GLOUSTER - A state park lodge in southeastern Ohio will close this week, putting an estimated 40 people out of work.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources initially planned a temporary shutdown of the lodge at Burr Oak State Park to study how to make it work financially. The 60-room lodge had been losing money and saw its business drop by about half from 2001 to 2010.
The Athens Messenger reports the lodge is closing Tuesday. The company that ran it did not renew its contract and no others submitted a bid, leaving it without an operator.
An ODNR spokeswoman says the agency is still considering options for the future of the lodge.
The newspaper says some of the workers losing jobs may be hired to operate cabins at the park.
