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Thisweek Farmington-Lakeville
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OCTOBER 28, 2011
VOLUME 32, NO. 35
www.thisweeklive.com
Messages/2A
Opinion/4A
Highview rink to reopen this year
Announcements/5A
Sports/6A
A NEWS OPINION SPORTS
Classifieds/7A
Public Notices/11A
Tiger tales
Lakeville to consider more by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
A group of residents from the Highview Heights neighborhood have attended a couple recent meetings advocating for the return of a rink to their part of town. That lobbying came to a head at the Monday work session, when the council decided to open up Highview’s rink for the 20112012 season. Rolling Oaks could also open if city staff secures enough funding. Bill Muzeric was one of those Highview residents to speak up. He and his family live near Highview Heights Park. “Part of the reason we moved there was because the park had a hockey rink,� said Muzeric, a Lakeville resident since 2001. “You go around that neighborhood and every other house has a hockey net.�
What is there to do in Minnesota in the winter? For many families, the snowy season provides ample opportunities for skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and skating. That last one is a big one: Whether a kid chooses ice skating or hockey, many-ayouth’s evenings are spent gliding across the frozen plane. But some neighborhoods in Lakeville have been without an ice rink, as a result of 2009 budget cuts in which five of the 11 rinks were shuttered. The momentum to reconsider the closures has been building. The rink at Highview Heights Park, which is situated near County Road 46 and on Lakeville’s northern border with Burnsville and Cost Given the perpetual Apple Valley, has been a season of budget cuts, the focus, but so have rinks in See Rink, 5A other neighborhoods.
Photo by Rick Orndorf
Farmington High School tiger mascots have some fun with the Owatonna Husky mascot on the sidelines during the football game at Owatonna. Farmington lost 21-0 in the 1-5A quarterfinal game on Oct. 25. For more photos from the contest, go online to www.ThisweekLive.com.
Farm work keeps Donnelly from meetings Crystal Lake Elementary repurposing progresses
Council members frustrated with frequent meeting absences by Laura Adelmann
soybeans on the family farm. THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS He said although he has While Farmington City not attended meetings, he Council members wrestle has read the council materials. with difficult budget Mayor Todd Lardecisions, one memson said city offiber is frequently abcials also have difsent from the discusficulty contacting sions. Donnelly. According to During a public city records, Counmeeting earlier this cil Member Terry Terry year, Donnelly acDonnelly has missed Donnelly knowledged his abseven of the 13 council meetings held in the last sences, some of which were related to a hamstring injury three months. Donnelly has also missed and subsequent surgery, and six of the council’s 11 Eco- said he would work hard to nomic Development Au- try to attend more meetings. He did improve, but his thority meetings this year. In an interview Wednes- attendance has began to day, Donnelly said he has wane again. At a recent meeting, Donbeen working from 7 a.m. until midnight harvesting nelly encouraged residents to thousands acres of corn and attend the city’s three budget
open house events, but he has not attended either of the two that have been held. Donnelly said that next week the harvesting should be complete and he would expect to be able to attend meetings again. Larson and EDA Chair Jason Bartholomay have not missed any city or EDA meetings; council member Julie May and Christy Jo Fogarty have each missed a few city and EDA meetings, but attend the vast majority of them. Larson described Donnelly as a council member who is so “chronically absent,� people are concerned. “Several times a week, I get asked about Terry’s attendance, from the public and from council members,�
Larson said. “Now we’re shocked when he shows up. I’m actually, ‘Wow, Terry’s here.’ I don’t expect him to be at meetings.� The other council members expressed frustration about Donnelly’s absences. “I just feel like I can never get any input from him,� Fogarty said. May worried about how his absence affects council actions. She said Donnelly may ask a question or raise a point nobody else considered. Bartholomay said he feels elected officials should not need to establish special bylaws for the council regarding meeting attendance. “We’re all grown-ups. We See Donnelly, 5A
Programming move will save district $1 million by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
adults that have had a hard time,� she said. The district is currently in Phase 1 of its repurposing plan in which it assesses which programs to move to Crystal Lake. As planning progresses for the vacant building, students are getting used to their new schools. In a video of students at Schmidt’s school, the former Crystal Lake students offered a number of reasons why they liked their new school. After about 10 students were interviewed in the video, a common refrain emerged: The kids liked the new library, the nice teachers and the lunches with the
It has been a couple months since students from the now-closed Crystal Lake Elementary began attending neighboring schools. Transitions are never easy, but Christina Huddleston Elementary Principal Amy Schmidt said at the Oct. 25 Lakeville School Board meeting that the move has been fairly smooth at her school. (Students from Crystal Lake also now attend Oak Hills and Orchard Lake elementary schools). “It has been mostly See Crystal Lake, 5A
Farmington firefighter’s quick action likely saved homeowner’s life Fast-moving fire drew crowd of spectators
by Laura Adelmann THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Farmington neighbors were used to smelling smoke coming from Greg Kaluza’s house. Kaluza typically cooked meat outside his small home at 612 7th St., but on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 22, flames from the cooker spread to his home, sending huge clouds of black smoke skyward. Nobody in the neighborhood noticed the quickburning fire, though. “I think (the neighbors) were too close to see the black smoke, because it was so high,â€? said Fire Marshall John Powers. On his way to return a fire vehicle used for a firefighter conference in St. Cloud, off-duty firefighter Todd Kindseth saw the black smoke, drove to invesPhoto by Laura Adelmann tigate and radioed Dakota Charred debris was piled outside Greg Kaluza’s home on 7th Street after a fire that started County dispatchers to reby an outdoor barbecue moved quickly from the structure’s exterior to the interior on port the structure fire. Saturday, Oct. 22. Kaluza’s dog perished in the fire. Kindseth also stopped ďż˝
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Kaluza, who had just come outside to see what was going on, from returning into the house to retrieve his wallet and his dog. “Thank God Todd was there, or else we would have had two victims,� said Powers, explaining that although firefighters tried to rescue the dog, his body was later found trapped under some debris. Farmington Fire Chief Tim Pietsch had also just returned home from the fire conference when he noticed the black smoke and rushed about six blocks to the scene. “I was en route when we got the call,� Pietsch said. “I knew something was on fire, and I knew it was big. The whole house was totally involved, inside and out.� While Kindseth was working to keep a distraught Kaluza safe, Pietsch went to work dispersing a crowd of people who had filled the Trinity Lutheran
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Church parking lot to watch the fire. “I had to shoo all of them out so we could get the fire truck through there because they were doing some construction back there,� Pietsch said. Six minutes after the call, Farmington firefighters and trucks were on the scene. Powers said the home, built in 1940, is a total loss. Although still standing, the interior is gutted, and half of the exterior is firedamaged. Kaluza, who had lived in the house since 1987, was transported and treated for burns on his face and hands. Piles of burned items remained outside the scorched, empty and boarded-up structure Tuesday night. A neighbor’s connected water hose was still lying nearby, the water turned off. Laura Adelmann is at laura. adelmann@ecm-inc.com.