Two Perfect Games in One Night at Borough Bowl
BPHS Third Quarter Honor Roll
Belle Plaine Gymnast Shines in St. Louis Page 17
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Page 17
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SECOND YEAR
75¢ SINGLE COPY
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, APRIL 24, 2013
NUMBER 17
World War II Veteran ‘Red’ Weldon Maybe Spring Really Will Arrive: Has Long Day Ahead on Saturday Recycle and Cleanup Day Saturday by Dan Ruud A one-day itinerary that would be challenging for even the most energized and youthful spring-breakers is in store this Saturday for 92-year-old Francis “Red” Weldon of Belle Plaine. Red, who served in the Army Air Force during World War II, will be among dozens of older veterans who will be making the flight to Washington, D.C., early this Saturday morning and returning to Minnesota late the same night. Red, who will be accompanied by his son Doug, is among those who were selected to be part of the April 27 Twin Cities Honor Flight, the purpose of which is “to fly America’s veterans to Washington to visit the World War II and other war memorials in honor of their sacrifices.” Red served from 1942-45 in the Army Air Force, which was the military aviation arm of the United States during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force. Red was an aerial engineer, which he said is a “glorified term for mechanic.” Red worked on large cargo planes in the South Pacific, including on Guadalcanal and Biak islands to name a couple. “We flew into a lot of islands in the South Pacific,” said Red, adding that he had served his time and was “on a boat home” when the U.S. dropped the bomb on Hiroshima that led to the war’s end. Red said the most memorable moment of his wartime islandhopping days came during a flight to Guadalcanal. It was nighttime and the plane had only a little fuel left. “It was scary. We thought we were going down in the ocean. It was very dark and you couldn’t see a thing. Then we saw a light and thought maybe it was the airport.” Fortunately, it was and the crew radioed in and was able to land safely “with 10 minutes of fuel left.” Red was one of four members of the Belle Plaine High School class of 1938 who served during World War II. Dave Fog-
Francis “Red” Weldon, wearing a St. John’s University shirt given to him by one of his grandchildren, said Monday that he is looking forward to this week’s trip to Washington, D.C.
Francis “Red” Weldon during his World War II Days. arty and Francis O’Brien, like Weldon, served in the Army Air Force, while Jack O’Connell was in the Navy. Red, the son of Chris and Helen (Hessian) Weldon, grew up on the family farm in Blakeley. He worked a number of years as a farmer and as a maintenance man for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Red and his wife, Cornelia, were married in St. Peter and Paul’s Church (now Our Lady of the Prairie) in 1948. They raised five children – Doug,
Chris, Colleen Morrison and Kathy Logelin. Cornelia died in 1997. Red said the Belle Plaine Rotary Club got the ball rolling for his trip to the nation’s capitol. It was Rotary Club member Fred Keup who notified him that he was selected to go. Red said he knew nothing about the trip until then. Red, who said he plays cards “almost every morning” at Neil’s Pub before heading back to Kingsway Retirement Living (he still drives), will have to greatly differ from his routine on Saturday. He and Doug, who lives in Golden Valley, are due to arrive at the airport at about 5 a.m. for a 6:15 a.m. Sun Country flight to Washington. At Washington, they will board a tour bus to the Iwo Jima Memorial, followed by stops at the Women’s Memorial at Arlington Cemetery before heading to the Air Force Memorial. Lunch will be available on the bus at some point and time.
Weldon
Rain, snow, sleet or shine, one spring ritual will take place this Saturday when the city of Belle Plaine and the local Lions Club team up to hold the community’s annual Recycle and Cleanup Day. It will be held from 8 a.m. to noon at the police department parking lot, 420 East Main Street. Temperatures are forecast to be in the 60s, possibly even the 70s, this weekend. Residents from the city of Belle Plaine and the townships of Belle Plaine, Blakeley and St. Lawrence can drop off their unwanted recyclable and refuse items. Items accepted at no charge include glass, newspapers, scrap metal, aluminum, cardboard, plastic and bicycles (remove the tires). Donations of clothing, shoes, games, toys, lamps, curtains, linens, knick knacks, tools and bicycles will benefit the Epi-
lepsy Foundation. There will be fees charged for refuse items. Included are air conditioners ($20), appliances ($15), auto batteries ($3), computer desktop/laptop ($15), computer monitors ($15), small copiers ($25), large copiers ($100), dryers ($15), fax machines ($5), mattresses ($20), microwaves ($15), small printers ($15), large printers ($30), small radios ($2), refrigerators ($15), scanners ($5), sofas ($25), stuffed chairs/recliners ($15), telephones ($2/cells no charge), car tires ($3), truck tires ($8), tractor tires ($14), small televisions ($20), large televisions ($50), consoles ($60), typewriters ($10), vacuum cleaners ($10), VCRs ($5), washers ($15), water heaters ($15) and water softeners ($20). The minimum cost for a carload of miscellaneous waste is $30 and $50 and up for a pick-
up/trailer load. No hazardous waste will be accepted, including fluorescent bulbs, paint, motor oils/filters and chemicals. Yard waste will also not be accepted. That should be taken to the city compost site located on West State Street (County Road 6). For more information, call the Belle Plaine Government Center at 873-5553.
Document Shredding
Document shredding services will be available at this year’s Recycle and Cleanup Day. Individuals and business owners can safely dispose of old canceled checks, bank statements, tax returns and other obsolete personal documents. Cintas Document Management will provide the on-site secure, professional commercial-grade shredder. The cost is $5 for the contents of a file cabinet drawer, an average household bin or $25 pounds of documents.
Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce Splitting Into Two Organizations The Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors recently elected to divide the local chamber into two separate entities – one to promote local businesses and the other to plan for and oversee local festivals. According to Donna Woodard of the Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce, the board had been discussing “the ever expanding role of the chamber for some time.” “Over the years, the role of our local chamber has grown and become multifaceted,” Woodard said. “The director had taken over the lead role for Bar-B-Q Days, chaired the Scenic Byway Half-Marathon and numerous other functions that are more focused on community building than promotion of businesses. Having a vibrant community with many events has been a benefit, and also created more work for the one-person office.”
tion to oversee festivals and events, and receive gambling proceeds in order to fulfill its function,” Woodard said. The Belle Plaine Festivals and Events is a newly-formed 501(4)c non-profit organization. Its role will be “to continue to host, build and foster various events and festivals such as Bar-B-Q Days, Scenic Byway Half-Marathon and others.” Founding board members are Lisa Fahey, Brad Schultz and Matt Fogarty. The new organization will be funded primarily through charitable gambling Donna Woodard proceeds. Woodard said the chamber Woodard added that the cur- “will continue to support, prorent funding formula is not as mote and foster the business clear as the state would like to community of Belle Plaine.” It see with the use of charitable will be funded through memgambling proceeds. bership dues and potential fu“As a result, the chamber Chamber board decided to divide the role of the chamber of commerce (continued on page 6) and create a second organiza-
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Belle Plaine School Board Adds Another Day to 2012-‘13
If the winter hasn’t been intolerable enough, students craving for the end of the 2012-13 school year will have to wait another day for summer vacation after Monday night’s school board meeting. The board approved adding another day to the 201213 school year to make up for a recent snow day. The unanimous vote means the last day of the school year is now June 5 rather than June 4. The additional day pushes a teacher workshop day to June 6. Blame it on last Friday’s (April 19) snow day. School and bus officials planned to start school two hours late. But slippery roads meant the senior high school would have several teenagers – relatively inexperi-
enced drivers – driving themselves to school in conditions far from ideal, Superintendent Kelly Smith told the school board Monday night. If every student was bused to school, the school day would have been completed, he said. Under rules the state passed several years ago – rules that replaced the number of days school must be in session - Belle Plaine is only required provide first- through sixthgraders 935 hours of class time and seventh- through 12th-graders 1,020 hours of class time. Friday’s snow day meant the district would not meet those minimum standards, Smith said. Smith said he couldn’t remember losing as many snow days
Cookout, German Day Dates Announced
Belle Plaine’s annual Down- A German Day planning town Community Cookout will meeting will take place 7:30 take place the evening of the p.m. next Tuesday (April 30) at first day of summer (June 21). Neil’s Pub. The following day downtown will be the site of the annual German Day festivities that will take place throughout the day.
the past six years as the district has lost to lousy weather this year. The district’s contract with the Belle Plaine Education Association -- the union representing the district’s 100-plus teachers – says the district may require teachers to make up days lost to inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances. The contract calls for 184 workdays and 174 student-contact days. The only weekday off between now and the end of the school year is Memorial Day, Smith told the board. “We’re not touching that,” he said. The added workdays will be dedicated to staff development opportunities. Teachers who can’t attend one of the staff development activities are expected to meet with their respective building principals for work to make up the lost days. The board also decided teachers would be required to make up two snow days lost to inclement weather in February and March, but not a third day.
School Board
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Winter’s Last Hoorah? It’s uncommon to look out your window in Belle Plaine on April 23 and see a scene like this. That was the case Tuesday morning after another several inches of snow fell overnight. Some are saying Tuesday night’s snow will likely be the last hoorah of what has been a very long winter. Temperatures are expected to warm up as the week progresses, including possibly into the 70s this weekend. The birdhouse in the upper center of this photo and everything else in Belle Plaine should be free of snow tops “for good” by this weekend. As of Tuesday, the 15-day forecast for the Twin Cities (from Friday on) showed no highs of less than 62 degrees. We’ll see!