COUNTRY
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2019
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
VOL. 36 NO. 01 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
JOB CONNECTION: Teens invited. PAGE 2
Scandia Farmers Market holds pre-season plant sale Season opener features barbershop quartet CONTRIBUTED SCANDIA FARMERS MARKET
Scandia Farmers Market will open this year with plant sales May 29 and June 5. The early season gatherings will also feature flowerpot and seed exchanges. Kids can get sunflower seeds to plant and bring back in August to see whose grew the most. The full market vendor season begins June 12 with haircuts under
the trees by Hår Salon and the Bright Knights Barbershop Quartet roving the market from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The quartet consists of lead vocalist Karl Wicklund, baritone Larry Fisk, bass Ken Mettler, and tenor Alan Salmela. All are members of the 62-year-old Indianhead Barbershop Chorus headquartered in Balsam Lake. Opening day will also feature presentation on flag etiquette by Dave Rovang at 4 p.m. in honor of Flag Day, June 14. The weekly markets typically feature live music and activities or giveaways. In July and August, kids
who sign up for the Power of Produce (PoP) Club will get a $2 token to spend on fresh vegetables or fruits. Held on the grounds of the Gammelgården Museum (20880 Olinda Trail North), the Scandia Farmers Market is where local farmers, bakers, makers and crafters offer a variety of fresh produce and handmade goods directly to customers. The market began in 2011 to encourage connection between consumers and growers, and foster social gathering and community building. See weekly theme schedule on page 2
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The Bright Knights Barbershop Quartet will rove the Scandia Farmers Market from 4:30 to 6 p.m., June 12. The quartet consists of lead vocalist Karl Wicklund, baritone Larry Fisk, bass Ken Mettler, and tenor Alan Salmela. All are members of the Balsam Lake based Indianhead Barbershop Chorus.
Folk school offers beginning woodworking class CONTRIBUTED MARINE MILLS FOLK SCHOOL
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Participants in a beginning class at Marine Mills Folk School will learn to split, rive, bore and plan while making a traditional hay rake.
Scandia offers summer drama camp CONTRIBUTED CITY OF SCANDIA
The City of Scandia and St. Croix Festival Theatre are partnering to offer Art in Action!, a weeklong day camp for youth interested in performance. Participants ages 7-13 will create, rehearse and perform in an original short play. Preparation for the performance includes designing and painting, creating characters and costumes, and choreographing an original dance. The young actors will perform their play for a live audience of family and friends. The camp will run August 12-16 (Monday - Friday), 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Scandia Community Center. There is a cost to participate. Learn more or register at www.FestivalTheatre.org or by calling 715.483.3387.
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Students in a beginning woodworking class at Marine Mills Folk School will take home a traditional wooden hay rake, along with a foundation of beginning woodworking skills. The class will introduce and focus on green woodworking skills, including splitting, riving, boring and planning. Tough, backbreaking work, raking hay was reportedly one of the hardest and most dreaded chores on a farm, especially before the mid-1800s. Prior to the introduction of horse-drawn hay rakes, farmers raked dried hay into piles for collection. Raking one to two acres a day was considered high productivity. Instructor Mark Johnston, a tradi-
tional tools woodworker and architectural historian from the Twin Cities, will share his knowledge of historical woodworking and period tools and techniques. This class is an excellent way to try beginning woodworking, providing students the skills and basic knowledge to then consider taking on more advanced woodworking projects. Founded in 2018, Marine Mills Folk School aims to support and strengthen connections by inviting all people to discover the joy of learning and creating together. The school offers adult and intergenerational classes in traditional arts and craft skills. Visit https:// marinemillsfolkschool.org/ for additional information or to see a complete listing of classes.
Sheriff’s office working to support staff, prevent suicide BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
Crisis by crisis, year after year, traumas add up for people working in law enforcement. Across the nation in 2018, 145 officers died on the job. A larger number, 159, took their own lives. Three of those were in Minnesota. One, Jerry Lannon, had been a Washington County sheriff’s deputy, SWAT team member and firearms instructor. He lived in May Township. ADVERTISING 651-433-3845 ads@osceolasun.com
Many see deaths including Lannon’s as part an alarming trend: In a dangerous field, officer suicides have managed to outpace deaths in the line of duty. Some are taking action to change future statistics. At the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Sergeant Tim Harris has been working on a program to foster mental health and wellness among officers. His motivation is personal.
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“I look at the startling trend in terms of losing coworkers,” Harris said. “You can sit back and grieve or take initiative and ask what we can do to be better and help each other out. We’re in this field because we need to feel needed, but we have a hard time asking for help ourselves.” Called CORE, or County Occupational Resources for Employees, the program is meant to include everyone from new recruits to retiring officers, from the records
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department to those working in the field. “Trauma has a lot of different forms and it isn’t just the person working the street,” Harris said. “It’s bringing that multi-discipline group together. It’s training staff and their families. Families are an important piece for support.” Harris has the backing of Sheriff Dan Starry, who also emphasized the need to support all staff SEE OFFICERS, PAGE 2
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