HALSEY - A small crew is being maintained at Pope & Talbot's Halsey pulp mill in order to supply continued service to the neighboring Georgia Pacific mill.

The Pope & Talbot crew is on hand to keep the power boiler in operation to supply water, steam and compressed air to Georgia Pacific and also handle sanitary sewage needs.

"The crew will be here indefinitely," said Wayne Henneck, of Pope & Talbot. "It has been approved by the bankruptcy court trustee."

Georgia Pacific has also been in contact with the court-appointed trustee, George Miller, according to company spokesman Kelly Ferguson.

"We've been able to communicate with him so that he can see our position," said Ferguson. "It all happened so quickly so we are still evaluating the situation. It is certainly a concern."

Pope & Talbot shut down all other mill activity on Friday after converting from Chapter 11 bankruptcy to Chapter 7 liquidation at a hearing in Wilmington, Del.

Mill workers met Friday in Halsey with union officials to discuss options where they learned that Ableco Finance, LLC of New York has expressed an interest in the mill. A hearing is set for Tuesday to establish a bid process.

"We hope to get it sorted out but it's a decision that we can't make," added Ferguson. "We are actively expressing our interest in their maintaining the facility."

The Georgia Pacific mill, which employs over 500, operates paper machines, converting equipment and a recycled fiber plant to make paper towels and toilet tissue.