Football Contest page 6
PRSRT STD ECR U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #861
Sports page 7 & 8
New Look. Same Local Coverage since 1854. Vol. 163, No. 37
11 2nd Ave. N., Unit 103, Sauk Rapids, Benton County, MN 56379
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Board approves 4.26 percent tax increase
Sauk Rapids business continues red bucket tradition Barrie and employees choose bell ringing BY MITCH COTTEW STAFF WRITER
in all its facilities across the United States. “We get paid our full wage from RDO to do this,” Barrie said. “RDO has about 2,000 employees in 10 different states, so it’s a big chunk of change they are donating to these type of programs. We feel it’s important to give back to the community in which we live and work. One of RDO’s core values is giving back to its communities.” The connection to the Salvation Army started with Barrie’s involvement with the St. Cloud Area Chamber. Since that networking, Barrie
has led his fellow employees yees by manning the storefront front collection buckets. The challenge of greeting eting strangers and asking for charitable donations is one the RDO staff has faced and conquered. “Some of the diesel technicians who work in the shop all day, they don’t have to interact with people as part of their job and it can be a little daunting,” Barrie said. “You could tell they were a little hesitant during the Àrst year or so we did it. They came back to the shop
BY ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER
after their Àrst time and they would say, ‘Oh it was great. We had a really fun time once we started d talking lki to people.’ l ’ You see them come out of their shell, and we have them take pictures and send them to us for our social media site. It’s been fun seeing them get better at it each year.” The fact that the campaign is well-known within communities, helps employees who may not be as
SARTELL — The sound of ringing bells and Christmas greetings is synonymous with the holiday season shopping experience. For the last three years, a new tradition has been kept by one group behind the Salvation Army’s signature red bucket. RDO Equipment Co., of Sauk Rapids, allows eight hours of paid volunteer work to its employees to use as they see Àt. Most of the workers have chosen to volunteer by taking part in the iconic bell ringing. “We usually block off the entire work week, Monday through Friday, and we’ll work this nine to Àve ringing the bell for the Salvation Army,” said RDO’s general manager Pete Barrie. “Every RDO location is different, but this is something we’ve chosen to do, kind of as a group effort. We’ve all pooled our community hours for the last three years and covered the entire week.” RDO, a national agriculture and construction equipment parts supplier, has PHOTOS BY MITCH COTTEW made the volunteer hours Peter Barrie, general manager at RDO Equipment Co. of Sauk Rapids, mans his post Dec. available to its employees 15 at the Salvation Army donation bucket in front of Coborn’s grocery on Pine Cone Road.
New software has potential Paying to increase proficiency BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
RICE — The Rice Fire Department has the opportunity to become more efÀcient with a new software program. Fire Chief Scott Janski presented a prospect to the Rice City Council Dec. 18. Janski said the department would like to purchase software that could help the department become more proÀcient. PSTrax, which stands for paperless station tracking, could allow the department to streamline their records. “It is designed by Àre Àghters for Àre departments,” Janski said. “This allows us to not only track trucks, but the maintenance of those trucks.” The application would be utilized during truck checks, as well as other record keeping times. It could document everything from mileage and maintenance to supplies needed and inspection certiÀcations. All the information would be stored by the cloud-based service, readily available in the time of need. Janski said the software will also create efÀcient communication. “If I have questions I know who to go back to,” Janski said. “With the current software it is just one generic log in so I don’t know who did it.” The Àre chief said each department member would have a log in so notations
could be traced back to the source. If Janski had a question, he would know who to approach. The application would also reduce the risk of multiple notations about the same problem or need for new equipment. Janski said rather than receiving multiple redundant notes, the information would be recorded and anyone who logged in could see that it was already requested. Although Janski wasn’t aware of a nearby department using PSTrax, he said that many departments in Colorado use the application. Currently Rice is using a less compatible software program. PSTrax would have a onetime start-up cost dependent on the term of the contract and then roughly cost $1,200 per year for service and support. Janski is seeking an updated quote before the council makes it decision in January. In other council news: • Recognized Steve Wollak for Àve years of service with the city and Ross Hamann for 10 years of service with the city. Wollak works in the utilities department while Hamann is the chief of police. • Recognized the Rice Sportsmen’s Club for a $10,000 donation that was accepted by the city on the Rice Fire Department’s behalf. The money will be used to purchase a side-by-
Rice Council page 3
PUBLIC NOTICES - NEED TO UPDATE • Notice of filing Watab Township • Mortgage Foreclosure - Bjerke - page 5 - page 7 • Minden Township Filing - page 5 • Benton County Summary Budget - page 7 • SR Rice School Work Session page 7
comfortable soliciting donations. “I think that the red bucket and the whole Salvation Army campaign is pretty iconic,” Barrie said. “It has been around for many years, and the Salvation Army’s reputation brings a lot of credibility to what all the volunteers do in the community.” RDO’s other charitable contributions throughout the year include a $200 donation each employee can give to an organization in their name. The Sauk Rapids facility chose to pool their charity as a group once again and donate $2,600 to the Little Falls Disabled American Veterans Christmas present drive. “The donation has been something that’s growing each year.” Barrie said. “It was about $1,000 the Àrst year, and $1,800 last year. We just presented the donation to the DAV (Dec. 13) at their Christmas party. That was something really neat.” Barrie said the company’s support of community doesn’t only come once a year. “We’re a family-owned company,” said Barrie, “We feel real strongly about giving back to the community. It’s one of our core values, and we prove that each and every day.”
it forward Rapids Alterations & Repair owner Cindy Battleson shows off some of the donated dresses her shop has received as part of Prom It Forward. One hundred percent of the sales from the donated dresses will be given to the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center.
BY VICKI IKEOGU CONTRIBUTING WRITER
SAUK RAPIDS — Prom season is still a few weeks out, but already Cindy Battleson’s shop is full of dresses. “I love prom,” Battleson said. “I do. We get so excited when prom comes. When that Àrst prom dress comes in in January we are like, ‘Oh, we got the Àrst prom dress.’ And everybody is out there and is so excited. We did (alterations on) 187 dresses in six weeks last year.” But this year, the traditional high school rite of passage has started early at the Sauk Rapids tailor shop Rapids Alterations & Repair, 621 N Benton Drive. After years of requests to carry prom dresses for purchase, Battleson decided to oblige. But in doing so, has created a mission to bring awareness to sexual harassment and assault in the process. Prom It Forward, started by Battleson, is an initiative
The Sauk Rapids-Rice School Board held their Truth in Taxation public hearing Dec. 18 during their regular meeting. Kim Eisenschenk, business manager for the district, presented numbers to those in the audience, which included a 4.26 percent increase in the taxes for the next school year. “It equals out to $362,000, but it’s actually a $8,349.58 decrease from the preliminary levy the board approved in September,” Eisenschenk said. “Every little bit helps,” said Jan Solarz, member of the school board. In other school board news: • The SRR school board is being recognized as a board of distinction for the second year in a row. Three of the board members are also being recognized individually – Tracy Morse for the 20-year service award, Robyn Holthaus for the director’s award – earned by attending 100 or more hours of training – and Ryan Butkowski for the leadership development certiÀcate. All will be recognized at the Minnesota School Board Association annual leadership conference in January. • The superintendent vacancy has been posted and will be open for applications through the end of January. Interviews will take place in February with the Ànal decision being made in late February or early March.
Instead of operating on consignment, Battleson said all the dresses are donated. And 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of those dresses goes directly to the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center. “There was really no outlet for used prom dresses (in the area) anymore,” she said. “And I thought rather than just getting them and selling them, I’m not really interested in making money on them.” After talking with several people – and with the encouragement of others – Battleson decided to take on the fundraising project. “Prom is all about teenage girls,” Battleson said. “I wanted it to be focused on helping teenage girls. So, I PHOTOS BY VICKI IKEOGU just started asking around … Rapids Alterations & Repair owner Cindy Battleson stands in when my daughter suggested front of the over 125 dresses donated to her shop as part of the the Sexual Assault Center.” Prom It Forward fundraiser she created. to help resell older style prom dresses to girls in need of new formal wear. “We’ve never done it before, so we really don’t know what to expect,” Battleson said. “But we have over 125 dresses right now.”
The Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center provides free and conÀdential services for victims of any kind of sexual violence in Stearns, Benton, Sherburne and Wright counties. “Sexual violence is a very taboo subject,” said Lyndsey Lanes, CMSAC direct services coordinator. “So we are obviously very excited to be able to raise more awareness and potentially help reach more survivors.” From October 2016 to March 2017, CMSAC has provided 14,671 services ranging from one-onone support counseling, harassment restraining orders, court advocacy, human trafÀcking services and individual psychoeducation. These services were
Prom it Forward page 3