KANABEC COUNTY
THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2018 VOL. 135 NO. 14 www.moraminn.com $1.00
SSEASONS END: Lions boys basketball readies for next year. P12
Hunting sport taps dogs’ instincts BY RACHEL SCHMELTZER NEWS@MORAMINN.COM
Apple Blossom Kennels & Country Clips Pet Grooming is owned by mother and daughter team Kathy and Jessica Anlauf. The business has been run for the last 15 years from their home just outside of Braham, and in the last few months they have expanded the business with a shop in town at 100 Central Drive W. next to Subway. While many local people know about their
grooming and obedience services, Jessica is offering something new for dogs and dog owners called the barn hunt. Originally certain breeds, especially terriers, were designed to hunt rats out of homes and outbuildings. They’ve been used on ships to keep the vermin population down, and during WWI to clear the trenches of rats. Today, tapping into those hunting instincts has become a new dog sport called barn hunt,
organized by the Barn Hunt Association. The purpose of the barn hunt is not to actually train a dog to go kill rats, but rather to find them as a sport to bond owners and pets. A barn hunt consists of a course made from hay bales, with rats hiding in tubes for the dogs to find. Real rats are used, and are kept completely safe in an enclosed PVC tube with plenty of ventilation and bedding. Rat safety is a number one priority. The Barn Hunt Asso-
ciation has strict guidelines in regards to the care of rats used in the sport. Once the rat is comfortable, the tubes are placed under a light covering of hay or straw and hidden amongst other bales. Empty tubes are also put into the course, giving the dog more of a challenge. They can’t just find a tube, they have to find a tube with a rat in it. The dog is given a command, often “find the rat,” and then they go SEE HUNT, PAGE 12
RACHEL SCHMELTZER | TIMES
Stella, the lab, hunts for rats hidden in a protective tube.
Crime victims gain new advocate
her house. “He waited for me while I was at work,” she said. “And when I got home he cornered me in the bathroom and then shot me in the chest. “He had been stalking me for quite some time,” she said. “I knew that he was. I had seen him. I had called the police department many times and made a complaint.” She had tried to get a restraining order against her abuser, but when she did she was told that they could not file a restraining order against him unless they had an address where he lived. “That was what the law
The Kanabec County Attorney’s Office has recently dedicated new staff to serving victims of crime. According to the Minnesota Office of Justice Programs, 32,595 primary victims of general crime received services from nonprofit and government-based crime victim programs in fiscal year 2017. As the Kanabec County Attorney’s Office recognizes National Crime Victims’ Rights Week from April 8 – 14, 2018, they introduced a new victim and witness services coordinator. In recent years, federal and state agencies have encouraged local agencies to expand and improve their crime victim services. Importantly, those pushes included grant funding which has made it possible for the Kanabec County Attorney’s Office to hire a fulltime Victim and Witness Services Coordinator. In December 2017, the Kanabec County Attorney’s Office welcomed Cheryl Terhaar into this position. Minnesota law provides protections for victims of crime. The Kanabec County Attorney’s Office has been committed to providing victim-centered services through their attorneys and staff, and with the assistance of part-time victim advocates provided through Window Victim Services, located in Hinckley and other community partners. These services address the needs and safety of crime victims through all stages of prosecution and beyond, including: safety planning, financial assistance, counseling in victims’ rights
SEE ABUSE, PAGE 10
SEE ADVOCATE, PAGE 10
SUBMITTED
Ogilvie students raise $1,600 for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society In two short weeks during the month of February, students at Ogilvie Public Schools raised over $1,600 for the Pennies for Patients campaign of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society hosted by the National Honor Society. The students were challenged to raise $800 to help make “Leukemia disappear.” They went above and beyond that goal. In the elementary, the leading class to donate was Mrs. Bridgeman’s first graders with just over $100. In the high school, the junior class rocked and brought in over $600. Pictured are Mrs. Bridgeman’s class and the junior class.
Survivors stand against domestic violence BY MIKE GAINOR EDITOR@PINECITYMN.COM
Twenty-four Minnesotans – the youngest 17, the oldest 65 – were killed because of domestic violence in 2017, and those victims were remembered across the state on March 28, including a rally at Pine County Courthouse. Representatives from Pine County, Kanabec County, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and victim service organizations along with community members paid tribute to the victims, heard from abuse survivors, and committed to helping end domestic violence in Minnesota. Kanabec County Attor-
ney Barbara McFadden described the victims as: “People just like you and me. They are family members, friends, coworkers, our neighbors. They are people we love, and people we may not know, but who we may see and say hello to at a gas station, at a grocery store. They are us ... We believe each victim deserves the same recognition and a commitment from each of us to do everything in our power to eliminate domestic and sexual violence from our homes and our communities.” Pine County Sheriff Jeff Nelson began reading the names of each of the 24 victims. As he did, a comNEWS 320-679-2661 editor@moraminn.com
munity member affected by violence came and put a rose in a vase at the front of the room. As each name was read, and each rose was placed in the vase, the entire group repeated the words: “We remember.” Afterward, two survivors of abuse came forward to talk about what they had experienced at the hands of their abusers. ‘I FELT LIKE THE WHOLE SYSTEM HAD FAILED ME’ “I’m not a speaker, by any means,” the first survivor said. “But it is simply by the grace of God that I am here today.” She explained that in 2013, her ex-husband broke into
ADVERTISING 320-679-2661 advertising@moraminn.com
PUBLIC NOTICES 320-679-2661 notices@moraminn.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS 320-679-2661 subscriptions@moraminn.com
BREAKING NEWS, UPDATES Whenever, wherever you are! Scan me with your smartphone