PriorLake_110511

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New friends from overseas

Blended families: Worth the work

German students visit Prior Lake

Community columnist Jennifer Musto

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PRIOR LAKE

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

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www.plamerican.com

AMERICAN A CLOSE SHAVE

PHOTOS BY SHANNON FIECKE

Sgt. Tom Crocker and Shakopee police are investigating the second robbery at Paragon Bank in three years.

Police believe same man robbed banks in Prior Lake, Shakopee BY SHANNON FIECKE sfiecke@swpub.com

A Prior Lake police detective said he believes the same man robbed both Prior Lake State Bank on Oct. 22 and Paragon Bank in Shakopee on Tuesday morning this week. Detective Chris Olson said on Wednesday that Prior Lake police will

be working with the Shakopee and Savage police departments as well as the FBI to track down the suspect. On Tuesday, a man wearing a mask and dressed all in black robbed the downtown Shakopee Paragon Bank just after 11 a.m. He is described as white, 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches

Robberies to page 14 ®

County to preserve cabin BY SHANNON FIECKE Sfiecke@swpubl.com PHOTO BY MERYN FLUKER

Mary Blanshan, owner of Mary’s on Main Salon Studio in Prior Lake, relieves Glendale Elementary School Principal Sam Richardson of his locks on Oct. 28. Richardson agreed to have his head shaved if Glendale students raised at least $20,000 for their read-a-thon fundraiser earlier this year. Students brought in $28,785. See more photos at www.plamerican.com.

It appears that a 150-year-old log cabin at the Doyle-Kennefick Regional Park will be preserved; now, it’s just a matter of when and how. Scott County commissioners were weighing last week whether to cover

the two-story house with a pole barn or fabric structure, when County Administrator Gary Shelton suggested the county just go ahead and authorize the $142,000 restoration and try to raise funds and manpower over the winter.

Log cabin to page 6 ®

DISTRICT 719

Kids are off, but teachers still at work Behind the scenes at an early-release day BY MERYN FLUKER mfluker@swpub.com

MORE ONLINE READ MORE ABOUT STAFF-DEVELOPMENT DAYS IN THE PRIOR LAKESAVAGE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT AT

www.plamerican.com Parents in the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District know earlyrelease days all too well. They come up every so often, signified by spiky boxes on the official district calendar. They can be a headache for parents, who may have to scramble for supplementary care when students leave school two hours ahead of schedule. But for teachers, early-release days are less of a migraine and more

of a godsend. “The time is just so crucial for teachers,” said Betsy Shaskey, a second-grade teacher at Redtail Ridge Elementary School in Savage. The days have been a source of controversy at the district level, most recently with District 719 School

Early release to page 3 ®

PHOTO BY MERYN FLUKER

Redtail Ridge Elementary School second-grade teachers (from left) Mona Glass, Laresa Pickens and Betsy Shaskey sneak in a laugh as they work on a list of tasks for the National Geographic website during their early-release day on Wednesday. Students left the school two hours ahead of schedule to accommodate the staff-development time.

INSIDE OPINION/4 OBITUARIES/10 SPORTS/11-12 AMERICAN SLICE/15 CALENDAR/19 CLASSIFIEDS/22-25 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6682 EDITOR: (952) 345-6378 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@PLAMERICAN.COM.

VOL. 52 ISSUE 6 © SOUTHWEST NEWSPAPERS


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