Year In Business Was Full Of Promise

Abduction Attempt Reported

By BOBBI DEMPSEY; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Saturday, December 27, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WHITE HAVEN- On Monday, the Gelezinsky family was fully employed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Tuesday, Ellen Gelezinsky and her two children learned their jobs at the
Mountain Laurel Resort hotel were gone. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "It pretty much ruined the holiday for the whole family," she said. "Thank
God my husband didn't work there, or it would have been a clean sweep." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gelezinsky worked in the reservations department of the resort near White
Haven. She spent more than 20 years there. Her son worked there more than a
year. Her daughter worked there only about six months and worries that she
won't qualify for unemployment compensation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "She has two kids to support. What is she going to do?" Gelezinsky asked. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gelezinsky and her children were among the 250 employees who lost their
jobs when the resort closed Tuesday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 John and Jean Sheehan, who own 90 percent of the hotel, were not there when
employees got the news. John Sheehan said he was at his Maryland home,
refuting rumors that he was vacationing in Utah. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He also said employees should not have been surprised by the closing.
Sheehan said that employees were told three or four months ago in writing that
the hotel would likely close- not told the bank would take over, as several
employees said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Officials from the state Department of Labor and Industry said that owner
Four Diamonds Inc. complied with the federal law that requires businesses to
file a warn act, or notice of closure, at least 60 days before closing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gelezinsky said employees were aware of the warn act, but "management kept
telling us not to worry about it. So we didn't." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The 31-year-old resort was forced to close after Four Diamonds was unable
to reach a mortgage repayment schedule with Mellon Bank. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sheehan blamed the closing on Mellon Bank. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "They refused to negotiate," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mellon Bank spokesman Jim Denver gave a different account earlier this
week. He said the bank "had no involvement in the decision to close the resort
or in the timing of the event." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Four Diamonds filed for bankruptcy Sept. 25 after it was unsuccessful in
resolving a real estate tax dispute. The company owes back taxes to Weatherly
School District, Carbon County and Kidder Township. According to bankruptcy
court documents, the company owes at least $7.2 million to creditors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The swiftness of the closing bothered Ellen Gelezinsky. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 She said reservationists should have been warned about the closing so they
could have declined customers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I had taken five reservations that morning," she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gelezinsky said she was close to her co-workers, and regretted not even
having the chance to say goodbye to some. She hasn't even thought about what
she'll do now. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm still in shock, but it'll probably really hit me on Monday when I wake
up and have no place to go." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bad news for Mountain Laurel meant good news for one neighboring resort. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm really sorry about the closing, and the people losing their jobs,"
said Melanie Murphy, general manager of Jack Frost and Big Boulder Ski Areas.
"But the fact is, it's been good for our business." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Murphy said customers who previously stayed at Mountain Laurel while skiing
are asking about townhouse rentals at the ski areas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I don't want to put a positive spin on this," Murphy said. "But we've been
tracking it, and since the closing, our (calls for) accommodations are up 30
percent." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Murphy said Jack Frost and Big Boulder have hired some of Mountain Laurel's
employees. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "They're already trained, and they're good workers, so it's really been
working out," she said. There are still jobs available." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But some workers aren't ready to think about leaving their jobs and
co-workers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It was my whole life. This is worse than going through a divorce," said
Lois Addington of Weatherly. The front office manager worked at Mountain
Laurel for 11 years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I really feel responsible for my employees," Addington said. "I'm working
very hard to find jobs for my staff, and I'm telling everybody to let me know
of any openings." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Addington was so worried about her friends at work that she couldn't
celebrate the holiday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I just went home and did laundry." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Unlike most of her co-workers, Addington was still on the job Friday
morning- tying up loose ends in the office and manning the phones. She fielded
calls from employees, vendors and customers who, unaware of the closing, tried
to make reservations. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Addington soon also will have to say goodbye to the workplace she's
grown to love. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Unless a miracle happens, I'll be gone in a week or two. And then that'll
be it." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Resort's Closing Darkens Holiday 
An Owner Of Mountain Laurel Resort And A Spokesman For Mellon Bank Differ On 
The Reason For The Shutdown And The Idling Of 250 Employees

Resort's Closing Darkens Holiday An Owner Of Mountain Laurel Resort And A Spokesman For Mellon Bank Differ On The Reason For The Shutdown And The Idling Of 250 Employees