He’s with the band
Ice cool
St. Olaf ensemble coming to town
Art Shanty Project returns
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2012
CHASKA
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HERALD
Order in the courthouse County considers government center security upgrades
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BY RICHARD CRAWFORD editor@chanvillager.com
In the wake of a courthouse shooting in Cook County, Minn., security at the Carver County Government Center has been more than watercooler conversation. On Tuesday, Carver County commissioners considered spending $75,000 to make some security enhancements at the Chaska campus as well as examine long-term security needs. The specific building improvements were discussed in a closed meeting allowed by state statutes to protect security. The meeting allowed county commissioners “to receive
security briefi ngs and reports, to discuss emergency response procedures and to discuss security deficiencies in or recommendations regarding public services, infrastructure and facilities at the County’s Government Center and Justice Center,” according to a staff report. The county staff is recommending hiring an architect to develop security proposals and to provide a longrange capital upgrade proposal. Even before the courthouse shooting in Grand Marais last month, building security had been a concern.
Courthouse to page 7 ®
PHOTO BY RICHARD CRAWFORD
David Murphy, a bailiff with the Carver County’s Sheriff ’s Office, displays a metal detector wand that is used periodically outside county courtrooms.
Taking a swing for sight Educational co-op wallows in debt
Benefit helps Carver boy
Cuts and fees may be on horizon
BY NICK MASON nicholascmason@comcast.net
Andrew Steines will be in the spotlight at noon Saturday with his new friends in the city of Carver. The 9-year-old boy will be the star of the Soggy Bottom III golf tournament, sponsored by the Carver Lions Club and Carver Fire & Rescue Department. “I get the fi rst swing. That is awesome,” he said. Andrew will open the 18 -hole tournament with a ceremonial shot, hitting a yellow tennis ball with a hockey stick. He was given that honor because the third annual Soggy Bottom event was crafted to raise money to pay some of his expensive vision tests. Andrew is a typical boy in many ways, but his vision is becoming limited because of a macular problem fi rst noticed last fall. “I’ve been seeing Andrew as a regular patient since 2009,” said Chaska optometrist Dr. Stacey Ulrick. “At his last exam in October 2011, I noticed his vision had decreased. He was not seeing 20-20 anymore. He was two lines down on the eye chart, about 20-30. It’s not usual for a young person to have a vision decrease like that. “When I looked inside his eyes, I did see a change I hadn’t noticed in prior years,” she said. “The change was in the look of the macula. It’s part of the retina that is your central vision area. It has the highest concen-
BY DAVID SCHUELLER dschueller@swpub.com
disorder. “Most people do not go completely blind, but just lose a significant amount of vision,” Rachael Steines said, of retinitis pigmentosa.
Dramatic cuts, a building sale and district user fees could be on the horizon for a local educational cooperative that’s running $1 million in the red. The Carver-Scott Educational Cooperative, headquartered in Chaska, includes programs such as alternative learning centers, special education, adult education, technical and career education and family classes. The co-op is in statutory operating debt (SOD), a serious budget situation that could force member districts, including District 112, to make changes or even help pay. “We’re not just in statutory operating debt. We’re hunkered down,” said Executive Director Darren Kermes. The debt, caused by billing errors made during a number of years, came to light in the past couple years, and puts more pressure on executing a planned merger between CarverScott and the Minnesota River Valley Special Education Cooperative (MRVSEC), based in Jordan. Kermes, who last year became the top administrator for both cooperatives, said billing mistakes dealing with special education teachers
Steines to page 16 ®
Co-op to page 7 ®
PHOTO BY NICK MASON
Andrew Steines and his drumsticks snuggle up with his stepmother, Rachael, at their home in Carver. tration of rods and cones. It takes care of detail focus.” Following a visit with a retina specialist, Andrew went to the University of Minnesota for treatment. The diagnostic focus now centers on retinitis pigmentosa or a genetic
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What is SOD? The Minnesota Department of Education defines SOD as the following: Districts and charter schools exceed their expenditure limitations when their net unreserved general fund operating fund balance (NUGFB) at year end (June 30) is a negative amount that exceeds 2.5 percent of their unreserved/undesignated operating expenditures. Units that exceed this operating debt limitation are in statutory operating debt (SOD). How in the red is the CarverScott Educational Cooperative? It’s at about a 12 percent negative amount, according to Executive Director Darren Kermes.
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The Carver-Scott Educational Cooperative, headquartered in Chaska, is $1 million in debt.