The announcement last week that Cavalier Home Builders is closing its Millen plant was another hard blow for this community. The mobile home manufacturing plant is the last major industry located in Jenkins County and the oldest continually operated manufactured housing facility in the state. It has been a fixture in Jenkins County since 1967, and its demise will not go unnoticed.

Closure of the plant will result in the loss of 104 full time jobs. For a community already dealing with an unemployment rate of 21.7 percent, resulting from the closures of Jockey International and MI Windows and Doors, the prospect of even more unemployed citizens is devastating.

While economic analysts point to signs of recovery across the nation, recovery will not come to Jenkins County until our citizens have been put back to work. Local leaders have indicated that they are working diligently, following every lead, to bring industry and businesses to this community. The hard fact, however, is that we are competing with every other county and city in the state to do so.

While the task seems overwhelming at this point, we must not give up. We must all pull together and support any and all efforts to revive and restore our community.