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“Where Fillmore County News Comes First” Weekly Edition
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Monday, February 20, 2017
Volume 32 Issue 22
Mabel resident asks city Citizen input on to enforce noise ordinance Chatfield pool page
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Run Right Power Equipment
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page 26 Payton Danielson • Cougars
Canton • Chatfield • Fountain • Harmony • Houston • Lanesboro • Mabel • Ostrander • Peterson • Preston • Rushford • Rushford Village • Spring Valley • Whalan • Wykoff
JEM Theatre under new ownership Spring Valley hires trio as ambulance director By R ich Wicks rich@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Amber Coaty, left, is learning the ins and outs of running the JEM Theatre in Harmony, Minn., after she and her husband, Dana, purchased the theatre from Michelle Haugerud, shown here with Amber outside the JEM. Photo by Barb Jeffers By Barb Jeffers barb@fillmorecountyjournal.com
The show must go on - and it will at the JEM Theatre in Harmony, Minn., although with new faces selling tickets and popping popcorn. After 14 years of owning and running the JEM, Michelle Haugerud has sold the iconic theatre to Dana and Amber Coaty. Amber grew up in Rochester, Minn., while Dana is originally from Superior, Wis. The Coatys moved to the area 11 years ago and live in Harmony with their children Dale, Alayna, Bowen, Alora and foreign exchange student Tatiana. When asked why they wanted
to buy the JEM Theatre, Amber said, “It is one of those dreams that you had that you never ever thought would ever come true and the opportunity presented itself,” so “it was a dream come true,” she states. “It is an amazing opportunity for our family,” states Amber, as she explains that she is a stayat-home mom and says, “I was looking for a way to find a job that I could still stay at home with my kids, and this seemed like a really good option because they could actually come with me and they could learn the business right along with me and I could still be at home with them,” so it works out really well.
February
Dana works as an HVAC technician with Casper’s Plumbing & Heating in Decorah, Iowa, but will certainly play a part in the family-run business. The Coaty family wasted no time in getting their feet wet, as they purchased the theatre on Thursday, February 2, 2017 and presented their first movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the following night. Amber says the first couple weeks have gone “very good”, adding that Haugerud made it much easier, saying, “Michelle was a good trainer so I didn’t feel like I was jumping completely See JEM Page 2
The Spring Valley City Council met in regular session on Monday, February 13. All members were present: Tony Archer, Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Jessy Betts, Mike Hadland and City Administrator Deb Zimmer. No visitors had signed up to address the council. After approving the previous minutes, agenda and bills, the main item on the agenda was deciding how to fill the city’s Ambulance Director position. Just prior to the public meeting, the council met in closed session to conduct interviews for the job. Finalists included an individual and a team of three members of the ambulance crew. Todd Jones stated, “I think Becky has good qualifications, but I think this team of three is,…I mean how do you top it, as far as what
they bring to the table?” Other council members voiced agreement with this opinion. Tony Archer added, “I think the things they brought up about the cost savings, what they can do, how they can recruit, what ideas they have, sometimes it’s better in numbers to do that rather than one person…they have a lot of experience, a lot of education.” Council members asked the trio questions about how they would handle their scheduling if hired, as well as considering pay options. Zimmer asked the council, “When you hire a director, it’s 40 hours. So would they split the 40 hours?” Jessy Betts suggested paying via a stipend rather than hourly pay, and Zimmer said that is allowable. After discussion, the council felt it would be best to pay each of the three via a stipend of $10,000 each per year, See AMBULANCE Page 9
County to develop BodyCam policy By K aren R eisner karen@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Sheriff Tom Kaase described functions of a multi-function BodyCam at the county board’s February 14 meeting. Some of the functions include a cell phone, body camera, and a digital recorder. Kaase explained state statute mandates the development and approval by the county board of a written policy. Why now? Kaase said the department has an opportunity to demo one. The Sheriff’s Department can not demo the BodyCam without a written policy in place. He added that if grant money becomes available down the road, the policy could be in place. Funding
Prices Effective Februrary 20th - 26th, 2017
for the purchase of BodyCams is not in the 2017 budget. A draft policy was presented which was largely taken from a policy that has been implemented by Washington County. Kaase said the draft policy has to be available to the public for a comment period, during which time his office will collect information. Then, they will provide that information to the county board which is required to have a public comment period during a regularly scheduled meeting. Kaase said the use of BodyCams could increase transparency and accountability, minimize complaints, refute allegations against his staff, reduce expenses See BODYCAM Page 8