Winter preview
’Tis that season here
A look at Shakopee Sabers sports teams
Downtown fest, weekend events usher in holidays
Inside
Page 2
www.shakopeenews.com om
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2011
SHAKOPEE
VALLEY
$1
news SHAKOPEE FIRE DEPARTMENT
Alaskan retreat
Full-time day crews proposed
Shakopee natives paid a visit, and didn’t return
Firefighter availability a dilemma BY SHANNON FIECKE sfiecke@swpub.com
BY KRISTIN HOLTZ kholtz@swpub.com
T
he trek from Minnesota to Alaska takes three days (nonstop) by road and more than eight hours by air. It is not just a hop, skip and jump. But the trail has been well trod by Lower 48ers looking for adventure on the last frontier. Living in Alaska, however, requires more than just an appreciation for its natural wonder. It requires an independent spirit that leads some, including a handful of Shakopee natives, never to want to leave. “Alaska is not for everyone — fortunately,� said Alaska transplant Mike Koskovich said. “I kind of like it like that.�
PHOTOS BY CAROL SEBALD
Jayne Koskovich helps put the couple’s float plane into the lake before flying off to their remote cabin. Airplanes are indispensible in Alaska. “You can’t get to the good places without one,� Mike Koskovich explained. Below — Mike Koskovich, a Shakopee native and Alaska transplant, walks along Lake George in central Alaska. Koskovich, who has lived in Alaska since 1974, always carries a gun with him into the Alaska wilds.
“This is the law of the Yukon and ever she makes it plain: send not your foolish and feeble but send me your strong and your sane.� Robert Service Yukon poet in “The Law of the Yukon�
Alaska to page 11 ÂŽ
Shakopee’s growth is finally catching up to its Fire Department. And it’s going to be expensive. With call loads increasing, but fi refighter response falling during the workday, the Shakopee Fire Department had hoped daytime duty crews would be the answer. But a state limitation on the number of hours that voluntary firefighters can work has put a kink in that plan, and Shakopee Fire Chief Rick Coleman now doesn’t think he’ll have enough manpower to field daytime crews.
The best answer Coleman sees is to hire four full-time f i r e f i g ht e r s fo r weekday hours. “We’d be out the door in 80 seconds,� he said. “The response time would be four to five minRick utes for the averColeman age resident.� A lthough this would cost more than $230,000 per year, it might allow the city to delay or downsize construction of a third
Fire Department to page 8 ÂŽ
Counties eye 911 dispatch merger BY SHANNON FIECKE sfiecke@swpub.com
Emergency dispatchers in Scott County could be taking 911 calls from residents in Carver County — or vice versa — in the future under a merger being considered by the neighboring counties. Supervisors from the two sheriff’s offices met with commissioners from each county Tuesday in Chaska to share steps they are taking to learn what it would take — and how much they could save — by melding the two counties’ 911 dispatch services. It’s too early for defi nitive costsaving figures, but Carver County
Commissioner Randy Maluchnik said following the meeting that he’s hopeful the counties could save up to a half-million dollars per year if they consolidate. “Three to six people on duty, 24/7, that could be a lot of potential savings,� said Scott County Board Chair Tom Wolf. Last year, the counties of Carver, Sibley, McLeod and Carver completed a $125,000 state-funded consolidation study of their dispatching services. Sibley and McLeod were content with their current situation, Scott County Sheriff Kevin Studnicka
Merger to page 8 ÂŽ
A natural horsewoman Shakopee teen is a Canadian champ BY KRISTIN HOLTZ kholtz@swpub.com
Kelly Svoboda is only 17 years old but she already has a leg up on the competition — and a trophy to prove it. The Shakopee equestrian is a Canadian national champion after earning the top spot in her class. Svoboda, a Shakopee High School senior and daughter of David Svoboda and Melanie Hanson, has been competing in horse shows since she was 12. She
rides Arabians, which she calls the “original horse.� “They can work really hard for a long, long time,� Svoboda said. “They have a lot of energy.� Good thing, too. Svoboda, who trains twice a week at Hesten Park in Hastings, has competed at regional and national shows across the United States and Canada this summer. At the Youth National Arabian and Half Arabian Championship Horse Show in New Mexico in July, Svoboda faced “the best of best� youth competition from across the country, scoring her first top-10 showing at the national level. Svoboda competes in Country English Pleasure, a saddle-seat-
style of riding that emphasizes the horse’s manners. The rider walks, trots and canters his or her horse at different speeds while judges look at the horse’s upright, steady head and leg height. The intent is to show the horse is a pleasure to ride, according to the Arabian Horse Association website. Hesten Park owner Larry Hoffman called Svoboda “a good thinker,� who can easily translate instructions into action. At 5-foot-9, she’s also a little tall for her horse, but at Youth Nationals, she kept her riding smooth and the top10 finish gave her a big boost of confidence.
Svoboda to page 12 ÂŽ
PHOTO BY DON STINE
Kelly Svoboda of Shakopee won her class at the Canadian National Arabian Championships in August.
INSIDE OPINION/4 OBITUARIES/6 CALENDAR/9 HAPPENINGS/10 SPORTS/13-14 CLASSIFIEDS/21-23 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6683 EDITOR: (952) 345-6680 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@SHAKOPEENEWS.COM.
VOL. 150, ISSUE 48 Š SOUTHWEST NEWSPAPERS
keeping you on the ball
Our certiďŹ ed athletic trainers, physical therapists & specialists offer complete care, from training & prevention through diagnosis, treatment & rehabilitation
SPORTS MEDICINE
PHYSICAL THERAPY
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
AQUATIC THERAPY
3HAKOPEE s #HASKA s 3AVAGE (Therapy services vary between locations)
all the care you need www.stfrancis-shakopee.com