BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016 VOL. 55 NO. 15 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
HAPPY NEW YEAR
HAPPY NEW YEAR
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Receiving a passing grade Webster Schools ‘meet expectations’ in latest report card BY TODD BECKMANN SENTINEL
Burnett Dairy reflects on very good year GRANTSBURG—It was good news for the owners of the Burnett Dairy Cooperative as they met for the 49th annual meeting of members last week. “With $4.5 million in cheese sales, fiscal 2016 was a great year,” CEO Dan Dowlingreported. He said most of very strong and perhaps record year just ended is due to the aggressive nature of the business. “We acquired the remaining 50 percent of Cady Cheese Farm and we added three new artisan cheeses,” Dowling added. Of course, none of it would be possible without the co-op’s patrons. “We’ll be paying out $2.5 million to our patrons in the next 60 days,” Dowling pointed out. “No one is coming close to what we pay in patronage.” Dowling said with a net worth of $29 million, Burnett Dairy is at “a record level of strength.” He said the dairy is using some of that total net worth to reinvest in itself — which means higher production, better facilities and more efficient equipment. “When I first started and I asked how may pounds we could produce, I was told 29 million pounds is what this facility could produce each year,” Dowling said. “We made a few changes, and now our goal is to maximize cheese production in three years — to make up to as much as 50 million pounds of product.” Plans are also proceeding to bring a new onsite liquid fertilizer and crop protection facility online in 2017 — and to have it functional for the 2017 growing season.
WEBSTER—The annual Department of Public Instruction report card is out and while the Webster School District may not be receiving straight- A’s, they aren’t shutting the doors, either. “We met expectations in all of our buildings,” Superintendent Jim Erickson told school board members at the monthly board meeting last week. “We feel good about that.” Each school is graded in four areas —student achievement, student growth, closing gaps and on-track for graduation readiness. “The ‘closing gaps’ measure is a big deal,” Elementary Principal Martha Anderson pointed out. “The DPI tells us Wisconsin has one of the biggest gaps in the country.” According to the Education Trust, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit, Wisconsin is not making as much progress raising student achievement and closing the gaps between have and have-not students as the nation as a whole. Their analysis showed the achievement gaps between ethnically diverse students, as well as the economically disadvantaged students in Wisconsin are among the largest in the United States.
Martha Anderson SEE WEBSTER, PAGE 7
Retaining valued employees SIREN—In an effort to retain and reward county employees, the Burnett County Board of Supervisors approved an employee recognition program at its meeting last week. “This is some small measure to express our gratitude to our employees for serving the county and staying here,” Burnett County Board Chairman Don Taylor said of the program. Burnett County Administrator Nate Ehalt echoed those comments. “Continuity is important for our people to do their jobs,” he said. “It may take three or four years before a new health and human services hire, for example, will fully know all their department has to offer.” The program recognizes years of service with gift cards and additional days in their personal time-off bank, starting with a $50 gift card and five additional days for five years. The employee will be recognized each subsequent five years, all the way to 35 years, where they will receive a $1,000 gift card and 15 additional days of personal time off. Jim Tolbert
NEW EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR The supervisors unanimously approved the hiring of Jim Tolbert to assume the duties as
SEE DAIRY, PAGE 7
SEE EMPLOYEES, PAGE 7
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