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“Where Fillmore County News Comes First” Weekly Edition
Fall Car Care pages
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Monday, October 31, 2016
Fall Harvest pages
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Volume 32 Issue 6
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Canton • Chatfield • Fountain • Harmony • Houston • Lanesboro • Mabel • Ostrander • Peterson • Preston • Rushford • Rushford Village • Spring Valley • Whalan • Wykoff
Fillmore Central senior chosen as state finalist for Wendy’s High School Heisman Scholarship By H annah Wingert hannah@fillmorecountyjournal.com
“I was very surprised, but excited,” Fillmore Central senior Kiera Olson s a i d about finding out that she had b e e n named a state Kiera Olson finalist for the Fillmore Central senior W e n - Wendy’s High School d y ’ s Heisman state finalist. High School Heisman Scholarship. Communications teacher Mrs. Mehus encouraged Kiera to apply for the scholarship because of her academic and
athletic accomplishments. So Kiera filled out the application, wrote her essays, and waited. The Wendy’s High School Heisman is similar to the college Heisman, except that instead of relying on just football and academics, students are eligible for the high school Heisman based on their academics and participation in any of the 43 school sponsored sports that are recognized by the National Federation of State High School Association and the International Olympic Committee in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The scholarship was created by the founder of Wendy’s restaurants, Dave Thomas in 1994. In the 22 years since, Wendy’s has awarded nearly $2 million to the winners of the
scholarships. Applicants must maintain a 3.0 GPA and be leaders and role models within their schools and communities. A male and female winner are chosen at each step of the process to nationals. The first step for Kiera was being selected as one of the two winners at Fillmore Central. After she won the slot for the female winner at the school, she became a state finalist for the scholarship. Kiera runs cross country and track in school. In ninth grade, she placed 6th in sections and advanced to the state competition in cross country. In eleventh grade, her team was named conference champions and section champions. This year, they continued their streak by winning conference champions again and advancing to sections,
Water quality vs Amish faith By K aren R eisner karen@fillmorecountyjournal.com
The observance of strict religious tenets and beliefs versus the protection of quality drinking water has been the focal point of Fillmore County versus Ammon Swartzentruber and Sarah Swartzentruber. The Swartzentrubers, Harmony Township, were issued a “cease and desist” order to stop all construction on a new house in June 2014. The young Amish man, Ammon Swartzentruber did inquire at the Fillmore County Zoning office in late 2013-early 2014 about building a larger house on his property to replace a
current smaller house. He was informed that he would need to comply with county regulations. Section 604.02 restricts the number of dwellings on a quarter of a quarter section of land two . The quarter section already had three. A subsurface sewer system is required with the construction of new dwellings, according to regulations adopted by the county in late 2013. The sewer system is required both by county ordinance and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) rules. Swartzentruber indicated that a septic system was in conflict with his religious beliefs during several discussions at the
county zoning office. When it was noticed that the Swartzentrubers went ahead and started construction on the house without a building permit, a “cease and desist” order was issued to stop all construction. The issue for the county is a building permit, which is required to by obtained prior to the beginning of construction, plus the terms of the zoning ordinance must be met before a permit is issued. The building permit for a dwelling is contingent on a subsurface sewage system. Construction on the new house continued after the cease and desist order was delivered. See WATER Page 2
which haven’t taken place yet. Her record in track is equally impressive. As a sophomore, she won the section champion title for the 3200 meter dash and came in 8th in state. In her junior year, she came in 2nd in sections in the 4 x 8 relay and 6th in state. Kiera holds a 4.0 GPA, is a member of the National Honor Society and the student council, and is in the Teens Nurturing Teens group, which is composed of five seniors who were selected by their peers and teachers. Her extracurricular activities include band, jazz band, choir, speech class, and she participates in the one act play and the spring musical. Her favorite subjects in school are math and science and she would like to go to college for chemical engineering. “I’m in advanced chemistry
and physiology this year, and I really enjoy it,” Kiera remarked. Even with her notable academic and athletic accomplishments, Kiera was still surprised when she heard that she’d been named the female state finalist for the Wendy’s High School Heisman Scholarship. “I was shocked when they announced it,” she said. She was awarded a $1,000 college scholarship, a $50 Wendy’s gift card, a Wendy’s High School Heisman State Winner patch, and a silver medal. As a finalist for state, she is eligible for the nationals, which are held in New York City. If chosen as one of the 10 national finalists, she will receive an invitation to the awards banquet and will be eligible to win a $10,000 college scholarship along with other awards.
Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center expands By Barb Jeffers barb@fillmorecountyjournal.com
It is a very exciting time for the Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center of Lanesboro, Minn., as 151 acres have recently been added to the existing 80 acres. The property, which is known as “The Point,” was owned by the Gavere family from Albert Lea, Minn. It was first owned by Frank Gavere and then by his son Allen. “For 38 years they have allowed us to use the property for educational purposes,” states Executive Director of Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center Joe Deden. Deden explains how the pur-
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chase came about saying, “A couple years ago, Allen Gavere said he is at a stage in his life where he would like to see Eagle Bluff gain control of this piece of property,” and he was willing to sell it for the assessed value of $600,000. “We have been working for a couple years to find donors to cover that $600,000 purchase and we have raised $535,000, which leaves us $65,000 to go,” states Deden. The purchase of the land was made in July 2016. The payment arrangement that was made was $200,000 a year for three years, so Eagle Bluff has two years to raise the additional See EAGLE BLUFF Page 3