This past Wednesday a job fair transformed the Ellenville High School gymnasium into a place where those who were recently laid off by Hydro Aluminum could match their skills with those needed by approximately 40 potential employers. The five hour job fair was also open to all residents in the surrounding communities seeking employment.

The event was organized by Ellenville Village Manager Elliott Auerbach in conjunction with the New York State Labor Department as a response to the loss of Hydro Aluminum's 262 jobs.

The major draw for potential employers to the Ellenville job fair was the skilled labor that Hydro employees could offer.

"Those who worked at Hydro are high quality employees and you take no risk when hiring them," said Ron Stonisch, the human resource consultant at the Labor Department who worked with Auerbach in organizing the event. "There are approximately 500 jobs total out here today," he said.

The majority of businesses that attended the fair were industry related. Employers from as close as Kingston and as far away as Connecticut, such as Larry Himmel of Himmel Industries, came hoping to attract employees to fill any number of the positions they had available at their factories. Local businesses such as DUSO Foods, Shop Rite and Rite Aid were also in attendance.

One possible sign of hope was offered by news that the Kohl's distribution center in the Town of Mamakating, some 10 miles away, will be expanding and human resources director Jacquie Leventoff said they are looking to add 100 more workers to their payroll.

"The draw here for us is the similarity in the type of work these people can do," said Cheryl Brooks, a representative from NXP, a semiconductor plant located in Hopewell Junction.

"The turnout here is good," said Ellen Anderson of Ethan Allen Personal services as she eyed the gymnasium.

The feelings among jobseekers were mixed at best. Even though unemployment in Ulster County for the month of April has gone down, many have found the job search difficult.

Jason Marchuck, a former press operator and mill hand at Hydro Aluminum wandered around a little disillusioned with the event. "There are a few jobs here that seem worthwhile but many don't," said Marchuck. He described the search to find new employment as being "hard." "Hydro was the highest paying job around," he said. For Marchuck relocation is not an option that he wanted to explore.

"What if I relocated and the job didn't work out?" he said. "What am I going to do then?"

CJ Clarke, a Hydro employee for the past five years, felt more positive about the event and the number of potential jobs available. "I have an interview already with Kohl's," said Clarke. "I'm considering going back to Ulster Precision," he said as he gestured towards their table.

"Everyone has a chance to find a job here," added Clarke. "They just have to want to do it."

Although relocation was not an option for many of the job seekers at the fair some were willing to consider it. "I would like to stay but there aren't any big jobs around here," said Donald Van Demark, an employee of Hydro for over 4 years, who wore his blue Hydro jumpsuit to the job fair.

"There are lots of jobs out there but the pay rate just isn't that good." Van Demark's contract with Hydro expires this August and will not be renewed.

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