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City agrees to YMCA Town Crier lifeguard contract Friday, Feb. 28, 2014 Volume 19, Issue 9 Est. 1995
Summer Fastpitch Softball, ages 6-18
Register now! Sartell Fastpitch Softball Association is forming girls 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and 18U summer teams. Registration deadline is Monday, March 31. (Pay by Saturday, March 15 and receive last year’s rates.) For more information about our league or to register, visit www.sartellfastpitch.com. A parent meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 4 in the Sartell District Office. If you are unable to attend the meeting and would like more information, please contact Bill Davison at 320-291-4069. Like us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/SartellFastpitchSoftball.
Resources for those experiencing homelessness
Project Homeless Connect, a one-day event for individuals and families experiencing or near homeless, will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, March 6 at River’s Edge Convention Center, downtown St. Cloud. The event provides a welcoming environment and a way to connect individuals with needed resources in the community. The Wilder Homeless Study conducted in Minnesota in October 2012 reflects the growing needs. From 2009-12, long-term homelessness increased faster in greater Minnesota (28 percent) than in the metro region (1 percent); last year, 325 children experienced homelessness in Central Minnesota. For more information, visit www.thenewsleaders. com and click on Criers.
SSEF hosts Family Story Hour
The Family Library Story Hour, sponsored by the Sartell-St. Stephen Education Foundation, takes place from 11:15-12:45 p.m. Mondays, March 3 and 17, April 7 and 28 and May 12 at the District Service Center, 212 3rd Ave. N., Sartell. Approximately 15 children, as young as 9 months up to 5 years, participate with their parents or caregivers.
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INSERT: Quiznos
by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com
The two wading pools in Sartell will be staffed by certified lifeguards from the St. Cloud Area Young Men’s Christian Association. At its Feb. 24 city council meeting, members voted unanimously to sign a one-year contract with the YMCA to provide a lifeguard at each of the city’s two kiddie pools – the one in Watab Park, the other in the Celebration neighborhood area. It will cost the city an estimated $1,800 more than what the city usually pays on an annual basis to staff, maintain the pools, repairs and equipment costs – an amount of about $28,000. Wages for the lifeguards, as they were for previous lifeguards, are estimated at about $17,000. Sartell City Administrator Mary Degiovanni told the council she is convinced the city will come out ahead in expenses, largely because the city’s public-works staff will not have to do hiring of collegestudent lifeguards or spend time on scheduling and management issues. That will free up the staff for other summer work
they must do, she noted. The YMCA contract is for a fixed amount of cost. The only thing that could change is if there are some hot, busy days when a second lifeguard is needed. But, as Degiovanni noted, in previous years the city had to hire extra lifeguards on days like that, anyway. Last year, in fact, some YMCA lifeguards helped out in Sartell after college-student lifeguards had to quit their jobs to go back to school. The pools will be open from 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday through Sunday from May 26 through Labor Day, Sept. 1. The YMCA contract requires Sartell to provide a defibrillation machine at each pool, and so the city has decided to use the two AEDs currently housed at each of the city’s two water plants. In making the decision to enter into the contract, council members Steve Hennes and Amy Braig-Lindstrom called it a good partnership. Member David Peterson said a one-year contract is well worth a try to see how it works. He also said the city has required more and more summer tasks of the public-works department in recent years, and the YMCA contract should help YMCA • page 5
Perske referees last game
contributed photo
Joe Perske, candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives’ District 6, bid an emotional farewell to coaching and refereeing adaptive floor hockey on Feb. 18 at North Junior High. For many years, Perske has been involved in adaptive floor hockey, which offers special-needs kids a chance to play in a competitive sport, build physical and social skills, and work as a team. Tuesday’s game was an exciting one because Perske’s team, the St. Cloud Slapshots, fell behind early in the game, but they fought back in a valiant effort, bringing the score from 7-1 to 7-6, but the team ultimately lost to the Maple Grove Crimsons. The demands of a full schedule of campaign activities for a seat in the U.S. House has forced Perske to limit his coaching activities. Perske is the current mayor of Sartell.
Verbal football tossed back and forth (Part 1) by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com
Has football become too dangerous to remain a high-school sport? That was the lively topic of the second “Sartell Says” debate that took place Feb. 19 at Sartell City Hall. Before and after the debate, the overwhelming majority of the audience (close to 80 per-
cent) were in favor of football remaining a high-school sport. However, the other side of the debate – those who argued against the resolution – were declared the winners of the debate because more people changed their minds during the debate to jibe with their way. Before the debate began, audience members were each given two cents. They were encouraged to put one of the pen-
nies in one of three buckets that reflected their opinions: a green bucket for those in favor of football remaining a high-school sport, a red bucket opposed to that resolution, or a yellow bucket for “Undecided.” Before the debate, 76 percent of audience members were for high-school football. After the debate, that side gained by 3 points, to 79 percent. Those against continuing
football as a high-school sport before the debate accounted for 5 percent of the audience. After the debate, pennies in buckets showed that percentage had increased by 10 percent, from 5 percent to 15 percent. The “Sartell Says’ series of debates is moderated by Patty Candella of Sartell, who is the executive producer of the series. It’s funded by contributions, and Football • page 4
Sartell Supt. Schwiebert to start July 1 by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com
As of July 1, the Sartell-St. Stephen School District will have a new superintendent. At the Schwiebert Feb. 24 school board meeting,
members unanimously agreed to a three-year work contract negotiated between the board and Jeff Schwiebert, who is now officially superintendent of Sartell schools. Mike Spanier has been interim superintendent after Joe Hill resigned from that position last year. Earlier this month, the board selected Schwiebert from among three finalists for the position from 40 applicants
who applied, but his official hiring was dependent upon him and the board agreeing to a work contract. In the first year of his job Schwiebert will be paid $156,500, which is an amount comparable to other school districts of the same size in the state. He will receive an increase of 2 percent in the second and third years of the contract. The contract also calls
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for 11 days of paid holidays and 30 days of paid vacations. Schwiebert is seeking a residence in Sartell. He and his family currently live in Eldridge, Iowa where he has served as superintendent of the North Scott Community School District since 2009. His starting salary there was $150,000. Before his job in North Scott, Schwiebert • page 5