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Got Milk? Area Schools Say 'Yes,' Despite Dairy Closing

Golden Guernsey in Waukesha closed without warning on Saturday, leaving area school districts finding other companies for their milk needs.

Area school officials say they are not concerned about the ability to supply local children despite the abrupt closing of a Waukesha milk processing plant over the weekend.

When employees of , some people were worried about the ability of school districts to obtain milk for students.

A school official for the Slinger School District told Today’s TMJ4 that schools there will run out of milk by Wednesday.

However, officials at several school districts in the Milwaukee area say they don't envision problems with having milk for their students.

The Waukesha School District will have milk on hand as schools start for the week on Monday. “Our food service company will get it from another company,” said Superintendent Todd Gray.

“We have worked it out for Greenfield and the co-op we belong to,” said Greenfield Superintendent Conrad Farner. “We are getting milk from another distributor and already received our deliveries this morning. There will be some sorting out to do over the next few days, but as of now our services should not be interrupted.”

The Elmbrook School District is part of that same co-op, so the schools in Brookfield and Elm Grove will not have a milk shortage. Elmbrook Food and Nutrition Director Cheryl Piel said resolving the issue is "very important" because milk is a component of the federal lunch program.

"We have to offer it. We can't just say, 'Have water today,'" Piel said. "The only difference may be the color of the cartons."

The Muskego School District, which already gets its milk from Dean Foods, is not worried about supply. Same for the Port Washington-Saukville School District, who already gets their milk from Kemp's, according to Superintendent Michael Weber.

Sodexo, which contracts with the Wauwatosa School District for school lunch service, purchases Kemp's milk and will not be affected by the plant closing, said company spokesman Gregory Yost.

It’s still unknown what the plant’s closing means in the long-term for Waukesha and area farmers. Waukesha Patch has left voicemails with OpenGate Capital – the investment firm that owns Golden Guernsey.

The Department of Workforce Development has not been informed of the plant’s closing.

Steve ® January 7, 2013 at 03:55 pm
LOL lawsuit was filed January 22, 2010 (Obama voters this was before Walker)
looololo Wisconsin Senator, Herb Kohl, said that ...."If the allegations are proven to be true, the lawsuit will result in lower prices for consumers and more competitive choices for dairy farmers in Wisconsin." haha how'd that work out Kohl?
Young Conservative January 7, 2013 at 03:56 pm
Thank you Eric Holder!!! Way to stick it to the those evil rich business owners!!
Fred van der Wal January 7, 2013 at 04:01 pm
Scott Walker has broken his promise to the people of Wisconsin to create 250,000 jobs through a combination of incompetence, extremism and corruption. Guess he was to occupied by a Kwanzaa fever.
Steve ® January 7, 2013 at 04:09 pm
You just completely refuse to look at the facts here. Are we surprised coming from an Obama voter?, unfortunately no.
http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2010/254435.htm http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/118889899.html
Greg January 7, 2013 at 04:17 pm
Fred, You are a complete idiot.
1) Governor Walker's term is not over, he could not have broken his promise. 2) Governor Walker was not involved with the Kwanzaa issue. What does any of this have to do with the issue being discussed? Nothing!
Bob McBride January 7, 2013 at 04:19 pm
Fred the sore loser routine is really getting old and has absolutely nothing to do with this topic. Get over it. You'll have your chance at him again in less than two years.
Greg January 7, 2013 at 05:23 pm
The Farm Bill, that includes milk pricing, is tied down by the Food Stamp Program and yet the government cries about anti-trust.
Nuitari January 7, 2013 at 05:42 pm
Got Milk?
GG doesn't.
Bren January 7, 2013 at 07:15 pm
Well we know why there are anti-trust laws in this country. Why was Dean moving toward a monopoly in the first place? But I absolutely agree with you that the sale to an investment firm and the subsequent death of the company was predictable. I understand the order to sell the dairy came in September 2011. I need to learn more about the situation, including the sale timeline.
I'm not a fan of Scott Walker as you know. He's not a connect-the-dots kind of guy. But it is difficult to believe, with more than 100 jobs on the line, that the state would have allowed a "sell now or else" directive to Deans without time for a thoughtful process. Seriously. There has to be more to the story.
Bren January 7, 2013 at 07:25 pm
According to this article, the order to Deans to sell the dairy came in March 2011: http://waukesha.patch.com/articles/dean-foods-in-waukesha-ordered-to-sell-milk-plant
There's a quote from AG Van Hollen in the article about "ensuring a competitive process." The fact of the matter is, that to the 100+ souls whose lives have just been plunged into a nightmare, which political party's responsibility doesn't matter. It looks like both parties have egg on their faces over this one. While it's not government's job to take over/fund business operations, there have been some examples (Amtrak, GM, etc.) where a temporary stewardship was appropriate and beneficial to U.S. citizens. Perhaps there's potential for a state/private industry partnership here, especially as so many of the dairy's clients were schools/school districts.
Bren January 7, 2013 at 07:26 pm
As per my comment below, the correct date of the order was March 2011.
Nancy Hall January 7, 2013 at 07:31 pm
The lawsuit was a bipartisan effort to stop a monopoly. It was spearheaded, in Wisconsin, by Republican AG J.B. Van Hollen. If you want to blame somebody, blame Dean Foods for trying to take too big a piece of the pie and breaking the law in the process. A short term consequence of the lawsuit is that Golden Guernsey has closed, maybe for good. The long term consequence is that Dean Foods has been thwarted in its efforts to control the pricing and distribution of milk in the region. Monopolies don't help anyone but the corporation that has taken control of a particular market.
Bob McBride January 7, 2013 at 07:34 pm
If there is then feel free to dig it up, rather then just insisting there must be. In a nutshell, that's what happened. Rather than wonder why Dean was moving towards someone else's definition of a monopoly, why not ask why the deal was allowed to proceed to the point where they owned GG in the first place? Purchases of that nature generally don't just happen overnight without regulating agencies being aware of them.
Finally, I don't think you're going to be able to hang this one on Walker, which no doubt will come as a gigantic disappointment to you.
Joe Todor January 7, 2013 at 07:39 pm
sooo... can Dean Foods legally buy it back and name it Dean Foods ?
Young Conservative January 7, 2013 at 07:39 pm
Golden Guernsey would be alive today , employing those same 100 souls, if Dean Foods still owned it. Facts are facts. Thank you liberals for adding to the unemployment lines.
Young Conservative January 7, 2013 at 07:54 pm
The suit was filed by the U.S. DOJ, and the respective States IL, MI and WI, joined the filing for political reasons. This entire suit was nothing but politics from the very beginig to the bitter end.
The new owners had to be approved by DOJ, a judge, and had to present a long-term plan for the facility in order to be approved as new owner. Under Deans, this plant had a strong future. Now that Obama's DOJ has caused this mess the future is anyone's guess as well as the many people who are now unemployed because of this.
c January 7, 2013 at 08:05 pm
Bren says that Walker isn't a "connect the dots" sort of guy, but he/she cannot even comprehend that Obama-type government hastened that company's closing.
William Salvano January 7, 2013 at 08:23 pm
"The long term consequence is that Dean Foods has been thwarted in its efforts to control the pricing and distribution of milk in the region."
This is not true. By GG closing, it can no longer "compete" with Deans. What is stopping schools from purchasing their milk from Deans now. The fact is that Deans will get much of this business while 100 people lose their jobs. Government intrusion has made this situation worse.
Greg January 7, 2013 at 09:36 pm
http://www.jsonline.com/business/82458787.html
Richard Head January 7, 2013 at 09:48 pm
Herb Kohl's only interest now is getting his hands on some of that Stadium Sales tax so his Bucks can receive taxpayer funded welfare.
The Stadium Tax will NEVER end, and it will only expand to provide welfare for millionaire Baseball Players, millionaire Basketball Players, and the Millionaire Owners of those teams. WHAT A RIP-OFF! Chris Abele supports extending .1% Miller Park sales tax to pay for new Bucks arena http://bloggingblue.com/2012/12/03/chris-abele-supports-extending-1-miller-park-sales-tax-to-pay-for-new-bucks-arena/ Wisconsin's very own Dairy Queen is only interested in Taxpayer Bucks for his Bucks!
Nancy Hall January 7, 2013 at 09:54 pm
My point is that there would have been other diaries and co-ops either squeezed out or forced to sell to Dean if Dean Foods had achieved a monopoly in Wisconsin. As far as the schools are concerned...there's nothing stopping schools from buying from Dean and there's nothing stopping them from buying from Kemp or any other distributor. If they were buying from Golden Guernsey previously, then they were buying from Dean anyway. The fact that Dean now has a smaller share of dairies in the state doesn't mean that that they'll get more business. It means that they'll have more competition from other dairies.
judy kozlowski January 7, 2013 at 10:14 pm
Obama is the one that makes all the rules, so you can pin this on Obama! Gov. Walker is the best thing that's happen to Wisconsin in a long, long time. Way to go
Gov. Walker.
Bob McBride January 7, 2013 at 10:24 pm
How many small dairies went out of business during the approximately 2 years Dean owned GG? If any, can any such be attributed to not being able to compete against Dean owned brands? How was milk pricing effected by the forced sale of GG to another party, OpenGate, from the time of the sale until its demise on Saturday?
A judicial ruling and subsequent action based on presumed assumptions about market share may or may not reflect what actually happens in the market itself. Based on the information we have, we know that 100 people abruptly lost their jobs on Saturday. Any other conclusion, sans answers for the considerations I mention above for, is purely speculative.
Steve ® January 7, 2013 at 10:49 pm
This would be sweet justice. And at a lower price than what they sold it at. The equipment is still in place, someone will but it and hopefully fix this big government mistake.
jbw January 7, 2013 at 10:57 pm
If I remember correctly, government subsidies on milk are huge. So huge in fact, that our leaders were threatening last week that the milk we buy on sale for $2 a gallon would rise to $8 if those subsidies were not renewed. So, I guess the subsidies we pay through taxes are actually about 75% of the true cost of milk.
That means the entire bulk milk production industry is one giant welfare recipient, anyway, so its success or failure is a wash for our economy (e.g. its jobs paid for with the farm "subsidies" welfare program could just be shifted over to some other welfare program). Still, you have to congratulate these guys for managing to fail at a business where nearly all your revenue is guaranteed government handouts. Kudos.
Nuitari January 7, 2013 at 11:47 pm
The feds buy millions of gallons of milk and then pour it down the sewer to regulate prices and then calls it subsidizing.
Nuitari January 7, 2013 at 11:50 pm
Those Obama voters are viewable in the third picture posted. Notice the GG trucks in the background. Priceless. Glad I took that picture when I was cheering R&R.
Steve ® January 8, 2013 at 01:14 am
Nice. Obama voters sure hate America.
Nuitari January 8, 2013 at 01:57 am
What's lost in all this is the fact that Eric Holder is more interested in Big Milk than admitting the truth with Fast and Furious. Guess he thought dead Americans and illegal guns are nothing to cry over but spilled milk is.
Alecto January 8, 2013 at 05:04 pm
I don't understand why the school district(s) don't simply contract directly with the dairy or with local food providers? Wouldn't that be cheaper and better for the kids? It's unprofessional and inept of OpenGate to acquire Guernsey without even checking state labor laws before closing the planet. What a bunch of amateurs!

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Pennyluhu June 16, 2013 at 07:49 am
I agree that the folks at this Kwik Trip are great at assisting disabled people like myself but IRead More disagree that all Kwik Trips are helpful. There is a law that all gas stations are to assist you if you have disabled plates or a hanging placard if you press the help or disabled key on the pump. If there is no key (and I think all must have them by a certain date) then you are to honk horn twice and if there are at least 2 employees on duty, they are to assist. The K/T on St. Paul is useless. I've waited there, watching at least 3 employees mill around the counter with 1 or 2 customers and ingnore me. The Grandview station same but I haven't tried them in a few months. The worst station for that is whatever the one on St. Paul and Prarie is. I pulled in to see a female worker standing on side of building smoking. When she went in she was greeted by a male worker and I was ignored by both. I'd like to do a survey on how helpful each gas station is to the disabled. Kudos to Fleetfoot Kwik Trip! Whatever they got they should share with their brethren. I would rather give my $ to K/T because they are WI based and they donate regularly to the Salvation Army
Pennyluhu June 16, 2013 at 07:49 am
I agree that the folks at this Kwik Trip are great at assisting disabled people like myself but IRead More disagree that all Kwik Trips are helpful. There is a law that all gas stations are to assist you if you have disabled plates or a hanging placard if you press the help or disabled key on the pump. If there is no key (and I think all must have them by a certain date) then you are to honk horn twice and if there are at least 2 employees on duty, they are to assist. The K/T on St. Paul is useless. I've waited there, watching at least 3 employees mill around the counter with 1 or 2 customers and ingnore me. The Grandview station same but I haven't tried them in a few months. The worst station for that is whatever the one on St. Paul and Prarie is. I pulled in to see a female worker standing on side of building smoking. When she went in she was greeted by a male worker and I was ignored by both. I'd like to do a survey on how helpful each gas station is to the disabled. Kudos to Fleetfoot Kwik Trip! Whatever they got they should share with their brethren. I would rather give my $ to K/T because they are WI based and they donate regularly to the Salvation Army
Mr Lundt June 17, 2013 at 08:02 am
I am fine with this service--its great. However being handicapped does not mean employees need toRead More give up their breaks or other customers need to let you cut in line in front of their service needs.