Belle plaine herald april 27, 2016

Page 1

BPHS Baseball Team’s Record Stands at 8-1

Athletic Complex Being Groomed for Improvements

Track and Field Teams Stay Busy Page 13

Page 2

Page 13

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR

BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, APRIL 27, 2016

75¢ SINGLE COPY

NUMBER 17

City-Wide Recycle and Cleanup Day This Saturday

Since Prince’s passing last Thursday (April 21), thousands of fans created a memorial to the music icon along the fence outside Paisley Park in Chanhassen.

For Belle Plaine Native, Prince Was Both Icon and His Boss Paul Pudlitzke Managed Prince’s Glam Slam Nightclubs

Paul Pudlitzke spent Saturday night visiting memory lane, recalling the days in the early1990s when he worked for the international megastar. Pudlitzke just knew him as ‘boss.’ The Belle Plaine native spent the evening at First Avenue surrounded by Prince’s fans and many former co-workers mourning the late music icon found dead at Paisley Park, Prince’s home and recording studio in Chanhassen. They celebrated his talent and shared stories, both about the music and their days of working for Prince at Glam Slam nightclubs in downtown Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Miami. “I’m a music lover,” Pudlitzke said. “He was, to me, the best musician on earth.” Today, the 48-year-old Pudlitzke is a successful Realtor for Edina Realty. He works weekend, hours driven by the needs of his clients. That’s nothing new. From 1990 through late-1994, he worked for Prince. It was a fast-paced lifestyle filled with challenge, adrenalin rushes and finding ways to accomplish the seemingly improbable. Satisfying the boss’s flair for production and creativity and running the business side of the operation was more than a full-time job. Pudlitzke started out as a foodand-beverage manager at Glam Slam, the downtown Minneapolis nightclub Prince opened at 110 Fifth Street N. in late-1989 to challenge First Avenue. He got the job through a classified job in the Star-Tribune. Pudlitzke was four years out of Belle Plaine High School. About 18 months into the job, Prince saw

Spring fever is running rampant and will spill into the Belle Plaine Police Department parking lot this Saturday morning. The city of Belle Plaine and the local Lions Club will conduct the community’s annual Recycle and Cleanup Day from 8 a.m. to noon. The police department is located at 420 East Main Street. The event is an opportunity to clear your garage and home of unwanted clutter and other items. Residents from the city of Belle Plaine and the townships of Belle Plaine, Blakeley and St. Lawrence can drop off their unwanted recyclable and refuse items. Items accepted at no charge include glass, newspapers, scrap metal, aluminum, cardboard

and plastic. Donations of clothing, shoes, games, toys, lamps, curtains, linens, knick knacks, tools and bicycles will benefit the Epilepsy Foundation. There will be fees charged for refuse items. Large appliances are $10 per item. These include air conditioner, computer desktop/laptop, computer monitor, copier (large office style), dryer, microwave, refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, dryer, washer, water heater and water softener. For televisions, the price is $10 for up to 20 pounds and $20 for up to 50 pounds. For larger TVs, the price will be determined at arrival. Small appliances, which can be disposed of for $2 apiece, include printer/fax machine, radio, typewriter and VCR/DVD

player. Automotive items and their costs to drop off include battery ($2), car tire ($3), truck tire ($8) and tractor tire ($15). Larger household items accepted and their costs include sofa ($25), mattress ($20) and stuffed chair/recliner ($15). The minimum cost for a carload of miscellaneous waste is $30 and $50 and up for a pickup/trailer load. No hazardous waste will be accepted, including fluorescent bulbs, paint, motor oils/filters and chemicals. Yard waste will also not be accepted. That should be taken to the city compost site located on West State Street (County Road 6). For more information, call Belle Plaine City Hall at 8735553.

One of Two Men Charged in Olander Murder Pleads Guilty Vergara Takes Plea Deal; Benitez Asks for More Time to Decide

Paul Pudlitzke worked for Prince for nearly five years in the early-1990s. The Belle Plaine native was hired in 1990 as a food and beverage manager at Glam Slam, Prince’s downtown Minneapolis nightclub. He later earned a promotion to general manager of the Glam Slam nightclubs in Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Miami. An autographed wine list is one of his prized mementos from those days. something he liked in the young man from Belle Plaine. “He saw that I was able to get things done,” Pudlitzke said. He was promoted to general manager, a job that had him overseeing all facets of the nightclub’s operation, from booking performers to making sure the club’s security and staffing were appropriate for the anticipated audience. He was ultimately responsible for a staff – full- and part-timers of 600 people.

Prince

(continued on page 7)

One of the two men charged with first- and second-degree murder in the brutal beating death of Earl Olander agreed to plead guilty to a reduced charge in exchange for the dropping of other charges against him. Reinol Godines Vergara pleaded guilty to second-degree murder (aiding and abetting) of Earl Olander, a retired farmer who lived alone in San Francisco Township, just outside of Belle Plaine. Olander was well known among local residents, particularly in the farming and agri-business communities. In exchange for the plea, more serious charges of first-degree murder will be dropped. Vergara must serve 25 years of a 37½ year sentence in prison before

being eligible for parole. Vergara, 36, will be back in court for a hearing May 6, most likely where he will be formally sentenced. A press release from Carver County Attorney Mark Metz indicated the other defendant in the Olander murder – Edson Benitez – would also plead guilty Thursday morning to the same charges as Vergara. But Benitez apparently wanted more time to decide whether or not he would accept the same plea agreement Vergara received. Benitez, 29, will also be in court May 6. If he accepts the plea agreement, both he and Vergara will be sentenced immediately. If he declines it, the court will schedule a trial against Benitez. Part of Vergara’s plea deal includes agreeing to testify truthfully against Benitez. Metz expects Benitez will accept the plea agreement. Both men are in the country illegally and will eventually be

deported, Metz said. Vergara did not admit to killing Olander during Thursday’s hearing, but the agreement is enough to send him to prison for 25 years, Metz said.

The Charges

According to the charges against the two men, Vergara and Benitez allegedly entered Olander’s house on Homestead Road in San Francisco Township on April 9 or 10, 2015. They are charged with beating Olander and ransacking his house. They allegedly stole items that include $2 bills, old silver and silverware, a Bible, and two $1,000 U.S. Savings Bonds. Olander, 90, was found dead April 11 when a neighbor went to the house to check on him at the request of one of his relatives. According to the criminal

Olander

(continued on page 4)

High-End Talent

Pudlitzke booked performers for Glam Slam like Average White Band, B.B. King, Miles Davis, Morris Day & The Time, Creed, Soul Asylum, and The Whalers. Occasionally, when

Belle Plaine Residents Can Challenge Their Property Values Next Wednesday The Open Book Meeting for Belle Plaine will be conducted on Wednesday, May 4 from 2-7 p.m. in the Taxation Office at the Scott County Government Center in Shakopee. The purpose of this meeting is to give each taxpayer the opportunity to informally review or challenge assessed values or classifications for the 1/2/2016 assessment.

If you believe the value or classification of your property is incorrect, first contact your assessor’s office to discuss your concerns. The appropriate number to call is listed on your Notice of Valuation and Classification that was mailed to you in March. If you disagree with the valuation or classification after discussing it with your assessor, you may appear before the county special board of appeal and equalization.

Heavy Night Lifting Steel workers guided the first of six 40 ton concrete beams into place over southbound Highway 169 in Belle Plaine last Wednesday night (April 20). The following night, six beams were placed over the northbound lanes. The beams will support the bridge deck for the Highway 169 overpass. Each

beam is 105 feet long. Police stopped traffic on the highway when the beams were being lifted into place. The overall project will cost about $5 million and should be completed this summer.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.