WNA entry for Ripon Commonwealth Press: Business Coverage

Thursday, May 21, 2015 - Page 1

INSIDE

Our Views

End of the roadAfter a promising start, the Red Hawk baseball team’s season came to a halt last week at its regional competition.

See page 23

Ladies’ day outLast weekend, it was all about what women want as Ripon held its first-annual Women on Watson event.

See page 16

Sports

Business

Clowning aroundA musical performance at Ripon High School last week was truly worthy of the big top, says the publisher.

See page 4

Charged Brandon man

An investigation into a possible sexual assault case continues for a Brandon man already charged with child pornography.

See page 3

Single copy — $1Thursday, May 21, 2015 Ripon, WI 54971

Ripon Commonwealth Press Issue No. 21www.RiponPress.com Serving the Ripon community since 1864

Wisconsin Weekly Newspaper of the Year 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014

Cookietown no more300 jobs will be lost as

the main plant will close by end of

this yearby Ian Stepleton

[email protected]

In one fell swoop Monday, one of Ripon’s largest employers an-nounced plans to ax:

‰ 300 jobs‰ The community’s biggest

tourist destination, and‰ The heart of the community’s

cultural identity.They all will be gone by the

end of the year, as ConAgra Foods — which took over the city’s two cookie factories in 2012 — an-nounced it will close the larger of those two production facilities.

“Shocked,” Mayor Gary Will said after learning the news. “It’s a sad day for Ripon and its residents.”

Cuts begin in phases in Septem-ber, with the final positions leaving in December from the “west” pro-duction facility — the building most associated with the cookie factory that is located on Oshkosh Street. It currently produces “enrobed” — or dipped — cookies, as well as soft-bake cookies.

About 300 positions will be cut as part of this closure. An estimated 30 to 40 percent of those individu-als are Ripon residents, with many more living in the surrounding com-munities.

Also leaving? The signature Rip-pin’ Good Cookie Outlet Store that draws thousands to the community each year.

It will close in December, elimi-nating a massive tourist draw to the city of Ripon.

Surviving this round of cuts will be the “east” cookie factory. This building, located in the city’s In-

Graduation: Serious ceremony, joyful smiles

ABOVE, FACULTY MARSHAL and religion Professor Brian Smith holds the college’s ceremonial mace as he leads an opening procession of administrators, faculty, students and honored guests into the Storzer Gymnasium. Though normally held outside Harwood Memorial Union, the event was moved indoors after rain threatened the 149th commencement exercises Sunday afternoon. Smith was given the honor by virtue of his being the college’s most senior faculty member. Directly behind Smith are Chris Ogle, left, dean of students, and Wayne Webster, vice president for advancement. Right, Chelsea Moldenhauer, a biology major with minors in chemistry and psychology, receives her diploma from a “neighbor,” Ripon College President Zach Messitte, whose home at One Merriman Lane is about a mile north of the Moldenhauer’s family home at Southwoods Court. Moldenhauer was one of nine graduates from Ripon, Green Lake and Berlin. For more photos from the ceremony, see page 11.

School Board selects new BPES principal

District will try contracted

custodians

Tim Lyke photos

“As far as [losing the cookie outlet store] ...

that’s a big hit.”Jason Mansmith, director

Ripon Chamber of Commerce

No one certain how to solve loss of identity

by Ian [email protected]

Shock and heartbreak.That seemed to be the pervad-

ing feeling across Ripon Monday as news crept across the com-munity that the cookie factory, which has been in Ripon for generations, will close.

“It’s quite a shock; it’s quite a blow,” said Laurie Kasuboski, the founder and face of Cookie Daze, a festival dedicated to Ripon’s

identity as Cookietown USA.“I’m shocked and in disbelief

because I have friends who work there,” Mayor Gary Will said, noting he could hardly believe

how quickly the fortune of the plant had turned. “Last summer, they were working seven days a week, almost around the clock they were

so busy.”“I was completely surprised,

much like a lot of people were,”

by Aaron [email protected]

The Ripon Area School Board expects to save about $100,000 next school year by using an outside contractor to provide cleaning services in place of two retiring custodians.

Despite concerns raised about the possibility of lower quality of cleaning, the School Board opted for a one-year trial.

A board memo explained the likely $100,000 savings.

“The reduction of two custo-dial positions, including sala-ries and benefits, amounts to $130,000,” it reads. “To hire an outside contractor to provide cleaning services, the costs would be between $20,000 to $30,000 depending on the ser-vices provided.”

Four custodians are retiring at the end of this year from the Ripon Area School District. Just two of those positions will be filled for next school year.

“Due to the middle school being razed [and combined with the high school], the need to fill the remaining custodial


Ripon’s newest principal has big shoes to fill.

At least metaphorically, or so went the good-natured joke at a reception Monday night for em-ployees retiring from the Ripon Area School District.

B a r l o w P a r k / J o u r -ney Principal Myra Misles-Krhin — short of stature but big on lead-e r s h i p a n d e d u c a t i o n -a l p r o w e s s — took the l a u g h t e r i n stride. School Board and fellow employees gave her a standing ovation for 40 years of service.

Later that night, the board authorized the hiring of Tanya Sanderfoot as the elementary school’s new principal, offi-cially starting July 1.

Sanderfoot is a third-grade teacher at Sunrise Elementary in the Kimberly School District.

The hiring process for Ri-pon’s newest principal — begin-ning in February — suffered an initial embarrassment in March, when the district’s original top choice verbally accepted the of-fer but then bowed out days later

Tanya Sanderfoot

See PRINCIPAL/ page 22 See DISTRICT/ page 19

See CLOSE/ page 20 See LOSS/ page 21UNION MEMBERS SIT in the Labor Hall Monday after finding out their jobs will be eliminated this year at ConAgra. Ian Stepleton photo

Page 20 - Thursday, May 21, 2015

WELCOMEBRUCE STEPHENSON

Great news! Bruce is nowa Product Specialist at Holiday Automotiveand looks forward to helping his friends andcustomers find the new or pre-owned vehicle

to match their needs and budget.

Contact Bruce today for not only yourbest buy, but your best buying experience.

YOU’VE GOT A NEW FRIENDIN THE CAR BUSINESS!

(920) 322-9600Hwy 41 & 23, Fond du Lac

HOLIDAYFORDUSA.COM

All MakesAll Models

Insurance Approved• FREE LOANERS •

Hwy. 23 West • Ripon920-748-3377

• Inside Secure Storage •

AUTO BODY24 HOUR TOWING

RODGER’S TREE SERVICE30 years doing any and all tree work

• 65’ boom truck• Skilled arborist and climber

• Fully insured • Free estimates• Very reasonable rates

920-450-6523www.organicforestrycenter.com

HELPING YOUR HOME

STAND OUT

HOURS:Open Monday &

Friday 8-8; Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday 8-5; Saturday 8-4

HOME FURNISHINGS“Everything For Your Home”

920-361-3535 • 1-800-361-3534Hwy. 49 South • Berlin, WI 54923@ Goodrich Furniture

Easy AccessAir Conditioned

Free Delivery

Living Room Dining

Bedroom Mattress

Flexsteel Gallery

La-Z-Boy

5 Star Bedding

Complete Flooring & Window Treatment

Department

Unique Accessories& so much more!

News

dustrial Park, creates wafer cookies.About 80 positions will be re-

tained at this location — or just shy of 20 percent of the current overall workforce at ConAgra.

“The majority of the people will make the cookies with some management and administrative positions,” said Dan Hare, direc-tor of communication and external relations for ConAgra. “... We will continue to produce wafers based on the needs of the business and customers.”

Meanwhile, union leaders are not resigned to the community’s loss.

“The union is disappointed by ConAgra’s decision to shut down the plant,” said Alex Gillis, a repre-sentative of Workers United, whose Local 91 represents cookie factory employees. “Regardless, we think this is the beginning and not the end of the conversation. We will appreciate it if ConAgra will share information with us, trying to find a solution before closing the factory.”

COOKIE DEMAND CRUMBLESMarket pressure and deficiencies

in the older cookie factory are being blamed for the plant closure, accord-ing to Hare.

“The declining demand and overall operating cost structure do not allow us to meet the needs of the business and customers,” he said, later adding, “The operating cost structure includes the need for infrastructure improvements to the facility.”

One employee described part of the “west” factory as “so anti-quated,” said Joe Ortiz, who works in sanitation for ConAgra. “There was no way they could have made it profitable.”

With the closure, ConAgra plans to eliminate one entire type of cookie it makes.

“We will stop making enrobed cookies and transition the soft-bake cookies [to another facility],” Hare said, without elaborating on which plant will take the workload.

Union officials, though, say they’ve been told where at least some of the work is headed: Illinois.

“The company confirmed that some of the positions will be moved to [South] Beloit, [Ill.],” Ortiz said. “We don’t think it’s going to be most of it, but some of it ...

“We’re very concerned some of those jobs are going to be shipped to South Beloit. We would like to see those jobs stay in Ripon, Wis.”

Employees at ConAgra also noted they’ve been told by the com-pany that changing consumer habits impacted sales.

“One of the excuses given to us is the change from trans-fat to trans-

fat-free cookies in the market,” Ortiz said. “I don’t know how much truth there is in that; I’m sure that’s part of it. Customers don’t want trans-fat-free [cookies].”

“The demand for cookies, it’s gone down 20 percent, they’ve said, just this year, compared to last year,” said Matt Rosanske, who works with Ortiz in sanitation, of what he found out during his meet-ing. “They’ve continued to project it’s going to keep down-falling and down-falling.”

Information was disseminated to employees during a series of mandatory, plain-clothes meetings Mondary morning.

ConAgra shut the plant down Monday, and instead met with employees in groups, such as first, second and third shift factory work-ers, but weren’t told why they had to attend.

Evidence of declining demand was apparent in the number of shifts ConAgra ran at the plant.

“I kind of saw [the closure] com-ing. I’m disappointed that I will be losing my job and find a new career, but like we’ve been saying we’ve seen signs, to expect this to happen, in the next year or so,” Rosanske said. “Last summer, they were run-ning every day; now, they’re strug-gling to run the five days. Some weeks, they don’t even run the five days. It’s not like how it was.”

Ortiz agreed.“We’ve seen the signs,” he said.

LITTLE ALTERNATIVE TO CLOSING, CONAGRA SAYS

When asked for specifics on when and why decisions were made about Ripon’s plant closure, Hare offered few details.

“We evaluated a number of op-tions and determined that this will allow us to operate our plant network as effectively and efficiently as pos-sible,” he said, adding the decision was just made to close. “We made the decision following a recent evaluation of the plant network.”

No warning was given to em-ployees from the company that this decision was coming, even if declining orders telegraphed the possibility.

“Nobody knew, not even man-agement knew” what the meetings were about Monday, Ortiz said, noting they found out middle of last

week that the meetings would be held. “When it was made manda-tory for everybody, and the plant was closed on a Monday, we knew something major was happening.”

City officials, too, were kept in the dark.

“I haven’t heard anything official yet from the company,” Will said Monday.

Steve Jenkins, president of the Fond du Lac County Economic De-velopment Corp. (FCEDC), noted ConAgra’s lack of communication about such a major decision was highly unusual.

“There’s a right way of doing things, and if you are going to have such a huge impact on a community with your decision, you would hope that any company would contact the local officials and let them know what’s going on so they can at least begin to put together a framework and strategy of what they are doing once the company makes that an-nouncement,” he said. “Otherwise everyone is scurrying ...

“When you’re hit with the blind-side like this, everybody gets in the fire-drill-mode.”

EMPLOYEES WILL BE HELPEDJenkins, meanwhile, noted his

organization is standing by to do what it can to help employees who have lost their jobs.

“We’re, No 1, making sure the proper filings have been made by ConAgra with the state to provide for the employees that will be dis-placed ...,” he said of how companies are required to file notice of mass layoffs.

According to the state Depart-ment of Workforce Development, “Under state law, employers em-ploying 50 or more individuals in the state may be required to give 60 days notice before a mass layoff or clos-ing. Once the state becomes aware of any event affecting 50 or more workers, the Dislocated Worker Program’s Rapid Response Team reaches out and offers assistance to the affected workers and employer.”

With the first wave of layoffs not occurring until September, state notification likely won’t occur until at least June.

Jenkins added FCEDC will do what it can to ease the burden on employees as well.

“We want to make sure those employees have every opportunity to find work ...,” he said. “We want to find a workable solution that benefits everyone.”

He added FCEDC will work with neighboring counties where other employees live as needed.

ConAgra, meanwhile, is making plans on how it will aid employees who are being displaced.

“The company will work with the unions representing Ripon West employees to determine the details of the severance benefits,” Hare said. “For salaried employees the company will offer a fair severance package.”

Some opportunity for transfer within ConAgra may exist as well.

“They basically told us there are opportunities throughout ConAgra [that we could] transfer to or get another job,” Rosanske said.

Hare confirmed this.“People can apply for other posi-

tions with ConAgra Foods if they choose,” he said.

Will, meanwhile, explained he’s hopeful other opportunities in the Ripon community will help offset the job losses.

“I know Alliance has been hir-ing,” he said. “... Maybe a transition over to Alliance Laundry would be nice.”

EQUIPMENT, BUILDINGS’ FUTUREOnce the plant ceases operation,

it appears ConAgra plans to move production equipment elsewhere within its massive network of fac-tories.

“We are working through the details,” Hare said, adding, “The building will be sold.”

Employees were given similar information Monday.

“According to them, they are going to be taking all the equipment out of here and selling the building,” Ortiz said. “There already have been prospective buyers; Alliance: they have wanted it for a while now.”

WHAT’S NEXTWith the first wave of position

cuts still months away, union of-ficials remain guardedly optimistic.

“We are still looking for ways to keep the plant open; we’ve stated that to the company,” Gillis. “We are going to fight to keep the opera-tion open; we are looking for ways ... We are inviting community and community leaders to contact us to find a solution to keep the plant open. We need help.”

A CONAGRA EMPLOYEE heads into the local headquarters Monday morning for a mandatory meeting. She and others weren’t told until they arrived why they were summoned to work on a day the plant had been shut down. Ian Stepleton photo

MARY JOHNSON, SUPERVISOR of the cookie outlet store, stands last fall among the soft-bake and wafer cookies made at Ripon’s two ConAgra cookie factories. Ian Stepleton photo

CLOSE/Cookie outlet store will close in December continued from page 1

Thursday, May 21, 2015 - Page 21

Landscape center, design team on staffannuals • perennials • trees • shrubs • container art • garden goods

Open 7 days a week 8am-6pm • gift cards availableW1604 Hwy 23 • green Lake • 920.294.6000 • www.blochsfarm.com

Memorial Day sale, May 22nd - May 25th25% off aLL planted container art

& specialty hanging Baskets

who have given their lives in our nation’s wars.Memorial Day,

As America celebrates

we pay tribute to those

john m mchugh

One LOcatiOn, 30 Years strOng

Join Us saturday, May 23rdcustomer appreciation Day

Free Food & Beverages

News

by Tim [email protected]

For 85 years — since Horace Bumby and 25 employees started a cookie company with a single oven — Ripon has been known for being Cookietown.

said Jason Mansmith, executive di-rector of the Ripon Area Chamber of Commerce. “I didn’t have any prior information or was aware of anything that was coming down.”

As the city’s primary busi-ness and tourism organization, Mansmith is keenly aware of how important a role ConAgra, and specifically the cookie factory and outlet store, play in the commu-nity.

“That particular location [the cookie outlet store] draws in a large amount of people for the city of Ripon. Even on the pass-throughs [individuals who are just passing through Ripon] ... they always include a stop at the cookie outlet. As far as a tourism destina-tion, that’s a big hit,” he said.

The loss of the cookie factory, though, strikes at the heart of Ripon’s cultural identity.

In 1996, then Gov. Tommy Thompson officially named Ripon “Cookietown USA,” a moniker that Ripon residents and visitors alike have embraced.

“That’s the toughest pill to swallow,” Mansmith said of this identity.

As he pointed out, the com-pany is a “legacy” in Ripon, “with generations of employees work-ing there. They take a significant amount of pride in the work they do, and the products they make as well.

“We obviously realize that jobs are affecting families, and of course there’s that pride thing. When you get employees who are proud of what they do, that’s a tough thing.”

Joe Ortiz and Matt Rosanske, employees in the sanitation divi-sion of ConAgra, alluded to this same concern.

“I think ones that were hit the hardest were the individuals who had been there for 30, 40-plus years. They don’t know anything else,” Ortiz said.

“That’s been their life since, probably, they’ve been kids,” Rosanske said.

“There are several I’ve worked with who came here straight out of high school,” Ortiz added.

ConAgra employees gathered Monday at the Labor Hall off Scott Street, discussing strategy and commiserating in a somewhat funereal atmosphere.

Union members gathered in a semi-circle, talking in a darkened room amid half-eaten boxes of pizza and cans of soda.

One employee noted she still had a smile on her face — but only because it was the only way she could think to deal with the grief of what was happening.

Some agreed it was ironic that, at least until Monday, ConAgra had been perceived as a boon to the city, having become heavily involved in civic organizations and having given tens of thousands of dollars to local groups. Employ-ees had felt the company was an improvement in management, some said.

“Much better than Ralcorp/Bremner,” Ortiz said.

Also a concern is how the change will affect one of Ripon’s biggest festivals, Cookie Daze.

“I don’t even know; it kind of takes my breath away,” Kasuboski said. “The focus of our festival is cookies. It’s a big impact on Cookie Daze, actually.”

This year, Cookie Daze is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Ka-suboski acknowledged it’s unclear how the festive atmosphere will be maintained, assuming the event still occurs in August.

“As far as this year, we’re still working on what’s going to hap-pen,” she said, noting it’s been vital for Cookie Daze to receive individually wrapped cookies from the factory for the signature event: the cookie drop. “Without the individually wrapped cookies, we don’t have the cookie drops, and that’s a big, big part of Cookie Daze. And that may still happen; we’re still working on it ...

“Maybe there are other things we could drop.”

Sadness was evident in Kasu-boski’s voice as she talked of this year’s 20th anniversary celebra-tion.

“We even talked about bring-ing back the world’s-biggest cookie this year in some way, and ConAgra was even interested in doing this event,” she said, refer-

ring to when Ripon cooked the biggest cookie in history about 25 years ago. “[There is] a lot of disappointment.”

What’s next, for Cookie Daze or anything else cookie-related in Ripon, remains anyone’s guess.

“Jason [Mansmith, chamber director] is working with the fac-tory ...,” Kasuboski said. “We’ll see what we [are able to do]. We’ll see what happens.”

LOSS/Future of Cookie Daze now up in the air as chamber makes decisions continued from page 1

That identifier has been a point of pride for the community, provid-ing workers and their families with a steady income, giving Ripon its No. 1 tourist attraction (traffic to the outlet store far outpaces visitors to the Little White Schoolhouse), accounting for other Ripon firms

that manufacture wafers and plastic containers, and leading to a family friendly community festival that began a quarter century ago after Ripon residents baked the “world’s largest cookie” featured on the cover of the “Guinness Book of Records.”

When the wind blows from the north, the city even smells like cookies.

But that history will draw to an end with ConAgra’s decision, announced Monday, to close the cookie-manufacturing plant off Oshkosh Street.

Here is a timeline of significant milestones in the history of what started in 1930 as Ripon Foods:

1930 — Horace A. Bumby establishes Ripon Foods Inc. with a single oven and 25 employees.

1977 — Heritage Wafers is in-corporated and begins operations in January 1978 with 17 employees.

1983 — Ripon Foods buys Heritage Wafers, Ltd., adding surgar wafers to the 40 kinds of cookies it manufactures. It operates the company as a wholly owned subsidiary.

1986 — Ed Bumby succeeds his father John Bumby as the com-pany’s president and CEO.

1999 — St. Louis based Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. agrees to buy Ripon Foods and operate it within its consumer foods subsidiary, Brem-ner, which manufactures crackers, cookies, snack nuts, mayonnaise and salad dressings.

2012 — ConAgra Foods, Inc. completes its acquisition of Ral-corp Holdings, Inc. With 36,000 employees and sales of approxi-mately $18 billion annually, the combined company is one of the largest packaged food companies in North America. ConAgra CEO Gary Rodkin says the acquisi-tion “reinforces and accelerates our ‘Recipe for Growth’ strategy, which also includes growth in our core business and adjacencies, and expansion internationally.”

2015 — ConAgra tells employ-ees at its Ripon facility that it plans to close its west plant, which manu-factures cookies, while leaving the east, wafer-making plant, open. More than 300 employees will lose their jobs.

Cookie production has long history in Ripon

THIS IS HOW the Ripon Good Cookie factory appeared in September 1963, before several new additions, and while it still was owned by the Bumby family. RCP file photo

Thursday, June 4, 2015 - Page 1

INSIDE

Area

Hitting their strideTwo Tigers proved last week they are among the best runners in the state. Now, they can see if they’re on top.

See page 15

Au revoir!Murray Park/Quest students bid adieu to their new French friends last week after a long stay in Ripon.

See page 10

Sports

Education

Later, LakersGreen Lake High School seniors said goodbye to their school-age years Sunday at a graduation ceremony.

See page 7

Rain, rain A little too muchA strong spring storm rolled through the Ripon area last week Friday, dumping much of the 2 inches the city would see over the weekend, quickly.

See page 3

Single copy — $1Thursday, June 4, 2015 Ripon, WI 54971



Endofthe R AD

Despite pleas,

ConAgra firm on closure


Prospects for Ripon to hold on to the main cookie factory that’s been in Ripon for generations look grim.

Since news broke two weeks ago that ConAgra planned to close the “west” cookie production facility, several local organizations have spo-ken with ConAgra officials.

The news has been consistent: the factory will close by the end of the year, and 300 people will lose their jobs.

“It is moving forward ... It has nothing to do with the community or the workforce; it’s a business deci-sion,” said Steve Jenkins, president of Fond du Lac County Econom-ic Development Corp. (FCEDC). “They’ve seen a market diminish for that product line, so I can totally understand that. I just hate to see 300 people laid off; our No. 1 goal is to make sure they’re taken care of.”

Alex Gillis, representative for Workers United — whose Local 91 represents many employees at the Ripon plant — has been in talks with ConAgra, but has been given the same message from the company.

“We are right now trying to fig-ure out if there is any way to keep it open,” he said. “The company has been stating their position ... that it was a business decision, with a de-cline in the cookie industry ... We are trying to see if that is the right output from that information or if we can come up with a different conclusion.”

The union remains in communica-tion with ConAgra, and “as soon as we digest the information, we will meet with them,” Gillis said.

Dan Hare, director of commu-


Should Mayor Gary Will and former City Administrator Steve Barg be targets of a counter-claim being levied against the city of Ripon by former downtown devel-oper Boca Grande Capital LLC?

That’s a key issue being consid-ered right now as the second of two law firms representing the city of Ripon works through depositions on a counter-claim Boca issued.

Boca’s counter-claim — techni-cally called a “Notice of Claim” — gives it the legal standing to later file a full lawsuit, which in this case could find Boca seeking an $11.01 million judgement against the city.

In its filing last July, Boca alleged that Will and Barg con-tacted Badgerland Financial, a Baraboo, Wis.-based lender with whom Boca had hoped to secure $9 million in financing to assist its development projects.

Both denied the accusation. “I’ve never, ever, ever called

Badgerland to talk about any-thing,” Will said.

Barg said his contacts were lim-ited to updates on Boca’s efforts to secure primary financing.

Boca alleges that after receiving

RICK MORTENSON SNAPS a photo of teacher Betty Mortenson with student Addyson Johnson.Ian Stepleton photo

City lawyers still working through Boca counter-claim

Ripon: The true land of Lincoln?THE MAN CREDITED to be America’s greatest president made multiple appearances in Ripon last week. The fact that these visits came 150 years after his untimely passing didn’t seem to slow Abraham Lincoln down, though. First, he appeared in two different incarnations last week Thursday at the Ripon Middle School choir concert, which centered around the theme of the American Civil War. Singing Lincolns include Kelly Kalupa, left, and Dylan Schattschneider, right. Then, last week Saturday, a more mature Lincoln reappeared at the Little White Schoolhouse to speak to about 30 people. During his talk, the Lincoln impersonator, Fritz Klein, read from his first and second inaugural addresses, as well as offered a review of the Republican Party. For more photos from the Ripon Middle School choir concert, see page 11. Jonathan Bailey and Tim Lyke photos

See CONAGRA/ back page See BIKE/ back page

See BOCA/ back page

After decade of delivering

books by bike to students,

Mortenson is retiringby Ian Stepleton

[email protected]

Memories of that first year visiting students atop her bi-cycle remain crisp for first-grade teacher Betty Mortenson.

“We’re coming on the back [road], and you can see for about a half mile: there’s this little guy, riding around, and around, on his driveway waiting for Mrs. Mortenson,” Betty said, carrying a book in her bike’s saddlebag for the enthusiastic little boy. “I turn around and said to my husband, ‘I’m hooked. I’ve got to do this every year.’”

For 10 years, the educator has challenged her students to collectively read 300 books in three weeks. Every year, they’ve responded by reaching the goal.

So, each spring she and her husband reward every student by jumping atop their matching blue Treks and peddling.

Over the course of two weekends in May, they navigate the highways leading from their home in Rosendale to reach her students, where ever each lives.

Unless a strong spring storm

Page 22 - Thursday, June 4, 2015

Available at St. Agnes Hospital, Ripon Medical Center and Waupun Memorial Hospital.

agnesian.com/cancer-care

Walk-inMaMMograMs

NOW OPEN FOR EVENING SHOWSAll Week with Dusk Shows Fridays • Matinees Sat. & Sun.

News

blows in, they’ve braved the ele-ments to bring each child a surprise and a smile.

“Over the last 10 years, I have visited at least 200 students,” she estimated. “My husband, Rick, and I pedal at least 120 miles each year to visit all the families. It’s worth every mile to see the bright smiling faces of my students!”

Sometimes, it’s as close as rural Ripon; other times, it’s as far away as Princeton.

To the naked eye, it seems she’s carrying little more than a bottle of water and a handful of bound books for the kids to keep.

In reality, she’s delivering so much more.

A joy of reading. A model of lifelong exercise. A chance to con-nect multiple disciplines of educa-tion in one simple package.

Teacher Betty’s dream, though, may have hit the end of the road.

After 19 years teaching, and a decade of peddling to students’ homes, she’s retiring.

“It will be difficult,” she said. “It was probably one of the hardest decisions to make, to retire. I love what I do; it’s a passion of mine ... This is a job that I love. I’ve had it for 19 years and it’s a dream job come true, so that part will be hard.”

BOOKS AND BIKESBetty’s path into combining her

passions — cycling and teaching students — wasn’t direct.

“My husband had a liver trans-plant 20 years ago ... in June,” she said, noting he actually had two because his body rejected the first. “After he had his second transplant, the doctors said you have to do some-thing to keep active, and I already enjoyed bicycling. [So] we got one that fitted one him well; we started doing some biking locally, building up our endurance. Maybe four miles, then 40.

“The first time we did 40 I remem-ber getting off my bike and kissing the ground because I had the wrong bicycle seat.”

For her first-graders, Betty’s love of cycling was no secret.

“When I’m teaching, I always try to involve a little bit about myself to the students,” she said. “So during the year, I would give examples of writing stories. Mrs. Mortenson would tell stories of adventures we would go on, on our bikes ...”

Students ate it up. Hearing that a teacher has a life outside the class-room? It’s almost unfathomable for a child.

Then, one spring, a proverbial light bulb went off for the long-time teacher.

“In the spring of the year, students start getting a little restless you know, don’t want to do their homework ...,” Betty said, explain-ing she was searching for a way to motivate them during those last weeks of school. “So I said, ‘You know, Mrs. Mortenson likes to ride

bikes.’ I began to challenge the students. I said, ‘I challenged you to do a Read-a-Thon. If you can read 300 books outside of school as a whole class, Mrs. Mortenson will ride from her house in Rosendale to your home.

“So they’re like, ‘Ohh!’ Fired [them] up.”

Every year, it’s worked.“I try to give them a three-week

span ... at the end of April, going into May,” she said. “If you have 20 students in the class ... it’s doable. I wanted to make it doable, but still a challenge.”

Now that she had the first-grad-ers’ attention, she challenged them further.

“We tried to involve math; we’d graph it, how many books they’d read. Then we’d involve math skills: ‘You live here, and directions on how to get there,’” Betty said.

Year after year, it’s been a suc-cess.

THE VISITThe best part, though, always

comes at the end — both for stu-dent and cyclist/teacher.

Early each morning, Betty and her husband climb aboard their Treks, and start the hour-long ride to Ripon.

Then, about 10 minutes out, she’ll pause long enough to give the first parent a heads-up that they’ll be arriving soon. It’s the signal for the child to go wait outside for Mrs. Mortenson.

So, as she coasts the last 100 yards down the street, the eyes of each child begins to sparkle with excitement.

My teacher is coming!“It’s just amazing. I can still re-

member one boy literally jumping up and down: ‘It’s Mrs. Morten-son!’” she said. “I got him a book about trucks; that’s when he started jumping up and down.”

The visits follow a bit of a formula. The teacher chats with the student and introduces him to her bike. She then reaches into her bag,

and slowly withdraws a book that’s sure to be treasured.

Parents, teacher and student then visit for another 10 minutes, giving her a moment to connect with the family (and catch her breath).

“You get glasses of lemonade, water, treats; parents are always welcoming ... I encourage them that, if the children want to ride their bicycle, they can on the side-walk or on the driveway with me. They look forward to it,” Betty said. “... Sometimes you’ll visit some-body’s home, and they’ll bring out their puppy to show. Or I’ve visited home already and they’ll have an older sibling who’s had me [come out to visit].

“I love making that personal connection with a child outside of school and making that personal connection with a family. [The whole experience] spurns on that love of reading.”

PARENTS AGREEBetty isn’t the only one who has

believed in the benefits of biking with books.

Parents of students agree: it’s been a wonderful gift to her classes these past 10 years.

“The bike visits she makes, the thoughtfulness, time and effort it takes her to travel to every child’s home, really speaks to the type of teacher she is,” said Jessi Johnson, a fellow teacher — as well as mother of Addisyn, whom Betty visited two weekends ago. “First grade is such a critical year in reading de-velopment for all students, and her students were very lucky to have her as their educational guide.

“Her passion and dedication to her students and the profession will be missed as she enters retirement. She has a genuine heart and has left a lasting impression on all of the students she has taught.”

Jane Bradley, whose daughter, Ashley, is in Betty’s class, felt much the same way.

“Every year, the students in Mrs. Mortenson’s class become her children,” she said. “She goes above and beyond to motivate, inspire and care for them. We were blessed enough to have her teach our older two children and our only regret is that she is retiring before she could have had our younger three.”

Further amazing Jane was just how hard Betty works to ensure stu-dents get to enjoy this special treat.

“[Two] weekends [ago], she biked 62 miles in one day to visit six of her students,” Jane said. “And this weekend, she battled the wind, pouring rain and cold temperatures to accomplish the same but said it was all worth it to see how excited they were to see their teacher biking up the street to their house for a special visit.”

“Addisyn was so excited to have Mrs. Mortenson visit her at our house,” Jessi added. “She couldn’t wait to see what special book Mrs. Mortenson had picked out for her. Addisyn knows how much Mrs. Mortenson loves cycling, and she was so impressed that she was rid-ing from Rosendale to Ripon, Pick-ett, Green Lake and even Princeton to make special book deliveries.”

ONTO A NEW JOURNEYBut, this past weekend, Betty

made her final visit to students.Knowing one of her favorite

rites of spring were coming to a close was difficult for Betty.

“It’s bittersweet,” she said. “Even as I was planning this, I was thinking, ‘Oh, this is the last time I’m doing this!’

“I’ll still be active after I retire, do a lot of volunteer work in schools. So, it’s not a farewell, but it certainly will be different.”

It’s also far from the last time anyone will see this avid cyclist atop her bike. She and her husband are looking forward to planning a lengthy group ride, maybe down the East Coast in the fall, if it works out. Or, maybe through the South this winter, when the temperatures moderate down there.

“My goal is to ride in every state; we’ve peddled in 31 states [so far],” she said. “We do a lot of bicycle trips in large groups; a lot of them have been fund-raisers. Nothing [is planned] quite yet this summer ... Maybe something this fall ...

“There are a lot of roads I still could peddle on ... It’s just a great way to see the countryside ... [I can’t wait to] get out and see God’s country.”

Perhaps a student can deliver to Mrs. Mortenson’s house a book about national bike trails.

nication and external relations for ConAgra, confirmed with the Com-monwealth Monday evening that the company’s plans remain firm.

“The information we shared with employees two weeks ago is still ac-curate,” he said, explaining that while ConAgra is speaking with Local 91, it’s not a discussion about possibly keeping the plant. “We have had pro-ductive discussions with the unions representing Ripon West employees and we look forward to having open communication with employees once the details are finalized.”

Few others, however, have had direct contact with ConAgra.

Only Margaret Soda, head of hu-man resources for the Ripon plant, has been around to meet with local groups, representatives of those or-ganizations have said.

“Just our initial visit from ConAgra,” City Administrator Lori Rich said. “It was the HR person; she had stopped over at the chamber and here. It was on Wednesday, the 20th. [She told us] basically what they had told the employees; there was nothing new.”

“We have not heard anything further from ConAgra regarding the situation,” said Jason Mansmith, executive director of the Ripon Area Chamber of Commerce. “[Soda] just explained the situation and [what] the timeline was going to be as well.”

He added the future of Ripon’s cookie-themed festival that depends heavily on the cookie factory, Cookie Daze, is still being considered.

“I do have a cookie daze meeting coming up later this week,” he said. “They have committed to the 2015 Cookie Daze, but we’ll have further discussion coming up this week concerning this year and the future as well.”

FCEDC, meanwhile, is the only community organization that has had substantive talks with ConAgra since news broke of the planned closure of the west plant two weeks ago.

And the message Jenkins has re-ceived is consistent with everything that has come from ConAgra thus far.

“The closure had nothing to do with the facility or the community; it was a market-driven decision. Some

calls from city officials, Badger-land went from seeming to support financing the project to denying the loan.

Jason P. Gehring, an attorney with Milwaukee-based Kasdorf, Lewis & Swietlik, is working on responding to Boca’s counter-claim, while John Van Lieshout of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, Milwaukee, focuses on the city’s case against Boca Grande for not fulfilling its contracted rehabilita-tion plan downtown.

“It’s in the discovery phase of the case, which means both par-ties have the opportunity to work on sifting through the facts, and part of that is depositions,” said Lud Wurtz, Ripon’s city attorney who is acting as a liaison between the city and the firms working on the Boca cases. “They’re in the process of scheduling it and de-positions to parties to the action.” A deposition is an out-of-court interview with a witness.

Asked to characterize who is being deposed, Wurtz answered, “city employees ... and other re-lated parties.”

He added that Gehring “rep-resents the city because of the counter-claim, which is against Gary Will and Steve Barg.”

Gehring, according to his on-line biography, is a native of Heidelberg, Germany, who “is a shareholder in the Milwaukee office. His area of practice is civil litigation, with a focus on insur-ance defense, insurance coverage, municipal law and school law.”

“He is in the process of evalu-ating how to move forward [with the counter-claim], specifically whether Mr. Will and Mr. Barg should be in it at all,” Wurtz said.

Asked about a rumored 1,000 page document that is a part of Boca’s counter-claim, Wurtz ac-knowledged its existence, noting, “That’s related to the discovery. Part of what’s being looked at is all written and all other com-munication and other forms of communication that may have a bearing on the case.”

For now, Wurtz noted, the focus is on the counter-claim and the discovery phase for it.

“Both sides are working on gaining new information about their case; specifically Boca has scheduled a number of deposi-tions that are almost complete,” he said. “... The discovery phase is very important and I think will help both sides better evaluate the merits of their claims.”

ASHLEY BRADLEY, LEFT, peeks in a bag for the book teacher Betty Mortenson brought her. Ian Stepleton photo

ADDISYN JOHNSON rides just ahead of her teacher, Betty Mortenson, near the student’s home in Ripon. Andrew Stepleton photo

ADDISYN JOHNSON, RIGHT, grins up at her teacher, Betty Mortenson, as she’s invited to go for a bike ride. Ian Stepleton photo

of the factors in it, quite frankly, was the wave of healthy eating across America, and they’re eating less of the product,” he said. “They were going to have to invest some money into the facility to meet their food production standards, and with the declining market, which had dropped 50 percent for that product and the pending improvements ... it was a business decision to close that facility and relocate to another facility that already is producing that product.

“I can understand that; it’s a cost decision, a market decision. It’s happening more and more across America across different sectors. Our goal now is how to place another ten-ant into that facility.”

Since that conversation, that’s been FCEDC’s focus.

“One of the things we’re working on right now with the state is to try to identify some training funds to help those workers move into other [busi-nesses],” Jenkins said. “Some may be suitable to go into Alliance [Laundry Systems in Ripon, which has been hiring], but they would have to be re-trained ... Going to something that is much more demanding in terms of skills. We’re looking to see if we can find some training money to help that transition.

“Some, unfortunately, will prob-ably find employment opportuni-ties outside Ripon or Fond du lac County.”

He added it’s too soon to consider what might happen to the cookie facility after ConAgra leaves in December.

“They’re not prepared to start entertaining questions about who would be interested in the facility ...,” Jenkins said, noting a suitor likely would have to come from the food-production industry because of the nature of the factory. “It’s got some unique characteristics that may not meet everyone’s needs.”

Union officials, meanwhile, keep hoping the situation can be changed.

“The union has more hope the amount of support we can get from the area [could help] keep the factory open,” Gillis said. “We just started conversations, so everything is open right now. We are talking about it.”

CONAGRA/Future Cookie Daze decision near continued from page 1

BOCA/Sides busy with de-positions for case continued from page 1

BIKE/Teacher looks forward to more cycling continued from page 1

Thursday, July 30, 2015 - Page 1

INSIDE

Area

Blast from pastRemember him? This Ripon native has scored a hole-in-one with his dream career as a golf pro on the East Coast.

See page 19

School workConstruction is well underway at Ripon High School, where new parking lots, a new office and more already are done.

See page 10

Sports

Education

No prison timeThis Green Lake man who stole piers a couple winters back will serve county jail time for his role in the thefts.

See page 7

Expelled Third student

The last of the three students involved in an alleged drug deal has been expelled from Ripon Middle School — but he could be back soon.

See page 3

Single copy — $1Thursday, July 30, 2015 Ripon, WI 54971



ConAgra makes it official; cookie factory will close

Union:Workers were given fair,

final contract by ConAgraby Ian Stepleton

[email protected]

Employees being displaced by the closure of ConAgra Foods’ Ripon West cookie plant will have a few tools at their disposal as they try to find a way to move forward with their lives.

The state Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced last week Thursday how it will be aiding those approximately 285 who will be losing their jobs.

Meanwhile, the union representing factory workers at the Ripon West plant is stating it negotiated a superior severance package — though it remains disappointed the plant will close.

“Two weeks ago, we finally ratified a new contract, and also the de-


Any hope still held by Ripo-nites that the larger of Ripon’s two cookie factories could be saved now may need to crumble.

ConAgra Foods, which now makes the community’s iconic Rippin’ Good Cookies, recently gave formal notice to the state Department of Workforce De-velopment (DWD) announcing a “Notice of Mass Layoff/Plant Closing.”

Layoffs will begin in Oc-tober.

Previously, ConAgra had stated that the final layoffs likely would occur in De-cember.

The Ripon West plant makes two types of cook-ies: soft-batch and enrobed (dipped).

The soft-batch varieties are expected to be moved to another plant in South Beloit, Ill., which is un-dergoing a $15 million upgrade to handle the additional work.

Enrobed cookies, though, will cease to be produced by ConAgra.

Margaret Soda, head of hu-man resources for the Ripon ConAgra plant, sent a letter dated July 17 to the DWD, which then was received by the Bureau of Workforce Training last week Thursday.

Although ConAgra formally announced in May the plant was closing, it had not yet made it of-ficial with the state DWD, prior to Soda’s letter of last week. The notice wasn’t due until 60 days before layoffs were to begin.

In it, Soda writes, “ConAgra Foods ... has made the decision to close its West Ripon, Wisconsin facility ...

“ConAgra anticipates that


It was supposed to be a drug deal for heroin early last week Wednesday in Ripon.

Instead, it turned into an armed robbery.Now, the first of four suspects allegedly involved in a situation that

led to a high-risk traffic stop, a search of 448 Spring St. and numerous arrests later that day has been charged for his alleged role.

Tristan M. Van Eperen, 18, Menasha, has been charged with armed robbery-party to a crime and receiving stolen property (less than $2,500) in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court.

He could be sentenced to as much as 40 years and nine months in prison and be fined $110,000 if convicted on both counts.

Several others are expected to be charged as well, according to Ripon


After sifting through 30-plus applicants, officials in the Ripon Area School District discovered the new middle school principal was here all along.

Ripon High School assistant principal and athletic director Rick Bunge is expected to get the School Board’s official nod at a special meeting Tuesday, Aug. 4, after a meet-and-greet today (Wednes-day) from 2 to 4 p.m. in the middle school library.

Bunge’s total tenure at Ripon High School is 22 years.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the outstanding staff, students and families within this learning community,” Bunge said this week. “My reason for making this change is because I feel I am ready for a new challenge after holding the position as the assis-tant principal and athletic director for the past nine years. Since I have been at the high school for a significant period of time, I also

Boca agrees: Its buildings will be

Local investor has signed offer to purchase most propertiesWhich properties are included?

230 Watson St.

217 Watson St.

300 Watson St.110 Blackburn

308 Watson

231-233 Watson St.

310-312 Watson St.

205-207-209 Watson St.

301 Watson St.

** Plus four residences on Blossom St.


Today, former developer Boca Grande Capital LLC and principal Jim Connelly are the biggest owners of property in downtown Ripon.

By Sept. 30, that may no longer be true.Nearly every building owned by Boca and its related LLCs are expected

to be sold that day to Ripon’s Rogers family, which intends to re-sell them at essentially no mark-up to others.

All told, a dozen sites are involved in the expected sale, including several retail properties on Watson Street, four residences on Blossom Street and an office building at the corner of Blackburn and Jackson streets. A 13th property from Ripon Main Street Inc. could be tied in as well.

The only Boca-owned properties not included are 102-104 Watson St. (Roadhouse Pizza), 123 Watson St. (former Suds on the Square) and 303-305 Watson St. (Boca’s headquarters).

“We have a signed offer to purchase. We have agreed with Boca to buy the buildings, and they are willing to sell them to us,” said Tom Rogers, on behalf of Rogers Rogers LLC, which is the entity that will purchase the properties.

The corporation is comprised of Tom and his wife Debbie Rogers, and Tom’s son, T.J. and his wife Shannon Rogers.”

Next RMS principal:

Rick Bunge

Rick Bunge

RIPON POLICE OFFICER Troy Damsteeg escorts a suspect into a squad car after the male found hiding in a closet. Ian Stepleton photo

OFFICERS ATTEMPT TO make an arrest during a high-risk traffic stop in downtown Ripon. Ben Miller photo

Man charged with armed robbery after alleged heroin deal goes bad

See SOLD/ page 18 See BUNGE/ page 18

See CHARGED/ page 17

See CONAGRA/ page 16 See WORKERS/ page 16

Page 16 - Thursday, July 30, 2015

ThedaCare’s approach to cancer care includes lots of time close to home. Because that’swhere you feel most comfortable. In fact, even if your cancer is rare and difficult to treat,our membership in the Mayo Clinic Care Network means ThedaCare specialists can consultwith Mayo Clinic on your care, with the goal of keeping you close to home. More time in theplace you love. With the people you love. It’s about time. Learn more at ThedaCare.org/time.

A DRAMATICA DRAMATICBREAKTHROUGH IN CANCER TREATMENT. IT’S CALLED HOME.

News

it will permanently lay off ap-proximately 285 employees over the next six (5) (sic) months, beginning as early as October 17, 2015. All affected employees have been notified.”

Soda’s let ter represented ConAgra’s official Wisconsin Business Closing and Mass Lay-off (WARN) notice.

According to the DWD web-site, such a notice is mandatory: “... With certain exceptions, businesses employing 50 or more persons in the State of Wiscon-sin must provide written notice 60 days before implementing a ‘business (plant) closing’ or ‘mass layoff ’ in the state.”

E x a c t l y how quickly positions are eliminated at ConAgra’s Ri-pon West plant will depend on how soon production is ramped down, according to ConAgra spokesman Dan Hare.

“We currently intend to elimi-nate 60 positions in October,” he said. “The timing for other job eliminations will be based on transition activities and demand for the cookies. We do not have specific information about the timing at this point but we are committed to providing employ-ees with as much notice as pos-sible as the details are finalized.”

For some of those same rea-sons, it’s unclear when the final job cuts will be made, he added.

“The timing for other job eliminations will be based on transition activities and demand for the cookies,” Hare said, re-iterating that the company will “provid(e) employees with as much notice as possible as the details are finalized.”

Alex Gillis, union representa-tive for Workers United Local 91, said he was told the last positions

tails of the plant closing in terms of a severance package, the layoff procedure,” said Alex Gillis, repre-sentative for Workers United Local 91. “... We compare it with the sev-erance package [ConAgra] negoti-ated in another plant; it’s difficult to find that information because it’s confidential ... but [ours] was definitely the best.

“We think the company listened to us ... They acted ethically that way.”

Local employees must have agreed, as they “overwhelmingly supported the package,” accord-ing to Gillis. “Like 95 percent or something like that [voted in favor of the severance package].”

Few details of that package were available, though Gillis noted the contract extends past the closing date of the plant.

“It’s good for a whole year, past the closing time, because we don’t know what is going to hap-pen,” he said, referring to word that ConAgra is looking to sell its private-label division, which includes all production in Ripon. “Technically the plan is still on ... but also all the private labels are for sale. So with a contract for the year we are covering the whole situation. We are still hopeful another em-ployer will [purchase] the factory and keep it open.”

Meanwhile, the DWD plans to step in and offer some assistance to workers who are losing their jobs.

“The Fox Valley Workforce Development Board will continue to provide services to the affected workers,” according to the DWD’s official press release, sent out last week Thursday.

ConAgra Foods intends to par-ticipate in some of those activities, noted Dan Hare, spokesman for ConAgra.

“We are working with the De-

partment of Workforce Develop-ment to assist employees and there is a job fair scheduled for Aug. 12 for our employees,” he said. “Em-ployees can also apply for open positions at other locations.”

Other aid will be offered by the DWD, as it outlined in the notice it sent out last week Thursday:

“The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Dislocated Worker Program pro-vides transition assistance to work-ers and companies affected by permanent worker layoffs. The Program’s local Rapid Response Teams help companies and worker representatives develop and imple-ment a practical transition plan based on the size of the layoff event. Types of services include:

‰ pre-layoff workshops on a va-riety of topics such as resume writ-ing and interviewing, job search strategies, and budgeting

‰ provision of information

about programs and resources through written materials and in-formation sessions

‰ career and resource fairs.“Workers affected by permanent

layoff may also access basic re-employment services at no charge through the state’s Job Centers. Some services, including training assistance, may be an option for some workers after enrolling in one or more of DWD’s workforce development programs. While all companies faced with permanent worker layoffs are encouraged to seek assistance from the local Rapid Response Teams, some com-panies may be required to give 60 days notice before a mass layoff or closing under federal and/or state law. More information about advance notice requirements is available at https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dislocatedworker/.”

This is separate from the sever-ance package negotiated between

to be eliminated might not occur until January — later than the original December estimate.

“Originally they were saying Dec. 31; now they are saying ... they may need an extra month — but no later than January,” he said, adding a new contract approved by factory employees allows for that extra time. “We still have the contract until next July to cover any circumstances.”

For more on the contract ne-gotiations, and how employees are being helped during this transition, see “Union: Workers were given fair, final contract by ConAgra,” on page 1.

If any good n ew s c o u l d emerge from the current sit-uation, it’s that it appears the Rippin’ Good Cookie brand may not disap-

pear entirely.Though Hare previously had

not been able to say whether ConAgra would continue produc-ing cookies under that label, he offered a more definitive answer following the WARN notice.

“We intend to continue mak-ing the Rippin’ Good brand cook-ies and the private label cookies,” he said.

ConAgra, though, reportedly is considering divesting itself of the private label business as a whole.

Would this resurrect hope of keeping Ripon’s plant open?

That’s hard to say.“We are moving forward with

the transition and any change from this plan would be based on decisions after the business is divested,” Hare said.

He did confirm, though, that the Ripon East ConAgra plant will remain open.

It produces wafer cookies.

the union and ConAgra.Despite such concessions the

union negotiated, Gillis contin-ued to have tough words about ConAgra’s decision to close the plant.

“The story here for me is there are a good number of workers who spent all their adult lives in the fac-tory and now they are [out of a job]. There is no severance that can cover that,” he said. “... I am still very upset. [This was caused by] a se-quence of bad decisions by people who only care about money ...

“What ConAgra should do is not close the plant and wait for another buyer.”

Even so, Gillis added, “We are confident it is one of the best sev-erance packages we have in our hands. The workers are satisfied ... We are unhappy because our plan was to keep it open, but hopefully something happen between now and October.”

CONAGRA/Rippin’ Good Cookies brand name expected to survive closure continued from page 1

“We currently intend to eliminate 60 posi-

tions in October.”Dan Hare, ConAgra

WORKERS/Union overwhelmingly OK’d contract continued from page 1

THE OUTLET STORE will close with the Ripon West cookie factory this winter. Ian Stepleton photo

Documents

WNA entry for Ripon Commonwealth Press: Business Coverage