VIDALIA, La. – It could be two years before Concordia Parish officials find out if the parish will be paid more than $2 million in taxes its agencies are owed by bankrupt Fruit of the Loom, said Sheriff Randy Maxwell.

But Maxwell, said he believes the parish has a better chance of getting that money now that he and Police Jury President Charlie Blaney met with Fruit of the Loom’s attorneys in New York for two hours Tuesday to plead the parish’s case.

Fruit of the Loom, which owns distribution center Vidalia Apparel, filed for bankruptcy in December 1999.

&uot;We explained to them that when something like this happens, it affects people,&uot; Maxwell said. &uot;We’re a rural parish that needs this money. No local governments in other areas that are affected have gone to see them in person. I&160;think that gives us an advantage.&uot;

Maxwell hopes to meet Wednesday or Thursday with officials of other affected agencies, such as the school district, to brief them on the meeting. And parish agencies have already hired attorneys in Delaware and Alexandria to protect its interests in the case.

Now the parish waits to see how bankruptcy proceedings play out. &uot;They have until mid-October to file a (reorganization) plan with the judge, and they’re still working on that,&uot; Maxwell said. &uot;The attorneys said they would get back to us, but they didn’t say when.

&uot;It could be two years before we find out whether we get any of that money and another six years before we actually see any of it.&uot;

Meanwhile, affected agencies in Concordia must make budget cuts to make ends meet. The company owes the Sheriff’s Office $547,000.

&uot;And losing that money impacts the grants we can receive, because we have to match these grants with our own funds,&uot;&160;Maxwell said. &uot;Given that, we could end up losing $600,000 or $650,000.&uot;

Fruit of the Loom owes about $700,000 to the Concordia Parish School District, $564,000 to the Police Jury and $96,000 to the Town of Vidalia.

&uot;It was a good visit,&uot;&160;Blaney said. &uot;We got a chance to detail to them to position we’re in. We’ve gotten in line with the rest of the creditors so that if anybody gets their money, we’ll have a better chance of getting ours, too.&uot;