Jim Lutgens
Hessenius heeds call of the sky
50th BIRTHDAY LEAP — Lisa Hessenius with her daughter, Nicole. Lisa decided to do a tandem parachute jump in honor of her 50th birthday. (Submitted photo)
NR woman goes free-falling for 50th birthday
By RACHEL RIETSEMA
Staff Writer
Rollercoasters freak her out. Absolutely no one can coax her to go on one. It nauseates her even just to think about those crazy rides.
But for some reason, jumping out of an airplane seems to be like a lollipop at a candy store. She just had to try it at least one time.
“I did my first tandem parachute jump on May 17,” Lisa Hessenius said. “I told myself some years ago when I sobered up in May of 1990 that if I live to be 50, that’s what I’m going to do on my 50th birthday.”
Driving to the Waseca airport that day, Hessenius could hardly contain her excitement. Her husband, daughter and close friend thought she was plum crazy, but she didn’t care; all she could think about was hopping aboard the skeeter plane.
“When we got to 12,000 feet, my tandem instructor opened the door,” Hessenius said. “He put his one foot out the door. I put my foot out. We rocked back and forth three times and then jumped.”
Hooked together with her Southern Minnesota Skydiving instructor via harness, the view beneath was magnificent. The awesome little quilted patterns of land took her breath away.
Emergency Response Team earns Lifesaver Award
RESPONSE TEAM — New Richland resident Earl Parriott is surrounded by the Emergency Responders who saved his life May 23, 2011. Pictured from left: Brad Zinniel (North Ambulance,) Anthony Svoboda, Cody Dobberstein, Parriott, Brian Svoboda, Jeremy Parpart, Josh Moen and Chad Neitzel. (Star Eagle photo by Jody Wynnemer)
By JODY WYNNEMER
Staff Writer
On the evening of May 23rd, members of the New Richland Ambulance and Fire Department were dispatched to the Earl and Kathryn Parriott home southwest of New Richland based on a report of a person complaining of chest pain. Upon arrival, the responders found Mr. Parriott lying on the kitchen floor, semi-alert and in obvious discomfort. He was placed on oxygen, and cardiac protocol initiated. North Memorial Ambulance was summoned for an intercept. Shortly after arriving, Mr. Parriott became unresponsive and cyanotic. The responders started CPR, followed by defibrillation and Mr. Parriott was airlifted for futher care at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester.
The Lifesaver Award was presented to Anthony Svoboda, Bradley Zinniel, Brian Svoboda, Chad Neitzel, Cody Dobberstein, Dan Wobschall, Jeremy Parpart and Josh Moen for their participation in the successful resuscitation of Mr. Parriott.
Superb start
The NRHEG Marching Band, under the direction of Tim Siewert, started off “The Battle Tour” with a first-place finish in the band competition at the Fairmont Heritage Days parade Saturday, June 11. The Panther band performed “Battlefield” from the Cirque Du Soleil show KÀ. Additional 2011 performances: June 17, Lake Crystal; June 18, Owatonna; June 25, St. James; July 3, Albert Lea; July 4, Cannon Falls; July 4, Apple Valley; July 10, New Richland; July 16, Ellendale; September 1, Minnesota State Fair; September 17, Waseca; December 28, Orlando, Fla. (Submitted photo)
Geneva man faces child abuse charges
By CAROL JOLLY
Staff Writer
A baby was brought into the emergency room of St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester on January 11, 2011. After careful examination of the child, it was determined that a crime had been committed against this three-month-old infant .
Mandated by law, the incident was reported to authorities by a hospital social worker. The injuries are believed to have happened sometime between Dec. 28, 2010, and Jan. 11, 2011 while the child’s mother was at work.
“The infants ability to develop and function has been severely limited by the injuries inflicted,” the court complaint states. “He has serious vision problems or will be blind. It is also anticipated that he will never be able to walk. He will require special services, occupational and physical therapies, ongoing medical care, numerous medications, and will need someone to provide for his personal care needs.”
NRAF to hold community meeting June 21
It has been a little over a year since the New Richland Area Foundation Fund was formed and began its quest to seek donors to build on the initial anonymous gift of $13,918 that the New Richland area received. Since that time, they have recently received another anonymous “donor advised” gift of $25,000 called the By-The-Grace-Of-God-Fund. The NRAFF has also granted out $1,500 and will be approving its second round of grants to be announced at the upcoming Farm and City Days Pancake Breakfast.
There will be a community meeting on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at New Richland City Hall beginning at 6:30 p.m. Presentations at the meeting will be given by Karen Buum, the Executive Director of the Waseca Area Foundation, and Pat Abbe, who is the Gift Planner Specialist for the Minnesota Community Foundation.
“We hope to see a huge crowd attend this meeting and learn more about how we all can contribute to the Foundation and how our granting process works, said Gail Schmidt, the NRAFF Representative. “Our community has always been, and hopefully will continue to be supportive of our local schools, churches and organizations, so they can continue to build and strengthen the community which we have all become so very proud of.”
NR welcomes newest firemen
By JODY WYNNEMER
Staff Writer
The New Richland City Council met for its first meeting of the summer on Monday evening, June 13 with all members present except council member Anthony Martens, who was up north fishing.
All consent agenda items were approved. There were no public hearings scheduled nor requests from residents to be heard.
The council adopted Resolution 11-6, which accepts a $20,000 donation from the Fire Relief Association towards the purchase of the new brush truck.
Police Chief Scott Eads noted 47 calls for service and an additonal 43 contacts for the month of May. During the NRHEG prom, Eads reported the department had an extra car on patrol.
“We just wanted to maintain a presence,” said Eads.
The police department is participating in the “I Got Caught” program this summer which rewards young people with free Dairy Queen ice cream cones when playing safely.
Ellendale updated on 8th Ave. project
By SCOTT GROTH
Contributing Writer
The Ellendale City Council met Thursday June 9 with Councilmen Helland, Reiter, Goebel and Groth present. Steve Engel was absent due to his job. Also in attendance were Clerk Louks, Maintenance Supervisor Swearingen and Dan Dailey.
Roger Swearingen was present to give his monthly update to the council. Swearingen started out by updating the council on the work being done on 8th Ave. Swearingen stated the sewer line had been installed. Swearingen noted there were a couple of real bad spots in the sewer line, and that the city will be in good shape for many years with this new line.
Swearingen next told the council the new water line will probably start going in two weeks. He also noted that there is a temporary line in place to service Central Valley. Swearingen told the council that the local Lions club asked if they could use part of the maintenance building for their White Elephant Sale.
He said the Lions’ usual spot was not available this year. The council felt that this would be O.K. if there was no burden to the maintenance department.
New Richland Police report
Calls received and/or action taken by the New Richland Police Department:
• May 17, 5 p.m. – Disturbance/medical, 3rd St. NW. Party transported by ambulance.
• May 19, 1:45 a.m. — Open window, Hwy. 13. Owner of business contacted.
• May 19, 3:55 p.m. — Traffic control, Hwy. 13 and Co. Rd 12. School bus broke down in traffic lane at intersection.
• May 19, 7:20 p.m. — Animal complaint/loose dog, W. Division St. Party asked to keep dog on property.
• May 21, 4:15 p.m. — Medical assist, Hwy. 13 and 30. Assist rendered.
Area woman lands 22-inch large mouth bass at Beaver Lake
BEAVER LAKE PRIZE — Carol Anne Schumacher, Ellendale, with the 22 1/4-inch large mouth bass caught June 3 off a dock on the west end of Beaver Lake. The state record for a large mouth bass is 23 inches. (Submitted photo)
By KATHY PAULSEN
Staff Writer
There are fish stories and there are fish stories. But, this particular “tall tail” can be proved, just by looking at that tail!
Carol Schumacher surprised everyone when she landed a large mouth bass at Beaver Lake. Fishing with her husband, Joe, and daughter Lexi, who is only 11 months old, Schumacher was able to reel in this prize fish.
The bass, which they measured at 22 1/4 inches in length, was caught off of the dock of Chuck and Jean Groth, who live on the west end of Beaver Lake on Friday, June 3rd.
Schumacher and her husband quickly took the fish to Tom's Taxidermy, in Clarks Grove, so that it could be mounted. They intended to have it weighed by a state certified scale, but were so excited that they forgot to.
They were going to try and get it weighed before Tom got busy working on it. And now that they know the state record for a large mouth bass is 23 inches, they plan to have someone from the state certify the length of it as well.
Schumacher is 21 years old and has been fishing since she was a little girl.
Both she and Joe wanted to get this "prize fish" mounted to remember this remarkable fishing expedition at Beaver Lake.
It sounds like there have been a lot of exciting times for Carol and her family at Beaver Lake. Actually her grandma, Peg, owned cabin #40 up until a few years ago.
We congratulate her on this prize catch and we wish her many more wonderful days of fishing!
Garden tour fundraiser set for June 25
GARDEN TOUR — Michelle Peterson, from Sonshone Gardens in Clarks Grove, stands with the beautiful flowers in her greenhouse. Sonshine Gardens is the starting point for the inaugural Send A Kid To Camp Garden Tour set for Saturday, June 25. (Star Eagle photo by Kathy Paulsen)
By KATHY PAULSEN
Staff Writer
There are some who have a special love and knack for flowers. They do outstanding things with them that many of us wish we had a talent to do. This year in particular, many Clarks Grove residents are adding colors to their homes. For a good reason too.
The inaugural Send A Kid To Camp Garden Tour, a fundraiser to help defray some of the cost of kids to attend camp, will be held on June 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at Addie’s Floral, Sonshine Gardens or from any of the homeowners prior to the event for $15, or $18 the day of the tour. Those attending the garden tour will be able to pick up a cup of coffee and a map at Sonshine Gardens in Clarks Grove, located at 200 1st Avenue, from 8:30 to 9:30 on Saturday morning.
Jim Tjepkema will be present at Sonshine Gardens to answer seed saving and pest problem questions or any other gardening issues. Those attending the tour will be invited back to the Sonshine Gardens, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., where they will be able to enjoy lunch while also learning to use herbs from your garden in recipes.