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PRIOR LAKE

SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2011

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AMERICAN Maddox to serve 20 years in prison Judge says convicted murderer tried to cover up his crime BY KRISTIN HOLTZ kholtz@swpub.com

Lois Lipka held a birthday card she had bought for what would have been her daughter’s 48th birthday Saturday while asking Scott County District Court Judge Jerome Abrams for the maximum sentence for Ruth

County, St. Francis want to join forces in Jordan

Anne Maddox’s killer. Charles Anthony “Tony” Maddox Jr. will spend 20 years in prison for his estranged wife’s death. Maddox, 48, who was convicted of second-degree murder in June, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years – 20 in prison and another 10 on supervised release.

“You will have the next 20 years. I know where you’re going to be and I know what you’re going to be thinking about,” Abrams told Maddox after pronouncing the sentence. In court, Maddox’s lawyer, Fred Bruno, said an appeal was imminent. He could not be reached for comment following the sentence.

In June, a jury convicted Maddox of murdering Ruth Anne, reportedly by crushing her neck with a door following an argument in the early morning of Nov. 11, 2008. The Prior Lake woman died of blunt force injuries to her head and neck.

Maddox to page 6 ®

Heroic actions save bus full of kids as driver dies of heart attack BY ALEX HALL ahall@swpub.com

F

BY SHANNON FIECKE sfiecke@swpub.com

Library to page 7 ®

Ruth Anne Maddox

‘Someone was watching over us’

Library, clinic planned Seniors could live next to a new library and St. Francis Regional Medical Center’s first satellite clinic under a major development proposal unveiled this month by Scott County for the city of Jordan. T he package – which includes a $1 million loan a nd a $ 5 0 0,0 0 0 contribution from Scott County for a new county libra r y – wowed town leaders so much that the Jordan City CounTom cil signed off on Wolf the proposal two weeks after fi rst seeing it. “This is four of the five things I think Jordan has wanted for a number of years now, and it’s all going to come together as one,” said County Board Chairman Tom Wolf of Credit River Township, a Jordan native and former Friends of the Library treasurer. The development would include 50 senior apartments, an 8,0 0 0 -square -foot library (six times larger than the current one), a pharmacy and a clinic run by St. Francis. Scott County commissioners gave their blessing last week. “I wish all our libraries were attached to this kind of concept,” said Commissioner Jon Ulrich of Savage. “If I was a Jordan resident, I’d have two reactions – ‘Wow’ and ‘Thanks.’” A similar project, minus the clinic and pharmacy, is under construction in Elko New Market and expected to open in March.

Charles ‘Tony’ Maddox Jr.

PHOTO BY ALEX HALL

Eden Prairie police say the actions of Tim Taormina and the other volunteers on the bus July 20 helped to avoid a serious tragedy. Volunteers from the bus that day with the Rev. Michael Tix included Nicole Jeziorski, Lori Taormina, Maddie Sabin and Tim Taormina.

or just about everybody, it was the worst-case scenario. A school bus carrying 62 children and five adults was heading down the highway when all of a sudden, the driver slumped over in his seat, causing the bus to careen off the guard rail of an exit, leaving the children and adult chaperones in terror. This wasn’t a scene from a highbudget summer blockbuster, but the real-life events in a near crash on July 20 involving a bus full of kids from Savage, Prior Lake and Burnsville and volunteers from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Savage. However, much like most summer blockbusters, this story also had a clear-cut hero.

Bus crash to page 3 ®

Teacher becomes diplomat BY MERYN FLUKER mfluker@swpub.com

Dave Panetti’s classroom at Prior Lake High School looks similar to other classrooms around this time of year – bare walls and a floor covered with boxes. But Panetti’s boxes are growing heavier and the room’s walls more naked. And then there are the dreams. Normally, Panetti says, this is the time of year when he and his colleagues begin having the dreams – or nightmares. “You dream that you’re teaching a class you know nothing about,” he says. “That’s not happening for me this year.” This August is like none other in Panetti’s 16-year career in the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District.

JOIN THE CHAT ARE YOU A FORMER STUDENT OR COLLEAGUE OF DAVE PANETTI? WISH HIM LUCK OR SHARE YOUR FAVORITE MEMORIES OF HIM AT

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He’s not preparing to teach another year of current world issues and ninth-grade geography. On Tuesday, Sept. 6, while the PLHS halls fi ll with students for the fi rst time since June, Panetti will be en route to Washington, D.C. to being months of training for his new post as a Foreign Service officer.

Panetti to page 14 ®

PHOTO BY MERYN FLUKER

Prior Lake High School social studies teacher Dave Panetti takes down the front pages that have adorned his Prior Lake High School classroom. On Tuesday, Sept. 6, while his colleagues and students will begin the school year, Panetti will depart for Washington, D.C. to begin training for his position as a Foreign Service officer.

INSIDE OPINION/4 OBITUARIES/6 SPORTS/11-13 AMERICAN SLICE/17 CALENDAR/21 CLASSIFIEDS/24-27 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6682 EDITOR: (952) 345-6378 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@PLAMERICAN.COM.

VOL. 51 ISSUE 47 © SOUTHWEST NEWSPAPERS

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