'Penneys' employees bracing

About a dozen employees from the JCPenney store in Coudersport gathered Wednesday morning to prepare for the inevitable - unemployment. It will close this month, eliminating 13 jobs.

Attention has turned to locating another tenant for the North Main Street building, owned by John Wright. One potential occupant that has been courted is the Peebles department store chain.

On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Rapid Response Coordination Services and CareerLink held an information session for the 13 affected employees. They learned about unemployment compensation, credit counseling, mortgage assistance, medical insurance options and training opportunities.