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TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019 VOL. 37 NO. 27 www.quadcommunitypress.com $1.00
Happy Easter APRIL 21
JD3: Decision on ditch repairs postponed PAGE 20
County board compromises on county administrator replacement BY SHANNON GRANHOLM EDITOR
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Preparing food baskets for Easter Volunteers Jamie, Lydia and Adam Raatz collect various food items as they assemble a special food basket for Easter during an event organized by the Centennial Community Food Shelf Saturday, April 13, at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Circle Pines. See more photos on page 10.
The Anoka County Board has reached an agreement on how to proceed in the search for a new county administrator. At its April 9 meeting, the board unanimously approved a resolution (Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah abstained) that defines the process to replace retiring County Administrator Jerry Soma, who will retire May 1 after being in the position for eight years. “I would like to point out that this is a really big deal for Anoka County. There has not been a hiring process in place for county administrator since the 1980s, so in my opinion this is real progress,” said Commissioner Mandy Meisner, who represents District 4. “I truly want to find the best person for this job.” After three separate motions and the inability of the board members in attendance at the
March 26 meeting to reach an agreement (Sivarajah was absent), District 1 Commissioner Matt Look initiated a workshop to discuss the topic further on April 2. (Sivarajah did not attend.) “The workshop was important for consensus reasons. We had some disagreements on this issue, and that is fair. Everyone can have their opinion, but in the workshop we could come to that consensus and we did, in fact, come to a consensus,” Look explained. “All six members didn't get everything they wanted, but they didn't lose everything either. There was some gain and some loss but ultimately at the end of the day we came to an agreement where we could all feel comfortable moving forward ... I am very happy with the outcome.” The resolution states: The employee relations department will be responsible SEE COUNTY BOARD, PAGE 13
Quilters bring out soft side of law enforcement BY SHANNON GRANHOLM EDITOR
For many years, a group of quilters has gathered on the second and fourth Tuesday morning of the month at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Circle Pines to work on their own personal projects. Last fall, the group decided they wanted to put their creative minds together to do something for the community. The group makes stuffed puppies and blankets to be given out to children who may need something soft to snuggle with. Patricia Clearance,
chaplain of the Lexington Fire Department (LFD), keeps the stuffed puppies and blankets in her car so that if she needs them on a call, they are close by. Lino Lakes resident Linda Ramnarine said she got the pattern for the stuffed dogs over 35 years ago. “I started making them for my kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, friends and their kids,” she explained. For many years she stopped making them, until last year when she thought they would be a good addition to St. Mark's Holiday Bazaar in November.
“One of our quilters got the idea that we needed to do a project for the community,” Ramnarine explained. “The puppies (and blankets) really took off after the bazaar.” She said the effort continued to gain traction while she was enjoying the warm weather in Arizona over the winter. “It really blossomed,” she said. “The hope is to bring children comfort in times of sadness or tragedy.” Clearance has already given out a couple of puppies and blankets. “I was at a funeral,
SHANNON GRANHOLM | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Centennial Fire District Chief Harlan Lundstrom stuffs and stitches a puppy April 9 at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Circle Pines. SEE ST. MARK’S QUILTERS, PAGE 11
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