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Dakota County

Tribune

Farmington | Rosemount and the surrounding areas www.dakotacountytribune.com

NEWS Planning a 2015 wedding? Couples looking to tie the knot in 2015 can find some guidance on today’s Wedding Guide pages. Page 10A-11A

OPINION Fund special education The ECM Editorial Board urges Congress to finally live up to its Special Education funding obligations. Page 4A

THISWEEKEND

Spotlight on Civil Rights Author Susan Follett will be joined by two Civil Rights Movement veterans at a Feb. 17 panel discussion in Rosemount. Page 17A

SPORTS

February 5, 2015 • Volume 129 • Number 49

Health concerns to end Jarvis’ tenure St. Joseph Catholic Church pastor to be reassigned this summer by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Those who have spent any time with the Rev. Paul Jarvis in the past four years while he has served as St. Joseph Catholic Church lead pastor know he has a “big” heart. But it is his heart – his aorta to be exact – for which doctors have instructed him to reduce possible stress and which led him to step down from his Rosemount assignment to seek another calling within the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Jarvis broke the news to church leaders and close friends prior to announcing it Sunday during each Mass. The decision sent ripples of sorrow, some tears and also an outpouring of support from the church members and community leaders that Jarvis do what’s right for him. “I was very sad,” said the Rev. Karen Bruins of Rosemount United Methodist Church, which has participated in numerous ecumenical efforts with St. Joseph since Jarvis’ arrival. “He’s come to be a good friend. I’m 100 percent in favor him of taking

care of his medical needs.” Though he’s been the lead pastor, the church’s 15th for a short time, there are many enduring images of Jarvis. It could be when he and a young St. Joseph parishioner dressed in the effect of two people who could have been homeless and pushed a grocery cart down the aisle of the sanctuary in an effort to spur food donations. It could be his appearance in a green fedora, black shorts and black short sleeved pastor’s collar shirt waving an Irish flag atop a Leprechaun Days float a mere four months after heart surgery. It could be his other various costumes during the church’s events – a dog during the Blessing of the Animals or an angel during the All Saints Party. Most might say that it’s any of picture of him with a smile. “He has personality and spunk and is just a lot of fun,” Bruins said. “He is a person of deep grace who doesn’t take himself too seriously.” “I will miss his creative spark,” church trustee See JARVIS, 11A

Passing on their knowledge Police department experiences retirements, promotions Longtime staffers Sommers and Sgt. Bryan Burkhalter are retiring this When John Sommers was year with officers Joe Risvold hired as a Rosemount police and Sean McMenomy set to officer in 1986, there were be promoted to sergeant. only eight officers on the Rosemount police force. Chief Mitchell Scott said the With about three times sergeant contingent will be as many officers on the staff young and not have as much today, the numbers are reflecexperience as previous cotive of the amount of changes John Sommers horts, but they will mature the sergeant has seen over his and grow as the community 29 years in law enforcement. grows. Ryan Coughlin will assume the As much as the tools and the kinds administrative sergeant role once held of crime have changed, one thing has by Sommers, and Mikael Dahlstrom remained constant. will be in charge of the investigations “We are completely a family here,” unit. Jeremiah Simonson is the departSommers said of the department. ment’s patrol sergeant. Like any family, there is a new genScott said the sergeants will rotate eration to learn from the elders with the in and out of roles in an effort to make hope that someday the rookies will as- them more well-rounded. sume leadership roles. That’s what has Scott, who was involved with several been and will continue to happen in the interview and hiring processes as a capRosemount department in the coming See SOMMERS, 6A year. by Tad Johnson

SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Irish gets back on track The Rosemount girls basketball team is on the upswing in the South Suburban Conference. Page 10A

ONLINE Check out editor Tad Johnson’s Twitter feed that focuses on people and events in Rosemount at https://twitter.com/ editorTJ.

Hockey parent proposes mural at ice arena by Andy Rogers SUN THISWEEK

Sun Thisweek and the Dakota County Tribune are official newspapers of the RosemountApple Valley-Eagan School District.

INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 10A

Sometimes all you have to do is ask and you’ll be surprised at the answer. The tiger eyes looming over the football field at Farmington High School will soon become a regular motif for Farmington athletic facilities, thanks to a Farmington hockey fan and parent, Scot Moser. One fall evening during a football game at Tiger Stadium at the high school, Moser admired the glaring eyes of a tiger on the scoreboard.

“I went and told my wife, ‘Imagine those two eyes peering over the hockey arena,’ ” Moser said. Although he has no affiliation with the arena, he’s a former a member of the youth hockey board and has a hockey-playing daughter, and Moser knows those who could help his idea become a reality. His big idea is to paint a mural on the west wall of Schmitz-Maki Arena, the same wall that features the scoreboard and has the words “Home of the Tigers.” The 8-by-30-foot tiger eyes would look similar to those overlooking

Announcements . . . . 12A Public Notices . . . . . . 12A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 13A News 952-846-2033 Display Advertising 952-846-2019 Classified Advertising 952-846-2003 Delivery 952-846-2070

Farmington settles with former city planner Smick is paid $60,000, withdraws complaint by Andy Rogers SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Former Farmington city planner Lee Smick has settled a dispute with the city nearly a year after being dismissed. The Farmington City Council approved a separation agreement between the city of Farmington, AFSCME Council No. 5 and Smick during Monday’s meeting. Smick was Farmington’s city planner since 1997, but in early February 2014, she was dismissed. The role of city planner was never filled within the

city. Instead, the position of community director was re-established. Following the decision in February 2014, Mayor Todd Larson told the Star Tribune that Smick did a fine job with the experience she had. He just wanted someone who knows economic development. Smick filed a claim against the city in July. According to the agreement, the city will pay Smick $60,000, provide a letter of reference and remove her performance evaluation and performance improvement plan from its files from November 2013. Smick signed the agreeSee SMICK, 7A

The eyes of a tiger will soon be watching hockey

DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

PUBLIC NOTICE

St. Joseph Catholic Church lead pastor the Rev. Paul Jarvis has cast many memorable images in the four years he’s been at the church. Clockwise from top left: Jarvis riding on a Leprechaun Days float four months after his 2013 heart surgery; dancing a jig during the Leprechaun Days block party this year; dressed as a dog during this year’s Blessing of the Animals; resting one month after his heart surgery in a fine Hawaiian shirt; and at the 2012 Blessing the Animals. (Photos by Leo Aviendo, Matt Weber Photography and the Dakota County Tribune)

See EYES, 11A

The proposed mural at Schmitz-Maki Arena mirrors the tiger eyes of the scoreboard at Tiger Stadium. (Graphic by Bill Sundt and Caswell Studios)


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