Savage Pacer

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Sign of the times

Lake home destroyed

New sign goes up at Community Park

Boaters alert neighbor to get out of house

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www.savagepacer.com

SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011

SAVAGE

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PACER Couple robbed at gunpoint in casino parking lot BY LORI CARLSON editor@plamerican.com

PHOTO BY ALEX HALL

The six Eagle Scouts from Troop 333 gather for a photo after the ceremony. From left: Phillip Rasmussen, Zach Johnson, Mike Goehring, Michael Dunning, Drew Christensen and Sam Farner.

Finishing as a team Boy Scouts from the same troop reach Eagle Scout together BY ALEX HALL ahall@swpub.com

Making Eagle Scout is a rare accomplishment, to say the least. In 2008, 5.7 percent of those in Boy Scouts achieved Eagle Scout. Through 2008, only about 2 percent of those who had ever been in Boy Scouts had achieved the rank. For six boys from Savage, Prior Lake and Jordan, their

accomplishment is even more unique. Drew Christensen of Savage, Michael Dunning of Savage, Sam Farnen of Savage, Mike Goehring of Jordan, Zach Johnson of Prior Lake and Phillip Rasmussen of Savage all joined the scouts around the same time in first grade, and they all joined Troop 333 in 2004. Now, just months after achieving a huge life milestone,

graduating high school, they got to celebrate another one: achieving Eagle Scout rank. And as they earned that achievement together, going on trips together, helping each other with their Eagle Scout projects, they decided that they had no choice but to be honored together. “We’ve been together for so long we figured we might as well end it together,” said Johnson.

A RARE ACHIEVEMENT Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts division. Requirements include earning a number of merit badges and demonstration of Scout Spirit, service and leadership. Typically, when a scout reaches Eagle rank, he gets his own

Eagle Scouts to page 13 ®

A St. Bonifacius man is accused of robbing a Brooklyn Park couple at gunpoint at Little Six Casino shortly after midnight on Monday. A h i A l ajuwa n Montgomery, 25, allegedly approached Ahi Alajuwan the couple as they Montgomery were getting out of their car in the casino’s parking lot at 12:11 a.m. Monday, pointing a weapon (later discovered to be a pellet gun) and demanding money. He fled with a wallet, a purse and the gun, police said. Montgomery is in the Scott County Jail on $75,000 bail and has been charged with fi rst-degree aggravated robbery. High-quality surveillance video is credited with helping Prior Lake police track down Montgomery. Casino video footage shows Montgomery arriving at Mystic Lake Casino shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday and later getting into his car at 11:35 p.m. He’s seen driving the short distance toward the C&D Liquor store near Little Six Casino. He parks and then walks to the Little Six parking lot, where he waits for 20 minutes until the couple arrives. Police said the footage shows the gun in Montgomery’s left hand. Casino video captured the license plate number of the vehicle Montgomery was driving and tracked the car to his girlfriend, who lived with him in St. Bonifacius. Police arrested Montgomery at his home on Monday afternoon.

Robbery to page 8 ®

Another institution leaving downtown area Associated Bank on Princeton Avenue will close Aug. 19 and reopen on County Road 42 Aug. 22 BY ALEX HALL ahall@savagepacer.com

With the post office moving to the city campus 17 years ago, the library leaving downtown almost 15 years ago and the fi re station on Quentin Avenue being demolished this summer, some downtown residents might be asking: What’s next to leave? The answer? The Associated Bank branch on Princeton Avenue. The bank is the latest downtown institution to leave the area in search of greener pastures. According to Associated Bank Director of Public Relations Autumn Latimore, the bank decided to move

the branch to its new location at 7533 Egan Drive (between Buffalo Wild Wings and Wendy’s on County Road 42) because of the newer, bigger building, and because they felt it was a much more central location better suited to service a greater number of customers. “It’s just a larger, nicer facility for customers,” said Latimore, “and we’re also better situated to serve customers who are in Prior Lake, Burnsville, Shakopee, so it gives them another resource as well.” But not everybody is thrilled about the move. Mary Peterson, resident manager at the Hamilton, a 55-plus living facil-

ity in downtown Savage, feels that losing the bank is another example of the downtown area losing its downtowntype luster. She said that one of the selling points she used for potential residents was the convenient location of many community institutions, like the bank. Now, Peterson says, that convenience factor is gone. “It’s getting really desolate here,” she said, “and there’s not much to offer here as far as convenience.” Many residents of the Hamilton said the bank has been very good to

Associated to page 13 ®

PHOTO BY ALEX HALL

Construction workers are putting the finishing touches on the new location of Associated Bank at 7533 Egan Drive (County Road 42.)

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INSIDE OPINION/4 OBITUARIES/6 POLICE/8-9 LET’S GO/10-11 SPORTS/15-16 CLASSIFIEDS/22-25 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6683 EDITOR: (952) 345-6376 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@SAVAGEPACER.COM.

VOL. 18 ISSUE 2 © SOUTHWEST NEWSPAPERS


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