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COMMUNITY GATHERS: To show respect to the flag PAGE 3
Lino Lakes and Anoka County pick up on organic trend BY SHANNON GRANHOLM STAFF WRITER
LINO LAKES — Anoka County and the city of Lino Lakes are hoping to make a difference and reduce waste by offering residents easier access to organics recycling. Organics recycling is a fairly new concept and a trend that is growing in the Twin Cities area. Organic, in this case, simply means the portion of trash that can be composted. “People who backyard compost sometimes think they don't have to do organics because they already do the composting
in their backyard,” said Lino Lakes Recycling Assistant Aubrey Fonfara. “This program is different because it is industrial composting, so the compost piles are bigger, they get hotter, so you can put meat, bones, citrus, onion and compostable plastic and those are things that won't break down in your backyard.” According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), 30 percent of waste in Minnesota is organics. Interest from Lino Lakes residents prompted the city to look into starting some drop-off locations for organics
recycling. The city did a survey that generated around 30 responses with the predominant interest from residents near Birch Park. The survey participants were then invited to a public input meeting to share their feedback. “As a result of that meeting it became clear that people really wanted more than one drop-off location,” she said. In just the first week of sign-ups for the program, the city had 50 households sign up. “I think this is a great opportunity for residents.
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Pre-prom pick me up Kent Chamberlain and Taylor Stolt watch as Jimmy Field sweeps his date Jessica Renville off her feet before going inside to participate in the Centennial High School Prom Grand March Saturday, April 23 at the performing arts center. See more prom photos on page 2.
SEE ORGANIC TREND, PAGE 10
Circle Pines resident selected to be ambassador of Walk MS BY SHANNON GRANHOLM STAFF WRITER
CIRCLE PINES — Theresa Barden has not let multiple sclerosis defi ne her. In fact, her MS diagnosis has pushed her to be more determined and proactive about her future. Barden, 26, of Circle Pines, is thrilled to share her story with more than 4,500 people at Walk MS: Twin Cities Sunday, May 1 in Minneapolis. She was selected as one of four Twin Cities natives to be an ambassador. As an ambassador, she gets to share her story and promote and fundraise for the event. This will be Barden's second time participating in the event. “I started looking for ways I could introduce my family and friends into the MS world. I wanted them to meet others with the disease
and find support that is out there for them that they might want or need,” Barden said, explaining why she felt compelled to participate in the walk. “Walk MS is such an uplifting thing; everybody is so positive there, and they're willing to help each other.” MS is a disease in which the body's immune system attacks the protective covering surrounding nerves of the central nervous system. MS is thought to affect more than 2.3 million people worldwide. The average person in the U.S. has a one in 750 chance of developing the disease. One day, Barden's elbow started to feel tingly, like she had whacked her funny bone on something. After that feeling didn't go away, she thought she had either really hit it on something or pinched a nerve. Overnight that
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Theresa Barden of Circle Pines has been selected as one of four ambassadors for Walk MS: Twin Cities on Sunday, May 1 in Minneapolis. Barden was diagnosed with MS in February 2012 at the age of 22. She has since earned associate's and bachelor's degrees and works at the Federal Corrections Institute in Sandstone.
feeling spread up to her shoulder and her chest. After another night, the whole right side of her body went completely numb. Barden went to the emergency room and they told her she either had a brain infection, Lyme disease or MS. They sent her home to see if her symptoms got any better or progressed. When she woke up the next day she was completely numb from her collarbone down and couldn't walk or do anything on her own. Barden was officially diagnosed with MS in February 2012 when she was less than a month away from graduating with her associate’s degree from Rasmussen College in Blaine. Although some people would want to give up after receiving that kind of news, the diagnosis fueled her to learn about the disease and
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to figure out what was best for both her and her family's future. “Instead of letting my diagnosis get in my way, I persevered, fi nished my finals from my hospital bed and graduated with honors. I wasn't going to let MS defi ne me,” she said. “I figured if I was going to live the rest of my life with this disease, I at least had to get a head start and educate myself for my future and ultimately my family's future.” It didn't stop there. After graduation Barden decided to continue her education at Rasmussen by doing an accelerated program for a bachelor's degree in criminal justice-leadership and management. Barden now works as a law enforcement officer for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and a corrections officer for the U.S Department of
Justice at the Federal Correction Institute in Sandstone. Thankfully, her job's benefits help her to pay for a medication for her MS. Without insurance, she would need to spend more than $7,000 a month to pay for it. Barden has relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). In RRMS, inflammatory attacks cause localized damage and accompanying symptoms. The attack eventually leads to a time of recovery, and symptoms disappear. According to the National MS Society, around 85 percent of MS patients are initially diagnosed with RRMS. The medication seems to be working well for her; since starting the medication she hasn't had any relapses and only has one new lesion. (Nerves have a protective SEE WALK MS, PAGE 14
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