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Reaching EVERYbody!

Friday, May 17, 2013Volume 18, Issue 20

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by Dennis Dalmannews@thenewsleaders.com

Sartell Police Officer Dan Whitson was determined to go ahead with the May 4 annual “Bike Rodeo,” come rain or shine.

The annual event, spon-sored by the Sartell Police De-partment, has become some-thing of a springtime ritual in Sartell.

Whitson’s rain-or-shine decision paid off. Despite a gloomy morning with a con-stant threat of rain, scores of children showed up to learn biking-safety skills in the park-ing lot of Sartell City Hall. In fact, it was a record turnout, much to the surprise of the adults on the scene. Organizers gave the children 75 bike hel-mets and 90 reflector blinkers donated by HealthPartners.

HealthPartners was a co-sponsor of the rodeo, as was Revolution Cycle and Ski,

Despite rain threat, bike rodeo gets big turnout

contributed photo

Eager-beaver bikers set out on an obstacle course at Sartell City Hall during the annual Bike Rodeo held May 11.

by Dennis Dalmannews@thenewsleaders.com

Audrey Olson-Drake not only sold 1,500 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, but she had the happy chance to meet many people and pets along the way.

Olson-Drake, a second-grad-er and one of eight members of Sartell Girl Scout Troop 458, received the “Top Seller” award from the Girl Scouts of Min-nesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines region. Troop 458 was also the top seller in Troop Service Unit 28, which includes the cities of Sartell, Sauk Rap-ids, Royalton and Rice. The eight Girl Scouts in Troop 458

contributed photo

Audrey Olson-Drake sold 1,500 boxes of Girl Scout cook-ies in just five weeks.

Girl Scout sells 1,500 boxes of cookies

by Dennis Dalmannews@thenewsleaders.com

The search is on for a new school superintendent.

Dr. Joe Hill, the current su-

perintendent for the Sartell-St. Stephen School District, ten-dered his resignation earlier this month.

The school board met May 13 to ponder how best to choose a

replacement for Hill. After a lengthy discussion, three board members were selected to re-search the best methods to search for a new superinten-dent, including the possibility

of hiring a search firm to find candidates. The members cho-sen for the search process are Krista Durrwachter, Michelle Meyer and Pam Raden.

Search for new superintendent begins

A one-year observance and picnic is planned to honor for-mer Verso paper mill employees and staff at about 10:30 a.m. on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27 in Sartell.

The celebration will happen in Veterans Park immediately following the traditional public Memorial Day ceremony. The regular event will start at 9 a.m.

There is a need for 30-45 volunteers to make the event happen.

The Verso observance is

meant for anybody who ever worked at the Verso plant, which exploded on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012. After the observance, people will move across the street to Watab Park for a meal, a silent auction and other activities.

Featured speakers will be Sartell Mayor Joe Perske and the Rev. Tim Baltes of St. Fran-cis Xavier Catholic Church. The event’s organizer, Dennis Moli-tor, noted it’s difficult to reach many Verso employees due to the fact many names of people

Verso memorial event planned for May 27are no longer in phone books because they have cell phones.

For more information, call

Molitor at 320-252-7055 or email him at dennis.molitor@yahoo.com.

Cookies • page 4

Search • page 8

The Sartell City Council vot-ed unanimously to spend about $83,000 for developments in Pinecone Central Park.

The amenities include con-crete paving at and around a pavilion area and a pedestrian/fire-access road leading to the pavilion, as well as a bitumi-nous bike trail. The council con-sidered less-expensive paving al-

ternatives but decided concrete would have long-lasting dura-bility, not requiring frequent maintenance the way gravel or bituminous paving would.

Money for the projects will come out of city park funds.

The council also agreed to plans for bleachers, new trees, picnic tables and refuse con-tainers.

Council approves Central Park projects

Boy Scouts celebrate50 years June 15

Boy Scouts of Sartell Troop 11 will host a 50th anniversary cel-ebration from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, June 15 at the Pinecone Regional Park Shelter (at Bernick’s Arena). All Scouts and former Scouts are welcome to attend.

The event will include former Scoutmasters and members of the Sartell American Legion, which sponsors the troop. Sartell Mayor Joe Perske will be the keynote speaker.

If you know of Scouts who have left the area, please provide the troop with their email address so they may be sent a personal invitation. Contact Scoutmaster John Burnett at jdburnett5@hot-mail.com or by phone at 320-293-9852, or the Committee Chairman Jeff Kearney at cabinboy@clear-wire.net.

Motorcycle blessingset this Sunday

A motorcycle blessing/break-fast will be held from 8 a.m.-noon Sunday, May 19 (rain or shine) at Moose Lodge, 1300 3rd St. N., Waite Park. Blessing is at 11 a.m. with a two-hour ride following. All mo-torcycle riders welcome. For more information, call 320-251-1207.

MPCA asks public inputon Verso site cleanup

A public comment period re-garding the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s determination to approve the application and issue a permit for modification to the AIM Development LLC for the Verso Paper Solid Waste Disposal Faciity will be held now through June 10. For more information, visit www.thenewsleaders.com.

Faith in Actionseeks volunteers

Great River Area Faith in Ac-tion of St. Cloud is a nondenomi-national organization matching compassionate, caring volunteers to people who because of age, dis-ability or life circumstances need some help to remain independent in their own homes. Volunteer op-portunities include doing simple household chores, taking some-one who can’t drive to the doctor or grocery store, or just spending some time visiting or going on outings. Call Cherise at 320-258- 8678 for more information on how you can become a Faith in Action volunteer. A couple hours a week is all it takes to make a difference in someone’s life and in yours forever.

Friday, May 17, 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

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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

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Christopher Whitson, son of Daniel Whitson and Anne Whitson, both of Sartell, was one of 598 students who re-cently graduated from Concor-dia College, Moorhead. Whit-son is a graduate of Sartell High School who is majoring in international business and minoring in German.

Daniel M. Kotzer, son of Cathy and Dan Kotzer of Sar-tell, and a 2012 Sauk Rapids High School graduate, recently graduated from One Station Unit Training at Fort Leon-ard Wood, Waynesville, Mo., which included basic military training and advanced indi-vidual training. During basic military training, Army Pvt.

L e a h N o t h n a -gel, a for-mer Sartell r e s i d e n t , r e c e n t l y earned a major in-t e r n s h i p with Har-vard Forest in Petersham, Mass. beginning this summer. According to Har-vard Forest’s website, students research “the effects of natu-ral and human disturbances on forest ecosystems, including global climate change, storms, forest harvest, wildlife dynam-ics, biodiversity and invasive species.” Nothnagel’s research will focus on the environmental effects of rural-urban bound-ary development. The 11-week experience includes a stipend, housing and meals, as well as

mentoring from some of the top researchers in ecology. At the conclusion of her research, she will present her results at state and national conferences including Washington, D.C.

Nothnagel was selected for one of the 33 internship posi-tions from a nationwide pool of nearly 600 candidates from colleges of all sizes across the country. She has been attend-ing Minneapolis Community and Technical College and was recently honored at a recogni-tion ceremony there. Her advi-sor Dr. Katherine Kragtorp says, “This will be a life-changing experience for Leah. She has wonderful enthusiasm and asks lots of intelligent questions. She clearly earned this intership.”

Nothnagel is the grand-daughter of Evelyn and Ken-neth Nothnagel of Sartell.

Sartell Middle School 8th-grader Jarrett Janu placed third in the Roadsides are for the Birds poster contest spon-sored by the Minnesota Depart-ment of Natural Resources.

“The purpose of the con-test,” said Carmelita Nelson, DNR prairie grassland coordi-nator in St. Paul, “is to help increase awareness of the grow-ing importance of roadsides for wildlife, particularly for ground nesting birds. As wildlife habi-tat continues to disappear, roadsides nesting habitat is be-coming more critical.”

The Intensive Care Unit at St. Cloud Hospital recently earned the 2013 Gold Level Beacon Award for Critical Care Excel-lence. This is the third time the ICU has received the Beacon Award given by the American As-sociation of Critical Care Nurses and the first time the Beacon Award has been awarded in three levels: bronze, silver and gold. St. Cloud Hospital achieved gold for sustained- unit performance and patient outcomes.

The award honors hospitals that: exhibit high quality stan-dards; provide exceptional care of patients and their families; and demonstrate excellence in collaboration, communication and partnerships that support the value of healing and healthy work environments.

The Beacon Award recognizes individual units that improve ev-ery facet of patient care. For pa-

tients and their families, the Bea-con Award signifies exceptional care through improved outcomes and greater overall satisfaction.

St. Cloud Hospital ICU initia-tives have: decreased mortality rate for patients with severe sep-sis or septic shock from

48 percent in 2004 to 24 per-cent in 2012 ; decreased ventilator associated pneumonia rate from 3.26 to 0.83 (rate/1000 ventilator days), less than benchmark com-parisons; decreased the incidence of ICU delirium from 10.4 percent to 6.4 percent; decreased the average ventilator hours by 16 percent using an early mobility protocol; and reduced central-line-associated blood- stream in-fections by 40 percent.

St. Cloud Hospital ICU is one of two gold level Beacon units in Minnesota and is joined by two additional silver award re-cipients.

Three for-mer Sartell High School g r a d u a t e s and current adve r t i s i ng communica-tion and de-sign students at St. Cloud Technical and Community Col-lege recently competed in the 2013 Collegiate DECA State Ca-reer Development Conference held in February in Mankato, Minn. and the International Ca-reer Development Conference held in April in Anaheim, Calif.

They are Mike Bayless, Brea Keast and Brittany Rech. At the state level, Bayless placed first in professional sales, Keast

placed first in advertising cam-paign, and Rech placed first in web design. At the international level competition, Bayless re-ceived a certificate of excellence in professional sales; and Keast was a finalist in advertising campaign.

Bayless and Keast are 2010 graduates, and Rech is a 2006 graduate, all of Sartell High School.

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If interested please stop by for an application or call

Karen Hennessy at (320) 363-1313. 21 16th Ave. SE

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Janu

Bayless Keast Rech

Hospital Intensive Care Unit awarded gold

Nothnagel

Kotzer received instruction in drill and ceremony, weapons qualification, map reading, tac-tics, military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid, and Army doctrine, history, principles and traditions.

During AIT, Kotzer complet-ed the military police special-ist course to acquire skills to provide combat area support, conduct battlefield circulation control, area security, prisoner of war operations, civilian in-ternee operations, and law and order operations. He performed as a team member in sup-port of battlefield operations, installation law and order op-erations, and security of Army resources and installations. Ad-ditional training included pro-viding peacetime support to the military community through security of resources, crime-

prevention programs, and pres-ervation of law and order.

Krista Dale of Sartell, Minn., was one of 60 students recog-nized during the annual Stu-dent Awards Ceremony April 25 at the University of Minnesota-Crookston. Dale is a senior ma-joring in equine science. She was recognized for achieve-ment with the Outstanding Equine Science Student Award.

Two Sartell students were among 1,500 students who re-cently graduated from Minne-sota State University, Mankato.

They are the following: Cait-lyn Cardetti, bachelor’s degrees in human biology and psychol-ogy; and Sarah Schellinger, a bachelor’s degree in family consumer science, summa cum laude.

SMS student places third in poster contest

People

Friday, May 17, 2013 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com 3

Sartell-St. Stephen Educa-tion Foundation is pleased to announce it has recently awarded more than $27,000 in grants to support leading-edge programming (preK-12) in the Sartell-St. Stephen School Dis-trict 2013-14 school year.

The programs receiving grants include: Sabre Splash, Art in Motion, AP Summer In-stitute, Creative Spaces and Stu-dent Council Leadership Train-ing, all at Sartell High School; Sartell Middle School Academic Extensions, Reluctant Reader Library, STEM Initiative, Stu-dent Mentorship Program and 7th-grade Team Quest Lead-ership Building, all at Sartell Middle School; Guided Read-ing Library and Elementary Academic Extensions, both at Oak Ridge and Pine Meadow elementary schools; Family Li-brary Enhancements and Build-ing Language Together Family

If any readers have tips con-cerning crimes, they should call the Sartell Police Department at 320-251-8186 or Tri-County Crime Stoppers at 320-255-1301 or ac-cess its tip site at www.tricounty-crimestoppers.org. Crime Stoppers offers rewards up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those respon-sible for crimes.

May 112:36 p.m. Theft. Walmart. A

juvenile female was witnessed attempting to leave the store with unpaid merchandise. She admit-ted to the theft. She was issued a citation and released to a parent.

9:16 p.m. Welfare Check. County Road 1. A report was made regarding a young male walking alone. An officer located the male and found he was walk-ing home from a friend’s house. The officer gave the juvenile male a ride to his home.

May 211:29 a.m. Traffic stop. Sartell

Bridge. A vehicle was witnessed traveling 42 mph in a posted 30-mph zone. The driver stated she was unaware of her speed. She was issued a citation and released.

11:32 p.m. Loud music. Sun-set Avenue. A complaint was made regarding loud music com-ing from a residence. An officer made contact with the owner who agreed to turn down the music.

May 312:28 p.m. Suspicious person.

Bluebird Court. A complaint was made regarding suspicious male leaving notes in mailboxes. An officer was able to locate the male who stated he was taping an informational flyer to the out-side of the box and not opening them.

6:44 p.m. Domestic. An emer-

PeopleStory Hour, both in Early Child-hooed Family Education; and Expanding and Integrating with e-books at each of the above-named school.

SSEF has awarded more than $143,000 to ISD 748 since they started awarding grants in 2005. This is another record-breaking year for SSEF as they continue to increase the amount of funds awarded to programs in the

district.“The SSEF Board continues

to reach record-setting goals, said Kay Miles, SSEF chair. “We owe our success to the out-standing support and generosi-ty of our donors and volunteers who believe in our mission: to financially support leading-edge ideas and programs for the students of the Sartell-St. Stephen School District.

Blotter

Blotter • page 5

Friday, May 17, 2013Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com4

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MEMORIAL DAY TRIPLE ESTATE AUCTION MAY 27 • 8 A.M.

3 miles S.E. of St. Joseph at 8158 County Road 138, St. Cloud

1994 Fleetwood Flair Motor Home

sold 2,790 boxes of cookies.Last year, Audrey sold 1,328

boxes of cookies, and this year she was determined to top that. Most of her sales occurred at booths set up at local busi-nesses and door-to-door – her favorite way of selling because she likes to see customers and their variety of pets.

The proceeds of Olson-Drake’s sales are added to the earnings of the other Scouts in her troop. The girls will use those funds for commu-nity-service projects and field trips. She also received “Cookie Dough Coupons” she plans to use to help pay for Girl Scout camp and other scouting pro-grams.

Olson-Drake had this to say about her selling expertise:

“Door-to-door was my favor-ite. But sometimes I’d trip and fall in the snow. I’d get up and say, ‘Keep on selling!’“

Her advice for other cookie sellers is this:

“Keep on trying, no matter what. And say thank you, even if they don’t buy cookies.”

Other Scouts and leaders ex-pressed amazement at Olson-Drake’s selling achievement.

“We thank everyone who supported Audrey and her Girl Scout sisters in the cookie pro-gram this year,” said Leigh Ann Davis, CEO of the Lakes

and Pines region. “We’re very proud of the girls’ growth in goal-setting, decision-making, managing money, people skills and business ethics – all out-comes of the cookie program.”

Audrey is the daughter of Steve and Nancy Olson-Drake. Her mother is the leader of Sartell Girl Scout Troop 48 and accompanied her daughter not just while making cookie sales but also when making candy and magazine sales to raise money for the troop.

Audrey’s favorite Girl Scout cookies are Thin Mints and Caramel Delights, although she and her mother also now like the new cookie called Mango Cremes, which they didn’t care for when they first tried one.

“Now we just love them,” Nancy said.

Girl Scout cookies have be-come a daily part of life at the Olson-Drake household.

“After dinner, when it’s time for dessert, all we have to do is go to the garage and get a box of Girl Scout cookies,” Nancy said.

She and Audrey have spent countless hours selling cook-ies and meeting so many nice people in the process – door-to-door and in front of stores like Coborn’s, Walgreen’s and Walmart. Girl Scout cookies clearly bring out the best in people. At one house, there were five adults, all related, sitting around a table, talking. When the door bell rang, in walked Audrey and her mother,

and the five adults were in-stantly eager to buy lots of cookies – 22 boxes of them.

When Audrey and her moth-er were selling cookies in front of stores, sometimes people would see them and lament the fact they had no cash or check blanks with them. Always ea-ger to please a customer, Nan-cy and Audrey would offer to drive boxes of cookies to cus-tomers’ houses in the greater St. Cloud area.

“That happened several times, and the people were so grateful,” Nancy said.

Audrey loves animals and wants to be a veterinarian some day. She has a Maltese dog named Bella and a fish named Butterscotch. Much of what she and her troop raised from cookie sales was used for animal causes. One time, the girls donated money and time to the Tri-County Humane So-ciety and spent the better part of a day there, washing animals and making cage bedding from torn-up newspapers. They also bought food, toys and timothy hay for the dogs and cats. Oth-er volunteer projects the girls did were for the Anna Marie women’s shelter and Toys for Tots.

“Audrey loves animals – stuffed or real,” said her moth-er. “She even knows all the houses that have pets on her sales routes. She knows the pets’ names and loves to play with them.”

Cookies from front page

by Dennis Dalmannews@thenewsleaders.com

The terms of a lease be-tween the City of Sartell and the operators of the Pine Ridge Golf Course in the city have been changed to give the op-erators a bit of financial breath-ing room.

A long, extended spell of winter weather through April had an influence on the deci-sion.

At its last meeting, the Sar-tell City Council agreed to amend the lease upon a request from the course operators and city staff. The two operators are Dan Dols and Ted Klein, who also own and operate Boulder Ridge Golf Course in St. Cloud.

In 2008, the City of Sar-tell purchased multiple acres

of land from the owner of the Sartell Golf Course for use as a park. That same year, the City of Sartell, Dols and Klein agreed to a lease through the year 2028 for them to operate a nine-hole golf course in what is now named Pinecone Central Park.

The lease called for pay-ments of about $30,000 a year, with 4 percent inflator added onto that payment each suc-ceeding year of the lease. In the years since, the City of Sartell has received $152,727 in lease payments.

Dols met with the council at its April 22 meeting to re-quest reduced lease payments. Dols said he and Klein have invested at least $400,000 in Pine Ridge Golf Course during the past five years, and they

cannot even cover their costs, partly because of the economic recession and – more recently – because of the continued win-try weather through April. Last year, Dols noted, the course was open March 15. Because of the late start of golf season, many prospective members, Dols said, would probably be reluctant to buy a $500 sea-sonal membership since golfing was impossible in April.

“We’re all hurting right now in the golf business,” Dols said.

Greens fees, he said, have re-mained unchanged for the past 11 years. The price of fertilizers and gasoline, huge costs for a golf-course operation, have continued to increase.

“We’d have been happy even to break even,” Dols said. “We’re just trying to stop the

photo by Dennis Dalman

Kent Nelson of Sartell, a retired principal and superintendent, prac-tices putting during a long-overdue beautiful day April 29 at Pine Ridge Golf Course.

City amends lease for Pine Ridge Golf Course

Friday, May 17, 2013 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com 5

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Blotter from page 3

gency call was placed from a young female stating there was an assault taking place. An older female then got on the phone stating no help was needed, the male had left. Officers still went to her location and attempted to speak to her but she refused to give any information.

9:51 p.m. Loud music. Lowell Lane. A complaint was made re-garding loud music coming from a residence. The owner was lo-cated and agreed to turn down the music.

May 411:15 a.m. Attempted entry.

2nd Street North. A report was made that during the night, someone tried to enter a home. The homeowners stated they heard someone opening their door and when they turned on the lights, the person ran away.

9:23 p.m. Stalled vehicle. High-

way 15. A vehicle was stalled on the side of the highway. The tow company was called and an officer provided safety lights un-til they arrived. The passengers were transported home by the officer.

May 512:03 a.m. Traffic stop. County

Road 120. A vehicle was stopped due to a headlight being out. The driver was unable to provide proof of insurance. A citation was issued and he was released.

1:45 a.m. Attempted entry. 2nd Street North. A report was made regarding occupants hear-ing someone attempt to open their door. The motion light was activated outside and they wit-nessed a male running from the home. Officers were unable to locate.

2:56 p.m. Gun. Corrine Court. A complaint was made regarding two juvenile males carrying what seems to be a handgun. An of-ficer arrived and found the boys had a black BB gun that did ap-pear to look like a real handgun. An officer advised him and the

child’s parents to keep the gun inside because it did look real.

May 65:15 a.m. Welfare check. A

report was made regarding a male who had admitted taking the drug Ecstasy the day before and was still unable to sleep and was having a lot of anxiety. He requested to be transferred to the hospital to be checked.

3:45 p.m. Suspicious activity. Terry Lane. A report was made regarding someone possibly en-tering a home. A juvenile had re-turned home and left the garage door open. While she was in the shower, the home door alarm was activated but she was unable to find anyone inside or outside the home.

6:31 p.m. DWI. Evergreen Drive. A complaint was made regarding a female who had jumped the curb and hit the side of a building with her vehicle. The female was unable to pass the field sobriety testing, was placed under arrest and trans-ported to Stearns County Jail.

by Dennis Dalmannews@thenewsleaders.com

Construction of a gas station/convenience store is about to begin near the intersection of CR 29 and Benton Drive in Sartell.

The site is located southeast of that intersection.

Almost two years ago, the Sartell City Council approved a zoning amendment to accommodate the project. At its May 13 meeting, the council approved a conditional-use permit, a site plan and an off-sale liquor license for the store.

It will be a 4,250 square-foot facility with 40 percent of the lot be-ing green space. There will be two accesses, one from Benton Drive, the other from CR 29.

Several council members ex-

pressed concerns about traffic in that area, especially the heavy traf-fic on CR 29 during afternoon hours. The owner of the store, Pete Yarmon of Sartell, said he is concerned about traffic too, and is willing to work with city officials and Benton County to find the safest possible solutions, such as turn lanes and – perhaps in the future – traffic lights at the intersection. Council member Steve Hennes suggested the speed limits on those roadways might have to be decreased.

Yarmon has been the owner/operator of Benton Mini Serve for more than 30 years. That gas sta-tion/convenience store is located on Benton Drive a few blocks north of the site now under construction. It will close once the new station is ready to go.

Site plan approved for gas station(financial) bleeding.”Dols told the council he and

Klein spent many hours and money keeping the course in ship-shape condition on top of their other jobs.

“We’re trying our best,” he said.

Last year, Dols added, they lost $40,000.

“And that was our best year,” he said with irony in his voice. “It’s going to be a struggle this year for sure.”

The council was sympathetic toward Dols and his dilem-ma. Council member Steven Hennes called it a reasonable request, especially in light of the economic slump and all the time and money the two men put into the course. The golf course, Hennes added, is a great plus for Sartell. If the city operated it during those years, it could have been a big financial loss.

Council member Amy Braig-Lindstrom also praised the golf course and the club house as great benefits for the Sartell area. She noted the improve-ments Dols and Klein made to the course.

Mayor Joe Perske praised the men’s efforts and lauded the fact so many junior golfers and senior citizens use the course.

“It’s a tremendous asset,” he said.

Council members David Pe-terson and Sarah Jane Nicoll, while not opposing a lease amendment, both said there should be more discussion and more negotiations between the men and the city before a lease agreement is reached. Nicoll said she has owned a business and knows how important lease negotiations can be. Nicoll said she had previously asked the city’s financial director ques-tions about the lease and that

the financial director did not have answers to all of her ques-tions. Nicoll said “rushing into” a lease amendment for 20 years would be a “mistake.”

Peterson also said he would rather have further discussions, although when a vote was tak-en, he decided to vote yes. Nicoll voted against the lease-amendment resolution.

The amended lease calls for lowered payments to the city through 2016: $10,000 in 2013, $15,000 in 2014, $20,000 in 2015 and $25,000 in 2016. After that, there will be a 3-percent inflator added yearly through 2019 and a 4-percent inflator through 2032. The lease was also extended from 2028, as in the original lease, to 2032. The total of future lease payments will be $622,000, about $65,000 less than calculated in the pre-vious lease.

Friday, May 17, 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

Congratulations are in order for the Minnesota Legislature, which approved a landmark same-sex marriage bill this week.

A lion’s share of credit for the bill’s success goes to Richard Carlbom, the former mayor of St. Joseph, who is campaign manager for “Minnesotans United for All Families.” Carlbom and his staff worked hard to change minds and hearts toward passage of this bill. He was also influential in convincing Minneso-tans to vote against a law last year that would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman only.

Four of the House’s six Republicans voted for the bill. Two of the 73 Democrats voted against it. The only legislator voting for the bill from the central Minnesota area was Rep. Zachary Dorholt (DFL-St. Cloud). Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Sartell) voted against the bill because he said he is concerned about the law’s effect on non-profit groups that may object to same-sex marriage.

Minnesota now joins 11 other states that have le-galized same-sex marriage. Delaware and Maryland approved their laws just two weeks ago.

Most of the Democrats who voted for the bill are from rural districts where opposition to same-sex marriage is strongest. Those representatives showed courage and conviction in voting according to their conscience, in doing what they felt is the right thing to do – allowing access to basic rights for all Min-nesotans.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Karen Clark (DFL-Mpls.), who is gay. She said her goal was always equal treatment in state laws for same-sex couples. In a speech, she mentioned her own family members’ strong support for her when she revealed her sexual preference to them years ago.

“My family knew first-hand same-sex couples pay our taxes, we vote, we serve in the military, we take care of our kids and our elders, and we run businesses in Minnesota,” Clark said.

Another powerful statement came from Rep. Jenifer Loon (R-Eden Prairie), one of the four Repub-licans who voted for the bill. Loon said she made up her mind only while hearing testimony during the House debate on the issue.

“There comes a time,” she said, “when you just have to set politics aside and decide in your gut what is the right thing to do.”

There have always been passionate feelings on both sides of the same-sex marriage issue, and there probably always will be. Many sincerely object to it on religious grounds, but it should be remembered the law does not force churches to marry same-sex couples. A series of polls in recent years show an increasing support for same-sex marriage, especially among younger people. The increase in support could well stem from the weakness of the argu-ments against same-sex marriage – that somehow it would demean or ruin marriage as an institution. That argument is simply not a compelling one, especially when marriage is considered a civil right.

The military now allows gays to serve their country. Minnesota’s historic step is yet another vic-tory for human rights. It will not be the last as more states and possibly even the U.S. Congress will final-ly recognize full marriage rights for all Americans.

Minnesota leads againby approving marriage bill

U.S. history is riddled with school shootings

Excellent Sartell schools fulfill expectationsHolly Pringle, Sartell

After reading the Newsleader on May 10, I couldn’t help but be saddened by the letter written by Melissa Pickens regard-ing our schools and her experiences here.

Like Pickens, I moved to Sartell with small children, and my primary reason for doing so was the schools. That was back in 2003. Unlike Pickens, I haven’t been disappointed at all with my choice. I think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

My children attended Pine Meadow Elementary and were cared for, taught and nurtured by some of the most amaz-ing men and women I could have hoped for (in small classes where no one was allowed to “slip through the cracks” and with teachers and staff who held my kids accountable for their learning and com-municated with me constantly). I was sad when they “graduated” and had to leave PME, but my kids have also had great experiences with great teachers at the middle school, and I expect the same when my daughter enters high school next year. If issues ever arise, administration at both buildings listen, respond promptly and I feel like they know my kids (not because my children get into trouble, but because the administration and staff make the effort to know the kids). My son and daughter have thrived here educationally and socially, and I am so thankful.

Pickens’s first argument against our schools is about money and being “nickel and dimed” . . . but it doesn’t hold water. You will pay for before- and after-school care in any district around here, and Kidstop rates are the same in all of cen-tral Minnesota. School lunch prices are

relatively the same everywhere as well. Our school-supply lists look much like those in neighboring districts (and I’m pretty sure my friends in Sauk Rapids are expected to buy more than we do). My kids went on TONS of field trips while at PME, and I don’t think I ever spent a dime for them. As far as kindergarten tuition, I hope someday Sartell will put all-day-kindergarten up on a levy question for the voters, because it would be awesome if we could send all kids with no cost to parents. Some districts have (very recently) begun to fund (usually via a tax increase) all-day-every-day kindergarten, but it’s still a choice here, and if you choose it, you need to pay for it (because the state doesn’t fund it like it should, but I digress . . .). In-cidentally, I think the cost for kindergarten here must have gone down, because my kids were all-day kids in 2004 and 2007, and I paid about $3,000 for it then. Maybe Sartell is subsidizing some of it now?

I understand working full-time has made it hard for Pickens to get to know people here. I work full-time and 30 miles away, so I get it. It makes things more challenging. I’m also sorry Pickens feels people here are mean, cliquey, snobby or unfriendly. Some people are, but that seems to be true of many places; Sartell isn’t unique in that. As a “middle-class person” myself, it’s sometimes easy to feel more like “lower class” in Sartell, be-cause there are a lot of well-to-do people here and I can understand and empathize with where some of her feelings come from. The older my kids get, the more I realize they don’t have what some of their friends do. I had to learn to get over it, and so did my kids. I like to think we’re bet-ter for it. There are certainly groups here that are exclusive, whether that’s based

on income or neighborhoods or sports teams, but those groups are not the major-ity. Have I met snobs here? Sure. Have I met many great, friendly, down-to-earth people at school functions, through sports or other activities? Yes. It saddens me that after just one year, Pickens is so ready to paint us all with the same brush.

It’s unfortunate Pickens has had such a frustrating experience securing pre-school help and speech assessment for her young-est child. I hope they are able to work that out somehow, so he gets the help he needs to be ready for kindergarten.

I am sorry Pickens’s kindergartener has to switch schools next year, espe-cially since he has made friends. I’m not sure why she’s so upset about the move though, since she doesn’t have anything nice to say about PME other than that they have good teachers. Isn’t that sort of the backbone of the school? The staff? What about PME is bad then? And if it’s bad, then she should be happy to be moving to Oak Ridge. Boundary changes and enroll-ment changes have happened a few times in Sartell due to our community growth and pockets of expansion, and I know it’s frustrating. I also know the district tries very hard to keep as many people happy as they can when they have to make these shifts. You can’t very well have one school bursting at the seams when another has empty classrooms. It would be irrespon-sible and unfair.

In all, I’m just sorry for Pickens and her family and her perception that so many things here are wrong. I’m afraid if she tried out any of the other districts around here, she might find the same things. Kids cost money. Education costs money. Some people aren’t nice. And sometimes, we don’t get our way.

Ever since the slaughter of innocents at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I cringe every time there is a “breaking news” bul-letin on TV, fearing it might be news of another school shooting.

I cannot figure out why, in all the dis-cussions after Sandy Hook, commentators and others have not brought up another elementary-school shooting that seems to have been completely forgotten. It’s the heartbreaking incident that happened Oct. 2, 2006 at the one-room Amish school-house in the village of Nickel Mines, Penn. A gunman entered that school, took hostages, let some go, then shot 10 girls ages 6-13, killing five of them. Those poor little girls endured nearly an hour of stark terror before they were shot. The monster killed himself.

The other day, wondering if school shootings are just a modern aberration, I decided to research the subject. To my stunned surprise, there have been an es-timated 350 or so recorded school shoot-ings in the United States in the past 250 years.

The first one in American history hap-pened in Greencastle, Penn. in 1760 when a Native American shot to death a school-master and nine children during the Pon-tiac Indian rebellion.

As far as the number of victims, the worst school slaughter, which I had never heard about, happened on May 18, 1927 in Bath, Mich. A school treasurer named Andrew Kehoe killed his wife on their farm and burned the house down. Mean-time, the dynamite he’d planted earlier blew up in the Bath school, collapsing the building and killing 44, almost all of them children; 58 suffered injuries. Kehoe

then drove to the school. As rescuers tried to uncover the wounded, Kehoe set off a bomb in his car, killing himself and four others standing nearby.

Most school shootings involved the following reasons: boys bringing guns to school that accidentally discharged; now and then, a student killing another student in the classroom or on the school grounds as an act of revenge; student suicides; students or relatives of students killing teachers because of some slight, real or imagined; teachers or staff shooting other teachers or staff; women teachers killed in schools by men whose romantic advances had been rejected.

The following is from an editorial in the Los Angeles Herald, 1874, about the shooting death of a school boy:

“This boy lost his life through the too-common habit among boys of carrying deadly weapons. We do not know that this habit can be broken up. We do not know that school teachers have the right, or would exercise it if they had, of searching the pockets of their pupils, but it seems almost a necessity that such a rule be enforced . . . Nearly every school boy car-ries a pistol, and the power of these pistols ranges from the harmless six-bit auction (gun) to the deadly Colt six-shooter.”

It’s pathetic that after 128 years, we

still grapple with similar gun-culture questions.

Mass shootings in schools for no obvi-ous reasons seem to be very much a recent sickness of the past 30 or 40 years. Such incidents have accelerated just since the mid-1990s. Most of us remember the most notorious incidents, whose names toll out like somber funeral bells: Columbine, Cold Spring, Red Lake, Virginia Tech, Littleton, Northern Illinois University, Newtown . . .

Since 2000, there have been 68 report-ed school shootings, the most recent being April 29, a student suicide in a Cincinnati high school. Almost 150 people died in the shootings of the past 13 years.

What’s certain – horrifying but certain – is that school shootings will continue. Sad to say, many probably can’t be pre-vented. A ban on assault-type weapons would help. But, at the very least, let’s keep pressuring elected officials to pass a background-checks law for sales on-line and at gun shows. Those who voted against background checks should hang their heads in shame. If such checks can save even just one school student (or any-body else, for that matter), such a law (so do-able and common-sense rational) will be well worth passing.

Unlike so many school shootings that fade in our memories, the killings at Sandy Hook must never be forgotten. The parents of those dead children are crying out for gun-safety measures, and so are 90 percent of the rest of us. Legislators, just who are you representing – the people or the NRA bosses?

Dennis Dalman

Editor

Letter to editor

Friday, May 17, 2013 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com 7

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Friday, May 17Pillow Cleaning, sponsored by

the Y2K Lions, 7 a.m.-3 p.m., Com-munity Fire Hall, St. Joseph.

Blood drive, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., American Red Cross, 1301 W. St.. Germain St., St. Cloud.

Rummage sale, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., All Saints-St. Mary’s, Holdingford.

Saturday, May 18Communitywide Garage Sale,

sponsored by the St. Joseph Jaycees, today and May 19. www.cityofstjo-seph.com.

Rummage sale, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., All Saints-St. Mary’s, Holdingford.

Plant Sale, sponsored by Stearns County Master Gardeners, 8:30-11 a.m., Riverside Park Shelter, St. Cloud. www.extension.umn.edu.

Furniture Drive, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Trinity Lutheran Church, 2163 May-hew Lake Road NE, Sauk Rapids. To schedule a pickup, 320-656-9004.

Spirituality for the 21st Cen-tury talk/discussion, 10-11:30 a.m., St. John’s Abbey guesthouse. 320-557-0136.

Commemorative service for deceased Sisters, 2:30 p.m., starts at Gathering Place, St. Benedict’s Monastery then walk/cart to cem-etery; 3:15 p.m. refreshments; 4

p.m. prayer service in Sacred Heart Chapel. 320-363-8922.

Sunday, May 19Communitywide Garage Sale,

sponsored by the St. Joseph Jaycees. www.cityofstjoseph.com.

Safe motorcycling blessing/breakfast, 8 a.m.-noon breakfast, 11 a.m. blessing, 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m. ride, Moose Lodge, Waite Park, 1300 3rd St. N., Waite Park. 320-251-1207.

Sunday brunch, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Joseph.

Monday, May 20Market Monday, 3-6:30 p.m.,

125 Pine Cone Road N., Sartell. www.marketmonday.org.

Blood drive, noon-6 p.m., Amer-ican Red Cross, 1301 W. St.. Ger-main St., St. Cloud.

Place of Hope fundraiser, 5-8 p.m., Pizza Ranch, 110 2nd St. S., Waite Park. 25% of purchase do-nated to Place of Hope.

St. Joseph Rod and Gun Club meeting, 7 p.m., American Legion in St. Joseph.

Tuesday, May 21Blood drive, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.,

American Red Cross, 1301 W. St.. Germain St., St. Cloud.

Blood drive, noon-6 p.m., Moose Lodge, 1300 3rd St. N, Waite Park.

“When Things Go Wrong,” sponsored by Stearns County Mas-ter Gradeners, 1-2 p.m., Great River Regional Library, 1300 W. St Ger-main St., St Cloud. www.extension.umn.edu.

“Lindbergh: The Shocking, Turbulent Life of America’s Lone Eagle,” part of the free Lindbergh historic site film series, 7-9 p.m., Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site, 1620 Lindbergh Drive, Little Falls. 320-616-5421.

Thursday, May 23Coffee and Conversation, a se-

nior discussion group, 9 a.m., Coun-try Manor, Sartell.

Blood drive, noon-6 p.m., Amer-ican Red Cross, 1301 W. St.. Ger-main St., St. Cloud.

Hidden, Though Still There, 6:30-8 p.m., Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4310 C.R. 137, St. Cloud. 320-257-0699.

Friday, May 24Blood drive, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.,

American Red Cross, 1301 W. St.. Germain St., St. Cloud.

Community Calendar

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by Dennis Dalmannews@thenewsleaders.com

There is a “book famine” in Africa, and Rosemond Ow-ens of Sartell, along with oth-ers, is doing something about it.

Owen, who owns Ka-lahari Foods with her hus-band, Isaac, is a member of “Books for Africa,” an or-ganization that raises funds to ship much-needed books to countries in Africa. The organization’s annual local fundraiser will take place at 6 p.m. Friday, May 17 at the First Presbyterian Church at 373 4th Ave. S. in St. Cloud. The social event includes a Ghanian feast prepared by Isaac Owen and many special guests and speakers.

Books for Africa was founded 25 years ago. Books are shipped to Africa periodi-

cally from a warehouse in St. Paul, the largest shipments of books from anywhere in the world. Nearly 30 million books have been shipped to Africa since Books for Africa was founded.

“We will leave no stone unturned until every child in Africa has access to the books they need to help them get the education they need to become what they were meant to become in life,” said Rosemond Owens, who hails from Ghana in Africa. “Would you please join us with like-minded individuals in the greater St. Cloud area and beyond who are dedicated to global literacy issues to enjoy a gourmet feast and donate to a worthy cause?”

For ticket information and to reserve a place, email Eu-nice@aadjei2yahoo.co.uk.

‘Books for Africa’ to host fundraiser

Friday, May 17, 20138 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

Search from front page

Hill’s last day on the job is June 30.

In the meantime, the school board will likely choose an in-terim superintendent because members agreed finding and hiring a replacement for Hill could take several months, at least. The district’s learning-services director, Mike Spanier, has said he would consider filling in doing superintendent duties until one is chosen.

At the board’s May 13 meet-ing, Sauk Rapids Superin-tendent Greg Vandal, at the board’s request, gave some tips and advice about the process of finding a new superintendent. He advised the board to hire a search firm if it intends to extend its search nationwide. Hiring a superintendent by the start of the new school year is probably not feasible, Vandal noted. Vandal has helped with superintendent searches in the past.

which provided free bicy-cle-safety equipment checks.

Those who operated the event were Sartell Police Offi-cers Whitson and Adam Vande Vrede, Sartell Reserve Officers Bob Brezinka and Brian Heim and Chris Tacl from Revolution Cycle and Ski.

contributed photo

Despite rain and threats of more rain, young bikers gath-ered at Sartell City Hall to learn basic bicycle safety May 11 at the annual Bike Rodeo, sponsored by the Sartell Po-lice Department.

Rodeofrom front page

A site plan for another phase of construction for Country Manor was approved May 13 by the Sartell City Council.

Country Manor plans to con-struct a 45-unit senior apartment building with a dining facility on

the southern portion of its cam-pus. The three-story building will be 78,000 square feet with 44 percent of the construction area consisting of green space.

Construction will begin this summer.

Country Manor site plan approved