COUNTRY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
VOL. 33 NO. 29 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
ANTIBIOTICS: Minnesotans asked to fight resistance. PAGE 2
Changes in Marine’s Public Safety Department BY JESSICA ANDERSON INTERIM EDITOR
JESSICA ANDERSON | COUNTRY MESSENGER
Lilleskogen park, the future site of Scandia's veteran's memorial.
Update on Scandia’s veteran’s memorial project BY JESSICA ANDERSON INTERIM EDITOR
Last year volunteers in Scandia began official work on their plans to build a veteran’s memorial in Lilleskogen Park. The park is located on the south side of highway 97 just west of its intersection with Olinda Trail. The memorial will feature two Veterans Honor Walls that will include personalized paver bricks that have been purchased by community members. Each brick costs $100. The bricks
will honor a specific veteran while the proceeds will support the memorial project. The monument itself will be placed between the two walls. This project has been led by Dave Wilson, who has organized help from many parties. The Scandia Marine Lions Club has donated the flagpole, which Wilson stated they hope to put in place soon. The volunteers working on this project, including Wilson, have hired Graley Contracting of Osceola to do some of the construction work
and Abrahamson’s Nursery has created landscaping guidelines. Wilson said “this is a community based project with volunteers working with the city and hiring contractors [when necessary].” The city of Scandia seems to have had this project in mind for a long time according to Wilson. “This has been an ongoing project for the city,” he stated. This makes sense considering the support that has been given by the city; Mayor SEE PROJECT, PAGE 2
Cut and cover with Buckthorn Baggies JESSICA ANDERSON INTERIM EDITOR
As is especially noticeable this time of year, Rhamnus cathartica, otherwise known as Common Buckthorn, has become prolific in the area. The only green, other than pines, is this prickly, invasive species that has been damaging a lot of other plant life. It is also notoriously difficult to get rid of. However, there are some options for dealing with the pesky plant, although you will still have to get
your hands dirty. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has some tips to help combat the tree, but recently there has been a new idea on the subject, something surprisingly simple. Matthew Hamilton, from Woodbury, Minn., came up with the idea of Buckthorn Baggies while still a high school student. He went on to study engineering at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. As most of us already SEE BUCKTHORN, PAGE 2
NEWS 651-433-3845 editor@countrymessenger.com
Marine’s Public Safety Chief Dave Denn announced that he will be retiring before the year is out. With the remainder of the year Denn has been working hard along with the rest of the department to finish certain on-going projects that are important to the department’s future. Firstly, Marine’s fire and ambulance rescue services are currently combined under the title of Public Safety. When Denn was hired by the city he was hired as the Fire Chief. When the city decided in 2007 to combine the two groups, his title was changed to encompass both. They have now decided to split the two apart again as the combination seems to have caused more difficulties than it solved. “There’s a couple problems with it. We’re not a public safety department. There’s no law enforcement component, which is traditionally the definition of public safety, with all three components. It creates a lot of problems for your chief officer, they get a tremendous amount of extra communications from different organizations, and they don’t really like communicating with them, but because it’s listed as public safety [they have to],” explained Denn. What was previously the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will now be Emergency Medical Responders (EMR). “I would just like to resolve it on my watch, because the confusion was created on my watch,” Denn added. The department is also discussing regulations for retirement age. A suggestion was made that a member evaluation be given at 60 and at 65 begin the restriction of certain tasks. “Is it a perfect plan? Absolutely not. Can it work in Marine? Maybe.” said Denn. This topic will be discussed further in the future. The hiring of a new Public Safety Chief, what will now be a Fire Chief position, was also discussed at the Nov. 10 Marine City council meeting. Dan Willenbring stated that after publishing the job advertisement they now have one applicant they plan to interview. They hope to complete the interview soon in order for the board to move on with the process. “We will be able to bring forward a recommendation at the December meeting” said Willenbring.
Other Business:
• The School Property Citizen Committee will hold an informational meeting at the city hall on Sat., Dec. 17 at 9 a.m. to update residents. Pardun explained “We want to share with the community.”
JAY RENDALL, MN DNR
• The team working on the urban forest plan will have a preliminary forest plan by early December. The project has so far been kept under budget. “[Goodfellow] is amazing,” Miller said of one of the project’s leaders.
Buckthorn leafs out early and retains its leaves late into the fall, creating dense shade that helps it to out-compete many native plants.
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