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DECEMBER 7, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
ROUNDUP
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1. Former Weyerhaeuser Employees O ered Job Training Resources
Employees who were laid o by Wey- erhaeuser earlier this year are eligible to receive federal resources to help with retraining and job placement, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester announced last week.
Weyerhaeuser Company closed its lumber and plywood mills in Columbia Falls in August, displacing roughly 100 workers. Another 50 to 100 administra- tive positions are expected to be lost at the Cedar Palace by the end of this year.
On Dec. 6, the Flathead Job Service hosted an informational workshop at Flathead Valley Community College to share the opportunities that are available to the former wood products workers.
The resources are o ered through the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act, which Tester shepherded into law a year ago. The federal program provides assistance to manufacturing, agriculture, timber, and service employees who lost work due to foreign trade or imports, according to the law.
“Every Montanan who was laid o by Weyerhaeuser deserves an opportunity to land a new good-paying job at home in the Flathead Valley,” said Tester. “I’m pleased to have worked with folks on the ground to secure this important job training resource for workers who were unfairly laid o . I’ll continue working with folks in Columbia Falls and the sur- rounding communities to ensure they have a renewed shot at success.”
The resources include pre-approved funding for job searches, including mile- age and meal expenses; relocation assis- tance; classroom and on-the-job training assistance; health care tax credits and unemployment bene ts.
“There’s really good opportunities under the program,” Laura Gardner with the Flathead Job Service said.
Those who are eligible are encour- aged to stay aware of deadlines and other requirements associated with the resources.
Weyerhaeuser, which absorbed Plum Creek in February, currently operates
three mills in Montana, including a lum- ber mill in Kalispell, a plywood mill in Kalispell and a medium-density ber- board mill in Columbia Falls. There are currently roughly 500 people employed by the company in Montana.
Anyone with questions is encouraged to call the job service at 758-6200
MISSOULA
2. University of Montana President to Step Down
University of Montana President Royce Engstrom is stepping down e ec- tive Dec. 31, as the university continues to face declining enrollments and bud- get cuts.
Commissioner of Higher Educa- tion Clayton Christian announced last week that he and Engstrom reached the decision after “careful discussion and consideration.”
“I asked President Engstrom to con- sider this transition at this time based on my belief that a change in leadership direction is the right step for UM going forward,” Christian said in a statement. “I greatly appreciate the graciousness and care with which President Engstrom engaged in our discussion.”
A national search for a replacement will begin immediately, Christian said. He plans to hold listening sessions with the university community to learn the kinds of qualities people would like to see in the next university president.
Sheila Stearns, who was Montana’s Commissioner of Higher Education from 2003 to 2012, will serve as interim president.
During Engstrom’s tenure, UM faced reports of uninvestigated sexual assaults that led to a Department of Justice Inves- tigation for the university as well as city police and county prosecutors. A for- mer quarterback was charged with rape, expelled from school, reinstated, sus- pended from the team and later acquit- ted at trial. He received a $245,000 settlement after ling a claim stating the university mishandled the rape investigation.
Engstrom was criticized by some for
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