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Dakota County

Tribune

Farmington | Rosemount and the surrounding areas

www.dakotacountytribune.com

NEWS Recreational facilities review The city of Farmington could put a recreational facilities funding questions on ballot in November. Page 3A

OPINION Parents ask, he delivers Parents say they need more information about college programs, and columnist Joe Nathan offers it in today’s edition. Page 4A

January 21, 2016 • Volume 130 • Number 46

Pitcher declares state Senate candidacy Farmington City Council member seeks GOP nomination by Laura Adelmann SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

A Farmington City Council member is seeking the Republican nomination for the Senate District 58 seat, held since 2010 by Dave Thompson, R-Lakeville, who recently announced he would not seek re-election this November. Tim Pitcher, 55, a Minnesota native, is the district’s GOP first vice chairman and has served a year on the City Council. Retired from over 30 years of medical device and electronics engineering, Pitcher described himself as a strong proponent

THISWEEKEND

Tim Pitcher for limited government and fiscal responsibility. In a news release, Pitcher said he supports government letting people

keep more of what they earn, defends the people’s 2nd Amendment right to bear arms and is pro-life. Pitcher also advocated for safe roads and bridges and is a proponent of protecting personal property rights and freedoms. One of his key focuses is education, and he advocates for increasing local control in schools. Pitcher also cited concerns about Minnesota’s “glaring� achievement gap, which he said he wants to “vigorously correct.� He said he is timing his announcement to Martin Luther Jr. Day because he “strongly believes in

FUN WITH THE FORCE

breaking down all barriers of racial misunderstanding.� He noted his wife, Chheing, is a Cambodian holocaust survivor. Thompson said he would not seek re-election because he is relocating to North Carolina for a job promotion. Last week, Farmington School Board Member Melissa Sauser announced she would also be seeking the Republican endorsement in District 58. Pitcher has lived in Lakeville and Farmington for more than 22 years and has volunteered in various capacities. In 2013, he received

by Andy Rogers SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

The Farmington Education Association teachers union asked in December for a mediator to help forge a new 2015-17 contract following several months of negotiations with District 192 officials. The FEA and the district hopes an independent arbitrator will help push the process forward after a scheduled Feb. 12 meeting with an arbitrator. “Negotiations are all about give and take and making compromises on both sides, but we do feel we need some extra help right now in getting things resolved,� FEA President Lynda Ihlan said. “We just want to get this done. We’re looking for some outside help.� Superintendent Jay Haugen said “in general I have found mediation to be a very helpful process.� The FEA feels that with a recent increase in the state per pupil funding formula and a recent voter-approved operating levy, the district should be able to lower class sizes and approve a wage scale in line with similar school districts.

A “pre-Valentine’s Day celebration� in Lakeville features the George Maurer Trio, candlelit tables and chocolate desserts. Page 13A

Above: Members of the 501st Legion Central Garrison, a volunteer group of Star Wars enthusiasts who dress as Imperial Army characters, greeted guests at the Star Wars Extravaganza held Jan. 16 at the Rosemount Community Center.

SPORTS Building conďŹ dence The Rosemount High School boys hockey team has chance to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2007-08. Page 7A

PUBLIC NOTICE The Dakota County Tribune is an official newspaper of the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District. Page 8A

INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A Public Notices . . . . . . . 8A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . 9A Announcements . . . . 12A

News 952-846-2033 Display Advertising 952-846-2019 Classified Advertising 952-392-6862 Delivery 763-712-3544

At right: Darth Vader got into impromptu light-saber battles with youngsters at the free family event, which offered a host of Star Wars art activities. More photos can be found on Page 13A. (Photos by Andrew Miller)

Chavez-Nelson pleads to lesser murder charge by John Gessner SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Prosecutors have accepted a plea agreement in the 2013 stabbing death of Anarae Schunk, sparing her loved ones the trauma of a “lengthy and difficult trial,� Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said. Schunk’s ex-boyfriend, Shavelle Oscar Chavez-Nelson, pleaded guilty Jan. 15 to one count of second-degree unintentional murder, Backstrom said. The 20-year-old Burnsville woman was killed on or about Sept. 22, 2013, at a home in Rosemount. Chavez-Nelson is already serving life without parole for the related shooting death of a man outside Nina’s Grill in Burnsville

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on Sept. 22. As part of the deal in the Schunk case, Chavez-Nelson was sentenced to 17 years to run concurrently with the life sentence he’s serving in Stillwater, Backstrom Shavelle Oscar said. P r o s e c u t o r s Chavezoriginally charged Nelson him with intentional second-degree murder. A grand jury added a charge of first-degree premeditated murder. The killing of the popular 2011 Burnsville High School graduate “broke the hearts of many people in our community,� Backstrom said in an interview. “This was one of the most egregious cases of homicide that’s ever occurred in our county,� he said. “Am I disappointed that we did not obtain a stronger murder convic-

tion? The answer is yes and no.� Chavez-Nelson, 33, is imprisoned for life on firstand second-degree murder convictions Anarae in the Nina’s shootSchunk ing, which claimed the life of 23-year-old Savage resident Palagor Jobi. He was convicted in November 2014. “With that in mind, we’re not going to be able to put him in prison any longer,� Backstrom said. “But I did believe it was important for Anarae’s family, for our community, and for justice that he also admit to a murder offense related to Anarae’s death. And that’s what occurred. I accepted the plea, with the support of Anarae’s family, to avoid a lengthy and difficult trial.� Chavez-Nelson, his then-girlfriend Ashley Marie Conrade and Schunk were at Nina’s in the early hours of Sept. 22. Schunk had end-

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Haugen said he believes it’s important all of the district’s salaries stay competitive and class size has been one of the School Board’s most important issues for years. “The board understands both the importance and the challenges of class size, and that decisions in St. Paul (Minnesota Legislature), past, present and future greatly impact our ability to maintain what our board believes to be healthy class sizes,� Haugen said. The FEA has proposed to enter class-size parameters into its contract. Some of elementary school classes have more than 30 students and teachers have fewer opportunities to build relationships with the students, Ihlan said. “We’re just looking for the School Board and the district to make some commitments to class size,� Ihlan said. “They have a policy, but we’re just looking to have something more concrete in our contract.� Ihlan said the FEA was willing to accept the district’s offer of an 1.5 percent annual increase for salary and insurance for the two years if they were willing to accept the class size language. “Since the district did not accept our proposal of See 192, 6A

Guilty plea closes Schunk murder case

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Laura Adelmann is at laura. adelmann@ecm-inc.com.

District 192, teachers contract talks continue Mediation scheduled Feb. 12

Candlelit jazz at arts center

the District 58 GOP’s Walter Klaus Volunteer of the Year Award and volunteered extensively for Thompson during his 2014 bid for governor. Pitcher said he will abide by the Republican endorsement. He has three daughters, ages 28, 20 and 17; is an avid fisherman, and likes to work on cars. “I look forward to bringing decades of innovative problem-solving techniques, composure and time-tested wisdom to the Senate,� he said in a news release.

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ed her relationship with ChavezNelson but agreed to meet him in Burnsville on Sept. 21 to try to recover $5,000 she had loaned him. Just before closing time ChavezNelson murdered Jobi in an altercation after Jobi talked to Conrade. The trio then went to Conrade’s townhome in Rosemount. Schunk’s family reported her missing on Sept. 23. Seven days later her body was found in a rural Rice County ditch. Chavez-Nelson and Conrade were both indicted in July 2014 with first- and second-degree murder. In a February 2015 plea agreement, Conrade, 25, pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding an offender after the fact, one for each of the killings. She was to be sentenced to 15 years in prison. Backstrom said at the time she would cooperate in the ongoing murder investigation. See PLEA, 6A

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