COUNTRY
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2017
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
VOL. 34 NO. 17 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
LED LIGHTING: Council approves amendment for businesses. PAGE 2
Scandia launches Good Neighbor Award Scandia Mayor Christine Maefsky presented the first Good Neighbor Award Proclamation to the Scandia-Marine Lions Club at the August 15 city council meeting. The Scandia Marine Lions Club, with its present count of 157 members making it the largest Lions Club in Minnesota, has for the past 35 years performed good works in support of the residents of the Scandia/Marine area community, this past year contributing over 2,000 volunteer hours and giving over $78,000 in donations to individuals in need, educational scholarships and other causes to better our city and our world. The Scandia Good Neighbor Award honors individuals, businesses, civic groups who, in big or little ways, make our community a bet-
Grove Elementary now River Grove BY NEALY CORCORAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
KYLE WEAVER
Members of the Scandia-Marine Lions Club received the City of Scandia's first-ever Good Neighbor Award at Tuesday's city council meeting. Mayor Christine Maefsky presented the award. Club members in attendance to accept the award included Lynnette Welsch, Bruce Swenson, Janie O'Connor, Janet Swenson, George Gallenberg, Sharon Kangas, Maefsky, Carol Seefeldt, Ken Sogge, Dennis Seefeldt and Ryan Jinks.
ter place to live. They may be people who have shown themselves to be especially trustworthy or respectful or caring. Or they may be peo-
ple who volunteer to better Scandia - its people, its land, its environment and its sense of community. Nomination forms are
available on the city’s website (see tiny.cc/ scandiagoodneighbor) and at the city office in the community center.
The recently named Grove Elementary is now River Grove Elementary. The change came after the Marine Area Community School (MACS) board was approached by Groves Academy, a Minnesota school for students with learning disabilities. To avoid unnecessary trouble or litigation, MACS board members agreed to consider other options. At last Saturday’s board meeting, they decided to add “river” to the school’s name. Moving forward, the logo and other materials will reflect the addition. Organizers seemed to embrace the change in an announcement emailed Monday morning. “The addition of ‘river’ further ties the school to the unique historical and environmental features of the area, while maintaining the closeness and
How Newell Burch survived Andersonville Prison Sunday, August 27, the Hay Lake School Museum will host its fourth installment of the “Hay Lake Speaker Series.” Hay Lake Museum manager Dustyn Dubuque will speak on his new nonfiction book, “How Newell Burch Survived Andersonville Prison, Among the First to Arrive and Last to Leave.” This event is free to the public. As a young boy from New York, Newell Burch enlisted in the Civil War to fight for the Union Army. He spent most of his time in the Civil War as a prisoner of war. He kept a diary of his daily life as a soldier. When he completed a bound book, he mailed it home. Thus, he left a primary account of his experiences, which is unusual. Burch spent 21 months as a prisoner of war in Belle Island and Andersonville prisons. Andersonville, Georgia, was home to what many call the “deadliest” prisoner of war camp during the Civil War. More than 45,000 Union soldiers were imprisoned at Andersonville and more than 13,000 died inside its walls. Conditions were deplorable; prisoners had poor shelter, were fed little food and had very little for clothing.
NEALY CORCORAN
The recently named Grove Elementary, with its Wilder Forest campus, is now River Grove Elementary.
comfort of the word ‘grove’ and its distinctive ‘g,’” the email read. “This truly provides us with a name that we can call our own. We plan to make the transition to River Grove over the next couple of weeks.”
First day of school
The first day of school for Kindergarten students is Wednesday, August 30, and for first through sixth grade students is Monday, August 28. An Open House for River Grove families is scheduled for Tuesday, August 22. The first session will be held at 3 to 5 p.m. followed by another session on Thursday, August 24 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Minnesota Central, the bus company providing transportation for students will attend the Open House to discuss routing.
Fundraising Updates MACS Board members were excited to announce they had raised $63, 077 plus an anonymous donation of $10,000, which allowed them to exceed their initial goal of $70,000.
School Curriculum
SUBMITTED
Newell Burch was captured during the Civil War and survived as a prisoner. A new book by Hay Lake Museum manager Dustyn Dubuque recounts Burch’s story.
River Grove’s curriculum will be based on the Core Knowledge Foundation, an organization whose mission is “to advance excellence and equity in education for all children.” The foundation offers detailed curricular guidance and materials to schools, teachers, parents and policy makers.
SEE BURCH, PAGE 2
SEE ELEMENTARY, PAGE 7
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