Business

The Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization or PACRO is working with union and economic development officials to garner support for soon to be unemployed workers at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. USEC announced last week it won't continue it's enriching process at the Department of Energy owned site. 

Purchase Area Development District Special Projects Coordinator Mary-Anne Medlock said workers will soon receive a survey to help understand the plant's demographics to aid in an seeking an emergency grant from the Department of Labor.

A Henderson company is expanding its operations there with a $22.8 million investment and 160 new jobs. Gov. Steve Beshear's office says Gibbs Die Casting was established in 1965 and is owned by Koch Enterprises. It operates eight factories for aluminum and magnesium casting, machining, assembly and die building with facilities in Hungary, Brazil and China.

The Wal-Mart Foundation is providing grants to two substance abuse treatment centers in Kentucky. Commonwealth First lady Jane Beshear announced Wednesday that $10,500 will go to the Cumberland Hope Community Center for Women in Evarts and $10,000 will go to the Trilogy Center for Women in Hopkinsville.

The federal investigation into the truck stop chain owned by the family of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam led to its first convictions this week and threatens to widen against employees at Pilot Flying J.  Court documents allege that sales teams were being trained on how to scam the company's customers out of rebates and get away with it. Pilot's regional sales director and regional accounts representative both pleaded guilty yesterday  to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Obion County is no longer among the top-10 Tennessee counties with the highest  unemployment rates.

The state’s April job figures indicate that, for the first time in almost two years, the county’s 11.5 percent jobless rate is just outside the worst in the state.

Obion’s higher percentages are due mainly to the Goodyear plant closure in Union City two years ago. The tire manufacturer was the county’s largest employer with almost 2,000 jobs.