FUNDING AVAILABLE TO RETRAIN THOSE LAID OFF

----Public assistance is available for some 160 Potlatch Corp. mill workers who will be laid off during the next few months in an effort to streamline operations in the Wood Products Division.

Although the loss of 160 jobs in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley is a devastating blow for the people involved, the federal government has several programs that provide funds to retrain people in the case of a massive layoff, according to Douglas D. Tweedy, labor market analyst for the Idaho Department of Employment at Lewiston.

''We do have some funds to pay for retraining,'' which includes tuition and supplies for vocational education programs, Tweedy said. ''We have enough funding for all who are being laid off.''

The money does not pay for academic training.

A federal ''massive layoff program'' was started in 1986 to provide such funds for displaced workers at a time when mines were closing and sawmills were threatening to follow suit, Tweedy said.

The permanent layoffs of 143 hourly employees and 16 to 21 salaried workers planned at Potlatch Corp.'s Clearwater Lumber Mill between now and Jan. 2 qualifies as a ''massive layoff.''

However, Tweedy said people who quit the mill rather than being laid off will not be eligible for the program.

''We don't want everyone to quit they have to be terminated by their employer first,'' Tweedy said.

Tweedy said he had about 40 telephone calls Tuesday from people interested in knowing more about the benefits of unemployment insurance. He advised those people not to quit their jobs so they might be eligible for assistance after they are laid off.

''Our first responsibility is to try to get them into jobs as soon as possible,'' Tweedy said. ''We want them to continue their (present) job as they explore other possibilities.''

The employment department also has federal funds available to pay moving costs for laid-off employees who find jobs outside the area, Tweedy said.

In the past, Lewis-Clark State College has jumped in to help in the retraining process and many of its students have come to the school to begin a second career.

Gregory S. Sojka, the new vice president for academic affairs at LCSC, said he was not yet sure how the college would respond to the situation, but the school likely would do all it could to help the situation.

''From what I've heard about the institution, it has done a good job in the past of responding to local needs,'' Sojka said Tuesday. He began his job as academic vice president Monday. ''Often, a smaller school can be proactive'' in this type of situation, he said.