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Friday News 01 13 2012 January 13, 2012 January 13, 2012 Give Route 415 a Closer Look Did you know that Mendota Heights transit needs are served by Metro Transit? While many citizens are aware of transit services, the following message from Metro Transit is a great reminder of alternatives our residents have to travelling by car: If you need a convenient transportation option that connects you to schools, businesses, the Hiawatha Line, Mall of America and more, give Metro Transit’s Route 415 a closer look! Route 415 travels east-west between Mall of America to Mendota Plaza Center, providing service to a wide range of destinations. At either end of the route, customers have convenient transfer options, including light rail at Mall of America. Find out where Metro Transit can take you! Use the interactive Trip Planner at metrotransit.org or call 612-373-3333 and a friendly transit expert will help you. New Commissioners The city council met on Wednesday evening to interview candidates seeking appointments to serve on the airport relations commission and the parks and recreation commission. Council also interviewed candidates to serve on the Lower Mississippi River and the Gunclub Lake watershed management organizations. The council was impressed with the level of education and commitment to service of our residents. Our new commissioners and watershed representatives will be announced at the city council meeting Tuesday, January 17, 2012. Friday News Mendota Heights Weekly Report on City Activities Mendota Heights City Hall 1101 Victoria Curve www.mendota-heights.com (651) 452-1850 Officer Meyer in the News Officer Steve Meyer was recently featured in the Rosemount Town Pages and on Mendota Heights Patch for a trip to observe law en- forcement in Mexico City. The trip was part of Steve’s Graduate Public Safety Administra- tion program at St. Mary’s University. Nine members of the graduate program par- ticipated. Steve reported that the experience provided an eye-opening contrast to law en- forcement in Minnesota. The article from the Rosemount Town Pages has been attached, also check out mendotaheights.patch.com. January 13, 2012 Attachments The Pipeline, Just the Facts, DCSO Newsletter, “A life changing experience in Mexico City” January 13, 2012 Dates to Remember January 17, 2012 City Council January 18, 2012 Airport Relations Commission January 24, 2012 Planning Commission February 7, 2012 Minnesota Caucus February 8, 2012 City Council Page Two Condolences Mario Reyes and Pam Deeb lost their Mother-In-Law this week, Katie Deeb who was 87 years old. Our thoughts are with the entire family. It’s a Boy Michael Albers (Engineering) and his wife Tracy, welcomed their new son Kyle into the world this morning. Kyle was a few weeks early, but Mike reports that everyone is do- ing well. City Offices Closed City Hall will be closed on Monday, Janu- ary 16, 2012 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. “Our lives begin to end the day we be- come silent about things that matter.” - Martin Luther King Jr. OSHA Training Each year, all city staff are required to at- tend training on a variety of job-safety re- lated topics. This year Mendota Heights, West St. Paul and South St. Paul coordi- nated the training at West St. Paul. The format worked well, and provided the add- ed benefit of being able to say hello to our counterparts. Public Works The Parks Crew resumed flooding of the ice rinks on Wednesday. They repaired unit #505, serviced it and changed the fuel filter. The trucks were washed. The tool box on truck #503 was repaired. The Utilities Crew exercised the generator at the Mendota Heights Road lift station. The sanitary sewer line was checked downstream of Mendakota Golf Course for grease. The line looked clear of grease. There was an alarm on Tuesday at 3:40 pm at the Mendota Heights Road lift station. Pump 2 had a loose wire. Pump is now back in service. The Streets Crew took the old cutting edge off the grapple bucket on the bobcat and replaced it with a new one. They attended the safety meeting in West St. Paul. Maintenance was done on all the chain saws. Rods were cut for streets signs. House cleaning was done in the back shop. Engineering Lemay Lake Road Reconstruction – Staff has begun designing the project and anticipates holding a second informational meeting in February. We received a request from a neighborhood resident to include a separat ed trail as part of the project. Staff is analyzing the possibility. Marie Avenue Rehabilitation – Staff is creating the base file for the proposed design. The initial submittal to MnDOT is projected to be in late January. Diane Road Neighborhood/Mendota Heights Road Rehabilitation – Staff has started to develop plans and specifications. Staff anticipates submitting the project to MnDOT for review in late January. MnDOT review is only required for the Mendota Heights Road portion of the project. City Hall Carpet Installation – Installation of new carpet continues at City Hall. Completed last week were Tamara Schutta’s office, the reception area, and the Code Enforcement/Fire Marshall office. This week, furniture was moved in the engineering area for installation on Monday. OSHA Training – Engineering staff attended the mandatory annual OSHA training at West Saint Paul City Hall on Wednesday. The Pipeline N E W S L E T T E R Public Works Engineering Code Enforcement January 13, 2012 American Public Works Association (APWA) Conference Committee – John attended the committee meeting where members identify the theme and plan for topics to be discussed at the two APWA conferences held per year. The Spring Conference was discussed at Thursday’s meeting. Rogers Lake Shoreland Homeowners Association – John attended the first meeting of the shoreland home owners association last week, Thursday. Of the 23 private property owners, 7 attended the first association meeting. Those in attendance plan on recruiting more members. Association members talked about proposing a partnership with the Ci ty for weed control in Rogers Lake. MnDOT & Dakota County Projects The following projects are under the management and supervision of MnDOT and Dakota County. They are presented as information only. For more information on MnDOT projects contact J.P. Gillach at MnDOT (651- 234-7503, james.gillach@state.mn.us). Highway 13 Resurfacing (MnDOT) – A project for resurfacing, drainage improvements and ADA upgrades to Highway 13 between I-35W and Annapolis Street (Burnsville to West St. Paul) is scheduled for 2012. Construction should be anticipated from May 2012 to October 2012. Highway 110 Resurfacing (MnDOT) - A small portion of Highway 110 will be resurfaced in 2012. The section from Lexington Avenue east to the I -35E bridge, along with spot repairs between Lexington and Highway 13 will be addressed as part of this project. Lexington Avenue Resurfacing (County) - Dakota County will be resurfacing Lexington Avenue from Highway 110 south to Mendota Heights Road in 2012. This is strictly a pavement replacement project and will not expand the width of the roadway. Dakota County and MnDOT are attempting to schedule their respective projects around Lexington and Highway 110 to not interfere with one another, and to minimize inconvenience to travelers. For more information contact the Dakota County Transportation Department at 952-891-7100. 01/13/12 ` The Mendota Heights Police Department Support Staff Kim Henning Sandie Ristine Susan Donovan Becky Pentel Police Officers Jerry Murphy Scott Patrick John Larrive Bobby Lambert Tanner Spicer Todd Rosse Chad Willson Jeff VonFeldt Steven Meyer Denise Urmann Michael Shepard Peyton Fleming School Resource Officer Jennifer Fordham Investigations Mario Reyes Tanner Spicer Sergeants Neil Garlock Brian Convery Eric Petersen Reserves Randy Pentel Jesse Mettner Jarrod Spicer Jim Knox Jeff Parker George Castillo Chaplains John Snider Lynn Liberman Frances Colon Alberto Vargas Butch Millett David Wick Chief Mike Aschenbrener Minor Consumption Friday 0830 hours School Resource Officer (SRO) Jen Fordham was in the hallway as the students arrived for school on Friday morning. A group of four boys arrived a little late and the assistant principal stopped one of the group who was habitually late. She immediately noted the young man had been drinking. He was escorted to the office and the SRO became involved at that point. The other three wayward students were located around the building. The first was escorted out to his car in the parking lot were multiple beer bottles could be seen sitting open in the car. The young man denied drinking up to the point of blowing in the PBT, proving they were up early; unfortunately they were drinking – not studying. All were released to their parents after being cited. Fraud Friday 1705 hours Caller reported to Officer Mike Shepard that she received a call from a car dealer in the metro to go over her loan application. The MH resident had not made any loan applications. She explained to the officer what she had learned and provided the business contact information. Officer Shepard called and spoke with the finance person who advised they were working on identifying the applicant through technical means. He said they would cooperate with the investigation as much as possible and keep us involved. Case under investigation. AOA Sunday 0324 hours Officer Peyton Fleming responded to a call for help on I-35E from an Apple Valley Police squad. Upon arrival he found the AVPD sergeant cleaning up glass from a window that was kicked out. The in-squad camera system was active when Fleming arrived and asked what happened. The man who was already under arrest was nice enough to relay the story to Officer Fleming who had asked the question of the AVPD sergeant not the bad guy. After helping re-secure everything, the transport was back under way. AVPD was notified the incident was all captured on video and would be sent along with a copy of Officer Flemings report. Crisis / Assault Sunday 1048 hours Officers John Larrive and Bobby Lambert received a call of of a parent who was threatened with a knife. Upon arrival at the home they met the parent as they entered the house, and sought the suspect who was threatening self-harm. The juvenile was secured “Just the Facts” The latest news from the Mendota Heights Police Department 01/13/12 ` and the threat was ended. The youth was transported to the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) and charges are pending; the center was advised about the crisis situation that led up to the arrest. Crisis Sunday 1220 hours Officer Bobby Lambert was dispatched to a call from the wife of a suicidal man. The man, in his 60’s, was experiencing some troubles and no longer wanted to live. He lived with his mom who was evacuated from the home. After a short period of time contact was made and the man was eventually talked out. He was transported on a 72 hour health and welfare hold by HealthEast Ambulance. Suspicious Person Monday 1659 hours Sergeant Brain Convery was dispatched to a local business on a report of two suspicious males. Due to a rash of burglaries in the area, businesses were advised to call if they noticed anything strange. This caller was an employee that noticed two males come in the store and appear to be checking out the business and acting nervously. The males finished their business and left without incident before Sgt Convery arrived. Neighboring businesses were advised of the suspicious activity and asked to call police if they noticed anything similar. DWI Thursday 0211 hours Sgt Eric Peterson observed a vehicle driving slowly and pulled into residential parking lot. Driver then extinguished lights and crouched down in an attempt to hide. When Sgt Peterson made contact, it was apparent the driver had been drinking. The man did poorly on field sobriety tests. This was not his first DUI, in fact it was his 3rd. He was arrested and booked at DC Jail for 3rd Degree DWI. He submitted to a urine test and his vehicle was towed. Theft from Autos Thursday 1152 hours Officer Scott Patrick was dispatched to a local service station on a report of multiple vehicles being broken into. The owner of the business was able to show Officer Patrick surveillance of the suspects in the act. The security footage showed that a small vehicle pulled into the parking lot. The front passenger exited the vehicle and was observed walking back and forth between the vehicles that were entered. He was seen counting change. His female counterpart was shown washing her windows and then stealing the gas station’s squeegee. Nice. Drugs, Guns and DWI Friday 0131 hours Officer Steve Meyer made a traffic stop for speed which resulted in the driver being arrested for DWI and possession of Marijuana. His passenger, and the registered owner of the vehicle, was sitting back with a cold beer in his hand; he was arrested for open bottle. The males were removed from the car and a tow was called. After a closer inspection of the vehicle a handgun was located within close proximity of the rear passenger. Additional checks were done and it was learned the gun was stolen out of a neighboring county. That charge was added to the passenger’s growing list. All occupants of the vehicle were interviewed, but of course, none of them had any idea how the gun got there! The driver and passenger were booked in at Dakota County Jail and the vehicle was impounded. Have a great weekend! Mike and Denise D AKOTA C OUNTY S HERIFF The Front Row “A front row seat to the greatest show on Earth...” Dave Bellows, Sheriff Tim Leslie, Chief Deputy Volume 7, Week 31 January 2, through January 8, 2012 A Fallen Brother… A large contingent of the DCSO, including our Honor Guard, attended the funeral of Lake City Police Officer Shawn Schneider. Officer Schneider died after being shot in the head while responding to a domestic in Lake City. Over 2,000 law enforcement officers from across Minnesota and the upper Midwest attended the funeral to honor a fallen brother. Officer Schneider was 32 years old and leaves behind a wife and three small children. Our thoughts and prayers also remain with Savage Police Officer Frank Mackall as he recovers from an auto accident while responding to a prowler call two weeks ago. Presenting the Colors… As has become the custom for many years members of the Sheriff’s Honor Guard presented the colors at the first meeting of the Dakota County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday. Honor Guard members included Captain Brad Jeska, Sergeant Booker Hodges, Deputy Tom Hooper, and Detective Rebecca Sherman. As has also become the custom, the group looked good. It’s a Wedding… On Monday, our own Program Services Assistant Molu Jolly married Mathew Thachil in a ceremony officiated by the Honorable Richard Spicer. Many members of the Sheriff’s Office attended the noon-time ceremony and a small reception was held in the couple’s honor afterward. This is not the only ceremony; the couple will return to their native India in several weeks to exchange vows in front of many family members. Lest we not forget to mention, the bride looked beautiful. Into the Icy Waters… Members of the Sheriff’s Dive Team responded to a car that was found in the Vermillion River near the Etter Bridge. It appears the car has been in the water from some time. The investigation continues to determine the owner of the car and how it came to be in the river. Featuring Sheriff’s Volunteer Units and Information Technology Support Staff: Information Technology Support Dan Anderson Lisa Blount Chance Munger Special Deputies Juan Balli Louis Henderson Anthony Pojman Randal Smith Dave Stanek Tom Wilson Special Deputies Sheriff’s Office Liaison: Sergeant Booker Hodges Mounted Patrol Bonnie Brauninger Tim Burns J. B. Dudley Jennifer Gibson Ron Hart Ann LaBelle Maggie Mell Kourtney Rose Cathy Snyder D AKOTA C OUNTY S HERIFF The Front Row “A front row seat to the greatest show on Earth...” Dave Bellows, Sheriff Tim Leslie, Chief Deputy Volume 7, Week 31 January 2, through January 8, 2012 Click here to subscribe to this newsletter electronically.Page 2 Dive Team members responding from the Sheriff’s Office were Sergeant Jim Iliff, Detective Thomas Jacobson, and Deputies Amber Hentges and Jeff Leopold. Also responding were Sergeant Bruce Kammen, Deputy Bruce Lohmann, and Park Ranger David Steinberg. Jail Life… No one will ever say working in the jail is easy; this was demonstrated again last week. Jail PsychologistMike Driscoll was talking to an inmate about his less-than-predictable behavior. The discussion was being held through the food pass-through (getting the idea now) when the inmate ended the conversation with, “You stink,” and proceeded to moon Mr. Driscoll, again through the pass-through. The Correctional staff works hard, butt something always gets in the way. Special Thanks... We’d like to acknowledge and thank Information Technology Desktop Support Specialist Dan Anderson for all his recent hard work on the CAD System with our mobile and desktop computers. Nice job, Dan! Condolences... Are extended to Program Services Assistant Minnie Murphy on the passing of her mother, Laura Eley, on December 24th, in North Carolina. Our sympathy is also extended to Program Services Assistant Mary McPhetres, whose father, Gene McPhetres, passed away on January 9th, at the age of 85. Birthday Wishes... Sheriff Rod Boyd (Retired) celebrated his 82nd birthday on January 13th. Employees having birthdays during the upcoming week include Sergeant Rick Schroeder (January 15th), Program Services Assistant Melanie Heltne (January16th), Sergeant Bruce Kammen and Deputy Tim Gonder (January20th), and Sergeant Scott Durdall (January 21st). Happy Birthday to you all! Mounted Patrol Sheriff’s Office Liaisons: Sergeant Booker Hodges Deputy Sean Qualy Explorer Post 523 Sheriff’s Office Liaisons/Advisors: Deputy Tim Fletcher Sergeant Jim Iliff Detective Dawanna Witt Chaplains Jim Bzoskie Vern Hildebrandt Clayton McDougall Eddie Nestingen Cory Voll Don Voll Questions? Comments? Please contact the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office at 651.438.4700 or any of the following by email: dave.bellows@ co.dakota.mn.us julie.ecker@ co.dakota.mn.us “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” --Yogi Berra