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Page 19
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIRST YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, OCTOBER 24, 2012
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 43
Business Trick-or-Treating Among Local Halloween Events The Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce will again sponsor its annual Business Trick-orTreat next Wednesday (Halloween Day) from 3-5 p.m. The event is held on Halloween day
except when the holiday falls Home Campus. on a weekend. Elementary school-age chilMost downtown businesses dren are encouraged to wear and a number of others throughHalloween out Belle Plaine are again par(continued on page 16) ticipating, as is The Lutheran
Mayor, City Council Seats Contested
Candidate Viewpoints Published Inside This Edition of Herald
The yard signs asking for your vote on Nov. 6 have been in place for weeks and now is the Crews worked to clear the north end of Stoppelmann Boulevard (Near County Road 6) of trees opportunity to get to know each to make way for CapX 2020’s 140-foot tall towers supporting transmission lines. The lines will of the candidates better. Inside this edition of the Hercross the river from Sibley County into Scott County later this year or early in 2013. ald are photos and completed questionnaires from candidates for local and area county and state legislative races. Included locally is the race between incumbent Belle Plaine Mayor Tim Lies and challenger of 2004, John, with the help of Mike Pingalore, the latter of his neighbor, Jesse Theis, dug whom is two years into his first holes for the trees. four-year term on the city coun“It was 85 degrees that day,” cil. If he loses to Lies, Pingahe said. lore will retain his seat on the Last week, the trees – red and council. If Pingalore defeats Lies, the council will make a Sheila and John Lambrecht white pines and white and blue decision on how or who to apdidn’t want to deal with the spruce -- were relocated to the point to take Pingalore’s place CapX high-voltage power line. Belle Plaine Schools’ campus in early 2013. Like many other landown- to serve as a windbreak around ers between South Dakota and the tennis courts. The LamMeanwhile, there are three Hampton, Minn., they’d prefer brechts donated 22 trees to the candidates vying for the two school district rather than see it go somewhere else. council seats that are up for But earlier this year, they them cut down because they election. They are incumbents found out the power line would were in the power line’s 150run through the 10 acres they foot easement. own on Stoppelmann Boule- The school district will pay John Lambrecht, vard in Blakeley Township, just about $4,000 for relocating west of Belle Plaine. Sheila’s the trees from the Lambrecht’s landowner parents, Mary Jo and Ger- property to the west and south ald Devine, farmed the land sides of the courts where they vantage of the “buy the farm” for years before allowing his hopefully will benefit current option so CapX can acquire the daughter and her husband to and future players. 10 acres via eminent domain. build their dream house there “I know they needed a wind- They hope to remain in the break out there,” Lambrecht Belle Plaine area. in 2003. “My wife wanted to build a said. “We didn’t want to see “We know God has a plan house there since she was a the trees shredded. That doesn’t CapX make any sense.” little kid,” he said. (continued on page 17) On a warm spring day in April The Lambrechts are taking ad-
CapX Power Line Sparks Donation to School Campus
Power Lines Approaching Belle Plaine
“I know they needed a windbreak out there. We didn’t want to see the trees shredded. That doesn’t make any sense.”
Cary Coop and Gary Trost, and newcomer Kurt Laabs. The top two vote-getters will automatically earn a four-year term on the council. Also on the ballot locally, among other races, will be the choice between longtime incumbent Scott County District 1 Commissioner Joe Wagner and challenger Jerry Kucera, both of whom are from Sand Creek Township. Their questionnaire replies are also included inside. City of Belle Plaine residents can cast their ballot Nov. 6 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Belle Plaine Government Center, which is located at 218 North Meridian Street downtown. If you are not registered, you can do so on Election Day at your polling place. You will have to provide proof of your residence and have valid photo identification along with proof of your current residence. See http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=134 for a list of documents that you will need to bring. If you can’t make it to the
polls on Election Day and meet the criteria for absentee voting, you can vote by absentee ballot. Absentee voting can be done now at the Scott County Government Center, Elections Department, Room GC102. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office will also be open the Saturday before the election, Nov. 3, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. More information about the 2012 General Election can be found at http://www.sos.state. mn.us.
Candidates Forum Oct. 30
The Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a Candidates Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 30 from 7-8 p.m. at the Belle Plaine Government Center. The event is open to the public, as well as recorded for later viewing on the local cable access channel. Mayoral candidates Tim Lies and Mike Pingalore will participate, as will council candidates Kurt Laabs, Gary Trost and Cary Coop.
With some help from his mom, Kathy, Andrew Hillstrom grew a 125-pound pumpkin this summer. He hopes to grow an even bigger one next year. Hillstrom sells his pumpkins at the weekly Belle Plaine Farmers Market Wednesdays at Court Square Park.
Growing Big Mac Pumpkins, Hillstrom Finds Bigger is Better
With enough interest, Belle Plaine Junior-Senior High School students will have the opportunity to build their own robot and compete against other teams this winter. The robot (above) was entered in a state competition.
Belle Plaine Schools May Begin Building Robotics Team forming commands for students in the Belle Plaine Junior-Senior High School’s common area next week, fear not. It’s part of a benign coup, but rather a recruiting effort to form a robotics team the school hopes to form this winter. by John Mueller If you hear of or a robot per- Monday night, the Belle Plaine School Board gave its formal OK for a robotics program to begin preparation for competition this winter, if enough students show interest this fall.
Robotics Program An Opportunity for Students Not Into Arts, Athletics
At a workshop earlier this month, directors were enthused with the issue, seeing it as a way to involve students interested in math and science who otherwise might not be involved in activities. The program will give students experience with computer-aided drafting (CAD), engineering, design and other
Robotics
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B.P. Teenager Aiming for 150-Pounder Next Year by John Mueller Andrew Hillstrom has tried his hand at growing pumpkins for Halloween before. This is the first time’s he’s gone after the big ones. The way the 16-year-old from rural Belle Plaine sees it, the bigger the better. He’s grown smaller varieties a few years back. Last June, he planted Big Mac pumpkin seeds at his house in Blakeley Township. His efforts produced a nice batch. They are sturdy pumpkins, with walls about 1½ to 2 inches thick, perfect for carving. His efforts produced about 15 pumpkins ranging from 25 to
50 pounds and up. His biggest was a 125-pounder. “I wasn’t expecting one that big,” he said. “Some kids like to grow the big ones. When you live out in the country, it’s a little easier to grow them.” Hillstrom and his family moved from Le Center to rural Belle Plaine Township five years ago. He’d seen the Big Macs before at stores but thought they were too pricey. Some places charges $25 or $30 for them. Hillstrom isn’t interested in gouging anybody for a pumpkin that will be used solely for a jack-o’-lantern. He sold his biggest pumpkin to his cousin for the same price. “I’m not out for a major, major profit,” he said. “It’s kind of a hobby.” He sells the big pumpkins for $10 at the Belle Plaine Farmer’s Market Wednesday afternoons at Court Square Park. Hillstrom has only a few of the Big Macs left.
He found that more consistent watering of the Big Mac seeds generated the bigger pumpkins. Hillstrom watered the pumpkins each day for about 20 to 30 minutes, sometimes in the morning and sometimes in the evening. He did most of the work but his mom, Kathy, pitched in, too. He didn’t use fertilizer, only mulch to retain the moisture. He also found that careful tilling – removing the big clumps – makes for a better growing area. Hillstrom’s aiming for even bigger pumpkins for next year, 75 to 100 pounds and up would be great. To produce the really big ones, he plans to incorporate some fertilizer into the mix. He might use Miracle grow or perhaps some of the natural stuff from the area hog and cattle operations where he works part-time weekdays and weekends. “I’d like to get one bigger than 125 pounds,” he said. “That’s my record.”