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Friday, Jan. 11, 2013Volume 18, Issue 2

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Meyer named chair of new school boardby Dennis Dalmannews@thnewsleaders.com

Michelle Meyer was elected as the new c h a i r m a n of the Sar-t e l l - S t . S t e p h e n S c h o o l Board during the first meeting of the new board, which met for the first time Jan. 7. Meyer had served on the board in pre-vious years before being elected to a two-year replacement term last November.

The Sartell Newsleader was again selected as the “offi-cial newspaper” by the school board.

The board also decided to add a non-voting student mem-ber to the board make-up. That student will be selected and an-nounced later. Many Minnesota school boards have tradition-ally included a student liaison

member.The newly organized board

is comprised of four newly elected board members, as well as two incumbents. The new ones, elected in the Nov. 6 general election, are Meyer, Ja-son Nies, Krista Laurich Dur-rwachter and Pam Raden. The incumbents are Mary McCabe and Dan Riordan.

At the Jan. 7 organizational meeting, besides naming Meyer as chair, the board also elected McCabe as vice chair. Jason Nies was elected as clerk-trea-surer, which the board com-bined into one position rather than two as before.

Other actions at the board’s organizational meeting in-cluded the following:

The board decided to sched-ule upcoming school board meetings at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of every month.

Board members set salaries, which are $3,200 per year for the board chair and clerk-trea-surer and $2,800 for the four

Meyer

Mothers-daughters enjoy bonding in ‘Annie’by Dennis Dalmannews@thnewsleaders.com

During a rehearsal, when the-atrical newcomer Katie Radeke started dancing on stage, her two young daughters squirmed with embarrassment and later told her she was acting “silly.”

But Radeke explained she had to act a bit silly because the character she is playing is a bit silly.

The girls understood, and since that time they’ve had lots of fun during the many rehears-als for “Annie,” the musical comedy that opens Jan. 11 for seven public performances at Escher Auditorium at the Col-lege of St. Benedict. A GREAT Theatre production, “Annie” features 52 actors from central Minnesota – eight actors from Sartell, including Radeke and her two daughters, Grace and Ava. Another Sartell family (the mother-daughter duo of Judy and Kara Wolters) also have roles in the play. Unlike the Radekes, who have never acted together in plays before, the Wolters have performed together in many local plays since Kara, now 17, was only 9 years old. For the Wolters, acting has be-come an annual tradition, not to mention a fun-filled vehicle for

contributed photo

The Wolters and the Radekes rehearse the song “New York City” during a rehearsal for “Annie,” which opens Friday, June 11 at Escher Auditorium at the College of St. Benedict. From left to right are Kara Wolters, her mother Judy Wolters, Ava Radeke (girl in front), her sister Grace; and their mother, Katie.

Year in Review Part 2:

Verso tragedy dominated news in 2012 (July-December)by Dennis Dalmannews@thnewsleaders.com

JulyA major “facelift” gets under-

way at Sartell schools. Thanks to funds authorized by Sartell voters last year, the ambitious projects have begun. They include a ma-jor structural rearrangement of the District Office building, new roofs on the high school and middle school, a new running track and tennis courts, improvements to the indoor pool, a recoating of gym floors and rewiring for energy and

technology.Laurie Conzemius, media spe-

cialist at Pine Meadow Elementary School, is appointed to the board of the International Society for Technology in Education, which has about 5,000 members world-wide.

Dennis Herschbach, a Sartell resident, hosts an autograph party to sign copies of his first novel, “Convergence at Two Harbors,” a page-turner about an attempted terrorist plot in Two Harbors, Minn., which is Herschbach’s pre-

mother-daughter bonding.The other Sartell actors in

“Annie” are St. Cloud State Uni-versity student Megan Johnson, who plays the role of Lilly; ninth-grader Jillian Lawson, who plays Connie Boylan; and

Heidi Lenarz, who performs as one of the orphans in the play.

The Radekes (mother and two daughters) are happy to be in “Annie” together. It’s the first venture into theatrics for Katie and Ava, who is a first-

grader at Pine Meadow Ele-mentary School. Grace, a Pine Meadow fourth-grader, had a role in “Beauty and the Beast,” a GREAT Theatre production of three years ago.

board directors (members). Those amounts are unchanged from last year’s salaries.

The board did, however, de-cide to decrease the compensa-tory payments by $50-$100 per

category for special meetings other than regularly scheduled school-board meetings. Mem-bers from now on will receive $50 for meetings lasting one-

Review • page 4

Meyer • page 3

Annie • page 3

School districtspelling bee is Jan. 28

The Sartell/St. Stephen School District 748 spelling bee has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28 in the North Media Center at Sartell Middle School. Any home schools within the district wishing to be represented should contact the spelling bee coordinator, Lori Dornburg, at Sartell Middle School, by Friday, Jan. 11. Please include the student’s name, grade, parents’/guardians’ name(s), address, phone number, teacher’s name, school name and home phone number. Participants will join the appropriate grade-level bees at Sartell Middle School. Be aware that Scripps Na-tional Spelling Bee rules require each “school” register with Scripps and pay a participation fee. Anyone with questions should contact Dorn-burg at SMS at 656-3701 ext. 2674.

Hospital requestshealthy visitors only

To protect our patients and staff, St. Cloud Hospital is discouraging visitors with fever or cough from visiting hospitalized patients.

Visitors who are healthy are advised to do the following:

• Clean your hands after arriv-ing and before leaving.

• Always cover your cough or sneeze into a tissue or your sleeve.

• Clean your hands after cough-ing and sneezing.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Individual tax preparer, tax site assistants sought

Volunteers are needed at the St. Cloud VITA free tax site locations to assist as individual tax preparers and tax site assistants. Tax preparers are responsible for completing indi-vidual tax returns for low-income individuals and families. An all-day training session will be offered from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, and three evening sessions, Jan. 22, 23 and 24. For more information, visit www.thenewsleaders.com and click on Criers.

Farmers asked to remit apps for conservation

The U.S. Department of Agricul-ture’s Natural Resources Conserva-tion Service is accepting applica-tions to help farmers improve water and air quality, build healthier soil, improve grazing and forest lands, conserve energy, enhance organic operations and achieve other en-vironmental benefits. Funds are available for conservation activi-ties, such as irrigation water man-agement, reduced tillage, field buf-fers, rotational grazing systems and much more. The deadline for the next sign-up period in Minnesota is Jan. 18. For more information, visit www.thenewsleaders.com and click on Criers.

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com2

NewstandsLittle Dukes on PineconeSartell City HallSartell-St. StephenSchool District OfficesWalgreens

Country Store and PharmacyHoliday on Riverside DriveHoliday on 7th Street NHouse of PizzaJM Speedstop

Published each Friday by Von Meyer Publishing Inc.

P.O. Box 324 • 32 1st Ave. N.W. • St. Joseph, Minn. 56374Phone (320) 363-7741 • Fax (320) 363-4195 • E-mail address: news@thenewsleaders.comPOSTMASTER: Send address changes to ST. JOSEPH NEWSLEADER, P.O. Box 324, St. Joseph, MN 56374.

Contributing WritersTaLeiza Calloway

Cori Hilsgen

Design/LayoutTara Wiese

Publisher/Owner Janelle Von Pinnon

EditorDennis Dalman

AdvertisingSales AssistantKathryn Bjorke

DeliveryGlen Lauer

BlotterIf any readers have tips concern-

ing crimes, they should call the Sartell Police Department at 251-8186 or Tri-County Crime Stoppers at 255-1301 or access its tip site at www.tricoun-tycrimestoppers.org. Crime Stoppers offers rewards up to $1,000 for infor-mation leading to the arrest and con-viction of those responsible for crimes.

Dec. 26:1:08 p.m. Alarm. Just for Kix.

An alarm was set off due to front doors being broken at the building. Officers did check the building and found no one inside. A computer was taken.

10:08 p.m. Loud music. Pine-cone Road. A complaint was made regarding loud music inside an apartment building. Officers walked through the halls and were not able to hear any loud music.

11:41 p.m. Suspicious person. 7th Street N. While on patrol, an officer noticed a group of males on school property. Upon making contact, the males stated they were building snowboard jumps. They were told this was unacceptable. The males cleaned their mess and left without incident.

Dec. 27:6:22 a.m. Alarm assist. High-

way 10. Officers assisted Benton County in a business alarm. Offi-cers cleared the building and found nothing missing.

5:04 p.m. Stalled vehicle. 2nd Street S. A vehicle was stalled in a traffic lane. The driver agreed to call a tow company and the vehicle was moved.

Dec. 28:12:28 p.m. Vehicle in ditch.

Pinecone Road. While on patrol, officers saw a vehicle stuck in the ditch. The driver had swerved to avoid a crash with another vehicle and then was stuck in the snow. Of-ficers were able to get the vehicle out of the ditch.

Dec. 29:1:50 a.m. Parking violation. 4th

Avenue N. Winter-parking citation issued.

3:06 a.m. Intoxicated female. A report was made regarding an extremely intoxicated female who was at the police station. The fe-male came from a local restaurant and had asked two males to drive her home. She could not give her address and therefore they brought her to the police department. She was issued a citation for minor consumption and transported to detox.

11:38 a.m. Injured animal. Sun-set Avenue. A report was made of an injured duck. The duck did seem to have an injured leg but when officers attempted to ap-proach, it flew away.

Dec. 30:10:48 p.m. Theft. Walmart. A

male was witnessed attempting to leave the store with unpaid mer-chandise. He was issued a citation and released.

To read the entire blotter, visit www.thenewsleaders.com

contributed photo

Three former Sartelle-St. Stephen Sabres all-area, all-confer-ence football teammates continue their stellar play together again collegiately at St. John’s University. They are (left to right) Rob Voshell, Sean Tillman and Paul Plombon.

Hundreds of family members and friends of Country Manor residents and guests gathered to celebrate Christmas. The joy Christmas brings was felt by ev-eryone at the celebration. The harmonious sounds of Christmas carolers strolling the halls, Gran-

ite City Sound performing in the chapel and local musicians play-ing traditional Christmas songs echoed through the health-care center. While visitors listened to the sounds of Christmas, they en-joyed cookie-decorating, Christ-mas crafts, performances by danc-

ers from the North Crest Activ-ity Center, a variety of foods and horse-drawn trolley rides around the campus.

For additional Country Manor Christmas traditions and photos, visit www.thenewsleaders.com and click on People.

contributed photo

Laura Dohrman (left) strings colorful holiday beads with her grandparents Donald and Rose Dohrman (grandma) during the 13th annual Hometown Christmas event held Dec. 8 at Country Manor Health Care Center and Rapid Recovery and Aquatic Center. Hundreds of family members and friends of Country Manor residents and guests gathered to celebrate Christmas.

Residents deck halls during Hometown Christmas

contributed photos

Carolers at the Hometown Christmas event: (front row, left to right) Dixie Morse, Aubri Aker-vik, Jalen Schumann, Deven Schumann and Kora Akervik; (back row) Dan Schumann, Trisha Schumann, Tiffany Akervik, Tyra Baumann, Janet Guennigsman and Jordan Kiffmeyer.

Football buddies continue to play at SJU

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com 3

Anniefrom front page

contributed photo

Katie Amdahl of St. Cloud has the title role in the musical comedy “Annie.”

Her daughters had to nudge Katie into trying out for the play.

“I’d never been in a play before,” Katie said, “but I just turned 40 so I thought being in a play would be a good start on my bucket list,” Julie said, laughing. “The girls and I must have seen the movie version of ‘Annie’ a million times.”

Mother and daughters were thrilled when they learned they passed the audition and all have parts in the play.

Katie plays a servant to Daddy Warbucks. She also plays a homeless apple seller and has a part in the big rousing scene in the “Hooverville” hobo camp. Daughter Ava is also in that scene. Grace plays an or-phan, a friend to orphan An-nie, in the mean-spirited Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. Ava has three plum roles: a Hooverville street urchin, a rich ice-skating girl and (her favorite part a ventriloquist’s dummy named Wacky), a role that allows her to act like a wooden puppet. All of the Radekes sing and dance as part of the choruses throughout the play.

Katie admits she’s nervous about being in a play.

“This is really a stretch for me,” she said. “I had to sing a solo to make sure the micro-phones were working during a rehearsal the other night, and – oh – was I scared! Yes, I’m nervous, but it’s been so much fun, and I think we’ll all have fun when the play opens. We’re very excited about it.”

Katie is a special education teacher in Avon. Her husband, Paul, is a financial advisor.

“We tried to convince him to shave his head and try out for the role of the bald Daddy War-bucks,” Katie said, laughing. “Well, we didn’t convince him.”

It took Katie a period of ad-justment to get used to being in a play with her two daughters.

“I’m their mother so it was hard for me to not want to tell them what to do,” she said. “I had to learn to let the directors tell them what to do.”

Katie would definitely con-sider trying out for another play.

“It was so much fun, and the director and choreographer and everybody else were so support-

ive,” she said. “They are all so talented. It was a great experi-ence to work with them.”

Judy Wolters and daughter Kara feel the same way about the pleasures of bonding during theatrical rehearsals and perfor-mances. And they should know. They’ve been in play produc-tions together for about 10 years – eight plays, to be exact. The latest one was “Joseph’s Amaz-ing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

“Annie” may be their last pro-duction together, as Kara, who is a senior at Sartell High School, will leave for college after this school year. She plans to study medicine, perhaps at Loyola University in Chicago.

Like her daughter, Judy has had a passion for theater as long as she can remember. While growing up in Whittier, Calif., as a girl she played the role of Scrooge in a youth production of “A Christmas Carol,” and she still has an audio tape of that production.

In “Annie,” Judy plays two roles – the main one being Frances Perkins, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She also appears in the “Hoover-ville” crowd scene, as does Kara. Kara’s chief role is that of a ser-vant to Daddy Warbucks.

When she learned she nabbed the role of Frances Perkins, Judy did some research about the Franklin D. Roosevelt adminis-tration, which led the country during the gloomy, dark days of the Great Depression in the 1930s, the era in which “An-nie” takes place. Judy was im-pressed to learn Mrs. Perkins, appointed as Secretary of Labor in 1933, was the first woman to be named to such a high cabinet post in the government. In the play, Judy (as Perkins) performs in a cabinet scene with the pres-ident and other officials. Annie comes to visit the president and sings the famous song “Tomor-row.”

The Wolters, mother and daughter, have rehearsed “An-nie” for the past six nights, a couple of nights each week. Both are confident about open-ing night and their string of performances.

“I have a bit of a case of but-terflies,” Judy said. “But it’s a sense of excitement more than anything else.”

There may be a tinge of sad-ness, too, because Judy and

Kara know that “Annie” just might be their last play together.

“It’s really been so much fun to work with my daughter throughout the years,” Judy said. “It was fun to do something with my child as a peer rather than a parent. We were both equals in those plays, working together toward a common goal.”

Tara agrees.“It’s been a good experience

being in plays with mom,” she said. “It was a good bonding ex-perience. Someday, when I have kids of my own, it would be fun for us to act in plays together.”

‘Annie’Based on the once-popular

comic strip, “Little Orphan An-nie,” “Annie” was first performed in 1977 on Broadway and went on to become a smash hit world-wide. It was also made into a popular movie. “Annie” features music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin. Its best known numbers are probably “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard-Knock Life.”

The GREAT Theatre produc-tion of the play stars Katie Am-dahl of St. Cloud in the title role.

The musical, set during the economically desperate 1930s, is the story of a spunky, resource-ful girl named Annie, who is dropped off as a newborn baby at an orphanage run by the mean, boozing Miss Hannigan. Annie escapes and befriends a

Decker murder case leads to man’s suicideby Dennis Dalmannews@thnewsleaders.com

The mas-sive effort to locate the killer or kill-ers of Cold Spring-Rich-mond Police Officer Thom-as Decker took a grim turn last week with the suicide of a man described as a “person of interest.”

The case, however, remains under investigation, and authori-ties were quick to point out there is no evidence the man who committed suicide is the one who killed Decker.

Now, investigators are re-questing anyone who knew the man to call authorities because they are trying to determine Thomes’ whereabouts a week or so before Decker’s death and in the weeks since.

During a Jan. 4 press con-ference at the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, officials revealed Eric Joseph Thomes, 31, of Cold Spring, had hung himself on Jan. 2. At the time of his death, law-enforcement officers were trying to convince Thomes to come out of an outbuilding where he had barricaded him-self several hours earlier. The officers had gone to Thomes’s residence to question him about the Decker case. At that time, Thomes ran from the house and

into an outbuilding on the prop-erty. After the three-hour stand-off, officers entered the outbuild-ing and found Thomes had hung himself and was dead.

The day of the suicide was the second visit by law-enforce-ment officers to the Thomes residence. They had returned to talk to him again because he had made contradictory statements about the night of Decker’s mur-der in downtown Cold Spring.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced a 20-gauge shotgun as the weapon used to murder Decker on the night of Nov. 29, 2012 while he was doing a welfare check in downtown Cold Spring in the back lot of Winner’s Sports Bar and Grill. Decker was shot twice with that weapon and died at the scene. At the press conference, it was announced Thomes had access to the shotgun, which was on some other property than the place where Thomes lived. Officials did not elaborate on the where or why of their statement.

Right after the killing of Decker, a man who lives above Winner’s was arrested and jailed – the man Decker had meant to visit that night because the po-lice department received a report the man may have been feeling suicidal. The man was released four days later from jail for lack of evidence.

The offer of a $100,000 re-ward for the solving of the Decker murder led to tips that

caused authorities to interview Thomes as a “person of interest” in the case. Another tip was a black van or mini-van with a loud muffler that was seen near Winner’s Sports Bar and Grill at about the time Decker was shot to death. Authorities have located that vehicle and have impounded it.

Law enforcement has been contacting people and search-ing records to learn more about Thomes. He graduated from Ro-cori High School in 1999, and many people have described him as a nice, likeable individual.

Authorities also revealed Thomes had been arrested one day in 2011 for driving while intoxicated and that he had been jailed several times in connec-tion with that incident. He had been charged with violating the conditions of his parole for the DWI case and had been sched-uled to appear in court last week, but the hearing had been cancelled.

Investigators are hoping more information about Thomes’s whereabouts and actions during last November and through the month of December may help lead to more information for a fi-nal solution to Decker’s slaying.

Anyone with such informa-tion should call the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office at 1-877-782-5683, the BCA at 1-877-996-6222 or the BCA online at bca.tips@state.mn.us.

Thomes

to-two hours, $100 for meetings lasting two-to-four hours, $150 for meetings lasting four-to-six hours and $400 for meetings that exceed six hours. On rare meetings that would last lon-ger than eight hours, members would receive $500 for their time.

The board members agreed

Meyerfrom front page

to serve on the following com-mittees:

Laurich Durrwachter: negoti-ations, finance and operations.

McCabe: policy, finance and operations.

Meyer: curriculum, instruc-tion and assessment.

Nies: finance and operations, technology.

Raden: legislative network, curriculum, instruction and as-sessment, operations and tech-nology.

Riordan: Benton-Stearns Ed-ucation District liaison, policy.

lovable stray dog named Sandy. A series of intrigues follows in-volving a scene in Hooverville (a camp for the homeless named after President Hoover) and a scene with President Roosevelt. One of the main characters is a billionaire named Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks who helps bring about a happy deliverance for Annie.

The GREAT Theatre produc-tion of “Annie” is unique in that it will be using the actual props, stage set and costumes used in a Broadway touring production of the play. The rented items were all delivered by a semi-truck a couple of weeks ago. Cast members describe the set and paraphernalia as “phenomenal” and “gorgeous.”

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com4

HELP WANTED: Sales Professional/CSR - St. JosephEmail resume to mgrussing@farmersagent.com or call 320-363-7800.

320-363-7800 • 111 College Ave. N. #2 • St. Joseph, MN 56374

Michael R. GrussingLicensed Insurance Agent

Reviewfrom front pagevious home town. Herschbach, a retired teacher, is also the author of a book of poetry and a collection of prose poems and letters about the grieving process.

Thefts of items from vehicles has the police department urging people to keep their vehicles locked and their garages locked overnight. In the period of a week or so, there were more than 50 thefts of items from vehicles and garages in virtu-ally every area of the city.

The Sartell Community Band performs its end-of-season concert in Val Smith Park.

A fundraiser for the family of Jon Maus is a resounding success on the grounds of the Bernick’s Arena in Sartell. Maus, 51, of Al-bany, died in the Verso explosion May 28. He is survived by wife Lucy and four children: Anthony, Philip, Olivia and Veronica.

The Sartell City Council agrees on a plan to fix several walking trails in the city that had been dam-aged mainly by willow roots next to holding ponds.

AugustMinnesota Gov. Mark Dayton

and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar visit Sartell and meet with city officials and others. They assure displaced workers from the ruined Verso pa-

per mill they will be eligible for extended unemployment benefits as well as retraining employment counseling and school help if needed.

On Aug. 2, the news everyone dreaded to hear was announced: The Verso paper mill, damaged in the May 28 explosion and fire, will close for good. Verso officials made the announcement at an af-ternoon press conference at Sartell City Hall. It would be prohibitively costly to repair the plant and get it in running order again, the officials announced, after being in business, under various names and owner-ships, for 106 years. The current owner, Verso, is based in Memphis, Tenn. There are three other Verso paper-making mills elsewhere in the country that will continue to operate. Although many had antici-pated the bad news, Verso’s closing still came as a shock to so many. It’s similar to a feeling of mourning and grief, said Sartell City Adminis-trator Patti Gartland. The city’s at-tention immediately turned to other questions: Can there be a new busi-ness on that property that will bring jobs to residents? How will the 250 displaced Verso workers fare in an unstable economic climate?

The State Fire Marshal announc-es it was an overheated compressor that caused the explosion and fire that took the life of one employee, injured several others and caused the permanent closing of the Verso

paper mill in Sartell. The May 28 catastrophe brought a stunning end to more than a century of the company, a historic and economic bedrock of Sartell.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann visits Sartell and suggests the hy-droelectric dam operated for so many years by the now-defunct Verso company could possibly by operated by the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers in the future. She also promised to help find a new business-related use for the Verso property.

The city agrees to release $750,000 in half-cent sales-tax money for continued development in Pinecone Central Park. The funds are contingent upon funds raised by the Pinecone Central Park Association, a group of private citizens dedicated to park improve-ments on the site. The city bought that 168-acre site in 2008 from the owner of the land, which used to be the Sartell Golf Course.

The annual “Cookout with Cops” draws 150 senior citizens who enjoy guest speakers, lunch and conversation at the St. Francis Xavier Gathering Place.

SeptemberThe Sartell-St. Stephen Educa-

tion Foundation gives $25,000 to be used for school programs in all of the city’s schools. The fundraising group donates money annually for projects that parents, students and teachers would like but cannot afford.

Sartell schools exceed state proficiency ratings in the Minne-sota Measurement Ratings system, based on test data from last year and this. The ratings also take into account graduation rates, individ-ual student growth and the closing of the achievement gap.

State Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Sartell) is honored as “Legisla-tor of the Year” by the Minnesota School Board Association. He was cited for his work to pass a bill on school-land trust reform. O’Driscoll also receives honors from other or-ganizations for his work on behalf of veterans and for his work on city issues and pension issues.

Mary McCabe, chair of the Sar-tell-St. Stephen School Board, is voted out of her chairmanship, 4-2. Fellow board member Chris Gross presents a resolution citing reasons why McCabe should not be chair, including – according to the petition – inability to work with other board members and not adhering to the core values of the district. McCabe said she’d agreed to become chair only because the former chair had moved from the school district.

A task force is formed to explore issues involving the possible cre-ation of a Sartell community center, which has for years been a top priority on the wish lists of many residents, as several polls have indicated. The council plans to use $1.6 million in half-cent sales-tax funds to make a center that would have multi-uses. The task now is to determine what, exactly, do res-idents want?

Sartell schools, like schools across the nation, begin serving meals according to a “Healthy Kids” federal mandate that is de-signed to make meals more nu-

photo by Dennis Dalman

Two chaplains serve as picnic chefs during the annual “Cook-out with Cops” held Aug. 23 at St. Francis Xavier Church. The cookout featured speakers, conversation and a lunch bought and served by police officers and other volunteers. At left is Mike Loomis and at the right is Kirk Knudsen. Both are vol-unteers for the Central Minnesota Emergency Services Chap-laincy.

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com 5

SFX Kindergarten Program All Day, Every Day

Sunday, Jan. 27 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 75:30 - 7 p.m.

Preschool Class Times 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. Extended-Day Hour8:30 - 11:30 a.m. Preschool Program

11:30 a.m. - 12:15p.m. Extended-Day Hour8:30 a.m. - 3:10 p.m. M/W/F

St. Francis Xavier is a Christian school based on Catholic values. We offer a wonderful teacher-to-student ratio and strong academic curriculum. Our small-school atmosphere provides a sense of community that is critical in the primary years, with a focus on self respect for others. If you believe in a faith-based education for your child, please come visit us today, or enroll online at www.SFXSchool.org.

Scholarships and special funding available for students in grades K-6. Discounts apply for parishioners and for families with multiple children in grades K-6.

Self-Esteem Developed Here

tritious and less fattening. Some students complain the meals do not make them feel full enough during the day.

An ecumenical church service honors the Verso paper mill and all of its former employees, including Jon Maus, who was killed in the May 28 explosion.

OctoberElection season is heating up

as many local candidates begin to take part in local forums and debates. The candidates include those vying for seats on the Sar-tell-St. Stephen School Board, the Sartell City Council and two candi-dates for St. Stephen mayor.

The Verso employee-union pres-ident, Lyle Fleck, hosts a press conference in Watab Park during which he sharply criticizes U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Stillwa-ter) for allegedly not showing up in person or meeting with displaced Verso unionized workers shortly after the Verso explosion. He de-scribed Bachmann’s absence and what he called her lack of concern for employees an “insult.”

The Sartell LeSauk Fire Depart-ment hosts its annual open house at the fire hall. A similar open house takes place in St. Stephen. At the two events, parents watch as their children enjoy crawling in and out of fire vehicles, eating treats and intermingling with fire-fighters.

At a Sartell-St. Stephen School Board meeting, members of the public gather, and many of the 16 speakers accuse the board of being “immature,” “disrespectful” and “dysfunctional.” For many months, there have been bickering disagreements among some board members, as well as some behind-the-scenes accusations. Some claim the effort to renew Superintendent Dr. Joe Hill’s contract is being rail-roaded through by just a few mem-bers. One speaker, former board member Julie Zupfer Anderson, claims some board members had repeatedly violated provisions of Minnesota’s open-meeting law by meeting or communicating when the board was not officially in ses-sion. Other speakers rap the board for the way it handled the decision to drop spring break. Some speak-ers at the meeting, however, defend Hill and say some board members are pushing their own agenda. Right after the public meeting, as summarized above, the board opens its official meeting during which it votes 4-2 to renew the su-perintendent’s contract – the very thing most of the public speakers had asked the board not to do that evening. They and two school board members wanted the board to delay the contract-renewal deci-sion for an upcoming meeting.

After a partial insurance settle-ment, the Verso company reim-burses Sartell for $397,679 for the costs incurred by the city for emer-gency services and backup in the wake of the May 28 explosion and fire at the mill.

NovemberA wandering moose takes a

stroll through St. Stephen and then disappears in a swampy area to the east. St. Stephen resident Randy Asseln takes photos of the creature

and shares them in the pages of the Newsleader.

Verso workers say a some-times-tearful farewell to one an-other and to the plant they worked at for so many years. The emotional event takes place at an appreciation ceremony held at the River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud.

The long-awaited results of Election Year 2012 are in. In the Nov. 6 election, new contender Amy Braig-Lindstrom is elected to the Sartell City Council, defeat-ing incumbent Sandra Cordie and challenger Mike Piotrowski. Incum-bent Steve Hennes is re-elected. In the Sartell-St. Stephen School Board race, the victors are Michelle Meyer (a former school-board member) and newcomers Krista Laurich-Durrwachter, Jason Nies and Pam Raden. They defeated five other candidates, including two incumbents, Chris Gross and Gary Schnellert. The newly elected members will join the two other current members, Mary McCabe and Dan Riordan, when the new board meets for its first January meeting.

In St. Stephen, incumbent May-or Cynthia Vanderweyst defeats challenger James Dahl.

Mark Bromenschenkel is re-elected to a second term as a Stearns County commissioner.

In the Nov. 6 election state-wide, Democrats take control of both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature. Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Republican) is re-elected to the State House. Also elected are U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Two proposed amendments to the Minnesota Constitution are de-feated by state voters. One would have required photo IDs to vote; the other would have defined mar-riage as between a man and a woman only.

Nationally, the presidency is won again by President Barack Obama.

A virtual “army” of volunteers, about 120 of them, sod the football fields in Pinecone Central Park in a matter of just a few days. The fields will be ready for play next summer.

Alexis Roy, after 20 years of

service as a Sartell police officer, retires. She tells the Newsleader, “It was a good ride, and I had a really, really good time.”

The Verso paper mill announces it has received a $40-million insur-ance settlement for the extensive damage and costs incurred from the May 28 explosion and fire that caused the plant to close for good after more than 100 years of being an economic bedrock for Sartell and the surrounding area.

The Sartell Sabre girls swim team takes second in the state meet, Class A division. In 2009 and in 2011, the team was named state champion.

DecemberThe cold-blooded murder of

Cold Spring police officer Thomas Decker sends shock waves through the entire state. The young offi-cer, father of four children, was gunned down while making a wel-fare check of a man in downtown Cold Spring. His funeral attracted thousands of people, including law-enforcement personnel from throughout Minnesota, other states and even from Canada. A Sartell contingent of police officers also attended the funeral at St. John’s Abbey. Decker’s killer has still not been found. A reward has been of-fered for information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers.

The Sartell Senior Connection moves into its new “home” in the remodeled section of the School District Office Building.

Regan Dockery, a Sartell High School student, captivates audi-ences in her starring role in the play “Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells,” a GREAT produc-tion at St. John’s University.

The first Winter Farmers’ Mar-ket in Sartell is a resounding suc-cess as many customers show up at Sartell City Hall to sample and buy locally grown products. Or-ganized by Sartell resident Amy Braig-Lindstrom, who also started a summer farmers’ market in the city two years ago, the Winter Farmers’ Market will take place the first Saturday of each month during the cold season at Sartell City Hall.

Sartell school officials, like peo-

ple throughout the world, are horri-fied by the unthinkable massacre of 20 students and six school staff at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. A deranged young man used his mother’s weapons to kill her, then he drove to the school where

he unleashed his bloody mayhem, firing an assault-type weapon over and over into huddling groups of terrified young students. Sartell administrators and teachers re-view their safety procedures at all schools.

photos by Randy Asseln

In this photo by St. Stephen resident Randy Asseln, the “one-horn wandering moose” emerges from a cornfield west of St. Stephen. After crossing the road, the moose heads east toward a tamarack swamp next to St. Stephen. The creature had also been spotted in and near Sauk Centre, Melrose and Freeport.

Friday, Jan. 11, 20136 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

Opinion

Fairness and ethicsNewsleader staff members have the responsi-

bility to report news fairly and accurately and are accountable to the public. Readers who feel we’ve fallen short of these standards are urged to call the Newsleader office at 363-7741.

If matters cannot be resolved locally, readers are encouraged to take complaints to the Minnesota News Council, an independent agency designed to improve relationships between the public and the media and resolve conflicts. The council office may be reached at 612-341-9357.

Our View

Most people’s New Year’s resolutions probably involve some form of dieting. And that’s a good thing because we are quickly becoming a nation of lard. One-third of all American adults and one-sixth of all children are obese.

There are many reasons for the obesity epidemic: lack of exercise as more people become sedentary with their computers, their remote controls, their couches; an increasing habit of people eating starchy fast food on the run; a lack of nutritional knowledge; and the terrible habit of eating sugary foods.

Researchers are finding sugar to be a veritable di-etary villain, so much so that every sugar bowl should probably be printed with a skull and crossbones.

Most of us know dieting can be so difficult, so discouraging. Many seek the impossible (a miracle diet), but effective dieting involves lifestyle changes that include eating habits, the portion sizes of meals, types of foods chosen and even emotional patterns (highs and lows) that can compel some to head for the kitchen or fast-food eatery.

Most dieticians recommend an incremental ap-proach to dieting, changing one’s foods and intake amounts gradually over time. It’s next to impossible to make the necessary life changes overnight.

In this new year, 2013, those who resolve to diet should begin incrementally with one step: cut out as much sugar from the diet as possible. Recent scientific studies show sugar can be downright toxic because of its devious presence in so many of the foods we eat.

Too much sugar can lead to obesity and all the problems associated with being overweight. Sugar can also wreak havoc with the liver, kidneys and heart. The statistics are absolutely alarming. Nearly 20 mil-lion Americans have Stage I kidney disease, and that is a direct result of high blood pressure and diabetes, both of which are also on the increase.

Table sugar, as it’s known (also known as sucrose) is the worst kind of sugar. Its consumption has sky-rocketed in the last few decades throughout the world, and that is because of convenience foods, more and more sugar-based snacks and processed foods – many of which contain sugar, such as many breads. A can of soda pop, depending on the brand, contains the equivalent of anywhere from 3.4 tablespoons to 4.2 tablespoons of sugar. That’s not just a load of calories; it’s eventually a load of health problems.

The best step toward incremental dieting, accord-ing to most dieticians, is to start by drastically cutting down on sugar in the diet. When shopping, become a label detective and look for words such as these among the ingredients: corn syrup. sucrose, glucose, fructose. Those are all forms of sugar.

Don’t allow children to have easy access to so many sweets. It’s an awful way for them to start their lives.

Another incremental way to pursue a diet is to cut down on fats and salt. Start slowly, one step at a time, and the first step is to treat sugar as if it’s poison.

Want to get healthier? Cut out all that sugar

Ron ScarbroGuest Writer

Send your opinions to:The Newsleaders • P.O. Box 324 • St. Joseph, MN 56374

or email us at news@thenewsleaders.com

When Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” met President Abraham Lincoln in the White House, the great man supposedly said to her, “So you are the little lady who helped start this big war.”

That exchange is probably legend, but it’s a legend formed from truth.

Stowe’s novel hugely helped sway worldwide opinion against slavery. Pub-lished in 1852, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was the biggest bestseller in the 19th Century, second only to the Bible in sales.

As a literature student for years, I’d always heard “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was a hoked-up melodrama, oozing sentimen-tality. I knew it had spawned all kinds of negative stereotypes of Afro-Americans, including the subservient victim, Un-cle Tom; and the charming sassy child, Topsy.

I never wanted to read it, even though I was aware of its importance as a force for social change in its heyday. Recently, a book club sent me a copy of it, and I decided to give it a try.

After reading the first pages, I was stunned by how good it is, and I couldn’t put it down. I am now convinced it’s the most unfairly neglected novel in all of American literature. Yes, it has its share of sentimentality and melodrama, as most novels typically did in the 19th Century. However, as a stringent anti-dote to those aspects, the book is filled with scenes of harrowing, brutal realism; heartbreaking depictions of families be-

ing ripped apart by slave traders; and the most vicious cruelties (physical and men-tal) perpetrated against slaves by their “masters.” In fact, the book is downright incendiary in its evocations of the evils of slavery, so much so it makes one’s blood boil with anger about that shameful era of American (and world) history.

“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is a story of interconnecting plots about slaves and plantation families in various places. Characters include slaves Eliza, her hus-band and son, who manage to escape to the north, all the while being hounded by slave chasers; a “genteel” plantation owner and his slaves, one of whom is Un-cle Tom and another being a saintly little white girl, Eva, who teaches Tom the Bible; the irrepressible slave girl Topsy; and – at a hellish place down river – the sadistic plantation owner Simon Legree (originally a Northerner).

Yes, on the surface, the novel is a page-turning potboiler. However, a close reading reveals impressive complexities. For one thing, Stowe brilliantly exposes the notion there are “good” plantation slave owners. Though many were not as cruel as Simon Legree, they were all bad

because the institution of slavery itself is evil.

In bold strokes of genius, Stowe evokes the horror of slavery through its heartbreaking consequences – the split-ting apart of black families whose mem-bers, including children, are sold to work like domesticated animals in faraway places. Stowe’s vision of those terrors are placed within a highly matriarchal context in which she shows the strength of mothers under such unthinkable pa-triarchal oppression. Stowe, a feminist as well as an abolitionist, was one of the towering forerunners of the later women’s movement.

“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” also ingenious-ly explores various coping behaviors slaves developed to survive. Uncle Tom is an example of passive resistance to violence. He keeps telling Legree he may own his body, but he will never own his soul. Topsy tries to preserve her in-ner freedom by very shrewd “comical” antics that include mimicry, imagina-tive play-acting and stubborn but “cute” disobedience. Topsy and Tom are not as simple-minded as some detractors of the book have claimed.

Stowe, by the way, based her book on scrupulous research. I highly recom-mend “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” In its shock-ing violence, its heartbreak, its complex explorations of slavery, its breathless storytelling pace and even its occasional humor, it’s a novel you will not be able to forget.

Dennis Dalman

Editor

‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ packs a punch

The noise is going to get louder and louder. They will scream, “We need more gun control laws to make us safe.” “Something has to be done.” I offer here two quotes from one of our most respected Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little tem-porary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Here’s another one. “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.”

This is an irrefutable fact: the only way to stop a gun is with a gun. When a nutcase is armed whether with a gun or a tire iron, he’s going to do harm re-gardless. To deal with this nutcase you don’t outlaw his gun or his tire iron, you outlaw the nutcase. Gun-control legisla-tion is nothing more than “feel-good” legislation.

Let’s re-examine the Second Amend-ment to the Constitution. “A well-reg-ulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” That’s pretty clear, isn’t it? First, I am all for “well regulated.” I, for example, am a military veteran and a li-censed gun owner. I have a conceal-carry

permit. Even after my military service, to obtain that permit I had to attend a school for gun safety and use as well as submit to an extensive background check. In other words, I am well regulated. Con-cerning that part about the Militia, every citizen of America is a part of that Mili-tia. Since our beginning and to this day, we are expected by our Constitution to bear arms to defend our country.

Law breakers do not care about the law. Hence the term lawbreaker. They don’t care what laws are passed to control your right to bear arms. In fact, the fewer guns in the hands of responsible citizens, the easier it is for them to conduct their illegal activities. To those who would leave lawbreakers to the police, remem-ber this. The police appear only after the crime has been committed. They clean up the mess caused by the lawbreaker. They have little ability to prevent it. A free society does not have preventative law enforcement.

Mental illness is another thing en-tirely. As a society, we are failing in our responsibility to these very sick people. Instead of trying to further regulate gun ownership for responsible citizens, we would be better served attempting to locate and treat those among us who are just too ill to function in a free soci-ety. Do you really think the shooters in Connecticut, Colorado and Arizona were sane individuals? Sane people don’t mur-der children and babies. The other thing that disturbs me is many people knew these people were ill well before they acted out their fantasies. I heard recently mental-health treatment should be at least as readily available as a gun. I agree.

I know there are many opinions on this issue. Most think they have the an-swer. This is what I know though. These acts of mass murder are rare and random. You or I will likely never have to person-ally deal directly with such a tragedy. That doesn’t make it any less tragic. That doesn’t do anything to heal my broken heart or the broken hearts of the parents and grandparents of the victims in Con-necticut. For you, for me and especially for those affected by this latest tragedy, God willing tomorrow will be a better day for all of us.

Tomorrow will be a better day for all of us

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com 7

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Tri-CountyHumane Society735 8th St. NE • PO Box 701

St. Cloud, MN 56302

252-0896www.tricountyhumanesociety.org

“Helping one animal won’t change the world … but it will change the

world for that one animal!”

Dogs - 15 Cats - 16 Mice - 9 Rabbits - 6 Kittens - 9

Come and get me! This is Linus, an adventurous 3-and-a-half-month-old orange-and-white neutered kitten. On top of being a ham for the camera, he’s a playing machine! Pull out a cat dancer toy and he is ready to hip hop the day away. Linus spent the past several weeks in foster care and we’re told he is quite curious and talkative. In his foster home he played with and talked to all ages of children as well as a few dogs!

Friday, Jan. 11Blood drive, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.,

St. Cloud Blood Donation Center, 1301 W. St. Germain St. 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcross-blood.org.

Preventing falls, a Senior Enrichment Session, 10-11 a.m., Whitney Senior Center, 1527 Northway Drive, St. Cloud. 320-255-7245.

St. Joseph Farmers’ Market, 3-6 p.m., Resurrection Lutheran Church, Fellowship Hall, 610 North County Road 2, St. Joseph. www.stjosephfarmersmarket.com.

Bingo party, a matching grant event sponsored by Catholic Unit-ed Financial, 6-9 p.m., St. John’s Parish Center, Collegeville. All proceeds go to religious educa-tion.

“Oklahoma,” performed by Homeschool Theatre, a group of home-educated youth from central Minnesota, 7 p.m., Calvary Com-munity Church, 1200 Roosevelt Road, St. Cloud.

Saturday, Jan. 12“Oklahoma,” performed by

Homeschool Theatre, a group of home-educated youth from central Minnesota, 2 and 7 p.m., Calvary Community Church, 1200 Roos-evelt Road, St. Cloud.

Sunday, Jan. 13DivorceCare features nation-

ally recognized experts on divorce and recovery topics, 4-5:30 p.m., every Sunday starting today, Har-vest Fellowship, 400 2nd Ave. N., Sauk Rapids. 320-529-8838.

Monday, Jan. 14Blood drive, noon-6 p.m., St.

Cloud Blood Donation Center, 1301 W. St. Germain St. 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcross-blood.org.

Caring Conversations for caregivers of patients with cancer, 6-7:30 p.m., CentraCare Health Plaza, St. Cloud. To register, 320-229-5199 ext. 70659.

Sartell City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall. 253-2171.

Tuesday, Jan. 15Blood drive, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.,

St. Cloud Blood Donation Center, 1301 W. St. Germain St. 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcross-blood.org.

55+ Driver improvement course, four-hour refresher course, 5-9 p.m.. Apollo High School, 1000 44th Ave. N., St. Cloud. 1-(888)-234-1294.

Wednesday, Jan. 16Car-seat checkup, 3-6 p.m.,

Gold Cross Ambulance Garage, 2800 7th St. N., St. Cloud. 320-229-5139.

Thursday, Jan. 1755+ driver improvement

course (eight-hour first-time course), 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Life As-sembly of God, 2409 Clearwater Road, St. Cloud. 1-888-234-1294.

Coffee and Conversation, a senior discussion group, 9 a.m., Country Manor, Sartell.

Blood drive, noon-6 p.m., St. Cloud Blood Donation Center, 1301 W. St. Germain St. 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcross-blood.org.

55+ driver improvement course (four-hour refresher course), 1-5 p.m., Salem Lutheran Church, 90 Riverside Drive, St. Cloud. 1-888-234-1294.

Friday, Jan. 18Blood drive, 8 a.m.-2 p.m..,

St. Cloud Blood Donation Center, 1301 W. St. Germain St. 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcross-blood.org.

Chicken and ham dinner, sponsored by the Lions of St. Joseph, 5-8 p.m., El Paso Club, St. Joseph.

Community Calendar

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City asks to re-authorize funds for regional parkby Dennis Dalmannews@thnewsleaders.com

Negotiations are still under-way in an effort for the City of Sartell to take a vital first step in securing property for a much-hoped-for Sauk River Regional Park.

A statewide bonding bill by the State Legislature in 2010 al-located $500,000 to the City of Sartell for the purchase of that potential parkland, an amount that requires the city also to spend $500,000 for the project.

That bonding amount ex-pired at the end of Decem-ber 2012. However, Sartell city officials said they intend to ask the legislature to extend the $500,000 amount into this year. City staff and the Sartell

City Council had hoped to suc-cessfully complete a land-ac-quisition agreement before the bond amount expired, but that could not be done in time. In the past couple of weeks, those negotiations have inten-sified. Sartell City Planner and Developer Anita Rasmussen said she cannot divulge details at this point because the con-fidential negotiations are still underway with what is known as the Dehler Family Trust, which owns the 68 acres of land that could become a re-gional park. Rasmussen said it’s possible the city could purchase only part of the 68 acres for a park. City officials are hoping at least a tenta-tive land-purchase agreement

Park • page 8

Friday, Jan. 11, 20138 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

graphic courtesy Sartell Planning and Development

The “Dehler Property” is a 68-acre parcel of land in south-east Sartell, south of CR 120 and just north of the St. Cloud boundary line. The City of Sartell is currently negotiat-ing with the propery owners with the hope of developing Sauk River Regional Park in all or part of that area.

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can be reached before the city council makes a formal deci-sion to ask the legislature to re-authorize the bonding funds.

The land is located in south Sartell along the Sauk River next to Whitney Park in north St. Cloud. Last month, the city council rezoned that parcel of land, designating the low level of land as parkland and the up-per reaches of land as “mixed-use,” meaning a mixture of residential, business and com-

Parkfrom page 7

mercial.Along with the state bond

amount of a half-million dollars, Sartell has also re-ceived a State Heritage grant of $500,000 for a regional park, which requires the city to spend $50,000 toward the park project. The total the city would need to spend to get both the bond amount and the grant is $550,000, and that money would come from half-cent sales-tax revenues.

For many years, city offi-cials and Sartell residents have expressed a strong interest in creating a park on the scenic acres of what’s known as the

“Dehler Property.” Planners in-tend to keep the natural beauty of that scenic area but add trails and recreational river ac-cess.

The Sauk River is a 122-mile-long watershed of the Missis-sippi River. Originating at Lake Osakis in Todd County, it flows east through Sauk Lake, past Sauk Centre, then southeast past Melrose and Richmond, then northeast through Cedar Island Lake and Zumwalde Lake, past Waite Park and then into the Mississippi River at a point between Sartell and St. Cloud.

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