Canterbury’s future uncertain
Nature Smart
Horsemen staying put for now
Purple Martins back after last year’s disaster
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www.savagepacer.com
SATURDAY, JULY 9, 2011
SAVAGE
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PACER State shutdown affects city’s electrical inspections
SUNDAY SHOPPER
BY AMY LYON editor@savagepacer.com
PHOTO BY LAURIE HARTMANN
Long-time local resident Marge Weber was one of the first to arrive at the Savage Farmers’ Market on Sunday morning, hoping to find a good selection of herbs to fill out her patio planter. The market features a variety of area vendors who gather every Sunday morning during the summer months in the downtown area. It’s proven to be a favorite of many, including Weber, who said the market excursion is part of her weekend routine.
Girls gather for good causes BY MERYN FLUKER mfluker@swpub.com
At the Prins house, a typical Wednesday afternoon in the summer is anything but typical. A baker’s dozen of 10- and 11-year-old girls eat, drink and swim. But these girls are combining fun with creativity and charity to better their community. These 13 girls are members of the Girls of Summer ‘11 summerclub, a group started by Prior Lake 10-year-old Julia Prins, with support from her mom Anja. Julia spent Wednesdays last summer bored because her brother was participating in the Summer Stretch program at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church – both Julia and her brother Jasper attend the church’s school – leaving Julia without an afternoon playmate. Julia, who is going into fifth grade, can’t participate in Summer Stretch until she reaches sixth grade. “I believe she said ‘It’s not fair,’” laughed Anja. “Mom said, ‘Do something about it.’” Like any good kid, Julia did as she was told. “I was very bored during the day because I didn’t have anyone to play with, so I decided to have my friends come over every Wednesday,” she said. Julia’s friend Melissa Pfeiffer, 10, who lives in Savage and also attends St. John the Baptist Catholic School, could relate to Julia’s situation. “My sisters are gone at Summer Stretch so it’s really boring,” she said. So Julia created a somewhat alternate Summer Stretch, which
PHOTO BY MERYN FLUKER
Kayla O’Keefe, left, ties a makeshift string bracelet onto Leah Voxland’s wrist during the Girls of Summer ‘11’s most recent gathering. focuses on faith and service, for her girlfriends. The group got together on two Sundays in May, while school was still in session, to make tank tops that read “Girls of Summer” in puffy paint and flip flops. The “official” meetings began June 22, when the girls tie-dyed shorts and made time to swim, even though it was raining. Each week, the girls arrive at the Prins’ Prior Lake home and spend time snacking, crafting and swimming – and talking during all
of it. Of the nine girls present at the group’s most recent meeting on Wednesday, they all agreed that spending time together – especially in the lake – was the best part of the club. “My favorite part is the swimming and the friends,” said 10-year-old Grace Martin, who also lives in Savage and attends school with Julia. But beyond diverting the girls’ attention from TV and technology
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T he st ate shutdow n h a s h ad little impact on the city of Savage, except that the city relies on a state employee to complete its electrical inspections. “This af fects remodeling and new construction of businesses and residences,” said Jay Scherer, city of Savage building inspector. Prior to the shutdown, the state inspector worked with Scherer to schedule and complete electrical inspections. Scherer estimated that approximately 35 - 40 inspections were done each week in Savage with the average inspection taking less than one hour. On July 5, the Savage City Council unanimously agreed to move forward with the staff recommended “Sp eci a l I n sp ec tion P rog ra m,” which will give homeowners and contractors the option of hiring
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A new morgue needed Scott, other counties facing big decision
Medical examiner cost per county Scott: $1.46 per resident
BY SHANNON FIECKE sfiecke@swpub.com
Anoka: $2.89 per resident
Medical examiner Dr. Lindsey Thomas would like to retire in eight years, and she wants to leave Scott County in good hands. But Thomas knows forensic pathologists are hard to come by. It may be impossible to hire a lead examiner for the eight south-central Minnesota counties she serves unless the Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office gets a new facility before she retires. Thomas shares the basement of Regina Medical Center in Hastings, where bodies come in the same door as the hospital’s outpatients. The agency’s caseload has grown nearly five times and exams have more than doubled since the morgue was last remodeled in 1987, but there is no room at Regina to expand. Five counties have also been added to the collaborative. Besides limited space to store specimens, there’s no place to put additional staff or add on to the autopsy room. Staff must manually move bodies because they have no mechanical lifts. Only a small storage closet exists for storing tissue samples and the evidence room lacks a secure entry system. Perhaps the most concerning is the single room for performing autopsies, when there should be at least two to separate bodies that might be decaying, infectious or used for organ harvesting. Families also have no private area to view loved ones — just the hallway or intake room. “They are pretty cramped down there,” commented Scott County Commissioner Joe Wagner, a funeral director.
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the area’s state electrical inspector on their own during the state shutdown. However, because the inspector is currently laid off from his position as a state employee, he will work as an independent contractor – contacted, scheduled and paid directly by homeowners and contractors. His fee is $80 per hour with a minimum of one hour. According to City Administrator Barry Stock, the idea is that “homeowners and builders will be able to continue with their process.” Once the special inspection is complete, the inspector will send a letter to Scherer outlining his fi ndings. This will also allow the city to issue temporary occupancy status for new construction. When state operations resume, individuals who utilized Savage’s Special Inspection Program will
Hennepin: $4.05 per resident Collaborative: Scott County partners with Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue and Houston Counties For months now, Thomas has shared her personal office with Marie Barbesier, a French forensics physician who came to Minnesota for a fellowship with the Olmsted County medical examiner, who abruptly resigned. Thomas had no room, but offered the woman work space at a table a few feet away from her desk. Thomas, who formerly worked for the Hennepin County medical examiner and still lives in Minneapolis, has overseen the office for about 10 years. She oversees three other forensic pathologists, a senior death investigator and three administrative staff. Thirty part-time investigators also respond to calls in their respective counties. Minnesota counties are required to employ either a coroner — a medical doctor who may be a family physician — or a medical examiner, a forensic pathologist specially trained to perform death investigations. Counties without a medical examiner might hire one for specific cases. Scott County contracts with seven other counties for medical examiner services. As coroners retire, Thomas sees such partnerships expanding. Counties are finding it harder to recruit doctors who are willing to double as coroners, and more expertise is expected nowadays from death investigations.
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VOL. 17 ISSUE 49 © SOUTHWEST NEWSPAPERS