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“Where Fillmore County News Comes First” Weekly Edition
Happy Father’s Day!
Monday, June 12, 2017
Art in the Park festival Saturday, June 17 page
9
County avoids Strongwell waste
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Volume 32 Issue 38
Fountain policing options continue
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Preston business moves to new location page
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Canton • Chatfield • Fountain • Harmony • Houston • Lanesboro • Mabel • Ostrander • Peterson • Preston • Rushford • Rushford Village • Spring Valley • Whalan • Wykoff
Kids Cove Academy welcomes area families
Ostrander to ban dogs from City Park By R ich Wicks rich@fillmorecountyjournal.com
A regular meeting of the Ostrander City Council was held on June 6. Members present included Erin Volkart, Pam Kunert, Mayor Pat Nesler, and Clerk Chris Hyrkas. No citizens had signed up to address the council. Rick Whitney (Peopleservices) asked the council to consider buying a diffuser to use when flushing the city’s hydrants. He explained that it spreads out the flow, so there isn’t such a forceful stream. He said it would cost $486 total. The council voted to approve this purchase. Dustin Tart gave an update on city maintenance and fire department happenings. Tart and the council discussed a possible purchase of a refurbished fire truck from the DNR, at a cost of
By Barb Jeffers barb@fillmorecountyjournal.com
See OSTRANDER Page 6
Hearing on Wykoff school closure By R ich Wicks rich@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Aubrey Reed plays outside with some of the children enrolled at her new business, Kids Cove Academy, in Chatfield, Minn. Photo by Barb Jeffers
36th Annual
Hours
teacher. “I absolutely fell in love with this job,” says Reed, but unfortunately the facility closed a year later. “I grew close to a lot of the families, so when the center closed, I ended up being a nanny for one of the families with a
Riverside
Children are our most precious gifts, and at Kids Cove Academy the kids are taken care of with the utmost kindness and compassion. Kids Cove Academy daycare center was established in May 2017 when the building which housed the former Learn and Play Daycare in Chatfield, Minn., was purchased by Aubrey Reed, director, along with her husband, John, and John’s father, Phillip. Reed is very excited about her new adventure and although she is taking it one step at a time, she has many goals for Kids Cove Academy. Reed was born and raised in Winona, Minn., and graduated from Winona Senior High School. She grew up in a daycare setting and has maintained work in the field. “I have been around children literally my whole life,” says Reed, as she explains, “My mom, Stacy Rossin, has done daycare in Winona for the past 29 years. Growing up, I always helped my mom out with her daycare,” and she saw the difference her mom made in the children’s lives. “I have always looked up to my mom, so my dream was to grow up to be just like her; loving and passionate about such a heartwarming job,” states Reed. With an associate’s degree in Early Childhood Development, Reed moved to Rochester, Minn., in 2012 and worked at a daycare center called University of the Child, where she was a toddler
$16,000. No action was taken at this time. Police Chief Tom Mosher gave his monthly report, which included safety concerns (a culvert that was covered with dirt, and a deck in need of repair), a dog running loose, two lawns that the city mowed due to neglect, and a family of cats that were trapped and taken out of town. He said the mother cat returned the next day. Mosher also added that citywide cleanup seemed to be a great success, and he received the skunk trap that the city ordered. The council discussed the situation of dog feces being left in the city park, and what could be done to stop this. Mosher suggested if the council wishes to ban dogs from the park, it might be easier to amend a current ordinance rather than writing a new ordinance.
three- and- five-year-old,” and while being a nanny for that family, “I created and implemented my very own curriculum for these children,” notes Reed. “Watching these children grow See KIDS COVE Page 2
Gammel Dag Fest
A crowd estimated at 100 convened in the Kingsland (Spring Valley) gymnasium on June 5. The entire school board was present (Doug Plaehn, Deb Larson, Ann Oeltjen, Jackie Horsman, Tiffany Mundfrom, and Heather Betts, along with Superintendent John McDonald). Plaehn opened the meeting and said that the public hearing was being held due to the board’s proposed closing of the Wykoff school. He added that Superintendent McDonald would first give a brief presentation, and then citizens who had signed up to speak would have up to five minutes
June 17, 2017 Peterson, Mn
each to address the board. McDonald presented and explained slides showing the past enrollment data for Kingsland, along with enrollment projections for upcoming years. Regarding enrollment, McDonald stated, “Kingsland was at its high point back in ’97-’98 with 1033 students. Then from that point, it’s been a gradual continual decline… we are starting to stabilize but we see that we are still in a slight downward trend.” His data showed Kingsland currently has 136 students at the Wykoff school, and 430 students attending in Spring Valley. McDonald then showed financial projections of revenues and See WYKOFF Page 6
See Page 2 & 3 For more inFormation!
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