Pinewood Derby Champs
Ciliberto, County Board at Odds Over Salary Again
Page 18
Page 18
Dance team Wins at Central Page 17 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SECOND YEAR
75¢ SINGLE COPY
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, JANUARY 16, 2013
NUMBER 3
Karl and Rosemary Kolden of Belle Plaine recently purchased the Belle Plaine, Arlington, Le The Belle Plaine School Board held its organizational meeting Jan. 7. The board includes Sueur and Henderson funeral homes from his parents, Darrell and Jane Kolden. (back row, from left) directors Mike Ludvik, Mike Daly, Matt Lenz, Superintendent Kelly Smith, (front row, from left) directors Judy Nagel, Matt Bigaouette and Gary Steinhagen.
B.P. School Board Passes on Raise at Annual Meeting In a year where there were no elections and no new members to be sworn-in to membership on the Belle Plaine School Board, the annual organizational meeting was more about formality on Jan. 7. The board unanimously named Director Matt Lenz board chairperson for a second year, continuing a board practice of a two-year rotation as leader of the school board. Lenz is begin-
St. Patrick’s Planning Meeting Jan. 17 The Belle Plaine St. Patrick’s Committee will hold its first planning meeting for this year’s celebration on Thursday, Jan. 17 at Neil’s Pub downtown. All committee members and bar/ restaurant owners are asked to attend. It begins at 5:30 p.m. This year’s celebration will take place on Saturday, March 16.
Queen Candidates Sought
High School girls of Irish descent interested in becoming a candidate for Miss Shamrock are asked to contact the school office. For more information, call Jeanette Gloege at 952873-6684.
ning his sixth year on the Belle Plaine School Board. Directors named Matt Bigaouette board vice chairperson. Like Lenz, Bigaouette is beginning his sixth year on the board. Directors named Mike Daly as the board’s clerk and Gary Steinhagen as the treasurer. They’ve served on the board for seven and three years, respectively. Directors declined to increase board member compensation for 2013. Steinhagen suggested an increase of $300 annually, a motion that received no support. “Nobody does this for the money, but we shouldn’t do it for a loss,” he said. Steinhagen, a dairy farmer, pays someone to milk cows for him on school board meeting days. “The reality is there isn’t a tremendous clamoring to be on the board,” Bigaouette said, adding that the level of compensation may discourage anyone from serving. Board members are paid $1,200 annually, an amount that hasn’t changed in eight years. The chairperson is paid an additional $200. The vice chairperson, clerk and treasurer receive an additional $150. They also receive an additional $50 for special meetings and $100 for all-day meetings. Directors
will be paid 56.5 cents per mile they drive to events associated with their roles on the board. The board typically meets twice a month on Mondays. In additional to preparation for meetings, the actual meetings generally last one to two hours. Superintendent Kelly Smith said Belle Plaine School Board members are paid on the “low end by what would be considered average” compared to other area school boards. Jordan directors receive $2,500 annually. In districts with larger enrollments, Waconia School Board directors receive $3,100 a year. Directors on the Eastern Carver County (Chaska), Shakopee and Prior Lake-Savage Area school boards receive $4,000 annually. Pointing to the economic impact the recession has had on area residents, Daly spoke against an increase in compensation. “I don’t mind being on the low end of average,” he said. Steinhagen and the rest of the board OK’d maintaining director compensation at the existing level. In other organizational business, the board tabled approval of board committee assignments until its Jan. 28 meeting.
School Board
(continued on page 15)
Darrell and Jane Kolden Sell Funeral Homes to Son and Daughter-in-Law Darrell and Jane Kolden have announced the sale of Kolden Funeral Homes in Belle Plaine, Arlington, Le Sueur and Henderson to their son and daughter-in-law, Karl and Rosemary Kolden of Belle Plaine. Darrell Kolden has been asso-
ciated in funeral services for 43 years, having owned the funeral homes in Le Sueur and Henderson since 1981. He acquired the Fenske Funeral Homes of Arlington and Belle Plaine in 2001 from Ronald Fenske. Karl and Rosemary have been
employed at Kolden Funeral Home since graduating from Worsham College of Mortuary Science in 2002. Darrell will continue to be employed at the funeral home along with Shawn Kirby, Greggory Borchert and Tonya Borth.
Honored Life-Savers Tuesday morning, Scott County Sheriff Kevin Studnicka (left) presented the Morris A. Miller Health Hero Award to Belle Plaine School assistant football coaches Jerold Stauffacher, Joe Ploetz and John Wellner and the Morris A. Miller Outstanding Service Award to Belle Plaine Police Officer Ben Pederson (far right). Their efforts saved the life of Ken Wick, a junior high football coach and the district’s IT director (second from right) after he collapsed during practice Sept. 11. When Wick collapsed, Wellner, Stauffacher and Ploetz ran to his side. They administered hands-free cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after Stauffacher called 9-1-1. Pederson administered the first of four automated external defibrillator (AED) shocks that returned Wick’s heart to its proper rhythm. Wick credits the four men and the use of CPR and an AED for saving his life. Ridgeview Medical Center paramedics and Belle Plaine firefighters have since trained BP students in the use of CPR and AED. Hands-only CPR training is now a requirement for graduation from high school beginning in the 2014-15 school year.
B.P.’s Smith Still in Running for Spot on ‘U’ Board of Regents
With the field of candidates trimmed from 14 to 10, Belle Plaine School District Superintendent Kelly Smith remains in the running for a seat on the University Of Minnesota Board Of Regents, the university’s
governing board. The Regent Candidate Advisory Council (RCAC) voted Thursday (Jan. 10) to recommend Smith and eight other candidates to a joint legislative committee for final consider-
ation of election to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota. The joint committee selects one candidate for each
Smith
(continued on page 8)
Register Now and Get VIP Status at Upcoming Wedding Expo
The Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce will conduct its annual “From Me to You” Wedding Expo and Bridal Consignment on Sunday, Jan. 27 from noon to 3 p.m. at Oak Crest Elementary School, 1101 West Commerce Drive. More than 50 area wedding vendors are expected to be on hand offering new and used dresses and accessories, as well as wedding decor provided by Bride to Be Consignment of Friday morning on her way to work at Belle Plaine Junior-Senior High School, Carey Piam- Burnsville. Many of the dresses piano hit a patch of ice about a mile northeast of Blakeley on Scott County Road 6 (Union Trail). Her sport-utility vehicle slipped into the steep ditch and rolled onto its roof. Piampiano, a special education teacher, was not hurt in the crash. “She couldn’t have found a worse place,” said Scott County Sheriff Kevin Studnicka, referring to the steep drop into the ditch. “She was lucky.”
‘She was Lucky’
will cost less than $200. There will also be a style show at 1:30 p.m. The drawing will take place after the style show. You must be present to win. Attendees who preregister will receive VIP status, which includes a free gift and the opportunity to begin shopping at 11 a.m., which is one hour before those who do not preregister. You will also have an additional entry in the grand prize drawing for $300 in “Wedding Bucks.” You can preregister on the city of Belle Plaine’s website by clicking on “Chamber of Commerce” and then “Wedding Expo.” There is no cost to preregister. The entire event is
free. Drop-off hours are Saturday, Jan. 26 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and the day of the event (Jan. 27) from 8-10 a.m. All consignors will fill out a contract and receive a consignment number. Each consignor will receive 50 percent of the sale at the event. Bride to Be Consignment will take all items that do not sell and consign them under your name for 90 days at its store in Burnsville. Anyone interested in participating as a vendor or consigning your wedding items can contact Carrie Traxler at 952-873-4295 or bellepln@frontiernet.net.