Learn from past, look to future
Picture-perfect autumn
The Jordan Hubmen team finds success in football and in life during long season
Fall photos, by Kathy Colling and others, showcase the beauty of the Jordan area
Page 10
Page 26
JORDAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2011
$1
www.jordannews.com
INDEPENDENT King of the oaks? Second-largest may grow near Jordan, but the grand champion grows just a few miles southwest
PHOTO BY DAVID SCHUELLER
Karen Keller is Jordan’s new postmaster. She was one of more than 40 applicants for the muchdesired spot here in Jordan.
Meet your new Jordan postmaster
BY DAVID SCHUELLER dschueller@swpub.com
A
recent story in the Belle Plaine Herald about a giant white oak tree in that city set off a big-tree arms race of sorts, at least for Belle Plaine resident Juan Nazario. Nazario knew of a bigger tree near Jordan. “I measured them both,” Nazario said. He said the tree in Belle Plaine measured in with a 12-1/2-foot circumference. A white oak tree in Sand Creek Township has a circumference of 14 feet, Nazario said. That tree, off of Valley View Drive, is at the residence of Brian Efta. “It’s beautiful. It’s really gorgeous when all the leaves are on it,” Efta said on Monday. Efta said it’s interesting to think of the historical events that could have taken place in the hundreds of years the tree has been alive. And with its massive branches, the tree helps keep the house cool. “It shades the whole house in the summertime,” Efta said. Still, Nazario said there’s a mystery tree that trumps both big trees that he measured. It’s on private land somewhere in or around Belle Plaine. He wanted to know where.
Oaks to page 8 ®
Post office offers great workplace, employees say BY DAVID SCHUELLER dschueller@swpub.com
Have you ever made a mental slip and said “library” when you meant “post office?” It’s understandable – they’ve become two places of civic connectedness in the average town. In Jordan, both institutions are undergoing change. There are plans in the works for a new library, and the Jordan post office has a new postmaster. Standing a few steps away from mail bins and stacks of publications, Karen Keller raised her hand to take an oath in a swearing-in ceremony on Oct. 14, to an audience of about eight in the back of the Jordan post office. Keller has 17 years of postal experience, and five years of experience in the Army. She was postmaster in Northfield for 2-1/2 years. Before that, she supervised post of fice operations in Prior Lake for five years. Keller has four children, lives in Burnsville, and her husband also works for the U.S. Postal Service.
PHOTO BY DAVID SCHUELLER
Is this the second-biggest white oak in the state? According to Belle Plaine resident Juan Nazario’s measurements, it could be a contender. It’s located off of Valley View Drive in Sand Creek Township, and is guarded here by Bella the pit bull.
Postmaster to page 21 ®
Concrete examples
JORDAN SCHOOLS
All student athletes could undergo concussion tests
U.S. Rep. Kline visits local business, listens to concerns about regulations BY DAVID SCHUELLER dschueller@swpub.com
Republican Congressman John Kline, R-Minn., whose district includes Jordan, stopped through the area on Thursday, Oct. 20, as part of his Regulations Tour. Kline stopped at businesses that hope to oppose government regulations that they say will affect their bottom lines. The stop near Jordan was Cemstone, in Sand Creek Township. Kline mostly listened, occasionally throwing in an “amen” in agreement, although the discussion was more nuanced than one might expect from a business taking their concerns to a lawmaker.
Kline to page 21 ®
Athletic director asks board to consider issue
“Washington’s putting out regulations faster than you can even learn about them or keep up with them.”
BY DAVID SCHUELLER dschueller@swpub.com
Tim Becken Cemstone senior vice president
PHOTO BY DAVID SCHUELLER
U.S. Rep. John Kline (left) talks with Tim Becken, senior vice president of Cemstone, during a recent stop near Jordan.
JOIN THE CHAT
Post concussion, deciding when to send an athlete back into their sport can be a lifeor-death choice. In the most severe cases, a second blow to the head could kill, if the fi rst hasn’t properly healed. The issue of concussions in youth sports has come under greater attention lately at the Minnesota Legislature, and in Jordan. Athletic Director Jeff Vizenor asked whether Jordan schools could think about
INSIDE OPINION/4 OUR SCHOOLS/5-6 DAYBOOK/8 PUBLIC SAFETY/9 SPORTS/10-11 CALENDAR/12 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6683 EDITOR: (952) 345-6571 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@JORDANNEWS.COM.
SHARE YOUR COMMENTS
www.jordannews.com
contracting with St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee to perform impact testing on athletes. “If you are suspecting that your son or daughter has a concussion, it will tell,” Vizenor said at the Oct. 24 Jordan School Board meeting.
Concussions to page 6 ®
VOL. 128, NO. 25 © SOUTHWEST NEWSPAPERS