‘Relay’ Fourth Quarter Features Honor Roll Cancer Page 17 Study Page 18 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTIETH YEAR BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, JUNE 29, 2011 75¢ SINGLE COPY NUMBER 26 Welcome Home; Thanks for Your Service Belle Plaine’s Cpl. Andrew McWilliams, a 2008 graduate of Belle Plaine High School, was welcomed home from 11 months service in Afghanistan Sunday afternoon with a fi re truck ride and short parade to the Belle Plaine Vets Club. A color guard consisting of members of the Belle Plaine American Legion/VFW and auxiliaries led the parade. McWilliams, the son of Car- rie and Scott McWilliams, What many Blakeley Township residents still referred to as the “old blacksmith building” was spent fi ve months in training torn down by workers from Chard Tiling and Excavating on Thursday. since his return. He serves as an aerial observer and gun- Old Blakeley Blacksmith, Post ner aboard an osprey, a tilt- Offi ce Building Demolished rotored aircraft. by Dan Ruud owner of the building before in Blakeley Township all his Another piece of physical the county bought it from him life, and Arlene Albrecht, an- evidence that Blakeley Town- last year, visited the site the day other longtime resident of the ship/Village was once a bus- before the demolition and again community, were both watch- tling railroad and river commu- on Thursday. ing from the side of the road nity has been removed from the “They tore it down too quick. Thursday as the demolition landscape. I got there about 2 o’clock process began. What some residents still re- and they were just fi nishing “It’s hard to see all the old stuff ferred to as the “old blacksmith” knocking down the back wall,” go down,” said Schmidt, who building was demolished by Boeckman said. still called it the old blacksmith contractor Chard Tiling and Before Boeckman, Arnold building until its fi nal day. Excavating of Belle Plaine on McConnell operated a black- “It’s the end of an era,” said Thursday. The demolition came smith and welding business in Albrecht, who owns Albrecht’s more than a year after the initial the building. Before him it was Antiques in Blakeley. She said round of demolition work Scott fellow blacksmith Roy Hal- about the only building left on County was required to do as stead’s building. Before that the the fl oodplain is the old school part of its increasing the eleva- building’s ownership history is house, which she said someone tion of County Road 1 to the sketchy at best. still lives in despite the fl ood new Blakeley bridge over the Boeckman bought the build- threat. Albrecht said she doesn’t Minnesota River. ing in the late 1980s from Leon know why that structure wasn’t The county decided purchas- Thomason, who went on to on the county’s list at the time ing and demolishing the struc- operate Sparetime Tavern in of the buyouts. tures along Chatfi eld Drive in downtown Belle Plaine. According to a 1913 Atlas that Blakeley was less expensive Like Thomason, Boeckman Albrecht has, 199 people lived than building a levee to protect used the building for an auto in the village of Blakeley that them from fl ooding following body repair business for a num- year, which does not include the raising of the road approach ber of years. those who lived outside the cen- from 3 to 6 feet. But to longtime Blakeley tral district. At that time busi- In recent years, the county has residents, the building is best nesses in the village included a raised homes and other struc- remembered for the decades it bank, general store, gas station tures it bought from property was a blacksmith/welding fa- and tavern. owners on the Blakeley fl ood- cility. A portion of it was even Albrecht said only about 40 B.P. School Board OKs plain. Thursday’s project re- used as the Blakeley Post Offi ce people “live in town” now. Most moved the last piece of those before the postal service closed of the township’s 400-plus resi- properties. its offi ce there in the 1960s. dents are farmers spread about Phy-Ed. Uniform Policy Mark Boeckman of Belle John Schmidt, who has lived the surrounding countryside, a Plaine, who was the last private good distance from the fl ood- prone Minnesota River. by John Mueller Kelly Smith’s performance re- In other action, the Belle Hoping to keep the attire of view for 2010. Plaine School Board: seventh-graders in physical Nagel said Smith received ■ Paid bills totaling education classes within the high marks for dealing with fi - $2,074,784.16. realm of the appropriate, the nancial operations, promoting ■ Accepted the resignation Belle Plaine School Board ap- the district and public relations of Ariana Wright, elementary proved mandatory uniforms within the community, and pro- music teacher; Beth Satterlund, when school resumes this fall gram development within the Chatfi eld Elementary special on a trial basis. district. education teacher; Angela Ka- The uniforms will consist of She said board members want lal, girls’ varsity softball coach; shorts and a shirt costing $13 Smith to focus efforts on devel- Jane Nechville, longtime Oak for both. They’ll also be able oping school board goals and Crest Elementary School third- to wear the uniforms as eighth- reviews of district staff. grade teacher. The board also graders. The uniforms will be Nagel said Smith has done a formally accepted Director Jer- optional for eighth-graders. The good job and that the board is emy Updike’s resignation. district may expand the manda- pleased with his performance. ■ Approved the hiring of tory uniform policy to other The performance review Brandon Gaikowski, Chatfi eld grades in the years to come. does not include a raise of his Elementary School fi rst-grade Superintendent Kelly Smith $132,000 salary. Smith is in the teacher for $32,092; Nicole said the policy is “a transi- second year of a three-year con- tion” from grade school to ju- tract. His salary, like the other School Board nior high. The board OK’d the district administrators, remains (continued on page 18) policy because some students’ frozen. attire is interfering with phy-ed classes. The Belle Plaine Government Center’s facade will likely receive improvements this year. “Some shorts are too long, some too short. Some of the McDonald’s Project Delayed Brick, stucco or steel siding (or a combination thereof) are the options being tossed around by shirts are too long, showing the city council. New awnings are also proposed. The fi nal plat was approved in ness Park Third Addition, a too much,” he said. “It is an June of 2010 and construction 6,500-square-foot multi-tenant attempt to bring some unifor- was slated to begin no later than building, including a 3,000- mity to what kids are wearing last fall, which then got pushed square-foot McDonald’s res- City Council to Iron Out Details in class.” back to this spring. Spring has taurant. The district created the policy turned into summer and there Rosenfeld said Oppidan con- for Government Center Facelift because some students were still is no McDonald’s restau- tinues to maintain contact with wearing inappropriate clothing rant under construction next to the city, including its desire to by Dan Ruud it’s what option will look best, Councilmember Gary Trost to physical education classes. Coborn’s Superstore in Belle revise the fi nal plat, which has The issue among city coun- or which one will provide the said he had just received the Plaine. delayed the project. Any revi- cil members isn’t whether the most bang for the buck. contractor quote information But Belle Plaine Community sion to the fi nal plat will require Belle Plaine Government Cen- Following a long discussion, packet and wanted more time to Smith Gets Development Director Trisha another review and approval ter needs an exterior facelift, the council last Monday night review it. The council also di- Rosenfeld said this week that process by the city council. rected staff to prepare drawings High Marks voted 5-1 to table authoriz- School Board Chairperson the developer, Oppidan Devel- Rosenfeld said construction ing staff to proceed with the City Council Judy Nagel announced the opment, still intends to move of Diversifi ed Business Park improvements, not to exceed forward with Diversifi ed Busi- Third Addition could still take (continued on page 18) completion of Superintendent $30,000. place this summer. PAGE TWO BELLE PLAINE HERALD, BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2011 Fran Barten and her family were recently honored as the U of M Extension-Scott County’s 2011 Farm Family of the Year. Bartens Honored as Farm U of M Church Festival Extension’s Family of the Year Joe Hennen took aim hoping to win a bottle of soda pop at the St. John Assumption Church The University of Minnesota the public – a place where the of Peace Hospital, a member of Festival Sunday afternoon. (Below) Jasper Bartels took aim at the target in the football toss Extension Service of Scott public can learn about agricul- the Catholic United Financial game. The annual church fund-raiser includes games, bingo, a pork chop dinner, country County recently selected Fran ture and the joys of rural life board of directors, and a mem- store and drawings for prizes. Barten & Family of Union Hill with family. Barten Pumpkins ber of Farm Bureau. as the 2011 Scott County Farm was also a site on the 2010 The entire Barten family has Family of the Year.