Dakota County
Tribune
Farmington | Rosemount and the surrounding areas www.dakotacountytribune.com
NEWS Life without parole Rosemount man Chavelle Oscar ChavezNelson was found guilty in the shooting death of another man outside Nina’s Grill. Page 3A
OPINION Armful of Love gives back A woman with a family of her own now remembers the kindess Armful of Love showed her as a child. Page 4A
THISWEEKEND
November 13, 2014 • Volume 129 • Number 37
High school building turns 50 years old Community invited to walk through RHS during open house Sunday sary, the high school will have its 50-year Open House Celebration from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, in much the same way it marked the occasion of its opening. Local residents will be invited to walk the halls, peek into the rooms and recall the places where they aced a test, heard their career calling or met their future spouse. Cake will be served in the Student Center during the open house, and the Rosemount Area Historical Society will have a display recounting the high school’s history. When current Principal John Wollersheim was asked what makes the school special, he does not hesitate to say “the peoFrom a September 1964 Dakota County Tribune: Emily Sisson, a secretary at ple.� Rosemount High School worked in the main office of the school as other staff members See ROSEMOUNT, 7A moved materials and equipment inside the building.
by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Fifty years ago, the Rosemount-Apple ValleyEagan School District had a much different landscape. It was dotted by only a few concentrations of housing in 1964 when students throughout the district attended Rosemount High School. At that time the school’s population was growing so much that a new high school building was constructed on land just north of the old school. In the fall of that year, 370 students entered the halls of the new high school that has served as the site where young people have made countless memories through the years. To mark the anniver-
Full-time fire chief in Farmington? City considering reorganizing Fire Department
Last hurrah for bookstore
by Andy Rogers SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
The Apple Valley Barnes & Noble, set to close Dec. 31, is hosting one final event spotlighting Minnesota authors. Page 17A
SPORTS
Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, won a sixth term during last week’s election (File Photo)
Farmington Republican one of the House elders Rosemount stunned Lakeville North ends the Rosemount football team’s season with a 1413 win during the state playoffs. Page 10A
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As party gains control, Garofalo focused on energy, jobs policy by Andy Rogers SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
After five terms state Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, says he’s calmed down a bit. With the Minnesota House majority changing hands several times, he said entering his sixth term there more of a focus on agreement as opposed to fighting. How easy that will be remains to be seen.
The Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District’s revenues and expenditures for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 is published in today’s edition. Page 11A
INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Announcements . . . . . 8A
See GAROFALO, 8A
See FIRE, 8A
Ex-DARTS managers file lawsuit They allege defamation and poor working conditions compelled them to resign by Tad Johnson
PUBLIC NOTICE
Garofalo said he is one of the top 10 Republicans in terms of longevity in the House. He won his sixth term on Nov. 4 with 63.87 percent of the vote. “When I first started, there is a certain amount of seniority in the system,� he said. “I don’t know how I felt about it then, but now I like it.� He anticipates chairing a committee on energy policy and one to help create jobs. Garofalo said he was happy the Re-
Farmington is considering making its fire chief a full-time position starting in 2015. Current Chief Tim Pietsch, who works as a paid, on-call, part-time chief, said most people assume the position is already full time. “When I go to National Night Out and talk to people, many of them don’t even know there’s not a full-time chief,� Pietsch said. Just as Farmington has grown, so has the list of duties, and it’s become overwhelming. Pietsch works full time at another job, and during lunch, he spends most of the time catching up on email and returning phone calls. “When I started at Farmington, the calls were small, but now they’re way up,� Pietsch said. He said this past year was particularly difficult because he worked a lot more overtime. As a chief, he’s responsible for the department, the budget, training, fire calls and a growing pile of administrative paperwork.
The city has a full-time fire marshal in John Powers. His primary duties include fire investigation, fire code inspections, communications, reviewing building plans, administrative tasks and community education. But he’s had to take on many more duties. “He can only do so much,� Pietsch said. City Administrator David McKnight conducted a survey of several current fire officers and found that the current workload is too much and more administrative support is needed. There’s a role confusion and communication issues with the current structure. The message was also clear to not combine the two positions. “They offered a ton of honest opinions, which I really respected and appreciated,� McKnight said. McKnight said seven of the 10 major cities in Dakota County have fulltime fire chiefs. The only ones that don’t are Farmington, Rosemount and Mendota Heights. And none of the neighboring cities have a combined position of fire marshal and
SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Two former employees of DARTS Inc. filed on Nov. 4 a lawsuit against the West St. Paul nonprofit, alleging defamation and that management decisions created such a poor work environment that both of them resigned. Kevin J. Raun and Robert Loeffler filed the lawsuit in Dakota County District Court last week through employment law attorney Lawrence Schae-
fer, claiming that DARTS stated on its website and to Metropolitan Council members that former DARTS managers were responsible for some of the compliance violations detailed in a Sept. 18 audit that resulted in the Met Council canceling contracts worth up to $13.6 million to provide Dial-ARide and Transit Link services in Dakota County. Though the statements did not identify Raun See DARTS, 9A
DARTS’ appeal rejected by Met Council In a Nov. 5 hearing, the Metropolitan Council denied an appeal to restore DARTS’ Metro Mobility and Transit Link program contracts, which were to end on Nov. 9, 2014. Under these two programs, the West St. Paul-based nonprofit DARTS had provided transportation services for Dakota County residents since 1989. “We’re very disappointed that the Met Council failed to correct its ‘rush to judgment’ of canceling our two transit contracts for insufficient cause,� said Greg Konat, president and CEO of DARTS. “We swiftly addressed the Met
Council’s concerns yet were unfairly denied due process.� Konat called this decision by Met Council staff an injustice to the 4,300 riders and 196 employees who count on DARTS. “Many DARTS clients will lose the continuity, familiarity and comfort level they’ve established with DARTS drivers and with the unique services DARTS has provided over the years,� he explained. “The last two months have been trying, with unfair accusations and negaSee APPEAL, 8A
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