The Rough & Ready Lumber mill that shut down last fall after 73 years in operation still has plenty of metal buildings and odd scrap metal lying around. But the guts are gone, said Link Phillippi, one of the mill’s owners.
Workers Wednesday dismantled the boilers, kilns and power plant that once burned wood waste for power generation and fueling dryers. They will be resurrected at a mill in northern Washington.
Contractor Ben Howell of Eugene and trucker Daryl Chrystley of Utah prepared to load a large sawdust blower onto a truck to haul to a mill in Mendocino, California.
It’s all in preparation for a new owner, as a sale for the 300-acre property is in escrow, said Link and his wife, Jennifer. The Phillippis have a nondisclosure agreement about the prospective owner, but Link did say the new business will make the neighbors happy.
And it won’t be a marijuana processing plant, he said, referring to rumors that have been swirling around Facebook and the streets of Cave Junction. “It’s a business looking to expand into Oregon,” Phillippi explained. “There will be jobs created. It’s not a lumber producer.”
From the Mail Tribune: http://www.mailtribune.com/news/20170409/historic-lumber-mill-coming-down