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2005-12-11 Friday NewsEMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS CONFERENCE Thanks to Parks and Recreation Commissioner Ray Morris who invited City employees to attend an Emergency Preparedness Conference held this week at the Federal Building. Police Chief, Mike Aschenbrener attended the conference and said that it was very good. Much of the briefing is confidential, but there was a scary presentation on the Avian Flu. There is a huge threat out there of a possible Avian flu pandemic. Previous pandemics include: 1918-1919 Spanish Flu 1957 Asian Flu 1968 Hong Kong Flu Because there are only three manufacturers producing flu shots, having enough vaccine could be a problem. The countries where the vaccine is manufactured could decide to take care of themselves first and leave us or other countries without enough vaccine to go around. An Avian flu pandemic possibility is still out there and the US government is working on response plans to be ready when it occurs. FLU BUNG BITES CITY MALL Speaking of the flu, we have had a small flu epidemic here at City Hall. A number of employees have been struck by the flu and have had to be out sick for a couple days. I got my flu shot and, so far have avoided the flu. This Tuesday at the City Council meeting the Council asked me to forward a letter to the City of Lilydale requesting them to keep Mendota Heights informed about the details of the redevelopment of the Lilydale Tennis Club site. The next day I called Bernie Weitzman, Lilydale's City Clerk to tell him the letter was coming and get an oral update first. Bernie told me that John Mathern was the developer and that Mr. Mathern has not yet formally appeared before the City with an application. He said that the site is within the Mississippi River Critical Area, and that Mr Mathern did meet with the Minnesota DNR recently to discuss his proposal to see if it was acceptable, and he was told that it was. John Uban, Lilydale City Planner attended that meeting. John Mathern is proposing 85 units in two, three-story condominium buildings, one building will be along the Mississippi River and one along I -35E. Starting rice for the units is to be $350,000. John Mathern is scheduled to close on the property on the 6t of January and will make application to the City of Lilydale after that. Bernie Weitzman promised to keep Mendota Heights informed of the progress on the project. CONDOLENCES TO PATRICK HOLLISTER We send our condolences to Patrick Hollister and his family for the loss of his Grandmother, Ruth Rupp Gillespie. Patrick's grandmother passed away on December 3, 2005 at 92 years old. Our thoughts and prayers are with Patrick and his family. (Notice attached) Respectfully submitted, Jim Danielson Attachments: Just the Facts, ARC Commission Meeting Agenda, Sun Current Article "Mendota Heights resident serve as `poster couple' for county effort", Star Tribune Article "New city center adds to Mendota Heights" and Obituary for Patrick Hollister's grandmother, Ruth Rupp Gillespie, Dakota County Sheriff Newsletter "The Front Row", County Attorney News Release and Dakota County Sirens. Teams # 09-44 #2/9/2005 `, f � s/ ^I ( •tis. v t . t 1--� The AOS MHFD 12-41-45 ISM hou . Mendota Officer Bobby Lambert responded to a car fire at the Plaza. The Heights owner reported leaving his car run while he ran into the store for Pohce five minutes. Upon returning his car was folly engulfed in flames. t- FD responded and pot the fire out. Department ; DAR I No Proof of Insurance 12-02-05 1350 hours While on patrol Officer Lambert located a vehicle whose SUP on registered owner was revoked. The backseat passenger Sraf matched the physical description of the owner.. The vehicle had Cathyliansom multiple objects suspended from the rearview mirror. The vehicle was stopped and the driver was ID'ed by a revolted MN DIL. The Police.(3ffcers ` owner, who was the backseat passenger, could not provide proof Jmh':'`> of insurance. Citations were issued and the car was towed. Bna}n�Cos�exg: : _: BOb p,7.am}JertSSaU I e a WAM ��L -32=63=05 6-16 �it�oum- Enc Pere ` Officer Chad Willson responded to the call of a car in the pond at Tadd Rosse 17. U mp� s2daU across Chad �%ILson the parking lot over the curb and down rihe hili to the edge of the Jeff—OnF44t pond. t� the d �r to out of ' r lnd Sn 0 -ar to � Jenny 1?ordham : the squad. The d&ea advised that she poet contro'l anu �M U, � Ste�en.Meyer into the pond. When asked for her DIL the driver stated she i3e�se.i7 aann:: didn't have one. Al Ehis pointChfflcer Willson learned the driver was 15 YGA and had taken mom's car without permission Imvesngaaons''` several hours earlier and ent drMng. The car is pulled from 11y1anoRees c ,_ the pond and the driver was transpa ted back to Burnsville. She Scott Patack was dropped off at home along wilth two citations. Reindeer Th -eft 12-03-aS 2015 ho Officer Denise Drrnann and Sergeant Neil Garlock responded to Dann Anderson ; a call from a resident who had watched a man steal a reindeer ° (lawn omarnent) from his yard approximately 30 minutes earlier.. John Lamve The suspect was tracked in the snow for a couple of blocks Chief ` where his jacket was found hidden.. The reindeer is still missing. tv ke 3 rdDegree DUI I Controlled Substance 12-0"5 0227 hours lschenhrener Officer Chad Willson passed a car on Hwy 13 and signaled a torn. In his rearview mirror he saw the vehicle he had just passed slam on its brakes and make an abrupt turn on to a side -1- ME =1 � street. in returning to investigate he located the Gar with its lights shut off stopped on the side of the road and the interior dome light on. When he activated his emergency lights the car started to pull away. This happened three more times before the car came to a complete stop. In making contact with the lone occupant of the vehicle he could immediately smell alcohol coming from inside the car. The driver was asked to step out and complete SFSTs. She failed miserably. She provided a PBT sample that revealed a BAC of .255. At MHPD she was read the MN Implied Consent Advisory. She provided a breath on the Intoxilyzer that revealed a BAC of .24. At the Dakota County Jail she was found to be carrying cocaine an her person (they really like to keep that stuff out of the jail). After being interviewed about the narcotics she was released to the jail. Speed I DAR 12-04-05 1932 hours Sergeant John Larrive observed a car that was traveling well in excess of the posted speed limit on Lexington. In activating his radar he confirmed that the car was speeding 55 in 40 mph zone. The car was stopped a short distance away. At this time it was learned that the driver was revoked. He was cited and released. The car was impounded_ 'theft12-05-06 1022 hours Homeowner called to report the theft of three rings from her residence. No for entry and only one suspect. The suspect was a family friend who had been down on tt her luck and needed help.. The victim took g her in and assisted in getting the suspect back on her feet financially.. When the suspect left so did three rings. Case -b"onwaT,ded to inveetigations forlFollow-u- p. Speed 1VVavmnt Agyast 12-06-05 034-1119 houm, limit. Officer Steve Me-,%jer stopped a -car for traveling 20 mph over the posted speed The driver had an active iva�.ant for his arrest or of Washington County Courts. and -arvvas !rnpoundedd and g he driver did not, have t'ha $30-0 bagg vzs a, st-a-"d. His - 7-- , D. He his father who arrived with the -cash to Air,,,,as transported to MHP, , bail him out. The suspect was pro tsidled a new court date and was re-'�eased . Vqhkq,-� �,InkDc- VZ 3 Vum A resident called to have his vehicle unlocked, Officer Steve Meyer arrived to unlock the car. The party explained that for some reason the key no longer worked. ,after looking at, the key Officer Meyer used the key that fit the lock and opened the door. Road Rage 12-08-,95 0707 hours Officers Tanner Spicer and Steve Meyer responded to a fight in progress in the intersection of Hwy 110 and Lexington Avenue. Upon arrival the combatants were on opposite sides of the road. One independent witness who observed the fight stopped to provide some clarity to the stories. Apparently the one driver had cut the other off in traffic. This resulted in gestures being exchanged along with more dangerous driving conduct and one getting out and kicking the others car. At the next light one crashed into the other and that is when the fight began. One driver was released at the scene and mailed a citation, the other was cited and released. A- go p -,-r ---&,,4Y 0A& -2- 1. 2. 3. 4, 11 5. 7 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS AIRPORT RELATIONS COMMISSION AGENDA December 149 2005 — City Council Chambers Call to Order - 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Approval of the November 12, 2005 Airport Relations Commission Minutes. Unfinished and New Business: a. Guy Heide Presentation b. NOC Update — Liz Petschel d. City Administrator Update e. Updates for Introduction Book Acknowledge Receipt of Various Reports/Correspondence: a. MAC Final 2006-2012 CIP b. Email from Merland Otto regarding Dubai Megadevelopment C. October 2005 ANOM Technical Advisor's Report d. October 2005 ANOM Eagan/Mendota Heights Departure Corridor Analysis e. Airport Noise Report, November 7, 2005 f. Airport Noise Report, November 14, 2005 g. Airport Noise Report, November 21, 2005 h. Airport Noise Report, November 28, 2005 i. Airport Noise Report, December 5, 2005 Other Commissioner Comments or Concerns Upcoming Meetin s City Council Meeting NOC Meeting 8. Public Comments 9. Adjourn 12-20-05 - 7:30 1-18-06 - 1:30 Auxiliary aids for persons with disabilities are available upon request at least 120 hours in advance. If a notice of less than 120 hours is received, the City of Mendota Heights will make every attempt to provide the aids. This may not, however, be possible on short notice. Please contact City Administration at (651) 452-1850 with requests. Sun Newspapers - MNSUN. com - Mendota Heights residents serve as 'poster couple' for ... Page 1 of 2 MN^T Print Page 4b:s. Mendota Heights residents serve as 'poster couple' for county effort By Joshua Nichols\Sun Newspapers =kCre?t. dTt rsrs:,, December 1, 205 1:09 3M CS1 Mendota Heights residents Susan and Greg Farley didn't hesitate for a moment when asked to be the "poster couple" for a new Dakota County effort. "We want to try to get as much information out there to the teenagers and parents as possible," Susan Farley said. "With three teens of my own, I try to be an example for them." The couple is featured in a poster reminding parents that it is always illegal to provide minors with alcohol. Susan and Greg Farley are featured in this poster produced by Farley sits on the West St. Paul- the Dakota County Attorney's Office. (Submitted Photo) Mendota Heights -Eagan School District's Chemical Health Advisory Board along with Monica Jensen, the community relations director for the Dakota County Attorney's Office. The board was going through training with the Safe Dakota Coalition when they heard about a similar effort in Mesabi County using post cards. "We just thought it was a great idea and wanted to do something of our own with a poster this time," Jensen said. The photograph for the poster was taken last month with a showroom at HOM Furniture in Lakeville serving as the stand-in for a beer -can -strewn living room. It features the Farleys along with four police officers and a sheriff's deputy and reads: "If teens are drinking alcohol in your home, consider us invited." "It's a great opportunity to make a difference," Farley said. "The officers were just fabulous and it was a lot of fun." The Farleys have three children, Meghan, 14, a ninth -grader at Sibley High School and twin sons, Connor and Dillon, 13, who attend St. James School in St. Paul. Deciding to be in the poster was easy because the family had already talked about Meghan and her mother taking part in the mock car crash Sibley's S.A.D.D. group stages each spring. Farley said she and her husband strive to be good role models for their children. They try to reinforce the difference between social drinking and bingeing and overdoing it so that when their children do reach drinking age, they will drink more responsibly, she said. "I think that really needs to be taught early on these days," Farley said. "Alcohol is everywhere today and it's never too early to learn that lesson about responsibility." All three of the family's children are athletes and very much anti -drinking, Farley said. They thought their mother and father posing for the poster was a great idea, she said. "They really like that we are involved in the issue," she said. "They've all been through the D.A.R.E. file://C:\Documents and Settings\LindaS.MENDOTA-HEIGHTS\Local Settings\Temporar... 12/6/2005 Sun Newspapers - MNSUN.com - Mendota Heights residents serve as 'poster couple' for ... Page 2 of 2 program so they are familiar with local officers and as athletes they don't want to be on the field with anybody who's been drinking." The poster was organized by the Safe Dakota Coalition and coordinated by the Dakota County Attorney's Office. Funds from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety covered the production of the poster, Jensen said. Making the poster became even easier with the involvement of School District 197, Jensen said. The district provided its photographer and was able to handle production of the poster itself, she said. "Once we realized how easy it would be, we almost had to do it because it was so good of an idea," Jensen said. The posters were scheduled to start going out to schools, law enforcement agencies and businesses such as liquor stores starting Nov. 29. With the effort directed at adults, the Attorney's Office hopes to put them where they will be easily seen by parents, Jensen said. Jensen said she is looking into the number of cases charged in the county for providing alcohol to minors. The Minnesota Student Survey indicates that many students who abuse alcohol obtain it from a family member. Jensen pointed to the case of a 21 -year-old South St. Paul resident who was charged Nov. 16 with a felony for supplying alcohol to a 15 -year-old girl who later died driving her friend's car. While such charges are usually misdemeanors, the man is being prosecuted under state legislation known as "Kevin's Law." The law, which was enacted in 1999, allows for felony charges against an adult who supplies a minor with alcohol if it results in death or permanent injury. °In that case it obviously wasn't the parent who provided the alcohol to the minor, but it's still the same issue," Jensen said. The Farleys already have a copy of the poster and put it up in a prominent place right above a desk in the family's kitchen, Farley said. "We wanted it to be a constant reminder right there in their faces," she said. "We have a lot of social gatherings with parents and other children with our kids in sports, so we thought it was a great opportunity to have the message reinforced." This site and its contents Copyright © 2005. Sun Newspapers - Main Office: 952-392-6800 webinfo nnnsun.cor file://C:\Documents and Settings\LindaS.MENDOTA-HEIGHTS\Local Settings\Temporar... 12/6/2005 L71 NEIGHBORHOOD SPOTLIGHT MENDOTA HEIGHTS Newcityinlenu tetura-iH o Although the suburb has a flock of positive attributes, including a convenient central location, it's been missing many retail and recreational amenities. That's about to change with the new Village at Mendota Heights. By JASON AMUNDSEN Special to the Star Tribune Mendota Heights' central location and proximity to major metro.thor- oughfares have made it a communi- ty in demand. Now a new city center v is changing what -it means to reside in this northern Dakota County town. In some ways, Mendota Heights is defined by its many highways. In- terstate Hwy. 35E runs north -south, dividing the town down the middle. Hwy. 110 runs east -west while, to the south, Interstate Hwy. 494 forms the city's,southern border. The graceful, historic Mendota Bridge spans the Mississippi River from Fort Snelling to touch. Mendota Heights' western border. Mendota Heights is a quiet, cov- eted residential community of 11,500 an people, featuring spacious lots d two-story homes. A sizable percent- age of the city's land has been allo- cated to cemeteries, schools, coun- try clubs and places of worship. Be- yond these already sizable partitions are the commercial and industrial districts, leaving:, a_ relatively small residential footprint and high home prices. Despite the price tags, the com- munity has hadfewamenities, and residents have had, to travel outside city limits to socialize, shop and play. Now the Village at Mendota Heights a new city centerlocatedon 25 acres at Dodd Road and Ilwy.110, is alter- ing that dynamic. The new Village, which should be completed in about two years, of- fers a hub for the, city's decentralized wheel: "People have already moved in," Realtor Paul Dorn said. "This will give people-spmeplace_closeto shop and recreate; rather than traveling to' nearby suburbs. and St. Paul." It was the feeling that Mendota Heights was, an underserved, up- scale area that prompted Bob Kow- alski and his wife Kristen to open the Wine Market in the Village. "I've been driving by this piece of ground for years," Bob Kowalski said. "We looked in Woodbury and some other places, and sensed this was ... an op- portunity to do a little pioneering." "People who live here and are moving up don't consider leaving Mendota Heights," said Coldwell Banker Burnet Realtor Pat Kaplan, a 27 year resident of the area. "By look- ing at a map you can understand the. For a list of mortgage lenders th grams for low-income buyers, g ' JASONAMUNDSEN^ Specialtothe Star Tribune. The Strohm family plays chess`,uttheir Mendota Heights home. Maya, 8, second from left, plays her brother, Ezra, 11, while Leslie andJim Strohm wa h.:: Total rmmber of sales. 125 Data areforthe period from Nov. 1, liollarvalume $49,656,173` ha eta i 2004 to Oct 31 zoos Average listgsaace:$482,552 �� .:• - <`�#fes., ?:�...,, e .,bawl #, Regronal Multiple Iastirig Service of u s Murnesotatnc. h kT �- demand,". she said. "It's 3 minuEes to I said, 'the airportMall of America in 7 min- er we utes, and both downtowns in about all in. 10 to 15 minutes." how Jim Strohm, 48, and LeslieStrohm, 44, reside in Wridota Heights and re aco-owners of.ProTec, an envi-. - Q Wh ronmental comulting company,. eal, pt Le li Q How long have you lived in Mendota Heights? Leslie Strohm: I was born in Mendota Heights and lived here most of my life. We bought our first home from my father and sold it two years ago for our current home. Q What's the best part about living here? ` Leslie Strohm: This is one of my favorite stories about why I love Mendota Heights: We had relatives come in from the Minnetonka ar- ea. It was 3 p.m. and they wanted to go to the Science Museum in down- town St. Paul, which closed at 5.p.m. `Lfto.' Fifteen minutes lat- wer"e:m the building, taking it People just don't understand convenient a location Mendota Heigh is. om does Mendota Heights ap- 4 s e Strohm: IYs'for people who want the suburb feel, for those who want to watch the neighborhood 31dds playing in the cul-de-sac. And the school district is great. Q Is there anything you're lacking in Mendota Heights? Leslie Strohm: We have convenience stores, but no grocery store. When you need to buy 30 juice boxes for the baseball team, a grocery store is nice. The same can be said of the movie theaters. We have to travel to either Eagan or Inver Grove Heights to see a film. Jason Amundsen is at Jason@twowordy.com This three-bedroom, two -bath home with 1,300 square feet originally listed for $ 239,900 and sold for $ 229,900. It was on the market for five months. Page 1 of 1 Gillespie, Ruth Rupp Born June 12, 1913 at Lapman Saskatchewan, died December 3, 2005 at Boutwell's Landing, Oak Park Heights, MN. She was preceded in death by her husband James (Ike) and her son Thomas. She is survived by children James (Mary); Georgiana (David) Hollister; Martha (David) Tiede; Mary (Dennis) Sherman; Kathryn (Ed) Belzer and grandchildren Jennifer, Sara and Amy Gillespie; Patrick (Akiko) Hollister; Jon (Debbie) Hollister, Martha (Carl) Rosenquist; Peter (Paula) Tiede, Kathryn (David) Tiede Hottinger; Elizabeth Sherman; Terry Lynn (T.J,) Belzer, Andrea Lisa Belzer Kochling and Anton Belzer. Ruth married James M. Gillespie on December 22, 1934. They made their home in Pine City where Ruth was known as a gracious hostess, a loving mother to her children and to several others who temporarily found a home with the family, and an active member of her church. A worship service of thanksgiving for her life will be held at Pine City Methodist Church at 2:30 PM on Sunday, December 11, Published in the Pioneer Press from 12/6/2005 - 12/7/2005, ME http://www.legacy. com/CommonCobrand/PrintNotice.asp?Cobrand=TWINCITIES&Perso... 12/6/2005 ff Dori _ _._mends o Chiu Deput Davi Bellows E f:.@s = ra ' E f%fovember 28, 2005,, through , 2005 How Do I Get There? Was the question posed to Depute Jen Lenarz last week by an out of state motorist. After giving the driver directions, she noticed the license plates were issued by the State of Hawaii. it is very unusual to see Hawaii plates in Minnesota at any time, but in the middle of winter? I think the directions went something like this. Tape a left on County Road 46 and go westbound for about 4,000 miles. No Good Dead Goes Unpunished— While np i< ed— Ihile this is an old adage, last week it turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Regina Medical Center in Hastings called and requested assistance from the DCSO to transport an individual back to her residence in Hampton. While this is not a common practice, Deputy Tim Gonr responded to the hospital and provided a ride back to the person's homey. Everything went gine until they arrived at the house. The passenger's father immediately confronted Deputy Conder with verbal abuse for what else, bringing his daughter home. Due to the man's threatening behavior, Deputy Gondar requested assistance, and Sergeant Mitch Penny and Deputies Kelly Lea and pat Enderlein responded. The situation eventually was brought under control with the man being arrested for Disorderly Conduct and Obstructing the Legal Process. This again proves there is no such thing as an easy call,. ail House Nevis.., Over the past week, the jail averaged 210 inmates in-house and 298 total in custody. The DCSO continues to board inmates at several other facilities including Ramsey, Goodhue, Washington, and Carver Counties, in addition to the Oakridge Facility in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. intake stayed especially busy on November 36th, with 53 inn -mates needing to be booked into ;ail. Special thanks to Sergeant Jodi Rolloff, Corporals Chuck Stemig and Deb Fyten, and Correctional Deputies arnion Giles, Virginia]ones, Matt Schepers, and Stacy Cress for all their hard work during this tirne. Other Interesting jail Facts... In a report published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in August of 2005, it states that suicides in jails have fallen sharply since the 1980's. The report goes on to say that suicides in local jails are almost three tines the rate found in State prisons. For the Nation's 50 largest jails, the rate of suicide is (23 per 100,000 inmates) for the other jails (which includes Dakota County) the rate i (57 per 100,000 population). Now here is the really interesting fact; for the period of 1.997 through 2004, 163,506 inmates were booked into the Dakota County Jail, resulting in over a million bed nays served. 'During this same time, the Dakota County Jail experienced one suicide in our facility. The DCSO has clearly contributed to the nationwide fall in suicide rates. The entire BJS report can be found at the following site; l;ttp://www.ojp,usdoj,gov/bjs/pub/pdf/shsplj.pdf. Was realized last week when Deputy Chris Meltan stopped a vehicle for speeding on County Road 46. Besides the speeding violation, Chris smelled the odor of burning riff Don � son Chiu Deputy Dave Bellows November , 200. through December 4, 2005 IV r marijuana in the car. A search of the car revealed the marijuana and drug 41111 U Al paraphernalia. Needless to say, the driver will be meeting with a judge in the near if future. t On the e... Captain Mike Scott will be moving his office to earl Administration and assuming MYadditional dunes that include overseeing jail construction with Commander B. r e, Mike will continue to be in charge of Transport and Court Security along nth -'� ,- his new dunes, € z. Other Me es— r Matt Wayne have completed their nor -bid rotations in Deputies Ryan Olson ra to.; the Patrol Division and they will be replaced by Deputies Lester Mitchel ars o Thomas Jacobson, Dress warm, guys. pg,�a Attention Cass... sak-_Fe a Y3r Could be the words spoken by Deputy Char Rayl last week while teaching a class of A_ _ z..d cFY 30 day care providers on the proper use of car seats. State law now requires all day Erik Raiirsted care providers to attend a child safety seat class. Char has been involved in car seat �_r ay= education for several years and has taught hundreds of citizens, Nice work, Char. IIS r g ecor — A New Record— K Vias achieved last week when the members of the Transport Division brought 15 jail Was 01 d inmates to the department of Corrections to begin or complete prison sentences. Other transports included Deputy Da as na Witt doing to Slue Earth County to pick .. up an innate, The Dakota County Drag Task Force— Forthents Has remained very busy during 2005. l=or the period of an€�ary through October of 2045, the Task. Force has made 1,025 arrests of individuals for narcotic violations, 3 .:f Curing this same period last year, agents made 930 arrests. This translates to an Increase of over ten percent for arrests in 2005, In 2000, the first year of operation for the DCJTF, 658 individuals were arrested for drug offenses. When compared to r 2005, arrests by the Task Force have increased over 55 percent. Members from the DCSO on the Task Force include Sergeant John Grant, who is also the Agent in Charge, and Detectives Beccill Sherman, Rob Hosking, and Jim Gabriel. ; f'> The DCSO is making one change in December; Detective Rob Hosking will be leaving the DCDTF after seven years of service and going to White Collar Crime. detective f Y TerryEcker has been assigned to takeRob's Boston at the Task Force. Thanks for all the work, Rob, and good luck, Terry. that c aa.=Fecil i,*vs; k 7rvwsday, DeceoJber 2 9, 2005, froom 13 30 DEC, 6.2005 9:41AM N0, 0991 1 1/1 OFFICE OF DAKOTA COUNTY ATTORNEY JAMES C. BACKSTROM COUNTY ATTORNEY Dakota County Judicial Center Telephone 1560 Highway 55 (651) 438-4438 Hastings, Minnesota 5 5033-23 92 FAX: (651) 438-4479 (Civil Division) Phillip D. Prokopowicz, Chief Deputy FAX' (651) 438-4500 (Criminal Division) Karcn A. Schaffer, First Assistant FAX: (651) 438-4499 (JuveniWAdmin Division) Mordca Jensen, Community relations Director E-mail: attorney&o.dakota.ma.us December 6, 2005 NEWS RELEASE WEST ST. PAUL WOMAN CHARGED WITH THEFT CE SCHOOL FUNDS Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom announced that. Ana Teresita Hellzen, age 39 of West St. Paul, was charged* today with one count of Theft, a felony, and one count of Attempted Theft in connection with the theft of approximately $14,000 from funds under control of the Henry Sibley High School graduation party account. At the time this theft took place, Hellzen was a volunteer for the senior graduation party whose duties included taking donations and purchasing supplies for the event. Backstrom. said that on August 12, 2005, Mendota Heights police officers responded to a complaint about unauthorized use of a checking account. As part of the planning for the senior class graduation party, a checking account was opened in the name of Independent School District 4197, Henry Sibley Class Party. The account was through Associated Bank and had two people authorized to sign checks on the account. A.M.K. was one individual authorized to sign checks and the other individual was Ana Teresita Hellzen. A.M.K. reported that throughout the planning of the party both she and the defendant purchased several prizes and gifts for students using that account. A.M.K. stated that all invoices and bank statements went to the defendant because she was the primary person listed on the account. A.M.K. indicated she recently had begun receiving calls from Associated Bank regarding the Henry Sibley senior party account indicating that the account was overdrawn $11,608.17. A.M.K. indicated she contacted the bank to receive copies of the checks that had been written on the account and found several checks that were written by the defendant made out to cash or the defendant's husband, S.H. The bank account was closed on July 22, 2005 because of the negative balance. A review of checks that were suspected of being used for the defendant's personal use include numerous checks made out to cash for a total of $6,500.00, all signed by the defendant and endorsed by the defendant. Additionally, numerous checks were made out to various businesses or for deposit that were not used for the planning of the Henry Sibley senior party for a total amount of $8,400.00. These checks did not go through because the bank refused to cover the amounts of the checks after the account was overdrawn. All of those checks were signed by the defendant and endorsed by the defendant with the exception of checks made payable to her husband, S.H., that were written out For deposit only. As police questioned the defendant she commented that she was waiting for this day to come, that she had fallen on financial hard times and that while she knew she did not have a right to the funds, she guessed she had taken at least $6,000.00 from the account beginning in April 2005. However, she was unsure of the exact amount. Backstrom commented: "It is very disturbing to see funds stolen from an activity like this which was intended to benefit students." Her next court appearance has not been scheduled_ For a copy of the criminal complaint, go to www.eo.dakota.mn.us/attorney. if you have any questions, contact .lames Backstrom at 651-438-4440. *Criminal charges are not evidence of guilt. A dellendantlsuspect is presumcd innocent until proven guilty. Criminal Division Juvenile and Protective Services Division Civil Division Scott A. Hersey, Head Donald E. Bruce, Head Jay R. Stassen, Head Victim/Witness Coordinator Office Managger Child Support Enforcement Division Pavicia Ronken Norma J. 2abei Sandra M.Torgerson, Head An Equal Opportunity Employer 1-3 Dakota County and the rest of the State are in Severe Storni season. Severe Storm season runs from about April to September each year. Thunderstorms occur this time of the year. Also Severe Thunderstorms and even Tornadoes occur this time of the year. A Severe Thunderstorm is a storm that can produce winds in access of 60 miles per hour, heavy rains causing flash flooding, large hail, frequent lightning and even small tornadoes. Each year people wonder why Dakota County sounds the sirens for thunderstorms? I will try to explain the reasons The rational Weather Service activated the sirens for years in the Metro area. They would activate the sirens for only tornadoes and when they activated the system it was for the entire Metro area. So if the storm was affecting only Anoka. County and the sirens went off Dakota County sirens would also go off. During this time many Severe Thunderstorms came through the area and no warnings were issued causing significant damage and numerous injuries to citizens. The Federal Government in the late 80's decided the siren systems should be operated and maintained by local government. Each city in Dakota County is responsible for the operation and maintenance of their sirens. Dakota County has six Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP's) were the sirens are activated. The current policy in Dakota County allows cities to activate their system for a Severe Thunderstorm warning issued by the rational Weather Service. The reason behind this decision include: 1.) The danger and threat to the public safety posed by a storm with 60 + MPH, large hail, lightning and heavy rains 2.) The use of sirens is the only effective method of warning people who are outdoors. 3.) The possibility of widespread electrical power outages during severe weather that would make the sirens inoperable. Sirens need to be sounded before severe weather strikes the area. Tornadoes usually for on the backside of large or severe thunderstorms, behind the high winds, lightning, rain and hail. 4.) The National Weather Service and local broadcast media are issuing warnings of the Severe Thunderstorms over radio and tele 1 . Z vision. Citizens should t --Ly to understand that the Public Safety agencies in Dakota County would rather error on the side of safety and sound the sirens instead of waiting to see if a tornado would develop. THistoric-ally, straight-line winds from a Severe Thunderstorm along with local flash flooding have caused more injuries and damages than tornadoes. 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