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Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications		Breaking News June 22, 2006 - Vesper can recover from job cuts DAILY TRIBUNE EDITORIAL “OUR VIEW” Posted June 22, 2006 There's no way to sugarcoat the news: The planned layoffs at Kerry Ingredients will be a heavy blow to Vesper. The effects likely will reverberate through central Wisconsin communities because the people employed at the business shop at and, in some cases, live in other local communities. On Tuesday, the village's largest employer announced it would eliminate about half its 140-person workforce at the Vesper facility. For a community the size of Vesper, that's a huge loss. In total, 58 production and eight administrative positions will be cut at the local dairy product processing plant over the next few months, a company spokesman said. The reductions are happening as the international company is "... repositioning some of our product lines," spokesman Jim Egan said. That type of strategy makes sense in a globally competitive market that has company officials looking for every possible efficiency. But it can be a little hard to stomach for the people affected by the decision. Some people will say they saw it coming. Brent Friday didn't. He was "shell-shocked" when he heard he would lose the job he started about eight years ago. It certainly won't make life any easier for the 31-year-old and his wife, Kristen, who have a 9-month-old son. Still, he hasn't given in to despair. "I know we will make it; it's just a little frightening," Friday told a Daily Tribune reporter. The same might said for Vesper: The community will make it, even though recent developments have been a little discomforting. In 2004, the community lost its grocery store, and in the past year there has been a lot of talk of closing Vesper Elementary School to save money in the Wisconsin Rapids School District. There are many who are concerned the community is crumbling before their eyes. Is it really? Anyone who has paid attention to news about the Vesper Community Progress Initiative team knows it has been one of the more active groups in the area. In the past few years, community members have added a weekly farmer's market, and activities like the July 16 firemen's picnic give people a reason to spend their free time in the village. These people believe in Vesper. There's a lot of community pride there, and as long as it stays strong the village will have solid footing. There has to be a reason people who work in neighboring communities like Wisconsin Rapids or Pittsville choose to live in Vesper. The small-town atmosphere is really attractive to some people, and that's not likely to change. And its central location makes it a convenient home for couples who might work on opposite ends of the county. Ray Behling has seen many people and businesses come and go during his 85 years in Vesper. "It was a good little community, and it still is," he said. He's not ready to give up on the village. Neither should anyone else. • It's your turn Do you have ideas about how to help Vesper and employees of Kerry Ingredients recover from the recent job cuts? Send letters of 350 words or less to editor@wisconsinrapidstribune.com. Please include your name, address and phone number for verification purposes.
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