Shamrock Coin Hunt Clue 3 Page 15
Winter Sports Season Ends for BPHS
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ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SECOND YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, MARCH 13, 2013 2013
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 11
Belle Plaine’s state lawmakers -- Rep. Kelby Woodard, R-Belle Plaine (right), and Sen. Kevin Dahle, DFL-Northfield -- met with about two dozen Belle Plaine and area residents and discussed a wide range of topics under consideration by the Minnesota Legislature during a town hall meeting Saturday at the Belle Plaine Library.
At Town Hall Meeting, Residents Say State’s Priorities Should Change
Residents attending Saturday’s town hall meeting at the Belle Plaine Library told the community’s two state lawmakers they want first-rate services from the state. But they also said significant tax increases are not the way to pay for those wants. About two-dozen Belle Plaine and area residents who attended the meeting with Rep. Kelby Woodard, R-Belle Plaine, and Sen. Kevin Dahle, DFL-Northfield, indicated increasing the tax burden is not the way to pay for priority-level services.
Instead, they want the state to shift its priorities. The meeting in a community Republicans dominated in the last election is one of a series of eight town hall get-togethers Dahle is hosting with state representatives in communities within Senate District 20. The pair left Belle Plaine for a similar meeting in Le Sueur. “I heard that the state should focus their hard-earned tax dollars on better roads and bridges, better schools, public safety, and on helping our most vul-
nerable,” Woodard said. With a lower-than-expected budget deficit released recently -- $627 million as opposed to the $1.1 billion shortfall they Belle Plaine’s 2013 Miss Shamrock candidates are back row, from left, Samantha Gregory, expected previously – Dahle Ellie Murphy and Kelly Morrison. In the front are Sophie Brazil and Megan Fahey. and Woodard say many of the proposed tax increases can be scaled back or eliminated. “I came away with the fact that folks in Belle Plaine are not too keen on the DFL majorities’ plan to increase taxes on an al-
Bring Your Irish Tops
St. Patrick’s Parade, Bash This Saturday
Meeting
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As Spring Nears, Silica Sand Mine Remains a Health Concern
Mine North of Jordan Will Begin Processing Sand Soon Every work day, and most weekend days, Belle Plaine residents heading north on Highway 169 drive through an area some state officials consider a budding health hazard once Great Plains Sand begins processing mined silica sand. A state health department official has deemed silica sand and the dust generated by its mining and processing a potential health hazard. The silica sand is used in fracing operations in the oil fields of North Dakota. Great Plains is planning to mine and process silica sand on 140 acres just west of the intersection of Highway 169 and Bluff Drive four miles north of Jordan and just south of 169’s intersection with County Road 14. It’s the same land Q-Prime proposed as the home of a 19,000-plus seat amphitheater in the late-1990s. In the early
Mine
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are asked to continue their hike all the way to the State Bank of Belle Plaine (do not quit at Main and Meridian streets). At the end of the parade rout, a “hat count” will be taken to determine the clan wearing the most Irish heritage hats. The clan with the most hats will be recognized and awarded a prize at the post-parade program. The emcee of the program will be Matt Skelley, son of grand marshals Pat and Bonnie Skelley (see separate story). Members of the Twin Cities Metro Pipe Band will perform at the mass and the parade. They will also perform in various downtown establishments following the post-parade pro-
gram. There are five Miss Shamrock candidates. They are Sophie Brazil, daughter of Dave and Patty Brazil; Megan Fahey, daughter of Brian and LeAnn Fahey; Samantha Gregory, daughter of Edward and Virginia Gregory; Kelly Morrison, daughter of Terry and Michelle Morrison; and Ellie Murphy, daughter of Joe and Jean Murphy. The reigning Miss Shamrock is Erin Morrison. The princesses are Adrianna Doheny and Amy Hankins. This year’s Irish Lads are Kyle O’Brien and Justin Seaver. The flag bearers are Carter and Jack Piche.
Pat and Bonnie Skelley to Lead Saturday’s Parade
Great Plains Sand has begun mining sand from land west of Highway 169 four miles north of Jordan. The sand has been left in huge piles until processing begins this spring.
School Board Begins ‘Discussion’ on Deal With Under Armour ally think of a good reason the Sparby presented the board a school district shouldn’t move proposed three-year agreement forward on a three-year agree- with Universal Athletic, an Ediment with Under Armour as the school’s exclusive provider of School Board team uniforms. Still, she was (continued on page 8) being cautious. “It’s a place to start the discusMindy Sparby, Belle Plaine sion,” Sparby said after her preJunior-Senior High School’s sentation to the board during a activities director, couldn’t re- board workshop Monday.
Band Planning to Learn, Perform in New York City
If the forecast holds out, Saturday’s predicted high of 35 degrees will be less than half that of last year’s record-breaking 80 degrees for Belle Plaine’s St. Patrick’s festivities. But in no way will 30-something degrees (normal for this time of year) deter the community’s Irish and Irish wannabes from spilling into downtown’s streets and establishments again this Saturday. The festivities will start with the noon mass at Our Lady of the Prairie Catholic Church. Parade participants will lineup outside the church after the mass and commence their march through downtown at about 1 p.m. Parade participants
by Dan Ruud It was Halloween of 1970 and Bonnie Harvey was dressed up as a little girl at Jerry’s Bar in downtown Belle Plaine, site of the present day Andy’s Bar and Grill. Bonnie was with her roommate Mary Hart (dressed as a gypsy) and Mary’s brotherin-law George Hoelz. George eventually introduced Bonnie to a friend of his named Pat Skelley, who was celebrating Halloween “dressed as just Pat.” “It (Halloween 1970) was an interesting evening,” said Bonnie, divulging no more details other than her introduction to Pat. Little did Bonnie and “just Pat” know at the time that they would get married the following June and remain so for the next 42 years and counting; not to mention being named grand marshals of the 2013 Belle Plaine St. Patrick’s Parade. Pat, one of 10 children of the late Sibley County farmers Mike and Pearl Skelley, graduated from Arlington-Green Isle High School in 1963. He helped operate V&S (Voss and Skelley) Salvage Yard in Belle Plaine for
Pat and Bonnie Skelley will lead Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Parade. 14 years and Cedar Auto Parts in Jordan for 20 years. All nine of Pat’s siblings are still living in Minnesota. Pat is the only one from Belle Plaine. Pat said his brother, Tom, who lives in Chanhassen, did some
family ancestry research some time ago and learned that their Irish roots in this country may be tied to one of four brothers
Skelley’s
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