Daisy Courtland is holding out hope. She admits she’s saying a lot of prayers these days, too.

Courtland, who represents American Candy’s employees in the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, is just as scared as any other employee. She went an entire pay period without receiving a check.

More recently — last Thursday, in fact — she, along with the other 250 employees of American Candy, were told to report back to work on Tuesday, May 28. However, employees were called before work Tuesday and informed they shouldn’t come back, for now. The 102-year-old candy company is temporarily shut down.

“We’re not going to produce again until June 3,” said Gaylon Warrington, CEO of American Candy. “Our plans are to continue to work on finding new financing until our court date June 3.”

American Candy employees are caught in the midst of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings, which did not offer positive news last week. Warrington, along with attorneys from his company and Bank of America, were not able to work out a financial agreement. That leaves people like Courtland worried. That also means some employees have started another job search.

“There are a few that have already gotten other jobs,” Courtland said. “The rest of us, we’re just holding on.”

Courtland did not represent a typical union spokesperson lashing out at her employer. Rather, she said employees feel the company’s executives have done everything they can to keep American Candy alive.

“We’re not going barehanded,” she said. “[The company] has already approved our unemployment. They’ve also got vacation pay set aside.”

While the company remains idle for the next six days, Warrington and American Candy executives say they will try to find new means of financing the bankrupt company.

Warrington also said he will continue to seek support for the company — not only from the banking industry, but from local leaders.

At the Selma City Council meeting Tuesday night, council member B.L. Tucker asked Mayor James Perkins what the city could do to help.

In a story in Sunday’s Times-Journal, a comparison was made to Bob’s Candies in Albany, Ga. Bob’s, in much the same predicament as American Candy, recently found new financing through a bank in Albany. The president of the bank, Mark Davis, is also the chairman of the city’s chamber of commerce.

However, no governmental agencies were involved in helping Bob’s Candies.

According to Perkins, there is very little the city can do to help a private company.

“I do want the council to know that almost a year ago, this mayor got involved and offered to help American Candy solve some of its problems,” Perkins explained. “However, the problems tie with international trade issues, and there’s very little local government can do for an issue like that.”

Warrington said Perkins is one of the few politicians who has offered to help, and expressed his gratitude for the mayor’s support.

“I think [Perkins] talked with some lobbyists from the Northeast,” Warrington said. “We were able to talk, they tried to help, but there wasn’t much that could be done from that angle.”

American Candy executives have two more hearings scheduled for bankruptcy court in Mobile. The first is June 3. The second is June 11.