Ft. McCoy furloughing 900 employees because of gov’t shutdown

SPARTA, WI — About 900 employees at Fort McCoy are on furlough until the government shutdown is over.

Workers went into work Tuesday to change voicemails and emails and fill out their last time cards. They will get paid this week, but they are not sure what comes next.

A fort spokesperson says many are disappointed in Congress for the shutdown, and some are worried about finances. “There are people who live paycheck to paycheck so I’m sure there are a lot of folks who are worried about this, will they get paid, won’t they get paid, so there’s that frustration,” said Linda Fournier.

Businesses around Fort McCoy are preparing to take a hit along with the employees. One of those is Fast Eddie’s, a convenience store in Sparta.

The owner says he sees some Fort McCoy employees twice a day. It’s a bit of deja vu for him after the sequestration earlier this year.

He says he’ll be lucky if he sees those customers once a week. “When we had the sequestration, those days that they didn’t work, it was disastrous. Everyday will be a loss, everyday, everyday is a loss that they don’t go by my door,” said Ed Havhegger.

The last government shutdown about 17 years ago took three weeks to resolve.

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