Natchez &8212; When Hurricane Katrina took jobs away from some, it provided anew for others.

A major story on the economy of the Natchez area in 2005 was the re-opening of the Georgia-Pacific sawmill at Roxie and the plywood plant at Gloster. About 500 people are working today at the two locations, a spokesman for the company said from headquarters in Atlanta.

&8220;We&8217;ve been extremely pleased with the way these plants have come back up,&8221; James Malone, GP spokesman, said Thursday.

After closures of about three years, the two mills re-opened a few weeks after the destructive Aug. 29 Hurricane Katrina.

The company moved quickly to re-open the mills to full capacity to harvest some of the $1.3 billion worth of timber damaged by the storm on public and private land.

By early October, managers were at work in Roxie, preparing for the 100-plus workers who would come to work at the sawmill; and, at the Gloster plant, truck traffic was brisk in and out of the area, as managers readied the mill for the 350-plus who would come to work there.

Peggy Ballard, branch director of the Natchez office of the state employment agency, said her office had numerous requests for information about the GP jobs not just from Natchez residents but also from interested applicants in surrounding counties and in Louisiana.

Malone said the re-opening of the two mills was made easier by company maintenance during the idle years. &8220;One of our philosophies is that idle plants stay run-ready, have a skeleton staff and keep the plant in the most optimal position without the machinery being run,&8221; he said in early October.

The plants are at full capacity, Malone said. &8220;And in the new year, we will remain at capacity. Management at both plants are very pleased.&8221;

That the good economic news came as a result of a hurricane&8217;s devastation is unfortunate, he said.

&8220;This is a true positive from a very unfortunate natural disaster,&8221; Malone said.