Teacher does comedy in and out of the classroom. See Thiswseekend Page 9A.
Thisweek Burnsville-Eagan OCTOBER 14, 2011
VOLUME 32, NO. 33
A NEWS OPINION SPORTS
www.thisweeklive.com
Opinion/5A
Public Notices/6A & 7A
Senior Spotlight/8A
Sports/10A
Classifieds/11A
Announcements/14A
School may have to restructure after missing AYP for fifth year
A fire at the Cherokee Sirloin Room in Eagan caused severe damage to the exterior of the barn-like structure.
District 191 officials defend Vista View, whose sanction could be softened by No Child waiver by John Gessner THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Vista View Elementary School in Burnsville could face a top-to-bottom restructuring next year after five straight years of not making “adequate yearly progress� under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Vista View is the first school in Burnsville-Eagan-Savage District 191 to reach this stage
of NCLB sanctions. The law requires the district to prepare a restructuring plan for Vista View that could include replacing all or most of the staff, including the principal; reopening it as a charter school; or turning school operations over to the state or a private company. The new structure would take effect next school year. However, Minnesota is seek-
ing a waiver from NCLB mandates. The Obama administration has invited districts to apply for waivers amid talk in Washington, D.C., of rewriting NCLB, which requires all schools receiving federal Title 1 funds to reach full “proficiency� on state tests by 2014. It’s yet unclear how much relief Vista View would get from the restructuring edict even if See District 191, 14A
Cherokee Sirloin Room to reopen, owner says For the record, commissioner Improperly discarded cigarettes to blame for blaze by Jessica Harper and Tad Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
The owners of Cherokee Sirloin Room say they plan to rebuild after a fire severely damaged the Eagan restaurant early Sunday morning. “We hope to be open in four to six weeks,� said co-owner Rick Casper. “It may be the restaurant that opens first with the bar to follow.� The barn-like structure on 4625 Nicols Road became engulfed by flames Oct. 9 after an improperly discarded cigarette started a fire on the deck. A passerby called 911 at about 5:45 a.m. to report the fire, which severely burned the building’s exterior, according to a release by the Eagan Fire Department. Though the interior was mostly damaged by smoke and water, the fire melted several televisions and charred much of the building’s woodwork. Casper said it’s too soon to put a dollar figure on the damage. “The insurance adjuster is out there now,� he said on Monday. No injuries were reported as the business was not occupied at the time of the fire. It was reported that Cherokee bar
Photos submitted
A fire damaged the exterior of the Cherokee Sirloin Room in the early morning hours of Sunday, Oct. 9. employees said they used two pitchers of water to extinguish a fire that had started in a wood barrel flower pot on the second-floor deck before the end of their shift. It is believed that the fire continued to smolder after the staff left early Sunday morning, and the fire eventually started the wood barrel on fire and spread to the deck. It was reported that there were three wooden barrel flower pots on See Fire, 4A
Photo by Rick Orndorf
Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius, bottom, read to preschool children Oct. 6 at Diamondhead Education Center in Burnsville. She was one of several guest readers throughout Burnsville and School District 191 on Read for the Record Day. Local activities for the national event were organized by the MyBunsville Early Literacy Community Team. The chosen book for the event was “Llama Llama Red Pajama� by Anna Dewdney, which was read to young children throughout the community.
Complex that was big trouble is now getting the big makeover New owners invest in the former Charleswood Apartments by John Gessner THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
A Burnsville apartment complex once known for pest infestations and allegedly disreputable owners is making a multimilliondollar turnaround. The old Charleswood Apartments on County Road 5 south of Highway 13 has been purchased and renamed by Pine Ridge Capital, a firm specializing in turning around distressed real estate and other assets. Pine Ridge purchased the mortgage in April after the fivebuilding, 114-unit complex had
lapsed into receivership. Now called River Ridge Apartment Homes, the complex at 12901 County Road 5 is getting a unitby-unit makeover. Rents are also higher. The previous owners, landlord brothers Hyder Jaweed and Asgher Ali, built a notorious reputation in the Twin Cities, including Burnsville, where police and the building inspector kept an extensive file on pest problems and code violations. The Photos by John Gessner brothers’ problem properties were the subject of a three-part River Ridge Apartment Homes is the new name given to the former Charleswood complex. See River Ridge, 4A
Manager Becky Bornstein is pictured in one of the newly refinished kitchens at River Ridge Apartment Homes in Burnsville. River Ridge is the former Charleswood complex.
Eagan teen charged in burglary, assault of home’s occupant by Jessica Harper THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
An Eagan teen faces numerous felony charges in connection with several home break-ins and an assault of a teenage girl. William Donald Maloney, 17, was charged by the Dakota County Attorney’s Office Oct. 11 with attempted criminal sexual conduct, a felony, and two felony counts of burglary for allegedly breaking into an Eagan home and assaulting a girl
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who lived there. County Attorney Jim Backstrom is seeking to charge Maloney as an adult, according to a release by his office. According to Eagan Police, Maloney broke into a home on the 4200 block of Valley Forge Place at around 2 a.m. on Oct. 8. Police say they are unclear how he entered the home. Once inside, Maloney entered the bedroom of a
17-year-old girl who police believe he may have known. At some point, the girl awoke, saw him in the room and screamed. Maloney, who was dressed in dark colors and a ski mask, allegedly placed his hands over her mouth and neck to try to silence her. The girl then scratched him in an effort to create a wound which would make him easily identifiable, police say.
After being scratched, Maloney ran out of the house. The girl’s parents and juvenile brother were asleep in the home during the incident, police say. The family called police, whose investigation led them to Maloney. Police say Maloney had marks on his neck consistent with being scratched, and eventually confessed to the break-in. Maloney was arrested on
Oct. 10. Police believe he may be responsible for at least four other incidents involving window peeping, burglary and criminal damage to property throughout the past year. In addition to the charges related to the recent break-in, Maloney was charged with second degree burglary, a felony, in connection to a break-in of another Eagan home on June 20, 2010.
He also faces three counts of interference with privacy, a gross misdemeanor, for allegedly peeping through windows of both aforementioned homes as well as a third Eagan home. Maloney is being held at the Dakota County Juvenile Detention Center in Hasting, and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 25. E-mail Jessica Harper at: jessica.harper@ecm-inc.com
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