Thisweek Burnsville and Eagan

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Eagan Summer Community Theatre presents the classic stage musical ‘The Music Man’ this month. SEE STORY IN THISWEEKEND ON PAGE 9A

A NEWS OPINION SPORTS

Thisweek Burnsville-Eagan JULY 9, 2010

VOLUME 31, NO. 19

www.thisweeklive.com

Opinion/5A

Announcements/7A

Thisweekend/9A

Real Estate/11A

Classifieds/13A

Sports/20A

Mayor seeks campaign sign truce until Labor Day Eagan’s Mike Maguire asks fellow candidates to join him in pledge to de-escalate local sign wars by Erin Johnson

EAGAN

THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

When Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire returned home after a recent trip to Little Falls, he said he was disheartened to see clusters of campaign signs along Pilot Knob Road. That was even before the Fourth of July, he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen

signs out this early,� he said. “It’s starting to look like November. And these are candidates not involved in a primary.� Maguire, who is seeking his second term as mayor, is asking other local candidates to join him in signing a pledge to delay putting up yard signs until closer to

the election. Candidates who sign the “No Sign Before Its Time� pledge agree to not post their campaign signs or allow them to be posted until after Labor Day. Not only do these signs clutter the landscape, Maguire said, but posting signs this early essentially extends campaign season by a couple of months.

“I think the campaign season is already long enough,� he said. “These campaign signs are political noise. I think it’s the kind of thing that turns people off to politics.� There is also a domino effect, he said – if one candidate posts signs, their opponent will also feel pressured to post signs. Maguire said he wants to lead the way on

a local level to de-escalate the sign wars. “The point was to say, look, I’m going to disarm, and hope the others follow suit. And if they don’t that’s their prerogative,� he said. Maguire said he successfully ran in two Eagan elections – first as a council member then as See Maguire, 18A

3-year-old found wandering along Highway 55 in Eagan Boy, unharmed, appears to have let himself out in the middle of the night by Erin Johnson

EAGAN

THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Everybody loves a parade Photos by Rick Orndorf

The Zurah Legion of Honor unit, representing the branches of the United States armed forces, was one of many groups featured in the Eagan July 4th Funfest Parade. For more parade photos, see page 11A

District above average on tests, with downturn in junior high by John Gessner

DISTRICT 191

THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Its latest round of state testing shows troubling results in the junior highs and continued improvement in the elementary grades, Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191 reports. On average, district students who took the MCA-II tests in April scored above the state average by .3 percent in math and by nearly 1 percent in reading, the district reports. “We continue to, overall as a school district, see improvement in both math and reading assessment scores,� Superintendent Randy Clegg said. “We’re also seeing im-

provements in scores for subgroups of students such as students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals, minority students, special education students.� But officials say there’s a troubling downturn at the junior high level on the annual tests, which measure student performance on state academic standards and are used to determine if schools and districts are making “adequate yearly progress� under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Proficiency rates – the percentages of students who meet or ex-

ceed state standards on the tests – fell below state proficiency rates among junior high students. In reading and math, District 191 students roughly matched the state proficiency rates in third grade, the first year of testing, Clegg said. District elementary students bettered state proficiency rates by higher margins in each of the subsequent grades, he said. But in seventh grade, only 56.7 percent of district students met proficiency in reading, compared with 66.1 percent statewide, Clegg noted. In math, 60.7 percent of district students met proficiency, See District 191, 18A

New assistant superintendent focuses on tech, school change by John Gessner

DISTRICT 191

THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Check out Chris Lindholm’s latest blog entries for topics on organizational leadership, the wiring of adolescent brains toward empathy and social responsibility, and ways school administrators like him are using social media. The blog, “Principal Thoughts,� went into hibernation in recent weeks as Lindholm transitioned from his old job as principal of Shakopee Junior High School to his new one as assistant superin-

is a certain amount of expectation that I do the same here. How that will look and how that will feel, I have to figure out as I go.� Lindholm, 36, replaces veteran teacher and administrator Sandi Novak, who retired. If his thoughts on schools appear consumed with change and tech and challenging creaky traditions, Lindholm says he’s just being real. “They don’t have a choice. The writing is on the wall,� he said. “In-

tendent for instructional leadership in Burnsville-EaganSavage School District 191. “I put myself out there as a principal pushing the Lindholm envelope and using 21st-century tools,� Lindholm said this week, his first full week on the job. “I think there See Lindholm, 19A

General 952-894-1111 Distribution 952-846-2070 Display Advertising 952-846-2011 Classified Advertising 952-846-2000

A 3-year-old boy is safe and his parents have been located after a passerby found him wandering along a stretch of Eagan highway in the middle of the night. The passerby called 911 around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday, July 6, after spotting the boy wandering by himself along Highway 55 near Lone Oak Road. Officers unsuccessfully tried to communicate with the child, which may have been due to a language barrier, police said. They then knocked on the doors of some nearby homes and checked with area hotels and gas stations to try to locate the parents. When officers were unable to find them, they contacted social services and placed the boy in temporary care. The boy’s mother called police around 5:30 a.m. to report that her child was missing. The woman and her son were staying at a relative’s house in the area, she said, and she woke up to find him gone. After an initial investiga-

tion, officers determined the child woke up, walked down two flights of stairs, and let himself out by opening the automatic garage door. The button was within his reach, police said. The home where the boy was staying is located about a half mile from where he was found. “It appears to be a case where a 3-year-old woke up and let himself out of the house,� said Officer Danielle Anselment. “We’re just so thankful this turned out the way it did.� The boy was placed on a 72-hour hold when he was taken into temporary custody by social services, which is standard in these cases while the situation is being evaluated, Anselment said. “We have to determine that the environment is safe for the child to return to,� she said. It is possible the child will be reunited with his parents before that time, she said. Erin Johnson is at eagan. thisweek@ecm-inc.com.

Eagan man sentenced for harassment via website Site had domain name similar to city’s official site by Erin Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

EAGAN eagan.com. The city’s official site is www.cityofeagan.com. When Salberg’s site began posting derogatory information and photos, it led to confusion among residents. The site was previously used by Salberg to post parodies of city politics and announce the opening of new businesses. According to Eagan officials, the city began getting calls in January 2009 about the site’s content, with some residents concerned that the city’s site had been hijacked. Salberg used the Internet and e-mail to harass the victim and his family for nine months after the victim ended his affair with Salberg’s wife. Salberg sent the victim and the victim’s wife numerous harassing e-mails, posted derogatory entries on his website, and created a specific website using the victim’s name to hu-

A 45-year-old Eagan man has been sentenced for using his website – with a domain name almost identical to the city of Eagan’s official site – to harass a man with whom his wife had an affair. Emmett Salberg Jr. was sentenced to nine days in jail and four years probation June 30. He pleaded guilty in Dakota County District Court to attempted coercion and an added charge of misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Salberg must attend a court-ordered anger-management course, submit to random checks regarding his Internet use and pay an undetermined amount of restitution. Salberg posted the harassing information on www. cityofeagan.org. He also owned the site www.city-of- See Harassment, 21A

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