A councillor in Cache Creek says the recent closure of the Chasm sawmill has had an effect on the village.

Wendy Coomber says the fire chief and assistant chief are two of many local residents who were laid off when the mill shut down in September.

“Everybody is equally important, and losing their job is not a good thing. But we don’t want to be losing citizens because they’re going elsewhere to look for jobs.”

She says locals have been able to find other jobs so far but points out the mill closure has other indirect effects on business in the village.

“It wasn’t just the workers who were affected, the closure of these good corporate citizens meant that a lot of events would not be sponsored. Such as Graffiti Days, the service club, things like that which industry often gives us funding for in the form of sponsorships.”

Coomber says the village has voiced its concerns to Forest Minister Doug Donaldson.