Mayor turns to God to save factory

MURPHYSBORO, Ill. -- After trying everything else he can think of to prevent a local printing plant from closing, the mayor of this Southern Illinois town is turning to God.

Mayor Ron Williams has declared today a day of fasting and prayer aimed at persuading the Bemis Co. to cancel plans to close a 56-year-old printing plant and leave 115 people out of work.

He also asked a local ministers' group to organize a public prayer meeting for this evening at a civic center.

"We've done everything we can do physically," Williams said Wednesday.

"I don't think it hurts to ask for some help from the man upstairs," he said.

The idea seems to be going over just fine among residents.

"I'll be the first one to bend my knees," said Heath Crane, 33, as he parked his pickup truck in front of his house. "It could help."

The Minneapolis-based Bemis plans to close its Curwood plant mid-September and give its work to another of its factories in Wisconsin to save money, said company spokeswoman Melanie Miller. The plant prints wrappers for Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble, among other food manufacturers.

The announcement stung many in this town of 9,500, which Williams said hasn't seen a major employer close since a jacket factory shut its doors in the 1970s.

Ever since the Bemis plant opened in 1947 as a label-printing factory, it has been a good corporate citizen, donating money to local charities and sponsoring the town's annual Apple Festival, Williams said.

"Curwood is a very integral part of our community," said Williams.

After his own efforts and those of other politicians failed to change the company's mind, Williams figured prayer and fasting couldn't hurt.

"We have to try to use every means available" to keep the plant open, he said, "including prayer."

A spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois said although a plant closing would be a major blow to Murphysboro, he wished Williams had chosen a different type of action.

"While the goal may be laudable, with public prayer there is always the danger that some people may feel excluded," Ed Yohnka said. "There probably could have been a better means of expression of public concern."

The town, which is home to some 30 churches, is the kind of place where people don't seem to mind invoking God in public life.

Every city council meeting starts with a prayer, Williams said. "We've not had anyone ever make a fuss about it."

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the city asked a local charity for money to buy banners saying "One Nation Under God" to hang from downtown streetlights, where they remain.

A banner advertising a local church's vacation Bible school hangs over Walnut Street, the town's main drag.

Even a member of the local Pagan Alliance thinks a public day of fasting and prayer and a community prayer meeting is a good idea.

Tara Nelson said she just wishes her group was included in the planning of the service. "We would have wanted to participate, too," she said.