Author’s Book Honors Vets
All-Conference Football and Volleyball Teams
State Volleyball Recap and Photos Page 21
Page 20
Page 22 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIRST YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, NOVEMBER 14, 2012
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 46
Mike Pingalore Will Move to Center of Table on City Council Halfway Through His Four-Year Term on Council, He Defeats Incumbent Mayor Tim Lies by 144 Votes
Nick Johnson (Harold Hill) and Taylor Bergland (Marian Paroo) are the lead characters in Belle Plaine Junior-Senior High School’s presentation of “The Music Man.” The musical will be presented Thursday through Saturday, 7 p.m., and Sunday, 2 p.m., in the Performing Arts Center within the Belle Plaine Schools District Center (former junior high) building. Tickets for Friday evening’s show are sold out.
For ‘Music Man’ Leads, The Songs are The Draw
Taylor Bergland and Nick Johnson enjoy music. They listen to a wide array of songs each day. Ask them both their favorite type of music and the answer is the same. “I don’t know.” But both Belle Plaine JuniorSenior High School students – Bergland a senior, Johnson a sophomore -- agree the songs in the fall musical, “The Music Man,” is what attracted them to seek the lead roles.
“The Music Man” will be presented in the Performing Arts Center within the District Center (former junior high) Nov. 15-18. The Thursday-Saturday performances are at 7 p.m. The Sunday performance is at 2 p.m. Tickets for the Thursday, Saturday and Sunday performances are available at the district office. Johnson plays Harold Hill, a shyster who cons the towns-
Community Thanksgiving Service at OLP Next Tuesday Belle Plaine's Ecumenical Community Thanksgiving Service will take place at Our Lady of the Prairie Catholic Church next Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. The annual service is sponsored by the congregations of St. John Lutheran Church, Our Lady of the Prairie Catholic Church, First Presbyterian Church, Redeemer Lutheran Church, St. John’s Assumption Catholic Church and West Union Lutheran Church. Following the service, refreshments will be served. The entire community is invited. The Thanksgiving worship is also intended to remember the
needs of others. A monetary offering will be accepted during the service to support the local “Good Samaritan Fund” that provides help for transient people in the area. This fund is supported by the participating churches and the Thanksgiving offering is the main source of annual income for this fund. A generous offering of support for this ministry is needed and appreciated. In addition, worshipers are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items to be donated to the Belle Plaine Food Shelf. Monetary offerings are also welcome (made out to the Belle Plaine Food Shelf).
people of River City, Iowa out of their money to invest in a marching band. Bergland plays Marian Paroo, a prim and proper piano teacher who eventually falls for Hill. Both were cast for the lead roles because they have the ability to meet the demands of the songs in “The Music Man.” Bergland is a high soprano and Johnson a low tenor. Both have logged long hours since being named their roles working on the details of each individual musical number. Bergland said her friends have grown weary of listening to her sing the various songs from the play. “They’ve both worked very hard,” said Jerusha Zimmerman, one of the musical directors working on the play. “They’ve both been very receptive to instruction.” Johnson’s voice fits into the songs he’ll sing in the play. He’s been working especially hard on “Trouble.” Johnson was initially worried about keeping up with the pace of the tune. “He’s ready,” Zimmerman said. Bergland was selected because
‘Music Man’
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Chelsea Fogarty Breaks MSU Volleyball Record for Career Kills While Sister Competes at State by Dan Ruud It was a historic week of volleyball for the Fogarty family. Not only was Belle Plaine High School senior Haley Fogarty named to the all-conference and all-state volleyball teams, she recorded 47 kills and 61 digs in helping lead the Tigers to a fourth-place finish at this past weekend’s state tournament. While Haley was at Xcel Energy Center Friday evening for her team’s semifinal match against top-ranked Marshall, her sister, Chelsea, was in Marshall as her Division II volleyball team, Minnesota State University, Mankato, was taking on highly-ranked Southwest Minnesota State University.
Chelsea Fogarty
Chelsea, a senior at MSU, had 15 kills against the Mustangs to move to within 23 of the school’s all-time career record with one match to play. That final match took place a little further westward Saturday as MSU traveled to take on the
Haley Fogarty
University of Sioux Falls. Chelsea broke the record and then some as she smacked 26 kills to bring her career total to 1,558. Jen Jacobs (2000-03) had held
Fogarty
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by Dan Ruud Belle Plaine Mayor Tim Lies received 426 more votes than he did when he was elected mayor over City Council Member Cary Coop in 2010 than he did in last Tuesday’s General Election. But this year included a presidential election and a higher number of people went to vote at the Belle Plaine Government Center, where Lies’ opponent, City Council Member Mike Pingalore, was able to reel in 1,601 votes to 1,457 for Lies. A record 3,313 people voted at the Belle Plaine Government Center last Tuesday, which was 96.03 percent of the city’s 3,450 registered voters. There were 2,278 votes cast at the Government Center in 2010, which was 64.9 percent of the then 3,505 registered voters. In the last presidential election year (2008), 3,199 people voted in Belle Plaine. That was 90.50 percent of what was then 3,535 registered voters. Pingalore has lived in Belle Plaine for nine years. He works for Taylor Corporation in sales and marketing. He and his wife, Tina, have three children – Jake, 11, Ella, 9, and Grace, 3. Pingalore said he is going to make economic development his top priority when he becomes mayor in January. “I’m going to work closely with staff to market Belle Plaine more and to solicit new businesses,” Pingalore said. Pingalore, like many others, said he would like to see an overpass built at the intersection of Highway 169 and County Road 3, but only if it can be done so without local taxpayers paying for most of it. If state and/or federal funding cannot be obtained, he would rather the project be done at a time when there are more businesses
Mike Pingalore to help share the cost. As for finding someone to replace him on the council, Pingalore said the council will have a couple of options to choose from, ranging from advertising for the job and appointing one of the applicants to not filling the seat at all and going instead with a permanent five-member council, the latter of which is being considered. Meanwhile, Lies has been on a political roller coaster ride of sorts for the past eight years. He was elected to the council in the 2004 General Election. He ran for reelection in 2008 but was knocked out of the race in the primary after finishing last among five candidates. Brad Krick was elected mayor that year but just months later, he died of cancer. Lies was among those who applied to replace Krick as mayor and was eventually the council’s selection to do so. Lies served the remainder of Krick’s term (almost two years) and was then re-elected in his nine-vote win over Coop in 2010. So what’s next for Lies? It won’t be the city council, even if the new council decides
to appoint a sixth member. “I’m not interested at all (being appointed to the council),” Lies said Monday. What he is interested in is forming a “sustainability” committee that he would like to organize and work on as a nonpaid volunteer. The purpose of the committee, which would be made up of community members, would be to examine economic and demographic trends that are going to shape Belle Plaine over the next 25 years. Although he won’t have a vote in the mater after Pingalore becomes mayor, Lies said he would not be in favor of changing to a five-member council. He would prefer it stayed at six. “With six members we’ve had to work a lot harder to get things passed. Sometimes with just a simple majority (five members) things can get passed that don’t get discussed enough,” Lies said.
Trost, Coop Retain Seats on Council
Coop, who lost to Lies in the mayoral race by just nine votes in 2010 (resulting in a recount), was involved in another close election this year and this time prevailed. He renewed his seat on the city council for another four years by finishing second among the three candidates who were vying for the two four-year terms. Coop, who has 16 years experience on the city council, edged challenger Kurt Laabs, a first-time candidate, by 29
Election
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Dungey Looking Forward to Heading Back to Work Time Off a Chance to Recharge the Battery, Prepare for New Season He sat in Annie’s Café recently, enjoying breakfast and visiting with friends in Belle Plaine. It’s a long way from the crowded stadiums where most people see Ryan Dungey as a superstar on the motocross circuit rather than someone home to visit family and friends. Dungey headed back to work last week after a few weeks back in Belle Plaine. He’s been busy preparing for the indoor supercross season. It runs from early-January through May. After that, the races move to the big outdoor stadiums from lateMay through early-September. After that, Dungey will be in Germany in the festival of nations races. He’s scheduled to be back in Minneapolis Nov. 30 as part of a motocross event welcoming the sport back to the Metrodome after a five-year hiatus. Dungey finished third in
Motocross star Ryan Dungey was back in Belle Plaine visiting family and friends for a few weeks before returning to his home in Florida. Dungey is preparing for the supercross season. It runs from early-January through May. After that, the races move to the big outdoor stadiums from late-May through early-September.
points for the supercross season in 2011. He finished in second in the outdoor season, 14 points
Dungey
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