february 18, 2015

Inside . . .

Coming up

The Maple Lake

Volume 120, Number 21 Wednesday, February 18, 2015 Maple Lake, MN 55358 maplelakemessenger.com $1

5th grade musical:page 7

Basketball: page 9

by Heather ReinhartCorrespondent

Brothers Steve and Al Lochmay be well known as the own-ers of Loch Jewelers in Monti-cello, but what you may notknow is the pair of Maple Lakeresidents are also avid outdoors-men who have been finding waysto enjoy the cold winter temper-atures for decades.

Steve Loch is a member of theWright County Divers, a groupof 15-20 local divers that enjoyscuba diving on area lakes all 12months of the year. Al Loch,meanwhile, is the new ScoutMaster of Maple Lake Boy ScoutTroop #219. Along with brother,Steve, the two have been taking

Eagle Scouts on an outdoor win-ter camping trips to the BoundaryWaters for many years.

Scuba DivingThere are 67 lakes in Wright

County with boat landings andSteve has dived in all of themoften times with friend, PaulJude. The pair went on a 5-yearquest to complete this mission,which Paul refers to as Stevesbucket list.

Maple Lake is among their fa-vorite local lakes, with a maxi-mum depth of 52 feet and a rockbar only 18-feet deep about ahalf-mile off the beach.

Regardless of what lake theydive in, there are treasures to befound. Among the found treas-

ures are vehicles, boat engines,hundreds of boat anchors, icechisels, tackle boxes and onerather odd findthe door to asafe.

Every lake seems to have acar or a tractor or a combine init, Steve said.

The Wright County Divershave also been approached tohelp find specific things that havebeen dropped, including a pair ofexpensive eyeglasses, and a fish-ing rod that was hidden in theweeds. Once, they came across awaterproof cell phone andbrought it to the surface. Theycalled the last-dialed number andwere able to locate the owner andreturn the phone.

In addition to simply explor-ing, the divers check lake depth,structure, water temperature, andmake note of any signs of milfoilor zebra mussels.

To dive in the winter, thegroup cuts a 10-foot triangle inthe ice with a 26-inch chainsawwith a special blade or a 36-inchice saw. They then push the iceunderwater and off to the side.When they leave, they move theice back into place and put or-ange tape around it with ThinIce signs all around. A coupledays later, when the ice hasfrozen over again, the signs areremoved.

An average open-water diveis about an hour long, while div-ing under the ice is limited toabout 25 minutes. With theproper gear, the temperature inthe water is comfortable.

Steve has been diving sincethe 1970s and claims to havetaught Jude all he knows aboutdivingthen Jude went on tolearn more and became a Certi-fied Dive Master eight years ago.Jude often teaches diving classesat Aquadventure Dive & PhotoCenter in Maple Grove, where heworks as a teachers assistant.

People may go golfing or

boating, but we go diving, Stevesaid. I like the adventure of see-ing things other people dont see.You can see different time peri-ods down there.

Jude said that the classes heteaches are discovery dives forfun, and if people enjoy it theycan move forward and get certi-fied. Aquadventure has a heatedindoor pool for practice andtraining. Another member of theWright County Divers, LesterHill, is also a Master Diver, andLoch, Jude and Hill are all Certi-fied Ice Divers.

Jude said that after a person iscertified, they can get set up fordiving for about $1,200, or canchoose to rent equipment insteadof buying. Additional certifica-tion is needed for diving in caves,exploring shipwrecks and divingin deep waters.

Steve said he goes on about100 dives a year (averaging twoa week) and about 80 of them areon local lakes. Steve and Paulsaid their favorites are Clearwa-ter Lake, Lake Sylvia, CedarLake, Maple Lake and CharlotteLake.

Loch AdventuresSteve and Al Loch make the most of winter weather

* Bloodmobile inAnnandale on Feb. 26

* Maple LakeCommunity TheatresArsenic and Old Laceplays Feb. 27, 28 andMarch 1, 6, & 8

* Irish Pre-Party isMarch 7

High Februaryfatalities

by Vicki GrimmerCorrespondent

Moving first through the Dis-trict, then through the Regionalcompetition, Charlie Stejskal hasachieved a place in the state tour-nament for the Minnesota StateHigh School League Triple Aaward, the first time ever for aMaple Lake High School stu-dent. Its pretty exciting, com-mented MLHS Principal, DaveHanson.

Hes an amazing guy, saidDave Schroeder, activities direc-tor for MLHS. Hes a real go-getter and has a good shot at thisaward. He did a great job with allthe essays and presentations. Ijust had to keep reminding him tonot be quite so humble- to bragabout himself a little.

Stejskal, along with the otherregional winners, has completedall oral presentations and will at-tend a Triple A banquet, whichwill be held in conjunction withthe Boys' State Basketball Tour-nament in March. There, leagueofficials will announce the fourTriple A Award recipientsa

girl and boy from both a Class Aand a Class AA schooleach ofwhom will receive a four-year$1,000 scholarship.

Basically its up to the judgesnow, said Stejskal. We had todo a lot of essays and theyll basetheir decision on that.

Triple A, which stands for Ac-ademics, Arts, and Athletics,awards the four-year scholarshipto recognize and honor highschool seniors who have excelledin the classroom, on the athleticfield, and in the fine arts.

A description that fits Stejskallike a glove.

With over a 4.0 GPA, he par-ticipated in football, track andcross country, speech, band (in-cluding the St. Olaf HonorBand), and was elected to studentcouncil freshman and junior year.He is an Eagle Scout, he re-designed and rebuilt the MapleLake city entrance signs, and is amember of Civil Air Patrol (aux-iliary of the Air Force), where heteaches leadership, aerospace andvolunteers. Stejskal volunteeredthrough Boy Scouts at the world

championship for disabledhockey players and with theWounded Warriors (veterans), healso volunteered at Camp Friend-ship for week-long camps withmentally handicapped adults inthe summer. Additionally, hispassion for airplanes has led himto study for, and nearly earn, hisprivate pilot license.

At graduation this spring Ste-jskal, who spends his classroomhours at SCSU through thePSEO program, will graduatewith around 60 college credits, anumber that puts him well on hisway to his goal of becoming anaerospace engineer. With nocomplete aerospace programvailable at SCSU, Stejskal is set-ting his sights on a different col-lege to fulfill his courserequirements.

Basically Ive applied at col-leges all over the country, saysStejskal. Id love to go to Pur-due, but the University of Min-nesota has a good program andIve looked at Iowa State aswell.

Stejskal first to state for MSHSL Triple A Award

Charlie Stejskal with MLHSActivities Director Dave

Schroeder after winning the regional competition.

(Photo Submitted)

Its been a deadly start to themonth on Minnesota roads.Thirteen people have died sinceFebruary 1, according to prelim-inary statistics from the Depart-ment of Public Safety (DPS)Office of Traffic Safety.

The disappointing news fol-lows one of the safest months onMinnesota roads in more than 30years.

Seven of those deaths tookplace during a four-day stretchfrom Feb. 5-8. Four of the sixmotorists who died were notwearing their seat belts; the sev-enth person was a pedestrian. Injust 10 days, February crashesexceeded the January fatalities.

2015 PreliminaryCrash Statistics

JanuaryRoad Fatalities: 6Pedestrian Fatalities: 3As of February 10, 2015Road Fatalities: 12Pedestrian Fatalities: 1

Road Fatality ContributingFactors in Minnesota

Speed (one in five deaths) Drunk Driving (one in five

deaths) Distracted Driving (one in

four fatalities) Lack of seat belt use (about half of the motorists killed)

To reduce the risk of a crash Slow down. Drive to the conditions of

the road. Pay attention. Buckle up. Never drive drunk.

Adam Paumen ofMaple Lake was thelucky winner of thefish house raffle atthe Maple Lake IceFishing Derby.

Arsenic and Old LaceMaple Lake Community Theatre

Mystery, Murder, and May-hem -- behind it all are twosweet, kind, old ladies. Betweenthem and their three nephews(one who thinks hes presidentTeddy Roosevelt, one who lookslike Boris Karloff, and onewhos almost normal) theresbound to be laughter and troublebrewing. Come and see what re-ally happened to Mr. Hoskins,but dont drink the wine!

Arsenic and Old Lace showdates and times are 2/27, 2/28,3/6 at 7:00 p.m. and 3/1, 3/8 at2:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 foradults and $7 for ages under 18.Doors open 30 minutes prior toshow time. Tickets are availableat Star Bank, The CostumeShop, at the door, or from anytheater member. Find MapleLake Community Theater onFacebook.

Patrick Serrano as Dr. Einstein and David Burd as

Jonathon Brewster threaten to torture Mortimor Brewster

played by Luke Baehr. (Photo by Charlene Wurm)

For a photo of the cast and crew of Arsenicand Old Lace see page 8.

Steve Loch inspects a plastic chair at the bottom of Maple

Lake. (Photo by Paul Judes GoPro)

Don Reiland and Chuck Eddy geared up for the dive, pose with Lester Hill, Steve Loch

and Paul Jude before going under the ice. The five are members of the Wright County

Divers. (Photo by Charlene Wurm)

Loch Adventurescontinued on page 8

A woman just got busted fortaking a plane with someoneelse's ticket. Back in the 1980swhen I was on a team of sixpeople traveling to Austin,Texas, that was no problem. Wedidn't have TSA people check-ing to see if we were carrying ajar that was over the specifiedsize, or if our sandals werefilled with plastic explosives.Here's the kind of thing we didin our travels for eight weeks tolearn a new computer system.

Hi, Jim. I heard you weregoing home today. Laverne putyou on the same flight that I'm

taking, I said, in the Austin air-port lobby.

Not originally. I was sup-posed to leave next Thursdaybut I need to be around Friday,so I switched tickets. Today I'mLowell. We're on the sameplane.

I switched, too, I said. I'mCathy today, at least up to Dal-las. Then I'll go to the will-calldesk and see if I turned intome. Laverne had a way ofbracketing tickets to take ad-vantage of an airline rule thatcut the price for people whostay over a weekend. We'd often

swap tickets for our conven-ience, or Laverne's. Our ticketswere always issued with a firstinitial and last name and no-body checked IDs so we couldswap.

How about changing ourtickets to United? Jim said.American flights are alwayscrowded to Dallas, and Unitedhas a flight a little later that getsin an hour before the MSP flightleaves. We can make it.

Sure. I don't like being in amiddle seat where they put me.Let's switch them and get a cupof coffee.

Apparently that sort of thingis illegal nowadays. I barely hadtime to go through security theday they stopped me for a bigjelly jar. Who knows, I couldhave spread jelly on the captainand forced him to go to Cuba orsomeplace.

That's not all that has

changed. Nobody in the 1980sgot a ticket for texting. Textinghadn't been invented. Nobodyhad a cell phone. I had a tablet,but it was a legal pad and I usedit to write meeting notes thatsomebody else in the steno poolwould type up. Now there's nosteno pool either.

On a trip later, I had to carrya portable computer with adozen floppy disks. Now no-body knows what a floppy diskis. The airline charged me forextra luggage. The thing wasbigger than my carry-on.

I'm not complaining. Wedon't have a dial phone anymore. Our computer runs allday.

It used to take an hour to getto Chicago in a piston-engineDC10. Now you can go there ina 727 jet. It still takes an hour,plus another hour to get throughsecurity. That's progress.

The Prosecutors Decision toCharge or Dismiss

You may have heard about acase where a number of peoplewere charged with misdemeanortrespassing. You may also haveheard that they appeared at ameeting of the City Council re-questing that the mayor andcouncil dismiss the criminal ci-tations. Is this the normalprocess? It is not.

A prosecutor was interviewedon the radio and stated that thedecision to prosecute or notunder our system of justice liessolely in the prosecutor and thatthis decision-making must notbe influenced by politics or pub-lic opinion. The American BarAssociation standards for theprosecutorial function state as

follows: Standard 3-3.4 Decision to

Charge(a) The decision to institute

criminal proceedings should beinitially and primarily the re-sponsibility of the prosecutor.

(b) Prosecutors should takereasonable care to ensure that in-vestigators working at their di-rection or under their authorityare adequately trained in thestandards governing the is-suance of arrest and search war-rants and should informinvestigators that they shouldseek the approval of a prosecutorin close or difficult cases.

(c) The prosecutor should es-tablish standards and proceduresfor evaluating complaints to de-termine whether criminal pro-

ceedings should be instituted.(d) Where the law permits a

citizen to complain directly to ajudicial officer or the grand jury,the citizen complainant shouldbe required to present the com-plaint for prior approval to theprosecutor, and the prosecutor'saction or recommendationthereon should be communi-cated to the judicial officer orgrand jury.

Consider for a momentwhether the decision to prose-cute or dismiss charges shouldbe influenced by politics or pub-lic opinion. Assume you or amember of your family was as-saulted at a sporting event. Theassailant isnt charged becausehis father has high standing inthe community and used his in-fluence by pressuring the city at-torney. In the alternative, if youand your friends carry placardsand protest at city hall, shouldthat coerce the city prosecutorinto charging the assailant? If weare to be a system of laws, is thatfair and just? Obviously not.

Likewise, criminal charges arenot necessarily dismissed justbecause the victim requests thatcharges be dropped or recantstheir statements to police aboutwhat happened. That decision issolely with the prosecutor.

If we are to survive as a soci-ety, the criminal justice systemshould not be influenced by pub-lic opinion or politics. To do oth-erwise leads back down the pathto the mob rule of the DarkAges. Certainly that is not any-thing that anyone wants.

Submitted by Judge SteveHalsey, Wright County DistrictCourt, chambered in Buffalo.Judge Halsey is the host of TheDistrict Court Show on localcable TV public access channelsthroughout the Tenth JudicialDistrict. Excerpts can be viewedat WWW.QCTV.org. Go to Com-munity and click The DistrictCourt Show. Judge Halsey mayalso be heard on Legal Hap-penings on KRWC 1360 AM(Buffalo) on Saturdays at 12:30p.m.

Question: I was recentlypulled over for an equipment vi-olation. On the citation there is abox with "pm, m, gm" with the"pm" circled. I'm curious as towhat that indicates. Thank youfor your time.

Answer: Those indicate thelevel of the violation that oc-curred.

"Petty misdemeanor" meansa petty offense which is prohib-ited by statute, which does notconstitute a crime and for whicha sentence of a fine of not morethan $300 may be imposed.

"Misdemeanor" means acrime for which a sentence of notmore than 90 days or a fine ofnot more than $1,000, or both,

may be imposed. "Gross misdemeanor"

means any crime which is not afelony or misdemeanor. Themaximum fine which may beimposed for a gross misde-meanor is $3,000.

A portion of state statutes wasused with permission from theOffice of the Revisor of Statutes.If you have any questions con-cerning traffic related laws or is-sues in Minnesota, send yourquestions to Trp. Jesse Grabow Minnesota State Patrol at 1000Highway 10 West, Detroit Lakes,MN 56501-2205. (You can fol-low him on Twitter @MSP-PIO_NW or reach him at,[email protected]).

Channel 11 honored Helen Dohertys 100th birthday with an ac-knowledgement of Sundays party along with a photo of her as shegreeted hundreds of friends and relatives at The V in their eveningnews show. It was a nice touch for a grand lady whose life has beenone of service to her country and locally to Maple Lake as was toldin last weeks Messenger. The response to her party was tremendousand a tribute to a person who has touched many lives. . .

* * *

Looking out of the Messenger window and watching the fluffysnowflakes reminded me that two of the six weeks more of winterthe groundhog promised on Feb. 2 have gone by and winter is be-ginning to fade away. We may have a late season storm or two, buthopefully, nothing compared to what has hit Boston and other citiesin Massachusetts as well as adjoining states. Weve been fortunateto have escaped deep snow this winter and while that might not begood for our winter based economy, it sure makes the winter moretolerable.

* * *

I havent had a good report on fishing, especially panfish, recentlyand the cold weather has kept me off the lakes last week, but Imhoping that will change later this week. Its not too early to thinkabout late ice angling even though it could be as much as a monthaway. I noticed a story in Sundays Trib. about concern for sunfishwhich are the second most popular fish in Minnesota, just behind

the walleye. Apparently there are many lakes in Minnesota withstunted sunnies. This is happening because of the fishing pressureon sunfish when anglers keep only the larger 1/2 to a pound sunfish.They say whats happening is lakes are depleted of larger fish andthat makes a difference when spawning time comes around and thereare only stunted male fish fertilizing the eggs which tends to producemore stunted fish. One of the solutions obviously is to use the catch-and-release method even when it comes to panfish angling. The otherproblem is anglers who go back to a lake to catch a second limit onthe same day, a no-no in my book. With a 20-fish limit youd thinkanglers would be satisfied, but if stunted sunfish continues to be aproblem, anglers can expect their favorite lake or lakes to have re-stricted limits as some already have. Its another example of mansometimes being his own worst enemy! Feb. 22 is the final day forspearing, or for angling of walleyes, northerns and saugers on inlandlakes as well as some other species. Inland waters dates of removalof fish houses are determined by an east-west line formed by U.S.Hwy. 10, east along Hwy. 34 to Minnesota Hwy. 200, east alongHwy. 200 to U.S. Hwy. 2, and east along Hwy. 2 to the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. South of line - March 2, 2015 North of line - March 16, 2015 If shelters are not removed, owners will be prosecuted, and thestructure and contents may be confiscated and removed, or destroyedby a conservation officer. After removal dates, shelters may remain on the ice between mid-night and one hour before sunrise only when occupied or attended. Storing or leaving shelters on a public access is prohibited.

* * *

I havent seen anything on the DNR website about liberalizedfishing on any Minnesota lakes and I suspect the lack of snow thiswinter has helped the shallow lakes provide enough oxygen to keepthe fish healthy.

ViewpointBrutesBleatby Harold Brutlag

Maple Lake Messenger Page 2February 18, 2015

Readers are invited to take part in discussions of interest to the Maple Lake community.All letters to the editor must be signed and must include the writers address and tele-phone number or email address. Letters of private thanks, solicitation, petition andthose containing libelous material will not be published. The Messenger reserves theright to edit all letters.

Letters

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Maple Lake, MN 55358 Michele Pawlenty, Publisher

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The Maple LakeThe Maple Lake

The Retireeby Jerry Hoem

Its in your courtby Judge Steve Halsey

320-401-1300Now Open!

New veterinary clinic in Maple Lake!Full service care for your animals with

24-hour on-call veterinarian.Located on Highway 55 next to H&H Sport shop.

We also have locations in Watkins (320-764-7400)and Kimball (320-398-3600)Call now for an appointment!

Letter to Editor:An Inmate's Apology

What you are about to read isan apology from me, Erik Carl-son, a life-long resident ofWright County. This is not aplea for sympathy or a list of ex-cuses attempting to justify mywrongs. This is me, Erik Carl-son, sober mindedly saying I'msorry.

For many years I took the ha-tred for myself out on society.Committing crimes to fuel myaddiction and running and hid-ing from police most times likea crazed lunatic with a carelessdisregard for my fellow man andsociety at large.

I was one who embraced lifeon the other side of the tracks as"the only way" and if youweren't with me, you wereagainst me. So day after day,night after night, in a constantself-inflicted drug induced stu-por I plotted every way possibleI could to maintain my drughigh in an attempt to blot out theErik Carlson I grew to hate.

I did not grow up like most. I

spent my life cycling in and outof foster homes, boys' homes,detention centers, treatment cen-ters, jails and prisons, some thebest the state had to offer. Somewould say I was just dealt a badhand in life, but as I look back Ican see a lot of it was my badchoices. Although my upbring-ing was not the best, me choos-ing the path I did is what mademy life hard on me every day. Iwish I could rewind but know-ing I can't I put my feet to thefloor trying to embrace change.

I am an individual who is try-ing to change and the past fiveyears has been a frustrating pur-suit of change, but at the end ofeach day even in my failures Iam getting better. Within meseems to be a war of good andevil. At times I feel as if thegood me is standing on a bucketreaching for the stars while thebad me is pacing circles waitingfor the right time to kick thebucket out from under me.

Letter to the Editor

continued on page 8

by John HollerCorrespondent

To many, prisoners housed inthe Wright County Jail areviewed as criminals payingtheir debt to society. However,they are also a key componentof getting county, city andtownship projects completed ata low cost to county taxpayers.

At the Feb. 10 meeting of theWright County Board of Com-missioners, Jail AdministratorPat OMalley presented a two-year contract to continue theSentence To Service program,

which hires non-violent offend-ers to work with on a variety ofprojects for local governmentunits and the Department ofNatural Resources.

Sheriff Joe Hagerty said theprogram has been a great suc-cess because of not only thecost savings to the county, butto assist prisoners in payingback money owed as a result oftheir crimes. The STS programhelps in a variety of ways to dowork that would otherwise goundone or come at a muchhigher cost.

If youre a city or townshipand need ditches cleaned up,buildings painted, weed-whip-ping along county roads youname it and they pretty muchcan do it, Hagerty said. Theystay busy. These are the non-vi-olent offenders and low-risktype of prisoners that do thework. Its been extremely help-ful for the county because thecost of the program is just $7 anhour and, for the work they do,you couldnt hire someone to doit at that price. Youd be luckyto get them at twice the price.

Last year there were 117 par-ticipants in the STS program.Approximately 75 percent ofwork done in Wright Countybenefits local county projects.The remainder of the projectswere dealing with DNR proj-ects. Inmates who take part inthe program have the $7 hourlywage used to pay off the pay-to-stay program as well as helpmake restitution to victims topay fines that were imposed bythe courts.

Board approves contract for Sentence to Service


On February 9, Jeffrey Rob-ledo, 30, no permanent address,was arrested in Waverly on aMN Department of Correctionswarrant for 2nd degree burglaryparole violations

On February 9, April Chris-tine Reichert, 31, of Monticello,was arrested in Buffalo on aRamsey County warrant for 3rddegree DWI.

On February 9, Daniel RobertWarner, 26, of Howard Lake,was arrested in HennepinCounty on a Wright County war-rant for theft.

On February 9, Dallas Ray-mond Evenstad, 26, of St.Michael, was arrested in Buffaloon a Wright County warrant for5th degree assault.

On February 10, JustinMichael Wolney, 26, of MapleLake, was arrested in CorinnaTownship on the charge of do-mestic assault.

On February 10, ChristinaLouise Melina, 48, of St.Michael, was arrested in St.Michael on a Wright Countywarrant for 3rd degree DWI vi-olations.

On February 11, Tarra MarieBerent, 31, of Montrose, was ar-rested in Montrose on the chargeof 3rd degree DWI.

On February 11, Jason LeeLoch, 39, of Clearwater, was ar-rested in Stearns County on aWright County warrant for 3rddegree controlled substance pos-session.

On February 11, Mark Don-ald Repke, 60, of South Haven,was arrested in South Haven onthe charge of 5th degree con-trolled substance.

On February 11, AllenClarence Hochstein, 63, of SouthHaven, was arrested in SouthHaven on the charge of 5th de-gree controlled substance.

On February 11, MarvinSmith, no permanent address,was arrested in HennepinCounty on the charge of disor-derly conduct.

On February 12, Emily AnnSchumacher, 26, of Monticello,was arrested in Monticello onthe charge of domestic assault.

On February 13, ZacharyTaylor Haley, 24, no permanentaddress, was arrested in AnokaCounty on Wright County war-rants for 5th degree controlledsubstance violations.

On February 13, JordanPatrick Schwanke, 18, no perma-nent address, was arrested inSherburne County on a WrightCounty warrant for trespassing.

On February 13, DemarcusLee Washington, 27, no perma-nent address, was arrested inHennepin County on a WrightCounty warrant and US Mar-shals hold for weapon viola-

tions.On February 13, Derek James

Painschab, 23, of Buffalo, wasarrested in Hennepin County ona Wright County warrant for 2nddegree controlled substance.

On February 13, MathewWilliam Brown, 19, of Buffalo,was arrested in Buffalo on thecharge of trespassing.

On February 13, Leon HaroldGilder, 50, of Delano, was ar-rested in Delano on a WrightCounty warrant for disseminat-ing pornographic work.

On February 13, Doty AnnMosford, 44, Waverly, was ar-rested in Southside Township onthe charge of 2nd degree DWI.

On February 14, Jana LeeJaspers, 23, of Rockford, was ar-rested in Rockford on a WrightCounty warrant for 3rd degreeDWI.

On February 14, Bruno Fran-cisco Gonzalez Nova, 37, ofBuffalo, was arrested in Buffaloon the charges of 3rd degreeDWI and DWI test refusal.

On February 15, KevinReyna, 39, of Montrose, was ar-rested in Montrose on the chargeof domestic assault and a WrightCounty apprehension and deten-tion order for 2nd degree DWIviolation.

On February 16, RickyLawrence Dalbec, 47, of Wa-verly, was arrested in Buffalo ona Wright County warrant forfleeing in a motor vehicle.

On February 16, StephenJean Thibodeaux, 21, of Buffalo,was arrested in Buffalo on aWright County warrant for re-ceiving stolen property.

On February 16, Dustin JohnSchlagel, 32, of Annandale, wasarrested in Southside Townshipon a Pope County warrant for vi-olation of a harassment restrain-ing order.

On February 16, DavidGeorge Lundberg, 67, of Annan-dale, was arrested in Annandaleon the charge of fugitive fromjustice warrant.

On February 16, Mark DuaneAnderson, 25, of Delano, was ar-rested in Buffalo on a WrightCounty warrant for theft.

On February 16, John Ed-ward Yort, 39, of Rockford, wasarrested in Monticello Townshipon the charges of 5th degree con-trolled substance, driving aftercancellation inimical to publicsafety and fleeing on foot.

There were 47 property dam-age accidents, 2 personal injuryaccidents, 4 hit and run accidentsand 1 car-deer accident.

There were 5 arrests for DWI,no underage consumption ar-rests, no school bus stop arm vi-olations and 92 tickets formiscellaneous traffic violationsreported this week.

Feb. 17 Wright CountySheriffs report

Chamberlain, Timothy Ran-dle, age 60, of Buffalo, sen-tenced on 02/06/15 for ProbationViolations for Terroristic Threatsto 15 days jail. Sentenced byJudge Davis.

Evenstad, Dallas Raymond,age 26, of St. Michael, sentencedon 02/10/15 for Probation Viola-tions for Misdemeanor Assaultin the Fifth Degree to 90 daysjail. Sentenced by Judge Halsey.

Griffin, Edmund Bernard,age 48, of Monticello, sentencedon 02/09/15 for Probation Viola-tions for Gross MisdemeanorSecond Degree DWI to 30 daysjail and 60 days on electronichome monitoring. Sentenced byJudge McPherson.

Grunenwald, Kyle Joseph,age 35, of Monticello, sentencedon 02/09/15 for MisdemeanorFourth Degree DWI to 90 daysjail, $300 fine; 80 days stayedfor two years on conditions ofprobation, serve 10 days jail, pay$300 fine plus surcharges, attendAwareness Panel for ImpairedDrivers, have no use or posses-sion of alcohol or non-prescrip-tion drugs, submit to randomtesting, remain medically com-pliant, undergo a chemical de-pendency evaluation and followall recommendations, have nosame or similar violations. Sen-

tenced by Judge McPherson.Larson, Dale Allen, age 25,

of Buffalo, sentenced on02/09/15 for Probation Viola-tions for Misdemeanor Theft to90 days jail. Sentenced by JudgeMcPherson.

Przymus, Robert Steven, age40, of Delano, sentenced on02/06/15 for Gross Misde-meanor Second Degree Refusalto Submit to Testing to 365 daysjail, $300 fine; 335 days stayedfor four years on conditions ofprobation, serve 30 days jail, pay$300 fine plus surcharges, com-plete Intensive Supervision Pro-gram and follow allrecommendations, attend a sup-port group and verify atten-dance, have no use or possessionof alcohol or non-prescriptiondrugs, submit to random testing,stay out of establishments wherealcohol is primary means ofbusiness, serve 60 days on elec-tronic home monitoring, have nosame or similar violations. Sen-tenced for Probation Violationsfor Gross Misdemeanor SecondDegree Refusal to Submit toTesting to 15 days jail, consecu-tive. Sentenced by Judge Ten-ney.

Business Brief

Feb. 9 Wright CountyAttorneys report

Maple Lakes Volunteer FireDepartment and AmbulanceService responded to the fol-lowing emergencies during thepast week: Feb. 15, 11:37 a.m: Motorvehicle accident, 53rd St. NW,Maple Lake Twp. Cancelledenroute. Eighteen fire-fightersalso responded. Feb. 15, 6:04 a.m.: Med-ical. Patient transported by Al-lina Ambulance. Feb. 14, 4:22 p.m.: Med-ical. Patient transported by Al-lina Ambulance to the BuffaloHospital ER. Maple LakesAmbulance was on another

call. Feb. 12, 10:06 a.m.: Med-ical. Patient transported byMaple Lake Ambulance to theBuffalo Hospital ER. Maple Lakes Volunteer FireDept. responded to a mutual aidcall from Monticello on Feb.11, at 11:51 p.m. A house,12885 Aetna Ave. NW, Monti-cello Twp., was considered atotal loss despite attempts bythe Monticello, Clearwater andMaple Lake Fire Departmentsto extinguish the blaze. Maple Lake responded with13 firefighters who were in-volved for 5 hours.

Feb. 15 Maple LakeFire Department Report

Sentencingscontinued on page 7

On February 11th at 10:35a.m., the Wright County Sher-iffs Special Investigations Unitexecuted a search warrant at6897 Quinn Avenue NW inSouthside Twp. During the exe-cution of the search warrant, ap-proximately 56 pounds ofmarijuana was seized along withsmaller amounts of metham-phetamine and cocaine. Alsodiscovered during the searchwarrant was a homemade activealcohol distillery set up in thebasement of the home. AllenClarence Hochstein, 63, andMark Donald Repke, 60, wereboth arrested and booked into

the Wright County Jail on felonycontrolled substance violations.The Wright County Sheriffs Of-fice was assisted by the Annan-dale Police Department and theMinnesota Department of PublicSafety Alcohol and GamblingEnforcement.

56 lbs. of marijuana seizedin a Wright County home

by Vicki GrimmerCorrespondent

After sitting empty for over ayear, the Hwy. 55 building lastoccupied by McLeods AceHardware re-opened this monthas CJs Deal Depot.

Owners Cory Geyer (the C' )and Jeanine Halloran (the J )live in Buffalo, but saw MapleLake as an ideal spot for theirnew business.

Weve been looking for aplace to do this, said Geyer.And this location has every-thing we were looking for, pluswe had the chance to be in asmall community and, hopefully,make a difference.

With the doors open for onlytwo weeks and a philosophy ofkeeping inventory turning,theyve already gotten goodfeedback from area residents.

Its been great, said Geyer.We've been getting lots of peo-ple stopping in and saying werea good fit for the area.

We didnt want to stick toone thing, said Geyer. Wevegot lots of variety - something to

fit about anyones needs. Well always have the basic

everyday needs, added Hallo-ran. Shampoo, vitamins, thingslike that, and good prices onthem, too, but well keep tryingto add things that people arelooking for.

With leftover stock from thehardware store to build on, thecouple also stocks a full line ofRV and fish house parts as wellas household goods and furniturethat they showcase in the front ofthe store. The front left (as youenter) will always be changing,said Geyer. In the two weeksweve been open that section hascompletely changed once al-ready. As of now we dont haveto wait for new stock to arrive,weve got a lot of stock on siteand can quickly move somethingnew in to take the place of any-thing thats sold. Weve evengotten bigger things in the trail-ers, more sporting goods, pooltables, ping-pong tables, thingslike that.

Another reason for CJs al-ready repeating customers is a

familiar-to-Maple-Lake face,John Wisecarver. Known locallyas the man behind Lacys LegacyScottie & Westie Rescue, Wise-carver is CJs sole employee. Isaw an ad in the paper andstopped in to say hi, said Wise-carver. They said come back to-morrow and here I am. I reallyenjoy being here and am sur-prised about how many people Iknow stop in. It seems like Iknow about every other face!

The final piece of the perfect-fit puzzle? The couple also rentsIce Castle fish houses by the dayor week. We own the fishhouses you see out front, saidGeyer. Theyre set up to betowed - you can take them any-where you want to go.

The fish houses sleep two andare fully set up, includingpropane, and rent for $150 for 24hours or $500 for a week.

CJs Deal Depot

CJs Deal Depot is located at 65 Maple Ave. right off of

Highway 55 in Maple Lake. The building was formerly

McLeods Ace Hardware. (Photo by Vicki Grimmer)

A full house for MLFD Pancake Breakfast

The Maple Lake Fire Department served up some delicious flapjacks at their annual Pancake Breakfast on Sunday

morning at the Maple Lake American Legion Club. Left: Tom Blizil and Mark Rassat are busy working in the kitchen.

Top Right: Maya Ortiz, Blair Stewig, Heather Blahut, Lori Elsenpeter, and Maddie Nelson pose for a picture with Mayor

Lynn Kissock. Ortiz, Blahut, and Nelson are the 2015 Ambassador candidates. Stewig and Elsenpeter were crowned

in 2014. Bottom Right: Red fireman boots were used as receptacles for donations at the Pancake Breakfast, sponsored

by the Maple Lake Fire Department Relief Association. (Photos by Bob Zimmerman)

County Boardcontinued on page 7

CommunityPrograms & EventsMeetings

Febr

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18th

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Heres How It Works:Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into

nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 mustfill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only oncein each row, column, and box. You can figure out the order inwhich the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues alreadyprovided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easierit gets to solve the puzzle! Answers on Page 14

Feb. 19: Wright SaddleClub, 7:30 p.m., at the club-house, Maple Lake. New mem-bers always welcome. Krista,320-963-3990.

Feb. 19: Maple Lake Le-gion Post 131 Auxiliary, 7p.m., American Legion Club.

Feb. 19: AA & Al-Anon,7:30 p.m., Buffalo EvangelicalFree Church, 2051 50th St. NE,County Rds. 25 & 113.

Feb. 21: AA, 7:30 p.m.,Buffalo Evangelical FreeChurch, 2015 50th St. NE,County Rds. 25 & 113.

Feb. 23: S.A.M. quiltinggroup, St. Timothy's Churchbasement, 8 a.m.

Feb. 23: Al-Anon and

Men's 12 Step Group, 7:30p.m., Buffalo Evangelical FreeChurch, 2051 50th St. NE,County Rds. 25 & 113.

Feb. 24: Annandale Lak-ers AA & Al-Anon, 8 p.m.,United Methodist Church ofAnnandale, 20 Oak Ave. N.320-274-3380

Feb. 24: Gamblers Anony-mous & AA, 7:30 p.m., Buf-falo Evangelical Free Church,2051 50th St. NE, County Rds.25 & 113.

Feb. 24: Celebrate Recov-ery (non-denominationalChristian-based recovery pro-gram), 7 p.m., MonticelloCovenant Church; 763-295-2112.

Upcoming Red Cross blood drivesDonors of all types are encouraged to help save lives by giving

blood. Appointments can be made by calling 1-800-RED-CROSSor visiting redcrossblood.org. Upcoming blood donation opportu-nities in Wright County: Feb. 23, 1 - 7 p.m., First Baptist Church,395 Broadway Ave. N., Cokato; Feb. 24, 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.,Community Center, 206 Central Ave., Buffalo; Feb. 26, 1 - 7 p.m.,St. Ignatius Church, 35 Birch St. E., Annandale; March 9, 1 - 7 p.m.,American Legion, 200 Babcock Boulevard West, Delano

Cozy Up With A Book - Reading ProgramThe Maple Lake Library has brought back its popular winter

reading incentive program for adults: "Cozy Up With a Book. Pa-trons will have the opportunity to win Business Bucks, simply byreading books. They fill out a slip with their name, phone number,book title and author. The more books they read, the more chancesthey have of winning. Winners will be drawn at the end of eachmonth and notified by phone. Visit the Maple Lake Library formore information.

Free trial of ancestory.com for Feb. at LibraryThe Maple Lake Library is offering a wonderful opportunity for

the month of February. Patrons of the library will be able to researchon ancestry.com free during this month. If there is enough interestfrom the community in using this website, the library will providefree access for a full year. If you are not a patron of the library, youonly need to fill out an application. So come join us at the library,take advantage of this opportunity, and discover your roots. Libraryhours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Fishing contest on Buffalo Lake SaturdayJoin Love INC-Big Woods for a fishing contest for the whole

family on Saturday, Feb. 21, on Buffalo Lake from 1-3 p.m. Comeearly with the kids for Tintes Outdoors Youth Fishing Clinic, spon-sored by the Take a Kid Fishing Foundation, from noon to 1 p.m.

Prizes for all ages. Proceeds will enable Love INC-Big Woodsto support families in our communities. Questions? Call the LoveINC office, 763-682-2550, or Peg Plaggerman, 612-282-3431.

Silver Creek Comm. Church back from EcuadorThe members of Silver Creek Community Church who traveled

to La Concordia, Ecuador this past January to work with MisionEvangelico del Ecuador (MEDE) want to thank the community fortheir support and share with them the successes and discoveries ofthe trip. Silver Creek Community Church is inviting all friends andneighbors who supported the MEDE mission to a mission celebra-tion at the church in Silver Creek on Feb. 22 at 12 p.m. Enjoy alight lunch and a presentation with pictures and testimony from theteam.

Bloodmobile in Annandale Feb. 26Annandale is sponsoring a Red Cross bloodmobile at St. Ignatius

Catholic Church on Feb. 26 from 1-7 p.m.It takes about an hour of your time and a pint of your blood to

save at least three lives. You can donate, relax, chat with friends andneighbors and have a snack. If you are 16 years (with parental per-mission) or older, weigh at least 110 pounds and are in good health,you can donate. To make an appointment and for more information,please call Valerie Kaz at 320-274-5531.

The Need is Constant. The Gratification is Instant. Give Blood.

Maple Lake Community Theatre show datesMaple Lake Community Theater brings you Arsenic and Old

Lace, a classic dark comedy about crazy relatives.Showtimes:: Friday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7

p.m.; Sunday, March 1, at 2 p.m.; Friday, March 6, at 7 p.m.; Sun-day, March 8, at 2 p.m.

Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets are availableat The Costume Shoppe, Star Bank, and at the door. Performancesare at the Maple Lake High School on Hwy 55. Call 320-963-6277for more information, or find MLCT on Facebook.

Powder Ridge to celebrate 60 years in businessOn Feb. 28, Powder Ridge Ski Area will be celebrating 60 years

in business. The area first opened for the 1954-55 season and hasbeen a major winter attraction for residents of this and surroundingcommunities.

Everyone is invited to help celebrate this special occasion. Therewill be a ticket and rental special, giveaways and drawings through-out the day, a large memorabilia display, food and beverage specialsand Powder Ridge donuts.

Relay for Life Winter Luminaria event is Feb. 28The 2nd annual Relay for Life Winter Luminaria event will take

place at the Robert Ney Memorial Park Reserve in Maple Lake onFeb. 28 from 5:45-8 p.m. Upon arrival, you can decorate and lightyour luminaria in remembrance or in honor of your loved ones thathave faced cancer. Enjoy special music with the acoustic sound byChad Wiles from Rusted Revolver. The luminarias will be placedwhile hiking the 1.3 mile pond trail. Sunset is at 6 p.m., so the lu-minarias should be decorated by 6:30. Luminaria bags, candles,pens/markers and some bag decorations will be supplied. Refresh-ments will be provided. For more information [email protected] or [email protected]. Ney Parkinformation online at www.co.wright.mn.us/department/parks.

Enter the Monticello Photo Show by March 1The Monticello Camera Club is currently accepting submissions

for the 12th Annual Monticello Photo Show Saturday and Sunday,March 14-15, in River City Extremes banquet room. Photographersof all skill levels are invited to enter, and information on submis-sions can be found at www.monticameraclub.com/photoshow. En-tries are due no later than March 1. Admission to the photo show isfree, and everyone is welcome to attend and vote for their favoriteentries. For more information, visit www.monticameraclub.com, orcall Bob Somerville at 763-295-3179.

Irish Pre-Party is March 7Maple Lakes 38th Annual St. Patricks Day Celebration is ap-

proaching. Help Maple Lake make some green and join the IrishPre-Party on Saturday, March 7, at the Maple Lake American Le-gion Club from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The night includes a social hour,dinner, silent auction and entertainment by comedian Roger Radley.


Maple Lakes Teresa Kintopreturned home from her tour ofduty in Iraq. ... An event to raisefunds for the survivors of theJanuary 12 Haiti earthquakedrew a crowd to the Maple LakeLegion on February 12. ... Brit-tany Pesch, Jeremy Welter, andtheir son, Treyron, wereawarded the $1,000 bingo jack-pot prize from the Maple LakeLions. ... The Irish boys basket-ball team won against Pierzwhile Mitch Wurm earned atotal of 24 points. ...And ThatsThe Way It Was Five Years AgoThis Week.

John Aiken began his grass-roots campaign for the District19A House seat. ... Minnesotawelcomed new area codes, 763and 952. ... Maple Lake gym-nastic coach Jen Harmoningwas named Section 5A Coach ofthe Year. ... Students from phys-ical education instructor JoeNetts elementary class com-pleted their anual PIG basket-ball tournament. Fifth gradersJade Kotila and RachelSawatzke, earned the gold

medal. ...And Thats The Way ItWas 15 Years Ago This Week.

The Maple Lake Irish gym-nastics team advanced to stateafter they had a record-breakingperformance at their Section 8Acompetition. ... Sixth graderMolly Kjesbo won the elemen-tary spelling bee. Her winningword was ancient. ... TheWright County jail was cited forbeing too full. ... Maple LakesMayor Laun Aiken signed aproclamation designating Feb-ruary 18-24 FFA Week. ...AndThats The Way It Was 25 YearsAgo This Week.

Dave Schmitz, Irish forward,had his best production night ofthe season as he burned thehoops for 35 points as the Irishbested Eden Valley 105-95 onthe home court. ... David Zechand Karen Bolyard werechosen to be representatives forBoys and Girls State. ... AndysRed Owl sold ground beef for.69 per two pounds. ...AndThats The Way It Was 50 YearsAgo This Week.

And thats theway it was . . .

Programs & Events continued on page 5

Wright County Public Health

offers cholesterol testing in the

Wellness on Wheels (WOW)

van. The WOW Van schedule is

available at

www.co.wright.mn.us and

www.facebook.com/WrightCty-

PublicHealth or by calling our

new phone number, 763-682-

7516 (toll-free 1-800-362-3667

ext 7516). Please use this num-

ber for more information or to

make an appointment.

Wellness on Wheels Services

include: Adult and Child Immu-

nizations; Health Screening:

Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Cho-

lesterol (by appointment), Preg-

nancy, Health and Wellness;

Child Car Seat Check (by ap-

pointment); Information about:

Healthy Lifestyle - Exercise,

Nutrition, Recommendations for

Routine Medical Care, Safety -

Individual, Home, Car Seat,

Pregnancy, Childbirth, Parent-

ing, Child Health, Growth &

Development, Reproductive

Health & Family Planning, In-

fectious Diseases, Chronic Ill-

ness, Unhealthy Lifestyle Be-

haviors, such as Smoking, Drug

and Alcohol Abuse, Unsafe Sex;

Information and Assistance in

Accessing Resources.

For immunizations, bring

past immunization records to the

van, if available. * Van hours

Monday through Thursday are

from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and on

Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Upcoming dates:

Thursday, February 19:

Marketplace, CokatoSaturday, February 21:

Cub Foods, BuffaloWednesday, February 25:

St. Johns Lutheran, HowardLake

Thursday, February 26:

Bank West, RockfordThe complete WOW van

schedule is available online at:

http://www.co.wright.mn.us/de-

partment/humanservices/wow

Wright County Public Health

offers cholesterol testing in the

Wellness on Wheels (WOW)

Van. The entire test takes about

30 minutes. We have two differ-

ent test options. A 12 hour fast

is required for a lipid profile in-

cluding blood sugar screening.

The cost is $35. A non-fasting

test is also available. This test

gives your total cholesterol and

HDL. The cost is $25.

WOWWellness on Wheels

The 60+ and Healthy Clinics,provided by Wright CountyPublic Health, provides footcare for the senior citizens ofWright County. Toenail trim-ming is offered to meet theneeds of those seniors who havea health condition such as dia-betes or are unable to trim toe-nails themselves.

The 60+ and Healthy Clinicswill be charging a $15 fee forfoot care services. This fee isnecessary because the clinicsare no longer being funded bygrant money. However, if youare unable to pay the fee, youwill not be turned away. Theclinics are hosted from 9:30 to

11:30 a.m. If you have any questions,

please ask clinic staff or callWC Public Health at 1-800-362-3667 or 763-682-7456. Upcom-ing dates:

Tuesday, February 24:Monticello Senior Center, 505Walnut Street, Suite 3

Tuesday, March 3: BuffaloCommunity Center, 206 CentralAvenue

Tuesday, March 10:Howard Lake Community Cen-ter Public Library, 617 6th St.

For the full schedule, visit:www.co.wright.mn.us/forms/humanservices/60%20Plus%20and%20Healthy%20Schedule.pdf

60+ and Healthy Clinics

55+ Driver Improvement Program

The Minnesota HighwaySafety Center will be offering55+ Driver Improvement Pro-gram courses on the followingdays:

February 20th (4Hr. Re-fresher Course) 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.,Keller Lake Commons, 655Norwood Ln., Big Lake

February 23rd (4Hr. Re-fresher Course) 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.,Big Lake High School Com.Ed., 501 Minnesota Ave, BigLake

February 25th & 26th (8Hr.First Time Course) 5:30 p.m. to9:30 p.m., Handke Center, 1170Main St., Elk River

The Driver Improvementcourse is open to the public; pre-registration is required. A MNHighway Safety & ResearchCenter certified instructor

teaches this class. By utilizingthe most up-to-date research inthe field, participants will beprovided the latest informationin regards to driver safety, newlaws, and vehicle technology.The fee for the four-hour re-fresher course is $20 and theeight-hour course is $24. Formore information or to register,visit www.mnsafetycenter.org orcall TOLL FREE 1-(888)-234-1294.

Persons age 55 and older whocomplete the course qualify fora 10% discount on their auto in-surance premiums for threeyears, according to Minnesotalaw. First-time participants mustcomplete the initial eight hoursof training and a four-hour re-fresher class every three years tomaintain the 10% discount.

Offering a nutritious meal ina warm, caring atmosphere withfriendship and fun. Everyonewelcome. The Senior DiningCenter is located at MapleManor West, 555 2nd St. W. Formore information, call 320-963-5771.

MONDAY, Feb. 23Chicken in Cream Sauce,

Parslied Potatoes, HarvardBeets, Dinner Roll, Applesauce

TUESDAY, Feb. 24Roast Beef w/Horseradish,

Whipped Potatoes w/Gravy,Scandinavian Blend Vegetables,

Dinner Roll, Fresh FruitWEDNESDAY, Feb. 25Deviled Pork Chop, Baked

Potato w/Sour Cream, WaxBeans, Wheat Bread, Butter-scotch-Chip Cookie

THURSDAY, Feb. 26Chicken ala King, Baking

Powder Biscuit, Peas and Car-rots, Orange Wedges, ChocolateCake

FRIDAY, Feb. 27Broccoli-Cheese Quiche,

Oven-Roasted Potatoes,Creamed Vegetables, Bread-stick, Sliced Peaches

Senior Dining Menu February 23-27

Q: Now is the time of yearwhen Minnesota residents cancontribute to the DNR'sNongame Wildlife CheckoffFund. What is this money usedfor and how does it helpwildlife?

A: The DNRs NongameWildlife Program uses donationsto the fund for a number ofstatewide efforts to help protectand manage the state's nongamewildlife species. Nongamewildlife species includes morethan 700 species of birds, mam-mals, reptiles, amphibians, fish,butterflies and selected inverte-brates that are not traditionallyhunted or harvested. This also in-cludes conservation efforts forthreatened and endangeredspecies.

Specifically, the species thathave benefited from these effortsare bald eagles, trumpeter swans,

peregrine falcons, eastern blue-birds, Blanding's turtles, bats,timber rattlesnakes, great blueherons and other colonial waterbirds like egrets and grebes. Themoney also helps with land ac-quisition and easements to pro-tect habitat, manage prairies,forests and wetlands, createbuffer zones along lakeshores,assist private landowners andlocal governments with habitatmanagement, and fund educa-tional programs.

Contribute to the NongameWildlife Checkoff Fund on the2014 Minnesota tax form, or on-line at www.dnr.state.mn.us/nongame/donate/index.html. Thedonations are matched withfunds from conservation licenseplates. That means double the re-wards for Minnesotas wildlife.

- Lori Naumann, DNRNongame Wildlife Program

DNRQuestion of the Week

CHURCH OF SAINT TIMOTHY8 Oak Ave. N., Maple LakePh.: 320-963-3726www.churchofsttimothy.orgPastor: Father John MeyerInterim School Principal: Dawn KincsFRI.: 8 a.m., Mass; 2 & 7 p.m., Sta-tions of the Cross.SAT.: 3:30-4:15 p.m., Confessions;4:30 p.m., Mass.SUN.: 8 & 10 a.m., Mass.MON.: 7 p.m., Mass.TUES.: 8:15 a.m., Mass.WED.: 8 a.m., Mass.THURS.: 9 a.m., Mass.

HOLY CROSS LUTHERANCHURCH5460 63rd St. NW, Box 462, MapleLakePh.: 763-463-9447www.holycrossmaplelake.comPastors: Culynn CurtisVisitors Are Always Welcome!THURS.: 7 p.m., Bible Study.SUNDAY: 8 a.m., Traditional Worship;9:15 a.m., Faith Formation; 10:30 a.m.,Contemporary Worship; 11:45 a.m.,New Member Potluck.MON.: 11 a.m., First of All PrayerGroup; 1 p.m., Quilters.WED.: 2 p.m., Lenten Worship; 5:45p.m., Soup Supper; 7 p.m., LentenWorship.

BETHLEHEM UNITEDCHURCH OF CHRIST 400 County Rd. 37 NE, Maple LakePh.: [email protected]@ants.eduInterim Pastor: Michael FritzSUN.: 9:30 a.m., Worship; 10:30 a.m.,Fellowship; 10:45 a.m., SundaySchool, Confirmation.WED.: 6:15 p.m., Lenten Supper; 7p.m., Lenten Service; Choir to Follow.

IMMANUEL LUTHERANCHURCH IN SILVER CREEK(LCMS)11390 Elliott Ave. N.W., M.L.Ph.: 763-878-2820, 320-333-8636Pastor: Rev. George W. Sagissor IIISUN.: 10 a.m., Worship Service; 11:15a.m., Sunday School, Bible Study.WED.: 6 p.m., Lenten Service.

SILVER CREEK COMMUNITY CHURCH4282 114th St. NW, Maple Lake, MN553583 miles so. of I-94 on Co. Rd. 143,just off Hwy. 8; Ph.: 320-963-3957;605-553-5240www.silvercreekcommunitychurch.com

Pastor: Luke BaehrSUN.: 9 a.m., Worship; 10:30 a.m.,Sunday School, Bible Study.

ANNANDALE EVAN. FREECHURCH10252 St. Hwy. 55 N.W., AnnandalePh.: 320-274-8951Pastor: Dennis L. JohnsonTHURS.: CryOut Practice.SAT.: 7:30 a.m., Bible Doctrine.SUN.: 8:15 a.m., Prayer; 8:30 & 11a.m., Worship Service; 9:45 a.m., Sun-day School; 6 p.m., Gospel Life.MON.: 9 a.m., Grandmas in Prayer; 7p.m., Men's Bible Study.TUES.: 7 p.m., Celebrate Recovery.WED.: 2 p.m., Young at Heart; 5:30p.m., Wednesday Night Supper; 6:30p.m., Wednesday Night Connection.

ANNANDALE UNITEDMETHODIST CHURCH250 Oak Ave. N., Box 329, Annan.Ph.: 320-274-5127www.mumac.org/~annandaleumcPastor: Ruth HograbeFRI.: 7:30 p.m., Narcotics Anony-mous.

SUN.: 9 a.m., Worship Service; 10:15a.m., Coffee Fellowship, SundaySchool.TUES.: 8 p.m., AA/Al-Anon.

BETHLEHEM LUTHERANCHURCH7809 Co. Rd. 35 W., AnnandalePh.: 320-963-3592Pastor: Lynn MachulaSUN.: 9:30 a.m., Worship Service;10:30 a.m., Sunday School & BibleStudy.

EAGLES GROVE CHURCHPO Box 1020, AnnandaleLocation: Hwy. 55, next to The Mar-ketplacePh.: 320-248-6024Lead Pastor: Jason Pencewww.eaglesgrove.org & FacebookSUN.: 10:30 a.m., Worship Service;Energized Music and Quality Chil-dren's Programs Provided.

MT. HERMON LUTHERANCHURCH1284 Keats Ave. N.W., AnnandalePh.: 320-963-3284Pastor: Marianne ZitzewitzSUN.: 9:30 a.m., Worship.

ST. JOHN'S LUTHERANCHURCH331 W. Harrison St., AnnandalePh.: 320-274-8827

www.stjohns-annandale.orgPastor: Dave E. Nelson and Tom Heyd SUN.: 8:30 Traditional Worship; 10a.m., Contemporary Worship.

BUFFALO SEVENTH-DAYADVENTIST CHURCH200 2nd Ave. NE, BuffaloPh.: 763-682-3582Pastor: Devin LocatiSAT.: 9:45 a.m., Bible Study; 11 a.m.,Church Service.

HOSANNA LUTHERAN CHURCH1705 Hwy. 25 N., Buffalo, Mo. Syn.Pastor: Rob JarvisPh.: 763-682-3278; www.hosannal-cms.orgSUN.: 9 a.m., Worship Service; 10:30a.m., Bible Study and Sunday School.TUES.: 8 p.m., Young Adults Group.WED.: 10 a.m., Bible Study; 7 p.m.,Confirmation Class.

BUFFALO UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIPWED.: Discussion Group Meets the2nd & 4th Wednesday, Sept. thru May,7:30 p.m., at Buffalo Community Cen-ter, Across the Street from the Post Of-fice at 206 Central Ave. (Hwy. 25). ForMore Information, Call Luke at 763-682-4616 or Visit www.buuf.us.Everyone is welcome.

BUFFALO EVANGELICALFREE CHURCH2051 50th Street NE, Buffalo, MN(corner of Hwy. 25 N. & County Rd.113)Ph. 763-682-6846;[email protected] Pastor: Brian ThorstadTHURS.: 7 p.m., Small Groups; 7:30a.m., AA & Al-Anon.FRI.: 6 a.m., Men's Small Group; 7p.m., Small Groups.SUN.: 9:30 a.m., Worship Service,Coffee Fellowship, Children's Church;11 a.m., Sunday School for All Ages; 6p.m., Youth Groups; 7 p.m., SmallGroup. MON.: 7 p.m., Women's Bible Study;7:30 p.m., Al-Anon.TUES.: 7 p.m., Knitting Ministry; 7:30p.m., Men's Small Group, AA, GA.WED.: 6:30 p.m., Awana, Choir Prac-tice.

BUFFALO COVENANT CHURCH1601 Hwy. 25 N., BuffaloPh.: 763-682-1470www.buffalocov.orgLead Pastor: Max Frazier SUN.: 8 a.m., Traditional Worship;9:30 & 11 a.m., Contemporary Wor-ship, Sunday School; 9:30 a.m., Mem-bership Class; 11 a.m., High SchoolMilestone; 3 p.m., Rabbi Baruch; 6:30p.m., Chill Out.MON.: Noon, Prayer Group; 1 p.m.,Women's Bible Study; 7 p.m., Mes-sianic Expectations in Isaiah.TUES.: 6 a.m., Deep Waters; 9 a.m.,MOPS Steering; 1:30 p.m., S.A.L.T.; 6p.m., Grief Share; 7 p.m., Church His-tory: Reformation to Present, Men'sDiscipleship Group; 8 p.m., Women'sVolleyball.WED.: Noon, Lunch & Learn; 6 p.m.,AWANA, Hang Time; 6:30 p.m., 9thGrade Confirmation.THURS.: 6 a.m., Raising a ModernDay Knight; 9 a.m., Ladies' MissionConnection, MOPS Playdate; 6:30p.m., Worship Team Rehearsal, Di-vorce Care; 6:45 p.m., Choir Re-hearsal; 7 p.m., Love for LifetimeSeminar.

FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCHLCMC12449 Clementa Ave. NW, MonticelloPastor: Jim Tetlie, 763-878-2092www.lutheran-faith.orgSecretary's office hours are: 9 a.m. to 3p.m., Mon., Wed., Thurs.Tuesdays, Wednesday & ThursdaySUN.: 8:30 a.m., Traditional Worship;9:45 a.m., Sunday School; 11 a.m.,Celebration Worship.

CELEBRATION COMMUNITYCHURCHAffiliated with Evangelical Free Ch.Box 171, Montrose; 763-675-3003Interim Pastor: Dawson Grover; 763-675-3003SUN.: 10 a.m., Worship at MontroseElementary School Gymnasium.

TRI-COUNTY ALLIANCECHURCH8464 160th St. N.W.Clearwater, MN; 320-558-2750Pastor: Dave Fogal SUN.: 10:30 a.m., Worship Service.www.tcachurch,com


Church

AnnandaleCokatoPrices GoodFeb. 17-22

Quantity Rights ReservedAnnandale: Hwy. 55 (320) 274-3828

7 a.m- 9 p.m. 7 Days a WeekCokato: Hwy. 12 (320) 286-63417 a.m. - 10 p.m. 7 Days a Week

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lb

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Maple Lake (320) 963-5731

View Guestbooks, Obituaries,and Videos Online.

www.dingmannfuneral.com

We need your old picturesof people, places and things

from Maple Lake.

1890-1960

Help Us CelebrateMaple Lakes

125thAnniversary!

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Programs & Eventscontinued from page 4Sign up now for firearms hunter safety classes

Now is the time for people to sign up for a hunter educationfirearms safety class, offered by the Minnesota Department of Nat-ural Resources. Anyone born after Dec. 31, 1979, must take a DNRsafety training course and receive a certificate of completion beforepurchasing a license for big or small game. For a list of classes or tocheck requirements from other states, visit the safety/education Webpage at www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/index.html. For more informa-tion, call 651-296-6157 or 888-646-6367.

Spring Days Workshop and Garden ExpoThe University of Minnesota Master Gardeners of Wright County

invite gardeners of all skill levels to join them for a day of learningand sharing. The Spring Days Workshop and Garden Expo is Satur-day, March 7, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at the St. Michael-Al-bertville Middle School West.

Dr. Karen Oberhauser, U of M Monarch butterfly expert, will dis-cuss the declining monarch butterfly populations. There will also besessions on rain gardens, frugal gardening, square foot gardening,herbs, moonlight gardens, orchids, hibiscus, garden photography,pollinators, and backyard composting. E-mail [email protected] call U of MN ExtensionWright County at (763) 682-7394 fora brochure or visit our website at www.springdays.org.

Seedlings ARISE...!brunch is March 12March out old winter and march in to the "Seedlings ARISE...!"

brunch held at St. John's Lutheran Church in Annandale March 12at 9:30 a.m. Leslie Koehler and Stephanie Smith from the RusticGarden Center in Buffalo will set your mind to thinking of seeds,soil, flowers, and veggies. Flautist, Yvonne Rammel of Cokato, willdelight your musical senses and speaker, Jan Ostroot of SouthHaven, will send you home with thoughts on how to have peace inany circumstance. Invite your friends and make reservations by call-ing Amanda at 612-670-4702, Dawn at 612-723-3905 or [email protected]. This event is sponsored by StonecroftMinistries

Submit community programs and events to [email protected]

The Maple Lake Messenger reserves the right to edit entries and does not guarantee publicationof community events. Space limits the size andnumber of articles. Programs and Events dead-line is 4 p.m. Monday. If your information must bepublished, please consider placing an ad.

The Annandale Lions Clubs announces...

CA$H BARTwo

$500Coveralls

License #02921

Richs at Russells

Game 1: 35 #s - Win $200 Game 8: 54 #s - Win $500 Game 9: 41 #s - Win $200 Game 16: 54 #s - Win $350

Every Monday night at 6:30 p.m.

SchoolMaple Lake Messenger Page 6

February 18, 2015

District 881 MenusBreakfastMONDAY, Feb. 23Long John (elem. and high school),sausage/cheese biscuit or choice ofWG cereal, WW toast, jelly/mar-garine, vegetable selection, freshfruit, milkTUESDAY, Feb. 24Yogurt w/fruit & granola (elem.and h.s.), breakfast pizza or choiceof WG cereal, WW toast, jelly/mar-garine, vegetable selection, freshfruit, milkWEDNESDAY, Feb. 25Sausage breakfast pizza (elem. andh.s.), breakfast burrito or choice ofWG cereal, WW toast, jelly/mar-garine, vegetable selection, freshfruit, milkTHURSDAY, Feb. 26WG French toast sticks w/syrup,tri-tators (elem. and h.s.), ham negg-wich or choice of WG cereal,WW toast, jelly/margarine, veg-etable selection, fresh fruit, milkFRIDAY, Feb. 27Breakfast burrito (elem. and h.s.),egg n cheese bagel or choice ofWG cereal, WW toast, jelly/mar-garine, vegetable selection, fresh

fruit, milk

LunchMONDAY, Feb. 23Turkey BLT wrap or hamburger onbun, turkey smashed burger on WGbun; spiced pinto beans, tomatoes,cauliflower; choice of fruit, milkTUESDAY, Feb. 24Chef salad or IBBQ pulled pork onWG bun, crispy chicken patty onWG bun; green beans, broccoli flo-rets, corn; choice of fruit, milkWEDNESDAY, Feb. 25Deli sandwich or beefy nachosw/homemade cheese sauce, west-ern quesadilla; kale salad, baby car-rots, celery sticks; choice of fruit,milk THURSDAY, Feb. 26Chicken Caesar salad or hot ham &cheese on WG bun, pasta, popcornchicken w/pasta; cauliflower, toma-toes, cucumbers; choice of fruit,milkFRIDAY, Feb. 27Yogurt pak or pizza parlor, cheesepizza, parmesan crusted fish filetw/fried; glazed carrots, green peas,broccoli; choice of fruit, milk

Peterson attends Central MNRegional Spelling Bee

Eighth-grader Andrea Peterson represented Maple Lake

at the Central Minnesota Regional Spelling Bee on Thurs-

day, February 12th, at Resource Training and Solutions

in St. Cloud. Peterson made it to round 2 before ruck-

sack eliminated her from the competition. Braden Martini

of Sauk Rapids won with the word "odyssey," and Grant

Cohrs of Watertown-Mayer took second with "magnani-

mous." (Photo submitted by Tri-County News)

St. Tims students makeblankets for the homeless

During Catholic Schools Week St. Timothy's School stu-

dents in K-8 worked on blankets for the homeless. The

students made 20 blankets this year. Students working

on this blanket are clockwise from bottom, Emma

Williamson, Stephanie Bernards, Greg Goelz, Ellie Ras-

sat, Joseph Kolles, Megan Lind, Larson Melgaard, and

Levi Smail.(Photo submitted by St. Timothy School)

Ann Hagens 3rd grade stu-dents did a great job fulfillingsomeones request for jokes andhappy thoughts.

JokesLogan Salmela - Knock

Knock! Whos there?Pooch; Pooch who? Poochyour arms around me.

Maddy McLeod - In whatmonth do dogs bark the least?February, Its the shortestmonth of the year.

Sadie Purcell - What kind offlower do you never give some-one on Valentines Day? Cauli-flower.

Shay McLory - What didthe boy owl say to the girl owl?Owl be yours.

Nathan Zander - What didone penny say to anotherpenny? Lets get together andmake some cents.

Xander Sabinash - KnockKnock! Whos there?Luke. Luke who? Lukewhos got a Valentine!

Grace Carlson - What didthe pickle say to the otherpickle? You mean a great dillto me!

Nick Jost - Knock Knock!Whos there? Doris Doriswho? Door is locked, thatswhy I knocked.

Zane Eastman - KnockKnock! Whos there?Cargo Cargo Who? Car gobeep beep.

Ali Schaefer - What did thedog say to the flea? Dont bugme.

Haley Nelson - How canyou tell your calendar is popu-lar? It always has lots ofdates.

Devon Larkin - What dofarmers give their wives onValentines day? Hogs andkisses.

Michael Sparks - Whatcreature can a nut make the bestsandwiches with? A jelly fish.

Sponge Bob What doesPatricks best friend take before

he goes to bed? A spongebath.

Ryan Cranston - KnockKnock! Whos there? Mr.Mr. Who? Mr. Valentine manover board.

Kaylan Ennis - KnockKnock! Whos there?Hans. Hans who? Hans offmy cat.

Ty Rollings - two muffinswere I an oven, one says to theother, Sure is hot in here! Theother one says, Holy Smokes! Atalking muffin.

Happy ThoughtsJulia Jerome - My Grand-

parents My grandparents arevery helpful, kind, honest, andfunny. Their names are Kathyand Dick. My Grandpa hashorse shoes that you have to tryto get the ring off of. It is veryvery challenging. My Grandmacooks delicious food and bakesthe best brownies. They buy somuch fun things for us and them!It is a hard job being the grand-parents of seven children. Theyare the best grandparents ever!And I love them.

Abby Lipinski - RyansLocket There once was a rac-coon named Ryan. He lovedstaying by his parents, but healso wanted to go to school. Oneday his parents found a job and

signed him up for school at theSunnyside Daycare Preschool.When Ryan got the news he wasvery excited. Soon it was oneweek until the first day of school.He needed glue, crayons, mark-ers, glue sticks, and paint. It wasthe first day at preschool butRyan missed his parents so muchthat he started to cry and otherpreschoolers called him a crybaby. The teacher had to takeRyan into the hall to calm himdown. Why are you crying?asked Mrs. Clam. I miss myMommy and Daddy. RepliedRyan. I have just the thing foryou, meet me early right here to-morrow, said Mrs. Clam. So thenext morning Mrs. Clam gaveRyan something very special. Itwas a locket to put his parentspictures in. This way you canopen the locket and they will beright there. Ryan said Thankyou. When he got home heshowed his Mom and Dad thespecial necklace and asked themif they would put pictures of eachof them in it for him He loved hislocket and when he was in 1stgrade he got a baby sister. Theynamed her Riley and when shewas in preschool and missed herparents Ryan gave his locket tohis sister and they all lived hap-pily ever after.

A successful meet for theMLHS Speech team

The Maple Lake High Schoolspeech team had a successful meetin Swanville on Saturday (February14th). The squad set two records:first, the highest number of teampoints for a Maple Lake speechteam at 207; and secondly, havingfive champions out of a possible 13for the first time in program history.Champions crowned were BradyTongen in informative speaking,Lexy Medley in storytelling, Mad-die Nelson in discussion, CharlieStejskal in extemporaneous speak-ing, and Tyler Russell in greatspeeches. Also placing were AbbyBentley, 2nd in discussion; Court-ney Klingelhoets and Karch Ander-son, 3rd in duo interpretation;Courtney Coleman, 3rd in extempo-raneous reading; and Catie Medley,3rd in poetry. Taking home honor-able mention ribbons were LinseyHanson and Sam Neutz in discus-sion; and Grace Heying in extempo-raneous reading.

Preschool registration isopen from Feb. 2-27

Wee Irish Preschool is an inte-grated program providing a highquality learning experience for chil-dren 3, 4, and 5 years of age. Classesare held two and three days a week.

Registration is open February 2-27. Drop off or mail in your com-pleted form and payment.Registration forms are available inthe preschool classroom at MapleLake Elementary or online atwww.annml.com. Please call Chris-tine Schultz at 963-7468 with anyquestions you have.

St. Tims now enrolling forfall 2015 preschool

St. Timothy School is pleased toannounce the opening of the newpreschool for 3 and 4 year olds forfall 2015.

4 year olds: Monday, Wednesday

and Friday from 8:15-11a.m. or 12-2:45 p.m.

3 year olds: Tuesday and Thurs-day 8:15-11a.m.

For more information, please callMrs. Kincs at 320-963-3417 or email:[email protected]

Post Prom dinnersThe Post Prom committee in-

vites the public to attend theirWednesday dinners at The V from5-7 p.m. Kids meals are also avail-able. All proceeds support the PostProm party. You can enter yourname to win one of the two doorprizes at no additional cost. For togo orders, please call 320-963-3405.

Serving choice of: 21 Shrimp,Chicken Strips, Roasted Pork Loin,Bacon Cheeseburger. Meals comewith dinner roll (except the burger),salad or coleslaw, hot vegetable,choice of potato, dessert, beverage.

Kids meals also available.Future dinner dates are March

4 and April 8.

Decker named to U of M -Morris Deans List

Brooke Decker, of Maple Lake,has been named to the University ofMinnesota, Morris Dean's List forthe fall 2014 semester. To be eligiblefor the Dean's List students mustachieve a grade point average of3.66 or higher while taking 12 ormore credits, two-thirds of thesecredits on the A-F grading system.

Morris is the University of Min-nesota's public liberal arts college, aresidential campus located in westcentral Minnesota.

Stuefen named to U of M-Twin Cities Deans List

Blake Stuefen has been namedto the 2014 fall semester Dean's Listat the University of Minnesota TwinCities. To qualify for the Dean'sList, a student must complete 12 ormore letter-graded credits while at-taining a 3.66 grade point average.

School News

by Katie FriedmanCorrespondent

At the Maple Lake SchoolBoards most recent meeting,Monday, February 9, Superin-tendent Mark Redemske laid outa set of challenges the districtwill face in setting a budget forthe 2015-2016 school year.

At their previous meeting,board members had acknowl-edged that the districts fund bal-ance is being spent down andenrollment has been dropping.With per-pupil funding from thestate at $5,800, a drop of 30 stu-dents between this and nextyears enrollment will result inapproximately a quarter milliondollars in lost revenue.

Reporting on the most recentmeeting of the boards Financeand Programs Committee, Re-demske said the major concernhas been over the Fund Onebudget. Most of the reserve ac-counts in this fund, he explained,have been assigned to specificactivities, such as staff develop-ment and deferred maintenance,precluding the use of those dol-lars for any other purpose. TheUnassigned Fund, an accountwhich allows a bit more freedomin how its spent, covers areasincluding salaries, benefits, sup-plies, utilities and transportation.While projections for several ofthe funds reserve accounts pre-dict some losses, it is the Unas-signed Fund balance, Redemskesaid, that reflects the lionsshare, accounting for roughly$570,000 of a projected$686,000 drop in the fundsoverall balance.

The main thing I want youto understand here, he said, isthat its not like a checkbook,

where you can just move moneyaround and spend money. Dol-lars from the Unassigned Fundbalance, he said, could be spenton most of the other accounts,but generally speaking, the op-posite would not work.

A history of the school dis-tricts Unassigned Fund balanceshows that from the turn of thecentury until around 2010, thefunds balance along with dis-trict enrollment climbed at asteady pace, rising from $72,000in debt to $2.5 million to thepositive in 2010. Over thatdecade, the district began put-ting that money into a rainy-dayfund, even adding to the pot byreinvesting those dollars athigher interest rates. But as en-rollment numbers began to de-cline in 2011, so too did thefunds balance, falling below $2million in 2013, with a projecteddrop of another million dollarsby the coming school year.

Also noteworthy, Redemskesaid, is a standard district policyof keeping about $1.15 millionavailable for access (approxi-mately six weeks worth in oper-ational costs), which is in dangerof becoming jeopardized in up-coming years.

Much like the recession, thedecline in enrollment came as asurprise to demographic fore-casters, Redemske explained,with enrollment figures match-ing or surpassing projectionsuntil around 2009, when theybegan to diverge sharply.

Another problem, he contin-ued, is that the states basic per-pupil funding has not kept upwith inflation. A dollar amountthat a school district receives forevery student who walks

through the door, the basic for-mula is the critical fundingsource from the state and is in-tended to provide a high-qualityeducation for all students. Re-demske showed a graph depict-ing the basic per-pupil formulaamount spent for each schoolyear over the course of somethree decades versus what theformula would be if it had beenadjusted for inflation, with a dis-crepancy of close to $2,400 per pupil.

The governors budget, hesaid, calls for yearly one-percentincreases over the next twoyears, adding, We know, withjust salary increases for our staff,based on our contracts, welloutpace that. Furthermore, hesaid, an erosion of the basic for-mula has created perceived in-creases that frequently, inactuality, were roll-ins and ad-justments that amounted to littleor no real change, and in somecases, actual losses.

And while levies statewidehave risen over the past dozenyears, he added, state aid hasdropped to a further degree, re-sulting in a net loss in revenue of7.9 percent across the state.

Were not quite as badhere, Redemske said. Ourstate aids down nine percent.Our overall revenues down oversix percent. Weve done a prettygood job of trying to hang on tothe levy for our taxpayers. Butour taxpayers are paying more,and were still seeing less in theway of revenue.

A graph comparing the dis-tricts total yearly levy for allfunds showed a jump in 2009-10and 2010-11 to nearly $2.8 mil-lion from just over $2.6 million

in the previous two years, drop-ping again to its earlier level in2011-12 and 2012-13, andfalling further in 2013-14 and2014-15 to around $2.45 mil-lion. Redemske credited thatdrop in part to some refinancingas well as a few legislativechanges along the way.

A comparison of per-pupilunit revenue rankings for the2014-15 school year placedMaple Lake in the 220th slotamong 330 districts at a totalfunding amount of $9,843 withSouth Koochichin ranking firstat $15,817 and Byron at the bot-tom, at $7,947. Due to severalfactors affecting the basic for-mula including school size, en-rollment numbers and theimplementation of various pro-grams Maple Lakes revenuesfor the 2014-15 school year fall11 percent below that of the stateaverage, which Redemske calleda significant gap.

As far as options, Redemskesaid the board might considergoing to the voters, noting thedistrict had not requested an op-erating levy increase since 2006.If the district were to ask for anextra $400,000, he added, thetax impact to a home valued at$100,000 would be $128. Withthose dollars, he suggested, im-provements could be made toprogramming for students andstaff salary benefits. Anotherarea the district is having troublestaying on top of, he said, istechnology, and he added thatthe board might also want toconsider asking for an additionalcapital projects levy, as well.

School board presented with grim financial picture

School Boardcontinued on page 7

St. Timothys Preschool3 & 4 Year Olds

Now Enrolling for Fall 2015!St. Timothy School is pleased to announce

the opening of our new Preschool for3 & 4 year olds for Fall 2015!

4 Year Olds: M, W, F - 8:15-11:00 a.m.M, W, F - 12:00-2:45 p.m.

Cost: $130 per month for 3 day session3 Year Olds: T & Th - 8:15-11:00 a.m.Cost: $90 per month for 2 day session

For more information, please callMrs. Kincs @ 320-963-3417 or email:

[email protected] and Nurturing

Catholic School EnvironmentFrom SMALL beginnings come GREAT things!


Snocoming pep-fest fun

Snocoming Royalty from left to right - Girls: Emma Spike - 9th grade, Megan Carlson -

7th grade, Andrea Peterson - 8th grade, Macy Wurm - 10th grade, Sara Simonette - 11th

grade, Jenny Brings - 12th grade. Boys: Sam Schaunaman - 9th grade, Jeffrey Henrikson

- 7th grade, Matthew O'Sullivan - 8th grade, Josh Medley - 10th grade, Aidan Jude - 11th

grade and Logan Gries - 12th grade. (Photo by Charlene Wurm)

Maple Lake High School had a week of fun for Snocoming with themed dress-up days.

Snocoming was concluded on Friday with a pep-fest where it was staff vs. seniors in a

game of tug-of-war. (Photos by Charlene Wurm)

5th grade, Gotta Be Jazz

School Boardcontinued from page 6

One of the things I think weneed to start thinking about, hesaid, is if were coming upshort almost $507,000, are wegoing to be able to cut our wayout of that? And I would suggestagain, the directive we got fromthe Finance and Programs Com-mittee was to get down to over-spending of no more than$400,000 in the UnassignedFund balance.

Another committee discus-sion had revolved around thepossibility of moving some dol-lars from the Q Comp Fund (ateacher incentive program) intothe Unassigned Fund, but Re-demske pointed out that while itcould be done, the move wouldbe no replacement for generatingnew revenue or reducing expen-ditures year in and year out.

One of the things we reallytried to do, and I think wevedone a pretty good job of it, hesaid, is weve tried our best tokeep our budget reductions asfar from the classroom as wecan. I would argue that weve

never had fat, so to speak, totrim off the budget. But Ill behonest with you: Were to thepoint now that were lobbing offlimbs.

It was noted that a referen-dum, even if passed, would notcome soon enough to affect theshortfalls projected for 2015-16,and that further measures will benecessary to alter the districtscurrent financial course.

Regarding other matters onthe evenings agenda, the board:

Approved updates to thefollowing district policies: Openmeetings and closed meetings;public participation in schoolboard meetings; development,adoptions, and implementationof policies; tobacco-free envi-ronment; gifts to employees;employee-student relationships;search of student lockers, tasks,personal possessions, and stu-dents person; student atten-dance; student discipline;violence prevention; use ofpeace officers and crisis teams toremove students with an Indi-

vidualized Education Programfrom school grounds; basic stan-dards testing; modification ofschool district budget; healthand safety; advertising.

Approved coaching assign-ments for the 2015 spring seasonas follows: For baseball,Brookes Marquardt will be headcoach; Gerry Giebenhain, var-sity assistant coach; Joe Hof-man, assistant/JV coach;Andrew Boman and AndrewBrown, junior high coaches. Forsoftball, Tim Knutsen, headcoach; Leah Roske and JulieRachel, varsity assistantcoaches; Vicki Decker and LisaHegle, junior high coaches. Forgolf, Aaron Hegle, boys headcoach; Bruce Bakeberg, girlshead coach. For track, BenYoungs, head coach; MartyKiebel and Paul Fouquette, var-sity assistant coaches; EricMeyer, assistant coach; CraigGrams, J McClelland, Kim Fyn-boh and Zach Bidwell, juniorhigh coaches. Adam Ronnen-berg will manage the weightroom, and Nate Mitchell willcoach the marching band.

Heard from Mayor LynnKissock about a state grant-funded project working with theMinnesota Department of Trans-portation to beautify the High-way 55 corridor. The state willprovide materials and assist withdesign along the 55 corridorwithin city limits, in an ongoingeffort, providing about $3,000per year. A starting point east ofthe Co. Rd. 8 intersection hasbeen selected, and the city isseeking volunteers to help withdesign and plant choices.Kissock was invited to meetwith High School PrincipalDave Hansen for further explo-ration of the matter.

The next regular schoolboard meeting will be Monday,March 9, at 7 p.m.

County Boardcontinued from page 3

The crews work very heavilyin the summer, but there are al-ways projects that get workdone on them throughout theyear. OMalley said the cost forthe county -- $120,000 over thetwo-year term of the contract is an investment because thework performed is done muchcheaper than it would be to con-tract for the work to be per-formed.

Its been a very good pro-gram for the county, OMalleysaid. We get our moneysworth out of it because the proj-ects they do are typically thingsthat we dont have specificstaffing for, like painting theHistorical Society building,doing ditch clean-up work,doing brush work in the countyparks. Its been of great benefitfor the county to have this pro-gram in place.

In other items on the Feb. 10agenda, the board:

* Authorized Highway Engi-neer Virgil Hawkins to set theannual spring load restrictionsfor county roads. The restric-tions go into effect in the springwhen it is deemed that roads areat their most vulnerable due tothe thawing of the ground be-neath the roadways. Hawkinssaid the plan is to put the restric-tions in place in early Marchbarring a late-February warmup.Typically, the restrictions re-main in place for approximatelytwo months. The map of the2015 road restrictions is avail-able on-line at the WrightCounty website.

* Approved an amendment tothe countys Radiological Emer-gency Preparedness Grant fromthe Minnesota Department of

Public Safety and Homeland Se-curity. The original grantamount of $282,000 was ap-proved in late 2013. The amend-ment is for an additional$56,000 to conduct drills andexercises at the Monticello nu-clear power plant, as well as en-hancements to the countysIncident Command Post in theLaw Enforcement Center.

* Presented a plaque to Au-ditor/Treasurer Bob Hiivalawho was named Member of theYear by the Minnesota Associa-tion of County Officers. To benominated was an honor, Hi-ivala said. To win the awardfrom my peers was very hum-bling.

* Approved the adoption ofupdates to the 2015 Continuityof Operations Plan and author-ized signatures to have the revi-sions to the plan take effectimmediately.

* Authorized using thecounty courthouse and HumanServices Center to host a two-hour program that seeks outbone marrow donor matches.The donors are sought betweenthe ages of 18 and 44. The cheekswab test takes approximately30 seconds and filling out thepaperwork takes approximatelyfive to 10 minutes. Volunteerswill staff the event, so no countywork time will be required otherthan to allow employees to par-ticipate in the program.

* Referred to the personnelcommittee a request from theparks department to re-classifythe natural resource technicianposition from part-time to full-time.

* Approved the minutes ofthe Jan. 27 public hearing con-

cerning County Ditch 38. Theboard is waiting for a finding offact for the re-determination ofbenefits from the ditch and howto handle the assessmentprocess.

* Authorized theauditor/treasurers office to con-tract with Fyles Excavating toremove two structures from apair of tax-forfeited properties.Fyles was the only bidder forthe removal of the structures,which will cost approximately$25,000 to remove on bothproperties.

* Scheduled a tax forfeitcommittee for 8:30 a.m. prior tothe Feb. 17 board meeting. Thecommittee will discuss a prop-erty in South Haven that wentunsold at last falls public sale.A non-profit outpatient chemi-cal dependency treatment facil-ity has expressed an interest inacquiring the facility and theCity of Sout

february 18, 2015

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