Many rural Northwest communities are enduring painful transitions as they move away from a heavy reliance on their traditional resource based industries. Republic, in Washington's Ferry County, is one of those. The county’s unemployment rate was at 9.6% in August, easily the highest rate in the state. This transition and uncertainty is nothing new for Republic. The town has endured it for years.
Several years ago, reporter Phyllis Silver profiled Republic for a series she called "Take the Old Road". Recently, she went back to see how things have changed.