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Smalltownpapers
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Seattle WA 98136-1208 B- 103
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Orton~lle
~'mown with a heart"
THE
"A Constructive Newspaper In A Live Community"
MEMBERS OF THE ORTONVILLE STUDENT COUNCIL conducted a Seat Belt Challenge during May, moni-
toring students, faculty and parents entering the Ortonville School parking lot. Pictured above from left to
right are Natalie Sitter, Abby Knutson, Matt Fellows, Bryant Zahrbock, Candice Rushford and Student Council
Advisor Laurie Maas.
II
The Seat Belt Challenge is a pro-
gram designed to increase use among
high school students. Students begin
this program by having an initial sur-
vey of seat belt compliance conducted
in their school. A variety of activities
are chosen to promote seat belt use
and safe driving.
The program concludes with a
final survey of seat belt use to deter-
mine if efforts were successful. Big
Stone, Lac qui Parle, Chippewa,
Yellow Medicine, and Swift County
Schools participated in the challenge
in our area.
Students, faculty, and parents
entering the Ortonville School park-
ing lot were monitored on the morn-
ing of May 1 by members of the
Ortonville student council, student
council advisor Laurie Maas, and
Countryside Public Health nurse Julie
Kunrath. This event is supported by
the Ortonville Police Department and
the Big Stone County Sheriff's
Department. Law Enforcement is not
visibly involved in the actual check.
In the past, student checkers felt
many people fastened their seat belts
when they saw law enforcement, and
this resulted in the compliance rate
appearing artificially high. Drivers
and passengers were checked. Thirty-
six percent were not wearing seat
belts. Throughout the following four
weeks, students were offered educa-
tion on Seat Belt Safety. Facts relat-
ed to Seat Belt Safety were read in the
daily announcements and messages
were posted on the message board in
the commons area. "Buckle Up"
clings were handed out during the
seat belt checks as well as seat belt
pamphlets. Reminders to wear seat
belts were handed out during student
breaks. A radio announcement was
developed and recorded to encourage
everyone to wear their seat belts.
At both checks, compliant students
were given Life Savers (signifying
seat belts are a life saver) or Smartees
(signifying wearing your seat belt is a
smart idea) and were eligible for a
drawing for gas coupons and t-shirts.
Funding for the event was provided
by Countryside Public Health. T-
Shirts stating "I Got Caught" on the
front and "Wearing My Seatbelt" on
the back were provided by the local
Safe Communities Coalition.
On May 29, a second check
revealed that 26 percent of drivers
and passengers were not wearing seat
belts.
Student Council members who
offered their time in support of this
program include Natalie Sitter, Matt
Fellows, Bryant Zahrbock, Candice
Rushford, Abby Knutson, Michael
Winther, Keven Berdan, Emily~
Weber, and Nicole Gulley.
Countryside Public Health and Big
Stone County Law Enforcement
would like to thank the above listed
students and their advisor Laurie
Maas, as well as Superintendent Jeff
Taylor and Principal Joel Stattelman,
for doing an outstanding job partner-
ing with us to increase seat belt usage.
The Big Stone County Board, at
their meeting on Tuesday, June 2 had
two bid openings for upcoming pro-
jects in the county.
Two bids were received for the
County State Aid Highway 6 project.
Bituminous Paving, Inc of Ortonville
came in with a bid of $801,411.50 and
Central Specialties, Inc. of Alexandria
had the low bid of $670,040.50. After
checking over the numbers the Board
unanimously awarded the bid to"
Central Specialties, Inc. The County
Engineers estimate for the project was
$834,965.
Bids were also opened for the
County Road 63 grading project. The
Engineers estimate for the project was
$825,664.50. The eight bids received
for the project were:
Riley Brothers Construction, Inc
of Morris-S676.898.80.
FIRST HOLE IN ONE OF THE YEAR happened on Wednesday, May
20 at the Ortonville Golf Course, when Mark Hughes of Ortonville
aced the Par 3, 145 yard, hole #6. This was Mark's first ever hole in
one and he used a 7-iron on the shot. Mark was golfing with his wife
Dawn at the time.
Minnerath Construction, Inc. of
Cold Spring-S721,363.50.
Ronglien Excavating of Big
Stone City, SD-$781,273.95.
Bates Construction Company of
Twin Brooks, SD-$798,653.55.
Midwest Contracting, LLC of
Marshall-S849,104.85.
Central Specialties, Inc. of
Alexandria-S891,737.93.
Monson Corporation of Willmar-
$937,045.20.
Kern and Tabery, Inc. of
Alexandria-S950,754.70.
Riley Brothers Construction, Inc.
of Morris came in with the low bid,
but the Board decided to wait until the
next meeting to award the bid.
Four bids were also received for
the 36 acre, three-year farm lease of
land in Section 16 of Browns Valley
Township. The four bids received
were from Kelly Stattelman at $2,126
per year; Jay and Jeff Wulff of JDW
Farms for $2,208.75 per year; Kenny
Hendricks for $2,050 per year; and
Tom Maanum who bid $110.50 per
acre, which converted comes out to
$4,044.30 per year.
After reviewing the bids, the Board
unanimously approved the bid to Tom
Maanum.
In other business, the Board
approved the hiring of Maggie Novak
as Family Service Office Support
Specialist. Maggie has been working
in this position and will be a Grade 4,
Step 1, effective May 29. The Board
also a approved the Temporary Hires
of Jacob Berger and Tracy Martig for
the Splash Program and ratified the
Welfare Board approval to hire a
Social Services Supervisor.
Big Stone County Engineer Nick
Anderson came before the Board to
inform them that he intends to pro-
ceed with Bonding for three County
Projects. Anderson stated that this
would be done without the Law
Enforcement Building included and
would involve the County 63 Project,
The Big Stone County Trail Project
and work on County Road 78. Total
cost for bonding would be $1.1 mil-
lion.
li
II
A weekend of reminiscing, renew-
ing old friendships, and just sharing
old memories will take place this
weekend as the Bellingham commu-
nity gears up for an All School
Reunion, June 12-14.
With the continued declining
enrollment, the Bellingham School
closed its doors at the end of the
2008-2009 school year. Many at that
time thought they should have an All-
School Reunion. A committee was
then formed, letters were mailed out
to one person from each graduating
class, who then sent out information
to each of their classmates.
Invitations were also sent to for-
mer and present School Board mem-
bers, faculty, bus drivers, kitchen and
custodial staff.
Friday, June 12 was set aside for
the classes to do things on their own.
A banquet is planned for Saturday
night at 6 p.m. with a program to fol-
low. The B-Naturals, formed by
Bellingham student Bonnie Sue
Stolpman will perform during the
banquet. Committee member Lloyd
Hanson says the response to the All-
School Reunion has been remarkable.
"We met with our caterer (Pantry
Cafe of Madison) and told them at
least 200 maybe 500 people," said
Big Stone City, SD
celebrates Flag Day
All Big Stone City residents are
invited to Big Stone City Lakeside
Park this Sunday, June 14 from 4-7
p.m.
There will be a program at 4:30
p.m. honoring all past and present
military people and their families.
Free supper will be provided by
Horizons III.
Big Stone Lake to
be on TV this Sat.
Tune in this Saturday, June 13 to
Fox Sports North (FSN) at 9:30 a.m.
and Sunday, June 14 to KTTW-Fox
TV 17, Sioux Falls at 10:30 a.m. to
see Big Stone Lake and the Big
Stone Lake area as a feature segment
on Midwest Outdoors.
The segment is part of the Big
Stone Lake Area Chamber's efforts
to promote the Big Stone Lake area
and increase tourism. The show is
available to over 30,000,000 viewers
across the midwest and nationwide
on the Sportsmans Channel. For a
full list of stations the show is
available on visit
www.midwestoutdoors.~onl.
Much needed rain
falls in Big Stone
Lake Area
The Big Stone Lake Area received
a much needed rainfall over the
weekend, receiving nearly 1". The
rain started on Saturday, June 6 and
continued through the weekend.
Rain showers could persist
through Wednesday, with sunshine
and warmer temperatures by the end
of the week.
Lloyd. "When we got (~ur total num-
ber of paid banquet reservations in
came to around 825 This really
exceeded our expectations."
Following the banquet and pro-
gram, a Homecoming bonfire will be
held at the Athletic Field in
Bellingham.
On Sunday, the Bellingham
Fireman will be serving a breakfast
brunch from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at City
Hall.
At 10 a.m. Sunday morning, an
Old-Time gospel Sing Along will be
held at the Bellingham School gym,
with an ecumenical church service
beginning at 10:30 a.m. The All
School Reunion Choir will take part
in the service and also share in the
program on Saturday after the ban-
quet.
A parade will be held Sunday
afterndon at 1:30 p.m. Most classes
will be represented in the parade and
they are accepting other entries as
well. Call 320-568-2511 to get an
entry in the parade or just show up
and they will find room for you.
With no place to display the school
trophies forthe future, they will be on
display on the banquet tables and sold
at a silent auction the night of the ban-
quet. The class pictures that go back
to 1931 will be hung and displayed at
(Continued on page 3)
IT WAS A GOOD DAY FOR YOUNG FISHERMAN Nate Treinen, son
of Paul and Julie Treinen of Ortonville, as he came in with the largest
walleye caught by a youth at 10.2 Ibs. Nate was fishing in the Bishop's
Charity Fishing Tournament on Monday, June 1 when he caught the
walleye.
Highway r7 resurfacing in
Swift Co. begins June
15
Motorists will experience delays
due to detours and lane closures when
a resurfacing project begins June 15
on Highway 7. The $3.9 million pro-
ject is located between the Highway
7/Highway 75 junction just east of
Odessa and Appleton.
Highway 7 through traffic will be
detoured for approximately four
weeks while crews replace pipes
along the roadway, mill the roadway's
surface and begin paving. The detour
will be Big Stone County Road 21,
Highway 12 and Highway 119.
After the detour is removed, traffic
will be controlled with flaggers and
pilot cars guiding motorists through
the work zone.
Work on the paving project will
occur Monday through Friday and
some Saturdays, and is scheduled to
be completed by the beginning of
August, weather permitting.
The Minnesota Department of
Transportation urges motorists to
always drive with caution, slow down
in work zones and never enter a road-
way that has been blocked with barri-
ers or cones.
For statewide traffic, construction
and travel information, Visit
www.511mn.org, call 5-1-1 or visit
www.mndot .gov.
soug
The Ride Across Minnesota is slat-
ed to begin in Ortonville on July 12
and taking bicyclist across the state to
the Wisconsin border to raise money
for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
The Big Stone Lake Area Chamber
of Commerce is organizing entertain-
ment in Lakeside Park to welcome the
riders. Food vendors are needed to set
up stands in the park that Sunday. If
you or your organization are interest-
ed in having a booth, contact the
Chamber office at 320-839-3284 for
more information.
Should the City look into County
Policing? That has been the topic of
conversation for years in Ortonville
and at the City Council meeting on
Monday, June 1, the Council suggest-
ed a Referendum to put the issue on
the November ballot for the residents
to decide.
Councilman Steve Berkner sug-
gested that the City should look into
the cost of City vs County and finally
put this issue to rest.
"This is something that the com-
munity should decide," said Berkner.
"We need to defuse any tension with
this issue."
With, the resignation of John
Cunningham, the Council appointed
Steve Berkner to fill the seat on the
Budget Committee to look into this
issue to see if it should be put to a
vote. The Council was in. agreement
that if it is feasible, that this is what
should be. done. The budget
Committee will be looking at the
costs and will bring their recommen-
dation to the Council at a later date.
In other Council action, Bill
Powell was appointed to fill the
vacancy of John Cunningham on the
City Council. Four people had shown
interest in filling the seat, but during
the meeting, Dan Oakes, David
Dinnel and Ma)'y Gustafson stated
they would withdraw their names as
candidates. The Council approved
"the appointment of Powell on a 5-1
vote with Councilman Bob Meyer
casting the lone no vote.
It had been discussed earlier that
the current six councilman could take
care of business up until the
November election.
But according to Mayor Blair
Johnson, "The City's Charter states
that we need to fill the seat as soon as
possible." After some discussion, it
was then acted upon to have Powell
fill the vacant city council seat.
The council also approved on the
Police Commission recommendation
to begin the recruitment of a new per-
manent Police Chief. Gary Dinnel is
currently serving as acting Chief for
no longer than a three-month period.
It was also noted that the Police
Commission was interviewing two
candidates for part-time employment
with the Police Department.
The Council approved the appoint-
ment of Becky Parker to the EDA
Board. Parker will be filling out the
term of John Cunningham.
Council members accepted the res-
ignation of Angie Larson from the
Library Board and appointed Clyde
Weros to fill out her term.
In other council business, a resolu-
tion approving the purchase of a 48"
Toro Aerifier for $19,317 failed on a
3-3 vote. Council member Mike
Dorry then made a motion to have
this go back to the Golf Board so all
the members have a chance to discuss
and vote on this purchase. There
were three members of the Golf
Board that were not present at the
meeting to vote on this and would
like to have the opportunity to discuss
it further.
On the recommendation of the
Utility Committee, the board
approved a 30-day Pilot Study to
improve Iron Floc and settling-at the
Water Plant using Aqua Hawk 2987 at
a cost of $5,150. The Council also
approved the billing of the Highland
Recreation Pool for four years at $184
per year.
The next meeting of the Ortonville
City Council will be held on Monday,
June 15 at 7 p.m. in the City Office
Meeting Room.
