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U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) today announced that Jennifer Phillippi, co-owner of Rough and Ready Lumber in Josephine County, will be his guest at President Obama’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday night. Rough and Ready was the last remaining sawmill in Josephine County when it closed its doors last April due to a lack of available federal timber.

“The state of Oregon’s rural communities is dire. I’ve invited Jennifer Phillippi to be my guest at the State of the Union Address because she personifies why Congress needs to act immediately to put people back to work in our forested communities,” Walden said.

“On Tuesday night, the President will urge Congress to begin a year of action. The House has acted on a bipartisan plan to put people back to work in the woods, create healthy forests and communities, and provide funding for essential local services like schools and law enforcement. The Senate should act and pass this bipartisan plan right away,” Walden continued.  

Last April, the Rough & Ready mill in the small community of Cave Junction closed after nearly 100 years in business. Jennifer Phillippi, her husband, Link, and her brother were the third generation of the Krauss family to operate the mill. The owners had been ready to invest $2 million in upgrades, but they said they couldn’t count on a timber supply off the federal ground that surrounds them. 87 jobs were lost when the mill closed.

On September 20, 2013, the U.S. House approved historic forestry legislation, the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act (H.R. 1526). The bill renews the federal government’s commitment to actively manage federal forests to create jobs in the woods, improve forest health, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, and generate revenue local communities need to provide essential local services like schools and law enforcement.