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Thisweek Apple Valley-Rosemount OCTOBER 29, 2010
NITY COMMUDE GUI ection S Special issue is inside th
Opinion/5A
Sports/6A
VOLUME 31, NO. 35
Puzzle Page/8A
Announcements/9A
Dakota County attorney petitions for protection of children left with uncle Were children left in an unsafe environment by investigators? by Laura Adelmann THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
In April, while investigating a YouTube video showing a Rosemount man allegedly teaching his 15-year-old nephew to smoke pot, why did a Rosemount police investigator and a Dakota County social worker leave children in the home, which could have been an unsafe environment? That question is behind an Oct. 27 petition by Da-
kota County Attorney James Backstrom to take the teen, who at the time was living with his uncle, Khari Jerome Anse Tillman Sr., into protective services now. Backstrom has charged Tillman, 32, with four child endangerment-related gross misdemeanors based on YouTube videos the investigator and social worker specified as the reason for their visit to the Tillman residence on
April 16. According to an Oct. 20 Dakota County criminal complaint, some of the YouTube videos show Tillman smoking marijuana with his 15-year-old nephew. The complaint states that in a video titled “Free Class,” Tillman instructs his nephew how to hollow out a cigar and fill it with marijuana to make a “blunt.” In some of the videos,
the two allegedly appear to be under the influence of marijuana or another drug. Police downloaded copies of the videos for evidence before the Dakota County social worker contacted Tillman on April 14 to arrange the home visit. At some point after the social worker’s call, the YouTube videos were removed from the site. See Uncle, 10A
Irish march to victory at the Dome
Classifieds/10A
NEWS OPINION SPORTS
Music, magic and opera are in store at the Burnsville PAC. See Thisweekend Page 7A
Poll Locations/14A
Protective services petition reveals details of Rosemount family Eight-year-old smelling of pot smoke initially drew the attention of authorities by Laura Adelmann THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
An Oct. 27 Dakota County child protection petition for four children reveals details about the Rosemount man who allegedly taught his teenage nephew to smoke pot on a YouTube video and about the children who were living in his home. According to the petition: Authorities learned about the family when they received a report on April 11 that an 8-year-old child
had been picked up after visiting the home of Khari Jerome Anse Tillman and smelled strongly of marijuana. The child described what the reporter understood to be the making of “blunts,” which involves hollowing out a cigar and filling it with marijuana to smoke it. After learning there would be an investigation, the reporter recanted her statement and said it was a lie. See Protective Services, 10A
New massage business draws ire of neighbors Garden View Drive residents set up neighborhood watch to document client traffic at home business by Andrew Miller THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Photos by Rick Orndorf
Above: The Rosemount Irish marching band earned top honors in the 2010 Youth in Music Championships at the Metrodome on Oct. 23. The Irish finished first in the Class AAA daytime performances and then went on to earn a first-place finish in the Youth in Music Grand Championships later that evening. This year’s show was titled “Elegante” and featured the music of Peter Illich Tchaikovsky. The Irish Marching Band is led by directors Bojan Hoover, Steve Olsen, and Leon Sieve. At left: The Eastview High School marching band finished in fifth place in both the Class AAA daytime performances and the Youth in Music Championships evening performances.
Residents on the 100 block of Garden View Drive in Apple Valley are taking a stand against a nearby massage business they believe is offering more than back rubs. Chris and Vicki Fuller have set up a neighborhood watch station in their front yard from which they photograph clients entering and exiting the business. The business, the Fullers say, opened earlier this month and operates out of a nearby home. It’s located about a block from Westview Elementary School and a day-care center. A handmade banner in the Fullers’ front yard alerts clients to the fact there’s a neighborhood watch, and that they’re being photographed. “We’re just trying to keep an eye on the neighborhood,” said Chris Fuller, who’s taken time off work to man the neighborhood-watch station. “The only way to stop evil is to confront it.” The Fullers say they became suspicious of the business, which advertises on Internet sites such as Backpage.com, when they saw a woman in fishnet stockings answer the door; additionally, all the clients they’ve seen have been male. The Fullers say the sign in their front yard has coincided with a decrease in traffic into the business. “After we put that up we haven’t had anybody come and try to get a ‘massage,’” said Chris Fuller, making quotation marks with his fingers as he uttered the word “massage.” “They would come by slowly, see the sign and keep on going,” added Vicki Fuller.
Photo by Andrew Miller
Chris and Vicki Fuller erected this handmade banner in the front yard of their home on Garden View Drive in Apple Valley. The couple has also set up a table in their yard from which they photograph clients of a nearby massage business, which opened earlier this month. Apple Valley Police Capt. Michael Marben confirmed that police are conducting an investigation. The city doesn’t have an ordinance prohibiting massage businesses, Marben said, but city code does prohibit people from operating businesses out of homes in which they don’t reside, and that’s been one focus of this investigation. “What we’re concerned about is the operation of a business within our city that doesn’t conform with zoning regulations,” he said. Police say the neighborhood watch group is within its rights when photographing the business’ clients. “If individuals are in public, another person can take photographs of them,” Marben said. “The right to privacy extends to individuals in their own homes, See Garden View, 15A
Hundreds attend benefit to support Army officer struck with cancer Weber selected as Minnesota Vikings’ Hero of the Week by Laura Adelmann THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Overcoming cancer isn’t just a goal of Rosemount’s Lt. Col. Mark M. Weber. It’s a mission. Weber, a highly decorated Army officer, husband and father of three boys, dubbed his battle with neuroendocrine cancer “Operation True Grit,” and set up a Facebook account also named as such. Over 400 friends, colleagues and family members came alongside Weber and his family in that fight on Oct. 23 when they packed Rudy’s Redeye Grill in Rosemount for a benefit and silent auction. During the event, more than $20,000 was raised for the family. “It kind of leaves you speechless that people would be so generous, sharing
and kind when there’s other people in need as well,” said Weber’s wife Kristin. But Weber’s attacker, an extremely rare form of pancreatic cancer, is a tough enemy, and a recent surgery and five-week hospital stay has proven incredibly difficult to overcome. “During the first week after I woke up, I thought I’d killed myself,” Weber said. He described the surgery, done to rearrange and reattach numerous body parts while removing others, including 60 percent of his liver, as a procedure that left him feeling something like Frankenstein. “It’s hard to believe what they do to you,” Weber said. Likewise, just a few months ago, few who know him would have believed that the 39-year-old active military man
would be in this medical situation. His unexpected diagnosis came in June after the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, personally selected Weber to serve as military assistant to the incoming Afghan minister of the interior, a highly regarded position. To serve, a standard medical exam was required. It revealed Weber’s condition, and propelled him and his family into a sea of illness, treatment and uncertainty. “It was just bam. To get asked by the most powerful and popular general in modern history to work for him was great to have that honor. Then, you’re told two weeks later you’re going to die,” he said. “It was beyond a thunderbolt. …It was like I got woken up from See Weber, 15A
Photo submitted
Lt. Col. Mark Weber greets guests at an Oct. 23 benefit and silent auction held in his honor at Rudy’s Redeye Grill in Rosemount. More than 400 tickets to the event were sold, which helped to raise over $20,000 to help Weber and his family with bills as he battles a rare form of cancer. Rudy’s donated all the food for the event.
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