The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

The announced shutdown of the communications paper arm of Georgia Pacific’s Camas pulp and paper mill maybe the harbinger of what’s to come. Consumers are buying less paper, production costs are increasing, and competition is fiercer.

GP will lay off as many as 300 workers next year when it shifts production of paper used for printers and copiers elsewhere. The southeastern states will benefit as future pulping centers at its Louisiana facility.

People working at paper mills are well paid and have good benefits. Many live in rural communities which suffer from chronic high unemployment. The mi...