BPHS Baseball Team Improves to 9-1
Town Tigers Open Season Friday Night
Softball Team Wins 3 Straight Page 13
Page 12
Page 13
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, MAY 4, 2016
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 18
‘Under the Sea’ Theme of Prom Will Take Place Saturday Night in Arlington
Close to 115 couples are expected to attend this Saturday’s Belle Plaine High School prom, which will take place at the Arlington Community Center. This will be the final prom for BPHS junior class advisor Lyle Noah, who has overseen the prom for over a quarter of a century. The longtime Belle Plaine teacher is retiring at the end of this school year. Saturday will mark the eighth time since 2003 that Belle Plaine has held its prom at the Arlington Community Center, which is a popular venue for wedding receptions, proms and other festive events due to its large seating capacity and After the deaths of their infant children, Belle Plaine natives Ashley Adamek (left) and Gabby dance floor. It’s also less exStidger have their ‘rainbow’ babies, Hattie Adamek and Jack Stidger. The deaths of their pensive than a number of other babies has forever changed the two women’s outlooks on motherhood and strengthened their venues. Noah said the school plans to appreciation of their own mothers.
continue holding prom and the post-prom party at MOA on odd-numbered years, including 2017. Saturday’s post-prom party will take place in the BPHS south gymnasium, which will feature “Casino Night” from approximately 11:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. Any individuals, business or organizations who would like to donate prizes for the event can contact Cindy Dikmen at 952-873-5416.
Grand March
Saturday’s grand march will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the school’s south gymnasium. Doors to the gym will open at about 4:45 p.m. The march normally lasts about 50 minutes, shortly after which students depart for prom. There will be a freewill donation box at the door to help cover the decorating costs of the gym.
Note: Pre-grand march photos will be held at Front Porch Photography, which is located in Kingsway Retirement Living at 815 West Main Street. Photo hours will be from 2-5 p.m. For more information, call Front Porch Photography at 873-2339.
Still Time to Buy Car Raffle Tickets
Belle Plaine High School senior class students are still selling Belle Plaine Dollars for Scholars Car Raffle tickets for the annual scholarship fundraiser. The drawing for the car will take place at Saturday’s Grand March. You do not have to be present to win. If you are interested in purchasing a ticket, contact a BPHS senior. Tickets, which cost $25,
Prom
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For B.P. Natives, Views on Being A Mom Have Come Full Circle
Their views on being mothers came from different experiences. But today, Ashley Adamek and Gabby Stidger can’t imagine themselves as being anything else but moms. They will never take motherhood for granted. The two Belle Plaine natives have both been through immeasurable heartache as mothers. Both will spend part of Sunday (May 8), Mother’s Day, visiting the gravesites of their children. Adamek’s daughter is buried at St. John’s Catholic Church Cemetery in Jordan, not far from the couple’s house atop the hill overlooking the city. Her remains are at the feet of her grandmother, Marlene Adamek. Placing the remains of an infant adjacent to the grave of a family member is an old tradition, Ashley Adamek said. “We didn’t want her to be
alone out there,” she said. Stidger’s son Jameson is buried in the family plot at the cemetery not far from Gabby and Rick’s house in Elko New Market. There’s open space and a bench near the gravesite, plenty of space for children to play and parents to remember and reflect. Adamek delivered Abby in Feb. 13, 2014. She knew what to expect. The previous September, at 20 weeks of pregnancy, Adamek and her husband, Cory, went to the doctor’s office for an ultrasound to determine the gender of their baby. They would have a daughter. But the test showed the fetus’s kidneys were filled with cysts, a condition known as multicystic bilateral kidney dysplasia. “It’s a 100 percent fatal diagnosis,” Adamek said. “Abby was stillborn at 27 weeks. She
was perfect in every way, except her kidneys didn’t work. I knew I was giving birth and wasn’t going to be able to bring a baby home.” Stidger did not have the chance to prepare for losing her child as Adamek did. Her son, Jameson, died from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) July 3, 2013. Stidger and Adamek are close friends. They have leaned on each other to survive the heartache of the death of their children. Ashley (McWilliams) Adamek graduated from BPHS in 2004, three years ahead of Gabby (Persson) Stidger. They were in each other’s weddings. Ryan Dungey, pictured in the center of the photo (with ball cap on) next to his wife, Lindsay They speak on the phone daily. (Siegle) Dungey of Belle Plaine, celebrated with members of his racing team after clinching his “Sometimes several times a third Supercross season championship Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J. day,” Stidger said. Stidger, 27, and her husband,
Dungey Wins Another Championship
B.P. Natives
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B.P. Area Man Enjoys the Science of Taking Out Mosquitoes When he was a student in a science class at Jordan High School, Adam Frey never really thought much about how he’d apply those lessons to his everyday life. Today, he knows more about the life cycle of mosquitoes than most people can imagine. Frey is a field operations supervisor for the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District. He works from the district’s office on Valley View Road in St. Lawrence Township, not far from his home in Sand Creek Township near the hamlet of St. Benedict east of Belle Plaine. He leads of a team of field inspectors whose job is to check wetlands, ponds, parks – anyplace standing water creates a breeding ground for any of the 15 of 52 known varieties of mosquitoes in Minnesota. The district is charged with treating those areas in effort to kill off mosquitoes that could carry West Nile disease, La Crosse Encephalitis and now potentially the zika virus. The majority of the MMCD’s efforts target immature mosquitoes that develop in over 79,000 unique wetland settings and over 70,000 catch basins and 26,000 other man-made habitats within Scott County and throughout the seven-county service area. The district treats areas with
Ryan Dungey clinched another Supercross season championship Saturday by finishing fourth in the 450SX main event at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Dungey, who races for Red Bull KTM, took no risks in Saturday’s race as all he needed was to finish 14th or better to clinch the 2016 title, his second in a row (third overall). Dungey, 26, is the son of Troy and Michelle Dungey of Belle Plaine. He is married to Lind-
say (Siegle), a 2009 graduate of Belle Plaine High School. “Such an amazing weekend with the crew celebrating the championship!” stated Dungey on his Facebook page following the race. “Very fortunate and blessed to work with such driven, passionate, and hardworking team! Thanks to everyone who helped make this dream come true for all of us! Team work!!” Not only was it an amazing weekend for Dungey, but
it’s been an amazing past nine months. He was selected for the cover of the Wheaties box earlier this year and last July became the first motocross racer ever to win an ESPN “ESPY” Award for Best Male Action Sports Athlete of the Year. Last Fall, a Fox Sports 1 crew came to Belle Plaine for a feature it was doing on Dungey. Among the stops was Annie’s Cafe on East Main Street, which is one of Ryan’s and Lindsay’s favorite places to visit when in Belle Plaine.
City Council to Give Itself Most of Summer to Hire New Administrator by Dan Ruud According to the process for filling the soon-to-be vacant city administrator position approved by the Belle Plaine City Council Monday night, the city is giving itself ample time to find a qualified person for the job. In fact, the middle of August is the projected time to have a new hire on the job, an updated description for which was also Adam Frey is in his 19th year -- his ninth full-time -- working approved by the council Monfor the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District. He works out day night. Advertising for the position has been placed on of the MMCD’s facility in Jordan. the League of Minnesota Citchemicals that kill mosquitoes ets – anyplace where water can ies website and elsewhere. Apin their larva stage of develop- stand undisturbed for seven to plications are due by 4:30 p.m. ment and as adults. The chemi- 10 days is a possible breeding June 10. The rest of the timecals are engineered to kill mostable is: Mosquitoes quitoes without impacting the June 13 – Applications distrib(continued on page 8) environment. uted for review to departments The field inspectors Frey overheads and the council. sees also work with landowners June 20 – Personnel committo eliminate breeding grounds tee meeting to select candidates for mosquitoes. Abandoned for interviews that week with tires, a small child’s pool, buck-
the department heads and coun- July 18 – Council approves cil. contract. July 5 – Council to make recCity Council ommendation to make offer to (continued on page 6) top candidate.
Belle Plaine Farmers Market Opens Today The first Belle Plaine Farmers Market for the 2016 season will take place today (Wednesday) from 3:30-6:30 p.m. The season will continue every Wednesday (rain or shine) through Oct. 12 at Court Square Park, 410 North Cedar Street. Vendors are welcome to sell “homemade” or “homegrown” items at the Farmers Market. Participants may pay $50 by today to reserve a spot at the market for the entire season. The 2016 season includes 24
Wednesdays. Vendors who do not plan to attend the Farmers Market every week may pay $5 per Wednesday. The $5 weekly payment will not exceed $80 per vendor for the season. For more information, or to reserve your spot for the season, contact Rex Ernst oneeyedbutcher@yahoo.com or Rick Krant Rkrant@mchsi.com or call and leave a voice message at 612-749-3958. The 2016 Belle Plaine Farmer’s Market is sponsored by the Belle Plaine Historical Society.