8
St. Joseph Reaching EVERYbody! Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 Volume 24, Issue 2 Est. 1989 Town Crier www.thenewsleaders.com Presorted Standard U.S. Postage Paid St. Joseph Newsleader St. Joseph, MN 56374 Permit No. 21 ECRWSS Postal Customer Postal Patron Newsleader INSERTS: Culligan Midcontinent Gift-giving tree recipients thank community photo by TaLeiza Calloway The Wiese family of St. Joseph smiles during a family holiday photo. They are: Amara, 6; Amber; Morgan, 1; and Dominic, 9. contributed photo On the sidelines, Gary Fasching (front, in white) motions as he keeps a keen eye on the progress of a football game. by Mark Lauer [email protected] What if you were picked to take over for someone who was so honored, so well-respected, that the very thought of be- ing that person’s “replacement” seemed out of the question? And that no one, no matter how qualified, could ever fill those shoes again? Welcome to Gary Fasching’s world. On Nov. 19, St. John’s Uni- versity’s football coach, John Gagliardi, announced his retire- ment after spending 60 years at the school. Just say that to yourself once. Sixty years. Who stays at a job, any job, for 60 years? And dur- ing that time, plus four earlier seasons at Montana’s Carroll College (1949-52), Gagliardi es- tablished himself as the win- ningest college football coach of all time, compiling a record of 489-138-11 with 30 confer- ence titles (27 of them at SJU), plus four national champion- ships. And in 2006, he was also Fasching has ‘large pair of shoes to fill’ by TaLeiza Calloway [email protected] St. Joseph residents Troy Goracke and Matt Kil- lam didn’t let defeat in the Novem- ber general election deter their efforts to serve the community. The two will serve for the next three years on the city’s park board and planning commission. St. Joseph City Council members unanimously ap- proved several new appoint- ments to the planning com- mission, park board and eco- nomic development authority Jan. 3. Those appointments include adding Gary Osberg to the EDA lineup, Goracke to the park board and Killam to the planning commission. The park board also gained new leadership with the addition of Jodi Keehr. Planning com- mission members will see a fa- miliar face as Ross Rieke was reappointed. Chad Hausmann and Killam were also wel- comed. Dale Wick will serve as acting mayor, city adminis- trator Judy Weyrens said. There were three open seats on the city’s planning commis- sion. Those seats are held by commission chairwoman Sis- ter Kathleen Kalinowski and member Rieke, whose terms expired this month; and one additional open seat that ends in 2014. Planning commission members serve for three years. The planning commission meets at 7 p.m. the first Mon- day of the month at city hall. It’s an advisory board that manages city growth through implementation of the city’s comprehensive plan and zon- ing ordinance. The St. Joseph Park Board had two vacancies to fill. Sha- ron Young and Lonnie Abbot’s terms expired this year. The five-member board is charged Council hopefuls join city boards, commissions Tree • page 5 with helping the city provide well-maintained parks, open spaces and trail systems to the community. Park board mem- bers serve three-year terms and meet the fourth Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at city hall. Osberg was the only ap- pointment to the EDA. The EDA is a five-member board Goracke Killam Council • page 2 Fasching • page 4 Hospital requests healthy visitors only To protect our patients and staff, St. Cloud Hospital is dis- couraging visitors with fever or cough from visiting hospital- ized patients. Visitors who are healthy are advised to do the following: • Clean your hands after ar- riving and before leaving. • Always cover your cough or sneeze into a tissue or your sleeve. • Clean your hands after coughing and sneezing. Thank you for your cooper- ation during this challenging flu season. Individual tax preparer, tax site assistants sought Volunteers are needed at the St. Cloud VITA free tax site locations to assist as individ- ual tax preparers and tax site assistants. Tax preparers are responsible for completing in- dividual tax returns for low-in- come individuals and families. An all-day training session will be offered from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, and three evening sessions, Jan. 22, 23 and 24. If a volunteer can- not attend those sessions, al- ternate training is available. For more information, visit www. thenewsleaders.com and click on Criers. Farmers asked to remit apps for conservation The U.S. Department of Ag- riculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is accept- ing applications to help farmers improve water and air qual- ity, build healthier soil, im- prove grazing and forest lands, conserve energy, enhance or- ganic operations and achieve other environmental benefits. Funds are available for con- servation activities, such as irrigation water management, reduced tillage, field buffers, rotational grazing systems and much more. The deadline for the next sign-up period in Min- nesota is Jan. 18. Additional sign-up deadlines include: Feb. 15, March 15 and April 19. For more information, visit www. thenewsleaders.com and click on Criers.

St. Joseph V24 I2

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St. Joseph Newsleader Jan. 11, 2013

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Page 1: St. Joseph V24 I2

St. Joseph

Reaching EvERybody!

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013Volume 24, Issue 2

Est. 1989

Town Crier

www.thenewsleaders.com

Presorted Standard U.S. Postage Paid

St. Joseph NewsleaderSt. Joseph, MN 56374

Permit No. 21ECRWSS

Postal Customer

PostalPatronNewsleader

INSERTS:Culligan

Midcontinent

Gift-giving tree recipients thank community

photo by TaLeiza Calloway

The Wiese family of St. Joseph smiles during a family holiday photo. They are: Amara, 6; Amber; Morgan, 1; and Dominic, 9.

contributed photo

On the sidelines, Gary Fasching (front, in white) motions as he keeps a keen eye on the progress of a football game.

by Mark [email protected]

What if you were picked to take over for someone who was so honored, so well-respected, that the very thought of be-ing that person’s “replacement” seemed out of the question? And that no one, no matter how qualified, could ever fill those shoes again?

Welcome to Gary Fasching’s world.

On Nov. 19, St. John’s Uni-versity’s football coach, John Gagliardi, announced his retire-ment after spending 60 years at the school.

Just say that to yourself once. Sixty years. Who stays at a job, any job, for 60 years? And dur-ing that time, plus four earlier seasons at Montana’s Carroll College (1949-52), Gagliardi es-tablished himself as the win-ningest college football coach of all time, compiling a record of 489-138-11 with 30 confer-ence titles (27 of them at SJU), plus four national champion-ships. And in 2006, he was also

Fasching has ‘large pair of shoes to fill’

by TaLeiza [email protected]

St. Joseph r e s i d e n t s Troy Goracke and Matt Kil-lam didn’t let defeat in the Novem-ber general election deter their efforts to serve the community. The two will serve for the next three years on the city’s park board and planning commission.

St. Joseph City Council members unanimously ap-proved several new appoint-ments to the planning com-mission, park board and eco-nomic development authority Jan. 3. Those appointments include adding Gary Osberg to the EDA lineup, Goracke to the park board and Killam to the planning commission. The

park board also gained new leadership with the addition of Jodi Keehr. Planning com-mission members will see a fa-miliar face as Ross Rieke was reappointed. Chad Hausmann and Killam were also wel-comed. Dale Wick will serve as acting mayor, city adminis-trator Judy Weyrens said.

There were three open seats on the city’s planning commis-sion. Those seats are held by commission chairwoman Sis-ter Kathleen Kalinowski and member Rieke, whose terms expired this month; and one additional open seat that ends in 2014. Planning commission members serve for three years.

The planning commission meets at 7 p.m. the first Mon-day of the month at city hall. It’s an advisory board that manages city growth through implementation of the city’s comprehensive plan and zon-ing ordinance.

The St. Joseph Park Board had two vacancies to fill. Sha-ron Young and Lonnie Abbot’s terms expired this year. The five-member board is charged

C o u n c i l h o p e f u l s j o i nc i t y b o a r d s , c o m m i s s i o n s

Tree • page 5

with helping the city provide well-maintained parks, open spaces and trail systems to the community. Park board mem-bers serve three-year terms and meet the fourth Monday

of the month at 6:30 p.m. at city hall.

Osberg was the only ap-pointment to the EDA. The EDA is a five-member board

Goracke

Killam

Council • page 2

Fasching • page 4

Hospital requests healthy visitors only

To protect our patients and staff, St. Cloud Hospital is dis-couraging visitors with fever or cough from visiting hospital-ized patients.

Visitors who are healthy are advised to do the following:

• Clean your hands after ar-riving and before leaving.

• Always cover your cough or sneeze into a tissue or your sleeve.

• Clean your hands after coughing and sneezing.

Thank you for your cooper-ation during this challenging flu season.

Individual tax preparer, tax site assistants sought

Volunteers are needed at the St. Cloud VITA free tax site locations to assist as individ-ual tax preparers and tax site assistants. Tax preparers are responsible for completing in-dividual tax returns for low-in-come individuals and families. An all-day training session will be offered from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, and three evening sessions, Jan. 22, 23 and 24. If a volunteer can-not attend those sessions, al-ternate training is available. For more information, visit www.thenewsleaders.com and click on Criers.

Farmers asked to remit apps for conservation

The U.S. Department of Ag-riculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is accept-ing applications to help farmers improve water and air qual-ity, build healthier soil, im-prove grazing and forest lands, conserve energy, enhance or-ganic operations and achieve other environmental benefits. Funds are available for con-servation activities, such as irrigation water management, reduced tillage, field buffers, rotational grazing systems and much more. The deadline for the next sign-up period in Min-nesota is Jan. 18. Additional sign-up deadlines include: Feb. 15, March 15 and April 19. For more information, visit www.thenewsleaders.com and click on Criers.

Page 2: St. Joseph V24 I2

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013St. Joseph Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com2

Published each Friday by Von Meyer Publishing Inc.

P.O. Box 324 • 32 1st Ave. N.W. • St. Joseph, Minn. 56374Phone (320) 363-7741 • Fax (320) 363-4195 • E-mail address: [email protected]: Send address changes to ST. JOSEPH NEWSLEADER, P.O. Box 324, St. Joseph, MN 56374.

BP Gas StationCasey’s General StoreHoliday Gas StationKay’s Kitchen

The Local BlendSt. Joseph Meat MarketSt. Joseph Newsleader Office

Newstands

Contributing WritersTaLeiza Calloway

Cori HilsgenMark Lauer

Design/LayoutTara Wiese

Publisher/Owner Janelle Von Pinnon

EditorDennis Dalman

AdvertisingSales AssistantKathryn Bjorke

DeliveryGlen Lauer

BlotterIf any readers have tips con-

cerning crimes, they should call the St. Joseph Police Department at 363-8250 or Tri-County Crime Stoppers at 255-1301 or access its tip site at www.tricountycrimestop-pers.org. Crime Stoppers offers re-wards up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for crimes.

Dec. 5

8:23 p.m. Medical. Baker Street E. Boy, 6, ingested the contents of a “stress ball.” Unknown what it was. He was conscious, no breath-ing problems, but had stomach pain and vomiting. Poison control was called prior to officer’s arrival.

Also, the nurse line was contacted. Family was advised by Gold Cross private vehicle transport would be fine as boy was doing better.

Dec. 610:48 p.m. K-9 narcotics. CR

75/CR 134. Officer stopped a mo-tor vehicle for having a headlight and taillight out and smelled mari-juana coming from the vehicle. Officer found marijuana and para-phernalia in the vehicle. Issued citation.

Dec. 77:29 a.m. Theft. Birch Street W.

Female reported sometime during the night, two lighted deer were

taken from her front yard. A doe and a buck. Value of deer, $60.

Dec. 82 a.m. Unwanted guests. Pond

View Lane. Male reported he was having trouble with a couple of guests who could not handle the amount of alcohol they had con-sumed. The guests left on foot prior to officer’s arrival. Male said it was loud outside because of the argu-ment getting them to leave. He did not request any further assistance.

Dec. 91:51 a.m. Intoxicated male. Col-

lege Avenue S. Officer responded to a bus stop at CSB for an intoxi-

cated male who was passed out in the bathroom. Officer arrived on the scene and found male with his head in a trash can and vomit all over the bathroom. Party could not stand or take care of himself. Offi-cer contacted Gold Cross to check him out. A sober party came and signed off with Gold Cross. Officer cleared.

8:30 a.m. Damage to property. Minnesota Street W. Female report-ed a small walnut tree was broken off 12 feet above the ground. Value of tree was not provided.

Dec. 104:55 p.m. Opened mail. Elena

Lane. Male reported when he re-

ceived his mail from the mailbox today, he noticed two pieces of mail had been torn open. Com-plainant stated he will call if it happens again so corrective actions can be made.

11:16 p.m. Alarm. Minnesota Street W. Report of an alarm going off. Officer arrived and found all exterior of the building secure but could hear the alarm going off in-side. Officer waited for key holder to respond and they went through the building together. Everything appeared to be in order. It could be the person locking up took too much time leaving the building, setting off the alarm.

Glenn G. Deutz, 78St. Joseph

Jan. 24, 1934 - Jan. 1, 2013

G l e n n G. Deutz. Glenn, St. Joseph, died Jan. 1, due to complica-tions of Par-kinson’s dis-ease.

His funeral was held Jan. 5, 2013 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, St. Joseph. Burial was in the St. Joseph Parish Cem-etery.

Deutz was born Jan. 24, 1934 in Marshall, Minn., to Hubert and Cora (Kerkvliet) Deutz. He graduated from Mar-shall High School in 1951 and worked for his father at Deutz and Crow Ready Mix. He mar-ried Dorothy S. Dastych on June 28, 1954.

Deutz served in the U.S. Army in Heidelberg, Germa-ny during the Korean War. He returned to finish his degree and pursue his love of educa-tion. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. Cloud State University and went on to spend 33 years teaching chemistry and math at St. John’s Prep, St. Cloud Apollo and Tech high schools and spent one year teaching in

Melk, Austria. He also worked as an insurance and investment broker prior to retiring in 1997.

For the past 45 years, the couple made their home on Kraemer Lake in St. Joseph. As an active member of the com-munity, he will be remembered for his involvement in the orig-inal construction of the Ken-nedy Elementary School and the remodeling of the parish church, having served on both boards. Glenn was a member of the Lions, American Legion, Kiwanis and National Educa-tors Association.

Survivors include the fol-lowing: his wife of 58 years; son Michael (Jodi) Deutz and daughter Tracy (John) Deutz-O’Connell and grandson Ty-ler; brothers Ronald (Mary), Duane (Sharon), Loren (Lynn) and David (Chris), and sis-ters Antoinette “Toni” Ander-son, Dolores Pidcock, Marion Mulvahill, Judy (Alan) Olson, Gretchen Kellogg and Janet (Bob) Carlson.

Preceding him in death were his parents; brothers Hubert Jr., Mark and Tom; and sis-ters Marcella Crow and Arlene Deutz.

Deutz’s family said they will miss him, his supportive love, his wisdom and inspiration which he brought to their lives.

Obituary

Twenty St. Joseph students in grade sixth-12th were recently named to the fall semester head-master’s honor roll at St. John’s Preparatory School, Collegeville.

They are the following: Sarah Bresnahan, senior, daughter of Richard and Colette Bresnahan; Leela Cofell, junior, daughter of Monica Cofell; Zachary Dehler, senior, son of Al and Mary Dehler; Marisa Gaetz, fresh-men, daughter of Rick and Rose Gaetz; Lauren Kissela, eighth grade, daughter of Chad Kissela and Marcia Allard; Elizabeth Larson, senior, daughter of Keith Larson and Deb Stumvoll; Adam and Ben Lepinski, both eighth grade, sons of Alan and Lois Lepinski; Gabrielle Martone, junior, Grace Martone, eighth grade, and John Martone, sev-enth grade, daughters and son of Mark and Lisa Martone; Taylor Nydeen, eighth grade, daughter of

Lance and Pam Nydeen; Savan-nah O’Hare, freshmen, daughter of Amy O’Hare of St. Joseph and Peter O’Hare of Hixson, Tenn.; Clare Pfannenstein, sophomore, and Cole Pfannenstein, eighth grade, daughter and son of Patrick and Joan Pfannenstein; Emily Powers, sophomore, daughter of James and Bridget Powers; Sarah Schrup, sophomore, daughter of Tom and Myra Schrup; Luke Teigen, senior, son of Cliff and Marcia Teigen; Justin Terhaar, freshmen, son of Karl and Jody Terhaar; and Anja Wuolu, fresh-men, daughter of David and Lorie Wuolu.

Students attaining this honor have a grade-point average of 3.50 or higher.

Five St. Joseph students in grades sixth-12th, were recently named to the fall semester princi-pal’s honor roll at St. John’s Pre-

patory School, Collegeville.They are the following: Ilia

Bauer-Jones, freshmen, daughter of Stacy Bauer of St. Joseph and Zack Jones of St. Paul; Samuel Schrup, senior, son of Tom and Myra Schrup; Brenna Skahen, eighth-grade, and Thomas Ska-hen, sophomore, daughter and son of Sean and Jennifer Skahen, St. Joseph; and Kathleen Walz, freshmen, daughter of John Walz of St. Joseph and Susan Walz of St. Cloud.

Students attaining this honor have a grade-point average of 3.0 to 3.499.

Amanda Faber, St. Joseph, was recently named to the dean’s list at Valley City Sate University, ND. The honor is given to stu-dents who complete 12 semester hours or more with a grade-point average of at least 3.5.

People

contributed photo

The St. Joseph Lions recently presented awards during its awards banquet held Nov. 20 in Sal’s Bar, St. Joseph. Recipients were the following (left to right): Joseph Bechtold, Helen Keller Award; Joanne Bechtold, Dream Catcher Award; District 5M8 Governor Dave Thompson; Mary Stommes, Top Dog Award; and Jim Meyer, Top Dog Award.

appointed by the mayor and city council. Members meet at 5 p.m. every fourth Wednes-

day of the month at city hall. Board members serve for sev-en years. The areas of focus for the EDA include infrastruc-ture development, business recruitment, workforce devel-opment and market develop-ment.

Councilfrom front page

Page 3: St. Joseph V24 I2

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 St. Joseph Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com 3

St. John the Baptist Parish 14241 Fruit Farm Rd. • Collegeville

320.363.2569

Bingo playing 6-9 p.m. $1 per game

Cash prizes! FUN for all ages!

PARTY! sponsored by:

Friday, Jan. 11St. John’s Parish Center

Concession Stand Selling:Hot Dogs • Pizza • Candy

Popcorn • Beverages

Matching Grant

Alterations by Barbara C.• Expert bridal & formal wear alterations

• Master tailoring for men’s, women’s & military• Alterations, repairs, mending & custom sewing • Theatrical & historical re-enactment costuming

32 1st Ave. N.W. St. Joseph (behind the St. Joseph Meat Market)

320-310-2024

EYECARE

DESKTOP PUBLISHING

Mary Kay CosmeticsJoyce Barnes

St. Joseph 320-251-8989

Gateway ChurchWorship: 10 a.m. Sunday,

7 p.m. Wednesday, 6 p.m. Saturday

106 2nd Ave. NW St. Joseph (next to the Post Office)

320-282-2262 G Gateway Church St. Joseph

Resurrection Lutheran, ELCASunday Worship 8:30 & 11 a.m.

WoW! (Worship on Wednesday) 6:30 p.m.

610 N. CR 2 St. Joseph320-363-4232 www.rlcstjo.org

St. Joseph Catholic ChurchMasses: Tuesday-Friday 8 a.m.Masses: Tuesday-Friday 8 a.m.

Saturday 5 p.m.Sunday 8 and 10 a.m.

320-363-7505 St. Josephwww.churchstjoseph.org

Metro Plumbing & Heating545 8th Ave. NE

St. Joseph 320-363-7761

Von Meyer Publishing32 1st Ave. NW

St. Joseph 320-363-7741

Russell Eyecare & Associates15 E. Minnesota St., Ste. 107St. Joseph 320-433-4326

Dr. Jerry Wetterling103 N. College Ave.

St. Joseph 320-363-4573

Michael F. Contardo D.D.S.26 2nd Ave. NW

St. Joseph 320-363-4468

Drs. Styles, Cotton& Milbert

1514 E. Minnesota St., Box 607St. Joseph 320-363-7729St. Joseph 320-363-7729

DENTISTRYBEAUTY

CHIROPRACTOR

PLUMBING & HEATING

CHURCHES

by Cori [email protected]

For his decades of quality coaching, St. Joseph resident Jer-ry Lahr recently received the “Golden Crusader” award, Ca-thedral High School’s highest honor.

The award is given annually to one or more people who have helped the school achieve its goals throughout a long period of time.

Cathedral President Mike Mullen said Lahr received the 2012 award for his decades-long dedication to coaching and for his outstanding character and integrity. Lahr has coached hun-dreds of the school’s athletes.

Lahr is a 1953 graduate of Cathedral. He began coaching as a Parochial Athletic Associa-tion volunteer coach more than 50 years ago and continues to support the school as an enthu-siastic fan.

The PAA program was origi-nally established for students in fifth- through eighth-grade to offer students a chance to learn about and participate in sports. Lahr, who was a catcher for the area’s amateur baseball league for 29 years, was one of the first coaches for the program. He coached basketball and baseball and came into the program at the same time as other familiar names such as Dick Putz, Jack Hall and Albie Peckskamp.

Lahr said the PAA program was a strong athletic feeder program for all the area high schools and graduated many fine athletes.

After graduating from Cathe-dral, Lahr went to work for the Great Northern Railroad. He worked with the railroad for 44 years. During that time he was laid off and spent time drilling wells and welding for a pontoon company.

Lahr and his first wife, Kath-leen, had four children, Kevin, Tom, Theresa and Sandy. All four graduated from Cathedral High School. He never coached any of the teams on which they played.

Kathleen died from surgical

complications in 1976 when their children were between the ages of 8 through 15.

Lahr became reacquainted with the woman who is now his current wife at a class reunion. He and Bev dated for about six years until his children moved away from home before they married. Bev, a former special-education instructor for 34 years at St. Cloud State University, said Lahr is a “delightful person.”

Lahr’s job with the railroad relocated him to Lincoln, Neb. when his daughters were still living at home. His youngest daughter was in high school, and his oldest daughter had just graduated and was attending community college in St. Cloud.

Lahr said there were 96 peo-ple who got transferred with the railroad. Many of them were travelling back and forth from Minnesota to Nebraska as he did.

Lahr commuted back and forth every weekend before suf-fering a stroke on Friday, Jan. 13, 1989 while he was up on scaf-folding on a railroad car.

Lahr said he was required to see the company doctor every four months for a period of time before the doctor determined he could no longer return to work because of the stroke. Lahr was 59 years old at the time.

After Lahr’s stroke, St. Cloud resident and 1966 Cathedral graduate Don Bellmont asked Lahr if he would consider help-ing coach PAA baseball for the year. Lahr had been Bellmont’s sixth-grade basketball coach. Bellmont’s children were in the PAA program at Sts. Peter, Paul and Michael school. Lahr ended up helping for six years before retiring after 40 years of coach-ing.

Bellmont said Lahr had a mild-mannered approach to coaching and set that good ex-ample for the athletes at a time when many coaches took a more aggressive approach.

Bellmont said Lahr helped prepare a lot of young athletes for their successful athletic ca-reers at Cathedral.

Lahr, who is now 77, said

photo by Cori Hilsgen

St. Joseph resi-dent Jerry Lahr recently received Cathedral High School’s high-est honor, the “Golden Cru-sader” award for his many years of coaching and supporting the school. At Lahr’s left is his wife, Bev.

L a h r r e c e i ve s ‘ G o l d e n C r u s a d e r ’ awa rdhis leg was stiff for a period of time after his stroke. However, he feels very fortunate when he sees other stroke victims. Through the years, he has also had knee and hip surgeries and a severe stomach bleeding prob-lem during which he lost 20 units of blood and almost didn’t recover.

Throughout it all, Lahr has actively volunteered in the com-munities where he has lived. He was inducted into Cathedral’s Hall of Fame in 1997. Currently, Lahr remains active as a church lector, working with Meals on Wheels, helping with Toys for Tots and volunteering with his parish – St. Boniface in Cold Spring.

More than 250 people at-

by TaLeiza [email protected]

The St. Joseph City Council will hold a public hearing Jan. 17 to review ordinances to help deter underage drinking in the city. The hearing will take place during the regular council meet-ing, which starts at 7 p.m.

At its Jan. 3 meeting, city council members considered the addition of several law changes, including a disruptive-intoxica-tion law, social-host ordinance and a requirement permit for kegs in the city. No decision was made on the keg-permit fee, but residents of age who want to have a keg at a gather-ing could have to apply for a permit in the future. The City of St. Cloud charges $5.25 for keg

permits. In St. Joseph, no more than one keg may be located on a single property unit. St. Joseph City Administrator Judy Weyrens said staff is likely to recommend a charge of $5 for the keg permit at the Jan. 17 council meeting.

This is the second time the city has pondered a social-host ordinance, a law that holds people criminally responsible for hosting events or gatherings where people under the age of 21 possess or consume alcohol regardless of whether the host of the event supplied the alco-hol. St. Cloud has a social-host ordinance in place. According to staff, it has worked well for them, Weyrens said. St. Joseph Police Chief Pete Jansky said previously he thinks it’s a good

ordinance to have and is one that some landlords requested. St. Cloud City Attorney Matt Staehling came to the council meeting Jan. 3 to give more information about the law and answer any questions council members had.

Janksy said previously the public intoxication law will assist with problems law en-forcement has with large unruly crowds. The proposed law states no person, while intoxicated in a public place, shall conduct himself or herself so as to be a danger to themselves or oth-ers and/or engage in a public disruption.

Drafts of the proposed law changes will be available at the meeting in case officials choose to adopt them, Weyrens said.

Public hearing set to tackle alcohol-related ordinances

tended Lahr’s award ceremony held at the Gorecki Center in St. Joseph. His two daughters flew in from Colorado and one son drove from Rapid City, S.D.

Lahr has 10 grandchildren

and one great-grandchild. Many of them also attended the event.

“I was very honored and a little surprised to receive the award,” Lahr said. “It was just a wonderful evening.”

Page 4: St. Joseph V24 I2

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013St. Joseph Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com4

32 W. Minnesota St.363-7505 x 150

[email protected]

OPEN HOUSEFriday, Jan. 254:30-6 p.m.

Families are invited to learn about the great opportunities at All Saints Academy by meeting with teachers,

staff and parents of current students.Games and activities will be available

for children at the Open House.We offer:

All-Day Everyday KindergartenMontessori Preschool

Christ-Centered EducationSmall Class Sizes

After-School ChildcareMany Enrichment Opportunities

St. Joseph Campus

HELP WANTED: Sales Professional/CSR - St. JosephEmail resume to [email protected] or call 320-363-7800.

320-363-7800 • 111 College Ave. N. #2 • St. Joseph, MN 56374

Michael R. GrussingLicensed Insurance Agent

named to the NCAA College Football Hall of Fame while still an active coach.

That is one large pair of shoes.

But on Dec. 28, Fasching was chosen to be the next head football coach at St. John’s after spending the past 17 seasons as a defensive assistant. His ap-pointment ended a month-long replacement search.

The last time a new head coach was hired at SJU, the president of the United States was named Eisenhower. Ga-gliardi’s tenure and his teams’ accomplishments would be-come the stuff of legend.

Fasching was one of 25 original applicants for the head coaching job. In mid-December he made the list of three final-ists, chosen by the 10-member selection committee. The other two finalists, also Johnnie grad-uates, were Mike Grant and Kurt Ramler. Both Grant and Ramler have achieved coaching success

of their own, at the high school and college levels. Fasching ex-pressed his admiration for his fellow finalists.

“I have a ton of respect for both of those guys,” he said. “I was going to trust whatever the committee decided. No matter who they selected, St. John’s was going to get an excellent coach.”

Fasching knows only too well what a tough act Gagliardi is to follow. He credits his former mentor for being “the best in the business.”

“We’re never going to see an-other John Gagliardi,” he said. “He let his assistants do a lot of the coaching. What I have to do is work hard to be ready, and to make sure my team is ready for this season.”

It would come as no surprise to hear Fasching express his willingness to work hard. He was raised on his parents’ dairy farm in Winsted, Minn. (about 15 miles northeast of Hutchin-son) as one of 15 children, working to help with the dai-ly chores. Anyone who comes from a family of 15 knows a little something about working to get what you want. And the

experience also taught Fasching something about what he want-ed, or didn’t want, out of life.

“I could tell that it (dairy farming) was never going to be my passion,” he says. “My dad was the hardest worker I’ve ever known. But it wasn’t going to be in my plans.”

Fasching was a product of the Winsted parochial school system, and graduated from Winsted Holy Trinity in 1977. He was recruited by Gagliardi, and eventually made a visit to the Collegeville campus, with the encouragement of his high school coaches.

“They thought that St. John’s would be a good spot for me,” Fasching recalls. “They (St. John’s) had just come off a national championship season in 1976. When I first came up here to make a campus visit, the people were all so welcoming and made me feel comfortable. That sort of stuck in my mind.”

Then there was the Gagliardi method, his well-documented set of standards and policies for just how a college football team should conduct itself, on and off the field. No hitting or tackling in practice. No goals, just high

expectations. No traditional cap-tains; all seniors share this hon-or. No lengthy calisthenics. No trash talking. No rules, except the Golden Rule. It goes on and on, Gagliardi’s List of Nos.

“That (Gagliardi’s method) was intriguing to me, also,” Fasching said. “It took some getting used to, because when I first came up here, I was like a lot of the other guys. I wanted to do some hitting. But when I saw how they went about things here, and the fact they did the things they did and won like they did, I accepted it.”

Fasching played four seasons under Gagliardi, the last three as a starting linebacker. After grad-uating in 1981, he eventually became the head football coach at St. Cloud Cathedral in 1986, where he led the Crusaders to State Class B championships in 1992 and 1993.

Soon thereafter, Fasching re-turned to St. John’s in 1995, coaching the defensive line. When he took the job, he felt reasonably certain his chance to be a head coach would come eventually. After all, by this time Gagliardi had been at SJU for more than 40 years, and was nearly 69 years old. At that age, most men are kept busy by play-ing golf, going fishing or work-ing as Wal-Mart greeters. Not coaching football.

“I thought John might stay around for another 10 years,” Fasching said. “I’m a pretty pa-tient man.”

He needed to be. That chance

wouldn’t come for almost 20 years.

This is a busy time of year for a college football coach, as they work on recruitment tasks for the next season. Days are long, and a lot of contacts have to be made. Fasching is working to put together his coaching staff for next year, and will soon be contacting his current players and letting them know what to expect in 2013.

St. John’s has missed the NCAA Division III football play-offs the past three seasons, something which hasn’t hap-pened since the late-’70s. In re-cent years, arch-rival St. Thomas has risen to the top of the Min-nesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Fasching knows the St. John’s alumni, well known for its fierce loyalty and passion for their alma mater, are very anxious to see the Johnnies return to their former stand-ing. He’s received an outpouring of congratulatory wishes from SJU alumni and supporters, but those wishes also contain the hope St. John’s will soon return to prominence in the MIAC.

“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Fasching warns. “But I feel good about getting things back on track, and get-ting the right people in place. Most times, when you’re hired as a new coach, that means the previous coach was fired, and the program is in shambles. But that was not the case here.

“John didn’t leave the cup-board bare.”

Faschingfrom front page

Silvas at right place, right time for St. Joseph McDonald’s

photo by Dennis Dalman

Joseph and Valerie Silva are the proud owners of the new Mc-Donald’s restaurant in Sartell, which will have a grand opening Jan. 29 as a fundraiser for the Brian Klinefelter Foundation.

by Dennis [email protected]

A happy series of coinci-dences convinced Joseph and Valerie Silva they’d made the right choice when they decided to move from Chicago to cen-tral Minnesota.

The Silvas are the owners of the new McDonald’s restaurant in St. Joseph. They also own two McDonald’s in Waite Park and one in Avon.

Although the St. Joseph Mc-Donald’s opened Dec. 31, there will be a grand opening Tues-day, Jan. 29 during which a portion of all sales will go to the Brian Klinefelter Founda-tion. The fundraiser is a tribute to one of the coincidences. Jo-seph Silva was for many years a police officer in Chicago, where he and Valerie grew up. One of

the first people the Silvas met in the St. Cloud area is Wendy Tragiai, the widow of Brian Klinefelter, a St. Joseph police officer shot to death during a traffic stop on Jan. 29, 1996. Helping a foundation like the Brian Klinefelter Foundation was exactly what the Silvas had in mind when they moved to Minnesota.

Eerily enough, their new Mc-Donald’s is just a stone’s throw away from where Klinefelter was killed on that cold January night.

The Silvas have a soft spot in their hearts for police officers because they know the stresses, strains and dangers of the job. Joseph’s father was the Cook County Sheriff in Chicago for many years, and he has many cousins who are officers.

Valerie worked at a McDon-

ald’s in Chicago for 20 years. She and Joseph decided it was time for a change. He quit police work and both became McDonald’s owners. Then they began pondering a chance to relocate. They had three re-quirements that had to be met before moving to a new place:

1. A good school system.2. A good medical system,

partly because their eldest daughter suffers from severe asthma.

3. A good, safe, family-ori-ented place to raise their two children.

Valerie had told McDonald’s personnel she would move in one direction and one direction only – south. She had become weary of Chicago’s sometimes bitterly cold winters. When she heard about opportunities in

McDonald’s • page 8

Page 5: St. Joseph V24 I2

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 St. Joseph Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com 5

www.jlwchiro.com

St. Joseph Family ChiropracticGet back into the swing of life

Dr. Jerry Wetterling363-4573103 n. College Ave St. Joseph

Walk-ins Welcome

by TaLeiza [email protected]

The St. Joseph Park Board is seeking volunteer partners to assist with improvements to Clo-verdale Park.

Park Board Chair John An-derson said the board is look-ing for volunteers to help in reducing the cost of the project. Board members earlier this year budgeted $25,000 for improve-ments to the neighborhood park. Anderson would like to see if the cost could get as low as $18,000

with community partnerships.Improvements include the ad-

dition of a gazebo in the middle of the park, plantings and a weaving walkway around the park. If the cost is reduced, board members hope to add pas-sive play equipment, Anderson said.

“It will be a contemplative park,” Anderson said when up-grades are complete. “It will be less active recreation and a little bit more of an area for people to sit and ponder life.”

Park improvements are slated

for completion next year with some work starting as early as Earth Day, Anderson said. A possible Earth Day project would be assisting in tree planting at the park along with the regular clean-up projects that occur an-nually.

Improvements to Cloverdale Park are part of the city’s mas-ter park plan. Created in 2008, the park plan proposed upgrades that include the addition of a gazebo, labyrinth, a walking trail, granite monuments, and landscaping and other site ame-

Park Board seeks volunteers for Cloverdale projectnities, according to city docu-ments. The estimated cost of the proposed improvements is about $230,000, according to planning documents.

“It’s in the master park plan,” Anderson said of the improve-ments. “It’s estimated at a quar-ter million dollars for all the

(proposed) improvements. We’re trying to do it at a tenth of the cost.”

Those interested in collabo-rating with the park board on the Cloverdale project can email Anderson at: [email protected].

by TaLeiza [email protected]

On a Monday afternoon, Amber Wiese waits for her daughter, Amara, 6, to arrive from school and her 1-year-old daughter, Morgan, to awake from her nap. Her oldest child, Dominic, 9, has a few hours yet before he’s done with school. Her home is calm as she talks about how grateful she is to those who supported the local Giving Trees this year.

The Wiese family was one of five families to benefit from the Giving Tree project’s gen-erosity.

The 30-year-old mother of three was surprised when she got the call last month alerting her that she and her children had been selected as a family this year. Amara attends KID-STOP at Kennedy Community School in St. Joseph. Wiese said organizers contacted lead-ers of the after-school program at Kennedy for suggestions of who to assist and they gave them Wiese’s name.

“I was big-time surprised,” Amber Wiese said with a smile. “It’s a blessing.”

The St. Joseph resident used to work in a local Head Start program so she was a bit fa-miliar with the program. When she went to pick up the pres-ents, that familiarity turned to amazement. They had a pile of gifts for each member of the family. From a variety of clothes and toys to a $100 gift

Treefrom front page

photos by TaLeiza Calloway

Above: Amara and Morgan Wiese play with some of their Christmas presents Jan. 8. Morgan (right), en-joyed one of the books she received. Right: Presents received from the local gift-giving tree in St. Joseph are piled up in Amber Wiese’s home before the holiday.

card to Coborn’s, there were about 60 gifts total, she said.

“I really want to thank them for their kindness, generosity and support for my children and myself,” she said. “It’s amazing to see a community take care of one another.”

As a single parent who at-tends school full-time, Wiese will tell you her life has not been an easy one. She said there is a belief about low-in-come families that supports the idea all they want is a handout and they are comfortable with their situation. Her response is, “We’re doing the best we can and should not be ashamed of needing assistance.”

Living in poverty is beyond most people’s imagining, Wi-ese said.

“We’ve sacrificed a lot,” she said of her family. “It’s hard to accept the realization of where you are and that you need help. Living in poverty is some-thing you can’t understand un-til you’ve experienced it.”

Wiese is a junior at St. Cloud State University. She is working on a degree in social work and wants to work in child-protection services. She is three semesters away from her degree. She was also recently elected vice president of the Student Social Work Associa-tion at SCSU.

Wiese lights up as she talks about her children. Amara is in kindergarten at Kennedy Com-munity School and Dominic is in his fourth year as a student in the Chinese immersion pro-gram at Madison Elementary School in St. Cloud.

The hardships and sacrifices she has experienced include not working so she can spend

more time with her children and continue her education. Not working means a sacrifice of material things and opportu-nities, but the family stays busy with community and church involvement. Amara was born at 24 weeks and has special needs. She was in the neona-tal intensive care unit for six months.

Through it all, their faith remains strong. The family at-tends Resurrection Lutheran Church and Gateway Church in St. Joseph. When Wiese told Dominic he might share the story of how they received the Christmas gifts, he said, “They bought them, but God inspired them to give them to us.”

Family Giving Trees are or-

ganized by local organizations to help low-income families. Little trees with lists of needed items were located throughout the city. This was the first year the Wiese family was selected. Wiese said she looks forward to being in a position to help others just as the community helped her.

Page 6: St. Joseph V24 I2

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013St. Joseph Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com6

With a new year comes a new beginning. It’s a time to start over and attempt to become a better you. I love it. The year 2013 is sure to be a good one. Why? Here’s why.

One of the best things about a new year is it offers the chance to make new resolutions or even re-commit to the ones we didn’t quite hit in 2012. It’s not often we get a do-over. Embrace it.

Social media is a great way to stay in touch with friends and fam-ily. This year I took to it to see what their plans were for the New Year. I was surprised at what I observed in the news feed. Sprinkled between the messages of hope and proclama-tions to worry less, live more, save money and be healthier, were critics of those who make resolutions.

I read a lot of, “What’s the use of making a resolution you won’t keep?” or “I plan to be the same as I am now this year,” and the occa-sional, “Don’t waste your time with resolutions.” They have a right to feel how they want to feel. After all, they may have tried making resolu-tions in the past and it didn’t work

out for them. And that’s OK, but don’t knock those of us who aspire to be better or who want to give pre-vious resolutions another go. There is nothing wrong with setting goals. That said, when we set goals, we have to work hard to achieve them.

I read an article on goal-setting-guide.com that can help those of us who haven’t given up on resolutions stick to them throughout the year. The article suggested five things to note as we make resolutions and at-tempt to tackle them. The first is to make the resolution specific. While many want to be more proactive in their fitness journeys in 2013 – me included – we should target a specif-ic weight-loss/gain amount to help guide our journeys. The same can be applied to saving money in the new year. It’s easy to say, “I want to be more frugal,” but another thing to say, “I want to consciously put away

$20 from each paycheck to help me save more.” And, it’s all much easier said than done.

Other suggestions from the ar-tice include making our resolutions known to others, making them mea-surable by time and making them fun and rewarding. Of the five sug-gestions, I like the advice to measure it and be specific about what you’re trying to achieve. I live in a dead-line-oriented world and saying to myself, “I’d like to lose 10 pounds by May 1” might stick in my mem-ory more than just saying I want to lose weight by May. That’s just me. Specifics do make a big difference.

About 45 percent of Americans usually make New Year’s resolu-tions, according to the Journal of Clinical Psychology (University of Scranton). About 38 percent never make them and about 8 percent are successful in achieving their resolu-tions, data shows. It can be hard to maintain resolutions but they are still worth making. If nothing else, they can be rewarding if achieved or offer new lessons along the way. Stick with them.

Opinion

Fairness and ethicsNewsleader staff members have the respon-

sibility to report news fairly and accurately and are accountable to the public. Readers who feel we’ve fallen short of these standards are urged to call the Newsleader office at 363-7741.

If matters cannot be resolved locally, readers are encouraged to take complaints to the Min-nesota News Council, an independent agency designed to improve relationships between the public and the media and resolve conflicts. The council office may be reached at 612-341-9357.

Our View

Send your opinions to:The Newsleaders • P.O. Box 324 • St. Joseph, MN 56374

or email us at [email protected]

TaLeizaCalloway

Reporter

Don’t give up on your New Year’s resolutions

Most people’s New Year’s resolutions probably involve some form of dieting. And that’s a good thing because we are quickly becoming a nation of lard. One-third of all American adults and one-sixth of all children are obese.

There are many reasons for the obesity epidemic: lack of exercise as more people become sedentary with their computers, their remote controls, their couches; an increasing habit of people eating starchy fast food on the run; a lack of nutritional knowledge; and the terrible habit of eating sugary foods.

Researchers are finding sugar to be a veritable di-etary villain, so much so that every sugar bowl should probably be printed with a skull and crossbones.

Most of us know dieting can be so difficult, so dis-couraging. Many seek the impossible (a miracle diet), but effective dieting involves lifestyle changes that in-clude eating habits, the portion sizes of meals, types of foods chosen and even emotional patterns (highs and lows) that can compel some to head for the kitchen or fast-food eatery.

Most dieticians recommend an incremental ap-proach to dieting, changing one’s foods and intake amounts gradually over time. It’s next to impossible to make the necessary life changes overnight.

In this new year, 2013, those who resolve to diet should begin incrementally with one step: cut out as much sugar from the diet as possible. Recent scientific studies show sugar can be downright toxic because of its devious presence in so many of the foods we eat.

Too much sugar can lead to obesity and all the problems associated with being overweight. Sugar can also wreak havoc with the liver, kidneys and heart. The statistics are absolutely alarming. Nearly 20 million Americans have Stage I kidney disease, and that is a direct result of high blood pressure and diabetes, both of which are also on the increase.

Table sugar, as it’s known (also known as sucrose) is the worst kind of sugar. Its consumption has sky-rocketed in the last few decades throughout the world, and that is because of convenience foods, more and more sugar-based snacks and processed foods – many of which contain sugar, such as many breads. A can of soda pop, depending on the brand, contains the equivalent of anywhere from 3.4 tablespoons to 4.2 tablespoons of sugar. That’s not just a load of calories; it’s eventually a load of health problems.

The best step toward incremental dieting, accord-ing to most dieticians, is to start by drastically cutting down on sugar in the diet. When shopping, become a label detective and look for words such as these among the ingredients: corn syrup. sucrose, glucose, fructose. Those are all forms of sugar.

Don’t allow children to have easy access to so many sweets. It’s an awful way for them to start their lives.

Another incremental way to pursue a diet is to cut down on fats and salt. Start slowly, one step at a time, and the first step is to treat sugar as if it’s poison.

Want to get healthier? Cut out all that sugar

When Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” met President Abraham Lincoln in the White House, the great man supposedly said to her, “So you are the little lady who helped start this big war.”

That exchange is probably legend, but it’s a legend formed from truth.

Stowe’s novel hugely helped sway worldwide opinion against slavery. Pub-lished in 1852, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was the biggest bestseller in the 19th Century, second only to the Bible in sales.

As a literature student for years, I’d always heard “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was a hoked-up melodrama, oozing sentimen-tality. I knew it had spawned all kinds of negative stereotypes of Afro-Americans, including the subservient victim, Un-cle Tom; and the charming sassy child, Topsy.

I never wanted to read it, even though I was aware of its importance as a force for social change in its heyday. Recently, a book club sent me a copy of it, and I decided to give it a try.

After reading the first pages, I was stunned by how good it is, and I couldn’t put it down. I am now convinced it’s the most unfairly neglected novel in all of American literature. Yes, it has its share of sentimentality and melodrama, as most novels typically did in the 19th Century. However, as a stringent anti-dote to those aspects, the book is filled with scenes of harrowing, brutal realism; heartbreaking depictions of families be-

ing ripped apart by slave traders; and the most vicious cruelties (physical and men-tal) perpetrated against slaves by their “masters.” In fact, the book is downright incendiary in its evocations of the evils of slavery, so much so it makes one’s blood boil with anger about that shameful era of American (and world) history.

“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is a story of interconnecting plots about slaves and plantation families in various places. Characters include slaves Eliza, her hus-band and son, who manage to escape to the north, all the while being hounded by slave chasers; a “genteel” plantation owner and his slaves, one of whom is Un-cle Tom and another being a saintly little white girl, Eva, who teaches Tom the Bible; the irrepressible slave girl Topsy; and – at a hellish place down river – the sadistic plantation owner Simon Legree (originally a Northerner).

Yes, on the surface, the novel is a page-turning potboiler. However, a close reading reveals impressive complexities. For one thing, Stowe brilliantly exposes the notion there are “good” plantation slave owners. Though many were not as cruel as Simon Legree, they were all bad

because the institution of slavery itself is evil.

In bold strokes of genius, Stowe evokes the horror of slavery through its heartbreaking consequences – the split-ting apart of black families whose mem-bers, including children, are sold to work like domesticated animals in faraway places. Stowe’s vision of those terrors are placed within a highly matriarchal context in which she shows the strength of mothers under such unthinkable pa-triarchal oppression. Stowe, a feminist as well as an abolitionist, was one of the towering forerunners of the later women’s movement.

“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” also ingenious-ly explores various coping behaviors slaves developed to survive. Uncle Tom is an example of passive resistance to violence. He keeps telling Legree he may own his body, but he will never own his soul. Topsy tries to preserve her in-ner freedom by very shrewd “comical” antics that include mimicry, imagina-tive play-acting and stubborn but “cute” disobedience. Topsy and Tom are not as simple-minded as some detractors of the book have claimed.

Stowe, by the way, based her book on scrupulous research. I highly recom-mend “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” In its shock-ing violence, its heartbreak, its complex explorations of slavery, its breathless storytelling pace and even its occasional humor, it’s a novel you will not be able to forget.

Dennis Dalman

Editor

‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ packs a punch

Page 7: St. Joseph V24 I2

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 St. Joseph Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com 7

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Friday, Jan. 11Blood drive, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.,

St. Cloud Blood Donation Center, 1301 W. St. Germain St. 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcross-blood.org.

Preventing falls, a Senior Enrichment Session, 10-11 a.m., Whitney Senior Center, 1527 Northway Drive, St. Cloud. 320-255-7245.

St. Joseph Farmers’ Market, 3-6 p.m., Resurrection Lutheran Church, Fellowship Hall, 610 North County Road 2, St. Joseph. www.stjosephfarmersmarket.com.

Bingo party, a matching grant event sponsored by Catholic Unit-ed Financial, 6-9 p.m., St. John’s Parish Center, Collegeville. All proceeds go to religious education.

“Oklahoma,” performed by Homeschool Theatre, a group of home-educated youth from central Minnesota, 7 p.m., Calvary Com-munity Church, 1200 Roosevelt

Road, St. Cloud.

Saturday, Jan. 12“Oklahoma,” performed by

Homeschool Theatre, a group of home-educated youth from central Minnesota, 2 and 7 p.m., Calvary Community Church, 1200 Roos-evelt Road, St. Cloud.

Sunday, Jan. 13DivorceCare features nation-

ally recognized experts on divorce and recovery topics, 4-5:30 p.m., every Sunday starting today, Har-vest Fellowship, 400 2nd Ave. N., Sauk Rapids. 320-529-8838.

Monday, Jan. 14Blood drive, noon-6 p.m., St.

Cloud Blood Donation Center, 1301 W. St. Germain St. 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcross-blood.org.

Caring Conversations for caregivers of patients with cancer, 6-7:30 p.m., CentraCare Health

Community Calendar

Mattress Outlet

Sofa and Sectional Sets at Unbeatable Prices!

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LEgaL notICECity of St. Joseph

Public Hearing

The St. Joseph City Council will conduct a public hearing on Thurs-day, Jan. 17, 2013 at 7:15 p.m. to consider amending /adopting the following Ordinances:

1. Ordinance 74: Limiting Posses-sion of Kegs – proposed amend-ment will require securing a permit to possess a keg within the City.

2. Ordinance 112: Prohibiting Public Intoxication – New Ordi-nance prohibiting certain harmful conduct of intoxicated persons.

3. Ordinance 75: Social Host – New Ordinance to discourage un-derage possession and consump-tion of alcohol.

All persons wishing to speak will be heard and oral presentations will be limited to five minutes. Written testimony may be mailed to: City of St. Joseph, P.O. Box 668, St. Joseph, MN 56374.

Judy Weyrens, Administrator

Publish: Jan. 11, 2013

Plaza, St. Cloud. To register, 320-229-5199 ext. 70659.

Tuesday, Jan. 15Blood drive, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.,

St. Cloud Blood Donation Center, 1301 W. St. Germain St. 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcross-blood.org.

55+ Driver improvement course, four-hour refresher course, 5-9 p.m.. Apollo High School, 1000 44th Ave. N., St. Cloud. 1-(888)-234-1294.

Wednesday, Jan. 16Car-seat checkup, 3-6 p.m.,

Gold Cross Ambulance Garage, 2800 7th St. N., St. Cloud. 320-229-5139.

Thursday, Jan. 1755+ driver improvement

course (eight-hour first-time course), 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Life As-sembly of God, 2409 Clearwater Road, St. Cloud. 1-888-234-1294.

Coffee and Conversation, a senior discussion group, 9 a.m., Country Manor, Sartell.

Blood drive, noon-6 p.m., St. Cloud Blood Donation Center, 1301 W. St. Germain St. 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcross-blood.org.

55+ driver improvement course (four-hour refresher course), 1-5 p.m., Salem Lutheran Church, 90 Riverside Drive, St. Cloud. 1-888-234-1294.

St. Joseph City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall. 363-7201.

Friday, Jan. 18Blood drive, 8 a.m.-2 p.m..,

St. Cloud Blood Donation Center, 1301 W. St. Germain St. 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcross-blood.org.

Chicken and ham dinner, sponsored by the Lions of St. Jo-seph, 5-8 p.m., El Paso Club, St. Joseph.

Hours: Monday-Thursday Noon-6 p.m., Friday Noon-8 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. & Sunday Noon-5 p.m.

Tri-CountyHumane Society735 8th St. NE • PO Box 701

St. Cloud, MN 56302

252-0896www.tricountyhumanesociety.org

“Helping one animal won’t change the world … but it will change the

world for that one animal!”

Dogs - 15 Cats - 16 Mice - 9 Rabbits - 6 Kittens - 9

Come and get me! This is Linus, an adventurous 3-and-a-half-month-old orange-and-white neutered kitten. On top of being a ham for the camera, he’s a playing machine! Pull out a cat dancer toy and he is ready to hip hop the day away. Linus spent the past several weeks in foster care and we’re told he is quite curious and talkative. In his foster home he played with and talked to all ages of children as well as a few dogs!

Decker murder case leads to man’s suicideby Dennis [email protected]

The massive effort to lo-cate the killer or killers of Cold Spring-Richmond Police Officer Thomas Decker took a grim turn last week with the suicide of a

man described as a “person of interest.”

The case, however, remains under investigation, and author-ities were quick to point out there is no evidence the man who committed suicide is the one who killed Decker.

Now, investigators are re-questing anyone who knew the man to call authorities because they are trying to determine Thomes’ whereabouts a week or so before Decker’s death and in the weeks since.

During a Jan. 4 press con-

ference at the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, officials revealed Eric Joseph Thomes, 31, of Cold Spring, had hung himself on Jan. 2. At the time of his death, law-enforcement officers were trying to convince Thomes to come out of an outbuilding

where he had barricaded him-self several hours earlier. The officers had gone to Thomes’s residence to question him about the Decker case. At that time, Thomes ran from the house and into an outbuilding on the

Decker • page 8

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Friday, Jan. 11, 2013St. Joseph Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com8

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central Minnesota, she balked at the idea of living in sub-zero arctic winters. But her associ-ates kept reminding her, practi-cally nagging her, “Valerie, you have to admit it does fit all of your three requirements,” they would tell her. And, well, she had to agree with them.

So, after all was said and done, she and Joseph decided to give it a try and moved here five years ago. They haven’t been sorry, not even for a min-ute.

“It’s cold here, but it’s safe,” Valerie said. “We’re happy to be here. Everybody is so nice.”

Valerie is convinced all of the coincidences are mysterious reminders of how the greater St. Cloud area was “meant” for her family.

“Joseph” is her husband’s name and the name of the city where their new McDonald’s is

located.When the land for the res-

taurant was purchased, the Mc-Donald’s official who signed off on the deal originated from Chi-cago, the Silvas’ home town.

The Silvas admittedly are big-city Chicago city-slickers a bit green behind the ears; they don’t yet fully understand the rough-and-tumble ways of the Northland.

“Some guys want my hus-band to learn how to hunt,” Valerie said, laughing. “He al-ways tells them the only thing he ever hunted in Chicago was criminals and then tells them he’s done with that now.”

The Silvas have two daugh-ters – Sydney, 8; and Savanna, 6.

“We are all so happy to be here,” Valerie said. “And we are especially happy we were able to fill a community need in St. Joseph. Now residents have another choice for breakfast, dinner and supper without hav-ing to drive to St. Cloud. The college students should find the restaurant convenient too.

We knew there was a need for a McDonald’s here. It’s a good location. We came at the right time, to the right place.”

The St. Joseph McDonald’s is located at 1180 Elm St. E. near Coborn’s and the Central Minnesota Credit Union. It cur-rently employs 30 workers, but there will soon be a need for 55 workers, both full- and part-time.

The restaurant features a modern and comfortable seat-ing area, with five booths and other seating options. The in-side menu board is entirely dig-ital, featuring high-definition photos of the menu offerings. There is also a digitized order screen so when a customer’s order is ready, the receipt num-ber lights up on the big screen.

“The restaurant is the latest and greatest,” Valerie said.

McDonald’s hours in St. Jo-seph are 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun-days through Thursdays; and 5 a.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays.

McDonald’sfrom page 4

photo by Dennis Dalman

Valerie (left) and Joseph Silva have been training in the St. Joseph McDonald’s restaurant by working closely with their employees during the first weeks.

Thomes

property. After the three-hour standoff, officers entered the outbuilding and found Thomes had hung himself and was dead.

The day of the suicide was the second visit by law-enforce-ment officers to the Thomes residence. They had returned to talk to him again because he had made contradictory state-ments about the night of Deck-er’s murder in downtown Cold Spring.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced a 20-gauge shotgun as the weapon used to murder Decker on the night of Nov. 29, 2012 while

he was do-ing a wel-fare check in d o w n t o w n Cold Spring in the back lot of Win-ner’s Sports Bar and Grill. Decker was shot twice with that weapon and died at the scene. At the press conference, it was announced Thomes had access to the shotgun, which was on some other property than the place where Thomes lived. Of-ficials did not elaborate on the where or why of their statement.

Right after the killing of Decker, a man who lives above Winner’s was arrested and jailed – the man Decker had meant to visit that night because the police department received a

report the man may have been feeling suicidal. The man was released four days later from jail for lack of evidence.

The offer of a $100,000 re-ward for the solving of the Decker murder led to tips that caused authorities to interview Thomes as a “person of inter-est” in the case. Another tip was a black van or mini-van with a loud muffler that was seen near Winner’s Sports Bar and Grill at about the time Decker was shot to death. Authorities have located that vehicle and have impounded it.

Law enforcement has been contacting people and search-ing records to learn more about Thomes. He graduated from Ro-cori High School in 1999, and many people have described him as a nice, likeable indi-vidual.

Authorities also revealed Thomes had been arrested one day in 2011 for driving while in-toxicated and that he had been jailed several times in connec-tion with that incident. He had been charged with violating the conditions of his parole for the DWI case and had been sched-

uled to appear in court last week, but the hearing had been cancelled.

Investigators are hoping more information about Thomes’s whereabouts and actions dur-ing last November and through the month of December may help lead to more information for a final solution to Decker’s slaying.

Anyone with such informa-tion should call the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office at 1-877-782-5683, the BCA at 1-877-996-6222 or the BCA online at [email protected].

Deckerfrom page 7