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Rangeley residents crushed after another setback to re-open Saddleback

People in the Rangeley Lakes Region say the latest setback to re-opening Saddleback is disappointing but are holding out hope a new buyer will come through in the future.

SANDY RIVER PLANTATION (NEWS CENTER Maine) The resort closed three years ago in July 2015. It received about 100,000 skier visits every year.

Officials with the Rangeley Chamber of Commerce say the region is surviving without the ski resort. The area is a popular destination for snowmobilers and summer tourists. Until it closed three years this summer, Saddleback employed 300 seasonal workers.

Related: Saddleback Mountain buyer arrested overseas, charged with fraud

Those employees are still feeling the pinch, working two or three jobs to make ends meet.

"It's the service workers," said Rangeley resident Holly Austin. "The service workers, the waitresses, the waiters, the local businesses, that struggle, and they find ways to make it work but I am the school social worker and I have really seen families struggle."

Before it closed Saddleback pumped in $15-$20 million annually in tax revenue to the region.

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