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Lakers defend their Section 2AA crown
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2011
SAVAGE
$1
PACER No break for nonprofits in meeting room policy
BURNSVILLE-EAGAN-SAVAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT
BY AMY LYON editor@savagepacer.com
PHOTO BY MERYN FLUKER
Burnsville High School sophomore Abby Soderholm, right, films “Blaze Weekly” anchors Lucky Ly, left, and Natalie Kissell, during a rehearsal for the week’s broadcast on Thursday morning. Ly of Burnsville is a senior and Kissell of Eagan is a junior. Soderholm, Ly and Kissell are all students in Tyler Krebs’ video production class, a new course offering at the high school this year.
Students ‘blaze’ news trail BY MERYN FLUKER mfluker@swpub.com
On Monday morning, a group of students wandered the hallways at Burnsville High School with a camera and tripod in tow. They weren’t late for class nor were they skipping; they were simply looking for cool places to plank. Meanwhile, their peers sat on stools in room E120, pitching: Black Friday? Favorite Thanksgiving memories and traditions? This is the life of a student in Tyler Krebs’ video production class. The 28 students in the section spend each week crafting the almost-sixminute newscast, from the seeds of story ideas to a fully bloomed broadcast, beamed across the airwaves each Thursday morning.
“I wanted to have something that the student body could see and say, ‘How do I get involved with that?’” said Krebs. This is the first year that the school has offered this class, with “Blaze Weekly” making its broadcast debut on Nov. 3, but Krebs is no rookie. His father did video production and Krebs taught for 14 years at Eastview High School in Apple Valley, where his video production class students produced a similar news digest called “The Flash.” “I was ready for a new challenge and came here to start this program,” Krebs said of his decision to cross the border and teach at Burnsville High School, where he is also the head football coach. There have already been some growing pains for the semester-long
Tune in Watch past episodes of “Blaze Weekly” at www.youtube.com/ user/TheBlazeWeekly. class. Unlike the much newer Eastview, Burnsville’s building isn’t really wired for every classroom to simultaneously broadcast the “Blaze Weekly” feed. “The biggest issue is that the technology infrastructure isn’t in place,” Krebs said. “We’re really trying to do something in a new way which the school isn’t built for.” Taking the leap alongside Krebs are his 28 students, some of whom
The changes made by the Savage City Council to its meeting room reservation and use policy during its work session Nov. 14 weren’t exactly what 8-year-old Shrey Pothini was hoping for. The City Council agreed to drop the rental fee for the Marion/Marietta room at City Hall, which has a capacity for 80-100 people, from $75 to $25 for a four-hour period. However, there will no longer be a fee waiver for nonprofit groups or the Savage Chamber of Commerce. The changes will go into effect Jan. 1, 2011. The Oxford Room (capacity 12) and McHenry Room (capacity 10) will still be available to reserve at no charge. After the meeting, Pothini said he was disappointed that the City Council didn’t agree to waive fees for individuals like himself who wanted to utilize the room to collect items for a nonprofit agency. “The reason I wanted the policy changed is so that other people would have a reason to help a nonprofit by collecting donations at their party,” said Pothini. “Even though the room fee was reduced for parties, I am not sure that people will use it to help others, but I really hope that they do.”
SHREY’S REQUEST Pothini sent a letter to the City Council on Oct. 23 sharing how he has collected towels for a youth homeless shelter in Minneapolis for the
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Unless a person lives to be more than 100 years old, Nov. 11 was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Eagle Ridge Junior High honors’ students from the classrooms of Ms. Stead, Mr. Hoeschen and Mr. Meyer commemorated the day by gathering outside at 11:11 a.m. on Nov. 11 to form the human image of the date. Mr. Hoeschen took this photo from the roof.
last three years instead of receiving birthday presents. “I’ve had my birthday party at the Savage City Hall community room
Room Policy to page 3 ®
Another Level 3 Predatory Offender moves to Savage BY ALEX HALL ahall@swpub.com
Blaze to page 7 ®
COMMEMORATE THE DATE
PHOTO BY AMY LYON
Shrey Pothini, 8, of Savage requested that the city allow groups to use the community room at no charge if their activities would benefit a nonprofit agency.
The Savage Police Department announced last week that a Level 3 Predatory Offender moved into the 7300 block of West Highway 13. This is the second time in the past month that a Level 3 Predatory Offender has moved to Savage. Dashondra Webster, 30, notified the Minnesota Department of Corrections on Oct. 14 that he’d be moving to Savage. Webster also contacted the Savage Police Department on Oct. 17 to notify officers of his move to Savage. Webster was convicted of two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Scott County District Court in 2003 and one count of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct in Anoka County District Court in 2008. According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Webster has a history of sexual contact, including penetration, with females ages 12 to 17. Webster was known to his victims and gained compliance through use of force, and he also provided alcohol to one of the victims. Webster completed his prison
INSIDE OPINION/4 OBITUARIES/6 LET’S GO/9-10 SPORTS/13-15 POLICE/17 CLASSIFIEDS/21-24 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6683 EDITOR: (952) 345-6376 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@SAVAGEPACER.COM.
sentence in early February and is no longer u nder any formal supervision. He is not wanted by law enforcement. The Savage Police Depa r t ment conducted community notification Dashondra earlier this month Webster by using their InfoNet crime alert system and by mailing a letter to addresses within a half mile of Webster’s address. Savage Police Department Capt. Dave Muelken said the city will not be holding a community notification meeting for Webster as he is moving into an area that isn’t very residential. In January, police held a community notification meeting for Level 3 Predatory Offender Steven Roger Jones, who had also moved into the 7300 block of West Highway 13, and only four people showed up. Webster is a black man with black hair and brown eyes. He is 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 181 pounds. Those with questions may contact the Savage Police Department at (952) 882-2600.
VOL. 18 ISSUE 46 © SOUTHWEST NEWSPAPERS
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