Lamar residents react to O'Sullivan's imminent closing

Joplin Globe reporter Melissa Dunson's article in today's Joplin Globe features interviews with Lamar residents on the effect the approaching closing of O'Sullivan Industries, the city's largest employer, will have:

"It’s still going to affect the local economy," (City Administrator Lynn) Calton said. "The local business community is going to suffer, and it already has because people have been worrying about this for the last year. If a company’s future is iffy, people are going to hold off spending."

Calton said he has talked with small-business owners in Lamar over the past year who say their business is down. The industry hardest hit by the plant closure, he said, will be the housing market.