ASHLAND, WI — The federal government may or may not shut down at midnight Tuesday, but in Ashland County the matter has already been settled by Dale Furlong, the rural carrier on Route 3, who was advised Wednesday by his Eau Claire supervisor to “just take next week, we’ll call you, play it by ear.”
Furlong, 58, is — per the Ashland Chamber of Commerce — the only federal employee residing within city limits, a distinction he has held since the Forest Service ranger transferred to Hayward in 2014 and never came back.
“We were told to model our response after Dale,” said Margie Linnert, who runs the Chamber out of a converted dental office on Vaughn Avenue. “And Dale’s response is to drive to his daughter’s in St. Cloud.”
Local reaction has been measured. The First National Bank moved Monday’s flag-lowering to “whenever Tom remembers.” The VFW post pushed its fish fry up an hour, citing “general concern.” Marv Ostlund, who delivers propane on the same route, said he would carry Dale’s mail in his truck if it came to that — “but only the magazines, and only as far as the lake.”
Furlong, reached at the Black Cat Coffeehouse, said the key to a federal shutdown is to stop checking the news. “Last one, I painted the porch,” he said. “The one before that, I painted the porch again. I’ve got maybe one more porch left in me.”
His wife, Diane, was less philosophical. She told a reporter she has begun referring to the U.S. House of Representatives as “those people” and to her husband’s accumulated leave as “the Lord’s mystery.”
A spokesperson for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District office, asked Friday whether residents of Ashland should expect any disruption, replied via email that “essential services will continue uninterrupted” and included a link to a furlough-readiness PDF that would not open.
Furlong is scheduled to leave for St. Cloud on Sunday afternoon. He has been asked, by three separate neighbors, to bring back rolls.