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S&A Petroleum presents check Page 21
Is the ship sinking? page
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Monday, December 19, 2011
Preston: Hub of boy’s b-ball activity page
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Volume 27 Issue 13
County receives MCIT Award page
Rushford deals with state shift
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Canton l Chatfield l Fountain l Harmony l Lanesboro l Mabel l Ostrander l Peterson l Preston l Rushford l Rushford Village l Spring Valley l Whalan l Wykoff
What recourse is there for property owners? By K aren R eisner kreisner@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Lynn Mensink gratefully accepts the first 200 pounds of ground pork for the food shelf in Preston, delivered by Bruce Dornink on December 9. Photo by Jade Wangen
Fillmore County Pork Producers donate to food shelf By Jade Wangen
jwangen@fillmorecountyjournal.com
In the spirit of the holiday season, the Fillmore County Pork Producers are giving back to the community and to people in need. Bruce Dornink of Preston is the treasurer of the Pork Board, and for the second year in a row, he will be delivering pork to the Fillmore County food shelves. Only this year the size of the gift has doubled. Over the holiday season and throughout, they will be giving enough ground pork for 10,000 servings. Lynn Mensink, who works at the SEMCAC food shelf in Preston, said the need for food is always the greatest during the
winter, especially around the holidays. This year, the farmers said they had a good year and wanted to share some of that with others. There are food shelves in Preston, Rushford, Mabel, and Spring Valley. Dornink said their goal is to give to all of them. “It’s a great way to promote the product and give back to the community at the same time,” said Dornink’s wife, Barb. The pork comes ground and in one-pound packages. Dornink delivered the first 200 pounds to the Preston food shelf on December 9. “We will deliver more every two weeks or so, as they need it,” said Dornink. 3 Course Dinner with glass of wine 4-9pm
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Oak Meadow Meats in Harmony processed the pork. Dornink said it’s important for them to purchase the meat from local lockers, and they try to spread it around, doing business in all parts of the county instead of just one area. In 2010, the pork producers had a good year, and they knew the economy was not doing so well. In trying to think of how they could help, someone came up with the idea to donate pork to local food shelves. “We have such tremendous support during our events every year,” said Dornink. He said the pork producers themselves do all the work at the pork wagon See FOOD SHELF Page 10
At the Chatfield City Council’s December 12 meeting, Sue Hollermann asked what recourse is available for businesses that have been hit with an unacceptable twenty percent property tax hike. Hollermann spoke during the Truth in Taxation public hearing. Mayor Don Hainlen was absent. City Clerk Joel Young gave a presentation detailing the city’s expenses and revenues. During a Committee of the Whole meeting the week of December 5, councilors made it clear that they wanted the preliminary levy which was set with an increase of 8.13 percent, to be reduced to about five percent or less. Young reviewed a revised proposal with a 4.8 percent increase from 2011. The difference in the two proposals is about $42,000. Young explained capital performance goals which include regular maintenance and replacement of the city’s infrastructure. Included is
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See CHATFIELD Page 2
Commissioners hear property tax complaints Brown explained the county reduced its staff in 2011, becomkreisner@fillmorecountyjournal.com ing more efficient. The board has County coordinator Karen chosen to seek grants as much as Brown reviewed 2011 county possible to meet the narrowband operations and plans for 2012 mandate for 2013, rather than along with the proposed county levying to obtain needed equipbudget and levy at an evening ment. This has saved county dolpublic hearing on December 13. lars. Road construction has been Counties and cities are required put on a three-year rotation. to have a public hearing, truth A survey for 2011 performance in taxation. It was noted that measures had citizens rating the the state does not have such a requirement for itself. See COUNTY Page 20 By K aren R eisner
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everything from streets, sidewalks, and equipment to a well, water tower, sewer mains and manholes. Service goals include 24/7 staffing of police, EMTs, and firefighters. Other services include but are not limited to planning and community development, the library, CCTV, skating rink, skate board park, park land maintenance, swimming pool, and the Center for the Arts. There are other capital improvement programs that are not yet in place and may need to be implemented in the future including catch basin and fire hydrant replacements, four inch water main replacements, clay sanitary sewer replacement and storm water management. There no longer will be aid from the Market Value Homestead Credit Aid Program from the state, which was $66,000 in 2009. The new Homestead Market Value Exclusion Program lowers the property taxes for some lower to medium valued homes
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