Thisweek Farmington and Lakeville

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Local author Martin Bracewell takes readers on a time-travel odyssey See Thisweekend Page 9A

A NEWS OPINION SPORTS

Thisweek Farmington-Lakeville NOVEMBER 26, 2010 VOLUME 31, NO. 39

www.thisweeklive.com

Opinion/6A

Announcements/7A

Puzzle Page/10A

Classifieds/13A

Sports/16A

Public Notices/17A

Reaching out when things get difficult

Christmas lights aglow

Lions Club, Lakeville Resource Center team up to distribute complete turkey, ham meals for Thanksgiving by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Photo by Aaron Vehling

Lakeville residents gathered downtown Tuesday night to ring in the holidays at the annual tree lighting ceremony, sponsored by the Downtown Lakeville Business Association. The Now and Then Singers from Lakeville North entertained with Christmas carols.

A young Lakeville mother and her two young children were sitting on a bench in the Lakeville Mall in downtown waiting for respite from the dystopia of economic hardship during the holidays. The older of the children, a toddler boy, watched volunteers organizing boxes down the hallway in front of them as the younger child, barely a year old, squirmed with the impatience of someone his age. “This is just one of those times,� said the woman, who declined to have her name published because of the circumstances. “Tough times.� The Lakeville Lions Club and the Lakeville Resource Center teamed up Monday, Nov. 22, to pass out 55 turkey and ham dinner packages to area families in need. The Lion’s Club donated $2,000 to the Lakeville Resource Center, and Scott Meyer, general manager of Cub Foods (on Dodd and County Road 50), procured

Photo by Aaron Vehling

A father and daughter help the Lakeville Resource Center and the Lakeville Lions Club package full Thanksgiving dinners for area families in need. They distributed the dinners at the Lakeville Mall in downtown Lakeville. the foodstuffs, said Lisa Horn, executive director of the Eagan and Lakeville resource centers.

The Lions Club has given out full dinners in the past. To provide this serSee Meals, 19A

Meeks finalist in Nebraska Council to Herlofsky: Cut senior staff position Farmington superintendent to interview in December

by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Council rejects staff’s offer to reduce hours to save a job by Laura Adelmann THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

At a Nov. 23 workshop, Farmington City Council members rejected another proposal to preserve a city job and told City Administrator Peter Herlofsky to cut a senior-level staff position. They did not name the position, leaving the decision to him. Herlofsky had proposed cutting willing staff members’ hours to help attain the council’s goal of cutting $425,000 from the budget. He also recommended accepting the Farmington

police sergeants’ offer to cancel this year’s contracted 3.5 percent pay increase in favor of a 1.75 percent annual raise from 2010 through 2013. Herlofsky additionally recommended the council pass the maximum 3.73 percent preliminary levy increase set in September instead of reducing it, as is the board’s prerogative, when they give final approval for the 2011 budget, which is due by Dec. 15. Council members expressed frustration and disappointment in Herlofsky’s recommendations because they didn’t view

them as long-term solutions to the challenging budget problems they anticipate will only increase. Mayor Todd Larson began the meeting by reading his letter to Herlofsky regarding his proposal. In part, Larson stated, “For months, we’ve asked you to reduce staffing‌ you’ve come up with everything but what we’ve asked for.â€? He cited concerns about the city’s mounting debt and fears about the years to come, stating that since July he’s felt like the council is fighting for long-term See Herlofsky, 19A

Farmington schools Superintendent Brad Meeks is one of four finalists for a job running the Grand Island, Neb., public school system. The 9,000-student district features a diverse student body with many students of special needs, said Grand Island school board President Jennifer Worthington. “We want a superintendent to be able to balance the budget needs of the different students,� she said. “A superintendent who is student-focused is the most important thing.� Interviews will begin next week with Meeks meeting the board and se-

Brad Meeks

ton, Texas, who will be in Grand Island on Monday, Nov. 29; Scott Springston, superintendent of Valley Center, Kan., who will be interviewed on Tuesday, Nov. 30; And Robert Winter, superintendent of the Salina, Kan., Unified School District, who will be the final person interviewed on Friday, Dec. 3. Meeks has been Farmington superintendent since 2003. Before he came here he worked in a number of school districts throughout South Dakota. At the time this paper went to press, Meeks was unavailable for comment.

lect staff on Dec. 1, she said. According to the Grand Island Independent newspaper, the other three finalists are: Clint Carpenter, state superintendent of the Texas E-mail Aaron Vehling at aaron. Youth Commission in Sla- vehling@ecm-inc.com.

Bartholomay may help bring Walmart to Farmington City’s newest council member wants city to run like business by Laura Adelmann THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Farmington’s newest City Council member already has plans to bring business into the city, and he’s starting with Walmart. As an independent consultant who helps businesses expand into different markets, Jason E. Bartholomay said he’s made good contacts with businesses that might be encouraged to come to Farmington. “I just had a conversation with (Walmart) a week before I was elected

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‌ They said if I was elected, they would be willing to come down and give us another look,� Bartholomay explained. He added that Best Buy has been begun developing 20,000-squarefoot stores near Walmart locations. In addition, Bartholomay said Trader Joe’s would like to come to Farmington, though this would require changes in the city’s liquor ordinance, which currently allows municipal liquor stores but not private liquor store operations.

Jason Bartholomay To allow for the possibility, Bartholomay said

the city should develop a business plan and use it to review its liquor operations. “Is this area making us money? If not, we need to privatize (liquor store operations),� he said, adding, “In a nutshell, this city needs to run like a business.� Bartholomay won election to the council in November by earning 2,151 votes and unseating incumbent Steve Wilson by 178 votes. He and wife, Jennifer Bartholomay, have two preschoolers and have

lived in Farmington since 2007. Bartholomay said he was drawn to the city because Target Corp. was planning to expand to Farmington. “I thought the city was making the right decisions. I liked Farmington because it was still a small town, but I thought Target was going in. I said hopefully that will build more businesses, because there’s so many new homes,� Bartholomay said. But two weeks after Bartholomay closed on his house, he was dis-

appointed to learn that Target would not be moving to Farmington, but instead moving farther north, on Pilot Knob Road, just outside the city’s boundaries. “Right now the economy is making a nice turn ‌ Now more than ever, we need to place ourselves in a good position to capitalize in that,â€? Bartholomay said. During the campaign, Bartholomay argued for the repeal of the City Council’s 2007 pay raise, which totaled $16,000 for See Walmart, 19A

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