West Sherburne Tribune

Subhead:

Staff Writer

Maggie Newman

Mark and his sons Cory and Nathan. (Photo by Maggie Newman.)

Mark Hedstrom is a father of two teenaged boys, Cory who will be a senior and Nathan who is going into ninth grade. He is married to his lovely wife Trisha and has lived in Big Lake since 2004.Mark is being recognized not only because he is an outstanding father but a great community member as well. During a sitdown with Mark and his boys, he was asked about his kids and he replied “my sons have two completely different personalities and I love it because I get to enjoy the best of both worlds”. While Cory enjoys playing video games, camping, and Hornet broadcasting, Nathan like hunting, playing football and baseball. Mark enjoys spending time doing all of those things with his boys. Some traditions the Hedstrom family have are: Camping with family in July, fishing at the Big Lake Ice fishing tournament, which Mark says “has become more of a family gathering” as extended family comes to town for the tournament and Halloween with family and lots of neighbors and friends.Mark works for the US Postal Service in Big Lake and really enjoys it because he gets to spend more time with his family. That didn’t always used to be the case as he worked 12 to 14 hours a day and did not get a lot of time to be with his familyMark said “the main reasons I want to work here in Big Lake is to have that ability to get home and be with my family. In the summertime the mail volume is not as heavy and it gives me the opportunity to get off work at a decent time and with no commute and I have that ability to be with my family in the afternoon”. His wife Trish also works out of the home for United Healthcare and that gives them the ability to spend more time with their kids as well.Mark owns a DJ service called Spinning Sound Entertainment and also does mortgages for progressive lending solutions. When asked how he balances family, work and community services he responded “you have to prioritize your time” and says “it has gotten a little easier since the boys are older.”

Mark’s uncles Bobbie and Dickie have been big influences in his life. “They always told me that part of getting older was to help out in the community”. So in 2008 Mark joined the Big Lake Fire Department.He was also a member of the Big Lake PTSO as their treasure until he was elected to the school board. He is still on the school board and hopes to be re-elected as he would love to be able to sign Cory and Nathans diplomas. When Cory and Nathan were asked what made their dad great they replied “he is there for the community, he passes along family traditions and gives good advice”

Cory and Nathan also said that their father has taught them to “give people a second chance and to treat people the way you want to be treated”. Mark is truly a loving father and outstanding community member. Happy Father’s Day Mark!!!!

Section:

WST

Subhead:

Staff Writer

Ken Francis

Kids and 4-H counselors hope for a safe landing during the egg drop activity at day camp Tuesday.

Tuesday was the first day camp of the season for Sherburne County 4-H’ers, and kids had a great time learning about science and how things work.

Kids had fun while doing hands-on projects related to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program at the county fairgrounds.

Some of the projects included building towers using marshmallows and toothpicks, making balloon rockets and pop rockets and creating a Rube Goldberg gadget that uses multiple steps to perform a simple task.

“They’re doing things like knocking a marble into a cup - but with at least three steps,” said Tammy Putz, 4-H summer intern.

Another project was making simple paper planes. The kids were given a sheet of construction paper to design their own planes.

“Once they found out what would work, we gave them thicker card stock for their final design,” said Putz.

A paper clip was attached to the front of each plane. Then everyone went outside to launch them and see how far they would fly.

The kids worked in groups for the egg drop activity. Each group had to design a nest to secure the egg using a variety of materials, including plastic food containers, cardboard tubes, coffee filters, yarn, popsicle sticks, toothpicks, glue, plastic bags and tape.

Then each egg was dropped from the top of the grandstand to see which survived the fall.

The kids also got a chance to operate a small drone, aiming at objects and flying around obstacles.

The day also included a Lego movie, lunch, games and crafts.

Everything went smoothly and kids learned how to get along and work together by following the seven rules of Day Camp: Listen up when the counselors are talking; always stay with the group; no horseplay; no bad attitudes; treat everyone with respect; follow directions; have fun!

They did.

Section:

WST

Subhead:

Staff Writer

Maggie Newman

An orange that can read minds? That is what the trick was all about, as a volunteer assistant draws a card and ends up finding it inside of the orange.

There was a great turn- out for the family magic show Monday at the Big Lake Regional Library. Nathan Stockwell has been doing magic shows for about 20 years now and the kids love him!! The magic show also kicked of the summer reading program “Read for the Win”. As kids and parents entered they were encouraged to stop by the library afterwards to check out some books or reading material.

Section:

WST

Submitted Article

The search for the Spud Fest Medallion is still going. Clues are posted in the window of Great River Spine and Sport every Friday evening at 5 p.m. and appear in the paper each week.

The medallion is hidden in plain site on public property somewhere in Big Lake or Big Lake Township. Whoever finds the medallion wins $150 if they have already purchased a Spud Fest button for $2. If they find the medallion but don’t have a button, the prize drops to $50.

Buttons being sold by Big Lake Ambassadors and candidates.

CLUE #1

The Spud Fest medallion

is hiding once again.

Time to go hunting,

find it and win.

Read the clues each week

to find the treasure,

return to Great River

Spine and Sport to

accept your reward with

pleasure!

CLUE #2

Get out and start your investigation,

Do not give in to your

frustration.

Come play with us,

search high and low,

find it where the flowers grow.

CLUE #3

While hanging out in the sunshine,

Many activities this place does provide.

Keep an eye out for a sign,

Around which the

medallion does hide.

CLUE #4

Fun in the surf, sand &

sun,

Don’t give up until

it’s won.

Where you can show off

your latest tricks,

You’ll find the medallion amongst the bricks.

Stand tall & proud for

the red, white & blue,

This is it! Hands Up!

This is the last clue!

Section:

WST

Subhead:

Editor

Gary W. Meyer

The Big Lake Board of Education Tuesday approved their 2016-17 school budget, calling for revenues of $50,605,144 and expenditures of $47,431,641.

The budget is largely comprised of general fund expenditures of $32,833,826, which will finance the educational process.

Much of the rest is designated toward deferred maintenance improvements, of which $5.4 million was bonded for earlier this year, and capital improvements, funded by the recent successful $9 million bond issue.

The recent capital improvements bond will be tapped for only $5,575,079 in improvements this year; the remainder will be laid over for work in 2017.

So, the proposed expenditures will amount to about $3.2 million less than the budget receipts.

Board approval of the budget was unanimous; it needed to be approved and certified to the state by June 30.

The 2016-17 general fund spending will amount to $32,852,175. Salaries and benefits will comprise 78% of that total; with nine percent designated for site and buildings; four percent for district support services and four percent for administration.

Funding for the general fund will come from state general education aid, of $25,149,470, based on an expected student enrollment of 3,129; $3,722,218 from local property taxes, $2,423,815 from special aids; and $399,824 from federal assistance.

State aids had contributed 89% to the budget in the previous year; with last year’s excess levy referendum passed, that will drop to 86% of the budget and local taxes will now comprise 11%.

The state general education aids will be increased by two percent per student this year, to increase from $5,948 to $6,067.

District Finance Mgr. Angie Manuel reported the student aids increases will help provide a small surplus to the budget for the coming year.

But, should student enrollment drop from the expected 3,129 number, the surplus would be quickly wiped out.

“With decreasing enrollment, it will eat it quickly,” she said.

She also reported that Big Lake actually receives about $8,000 per student, taking into consideration other state funding sources.

One of those sources is for the district’s long term deferred maintenance program, which will this year receive $193 per student. The next year it will increase to $292; in 2019, to $380.

The deferred maintenance capital improvements this year include $1 million for re-roofing a portion of BLHS and site and parking lot lot improvements at Independence and the middle school this summer.

So, a drop in enrollment would not only hurt the general fund effort, but others as well.

A portion of the recent $9 million capital improvements bond will go toward installation of softball and baseball field lights and security programs at all four schools, yet to be done this fall.

The district will be increasing staffing in several areas as a result of the successful excess levy referendum last fall.

They will fund a new staffer at Independence Elementary, two new staffers at Liberty Elementary, a half time art teacher, Project Lead The Way program and for robotics, which is expected to be introduced into the high school this year.

The board also earlier agreed to reduce athletic fees to families of middle school students.

Food Services

The district will be engaging Chartwell to provide their hot lunch program beginning this fall, and has designated $1,765,665 for it. Revenues are expected to be $50,000 in excess of that, given Chartwell’s pledge to provide that amount to the district.

The district, by federal mandate, will be increasing hot lunch prices by 10 cents this fall; the breakfast program will not be affected.

Big Lake Schools serves free and reduced lunches to 25% of its students, compared with a statewide average of 37%.

Community Services

The community services budget was set at $1,801,193, with revenues at $1,753,769.

Community services is comprised of community education, adult basic education and three departments, Early Childhood Family Education, School Readiness and Pre-School Screening, which are self-sustaining programs.

2015-16 Budget

Earlier in the meeting, the board approved their final budget for the current school year.

Their general fund finished at $31,111,201 in receipts and $31,398,393 in expenditures.

Much of the shortage was due to decreasing student enrollments.

But several board members credited Manuel for her accurate student enrollment projections.

Tags:

Building Programs Included

Section:

WST

Subhead:

Staff Writer

Gary W. Meyer

LINDA CROMPTON, 40-year librarian with Big Lake Schools, was recognized for her service at Tuesday’s Big Lake School Board meeting. With her is her husband, Roger Hanson, longtime Big Lake businessman. (Photo by Gary W. Meyer)

For 40 years, Linda Crompton has handed out reading materials, manuals and other educational aids to Big Lake students from her office at Independence School.

This spring, she decided it was time to retire.

The Big Lake Board of Education took special note of that Tuesday, acknowledging her years of service with a plaque and sendoff into retirement.

Retirement for her and husband Roger Hanson will not be in Big Lake, however. Tired of the winters, they will relocate to Florida. She said that with a smile on her face.

Mary Klesk, just retired from an 18-year career as head of the school’s food service program, was also recognized by the board. She was not able to attend the meeting.

Other Personnel

Supt. Steve Westerberg announced the school’s new athletic director, Logan Midthun, a native of North Dakota, will assume his new duties July 1, the start of the new school year.

Also, Katie Thompson, new assistant principal at Liberty School, will be starting July 1. She succeeds Teresa Smock-Potter.

Other personnel actions included the hiring of Amanda Chesness, Liberty teacher; Steve Leuer, Liberty teacher; Jane Kallemeyn, Liberty long term substitute teacher; Market Kingsbury, Independence teacher; and Jessica Schlangen, BLMS teacher.

Several were retired or terminated. They included Mikan DeMars, retired from his job as Liberty maintenance site supervisors; April Glander, Liberty education assistant, resignation; Katrina Kipka, termination from Liberty office assistant; Patricia Morningstar, longtime high school counselor, retired; Jennifer Sweckora, resigned as middle school teacher and Kellie Wilburn terminated as middle school education assistant.

Wright Cooperative

The district sends students for vocational and other training at the Wright Cooperative Center in Buffalo.

The center has adopted a $150,000 annual facility maintenance program budget and based on its enrollment, Big Lake will be obliged to pay $20,370 toward that fund.

Tax impact on a Big Lake property of $200,000 will be $2 annually.

Hornet Pride Booster

Chris Leesburg, who has helped develope the high school graduation party over the past several years, was recognized by Board Chair Mark Hedstrom as this month’s winner of the Hornet Pride recognition.

Board Candidacies

The board authorized Aug. 2 to Aug. 16 as dates for interested persons to file for candidacy for election in November to the school board.

Boardmembers whose terms expire at the end of the year include Hedstrom, Amber Sixberry and Tom Pietrzak.

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WST

Submitted Article

Ambassador Kailyn Johnson will travel to Minneapolis to participate in the Minneapolis Aquatennial Ambassador Scholarship Program. Kailyn will spend busy days capped by the Coronation of the 2017 Aquatennial Ambassadors Saturday July 23 at 4 p.m. at the Ted Mann Concert Hall on the University of Minnesota campus.

During her stay in Minneapolis some of the activities Kailyn will experience include leadership seminars at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis, private events, a Segway tour of historic Minneapolis, a ride in the Aquatennial Torchlight Parade, boat rides on Lake Minnetonka, private viewing of the legendary Target Fireworks and “Meet the Candidates” scheduled from noon until 2 pm Wednesday July 22 at City Center.

Candidates will also participate in several judged interviews throughout the week.

The 2017 Ambassadors will be selected based on a number of qualities including communication skills, volunteerism and leadership.

Kailyn has been dancing since the age of three, and has danced competitively since second grade. She also loves cheerleading, and will be continuing at the University of St. Thomas in the fall.

Living in Big Lake has been a dream come true, given her love of water, and makes her an ideal representative for the community.

Her senior year she decided to attend AnokaRamsey Community College as a Post Secondary Enrollment Option.

By keeping focused on the important things in her life she was able to earn 25 college credits to put toward her next year at St. Thomas, and feels it was worth the stress and sacrifices. Kailyn’s goal, after graduating from the University of St. Thomas, is to pursue a career in international journalism. She wants to travel and learn about other cultures around the world. She finds them intriguing and feels that observing and understanding them based on her own experiences would make her more open-minded and culturally educated.

It's been a fun-filled year for Kailyn! Her favorite part of her time as Big Lake Ambassador was making lasting impressions in her community. Having been able to make such close connections with so many different organizations and volunteers around town, she never truly gave up her position as an ambassador. Being an active volunteer and supporter of her community's growth will be forever a part of her. Kailyn’s role as Big Lake Ambassador will come to a close as she participates in the Minneapolis Aquatennial celebration and participates in the Aquatennial Ambassador Scholarship Program. Good Luck Kailyn!

Section:

WST

Subhead:

Staff Writer

Maggie Newman

Hannaha Oaks, Rose Curtis and Abby Yankee pose for pictures next to the judges after receiving their awards.

The 2016 DX Nationals were held in Brainerd over the weekend, with Jennifer’s Dance Centre and Tempo Dance returning home with lots of awards and a lifetime of memories. Nationals started Friday with Dance Competition, All American Interviews, Master Classes and the “Purple Party" Celebration.

Events continued throughout the weekend with the Extreme Dance Off finishing up Nationals on Sunday.Some of the accomplishments from Jennifer’s Dance Centre were the Shooting Stars dancers received the academic award which recognizes the team for having an overall grade point average of 4.0.Dancer Rose Curtis was crowned All American talent and scholastic, in which she had to write an essay, submit a report card, have a written reference from the studio, interview with the judges and perform her solo.Rose also won judges choice for future star on her tap solo. Abby Yankee received the distinguished leader award.The smallest groups of dancers were the star kids, ages 6-8. They received Platinum for tap and Platinum Elite for ballet and were awarded Best-of-the-Best high score of the day and also were Grand Champions at the Xtreme Dance-off. For duets and solos, Jennifer’s Dance Centre had two girls, Hannaha Oaks and Gianna Mitchell place in the finals with Melanie Miskowic winning first overall, receiving a crown and official DX jacket. Jennifer’s Dance Centre had seven girls who got the honor to dance with the parade of stars and they were Abby Yankee, Alex Dillon, Brooklyn Bengston, Kristian Kunkel, Rose Curtis, Gianna Mitchell and Kaily Buchta.

Jennifer’s Dance line was one of five dance lines to be chosen for the battle of the best which finished up national Sunday at 8 p.m. Jennifer’s Dance Centre is accepting registration for the upcoming fall dance classes. Tempo Dance Studio also did a fantastic job at nationals and some of the accomplishments that Tempo Dance Studio received were the Academic Excellence Award which recognizes well rounded dancers in both arts and academics. Tempo Dance won the spirit and sportsmanship award. This award was awarded to Tempo Dance studio by other dance studios by voting for them. It recognizes positive sportsmanship to dancers, studios and staff both on and off the dance floor. At the national competition there are three levels of competition, novice, intermediate and advanced.

In the intermediate level of competition, Tempo had several routines place in the top overall scores.Morgan McAlpin won the superstars skills kick competition and was nominated for an All American Award and was chosen as a distinguished leader for Tempo Dance Studio as well.

Tempo had five dancers chosen to perform in the Parade of Stars routine, which is a special routine that dancers have to earn their spot in order to dance in this group. Tempos five members were Tom Belde, Emma Curtis, Sam Hagberg, Madi Klatt and Madeline Peterson. Tempo is accepting registrations at this time for both summer and fall classes and are hosting auditions for our competition teams.

Section:

WST

Submitted Article

Fond memories of the early years, technological advancements over time, and getting to work with wonderful people are some of the comments echoed by several of the seven Big Lake Schools’ employees who retired at the end of this school year.

Collectively, the retiring bunch has 200 years of service at Big Lake Schools with Liberty’s media specialist, Linda Crompton, clocking the most at 40 years. Along with Crompton, maintenance supervisor, Mikan DeMars, is retiring with 39 years of service; high school FACS teacher, Beth Smith, with 33 years; Liberty’s office assistant, Sue Burgess, with 31 years; high school counselor, Pat Morningstar, with 29 years; district food service coordinator, Mary Klesk, with 18 years; and high school Language Arts teacher, Susan Hanson, with 10 years.

As you can imagine, these folks have no shortage of memories or stories to share. DeMars said he most fondly remembers moving out of the old schoolhouse in downtown. Burgess’s favorite memories were when she worked under elementary principal Rollie Olson.

“Rollie just kept such a light side to things,” Burgess said. “He allowed us to enjoy the work while working hard.”

With 40 years at Big Lake Schools, Crompton has certainly witnessed change. When asked what the biggest change over the years has been, she said the technology used and the population.

“The population has changed the greatest, but the change in technology has made a greater difference in how the district operates,” Crompton said.

Food service coordinator, Klesk, has likely had to deal with the most substantial changes over the past seven years under the Obama administration.

“It seems that changes have been constant since I first stepped into this job,” Klesk said. “Basically, all of the food choices, serving sizes, calories, etc. were completely changed.”

While a few plan to move to warmer climates, others are looking forward to spending more time with family, spoiling new grandbabies, and just not having any place to be at all.

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WST

Subhead:

Staff Writer

Ken Francis

CENTRACARE EMS Director Gordy Vosberg (left) and Operations Supervisor Frank Zinken outside the new operations center at the former Big Lake Police Station.

When CentraCare Emergency Services (EMS) opened its operations center in Big Lake in the former Big Lake Police station last month, it was a homecoming.

That’s because it used to be the home of the local ambulance service.

“The front part of this building was the original ambulance garage the hospital built,” says EMS Director Gordy Vosberg. “We housed two van ambulances. When a call came in, people would respond here, pick up an ambulance and go.”

For years, the EMS unit was located at the Monticello-Big Lake Hospital, says Vosberg. But it actually started in Big Lake.

“In 1965 or 1966, a couple in Big Lake, Joe and Doris Cook, started what is our ambulance service,” he says. “They operated out of their home with Cadillac ambulances until about 1979 when they sold the service to the Monticello Hospital.”

Vosberg was an EMS volunteer for a few years shortly after the hospital bought the service.

“They moved the service to Monticello and went from on-call volunteers to paid full-staffed rigs,” says Vosberg. “They also went to advanced life support.”

With advanced life support allows, as opposed to basic life support, paramedics can do advanced cardiac interventions, minor surgical procedures and administer a much broader spectrum of medications.

From the late 1980s through 2007 the service was run out of the Monticello Hospital.

Vosberg says he felt there needed to be some EMS presence in Big Lake to cut down on service call times.

“One bridge connects our primary service area, otherwise you have to go 12 miles in either direction to move across the river,” says Vosberg.

He set up a meeting with the Big Lake Fire Chief, who was also concerned about rail traffic in Big Lake blocking ambulances. “He offered us a place in the fire station,” he says. “At that point we kept one crew in Monticello and moved the other crew to Big Lake.”

The fire station had garage bays for two ambulances and crew’s quarters. That’s how the EMS operated until last month when the old police station near the corner of Hwy. 25 and Hwy. 10 in Big Lake became CentraCare’s EMS Operations Center.

“The fire station was a nice setup. But what we needed was a place to consolidate our operations. We had trucks in three different locations and our supplies were in various spots,” says Vosberg. “This building sits almost in the middle of our primary service are. We’ve got major access east, west, north and south. We’re able to hit our calls quite easily.”

And there are plenty of calls. From the start of the fiscal year (since July, 2015) the EMS received 3,107 requests for service, including 1,871 in the Monticello area, 687 in the Big Lake area and 401 in the Becker area.

“One of the things we’re proud of is our response times. We average 7.3 minutes,” says Vosberg.

In comparison, the Metro Area standard is 90% within 11 minutes.

“By pre-positioning these trucks, you can really reduce response times significantly,” says Vosberg. “And a short response time save lives.”

Vosberg says he started looking at the building last August.

“We toured the building and quickly realized this was the place we needed to be,” he says.

They closed on the building in late February and have been reconditioning the site. They removed an old break room and an evidence locker, added a garage door and widened the other two doors from nine to 10 feet. Now the site can house multiple ambulances and has a crew’s quarters.

Each day the Monticello crew picks up its ambulance and heads across the river.

A third truck is also located at the Becker Fire Station from noon until 8 p.m. to cover the peak afternoon period.

“One of the things that’s important to us is to maintain a presence in all the communities in our primary service area,” he says. “This started out as a community volunteer ambulance service with community members pulling together to cover emergencies.”

Being part of the community also means participating in local events.

“We cover Music in the Park, the Big Lake block party, Spud Fest, the Big Lake Fire open house, football games and we give day care tours. We want to give back to the community.”

“And sitting here in this building, we’ve come full circle,” says Vosberg. “We started in the building. We left the building and we’re back again.”

“We’re really excited to be back here.”

Section:

WST

Subhead:

Staff Writer

Ken Francis

George Eilertson from Northland Securities.

After a brief public hearing without public comment Tuesday, the Sherburne County Board adopted its 2016-2020 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

Adopting the plan is another step to move ahead with the Government Center Expansion project.

Over the past year, the county has been working to get final architect’s plans and cost estimates for the project.

Preliminary estimates last December put the cost at about $44 million. But in April, Doug Wild of BWBR Architects and Patrick Sims, construction manager from Adolfson and Peterson said the cost will likely be closer to $63 million.

The county asked its financial advisor, Northland Securities to look at ways to finance the project.

Tuesday, Administrator Steve Taylor explained why the county developed the CIP.

“It has been determined that the county will likely bond to finance a portion of the project cost,” he said. “In consultation with the county’s financial advisor, the lowest cost borrowing option appears to be general fund capital improvement plan bonds. In order to issue them, the county must have an approved five-year capital improvement plan.”

The CIP states the county intends to use between $15 and $20 million in existing funds to reduce the borrowing need, and intends to bond for up to $50 million to fund the balance of the project. The bonds are structured with a not-to-exceed 25-year term, with principal payments deferred until February 2020.

George Eilertson of Northland Securities said adopting the CIP is not a commitment to bond for the project.

“You’re not issuing bonds today,” he said. “It’s just giving preliminary approval to the concept of issuing general obligation capital improvement plan bonds.”

Eilertson said the CIP will help move things along if and when the board gives final approval for the project.

“As part of the process we worked closely with county staff, as well as architects and engineers in putting together the scope and timing of potential financing,” said Eilertson. “So that’s something that behind these scenes is actively being done as well.”

Bids for the site work and final costs for the project will be presented at the Aug. 3 board meeting.

Bridge Grant

The board approved an agreement with the MN Commissioner of Transportation, allowing the county to receive a $109,791.71 grant to fund a portion of the Co. Rd. 53 bridge replacement project. The county’s matching portion is $725,830.29. The project is slated for this year’s construction season.

Tobacco Licenses

The board approved tobacco license applications for Sand Dune Spirits (Orrock Twp.), Santiago County Store (Santiago), Frontier Liquor, Holiday Station Store 239, Jim’s Market, P & A Liquor, Speedway Superamerica 4535, Uptown Off-Sale and Casey’s General Store #3458 in Zimmerman.

The board approved five other tobacco license applications contingent on their local town board’s approval: Holiday Station Store 598 and SAFE Discount Liquor (Becker Twp.), Station Operations/ Sandune Stop (Orrock), Briggs Lake General Store (Palmer) and Ridgeway Bar Resort (Baldwin).

Other Business

In other action the board:

* Approved a three-year collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME Assistant County Attorney Unit;

* Approved a joint powers agreement with the State of Minnesota for the county to be reimbursed $0.04 per ballot in the event a recount is needed for the 2016 primary and general election;

* Approved the final payment of $4,550.77 to Helmin Construction for adding a right turn and bypass lane on Co. Rd. 9.

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WST

Subhead:

Office Manager

Gail Evans

CORRECTION: In the 6/25 issue under the article "Crompton 40-Years as a librarian" it should have been Katie Thompson, new assistant principal at Independence School, will be starting July 1. She succeeds Andrew Sawatske. 

Teresa Smock-Potter will still remain assistant principal at Liberty School. 

Section:

WST

Submitted Article

Congratulations to the new 2016/2017 Big Lake Senior and Junior Ambassadors
Pictured with the St. Paul Winter Carnival Court. Junior Ambassadors Allie Cross and Calissa Pisney. Senior Ambassadors Emily Langager, Salene Krueger, Jade Fruge and Natalie Seyko.

Section:

WST

Subhead:

Staff Writer

Ken Francis

The Sherburne County Board last week approved a request by the auditor/treasurer’s department to purchase new election equipment at a cost of $654,125.

The current AutoMARK equipment was purchased by the county in 2006 and according to Auditor/Treasurer Diane Arnold, has a high failure rate. It is used throughout the county.

With a Presidential election coming up in 2016, the county issued requests for proposal (RFPs) in October to three election equipment vendors certified in Minnesota.

All three demonstrated their systems at the Government Center. Although the low proposal came from Election System & Software (ES&S) at $512,638.51, the supplier of the AutoMARK, Arnold said the department recommended going with Dominion Voting, instead.

Arnold said ES&S wasn’t offering the AutoMARK, but the Express Poll system, which is not certified in Minnesota.

The third vendor, Hart InterCivic, was offering the Verity Voting System at $665,202. That system can’t transmit electronic results wirelessly as requested in the RFP, and the system requires Hart-sourced hardware for election result transmission online via Virtual Private Network (VPN).

The Dominion Voting Democracy System is an all-in-one optical scan tabulator and marking device that includes a wireless modem to transmit results. It automatically produces a complete summary statement that is approved by the Secretary of State.

Actual cost of the system is $489,640, with an additional $164,485 for a five-year license and firmware fee.

Arnold said the county’s share will be 52.4%. The rest ($233,068.34) will be paid back to the county by cities and townships, either up front, or over four years.

Attorney Contracts

The board approved the following contract renewals with state-mandated court-appointed attorneys: guardianship/ conservatorship - Cindi Spence; paternity/contempt - Patrick Fugina; commitment - Thomas Richards; sexually dangerous personality/sexually psychopathic personality - Ryan Magnus; children in need of protection (CHIPS) Amy Chantry, Cathleen Gabriel, with Lisa Rutland, Rhonda Magnussen and Meredith Boudrie as back-up; termination of parental rights - Amy Chantry and Cathleen Gabriel.

Trail Grants

The board approved designating Sherburne County as the sponsoring agency for funding for two projects in Becker. The first is federal funding for a Safe Routes to School project within the city. The other is Transportation Alternatives funding for a trail along Co. Rd. 24 in Becker.

Since the City of Becker is not a state aid city, the county must act as its sponsor in order to receive funding, said Engineer Rhonda Lewis.

“They won’t get funding from both, but they are trying for both” she said.

Other Business

In other action the board:

* Accepted a $31,784 Family Group Decision-Making Grant from the MN Dept. of Human Services to help offset the cost of county staff who conduct meetings in child protection and out-of-home placement cases;

* Approved an expenditure by the IT department of up to $85,000 to purchase a storage system to support Virtual Desktops;

* Approved an expenditure of up to $25,000 to purchase a mobile device management system that will ensure the security and integration of laptops and tablets within the county’s IT system;

* Approved the purchase of updated security software and equipment for master control from Stanley Integrator at a cost of $365,000.

Section:

WST

Subhead:

Editor

Gary W. Meyer

There was good news Wednesday for taxpayers in the Big Lake School District.

The district board sat down with their financial advisor, Jodie Zesbaugh of Ehlers and learned the interest rate on the sale of $4 million in general obligation building bonds would cost them $250,000 less in interest costs than expected.

The district sold the bonds at an interest rate of 2.0896 percent to Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., of Denver. Five other bidders had quotes ranging up to 2.3087%.

Total cost for principal and interest for the sale over the 17-year repayment period will be $5,168,000.

“That’s good news,” remarked Board Chair Mark Hedstrom.

“It’s great news,” said Zesbaugh.

The funds will be used to finance various security, electrical and athletic facility projects yet this year to the various schools and grounds.

The board will sell the remaining $5 million authorized from the successful May $9 million bond referendum for 2017 in January.

Meanwhile, work from the $5.4 milion February bond sale to fix deferred maintenance (state financed) projects continues. Among them are a $1 million re-roof of a portion of BLHS and a water mitigation, playground and parking lot reconstruction around BLMS and Independence Elementary will begin soon, to be done in time for the new school year.

More work will be done in 2017.

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Editor

Gary W. Meyer

SHIRLEE HEITZ, observing 30 years in the residential real estate business, at her office for Edina Realty on Humboldt Avenue in Big Lake. (Photo by Gary W. Meyer.)

Shirlee Heitz remembers that transition in her life.

For 10 years, she had served as office manager for a local medical profession.

But something was missing, she knew.

Shirlee was barking to get out on her own, to run her own business - to experience the highs and lows that come with being on her own.

“Real estate had always intrigued me,” she said. “I was just terrified at not having a paycheck. But I felt if I were to work as hard as I had (for the previous employer) I’d like to work for myself.”

She announced her career move by sending out 400 letters to residents and “was busy right away.”

So, she launched her career, selling residential real estate in 1986 for Realty World-Designer Realty of Big Lake.

It was the dawn of a career that has stretched 30 years - with the lady undoubtedly the most successful real estate agent in Big Lake’s history.

She figures she’s sold an average 50 properties a year for those 30 years.

She sat for an hour to talk about it last week.

She came into real estate in Big Lake at a good time. The community, with the exception of a few economic burbs since, has enjoyed a significant growth period.

She served with Realty World until 1997, then was with Century 21 until 2003.

Dynamics Real Estate was her program until 2008, then Edina Realty came calling.

But they wanted to move her to Elk River.

“No,” she responded. “I needed to stay in Big Lake.”

She liked the hometown feel and had been successful dealing with friends and neighbors.

Edina relented and offered her her own office on Humboldt Avenue in Big Lake, one of only two allowed away from their larger corporate sites, like in Monticello.

There, she has continued to do well. Her husband, Chuck, after retiring from teaching in Big Lake, and a daughter, Missy, have joined her. (Oldest daughter, Angie, serves as a closer in a local firm, so it makes for a family affair for the Heitzes.)

In fact, with one exception - 2008 - she has enjoyed busy times through all the past years at the Big Lake office.

How does it happen?

She leaned back on her Golden Rule, Heitz said.

“I thought about how I wanted to be trusted . . . the one constant throughout my career.”

She says 85% of her business has been by referrals - of satisfied customers. She’s sold to four generations in some families.

Her First Sale

Shirlee remembers her first sale - and the wonders it can do for satisfaction and career advancement.

Milt and Mabel, an elderly Big Lake couple, listed their Westwood Drive home for sale and Shirlee took over the project.

“It was a difficult transaction,” Shirlee remembers. But perseverence paid off and the couple was able to sell the home.

For weeks following, Milt would appear in coffee shops and gathering places, gushing with pride about “that little girl” who sold his house.

Others weren’t so easy, like dealing with an Indian firm to market a Big Lake home to a local resident.

The septic system had failed and needed to be replaced. But the (Asian) Indian contact didn’t know what septic meant, so the sale dragged on for nine months. She finally closed it, however.

Then there was the lady who looked at over a hundred homes in the county and whether she liked them or not, measured all of the cupboards.

She and clients have twice walked in on naked men - in the showers. The homes weren’t showed.

Lacking Training

Shirlee felt very unprepared to sell real estate, even upon completing her schooling and licensing.

The training wasn’t up to date - and it wasn’t thorough, she said.

That marked a phase in her career where she ascended to the top rungs of realtors associations, attempting to fix things.

At the Minnesota Association of Realtors in 1992, a friend of hers encouraged her to act on her concern - that education was insufficient for new agents and “didn’t tell us what happens in the real world.”

It led two years later to her involvedment with the National Association of Realtors, sitting on committees dealing with residential finance, education, financial instritutions, membership development and promotions.

In 2000, she was elected to the national board of directors for three years, then sat for three years on the conventional finance and lending committee.

Local Service

Shirlee has spent her time working with local groups to further business and social programs in Big Lake.

She served as president of the Big Lake Chamber for a few years, and was one of the original Big Lake Business Expo committee members.

“Spud Fest?”she said. “We were in the tents for years.”

But through it all, she leans on a thought process that has kept her busy and successful for 30 years.

Professional Standards Committee, she said. “The public may have an issue with a realtor and can bring it forward,” she said.

“I’ve learned so much from that, it makes me hyper aware of my need to not make mistakes.

“That my clients were informed and happy.”

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Staff Writer

Maggie Newman

Fiddlers performing for the crowd.

Smity’s Amateur Fiddlers’ Contest was held in memory of Lyle Smith and coordinated by the Big Lake Lioness Club. This fabulous even took place on Sunday under the big tent at Big Lake Spud Fest and was sponsored by the Big Lake Lioness and Ottem Insurance. Many people came out to listen and watch as young and old competed, and put on a great show for Spud Fest goers. Categories for Smity’s Amateur Fiddlers contest were: Beginners Group (Anyone who has only played for one year or under regardless of age, Junior (age 12 and under), Young Adult (ages 13-19), Adult (ages 20-60), and Golden (ages 61 and over).Cash prizes were awarded in the junior thru golden categories. 1st place received $25, 2nd Place received $20 and 3rd Place $15. Contestants that did not place received a 50 lb. sack of potatoes compliments of Hayes Potato Farms.All of the contestants played at least two numbers and one had to be a waltz. They also had to announce their numbers before they played them. After all of the fiddlers played their numbers they joined on stage and performed together. Winners for each category are as followed:Junior- 3rd place Heidi Schmnich, 2nd place Abigals Carey, 1st place Elias O’Brien. Young Adult- 3rd place Molly Trumble, 2nd place Holly Reyner, 1st place Abigail Inlow.Adult- 2nd place Kevan Soderberg, 1st place Walter Sigyermans.Golden- 3rd place Jan Sabraski, 2nd place Lee Cowan, 1st place Gilmore Lee.

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Staff Writer

Maggie Newman

Some of the brave people who dared to eat an entire ice cream cake at Big Lake Spud Fest

With temperatures in the 90’s on Saturday folks were looking for anyway to cool off at Big Lake’s Spud Fest. That’s exactly what some individuals did as they chose to enter in the Dairy Queen’s ice cream cake eating contest. Contestants paid $10 to enter the contest and were given a six-inch ice cream cake to devour for the chance to win great prizes. All of the money raised was donated to the Children’s Miracle Network to help kids in need.Eating ice cream cake sounds wonderful on a very sultry day but these contestants were second guessing their choice after the second of third brain freeze. The first place winner for the Dairy Queen ice cream cake eating contest second session is Marc Meneses, winning two free combo meals a month for an entire year! Taking second place, Maggie Newman winning two free Blizzards a month for an entire year and Tanisha Britton took third winning a free Blizzard. If you have what it takes to engulf a freezing cold ice cream cake, look for the Big Lake Dairy Queen’s ice cream cake eating contest at next year’s Spud Fest under the main tent.

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Staff Writer

Maggie Newman

After a great year of representing the Big Lake community, the 2015/2016 Ambassadors passed on their crowns Saturday at the Big Lake Jr. and Senior Ambassador Cornation, held at the High school.It was a fun and exciting coronation with lots of royalty from other communities including Delano, St. Francis, Annandale, Montrose, East Bethel, Winsted, Monticello, Ms. Minnesota world tour, Wright County dairy princess, Lester Prairie, Sherburne County Fair, Elk River, Maple Lake, Albertville, Mpls. Aquatennial, former Big Lake Ambassadors and the Royal Court from the St. Paul Winter Carnival! During the coronation, former Big Lake Ambassador Kailyn Johnson, who is participating in the Minneapolis Aquatennial Ambassador Scholarship Program was presented the Queens Charm by Aquatenial Ambassadors.Kailyn will spend a lot of busy days capped by the Coronation of the 2017 Aquatennial Ambassadors Sat., July 23 at 4 p.m. at the Ted Mann Concert Hall on the University of Minnesota campus. The Aquatennial Ambassadors presented Big Lake’s Mayor, Raeanne Danielowski with the Honorary Commodore Award. This award is presented at the coronation to an individual for being an outstanding community member recognized for volunteer work. The St. Paul Winter Carnival Royalty was at the coronation as well. With the Vulcans, Princes, princesses, king’s guard and of course the King and Queen of the snows (Big Lake’s own Alyssa Sigafus) it was defiantly a good time! The St. Paul Winter Carnival Royalty also presented an award to four amazing community members: Norm Vossen, Raeann Daneilowski, Dee Leslie and Dennis Nagorski for their outstanding volunteer work! As part of the coronation, each Ambassador shared a special memory with the audience.Kayla Robertson said her favorite memory was visiting all of the other Royalty at the St. Paul winter carnival and helping at the omelet breakfast. Allie Bahe’s favorite memory was playing kickball with the boy scouts before a parade.

Cady Shaw’s favorite memory was at the Monticello River Fest parade when their cd started to skip and the song from the Little Mermaid “kiss the girl” kept playing over and over.

Izzy Rasmussen said her favorite memory was at the Maple Lake parade when they won the costume contest. Jr. Ambassadors Ava Rain and Madeline Peterson both said their favorite memory was Twins Sparkle night.After a year filled with meeting new friends and helping in the community, the former Big Lake Ambassadors truly did an amazing job! As for the candidates, they spent almost a year preparing to be crowned the New Big Lake Ambassador. They helped at numerous events and have given countless hours of their time volunteering. Each Jr. and Senior candidate had to write an essay and collected food for the food shelf for the chance to win an award.The winner of the essay award for the senior candidates was Selena Kruger and the Jr. Essay award went to Allie Cross. Senior candidate Jade Fruge won the award for most food collected and Jr. candidate Alley Cross won most food collected the as well. Natalie Seyko won the award for selling the most spud fest buttons, selling 129!After all the visiting Royalty was announced and all of the awards were presented it was finally time for the moment everyone was waiting for. Jr. Candidates lined up and the first crown went to Alley Cross and the second crown went to Calissa Pishney. Next the senior Ambassador candidates lined up, while holding hands they hoped to hear their name announced.

The first awarded was Ms. Congenial and it went to Salene Kruger. The first 2016/2017 Big Lake Ambassador crowned was Emily Langager who was sponsored by River Wood Bank. The second Ambassador crowned was Salene Krueger who was sponsored by the Big Lake Fire Dept.The third Ambassador crowned was Jade Fruge who was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.

And the fourth and final Big Lake 2016/20017 Ambassador chose was Natalie Seyko.

Tears were flowing as the four new Big Lake Ambassadors and two new Jr. Ambassadors took the stage to sit with their Royal Court.

Congratulations to the new 2016/2017 Big Lake Ambassadors!!

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Staff Writer

Ken Francis

Marv Ziner of the Master Gardeners talks about bees, caterpillars and butterflies as kids look for insect eggs on tiger lilies and other plants duringTuesday's Day Camp at the Sherburne County Fairgrounds.

About 25 kids and 4-H counselors gathered at the Sherburne County Fairgrounds Tuesday for the third 4-H Day Camp of the season.

The fairgrounds was an appropriate location for the day camp entitled Charlotte’s Web Mini Fair.

“A mini-fair is a day where we talk about some of the project areas that are in 4-H,” said 4-H summer intern Tammy Putz. “Today we’re exploring the environment.”

The kids learned about different aspects of nature while doing hands-on projects that would be similar to something they would enter in the county fair.

The first project was learning about plants. Marv Ziner of the Master Gardeners was on hand to demonstrate how to transplant flowers and herbs and keep them growing.

The kids gathered around Marv as he identified different plant species like petunias, johnny-jump-ups (violas) and oregano and explained what they needed to grow.

When it was time for the kids to plant their own, Marv showed them about putting wood chips in the bottom of the pot for drainage, then adding soil to a specific depth for the plant.

He also talked about watering.

“What’s the best tool for determining if your plant needs water?” he asked. “Your finger. Touch the soil. If it feels dry, water it. If it feels wet, don’t water it.”

Each of the kids chose their own plant and went to work, following Marv’s instructions. It was their plant to bring home.

“Some of the plants they take home today, they would be able to exhibit in either the vegetable gardening or flower gardening project areas at the fair,” said Putz.

Then the kids learned about birds. Putz quizzed them on all the different types of birds they were familiar with in Minnesota. Then they made bird feeders using a bagel, peanut butter and bird seed. It was suspended from a ribbon for hanging at home.

“The entire thing is edible,” said Putz.

The kids also learned about one of the most popular activities in Minnesota - fishing.

Putz showed them how to make a fishing rig using a pop can, fishing line, hook, sinker and bobber.

“They can go fishing without buying a fishing pole,” said Putz. “It actually does work. I’ve tried it.”

Once they were finished, the kids went up the road to Orono Lake to test out their fishing rig.

Throughout the day, the kids also played games, learned rabbits and made another project - a leather keychain.

“This is a project they can enter into crafts or fine arts at the fair.,” said Putz.

It was a day filled with activities, learning and fun for kids. Some may decide to enter their projects in the fair, or use what they learned to make their own projects at home.

The Sherburne County Fair takes place July 14-17.

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WST

A loving father and a great community member

Kids 'make stuff' at 4-H Day Camp

Family Magic Show

The final medallion clue!

School budget at $50.6M

Crompton 40-years as a librarian with Big Lake schools

Johnson to participate in Aquatennial Scholarship program

Big Lake Dance teams perform at Nationals

200 Years of Service Waves Goodbye

EMS is back home again

CIP adopted to help fund expansion project

CORRECTION:

New Senior and Junior Ambassadors crowned

Election equipment will cost $654k

School to save big on bond sale

Shirlee's plan: Caring for her customers

Fun while fiddling!

A sure way to cool off at Spud Fest

A fabulous Big Lake Ambassador coronation

Kids learn all about county fair projects