Bar-B-Q Days Beef Stand Schedule
Another Doctor in the Family
Bar-B-Q Days Medallion Hunt Enters Second Week Page 4
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ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, JULY 6, 2016
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NUMBER 28
Minnesota Harvest Looking for Amicable Settlement With County
Owners of Minnesota Harvest Orchard surprised Scott County’s staff and planning commission last month by withdrawing an application to amend a conditional-use permit that would allow Minnesota Harvest to host weddings and receptions at the orchard in St. Lawrence Township. Now the orchard’s owners are hoping to reach an amicable negotiated settlement with the county. Last Thursday (June 23), representatives of the orchard in St. Lawrence Township and Scott County met behind closed doors. Each side had legal representation as they discussed ways to allow Minnesota Harvest to continue to host weddings and receptions at the orchard on County Road 66 (Old Highway 169 BouleThe Belle Plaine Fire Department’s Truck Committee wel- tions for the new truck back in 2014. The truck committee’s vard). Discussion focused on comed the department’s new pumper engine to town last members include (from left) firefighters Tim Hentges, Ryan meeting county requirements week. The committee began work on the design and specifica- Herrmann, Travis Otto, Chief Matt Stier and Troy Otto.
for building codes, health, fire and safety issues. The county recently put a stop to weddings after it said it received a complaint about the orchard using a barn built in 2013. The county contends the barn does not meet building safety codes. The county and Minnesota Harvest have since reached an interim agreement allowing the orchard to host weddings scheduled for 2016, said Susan Kelly, one of Minnesota Harvest’s Orchard’s owners and chief executive officer. Kelly and the town board are unaware of the complaint, she said. The use of the barn is one of a handful of the county’s concerns over the orchard’s wedding operations. Other areas of
Settlement
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B.P. Fire Department Takes Delivery of New Engine $593,545 Truck Will be ‘FrontLine’ Engine for 20 Years
Although it looks similar to an existing engine the Belle Plaine Fire Department uses, the new pumper truck the department received this week is unlike anything the department has ever had. Wednesday (June 29), the 2015 Rosenbauer engine arrived. The new Rosenbauer cost about $593,545. The city and rural fire association are dividing the cost of the new truck. It replaces a truck the department received brand new in 1990. That Custom engine cost about $330,000 – money that came from the fire department’s
relief association through the sale of pull-tabs, the city and the rural fire association. The new engine is the 10th new engine in the department’s 122year history. It comes complete with the latest lighting system to serve firefighters more efficiently during nighttime fires, a new lever system for more precise control of water and foam used to fight fires, plus in-cab monitors for safer operation of the vehicle when backing up and in tight quarters, said Travis Otto, a firefighter and member of the department’s truck committee. The tanker holds 1,000 gallons of water and foam and can pump up to 1,500 gallons of water per minute. The 1990 truck needs several expensive repairs, topped by a new pumping system, said Fire-
fighter Troy Otto, a member of the truck committee. The department plans to sell the 1990 truck at an auction. “It’s showing its age,” he said. Firefighters and the city began planning the purchase of the new engine in October of 2014. The city council approved the purchase in April of 2015. The department’s second engine, new in 2006, is being moved from a front-line unit to a backup role. The new Rosenbauer truck should last 30 years, Travis Otto said. The new engine will be put into actual service later this month, after department members are fully trained on its operating systems. “It’ll be a front-line engine for 20 years and then moved into a backup role,” he said.
Over 6 Feet Tall by the Fourth Scott Kubes’ corn crop got off to a late start this spring, thanks to cool, damp weather in lateApril and May. Plentiful rains in early June helped area corn crops thrive early and it’s now well over 6 feet tall. Now, Kubes said, “We could use a little rain. You don’t want to stress the plant too much.” Kubes, along with his wife, Monica, and their children, Sam and Marissa, have been farming for about seven years. They grow corn, soybeans and some hay on about 40 acres in Faxon Township. The corn will primarily go toward feeding 20 head of beef cows.
Sharon Schmitz to Become New Chamber Director
Belle Plaine’s Emily Saba (left), Thea Iverson (center) and KyLee Santovi have been in scouting for years. Saba and Santovi are working on their Silver Award project. Iverson is working on her Gold Award, the highest award available in Girl Scouts.
Belle Plaine Girl Scouts Working to Earn ‘Silver,’ ‘Gold’ Awards
the ranks of Girl Scouts. Emily Saba, KyLee Santovi and Thea Iverson are working on awards they believe will promote better lives for children. Saba and Santovi are working on a community project to earn their Silver Award. Iverson is working to earn her Gold Award, the Girls Scouts equivTheir aim is to help the com- alent of the Boy Scouts Eagle munity while advancing through Award.
Projects Aim to Help Calm Frightened Children, Promote STEM
‘Cuddles 4 Comfort’
Saba and Santovi started “Cuddles 4 Comfort,” a communitybased initiative that will raise stuffed animals, notebooks, pencils, books and five-gallons bucks that can be given to chil-
Girl Scouts
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Sharon Schmitz, who has called Belle Plaine her home nearly all her life, will become the Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce’s new executive director starting Monday, July 11. She replaces Kelly Melo, who resigned earlier this year. Melo had been the executive director since 2013, when she replaced Donna Woodard. Schmitz said she “looks forward to working with the business community,” and will be doing so part-time (15 hours per week). She currently operates Sharon Schmitz Accounting and Administrative Service in Belle Plaine. Her husband, Allen, is a real estate agent and farmer.
Joshua Gilpin Gets 27 Years in Prison for Attempted Murder
Carver County District Court Judge Kevin Eide sentenced Joshua Lee Gilpin last Thursday (June 30) to a prison term of 331 consecutive months for the attempted murder of his child’s mother and near fatal shooting of his father last fall. In a plea agreement with prosecutors and approved by the court, Gilpin pled guilty to both attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault in Carver County District Court. This 331-month sentence (27.6 years) is the maximum sentence allowed under the state sentencing guidelines. On Oct. 1, 2015, Gilpin, 39, and his father, Robert, drove together from Jordan to a Chaska residence to drop Gilpin’s 4-year-old son off with the child’s mother. The woman is Gilpin’s exgirlfriend. Gilpin was angry
Joshua Gilpin
Gilpin
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