PRSRT STD ECR U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #861
Postal Customer
7 Second Avenue Sauk Rapids, MN 56379
“Minnesota’s Oldest Weekly Newspaper”
Sauk Rapids, p , Benton County, y, Minnesota 56379
(USPS 482-240)
Happy New Year Vol. 161, No. 38
A continuation of the Frontiersman, The Free Press, S Sauk kR Rapids id S Sentinel ti l and d St St. Cl Cloud dS Sentinel. ti l
Sartell man admits false report of man jumping off bridge
SAUK RAPIDS — A Sartell man is facing charges after making a false 911 call on Sunday afternoon. According to the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, emergency personnel was dispatched to the Mississippi riverbank near the Sauk Rapids Bridge just before 2 p.m. after receiving a 911 call reporting a man jumping from the bridge. St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids firefighters, St. Cloud Police, the Benton County Sheriff’s Department, Gold Cross Ambulance and the Stearns County Dive Team all responded to the scene but found no evidence of anyone who had jumped. After ques-
tioning inconsistencies in the anonymous report and further investigation, authorities deemed the report to be false. Tracing the call back to a local man, Stearns County Chief Deputy Bruce Bechtold released Monday that after being interviewed, a 33-yearold man admitted to placing the call in order to get attention. The suspect’s name will not be released and he has not yet been charged. The case is being forwarded to the Stearns County Attorney’s Office where he potentially faces Gross Misdemeanor charges for Placing a False Emergency Call.
Helping homeless veterans
December 30, 2015
Class of ’95 giving back
Teachers, officers work to make a difference by ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER
SAUK RAPIDS — From athletics to academics and personal life, the Sauk Rapids class of 1995 were always supportive of each other; however, in recent years that support has taken an extra step and extended into the community that raised them. “Obviously, we didn’t go far from Sauk Rapids. I tried to get away for a little bit, but came back. I think that we were driven to be of service to people. There was never a question of wanting to do that, and getting to do that in our hometown is even better,” Zeilenga said. Zeilenga now teachers at Sauk Rapids’ Mississippi Heights Elementary School alongside one of her former classmates Jeremy Christie. They both teach fifth grade. The two graduated from Sauk
PHOTO BY ANNA SALDANA
Marie Zeilenga, Jeremy Welsh, and Jeremy Christie went to high school together. Now, they still see each other often as they work to create a better Sauk Rapids.
Rapids-Rice in 1995 along Sauk Rapids Police Force for been fun, and they have begun with another hometown hero, 16 years. to see children of their former Jeremy Welsh, who has been For Christie and Zeilenga, Graduates serving the community on the the teaching experience has continued on pg. 5
A gift to change lives
Two entrepreneurs receive business name from indigenous woman by NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY ANNA SALDANA
Roman Lovitz stands proudly in front of his seven donated backpacks with Erik Hanson of Thrivent Financial and a representative from the Salvation Army.
Elementary student gives necessities to those in need by ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER ST. CLOUD—The Christmas season is filled with the hustle and bustle of decorating, shopping and families opening gifts in the comfort of their homes. However, there are many people who didn’t have that opportunity and instead are living at homeless shelters or on the streets. If anyone recognizes that these people need help, it’s 9-year-old Roman Lovitz. Roman likes to focus on helping homeless veterans. “I feel sad because if someone tried to [make veterans homeless], they are bad people,” he said. “Veterans served our country and it’s sad that they are homeless when it’s this cold out these days. Veterans served our country and we should be grateful that they did. Some have died and some have lived, and if they are homeless, they should have a chance to have things.” Wanting to help them, Roman and his mom, Brenda, purchased enough supplies to fill two backpacks. His plan was to stop and give each one to a veteran on the street corner begging for help. When Erik Hanson, financial associate at Thrivent Financial, found out what Roman was doing, he helped Roman make a bigger impact. “I thought it was fantastic that Roman wanted to help,” Hanson said. “I think it’s important to teach good stewardship at a young age, and being able to give up your time, talents and gifts.” Because Brenda is a Thrivent member, she was able to get another $250 through their action teams. “We were really excited to hear about the Thrivent part, and we will definitely have many more projects that
we want to do with them, and through the Salvation Army,” Brenda said. “It’s fun to have those programs that facilitate, that are vehicles for helping people to give back.” The program was developed by Thrivent a year and a half ago. Each Thrivent member age 16 or older is eligible to do two action teams a year. The idea behind action teams is that if there’s a service project, fundraiser or something going on in the community, the Thrivent member can apply for the Thrivent action team. It provides the person with $250 to help the fundraiser. With the help of the Thrivent action team, Roman was able to donate seven backpacks to seven veterans staying at the Salvation Army shelter in St. Cloud. Each backpack was filled with $50 worth of necessities like food, winter clothing, soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant among other items. “He would turn to me in the health and beauty aisle and ask ‘Mom, do they need soap?’ He just thinks that everyone has soap, but you’re educating your kid and helping to broaden his knowledge of the people around him,” Brenda said. “It forces him to think about what a homeless person may need.” Roman and Brenda spent over two weeks collecting supplies and filling the backpacks. On Dec. 22, Roman delivered them to the shelter. “I felt good because I was helping veterans. I felt like my heart grew a lot. I think they’ll be happy,” Roman said. It didn’t come as a surprise to Brenda that Roman chose to focus on veterans.
Lovitz continued on pg. 5
Two-and-a-half years ago, thousands of miles south, deep into the mountainous Northern Highlands of Ecuador, a gift was given. The gift wasn’t associated with any holiday or specific occasion. It wasn’t given in gratitude or because of a job well done. It was simply one random act of kindness that would ensue another and change families’ lives near and far. The gift was a name: Quinde. “Quinde stands for hummingbird,” said Janelle Hinchley, who owns Quinde enterprises with Greg Randle. “It means joy and abundance in the Quechuan language, which the people in the highlands speak. The birds symbolize abundance, agility, tenacity and colorfulness. Just as the hummingbirds search for the sweetest nectar, they remind us to seek out the good in life and the beauty in each day.” When Hinchley and Randle joined a College of St. Benedict’s (CSB) and St. John’s University five-week volunteer trip in 2013, they had no plans to create a business from the excursion. They were merely just scratching their travel itch. Randle, a budding novelist, and Hinchley, an instructor at CSB, had
PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER
Janelle Hinchley and Greg Randle created Quinde Enterprises after a service trip to Ecuador. They were gifted the name of their company by a local woman.
led a study abroad trip in Australia prior to the Ecuadorian adventure. The two had fallen in love with the experience of living with and immersing themselves in the people and culture of another land. It was
a completely different experience than of a traveling tourist. So when the opportunity to join the service-learning trip arose, they didn’t think twice. “Ecuador is beautiful,”
Randle said. “We were right in the Andes Mountains. It’s absolutely beautiful mountainous country.”
Quinde Enterprises continued on pg. 2
A frightening change leads to new outlook Meyer lives, promotes healthy lifestyle after bout with cancer by ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER
SARTELL – Julie Meyer felt her mom was worrying too much when a mole on her arm began getting darker. “My mom kept telling me I should go get it looked at. I was busy with stuff and I don’t really like going into the doctor, so I kept brushing her off. She persisted, so I finally went in,” said Meyer, an eighth grade teacher at Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School. Unbeknownst to Meyer, that mole would change her life. “The doctor called me a few days later and told me I PHOTO BY ANNA SALDANA had melanoma, and I was in Julie Meyer works hard to stay healthy since being declared the next day to have surgery cancer free. One of her favorite pastimes is running races. on my arm,” Meyer said.
Thankfully, Meyer did not require any further treatments other than skin checks. Since her bout with cancer, Meyer has had a different outlook on life, and is trying to live and promote a healthy lifestyle. “I feel like I live life with a lot more zest,” Meyer said. “I really feel that the cancer turned me around to live each day to the fullest.” Two years after being declared cancer-free, a friend invited Meyer to a kickboxing exercise class. Deciding she liked it, she continued to attend the class. One morning, the instructor presented her class with
Meyer continued on pg. 3