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2009-12-18 Friday NewsDecember 18, 2009 F In 11 MISSISSIPPI RIVER CRITICAL AREA in the last legislative session, Minnesota Legislators passed a bill requiring the DNR to revisit and overhaul the existing rules around protecting the Mississippi River Critical Area. The City of Mendota Heights initially op- posed the issue, as a matter of local control. Now that the process is mov- ing forward, we will be actively involved in the rule-making process. Jake Sedlacek and David McKnight met with representatives from Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR), a local non-profit which has been a driv- ing force for the critical area rules update on Wednesday morning. FMR wanted to make sure that the City was up -to -speed on the rulemaking proc- ess, and asked to discuss our priorities for critical area rules. The meeting provided a nice chance to support our community's goals, even before the process officially starts. Contact Jake if you have questions about the Critical Area Update Process. UPDATE ON MAJOR MAZITELLO Lari Anne Mazzitello stopped by City Hall today and gave us an update on John's status. While it did not make the Twin Cities media radar, John Mazzitello and approximately a third of the Civil Engineers with the 148th Fighter Wing departed this morning for Afghanistan. We hope to have a means to contact John once he is established at Bagram Airfield. Please keep John, his family and the rest of our troops in your thoughts and prayers. A news release from the Air Force has been attached. A FMHS RECYCLING POSTER CONTEST Y Jake Sedlacek learned what it felt like being a celebrity, when he walked into Friendly Hills Middle School with 12 packs of soda for the winner of a recycling poster contest. The FHMS green team held a poster contest to help build awareness around recycling, which a number of fourth and fifth graders participated in. The best overall winner received the previously men- tioned pop, along with gift cards for a pizza parry for the entire class! A write-up on the contest has been attached. Special thanks go out to the FHMS Green Team co -advisors, Sara Derby and NCurt Friemann, for bringing the message of recycling to our residents. E TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MEETS The Mendota Heights/Sunfish Lake Regional Transportation Committee met on Friday to dis- Wcuss the work that is going on with transportation issue to prepare the northern Dakota County area for future growth. The committee discussed a number of issues to make sure the two cities S interests are being met as a part of the county's study. Some of the issues discussed included how we communicate with residents, the change in options being considered over the past year and our role with regional elected officials in this process. The work on this project will con- tinue ontinue in 2010 and information will be shared with council, staff and residents as we move for- ward on this project. December 18, 2009 EMPLOYEE HOLIDAY LUNCHEON The annual Holiday Lunch/Bingo was held on Wednesday afternoon in the city council chambers. The meal was excellent with a large variety of choices for everyone and the event was highlighted by the bingo gift "exchange" event. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped organize the event. We are al- ready looking forward to next year's celebration! NO FRIDAY NEWS NEXT WEEK There will be no Friday News next week due to the short holiday week. We hope everyone has a happy holiday celebration and enjoys the long weekend! NO PHONE SERVICE AT CITY HALL If you tried calling city hall on Thursday or Friday you probably got a busy signal. Phone service at city hall, as well as many other businesses, who have the same service provider found themselves with- out service. Our service provider stated that they experienced a power surge which locked the switch and caused the outage. They have been working on resetting the line. Some phones are getting spotty cov- erage but not city hall. Hopefully they will be back in service soon and business will go on as usual. DATES TO REMEMBER IN DECEMBER Planning Commission Meeting City Offices Closed City Offices Closed City Council Meeting Five-day forecast 12-22-09 7:00 p.m. 12-24-2009 and 12-25-2009 1-1-2010 1-5-2010 Tomorrow Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Dec 19 Dec 20 Dec 21 Dec 22 Dec 23 Mostly Cloudy Mostly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Mostly Cloudy Mostly Cloudy Hi: 220 Hi: 300 Hi: s 290 Hi: 340 Hi: 350 Lo: 120 Lo: 120 Lo: ° 280 Lo: 340 Lo: 340 Attachments Pipeline, Just The Facts, Northland's NewsCenter Article "148th Members Deploy to Afghanistan", Air Force Print News Article 148th Engineer Depart for Afghanistan", SouthwestRevoewNews.com Article "MH authors captures Minnesota's Christmas spirit" and Live Green Team News. December 18, 2009 I E " The Pipeline LETTEfi Public Works''' Engineering, December 18, 2009 Code Enforcement Public Works The Parks Crew plowed the cul-de-sacs, parking lots and pedways after the 3" snowfall. They continue to flood the skating rinks. The warming houses are being prepared for opening today at noon. The cutting edges were changed on the pick plow trucks (#501 and #503). Rich replaced the manhole casting and cover on Dodd Road that was hit by a MnDOT plow. Northstar Pump replaced the lower seal on pump 2 at the Mendota Heights Road lift station. He helped plow the cul-de-sacs. The Northland lift station vent was hit by a car and will be repaired in the spring. The Streets Crew did maintenance on the plow trucks; they sanded the wings and sanders. The wing cutting edge was changed on plow truck #312. They salted areas with water main breaks at Brompton Place, Ivy Hill Drive and Butler Avenue. Date: Monday, December 14 Engineering Snow Events for the Week: Event: Response: 3" Plow and salt all streets (early start) Staff met with MN/DOT regarding future storm sewer improvements to Dodd Road (TH 149) between Wentworth Avenue and Emerson Avenue. Two existing culverts will be replaced with a new catch basin system. Dodd Road is expected to be closed down and detoured around Somerset Country Club during this work. The city will be responsible for relocating a portion of its water main; potential costs have not been calculated yet. 1 The City entered into an agreement with Foth Infrastructure and Environment to provide consultation with the Dakota County Regional Visioning Study. The Sunfish Lake/Mendota Heights ad hoc committee met Friday to discuss future plans with addressing issues within the study. The Lower Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (LMRWMO) held its final visioning meeting on Thursday. The WMO will be sending out requests for proposals to update their management plan in 3anuary of 2010. The LMRWMO is also funding a study pertaining to drainage issues in Lilydale. The city will be responsible for a share of the costs to alleviate the issues. Initial cost estimates are in the neighborhood of $500,000, stakeholders' shares in the project have yet to be identified. Stake holders include: MN/DOT, Lilydale, Mendota Heights, private condominiums, Dakota County and the DNR. Staff continues to final out past projects. Record plans for the Avenues project are currently being completed by the consultant. Callahan Place and Cherry Hills 2nd project will be finaled at the next council meeting. The final payment initiates the one-year warranty period for the project. Funding for the TH55/Mendota Heights Road intersection improvement has been moved back up to FY2010. The city will need to acquire a small portion of right-of-way prior to funding being let. Construction of the improvement may also be moved up to summer of 2010. The Mendota Heights Road/Visitation Drive Roundabout continues to generate great interest from prospective contractors. Two emergency water main breaks occurred within the city this week. The first was on Saturday morning on Butler Avenue and Spring Street. The second, slowly leaking for approximately a week, was addressed on Tuesday and is located on Brompton Place. 2 76ie latest�ervsfra tAieNmq'ata afeiy�its�vlice�eyart�ner�t 12/18/2009 md The Sergeant Promotion Mendota After the posting of an opening for a Sergeant, four members of Heights the Police Department applied for the job. The testing Police requirements included the following: a letter of interest, resume, written essay, promotability index, police career index, in -basket Department test and panel interview. All of the candidates did an exceptional Support job in the process; all would make great Sergeants. At the Staff December 15th Mendota Heights City Council meeting Mayor Him Henning John Huber swore in Officer Eric Petersen as the next Sergeant Sandie Ristine for the Mendota Height Police Department. Susan Donovan Cathy Ransom Following the promotional process was the need to appoint an Becky Pentel Investigator replacement for Eric. Officer Tanner Spicer will now be Investigator Spicer. Congratulations to both officers. Police Officers Jerry Murphy Domestic Assault Saturday 1400 hours Scott Patrick Officers responded to an address on report of a domestic assault Bobby Lambert with injuries. Suspect was still on scene and intoxicated. The Tanner Spicer incident evolved from an argument earlier in the day and Todd Rosse escalated to the current situation. Victim requested suspect be Chad Willson removed from the home and due to injury to victim, was arrested Jeff VonFeldt on scene and given a ride to jail. Denise Urmann Michael Shepard Theft Saturday 1300 hours Peyton Fleming Officer responded to a local gas station on report of a gas drive Jenny Fordham off that had occurred two hours earlier. Officers were not contacted prior as they could not determine by their video School Resource surveillance any identifying information of the suspect or vehicle. Officer Steven Meyer Case inactive. DWI/AOA Sunday 1955 hours Investigations Sergeant Convery responded to a report of a vehicle off the Mario Reyes roadwoay, just off the 135E bridge. Driver was found within Eric Petersen vehicle, spinning tires in an attempt to get out; it was also Sergeants apparent he was intoxicated. When asked how much he'd had to Neil Garlock drink, he informed him, "3 beers." He also mentioned something John Larrive about needing to be in "The Transformers" movie. State Patrol Brian Convery arrived on scene to assume the investigation of the incident and Chief he was ultimately arrested for DWI. Sergeant Convery cleared Mike the scene. A-chenhrener -1- 12/18/2009 Fight Sunday 0037 hours Officer's Spicer, Fleming, Urmann and Sergeant Convery responded to a fight at a local drinking establishment. While Officer Spicer was attempting to pull together some facts (always challenging when alcohol is involved), the "victim" pointed out the suspect who Officer Fleming interviewed. The victim claimed to have two broken teeth from the incident and the suspect reported being punched by the victim. The victim turned down medical attention and the person she pointed out as the aggressor needed to be seen by paramedics. Officer Fleming's party advised him she had absolutely no idea why she was punched in the head. Officers recorded statements, photographed the injuries and sent everyone on their way. Monday morning Investigator Petersen became involved when one of the participants called to report a ruptured ear drum. The investigation continues. AOA Wednesday 0036 hours Inver Grove Heights Police called for assistance with a barricaded female subject. The young woman has had multiple contacts with IGHPD and they were aware from the onset that this would be a dangerous call for everyone involved. Officers from several agencies arrived to provide assistance. Officer Lambert was part of the entry team that used multiple less than lethal options along with body bunkers to make entry. The subject was armed with a knife and appeared ready to kill herself when officers made contact. She was tased and immediately came into compliance. She was taken into custody and treated by Healtheast Paramedics. As we move further into the Holiday Season officers are reminded daily of how stressful people's lives become as they act out. Daytime Burglary Monday 1924 hours Homeowner reported an after -the -fact burglary that had happened earlier in the day. The home, under renovations, had lots of traffic during any given day, but it's believed someone gained entry thru a window and simply left out the front door. Suspect(s) took real and costume jewelry and owners were going to do an inventory to ensure nothing else was stolen. No suspects or witnesses at this time; case referred for investigation. On behalf of all of us at MHPD, may you and yours have a safe and wonderful holiday season! ��`'Ha��y Nolidays�' a ,l UllCifl► w -2- Northland's NewsCenter: News, Weather, Sports NBC, CBS, MyNetworkTV, and The CW for Duluth MN / Superior WI Print this article Originally printed at i�tt�:/ju�tu�c�.�zorttita��c�sneiuscei3ter.eom/ne��s/Iocc11/i95i5967.�t �l Friends and family gathered this morning to say goodbye to members of the Duluth 148th Fighter Wing. It was the first wave of the wing's civil engineers being deployed to Afghanistan. Wing members say they will be stationed at an airbase in Afghanistan. There, they'll maintain the airfield for fighter jets. On Thursday, friends and family said farewell to members before they flew out. "It's a little difficult around the holiday season," said Sr. Master Sgt. Kyle Johnson of the 148th Fighter Wing. But still, they say they're ready to go. "We were fortunate in that we had a lot of advance notice, so we've been able to prepare family members," said Maj. John Mazzitello of the 148th Fighter Wing. Family members say the holiday celebrations go on, but have a different tone, with loved ones overseas "We're going to have some friends over and we're just going to press on," said Lari Anne Mazzitello, John's wife. Spokespeople say this is the third consecutive year the 148th has had a significant number of personnel deployed over the holiday season. "We wish we could get there earlier so our predecessors could be home for Christmas," said Maj. Mazzitello While members are overseas, those still on base say their families will have a support network here at home. They have a calling tree to provide help. "It's a difficult time for people to leave to be separated from their family, but we just try to make it easier for them and anything we can do for the family, we do it," said Jennifer Kuhlman of the 148th Fighter Wing. As people said their goodbyes, wing members focused on their task ahead. "The sacrifice that my team is willing to make and eager to make for the benefit of other members in the sei vice is just heartwarming," said Maj. Mazzitello. Officials say the majority of deploying members are from the 148th Civil Engineering Squadron. The remainder of the group deploy within the next couple weeks. Spokespeople say they'll be gone for approximately six months. 148th Civil Engineers Depart for Afghanistan Page 1 of 1 148th Civil Engineers Depart for Afghanistan by Maj. Audra Flanagan 148FW MN ANG 12/17/2009 - DULUTH, Minn. -- Family and friends gathered on a chilly Duluth morning to say good-bye to the first wave of civil engineers who are departing for the 455th Air Expedition Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. The civil engineers will be deployed for approximately 6 -months. They plan to build and repair roads and airfield surfaces as well as maintain buildings and provide utilities at Bagram Airfield. Civil Engineering Squadron Commander, Lt. Col. Scott Chambers who will deploy within a few weeks said "It's been a tough morning. Exciting. Nerve-wracking. Emotionally draining; after a lot of planning and preparation we just launched a good portion of our Civil Engineering troops". U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Mike Cole holds his daughter before saying goodbye as the first wave of Civil Engineers from the 148th Fighter Wing departs Duluth, Minn. Dec. 17th, 2009. A large number of 148th Civil Engineers will deploy to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan for approximately six months in late 2009 and early 2010. The 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan provides close air support, combat search rescue, aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and airlift capabilities to U.S. and coalition forces supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. In conjunction with Combined Joint Task Force -82, the 455th AEW is working to secure the future of Afghanistan for the Afghan people. Bagram is located in the Parwan Province southeast of the city of Charikar and north of Kabul. http://www. 148fw.ang.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?id=123182803 12/17/2009 HIM 0 tttls SouthwestReviewNewsecom ,.fionday.Decernbei14,2009 MH authors captures Minnesota's Christmas spirit Tale has fife with Gopher State lore Heather Edwards staff writer Monday, December 14, 2009 If "The Twelve Days of Christmas" were set in Minnesota, the lyrics would include six walleyes wriggling, eight happy Holsteins and five golden hotdishes. At least, they do if Mendota Heights author Constance Van Hoven was doing the writing. Van Hoven's children's book, "The Twelve Days of Christmas in Minnesota," mixes fun factoids with a silly, uniquely Minnesota take on the popular carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Van Hoven's tale is told in letters written by twins Sarah and Hannah, who are visiting their cousin Jack in Minnesota. The girls' letters offer information that will make any reader laugh aloud: Hannah writes, "Jack decorated a Christmas tree just for us! ... and you'll never guess what the topper is - a real loon! We've named him Checkers..." What book about Minnesota would be complete without a Sven and Ole joke? In Van Hoven's, the joke is, "One hot summer day, Ole was painting his house. Sven stopped by and saw that Ole had on two winter coats. 'Ole, why are you wearing those warm coats?' Ole's answer? 'The instructions on the paint can said to put on two coats.' Ha Ha!" Folks of every age can enjoy the book, and as a result it's selling briskly. "I think it's really fun," says fellow Minnesotan and children's author Dara Dokas, whose book "Muriel's Red Sweater" was released earlier this year. As a bookseller herself, she has seen "The Twelve Days of Christmas in Minnesota" fly off the shelves. "It's appealing because it's Minnesota, and that makes it fun," she added. In fact, the book is selling out at many venues; Van Hoven even had to cancel several book signings because there were no books left to sign. Barnes and Noble would be a customer's best bet for finding a copy. It's also available on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Part of the book's appeal lies in its charming, lighthearted illustrations, created by popular local illustrator Mike Wohnoutka. This is his tenth book. Reaching her dreams This is Van Hoven's first book, and a childhood dream come true. "Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to write children's books," she says. But like many aspiring writers, she became distracted by her career as a toy buyer with Creative Kidstuff. Heather Edwards/Review First-time author Constance It was a job that required a good deal of writing. In fact, she wrote the company's catalogues, and often received Van Hoven signs copies of her compliments on the quality of her writing. Some kids would even use the catalogue for bedtime stories. popular book, "The Twelve Days of Minnesota." Van In 2001, she enrolled in an intense program on writing for children at Vermont College. It required several trips out East, Hoven resides in Mendota but the rest of the work could be completed at home. Heights. The course, she says, "was a life -changing experience." From then on, she decided to work fulltime on being a writer. Her husband supported her decision, and while she did some copywriting on the side, she worked on her book most of the time. Her second book, "Hello, Minnesota!" will be released in 2011. For Van Hoven, writing children's books just "clicked" for her. She enjoys reading them as well as writing them. "When you read a children's book," she says, "you get to relive a little bit of your childhood." For more information on Constance Van Hoven, log on to her Website at www.constancevanhoven.com/books.html. Heather Edwards can be reached at southwest@lillienews.com. Content © 2009 Software © 1998-2009 1upl Software, All Rights Reserved Live Green Team News Friendly Hills Middle School has formed the 2009-2010 Live Green Team. This club is made up of environmentally conscious students, hoping to promote changes in our school. This Live Green team will provide monthly video announcements to help students and teachers learn more about conserving energy, recycling and pollution. The members of the Live Green Team will also have the chance to share jokes and facts over the intercom during the morning announcements. In the month of November the Live Green Team's officers were chosen and 6"' grader Tre Cox was given the title of President and 6"' grader Filsan Said will serve as the Vice President. The Live Green Team also joined forces with the city of Mendota Heights to bring awareness to recycling by holding a poster contest. The theme for the 2009 Recycling Poster Contest was "Know What Goes Where." Posters reflected the awareness of recycling and the importance of identifying what can and cannot be recycled or composted. Prizes were awarded to the "Top 3" posters Best Overall was awarded to Samantha Guneratne in Mrs. Taschek's 5t" grade class 2. Most Creative was awarded to Maddie McDermott in Mr. Ney's 5th grade class 3. Best Slogan was awarded to Alexis Castro in Mrs. Cohen's 6th grade class Winners received reusable water bottles provided by the city of Mendota Heights. Mrs. Taschek's grade 5th grade homeroom also received a pizza party for winning Best Overall poster. The prizes were presented to the winning students on December 17th during homeroom by Jake Sedlacek, Mendota Heights's Assistant to the City Administrator, Joni Hagebock, Friendly Hills Principal, Sara Derby and Curt Friemann, Friendly Hills Middle School Live Green Advisors. The City of Mendota Heights has also invited the winning students to join a City Council meeting on Januaryl9th at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the City Hall in Mendota Heights and will further recognize the students for promoting recycling. We thank the City of Mendota Heights for their support. The Live Green Team is open to all grade levels and will meet once a month from 8:15- 8:45am. Sara Derby and Curt Friemann are the Live Green advisors if you have questions regarding the Live Green Team.