Walker County Commissioner Bebe Heiskle is trying to make the best of a bad situation after Roper Corporation announced the layoffs of 258 people this week.

Just a few weeks ago Heiskle along with State Senator Jeff Mullis and others had made a press announcement about the fact that Roper Corporation had reached an agreement with Walker County that would keep the plant "economically viable" for the next 11 years.

Heiskle told the Walker County Messenger:  “As bad as this is, it’s not as bad as it could have been if the plant had closed permanently….Without our help, they might have closed the plant permanently from what I understand. We certainly hope this is a temporary situation,” she said. “But we are glad that the plant will continue to keep more than 1,200 people working.”