South St. Paul

Job fair comes to Secondary School

Jake Spitzack Staff Writer

Looking for job? You may find the perfect one at the job fair held 3-7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 15, at South St. Paul Secondary, 700 2nd St. N. It’s open to anyone age 16 and older, and applications and interviews can be completed while there. Some people may even receive a job offer that day. The event is hosted by the City of South St. Paul and South St. Paul Public Schools.

The city has a slew of seasonal and variable hour openings in its Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments. Public Works is seeking maintenance worker aides to assist with street repairs, community event setup, ballfield maintenance, mowing of city land and more. Some positions require applicants to be age 18 or older and have a valid driver’s license. The Parks and Rec department is seeking lifeguards, managers and concession workers for its outdoor pools, as well as arena attendants, concession workers and Zamboni drivers at Doug Woog Arena.The department is also recruiting Summer Day Camp staff, Traveling Theater Playhouse staff, specialty summer camps staff, youth football referees and summer interns. Applicants must be at least age 16. If hired for a seasonal position, employees are generally allowed to return the next year without re-applying. The city offers competitive pay and benefits for full-time and part-time positions. To find open job positions with the City

Job Fair / Page 3

School district responds to marked increase in students seeking counseling

SSP taps experienced city engineer

Jake Spitzack Staff Writer

Taking up the mantle in the city of South St. Paul’s engineering department is Nicholas Guilliams, who starts his role as city engineer on February 6. Guilliams, who has more than two decades of engineering experience for municipalities, is expected to bring stability to a department that has seen much turnover in the past year.

Jake Spitzack Staff Writer

It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic and the social isolation that accompanied it took its toll on students both academically and emotionally. At the start of this school year, the South St. Paul School District sent out a survey to middle school students and learned that 1 in 4 were interested in attending group counseling. In a recent interview, several school counselors said they have seen a notable increase in the number of students showing signs of anxiety and other mental health concerns. In response, the district’s seven school counselors have been working to develop a more structured curriculum to help students in grades 6-12 build their social, emotional and academic skills as they advance through the secondary school.

“Social-emotional learning isn’t an add-on like it was back in the day,” said

Both the engineering and public works departments have been in flux for the past seven months. Last June, longtime public works director Pat Dunn retired and City Engineer Sue Polka picked up his duties. In August, the two departments merged to cut down on administrative costs and increase efficiency, and Howie Steenberg was named public works superintendent, a newly created position. That arrangement was short-lived. Polka retired in early November and the departments were separated once again. At that time, Steenberg was named interim public works director and Lee Elfering was hired as interim city engineer. However, the dust has not yet settled. The city is currently searching for a director for public works. Once that person is hired, Steenberg will return to his position as superintendent. The city also plans to hire an assistant city engineer this year to assist Guilliams.

As city engineer, Guilliams oversees all engineering projects and manages the department’s two

Engineer / Page 4