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ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIRST YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, JULY 25, 2012
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 30
Scott County Fair Opens Today Scott County Board Rejects Historic Ferris Wheel, Prior Lake Man Bringing Major Bands Among Campaign Rhetoric to Meeting Features This Year
by John Mueller Scott County commissioners typically give citizens plenty of time to offer opinions on important issues during board meetings. But a Prior Lake man found the limit of that flexibility Tuesday morning when the board chairman rejected his efforts to read a letter critical of three commissioners seeking re-election – Tom Wolf of Credit River Township, David Menden of Shakopee and Joe Wagner of Sand Creek Township. But Wolf, the board chairperson, felt the man crossed the line between stating an opinion on an important county issue and open campaigning. After a heated discussion, commissioners -- led by Menden, Wagner and Wolf – approved a policy prohibiting speakers who address the board during the public comment period from using the five minutes for campaigning in favor of or against candidates. The prohibition extends from the opening of a filing period until after the election. The heated debate arose when Lloyd Erbaugh sought to state an opinion critical of the three commissioners for their role
in an investigation into allegations of misconduct against Scott County Administrator Gary Shelton and a proposal to terminate Shelton earlier this year. As Erbaugh started to speak, Wolf slammed the gavel down. “That’s it. You’re done. You’re done,” Wolf said. Erbaugh approached the board after sending a similar opinion to county newspaper editors for publication. The letter calls for voters in the first, second and third commissioner districts to vote Wagner, Wolf and Menden out of office. Wagner and Menden supported removing Shelton out of office. Commissioners Barbara Marschall of Prior Lake and Jon Ulrich of Savage supported Shelton leaving Wolf as the swing vote. He supported Shelton. The allegations against Shelton was all deemed unfounded. Marschall and Ulrich objected to Wolf, using his authority as board chairperson to unilaterally decide who can speak and who can’t. Upset the public wasn’t notified of the new policy in advance, Marschall referenced denial of freedoms and asked if Wolf would require speakers stick to a script.
Marschall said she believes in the First Amendment. Ulrich said it was inappropriate of Wolf to limit people’s opinions to the board. Wagner countered that the board already limits what people want to say to topics not on the day’s agenda. Menden said any commissioner or challenger could organize a parade of people to use the fiveminute public comment period to sing the praises or denounce a candidate. Wagner suggested people could write letters to editors and stand on a soapbox in the government center parking lot to share their opinions, but that giving unfettered access to the county’s public access cable to promote or denounce a candidate was not a good idea. Wagner lashed out at Marschall and Ulrich, who are both unchallenged in their re-election bids. He contended their opinion would change if they were facing a challenge. County Attorney Pat Ciliberto said the issue was more a matter of politics than legality and opted against an opinion. The only opinion Ciliberto offered was that Wolf was wrong to enact a policy without county board discussion.
The Scott County Fair will begin its annual five-day midsummer spin today (Wednesday) at its grounds in St. Lawrence Township. The 4-H Rabbit Show will kick off this year’s events at 9 a.m. today and the fair will “officially” begin at noon, when all exhibit buildings open. The carnival will start at 5 p.m. (see accompanying fair schedule for all five days). Entrance to the fair is free but there is a $10 per vehicle charge for parking. Grandstand Events The first grandstand event will be tonight’s Motocross racing. Thursday will be the Truck and Tractor Pull, followed by the Demolition Derby on Saturday. Admission to all grandstand events is $10 for adults and $5 for children age 5 years and under. Beer Garden Bands The Whitesidewalls, best known in Belle Plaine for their German Day classic rock ‘n roll street dance performances, including last month, will perform Sunday from 1-5 p.m. at the Beer Garden. Numerous other musical groups will perform there throughout the fair, including Rum Runners Thursday night, Rocket Club Friday night and GB Leighton Saturday night. Big Eli Ferris Wheel New to the fair this year is something quite old – Big Eli No. 12. Created by William Sullivan in 1900, the Big Eli brand was the first portable Ferris wheel. It was revolu-
This early 1900s Ferris wheel, which was recently donated to the Scott County Fair by Ames Construction, will be one of the new attractions at this year’s fair. tionary to riding devise owners because it was quick to set up, easy to operate and economical to maintain. Ames Construction donated this Big Eli No. 12 to the Scott County Fair in 2011. This is the first year that it will be operating at the fair. Ames Construction refurbished the wheel and moved it from Massachusetts to Minnesota.
Big Eli now sits on its new home, a large, landscaped and fenced-in mound on the Scott County Fairgrounds (see accompanying photo). Draft Horse Shows The always popular Draft Horse shows will take place 4
Fair
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This cornfield along Hickory Boulevard in front of Coborn’s and others on the sandier soils of the Belle Plaine area succumbed to the heat and lack of moisture in July long before Tuesday’s rains arrived.
Tuesday’s Rain Brings Relief But May Be Too Late for Some Fields Significant rain finally fell in the Belle Plaine area early Tuesday morning, over three times more than what had fallen in the first 23 days of the month combined. Belle Plaine received 2.68 inches of rain, according to the county rain gauge at the Ewald and Adella Gruetzmacher farm. Only .74 inches of rain had fallen there in July before Tuesday’s welcomed storms. The miniscule amount of rain the first 23 days of the month, combined with the sweltering heat, took a toll on what started out as a promising growing season in Belle Plaine and surrounding communities. Close to 18 inches of rain fell across the Belle Plaine area through
May and June, making it one of the wettest springs on record here. Then came July. According to the University of Minnesota Extension Service, much of the southern and western part of the state (through Monday) was dry and crops were hurting. A recent U.S. Agriculture Department report shows that 67 percent of the state’s corn is in good to excellent condition, which compared to other areas of the nation’s corn belt, the crop in Minnesota is still in good condition overall. Jeff Coulter, an agronomist with the University of Minnesota Extension Service, told Minnesota Public Radio that the state’s corn harvest has already been reduced by at least 10 percent over what was expected earlier in the year. A concern is that some kernels on corn ears are drying out and
wasting away. Dan Martens, Extension educator, said some scorched corn crop may not benefit much from rain anymore. “Where crops are starting to deteriorate, like corn turning brown, some farmers might think about saving some other stored feed and starting to chop some of this corn. For anything you might do with the crop, for those carrying crop insurance, have a good discussion with your crop insurance rep first,” Martens said. A number of soybeans fields in the area have also been feeling the hot, dry pinch of July. But more help could be on the way. Scattered thunderstorms were in the forecast for the Twin Cities region late Tuesday and today (Wednesday). Daytime highs the rest of the week are expected to drop to the lowerto mid-80s.
After spending the past few years on the sidelines, Belle Plaine demolition derby drivers, and crew, (from left) Jayson Pauly, Jeff Chermak, Ryan Schmitt and Dan Schmitt are looking forward to Saturday’s demolition derby at the Scott County Fair.
B.P. Group Awaiting Return to County Fair’s Demo Derby
by John Mueller After a few years watching from the grandstand, Dan Schmitt, Jeff Chermak and Jayson Pauly can’t wait to get back behind the wheel and see how hard they can crash into another car. With a little luck, they’ll even make enough money to pay for the next time they set their sights on another car to demolish. The trio is among a group of Belle Plaine demolition derby drivers who’ll participate in
the annual Scott County Fair Demolition Derby Saturday, 7 p.m., in the fairgrounds’ grandstand. They are looking forward to competing again at the county fair, but with a wait-and-see approach on the new promoter and new rules intended to improve the quality of the show for fans and experience for drivers. The most seasoned demolition derby driver of the trio, Schmitt will drive in the Old Iron Classic class. His 1975
Dodge Monaco is ready to go. Chermak and Pauly are entered in the ‘80s and Newer Chain & Go class. Chermak will drive an Impala station wagon. Pauly will bring a Caprice Classic to the fairgrounds. Still in their 30s, Pauly and Chermak caught the demo derby bug several years ago from Schmitt. He grew up in Jordan and worked at the fam-
Demo
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