence.

According to Brent Smith the attendance was the highest of any of the workshops that he has done.
Everyone was extremely receptive, and excited to find out that Downieville may be joining this
century and have the option of high speed internet by the end of the summer. Later that day,
the same workshop was held in Loyalton. Due to conflicting events the attendance in Loyalton
was not as impressive as in Downieville. However, it was clear that many residents of Loyalton
and the east side of the county are patiently awaiting the arrival of some choices in internet
service providers. Loyalton has some high-speed internet but the service defiantly needs improving.
SEDcorp collected surveys from the attendees at both events as well as from those that weren’t able to
attend. We are well on our way to the goal of having broadband available to all of Sierra County. AFWD
is thrilled to be a part of this exciting project. The coming of broadband will be a huge step towards
economic development in Sierra County.

Featured Business

Hennessey House Flagpoles is located in Loyalton at 100 Railroad Ave. Tom Hennessey is a long time
resident of Sierra City and rents warehouse space for the shop from the former Sierra Pacific mill site
in Loyalton. The shop foreman, Garry Jackson, runs the shop along with a crew of 3 employees.
The manufacturing of these custom flag poles is a long and labor intensive process. It all begins with the
selection of the high grade Douglas fir which is stored in a large walk in humidor. This keeps the wood
at the ideal temperature of 70 degrees with the relative humidity of 65%. The wood is then cut and
shaped using an automated beam saw and a lathe that is thought to be the longest in the United States.
The poles are all hand finished and painted in a special paint room made to accommodate their
substantial lengths of up to forty-five feet. These poles are guaranteed to withstand winds of up to
90 miles per hour and last a lifetime.
 
When we toured the shop on June 4th they were just getting ready to ship out some of their longest
poles to Raleigh Durham Airport. Hennessy House has their flag poles in 45 of the 50 states, in Canada
and the Cayman Islands. Most of the poles are located in official government sites or monuments but
Gary says they have shipped quite a few to private home owners that want something impressive and
unique at their home or estate.    

Hennessey House started making flag poles in 1985 and is thriving even in these difficult economic
times. It is refreshing to see the attention to detail and customer service after the sale that this company
provides. For Tom, Garry and the crew this isn’t just about a paycheck but about providing a quality
product that each of them takes pride in. The last step before shipping is for each of the employees
that worked on the pole to put his initials and a serial number on the base of the pole.
If you would like to get more information on this unique business go to wooden flag poles

To learn more about what we can do for you, contact your local One-Stop Employment Center or visit www.afwdhr.org

PLUMAS WORK CONNECTION, 283-WORK

LASSEN CAREER NETWORK, 257-5057

MODOC EMPLOYMENT CENTER, 233-4161

SIERRA WORK CONNECTION, 993-4295