Dakota County
Tribune
Farmington | Rosemount www.dakotacountytribune.com
NEWS Blood drive in honor of Lilah An American Red Cross blood drive will be in honor of a Rosemount girl who is a Stage 4 neuroblastoma survivor. Page 3A
OPINION PSEO study nets results A Center for School Change study has changed what information about Post Secondary Enrollment Options is available. Page 4A
and the surrounding areas September 3, 2015 • Volume 130 • Number 26
Reinforcing the dangers of alcohol use, driving Programs, policy aim to deter illegal underage drinking by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
As students start the 2015-16 school year, one message that will be repeated often is the consequences of the dangerous mix of illegal underage alcohol use and driving. Rosemount High School students have seen the third item listed on the first page of the Student Handbook under “General Information�: the Minnesota State High School League’s policy toward illegal alcohol and drug use. Farmington High School students will hear and see chemical-free cel-
ebration messages circulated during homecoming festivities, which will continue to focus on healthy ways to mark the events. RHS students also will be reminded of the presentations they saw in the spring about the tragic results of alcohol-related crashes. Around prom time, this year’s juniors heard from Catherine Casey, a Minneapolis Police officer, as she spoke about the death of her daughter who was killed in an Oct. 28, 2006, crash caused by a drunken driver. Deanna Casey was 16 years old when a drunken
driver traveling the opposite direction on Interstate 494 in South St. Paul dislodged three barricades – one of which landed in Deanna’s lane. Deanna struck the barricade, which sent her car spinning and an instant later her vehicle was struck by a semitruck that also lost control after it hit a barricade. She died at the scene. “Think about the choices you make before you get in the car,� Casey said. “You need to learn from others’ mistakes so you don’t make the same ones they did. “It can happen to you.
It can happen to one of your friends,� she said. “The choice one person made affected my family and my daughter. Because of it, she’s dead.� According to the most recent Minnesota Student Survey, alcohol use has declined in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District by 24 to 27 percent among high school students from 1995 to 2013. One percent of ninthgraders reported using alcohol in the 30 days prior to the 2013 survey, which was down from 18 percent in 1995. Administrators have
said they are still concerned that 33 percent of students reported getting alcohol from their homes and 17 percent reported getting it from their parents. In an effort to cut down on such instances, social host ordinances have been passed in Rosemount, Lakeville, Apple Valley and Dakota County in recent years, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The ordinances make it a misdemeanor for an adult to provide an environment where alcohol See ALCOHOL, 8A
THISWEEKEND
Farmington woman allegedly knew of abuse before child’s death Lia Pearson charged with manslaughter
From the secret ďŹ les Rosemount suspense novelist Craig MacIntosh returns with “Wolf’s Vendetta,â€? a tale of criminal conspiracies and intrigue. Page 19A
SPORTS September is upon us Even though the school year hasn’t started for most students in Dakota County, sports teams are already settling into a mid-season groove. Page 12A
PUBLIC NOTICE The Dakota County Tribune is an official newspaper of the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District. Page 13A
INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 12A Announcements . . . . 13A Public Notices . . . . . . 13A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 13A
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Ramsey County added an additional charge of second-degree manslaughter to the charges against Lia Pearson, 37, of Farmington, during a court appearance on Monday. The court alleges Pearson knowingly left her 17-month-old daughter in the care of Leb Mike Meak, 35, of Maplewood after others told her Meak was hitting her child and after she saw the injuries. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner determined that this child’s death was a homicide. The charge was added to the original charge of child endangerment following an incident on Feb. 12, where Pearson’s daughter was found unresponsive with bruises covering her body in a MapleSee PEARSON, 8A
Putting the ‘Pedal to the Metal’ The Rosemount High School marching band played on the opening day of the Minnesota State Fair on Thursday, Aug. 27, during the 2 p.m. daily parade. The band, which performed selections from its upcoming field show “Pedal to the Metal,� will play in the Eden Prairie and Eastview marching band competitions on Saturday, Sept. 12. (Photos contributed by Dave Andrews)
History takes flight for WWII veteran Farmington man, 94, flies in a bomber once again by Eric Hagen SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Thirty-five times during World War II, Farmington man Harold Laursen crawled into a tight space to protect the bottom of a B-17 bomber from German fighter planes. The former ball turret gunner, 94, rode in a B-17 for only the third time since his last mission more than 70 years ago when Aluminum Overcast paid a visit to the Anoka County-Blaine Airport on July 28. As the propellers spun to life and the plane rumbled underneath him, he watched the ground rush away as he peered from his seat through an open side window. He looked around in awe and then closed his eyes to reminisce.
When at cruising altitude, his daughter, Joan Storlie, helped him stand up so he could peer out that open window across from his seat where the left waist gunner would have been. He was no longer crammed in one spot. When the plane landed and he exited, he simply said, “Wow!� Laursen flew on 18 different B-17s on his 35 missions, the last being on his 24th birthday, Dec. 23, 1944. He was a “spare� ball turret gunner without a main crew because five of them were killed in a plane crash near the Grafton-Underwood base when coming back from a training exercise in foggy weather. Only one man survived. Drafted into the Air Force, Laursen wanted to be a pilot like most other
Harold Laursen, 94, of Farmington, was a ball turret gunner on a B-17 bomber for 35 missions during World War II. He rode a B-17, Aluminum Overcast, July 28 at the Anoka County-Blaine Airport. (Photo by Eric Hagen) guys but the 5-foot-5inch, 110-pound man was a “perfect candidate for a ball turret gunner,� he said. “It was lonely down
there by yourself and they were claustrophobic. very cold,� Laursen Somebody had to do it, said. “I couldn’t hardly so I did it.� move because there was After the war, Laursen no room. Some people See LAURSEN, 7A couldn’t stand it because
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