Blaise Kruizenga was crowned queen and Chris Lebo as king at the Snoball dance held at Baldwin-Woodville High School Friday evening following the boys basketball game with Durand.Tyler and Zac Weyer advance to sectional
The Baldwin-Woodville wrestling team advanced two wrestlers out of the Frederic Regional last Saturday.
Tyler Weyer, a freshman, finished in first place at 140 pounds and Zac Weyer, a junior, was second at 135 pounds.
“I’m happy with how the day went,” said Coach Jake Cimino. “In many cases it was the best we wrestled all year. It was a good way to end the season for those who didn’t advance.”
Tyler Weyer received a first round bye, pinned Garett Meagher of Amery in the first period and won by major decision over Dylan Hendricks of Unity 10-2 for the championship at 140 pounds.
Zac Weyer also received a first round bye and won by injury default over Eduardo Benitez of Amery. In the championship match he lost to Dustin McKinney of Unity 5-3 and finished with a pin over Grant Simpson St. Croix Falls in the wrestle-back.
Cimino said Zac has two beatable kids in his bracket at sectionals, while Tyler has a tougher road after the first round.
“You can’t take any match for granted at this point,” Cimino cautioned.
Also placing, but not advancing, were Coleman Roskam, third at 189 pounds; Jordan Smith (112) fourth; and Michael Wlodyga (119), Tyler Braun (130), Andrew Ring (215) and Cole Brathol (285) all finished in fifth place.
Panthers advance four to Sectionals
The St. Croix Central wrestling team advanced four wrestlers to the Division 3 sectional to be held this Saturday at Osseo-Fairchild.
Zach Gillis finished in first place at 140 pounds and Carl Moll (135), Cody Nyhagen (145) and Matt Smith (152) all finished in second place. The top two places advance out the regional.
Central Coach Brad Holzer said the Clear Lake Regional was as tough as expected. “There were no slouches coming out of this regional,” he commented. “Our regional will be well represented (at the sectional).”
Gillis is a senior, Smith is a sophomore and Moll and Nyhagen are freshmen.
“Zach has been a good leader for the younger guys,” Holzer said. “He’s a quiet leader who leads by example.”
Gillis received a first round bye, then pinned Conner Sieracki of Spring Valley/Elmwood. In the championship match he won a 9-3 decision over Tyler Anderson of Shell Lake.
Moll also received a first round bye, then won a 1-0 decision over Jon Newton of of Spring Valley/Elmwood before losing by pin to Mitch Wanner of Turtle Lake. Nyhagen pinned Austin Burke of Clear Lake and decisioned Hunter Cardinal of Turtle Lake 5-1 before losing a 5-1 decision to Drew Knoop of Shell Lake. Smith received a bye, decisioned Matt Voletz of Glenwood City before losing by pin to Brayden Wienke of Clear Lake.
“I was hoping Chris Halvorson might get through too, but otherwise things went pretty much as expected,” Holzer commented.
Halvorson finished in third place at 130 pounds. Also placing for the Panthers were Alex Halvorson (119), Alex Owen (125), Marcus Malecek (160) all finished in fourth place; and Kyle Aaby (171) and Lauden Wood (215) finished in fifth place.
“The brackets look favorable for us (at the sectional),” Holzer said. “Cody has a tough draw in the first round, but if you lose to a good guy he should keep on winning.
“We’ll get a good week of practice and see how things go on Saturday,” he concluded.
Leader Dog Baker and Bunny Tabatt visit Viking
Bunny Tabatt and Baker demonstrate team work.Dogs make a significant difference in the lives of their owners. They offer unconditional love and companionship. In the case of a person who utilizes a Leader Dog, these specially trained dogs funded by the Lions Club provide independence.
Bunny Tabatt from Little Falls, Minnesota was at Viking Middle School on Monday, February 15 to share her story and that of Baker, the dog that travels at her side. Bunny was diagnosed with a rare eye disease in 1970 and completely lost her sight over the next 10 years. Her husband died suddenly at the age of 39 and she was left to raise three children. She received her first leader dog in 1984.
The dog enabled her to attend the College of St. Catherine’s in Minneapolis and became a physical therapist assistant in 1987. She has worked for St. Gabriel’s Hospital in Little Falls for seventeen years and is now retired. Viking students appreciated her sharing her life story and seeing first hand how her dog, Baker makes a difference in her life. She shared the stringent training that a dog must undergo to function as a leader dog.
A trained Leader Dog is a $38,000.00 investment and makes a world of difference to the person the dog is teamed with. Bunny travels with Baker across the country to educate people about the Leader Dog program and the Lions Club role in her independence.
Viking would like to thank the Woodville Lions Club and especially Jeff Schneider for arranging this visit. Bunny is also speaking at the Baldwin-Woodville High School and to third and fourth graders at Greenfield on Tuesday, February 16.
Bunny Tabatt’s visit to the schools also serves as an introduction to the Baldwin-Woodville Community Read which begins on February 20. The entire community is encouraged to read and discuss the book “Marley and Me” in its various titles over the next several weeks. This Saturday attend sessions at Viking beginning at 11:00 a.m. focusing on dogs in our lives.
4K registration held - numbers look good
District enrollment drops
“There was a lot of interest at the 4K registration and open house held earlier this month,” reported committee chair Cindy Zielinski. “We handed out 82 registration packets and 34 were completed and returned on the spot,” she added. There are also a handful of open enrollees from other districts, she said.
The four-year-old kindergarten program, 4 the Future, is slated to begin with the 2010-2011 school year. Zielinski said that the two contracted sites, Kid’s View in Woodville and the Community Nursery School in Baldwin, are preparing for four sections with 80 spots available. These numbers are subject to change depending on actual registration numbers.
“We’ll start making assignments March 1,” Zielinski said. Students will be placed according to where they are picked up by the bus or where they live she said.
The committee is currently working on a brochure and handbook, according to Zielinski and has a website for parents to check out.
The numbers look good for the 4K program, which should help the entire district, since enrollment dropped by 35 students from January 2009 to January 2010 according to figures presented by Supt. Rusty Helland. “This is the first enrollment decline in the last 20 years or so,” commented Helland after the meeting. “We have averaged increases of 25 students since at least 1998,” he said.
During the open forum, district resident and FFA Alumni leader Megan Frye informed the board of the group’s recent attendance at the state convention where they were recognized for the efforts to revitalize the organization at Baldwin-Woodville. She said that B-W’s ag teacher, Michelle Kamm, was recognized at the convention as well. “We think it’s important to support our ag teacher and students,” she said.
In other comments, Frye informed the board of her disappointment with the manner in which an incident at the High School involving her son last Friday was handled. According to Frye, her son’s head was repeatedly smashed against a wall at school. Frye was unavailable at the time, yet her emergency contact was not notified, she said. Her son has a concussion she said. “I’ve talked to Mr. Russell and Mr. Helland about this and I want the
board to know about the lack of communication and follow through in this case. I am very concerned and disappointed with how this was handled.”
Viking Middle School resource teacher Sue Zwald and school psychologist Christi Skamfer gave a presentation on the At-Risk Program at Viking. “At middle school, academics become much more difficult and abstract compared to the elementary,” said Zwald. She explained that some students’ brains develop later when abstract thinking can occur. “Our job is to support kids who are having difficulty, encourage them and help them to achieve,” Zwald said.
Zwald explained that all students from Title 1 at Greenfield are eligible to utilize the resource room. In addition English Language Learners and transfer students are screened to determine their need for Zwald’s assistance in the resource room. Students also become eligible by classroom teacher referral, she said.
“At the elementary level the strategy for academic assistance is remediation,” explained Skamfer. “By the time kids reach middle school, if they are still struggling, we try to determine compensatory learning strategies.” Those strategies might include use of multiplication tables, formulas or word banks, said Zwald.
“Typically, kids’ brains will mature and they outgrown the program,” according to Zwald.
“I thank the board for its support of the At-Risk program at Viking. And our administration has been very pro-active in its support which helps prevent kids from falling through the cracks,” Zwald concluded.
During a public hearing on reorganization the board denied a petition by Derek and Megan Miller to transfer property from the Baldwin-Woodville School District to the St. Croix Central District. Megan Miller stated that their property is located closer to St. Croix Central schools, their daycare is in Hammond and her husband works in the twin cities. She also said their families have a tradition at SCC. The petition was denied on a 4-3 vote. Voting to deny: Bondarenko, Graf, Klanderman, Campbell. Voting against denial: Hinz, Hilmanowske, Lindquist.
Supt. Helland explained that school districts typically do not approve land transfers out because of the loss of property value. Districts might approve a transfer if there is a property swap of equal value, he said.
Supt. Helland offered that all residents in the state have the option to open enroll their children in another district.
From the Exchanges
Interesting Items From
Surounding Communities
BURNETT COUNTY SENTINEL (GRANTSURG): Nearly half of the funds needed for the Grantsburg Swimming Pool next summer have been raised in the first two weeks after a committee formed to prevent the outdoor pool from closing for good. At a public meeting with the Grantsburg Village Board Parks Committee on January 18, a group of village and area residents volunteered to serve on a swimming pool committee with the goal of raising $25,000 to fund swim pool repairs and improvements. Committee chairman John Addison told the Grantsburg Village Board Monday evening that the fund has received donations and pledges of $8,600 to date. Addison anticipates receiving another $3,000 from U.S. Bank of Grantsburg, which donates that amount annually to the Grantsburg Village Improvement Program (VIP) Fund. Addison said the bank has earmarked its 2010 donation for the swimming pool. The Grantsburg School District was the first to pledge, in early January. The school board allocated $5,000 for swimming pool repairs. The school district uses the pool to teach swimming lessons to more than 100 students during its annual summer school program.
HUDSON STAR~OBSERVER: Random acts of kindness are often too few and far apart but one in particular has garnered the thanks of the recipients. Julie Armagost, Baldwin, who works in the St. Croix County Sheriff’s office, was compelled to mention the gesture by an anonymous person directed at her soldier son. “Sunday night (Jan. 24) I picked my son Josh up at Inver Grove Heights, Minn., He was coming back from Iraq as a member of the 34th Infantry Division,” she said. Julie said the welcoming party stopped at Applebee’s in Hudson on the way home to Baldwin to watch the Vikings game and visit. “He was just getting home after being deployed from April until January,” she said. “When we went to pay our bill, the waitress told us the people in the booth behind us saw Josh in his Army uniform and heard us talking about him just getting home from Iraq and they took care of the bill as a ‘thank you’ to him,” she said. “What an awesome welcome home for him from complete strangers.” Julie said the kind strangers picked up the bill for five people in the party and told the waitress to include dessert if they wanted. I wanted to thank whoever the wonderful people are and let them know that Josh was honored they would do this for him,” she said. The 23-year-old Josh Armagost has since returned to St. Cloud (Minn.) State University where he is working on a political science degree.
AMERY FREE PRESS: On Sunday, February 7, Amery police were dispatched to the area behind Dick’s Fresh Market near a metal shop for a report of the theft of scrap metal in progress. Amery officers arrived on the scene and found no suspicious activity and then went to the Industrial Park on Venture Drive in the city, where there had been a recent theft of scrap metal from Amery Welding. Another officer was contacted by radio and it was reported that two male subjects were attempting to load a dumpster at Amery Welding. The officer reported he had pulled into the north parking lot and saw a large red truck backed into the yard. It was running and parked in front of a 20-yard dumpster and there were no lights on. As the officer stopped, a male walked in front of his squad. The officer exited and moved toward the back of the truck and observed another male bent down behind the truck like he was hiding. The male originally near the truck was identified as Timothy Edgar Jones, 49, St. Paul, Minn., and the other was identified as Thomas Richard Wybierala, Oakdale, Minn. Wybierala told officers they were sent by his boss, who he called “Bill” and gave the officers a business card. One officer called (the person was later said to be Brian) and stated he had sent the men in the early afternoon though he could not give contact information about Amery Welding. The owner of Amery Welding told officers the only company that ever came to take scrap was Waterman’s of Amery. As the investigation continued, officers found a cable attached to the dumpster as though it was about to be hauled off. There was a freshly painted business name on the side of the dumpster that matched the truck and the owner of the dumpster arrived and stated that no one was to be moving it. He valued the dumpster at $8,000.
BURNETT COUNTY SENTINEL (GRANTSURG): Nearly half of the funds needed for the Grantsburg Swimming Pool next summer have been raised in the first two weeks after a committee formed to prevent the outdoor pool from closing for good. At a public meeting with the Grantsburg Village Board Parks Committee on January 18, a group of village and area residents volunteered to serve on a swimming pool committee with the goal of raising $25,000 to fund swim pool repairs and improvements. Committee chairman John Addison told the Grantsburg Village Board Monday evening that the fund has received donations and pledges of $8,600 to date. Addison anticipates receiving another $3,000 from U.S. Bank of Grantsburg, which donates that amount annually to the Grantsburg Village Improvement Program (VIP) Fund. Addison said the bank has earmarked its 2010 donation for the swimming pool. The Grantsburg School District was the first to pledge, in early January. The school board allocated $5,000 for swimming pool repairs. The school district uses the pool to teach swimming lessons to more than 100 students during its annual summer school program.
HUDSON STAR~OBSERVER: Random acts of kindness are often too few and far apart but one in particular has garnered the thanks of the recipients. Julie Armagost, Baldwin, who works in the St. Croix County Sheriff’s office, was compelled to mention the gesture by an anonymous person directed at her soldier son. “Sunday night (Jan. 24) I picked my son Josh up at Inver Grove Heights, Minn., He was coming back from Iraq as a member of the 34th Infantry Division,” she said. Julie said the welcoming party stopped at Applebee’s in Hudson on the way home to Baldwin to watch the Vikings game and visit. “He was just getting home after being deployed from April until January,” she said. “When we went to pay our bill, the waitress told us the people in the booth behind us saw Josh in his Army uniform and heard us talking about him just getting home from Iraq and they took care of the bill as a ‘thank you’ to him,” she said. “What an awesome welcome home for him from complete strangers.” Julie said the kind strangers picked up the bill for five people in the party and told the waitress to include dessert if they wanted. I wanted to thank whoever the wonderful people are and let them know that Josh was honored they would do this for him,” she said. The 23-year-old Josh Armagost has since returned to St. Cloud (Minn.) State University where he is working on a political science degree.
AMERY FREE PRESS: On Sunday, February 7, Amery police were dispatched to the area behind Dick’s Fresh Market near a metal shop for a report of the theft of scrap metal in progress. Amery officers arrived on the scene and found no suspicious activity and then went to the Industrial Park on Venture Drive in the city, where there had been a recent theft of scrap metal from Amery Welding. Another officer was contacted by radio and it was reported that two male subjects were attempting to load a dumpster at Amery Welding. The officer reported he had pulled into the north parking lot and saw a large red truck backed into the yard. It was running and parked in front of a 20-yard dumpster and there were no lights on. As the officer stopped, a male walked in front of his squad. The officer exited and moved toward the back of the truck and observed another male bent down behind the truck like he was hiding. The male originally near the truck was identified as Timothy Edgar Jones, 49, St. Paul, Minn., and the other was identified as Thomas Richard Wybierala, Oakdale, Minn. Wybierala told officers they were sent by his boss, who he called “Bill” and gave the officers a business card. One officer called (the person was later said to be Brian) and stated he had sent the men in the early afternoon though he could not give contact information about Amery Welding. The owner of Amery Welding told officers the only company that ever came to take scrap was Waterman’s of Amery. As the investigation continued, officers found a cable attached to the dumpster as though it was about to be hauled off. There was a freshly painted business name on the side of the dumpster that matched the truck and the owner of the dumpster arrived and stated that no one was to be moving it. He valued the dumpster at $8,000.
