Volleyball, Football Teams Stay on a Roll
School Board Member Takes Issue With Committee Makeup Page 6
Harvest Coin Hunt Clue No. 1 Page 5
Page 13 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 37
Pre-Registration Continues for Upcoming Scenic Byway Races The sixth annual Belle Plaine Scenic Byway Half-Marathon and 5K races are set for Saturday, Oct. 1. The half-marathon will start at Court Square Park in Belle Plaine and continue along the Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway loop. The 5K will also begin and end at the park. You can register online up to the time you arrive at the race site on a computer, smart phone or tablet, anywhere you have internet. Online registration does not close. On race day all you will need to do is pick up your bib. Both the half-marathon and 5K courses are USATF certified and chip-timed, making this
event a great, competitive running opportunity along the fall colors of the Minnesota River Valley. Funds raised from the race will go toward promotion of Belle Plaine and its unique location as the last stop on the Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway, as well as environmental projects, including the ongoing Minnesota River Valley Cleanup Project. This project has a longrange goal of extending biking and hiking trails from the Twin Cities to Mankato. Anderson Race Management will help organize the events, which include awards, medals and a post-race party with food, entertainment and kids activi-
ties at Court Square Park for participants and families. There will also be a Kids’ Run that gets underway at 8:45 a.m. Participants will receive a kids’ race day shirt. Runners must be 10 years of age and younger to participate. Parents are welcome to run along with their kids. The half-marathon starts at 9 a.m. and the 5K at 9:20 a.m. Awards will be given for the top male and female in seven age categories in both events, and the top Belle Plaine male and female finishers in both
Pre-Registration
(continued on page 8)
Council Okays Preliminary Levy Would be a 7.4% Increase Over This Year
Sights for Fall Eyes
Emma Krumbee’s 33rd annual Scarecrow Festival opened Saturday with sunny skies and temperatures around 70 degrees. Pictured above is Lucy Kuester of St. Paul helping herself to an apple from a mummy on vacation, a display that was entered by Randy Carlson of Belle Plaine and placed fourth in the Adult Humorous Division. Pictured at right is Chewbacca from Star Wars, which was entered by Josiah Mecredy of Belle Plaine and placed second in the Adult Celebrity Division. Some $6,900 in cash awards were awarded to the creators of the top entrants Saturday. A list of all the prize winners appears on page 6 and more photos appear on page 14. The festival, which includes dozens of scarecrow displays and a number of other family-oriented activities, will continue through Oct. 30.
The Belle Plaine City Council last Tuesday night unanimously approved a 2017 property tax levy of $5,232,445, which would be a 7.4 percent increase over this year’s levy of $4,871,139. A public hearing will be held later this year prior to action on the city’s final 2017 levy. The levy can be lowered at that time but not raised. City Finance Director and Interim City Administrator Dawn Meyer stated that an unpaid assessment of $131,000 for West Commerce Drive was among the factors leading to the levy increase. Others included cost
of living wage increases of 2.75 percent for many city employees and council members, increased services for a growing population and inflation. To keep the 2017 levy increase from inflating further, the council and staff held a series of budget workshops this summer, and the council directed staff to make budget cuts within their respective departments. During a workshop on Aug. 22, Council Member Cary Coop commented that one way to cut the budget would be to eliminate some street improvement projects. Council Member Paul Chard said he was not in favor of eliminating annual street projects, but would be amenable to reducing the scope of them. Mayor Mike Pingalore said he would be willing to consider reducing or eliminating the 2018 street improve-
ment project (the 2017 project is already in the works). Future street improvement project eliminations or reductions will be topics in the future. As for the 2017 levy, a follow up work session was held on Aug. 29, and after considerable discussion, a total reduction of $88,500 was proposed. Cuts listed in the 2017 preliminary levy include: Administration: Transportation ($10,000). Police Department: Building Improvement ($8,000). Improvements will take place over a longer period of time, capital decreases ($3,000). Fire Department: , office supply decreases ($500), edu-
Council
(continued on page 2)
‘Emma’s Hope’ Benefit Welcomes its Namesake to B.P.
German Family Continues Cancer Fight at Saturday’s Benefit
As Keriann and Chris German welcomed mourners to their daughter’s funeral two years ago this month, they were touched when Angie and Shaughn Laehn arrived. Their families have plenty in common, including the hope that one day parents will never have to grieve the loss of a child to cancer. Saturday (Sept. 17), the Laehn family – Angie, her husband Shaughn and their daughters, Emma, 19, and Allie, 20 -- will once again make the drive from Pepin, Wis. to Belle Plaine. This time, their reason to visit is to participate in a silent auction and walk benefit to raise money for Emma’s Hope, a foundation the Laehns began and the Germans are continuing. Its goal is to help raise money for research into childhood cancer research and sup-
port families fighting the disease. Saturday is the inaugural Emma’s Hope walk in Belle Plaine. The 2-mile walk through Belle Plaine begins at the junior-senior high school around 9 a.m. There will be rest stops along the way with refreshments at each one. There will also be a silent auction at the school. At 10:30 a.m. at the school, a guest speaker will present information on cancer and the importance of research. The first 200 walkers to register will receive a free T-shirt. Suggested donations are $25 per adult, $50 per family and $10 per student. The idea for the walk in Belle Plaine came from Keriann and Chris German. Their daughter, Emma, was diagnosed with stage IV high-risk neuroblastoma in August of 2010. She was 3 years old. Emma passed away two years ago this month. Angie and Shaughn Laehn know how successful a walk fund-raiser can be. For 15 years in mid-September, they organized and managed the Emma’s Hope walk fund-raiser in Pepin, Wis. to raise money for children’s cancer research. It started after Emma Laehn was diagnosed with neuroblastoma,
a type of cancer that starts in certain very early forms of nerve cells found in an embryo or fetus, according to the American Cancer Society.
‘Hell and Back’
Emma Laehn’s case was less severe than the diagnosis the German family received when their daughter Emma was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma in the summer of 2010. “She didn’t have to do bone marrow transplant, no stem cell treatments or anything like that,” Angie Laehn said. “Some of these kids have to go through hell and back. The long-term affects are very difficult.” Emma Laehn’s case was easier to treat. She completed her last round of chemotherapy in 1999. In March of 2000, a set of scans couldn’t find any evidence of cancer in Emma Laehn. Today, she has annual checkups at Amplatz Children’s Hospital at the University of Minnesota. The Laehn family’s efforts raised just over $250,000 over
‘Emma’s Hope’
(continued on page 3)
The retired U.S. Army helicopter at Veterans Park was lifted off its base by a Distel Grain of Le Sueur crane and loaded onto a flatbed trailer Thursday for transport to the public works garage and eventually Cologne for refurbishing. On page 2 is a photo of the helicopter being towed across the new Highway 169 bridge in Belle Plaine.
Veterans Park Army Helicopter on Leave The U.S. “Huey” Army helicopter that hovered on its concrete base over Veterans Park in Belle Plaine for the past decade began what could be a lengthy leave of absence last Thursday. The Belle Plaine City Council recently authorized the painting and reconditioning of the retired helicopter, which is currently being housed in the Belle Plaine Public Works garage, where it will have some broken glass replaced and other repairs done before being transported to Luthy Sandblasting and Painting in Cologne for a new paint job. Luthy submit-
ted a quote of $7,000 to do the work. Belle Plaine veterans groups have donated $2,000 to the project, while the rest will come from the city’s park maintenance fund. Public Works Superintendent Al Fahey said it will likely be one to two months before the helicopter is returned to its perch at Veterans Park. He told the city council last month that the city is responsible for keeping the helicopter up to military display standards. The helicopter (tail number 68-15369) was in service from 1968 to 1987, including Viet-
nam with the 11th Calvary Regiment (Blackhorse) and the 118th Assault Helicopter Company (Thunderbirds). After the war, it served with NASA, the 1st Armored Division and other U S. Army units. Former Belle Plaine City Council Member and veteran Dave Spalding spearheaded the effort to bring the helicopter to Belle Plaine for display at Veterans Park, both administratively and physically. After gaining authorization from the Army, Spalding transported it from Fort Rucker, Ala., to Belle Plaine.