Pioneer PINE CITY
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016
VOL. 131 NO. 16 www.pinecitymn.com $1.00
LEAPING AHEAD: Lundquist breaks high jump, triple jump records. P11
Townships, city pursue fire plan BY MIKE GAINOR EDITOR@PINECITYMN.COM
Getting the river ready for summer’s fun
A proposed contract between Pine City and the towns and townships served by the Pine City Fire Department has been put on hold due to legal concerns, but city officials said they will continue to press forward to get an updated contract in place. Rock Creek, Henriette, Pokegama Township, Mission Creek Township, Pine City Township, Royalton Township and Chengwatana Township all currently receive service from the Pine City Fire Department, and pay fees for that service based on their tax capacity and market values. A proposed contract described a joint fire committee consisting of two Pine City officials and one official from each of the fire departments’ contracted communities, and gave that committee power to approve fire department expenses and expenditures. However, Pine City Administrator Ken
Pine City Public Works and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials set docks on the Snake River on a sunny April 13.
SEE FIRE PLAN, PAGE 14
LANCE FURBER | THE PIONEER
Hickey heads on new journey with search dog BY MIKE GAINOR EDITOR@PINECITYMN.COM
When someone is lost – if a hiker or hunter doesn’t return from the woods, if an Alzheimer’s patient wanders away from their home, if a child goes missing – Pine City’s Cindy Hickey and her search and rescue dog Journey are there to help. Hickey joined the all-volunteer Minnesota Search and Rescue Dog Association just over two years ago, and with the help of the experts in her group, has trained her German Shepard to be an “air scent” search and rescue dog. The training started
Cindy Hickey when Journey was still a puppy. “We start playing scent games with her, hiding treats, having her hunt for things with her nose,”
Hickey explained. “And then we do things called ‘runaways.’ I’ll be holding the dog, and someone will play with a toy and then run away and hide behind a tree. The dog sees them, and they’ll learn how to go find the lost person that way.” Over time, the games get more complicated. “We start increasing distance, and then they’re finding people they hadn’t seen hide,” Hickey said. “Anyone that comes to visit has to hide for me. We’re training all the time.” The dog is taught to avoid distractions and focus on the task. In a wilderness area the dog is
let off their leash, while in an urban area a long leash is used. “I can send her out in the field and find people she’s not scented on, or I can find a specific person according to the scent article that I’ve used,” Hickey said. “She is trained to find one person in a group of many according to the scent she has been given.” If Journey is able to find the person she is looking for, she returns to Hickey and lets her know. “She’s trained to... come back to me and ‘indicate,’” Hickey said. “So she goes out and finds the person, she comes back to me, indicates, I say, ‘Show me,’ and she takes me back to
the person. “That’s something we teach them young too: what is your indication that tells me you’ve found somebody? It might be to tug on a toy that you might have hanging, to hit your knee with their nose, to bark.” Hickey smiled. “Journey’s [indication] is to jump on me. She gets pretty excited. I probably won’t train my next dog to do that.” ‘A GOOD WAY TO GIVE BACK’ Hickey has been involved in training and racing sled dogs for years, and knew becoming a search and rescue trainer would be a big commit-
ment. It takes two years of regular training, and volunteers have to be willing to train every Saturday and to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “It’s a lifestyle, not really a hobby,” she said. But the more she thought about what she wanted to do, search and rescue seemed a perfect fit. “I love training dogs. I have a medical background – I’m a retired nurse. And I love the wilderness. So this just seemed to suit everything,” she said. “Given what I’ve been through ... what can I do to give SEE HICKEY, PAGE 14
Wondering what the market has been up to?
Let our EXPERTS help you! Call your local Pine City off ice today...320-629-7541
885 7TH ST. SW, PINE CITY, MN 55063
CLASSIFIED ADS 763-689-1181 ext. 101 brenda@countystar.com
NEWS 320-629-6771 editor@pinecitymn.com
WWW.CBRESULTS.COM
ADVERTISING 320-629-6771 ads@pinecitymn.com
Independently owned and operated member of Coldwell Banker Affiliates. Inc Licensed Minnesota Brokerage
PUBLIC NOTICES 320-629-6771 publicnotices@pinecitymn.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS 320-629-6771 ads@pinecitymn.com
BREAKING NEWS, UPDATES Whenever, wherever you are! Scan me with your smartphone