PINE CITY
THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2015 VOL. 130 NO. 29 www.pinecitymn.com $1.00
STORM DAMAGE: Pine City area recovering from July 12 thunderstorms, high winds. P9
County alerting public with CodeRED system BY HENRY FISCHER NEWS@PINECITYMN.COM
Imagine receiving phone calls, emails, text messages and social media alerts from Pine County to notify you of emergency road closures, traffic jams, weather alerts and early school closings. The Pine County Board has approved a contract with the Emergency Commu-
nication Network to launch the new CodeRED public alert system this month. Pine County joined an extensive list of 54 Minnesota counties that have already implemented the service. Pine County’s initial cost will be $10,275, completely funded by a grant. Future annual costs are estimated at a little over $12,000, which is less than half the cost of purchasing a single tornado warning siren.
The CodeRED system enables local government officials to record, send and track personalized voice, email, text and social media messages to citizens as well as staff. Pine County Sheriff Jeff Nelson and Chief Deputy Paul Widenstrom pointed out that the service is capable of reaching thousands of citizens in just minutes. Besides issuing alerts to residents within Pine County, people
driving through the county also will be able to sign up for the free service. The system is based on the county’s E-911 emergency notification database and may be enhanced with additional localized data. Look for more information in the Pioneer later this month about how to sign up for the free CodeRED alerts.
Train strikes, kills Hinckley woman STAFF REPORT EDITOR@PINECITYMN.COM
A Hinckley woman, traveling on foot, was struck and killed by a train at the crossing on Main Street East in Hinckley on July 8. The Pine County Sheriff’s Office reports that this past Wednesday at 12:39 a.m. dispatchers received a 911 call of a female who had been hit by a train in Hinckley. The call location was reported as Main Street East and the railroad crossing in Hinckley. Rescue personnel arrived at the
scene within minutes and found the woman deceased. The victim was later identified as Erin Story, 36, of Hinckley. The Canadian Pacific train had been traveling southbound at the time of the accident. A witness reported that Story had been running in the same direction and was trying to get across the tracks before the train. The intersection is marked with signals and crossing arms, which appeared to be functioning correctly. The accident remains under investigation.
Prepare for delays on Hwy. 70 until mid-October BY MIKE GAINOR EDITOR@PINECITYMN.COM
PHOTO PROVIDED |
Reeling in the big one While fishing on Pokegama Lake this past Saturday afternoon, Rod Bochniak snagged this sturgeon by the tail and after a half-hour reeled it in. Though he didn’t weigh or measure the fish before releasing it, he guessed it to be about 4.5 feet long and 30-40 pounds.
Highway 70 drivers accustomed to the detour on County Road 3 found a new set of slowdowns on the eastern side of the highway starting July 6. Traffic from Maple Avenue to about 2.1 miles to the east has been reduced to a single lane Monday through Saturday during construction of this section, and traffic is being controlled with portable signals or flaggers. On a July 9 drive heading west on Highway 70, about 15 minutes were spent waiting as traffic controllers shut down driving lanes
MIKE GAINOR | THE PIONEER
Drivers on Highway 70 will find flaggers and pilot cars controlling traffic east of Rock Creek.
SEE DELAYS, PAGE 12
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