The story of Christmas
Making a big statement
Students at St. John the Baptist Catholic School performed during a Dec. 21 music program
Scott West wrestling team defeats No. 2-ranked St. Michael-Albertville
Page 6
Page 12
JORDAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2011
$1
www.jordannews.com
INDEPENDENT No suffering in silence
Students at Jordan Elementary School can report bullying incidents in the Bully Box, and the school’s social worker follows up on each report. Purchase reprints of photos at photos. jordannews. com.
Another effort works to combat school bullying BY DAVID SCHUELLER dschueller@swpub.com
S
tudents at Jordan Elementary School who might shrink away from directly confronting a bully have another way to report an incident. It’s called the Bully Box, and it sits in a prominent location in the library.
The box functions like a suggestion box, with perhaps more certainty of the reports actually being read. The box has led to some real action at the school. Jordan Elementary School Social Worker Molly Kalow introduced the box during one of the elementary school’s weekly newscasts this fall. “The intent behind the
Bully Box is to give kids who are more timid about speaking up a way to report bullying incidents,” Kalow wrote in an e-mail. Students need to include their name and their teacher’s name. Each week, Kalow checks the box and follows up on every situation that was reported.
PHOTO BY DAVID SCHUELLER
Box to page 5 ®
Does city have too few police officers?
WANT TO HELP PRESERVE JORDAN HISTORY?
Despite promotion, staffing level is still below state average BY MATHIAS BADEN editor@jordannews.com
PHOTO BY MATHIAS BADEN / REPRINTS AT PHOTOS.JORDANNEWS.COM
Cathy Isles (left) holds a cigar mold, cutter and box from the Herder Cigar Factory. Ron Jabs stands behind a pram, or baby carriage, full of Juergens and Sunder family heirlooms. City Administrator Ed Shukle holds up a Jordan State Bank calendar from 1918. Together, they hope to start a new historic preservation movement. They are looking for willing volunteers, artifacts, interviewers to find stories behind the artifacts, suggestions for potential exhibits, and ideas. For more information, call Jordan’s city hall at (952) 492-2535.
With the reinstatement of a police officer position, the Jordan City Council effectively restarted its programs in local schools. As crime rates decreased, the council had cut several police officer positions since 2008, but last Monday, the council reinstated one full-time position. Jacob Rudolph, a part-time officer for Jordan, was offered the full-time gig. His duties will include: I additional coverage on weekends, including traffic safety and crime prevention projects during slower periods of time, 20 hours a week; I relieving the call load of the detective sergeant, who will be freed up for supervisory, investigatory and administrative duties, 10 hours a week; I schools-dedicated work, like providing morning and afternoon crossing-guard duty, Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), response to reported crimes and calls for service at the schools, security at football games and dances, and a resource for special needs at the schools, eight hours a week; I and training, vacation and sick time, two hours a week. During the summer hours, the eight hours Rudolph would’ve dedicated to schools will be spent on filling in for vacations and working crime prevention and special projects, such as festivals and other events, Jordan Police Chief Bob Malz wrote in a Dec. 19 memorandum to the council.
DARE IS BACK
100TH ANNIVERSARY
100 gloves or mittens to the Blessings in a Backpack program at Jordan Elementary School. In February, club members’ elderly neighbors are in for a treat. More than 100 residents of Schule Haus senior apartments and Valley View Assisted Living will receive valentines, maybe even accompanied by 100 roses. In March, 100 pounds of food will be raised for the Jordan Area Food Shelf.
Rudolph won’t be the only one work i n g w it h f i f t h- a nd si x t hgraders in DARE, Malz said in an interview. Officers Shane Schultz and Jeff Strack are expected to be involved this school year, as twice as many children will be involved. The DARE program was on budgetary hiatus in 2011, and the city and school officials decided to try to catch up. In future years, the program will continue to involve fifth-graders, Malz said. Jordan Public Schools will contribute $10,000 toward the police officer position, Malz wrote.
Club to page 26 ®
Police to page 22 ®
Commercial club donates 100 things a month BY MATHIAS BADEN editor@jordannews.com
Question: What do 100 gloves, 100 valentines, 100 pounds of food, 100 eggs, 100 trees, and 100 flags all have in common? Answer: They’ll each be given away by the Jordan Commercial Club in 2011, in celebration of the club’s 100th anniversary. The commercial club started well before chambers of commerce grew roots in Minnesota. The Jordan Area
JOIN THE CHAT SHARE YOUR COMMENTS
www.jordannews.com
Chamber of Commerce and the Jordan Commercial Club are compatible, complementary organizations, said Ron Jabs, a longtime member of the groups. He said the chamber promotes businesses and the com-
mercial club promotes the city and its best interests as a whole, “It was the club, the organization to belong to,” Jabs said of the commercial club. “Our plans are to kind of commemorate that.” For a century, commercial club members have been doing business in Jordan and, in turn, giving back to the town. They won’t stop now. Here are the donations they’ve planned for the fi rst half of their centennial anniversary year: In January, the club will donate
INSIDE OPINION/4 OUR SCHOOLS/5-6 SPORTS/12-13 CALENDAR/14 PUBLIC SAFETY/22,25 DAYBOOK/26 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6682 EDITOR: (952) 345-6571 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@JORDANNEWS.COM.
VOL. 128, NO. 34 © SOUTHWEST NEWSPAPERS