DUBOIS, Idaho (AP) — Residents in the southeastern Idaho town of Dubois face uncertainty following the closing of a potato processing plant that employed 22 percent of Clark County's labor force.

"It's enough to make a guy pretty nervous wondering about what's going to happen," Dubois Mayor Keith Tweedie told the Post Register. "One of my big goals is to get some economy back in the area and recreate some of the jobs we've lost."

The shuttering of the Idahoan Foods plant on Oct. 22 eliminated 128 jobs from a plant that is six miles south of Dubois.

Drew Facer, Idahoan Foods' vice president of Retail Sales and Food Service, said the company decided to close the plant to consolidate its operations.

He said 91 of the employees stayed with the company by transferring to other plants. Facer said the company hasn't decided what to do with the building.

Even before the plant closing, many of downtown Dubois' businesses had been shuttered or vacant for years.

"For a small town, something like that can be devastating," said Mike Ferguson, Idaho's chief economist.

He said others jobs in the local economy likely depended on the plant, meaning more jobs could be vulnerable in the small town.

"If you have 20 percent of the jobs in a basic sector that closes, you can pretty well be assured the consequences will be greater than the direct impact," Ferguson said. "As a general rule, the smaller the community, the less diversified it is likely to be."

Still, residents say the town has survived other setbacks ranging from drought to fire to the Great Depression.

"It's kind of a roller-coaster ride, and it seems like somehow it's managed to come out and get going again," said Bonnie Stoddard, a Clark County historian.

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Information from: Post Register