[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 28, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1966-E1967]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      AVTEX BOILER HOUSE IMPLOSION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 28, 2005

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, September 19, 2005, was an historic day for 
Warren County in Virginia's 10th District. On that Monday, the largest 
and last major building in the American Viscose (Avtex) plant complex 
on Kendrick Lane in Front Royal, next to the South Fork of the 
Shenandoah River, was imploded. The site is now being prepared for 
redevelopment as a 165-acre technology-oriented business park, 240-acre 
nature conservancy park, and 35-acre community soccer complex.
  The event marked the end of an era for the Front Royal and Warren 
County area which began over six decades ago. From 1940 to 1989, the 
Avtex plant was a hub for this community, employing more than 2,500 
people manufacturing rayon, polyester and polypropylene fibers for the 
defense, space and commercial industries. But its closure in 1989, not 
only eliminated a great number of jobs, it left the site unsuitable for 
reuse.
  Following its closure, the facility was identified by the 
Environmental Protection Agency as a Superfund site. However, before 
the EPA could begin its work on cleaning up the site, asbestos and 
lead-contaminated buildings had to be removed. Since 2000, the Army 
Corp of Engineers has been partnering with the Environmental Protection 
Agency, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Economic 
Development Authority of Front Royal and Warren County and the FMC 
Corporation, a former owner of the site, in the Avtex cleanup efforts. 
These partners have done an amazing job of cleaning up this site and 
preparing for a new use.
  Clean-up can be very costly. That's why securing federal assistance 
for the effort has been a priority for Senator John Warner of Virginia 
and myself for many years. However, the initial funding of $12 million 
ended up being insufficient to cover the full cost of demolishing the 
buildings and removing the asbestos. In 2003, Senator Warner and I were 
able to help provide an additional $11 million in federal funds to 
finish the effort. It would have been unacceptable to leave the project 
half-done.
  Monday was a very emotional day for many who had dedicated years of 
service to our nation at the Avtex site. While the occasion was tinged 
with sadness for many former Avtex employees who were on hand for 
Monday's ceremony, they are hopeful that their former work site can 
once again be an economic center for the region.
  Former Avtex employees were recognized for their contributions over 
the years with yellow ribbons. Louise Bowers, an 83-year-old town 
resident, worked at the rayon plant for 46 years, over half of her 
life. Her father, the late Noah Martin, had a part in the history of 
this site having hauled sand used in the construction of the plant.
  Mrs. Bowers went to work there in 1940, one of 19 young women hired 
that day. During World War II, she wound motors for the spinning room. 
She ended up in the ``double-deck'' or the lower part of the plant, 
where the syrup-like viscose liquid was poured through platinum 
``jets'' or thimbles, forming tiny filaments

[[Page E1967]]

of rayon yam. She said the men worked upstairs and the women worked 
downstairs.
  It was through her job at Avtex that Louise met her husband, John C. 
Bowers. He worked at Avtex for 39 years. Much of his work was in the 
``staple'' department, where sheets of fluffy rayon were baled. Like 
his wife, it was a bittersweet moment to see the boiler house imploded.
  For Lloyd W. Ebaugh Sr., 92, of Woodstock, his work at Avtex over 32 
years provided a good living for him and his wife, Catherine, to raise 
their twin daughters. Avtex was the lifeblood for other communities 
from Winchester to Woodstock to Edinburg to Luray, across the mountain, 
all around. It was the major industry in the area. His wife was 
saddened by Monday's implosion noting that ``it represented the end of 
a lot of things, wonderful and good things.''
  Also on hand for Monday's implosion was William K. Sine, 76, of Front 
Royal, who earned his living at Avtex for more than 29 years. His was 
the next to the last shift worked before the plant closed for good on 
November 9, 1989. ``It was a good experience,'' Mr. Sine said. ``I know 
a lot of the guys I worked with up there, most of them are dead now.''
  The implosion of the last significant remaining building was a 
milestone for everyone involved--the town, the county, the Economic 
Development Authority, and all the federal partners. As the U.S. 
representative for this area, I was pleased be able to participate in 
this historic occasion--the end of the Avtex plant but the birth of a 
new economic generator for the people of Front Royal, Warren County and 
the surrounding areas. The people of Warren County are to be commended 
for their resolve to see this project through to its completion.

                          ____________________