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“Where Fillmore County News Comes First” Weekly Edition
Check out the Health, Mind & Body special section Pages 13-17
Looking back while moving forward page
5
Monday, February 10, 2014
Inaction at the federal level does affect us locally page
6
Volume 29 Issue 21
Lanesboro approves project financing page
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Houston School Board approves grant submission page
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Canton l Chatfield l Fountain l Harmony l Lanesboro l Mabel l Ostrander l Peterson l Preston l Rushford l Rushford Village l Spring Valley l Whalan l Wykoff
Public hearing set for CSAH 17 project By K aren R eisner karen@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Front Row (L to R) Ashley Brown, Kallie Carlson, Kate Klungtvedt, Brittany Kuss, April Stone, Bailey Bestul, Nell Himlie, Brook Bestul, Ethan Bergen, Mary Kate Buege, Tovah Schroeder. Back Row (L to R) Forrest Musselman, Taylor Williams, Lauren Hadley, Hannah Kopperud, Luke Eide, Kate Mackenzie, Elizabeth Wick, Emma Malone, Hannah Boyum, Salinah Ritter. Photo submitted
Rushford-Peterson OneAct Play state bound again By K irsten Zoellner kirsten@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Picture this: An egotistical high school drama director forces his students to do a cutting from the play “Equus”, the 1973 play by Peter Shaffer, for the Minnesota State High School League competition. Rebellious at this insistence, the students buck his direction, deciding instead to attempt to disqualify themselves in the first level of competition. Doesn’t that just sound like the most intriguing play ever? Following an impressive ride over the years, the RushfordPeterson One-Act team is back up on top and headed to the
big competition again after taking first place in section competition February 1. This year’s production, “Anti-Play”, was written and directed by Forrest Musselman, R-P theatre and English teacher. Musselman has published 19 plays professionally and has seen three original productions head to state competition. The most recent was “A Deep, Poetic Journey Into Something” in 2011 and “Chipped in 1998”. “This play is fun for myself and the other veterans in the cast because it is something we’ve joked about doing for years,” notes senior Kate Mackenzie, a six-year one-act veteran who plays the role of ‘Barb.’ “Pretending to break all
the rules is a treat to all who are aware of some of the absurd rules in the one-act play competitions.” “I’ve been doing one-act plays since 7th grade and I think we all became more emotionally connected to the play this year because Mr. Musselman wrote it,” adds junior Hannah Kopperud, a five-year veteran playing the narrator, ‘Marcie.’ “This experience is definitely something we’ll never forget.” Freshman Bailey Bestul takes on the role of the pompous director. The talented cast also includes Ashley Brown, Kallie Carlson, Kate Klungtvedt, Brittany Kuss, See ONE-ACT Page 3
Possible assessment levels were discussed concerning the CSAH 17 project at the Preston City Council’s February 3 meeting. Mayor Kurt Reicks was absent. Fillmore County has proposed the rehabilitation and/or reconstruction of the portion of CSAH 17 between Fillmore Street and the south bridge within the city of Preston. The project is to include curb and gutter and pedestrian ramps, driveway aprons, and portions of adjacent sidewalks. At the Main Street intersection pedestrian ramps will be constructed with bump-outs to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The council adopted a resolution ordering the feasibility study. City Administrator Joe Hoffman explained that the county will pay half of the cost of the sidewalks that have to be cut back and replaced. The council could decide to assess all of the other
half to property owners. Curb and gutter is usually assessed 40 percent to the property owner with the city paying the other 60 percent. Because the county will pay 50 percent on this project, the city could be responsible for only 10 percent with the rest being assessed to property owners. The total project cost is roughly estimated to be $200,000 with the city’s portion being nearly $50,000 ($21,631 for sidewalks and $27,873 for curb and gutter). A resolution to accept the feasibility study and call for a public hearing to be held on February 18 in the city council chambers at 6 p.m. was approved. Other business in brief •Ron Schrier, representing the Fire Relief Association, asked the council to ratify the decision to increase the Fire Department Retirement from $1,300 to $1,500 per year of service. It has not been increased since 2007. See PRESTON Page 3
Rushford Peterson Valley brand takes hold with Chamber
Chamber of Commerce at its annual meeting February 1. kirsten@fillmorecountyjournal.com “This is a big deal,” enthused Last June, a welcoming brand chamber president Doug set root in three communi- Botcher. Latching onto the new ties: Rushford, Peterson, and brand, the chamber feels it will Rushford Village. In just shy create a larger presence, memoof eight months, the brand has rability in peoples’ minds, for been embraced by businesses, the community. Additionally, organizations, residents, and lowering marketing expense and now, the local chamber of com- less consumer risk are widely merce. In a much-anticipated resulted with a known commumove, the former Rushford nity brand. Other key benefits Area Chamber of Commerce noted include consumer loyalty, unanimously adopted the name See R-P VALLEY Page 18 of Rushford Peterson Valley By K irsten Zoellner