Dct 8 28 14

Page 1

Dakota County

Tribune

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

NEWS Practice ďŹ elds damaged Police are looking for vandals who drove a vehicle or vehicles over the practice fields at Lakeville South High School. Page 2A

OPINION A political food ďŹ ght Those on both sides of the school lunch debate should offer specifics on goals, expectations and alternatives. Page 4A

August 28, 2014 • Volume 129 • Number 26

Veterans memorial ready for public debut Tribute to be paid to Farmington area military members by Jennifer Chick SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

After more than seven years of dedication and perseverance, the Farmington Veterans Memorial is ready for its public debut. The final pieces of the memorial were set in place this week and the dedication ceremony will be 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, at Rambling River Park in Farmington. “Everything has just fit together very nicely,� said Leon Orr, chairperson of

tee. “People like what they see when they visit, and I think the more people look at it, the more they will appreciate it.� Howard Miller, an area World War II veteran, first started the effort to build the memorial. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in July 2012. The focal point of the memorial, a massive blue pearl granite slab in the shape of a folded flag, representing Ret. Maj. Gen. the flag which is given to David Elicerio families at military funerthe Farmington Area Vet- als, was added in early Auerans Memorial commit- gust.

Campaign carnival Underdog Productions takes a look at the carnivalization of political campaigns with its musical “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.� Page 17A

Marching band on a stick SPORTS The Rosemount High School marching band performed during the Minnesota State Fair daily parade on the opening day of the fair, Thursday, Aug. 21. The band previewed music from its new show, “The Queen.� The band is currently raising funds in an effort to replace its storage and travel trailer. The goal is to raise $40,000. More is at www.rosemountband.com. (Photos submitted by Leo Avenido)

Area sports squads started the fall season this week with a full slate of games throughout Farmington and Rosemount. Page 10A

ONLINE

Discuss stories with us at facebook.com/ SunThisweek.

INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 10A Announcements . . . . 11A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 13A Thisweekend . . 16A-17A

News 952-846-2033 Display Advertising 952-846-2011 Classified Advertising 952-846-2000 Delivery 952-846-2070

&

!""'! !

$

See VETERANS, 11A

A 53-year-old Farmington man was indicted in U.S. District Court on Aug. 6 with 16 counts of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud for allegedly devising an elaborate coin fraud scheme and defrauding victims of more than $1 million. Dennis Charles Helmer, aka Jeff Jones, Mr. Diamond and Dennis Diamond, allegedly conducted the scheme from November 2009 to December 2013 when he operated Wholesale Assets Worldwide LLC, which engaged in appraising, buying, selling, and trading of coins and precious metals. According to the indictment, Helmer contacted individuals, many of whom were elderly, and persuaded them to send him money, coins and precious metals based on his false promises to provide money or coins in return. Helmer allegedly intentionally misled customers about the size and stability of his business, including providing them with copies of a false “Dun and Bradstreet Credibility Report,� and stating that WAW had 75 employees and $500 million in annual revenue. Court documents say that Helmer’s business received more than $1.2 million in coins, precious metals and cash from victims. Instead of fulfilling their orders, Helmer sold many of the coins and used customers’ money and proceeds from those sales to fulfill other orders, make payments to other customers, pay his own personal expenses, and attempt to fund start-up costs for another company, Smoke Shack Inc., which claimed to need $9.2 million to launch on a start-up company website. Helmer allegedly at different times used various aliases, including Jeff Jones, in an attempt to hide his prior criminal charges for similar conduct in both Dakota and Hennepin counties. See FRAUD, 11A

Rosemount mission preserves love Contingent of St. Joseph Church members build friendships in Haiti by Chad Berg

To receive a feed of breaking news stories, follow us at twitter.com/ SunThisweek.

gave all ...� Approximately 255 pavers have been installed around the memorial, engraved with the name, service branch and dates of service or conflict/war for veterans of any military branch of service. They are being sold for $350 each, and the memorial will have a special installation every year to install new pavers. Maj. Gen. David Elicerio, former assistant adjutant general for the Army,

Farmington man indicted in $1.2M coin-fraud scheme

THISWEEKEND

Let the fall games begin

With its main focus on those service men and women who died in combat, the memorial will serve as a reflective place to remember those who have fallen. They will be memorialized with names etched into a stone wall. The granite tablet is etched with the names of 15 Farmington service personnel who died during war time. Those names will be read during the dedication ceremony. A simple phrase at the center of the memorial says, “All gave some. Some

SPECIAL TO SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

It’s been roughly four years since the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Although America’s media has long forgotten the tragic story, the consequences of the earthquake remain at the forefront of many Haitians’ lives. Just as much care is needed today as it was in the earthquake’s immediate aftermath. As parishioners of St. Joseph Church in Rosemount, we wanted to be a part of that preserving care – and in helping to transform lives, we found ourselves to be transformed. However, we would not be starting from scratch; we would join the evangelical Christian Mission of Hope ministry. On July 5, 19 eager adults boarded an early morning flight to Port Au Prince, Haiti. It was difficult for us to assess our emotions or expectations because the

environment we were entering was unlike anything we had ever experienced. A rush of chaos and sweltering heat engulfed us upon exiting the airport in Port Au Prince, while flocks of Haitian men offered their luggage hauling services for a few American dollars. The pandemonium regressed as we exited the capital and headed into Titanyen, the home of Mission of Hope. For the next 24 hours, we became acclimated to the Haitian heat and toured the Mission of Hope campuses. As the electricity shut down every morning at 5 a.m., so did our fans. If neither the rising temperatures nor St. Joseph parishioner Dave Berg’s renditions of 70s rock tunes awoke us, the roosters’ “cock-a-doodledoo-ing� an hour before sunrise would. On Monday, July 7, we began our first day of work projects painting a three-room house for a couple soon to be married. It was there that we first encountered the generosity and selflessness of St. Joseph Church member Stephanie Shawback feeds a Haitian child the Haitian people. Community some food during the church’s mission trip in July to the island nation that is still reeling from a devastating earthquake in January 2010. See HOPE, 9A (Photo submitted)


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.