Letters to Santa Due at Herald Noon Thursday
BPHS Girls Win Two of Three
Scott West Overpowers Four Foes Page 17
Page 17
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ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIRST YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, DECEMBER 12, 2012
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 50
Slippin’ and Slidin’ ... and Bangin’ Highway 169 in Belle Plaine (above) and other major roadways across the Twin cities region were dotted with accidents much of this past weekend, including Friday afternoon and evening, Saturday night and all day Sunday. In all, close to a foot of snow fell in the Belle Plaine area, the main event being the 10-plus inches that fell from late Saturday night through Sunday afternoon. Even late Friday afternoon, when only about an inch of snow fell, members of the Belle Plaine police, ambulance and fire departments, as well as state troopers and sheriff’s deputies, responded to a series of crashes on the southbound lane of Highway 169 just outside of Belle Plaine. The crashes caused backups in both directions of 169 as a number of emergency vehicles and tow trucks positioned themselves to provide assistance. This past weekend Local snowblowers, including Brian Chilman’s at his home on East Main Street, were put marked the first major snowfalls of the season. into action for the first time this season and they and their operators had their work cut out for them as one of the biggest snowstorms in nearly two years blanketed Belle Plaine and the surrounding area, with some locations getting nearly a foot of snow. The storm began late Saturday night and continued throughout the day on Sunday. The storm system was trailed by an arctic front that sent temperatures plummeting on Monday and Tuesday. A reprieve is expected for today (Wednesday) and the remainder of the week as daily high temperatures are forecast to climb back into the 30s.
Winter Arrives
Scott County Board Split on Small Levy Hike for 2013
Choir Concert Will Evoke Warm Memories of the Season Memories of Christmases past will be abundant when approximately 290 Belle Plaine choir students in seventh through 12th grades present their annual holiday concert Monday night at the junior-senior high’s north gymnasium. The popular free concert is set to begin at 7 p.m. and run for about 75 minutes. A standingroom-only audience is expected. The school’s seventh- and eighth-grade choirs will per-
form individually and also with the junior-senior high choirs. It starts with the seventh- and eighth-graders performing some seasonal and non-seasonal songs from their choir lessons. The senior high choir will perform Christmas songs, said BPHS Choir Director Cheryl Gorton. “The whole theme of the concert is about Christmas memories,” she said. The ninth-grade choir will also
Featured on National TV On Monday’s (Dec. 10) episode of the ABC television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” Ret. U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kyle Malin, his wife Alicia, and sons Kalib and Cy were among the honorary people to receive a new home in Texas through the volunteer group “Helping a Hero.” Malin, the son of Belle Plaine natives John and Deb (Edberg) Malin, is a 2002 graduate of Farmington High School, where he was a three-sport athlete. He lost both his legs when he stepped on an explosive device in Afghanistan on July 12, 2010, while on patrol with his troop. He had previously served three tours of duty in Iraq.
include a song Wayne Liebhard, M.D., a 1975 graduate of Belle Plaine High School, wrote and former BPHS Choir Director Earl Sherburne arranged for four-part choir. The song, “Round and Round-All Over Town.” It is from an original album he wrote and recorded with the Solid Gold Band, titled “Here In Flyover Country.” “Since I graduated high school, I have wanted to collaborate again with Earl Sherburne, and I’m very happy to have gotten the chance, and equally happy that Cheryl Gorton’s group will be doing the song,” Liebhard said. The concert also includes an audio-visual presentation on the students’ warm, emotional Christmas memories. It features “Ha Shalom” and many photographs from the previous Christmas celebrations with family and friends in an audiovisual presentation prepared by Scott Winters, a parents of two choir students. The concert will be completed in candlelight to “Silent Night.” “By the time it’s done, there may not be a dry eye in the house,” Gorton said. “Bring Kleenex.”
Santa at Library Saturday Santa Claus will be available to discuss Christmas wish lists with children at the Belle Plaine Public Library one last time on Saturday, Dec. 15 from noon to 2 p.m. The visits are sponsored by the Belle Plaine Friends of the Library. Santa’s helpers will bring their camera and the photos will be free.
County Says Increase is Really a Decrease Most Scott County property owners should see a property tax reduction despite a halfpercent increase in the county’s gross levy. Still, the proposed levy increase drew opposition from commissioners who vowed to oppose any tax hike during the fall campaign. Tuesday morning, the Scott County Board voted 3-2 to approve a $60.82 million gross levy. The levy adds just over
$300,000 for spending. The net levy becomes $57.07 million once the county’s $3.75 million state aid is factored into the equation. Echoing the complicated nature of Minnesota property tax law, County Administrator Gary Shelton noted the increase is really a decrease since the net levy is about $540,000 less in 2013 than 2012. As for the bottom line, the approval means 74 percent of residential property owners wills see an average decrease of about $41 on the county’s portion of a property tax bill. As for those facing an increase in Scott County’s share of property taxes, are those whose property has increased in value,
which includes most farmland and lakeshore property. Commissioners Joe Wagner of Sand Creek Township, Belle Plaine’s representative on the board, and David Menden of Shakopee opposed the increase. Menden noted increases from other government entities, like school districts. He said, “people are hurting.” Wagner promised opposition to the property tax increase during his latest successful re-election bid. Scott County’s 2013 budget of $121.77 million was unanimously passed. It includes operations, capital and road project spending. Menden encouraged delays in any unnecessary spending.
An Annual Occurrence
Members of the Belle Plaine Rotary Club made their annual rounds Tuesday morning picking up Christmas gifts that were donated by community members and organizations. The trailer full of gifts were taken to the CAP Agency in Shakopee for distribution to needy families. Among the Rotary members assisting with the project Tuesday were standing, from left, Ashton Pankonin, John Ploetz, Karl Kolden and Dave VanDien. Kneeling are Kelly Smith, Janel Schmidt and Todd Meeker.
Fry Takes Over Belle Plaine DQ The new boss of the Belle Plaine Dairy Queen Doesn’t need a tour of the restaurant he took over earlier this month. Ron Fry knows the building and his way around a DQ well. Fry is the new operator of the DQ franchise in Belle Plaine. He’s leasing the operation and building on East Commerce Drive from Tony Jewett. The
two have a three-year agree- nesses, including a Papa Murment that could lead to Fry buy- phy’s in Marshall, Minn. and Brewers in Jordan. At the same ing the popular franchise. “We’d talked about it a couDairy Queen ple years ago,” Fry said. “We (continued on page 2) couldn’t make it work then. We couldn’t come to a deal.” Fry operated the Belle Plaine DQ for a decade, from 1988 to 1998. Since he left Belle Plaine, he has owned a variety of busi-