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Article: Housing bust hits hard in small NC factory town
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- February 2, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. (Hide copyright information)
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When this Appalachian town's light-switch plant went dark, fortunes dimmed for Jeff and Amanda Ruegsegger, and hundreds of their neighbors.
No more Sunday lunches at the Mexican restaurant between morning and evening church: they now pack sandwiches. No more saving for retirement: they tapped Jeff's 401(k) to pay down a home-equity line of credit. The health insurance is gone, too, replaced by prayers that the Ruegsegger's and their two teenage children stay healthy.
"There's a feeling of worthlessness," said Jeff, a former tool-and-die maker. A severance package is helping, but the lack of jobs could force the family to move.
In small towns like West Jefferson ...