Scott County Wants to Hear From You
2015 Spring Sports
Page 8
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOURTH YEAR
Pages 9-12
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, APRIL 1, 2015
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 20
City, RFPA Reach Agreement on Purchase of New Fire Truck $590,000 Cost to be Split Almost Equally
During a joint meeting last week between the Belle Plaine City Council, Fire Department and Rural Fire Protection Association (RFPA), it was agreed to purchase a new Rosenbauer fire engine truck at a prepay cost of $590,035. The Belle Plaine High School Cyber Tigers robotics team includes (from left) advisors Jeff It was also agreed that the city will pay approximately 49 Heine and John Ristvedt and team members Thea Iverson, Taylor Cote, Noah Sterk, Michael percent of the cost ($289,118) Davis, Keegan Titus, Hannah Preusser, Caitlin Preusser, Ellen Kreeger and Kyle Iverson (vol- and the RFPA about 51 percent unteer mentor). Seated (from left) Justin Entinger and Noah Stiemke. ($300,917). According to Belle Plaine Fire Chief Matt Stier, the cost share is based on the tax base of the entities involved. The council is expected to formally approve the purchase at its April 6 meeting.
BPHS Cyber Tigers Ready for the Big Stage at Regional Regional Competition Begins Friday on U of M Campus They’ve been through a practice competition, tuned and fine-tuned their robot before bagging it up last month. Now, the members of the Belle Plaine robotics team will find out how well they did. The Cyber Tigers had a strong showing at a non-scored zeroweek competition Feb. 14. The robot was maneuvered through traffic, stacked containers atop one another and placed a Styrofoam tube atop the highest container as intended. “We were one of the best there,” said Keegan Titus, a ninth-grader on the Cyber Tigers. Friday (April 3), 9 a.m., at Mariucci Arena at the University of Minnesota, the Belle
Plaine Robotics Team will compete for real. The competition will wrap up with the forming of final alliances – teams working together Saturday morning. Belle Plaine will be one of several dozen teams that will compete in the regional. Many of the teams are from well-established robotics teams from large schools. There are even teams coming from outside of Minnesota and the United States, said Jeff Heine, the team’s coordinator. BPHS is in its third year in the robotics program, sponsored by FIRST Robotics. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was started in the late 1990s by an engineer and inventor who wanted to get young people interested in science and technology. FIRST Robotics Corp. has a staff that create the games and rules and run the competition events world wide. The Minnesota High School League adopted FIRST as team sport
several years ago. The top 30 Minnesota schools from the FIRST events are invited to compete at a Minnesota State High School League event in May. The Cyber Tigers first year, they were named the top rookie team at the regional competition. Last year’s team struggled, learning the importance of advance preparation, Heine said. It did not participate in a zero-week competition. The team found stacking the containers is one of its strengths, thanks in part to the forklift design the students created and assembled. Navigating in traffic, while carrying a stack of containers, is a challenge the team’s drivers have worked to overcome. “There’s just not a lot of room to maneuver, Heine said. The Cyber Tigers’ team of drivers include Noah Sterk and
Cyber Tigers
(continued on page 4)
For B.P. Couple, Support Eases Worry After Baby’s Early Arrival She couldn’t hold back the tears when a co-worker handed her donated gas and cash cards during a time of need. Becky McConnell knew the gifts were a sign people cared about her, her boyfriend and their daughter. McConnell and Jethro Stier spend nearly all their time at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. Their daughter, Lauren Raeann, is in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. She was born March 9, about four months early. Lauren entered the world weighing barely over 1½ pounds. She was only 12¾ inches long. Today, thanks to the care of the hospital staff,
A Helping Hand
To help out their friend, Becky McConnell, whose first child was born almnost four months premature, It’s Just Me! Salon Stylist Elise Thieis is donating a portio of her April sales. Call 8734366 or 952-292-3306. Tina Turek is hosting an online Scentsy party and donating a portion of her commission for April sales. Her online sale is available at http://tmturek.scentsy. us or www.mythirtyone/ com/628271
The Belle Plaine RFPA consists of a large rural area outside the city limits. Among the townships included are all of Belle Plaine and portions of Blakeley, Derrynane, Faxon, Hancock, San Francisco and St. Lawrence. According to a report presented by Belle Plaine City Administrator Holly Kreft, the city has $650,000 for the purchase of the truck in its 2015 capital improvement plan. “The city has cash on hand to fund the purchase,” Kreft said. Belle Plaine currently has three fire engine trucks and two tankers in its fleet. The oldest engine truck, which is 25 years old, will be sold via sealed bids. The city’s other two fire engine trucks are 2002 and 2006 models. The two tanker trucks are 1994 and 2008.
The type of truck and other agreements, including cost share, weren’t reached last week alone. In fact, the fire truck committee, consisting of a mix of Belle Plaine and RFPA representatives, has been meeting monthly for 12 months to review needs, create specifications for the truck, familiarize itself with vendors, tour factories and test drive various trucks. “For what will be a 30-year piece of equipment, in our opinion the Rosenbauer is the best truck out there,” Stier told the council. Council Member Scott Schneider agreed, saying “the Rosenbauer is the way to go.” “I’d like to thank the fire truck committee for all the work they did on this,” Schneider continued.
Emma’s Acorns -- a team of Oak Crest Elementary teacher Don Fraser, Brady German and friends -- has raised money for pediatric cancer research. The team members will have their heads shaved in the St. Baldrick’s Foundation fund-raiser April 9. The team includes (from left) Fraser, Patrick Lawler, Cole Eggers, Brady German, Jake Brandenberg, Colin Williams, Wyatt Friendshuh, Logan Krant, Matthew Olson and Parker Borresen.
Honoring Emma
Brady German, Friends Trading Their Hair for Donations ‘Emma’s Acorns’ Will Raise Over $8,500 for Pediatric Cancer Research
It’s a little bit cool to sport a shaved head when you know the trade-off is money raised for a really good cause that could one day save someone’s life. For 10-year-old Brady German and his friends, trading their hair for donations to a fund-raiser for research on a cure for forms of pediatric
cancer is a no-brainer. German and his family know first-hand the importance of finding that cure. Emma German, Brady’s little sister, passed away Sept. 24, 2014 from neuroblastoma -- a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation fund-raiser is set for April 9, from 5 to 8 p.m. Brady German and eight friends – all students at Oak Crest Elementary School -- plus Oak Crest STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) teacher Don Fraser will have their heads shaved in a ceremony at the entrance of
A Close Shave for St. Baldrick’s When: April 9, 5-8 p.m. Where: Children’s Hospital 2525 Chicago Ave. S. Across the street from the cancer and blood disorders clinic For more info./donate: www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/748857/2015
Honoring Emma
(continued on page 20)
Carver Man Charged in Belle Plaine Native’s Death Lauren Raeann McConnell was born March 9 -- nearly four months early. She will remain at Minneapolis Children’s Hospital. Her parents, Becky McConnell and Jethro Stier, are pictured with Fr. Brian Lynch from Our Lady of the Prairie the day Lauren was baptized. Lauren Raeann is slowly growing stronger. She has gained some weight and length and actively kicks her legs and moves her arms around – activity that encourages the hospital staff and her parents. “She’s our little miracle baby,” McConnell said. Knowing that people care allows McConnell and Stier, Lauren’s father, to focus on their
daughter’s condition. She’ll stay at Children’s Hospital for several more weeks. When she has gained enough weight and
For B.P. Couple
(continued on page 6)
Carver County has filed criminal charges against a Carver man following an investigation into a crash last fall that killed Belle Plaine native, Jennifer Marie (Wolf) Compton. Jeffrey Jay Bradley is charged with careless driving and failure to stop for a stop sign, both misdemeanor offenses, plus operating an uninsured vehicle, a gross-misdemeanor. The charges stem from a crash at the intersection of County Road 40 and 152nd Street in Dahlgren Township. Bradley, 46, is due in Carver County District Court April 22 (Wednesday, 8:30 a.m.) for an omnibus hearing on the charges. According to the criminal complaint, the morning of Oct.
24, Bradley left his house in his Chevy pickup truck on a cigarette run. He lives on 152nd Street, a short distance from the crash site. Just before 7:15 a.m., Bradley entered the intersection of 152nd Street and County Road 40, just south of East Union Lutheran Church. Compton was heading south on County Road 40 aboard a Kawasaki motorcycle when the motorcycle and Chevy pickup truck crashed. The responding deputy found the truck facing east and a bit north. The front tire of the motorcycle was on the ground, beneath the driver’s side of Bradley’s truck. It appears Compton tried to avoid a collision, but struck the left front of Bradley’s truck, said Carver
County Sheriff Jim Olson after the crash. The road conditions were dry and clean in the area
Carver Man
(continued on page 2)
Easter Egg Hunt Saturday Emma Krumbee’s General Store will again host an Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday at 1 p.m. The Easter Bunny will be on hand so bring your camera. The hunt is for kids ages 10 and under. For more information, call Emma Krumbee’s at 952-8733006.