PINE CITY
THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2017 VOL. 132 NO. 19 www.pinecitymn.com $1.00
GONE TO THE BIRDS: Pine City area youth taught to hunt turkeys, pheasants. P22
Child Protection intakes on the rise in Pine County BY AMY DOEUN NEWS@PINECITYMN.COM
There has been an increase in Child Protective Services intakes in 2017. This has been an upward trend since 2016. Bonnie Rediske of Pine County CPS said that the increase has been part of Child Protection
reform throughout the state. Rediske says she thinks this is a good thing. “There are more children and families accessing the services that they need,” Rediske said. In March 2015 Governor Dayton established a task force to “identify the gaps SEE CHILD PROTECTION, PAGE 17
MIKE GAINOR | THE PIONEER
Science puts students in a whirl Bryce Erickson creates a whirlpool in a water bottle at the Pine City Elementary Science Fair on April 27. More photos and contest results on Page 11.
PINE COUNTY CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES
Child Protection Services intakes more than doubled in much of 2016, and remain high in 2017.
‘It’s happy music for happy people’ BY MIKE GAINOR EDITOR@PINECITYMN.COM
A Wednesday afternoon dance tradition is alive and well in Pine City, thanks to a pair of dedicated volunteers and a pair of local organizations generously supporting their work. On Wednesday, April 26, a cheerful crowd of polka lovers took to the dance floor of the Pine City American Legion to listen to Jerry Biersbach play the familiar toe-tapping tunes from days gone by, and Sheila Youngbauer and Lori Carlson were all smiles as they watched. “My aunt Helen Jesperson started the Senior Dance, oh, I don’t even know how long ago,” Youngbauer said. “My cousin Joan started helping her, then she couldn’t do it anymore. Sophie’s Manor was doing it, then Lori Carlson found out it was going to be done because nobody wanted to keep doing it. So she called me and said, ‘What do you think?’ And I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ So here we are. “Lori and I grew up dancing,”
she continued. “I was a Rootkie, and so that’s what we did, with Pine Camp, you know. We just felt like it was our place.” But as they began organizing the dances, they realized that even though the American Legion was providing the venue for free they would have trouble making their books balance. The cost is only $7 per person, and includes a light lunch and salad, and during the winter months there weren’t enough dancers to offset the costs. “When we started this in January this year we were in the red,” Carlson said, laughing. “We didn’t know what we were going to do.” After talking about it, Youngbauer and Carlson approached the Rock Creek Lions and asked them for their help. “We attended one of the meetings and talked about what we were looking for: something nice to continue for our seniors for health reasons, exercise,” Carlson said. “It’s happy music for MIKE GAINOR | THE PIONEER
SEE DANCE, PAGE 17
Happy couples kick up their heels during the Senior Dance every third Wednesday from 1-4 p.m. at the Legion.
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