Fillmore County Journal - 2.5.18

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Mind &

Body

POSTAL PATRON

“Where Fillmore County News Comes First” Weekly Edition

Monday, February 5, 2018

Health, Mind and Body One Moment, Please... Special Section We won three awards, but.. pages

10-14

page

5

Breaking the silence page

Volume 33 Issue 20

Perfect R-P Miracle

19

page

20

Ask a Trooper page

22

Canton • Chatfield • Fountain • Harmony • Houston • Lanesboro • Mabel • Ostrander • Peterson • Preston • Rushford • Rushford Village • Spring Valley • Whalan • Wykoff

Native son, Michael Himlie, talks about trauma and beauty in occupied Palestine By Julie Little

julie@fillmorecountyjournal.com

Nobody ever said it was easy raising a family, paying bills, or dealing with daily life, especially when it can be capricious and unpredictable. But imagine for a moment sending your children to school knowing they would have to pass through checkpoints, sometimes being body searched, sometimes being detained, sometimes being pushed around by armed guards. Imagine knowing your kids are in a schooyard where tear gas, sound grenades and rubber bullets may be shot. Imagine having your older children or siblings arrested during a raid on your home. Imagine trying to keep your shop open when the military has closed down the street where you have your storefront or trying to get to a job where the military has closed off your route to work. Even halfway

around the world, people like you and I are trying to make a life while facing challenges far beyond our own experiences. These challenges are part of the situation that Michael Himlie sees up close in his role on the Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT) in Palestine. His is a complex story full of trauma and beauty, oppression and resilience, awareness and empowerment. Right now, he is home from Palestine for a month where he will take time to care for himself, to regroup, and to advocate for the work of peacemakers. You may know Michael. He grew up in Harmony and graduated from Fillmore Central. He has always loved the outdoors, finding a refuge there. He bikes, swims, runs, and “boulders” (more spontaneous than rock climbing, bouldering is finding boulders that call to you to See HIMLIE Page 2 

Michael Himlie is home after three months working with the Christian Peacemakers Team in the war zone of Hebron, Palestine. He will return to Hebron after a short time at home taking this opportunity to share his experiences and rest. Photo by Julie Little

Palestinian children interrupt their game of football to make way for Israeli soldiers on patrol in occupied Hebron. According to Michael Himlie, CPTer, “The greatest threat and fear of playing freely outdoors is military occupation.” And yet, there is hope in their resilience, in imagining that they will go back to playing and being children when the threat has passed. Photo submitted by Michael Himlie, Christian Peacemakers Team, Palestine

Fillmore County solid waste administrator settling into his new job By H annah Wingert hannah@fillmorecountyjournal.com

took a class in high school. After taking an introductory course in college, he decided to major in environmental studies. “Everyday is a new adventure,” Hatzenbihler said about his job at the Fillmore County Resource Recovery Center. “It’s always something new, which is good.” Working at the center has allowed him to see just how much people, himself included, take trash and recycling pick-up for granted and don’t give it a second thought once it’s out on the curb. “There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes,” he See HATZENBIHLER Page 7 

Solid Waste Administrator Drew Hatzenbihler enjoys learning new things at his job. Photo by Hannah Wingert

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“I wanted something more than a straight desk job,” Solid Waste Administrator Drew Hatzenbihler said. “I wanted to be active outside too.” He found what he was looking for in his position of Solid Waste Administrator at the Fillmore County Resource Recovery Center. Hatzenbihler began his new job at the center in the summer of 2017. At that time, the position was merged with the education coordinator position. His job includes managing the transfer station in Preston,

administrative duties, applying for grants, periodically checking the rural recycling containers, and handling public education. A native of Rochester, Hatzenbihler attended St. John’s University where he majored in environmental studies and minored in computer science. After graduating from college, he lived and worked at Eagle Bluff for a year and then lived in Lanesboro for a year after that. He now lives in Chatfield with his wife. Hatzenbihler first realized that he was interested in the environmental field when he


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