FREE PRESS MESSENGER AMERY
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SPORTS: Clayton Girls Basketball team falls in final to another undefeated team P15
Scholarship seeks to carry out Amery man’s passion
COUNTRY
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 33, 2222 BY APRIL ZIEMER
Serving Marine-on-St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
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SENTINEL BURNETT COUNTY
JOSH JOHNSON|AMERY FREE PRESS
Selena Levendoski, Kiana Fall, Kennedy Patrick, Kailey Ketz, Marissa Gilbertson, Jaedyn Bussewitz and Alison Leslie are shown with their second place state trophy. This year was the first time the girls made it to the championship after three previous attempts.
The sensational seven reflect on four fantastic years FREE FREE
COUNTY ST
BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
Marissa Gilbertson and Kailey ISANTI-CHISAGO Ketz have recently returned back
It is an accomplishment to earn your way to play at a state tournament. Participating is likely an experience you will never forget. Some high school athletes have participated in such an event more than once. Locally there is a group
of seven ladies who followed the trail to a state tournament not once or twice, but eight times. Clayton high school class of 2019 contains seven best friends who are as tight as a group can be on the court and off. Kennedy Patrick, Alison Leslie, Jaedyn Bussewitz, Kiana Fall, Selena Levendoski,
to their hometown after their eighth appearance together at the state level. It won’t be long before the tight knit group is trading in sneakers and jerseys for their caps and gowns. SEE SEVEN ON PAGE 2
A man who touched many lives in the community will have his memory live on in a scholarship founded in his honor. The Farm Table Mission Prize in Honor of Robert J. Bursik has been established at the St. Croix Valley Foundation (SCVF). $5000 will be awarded to an applicant chosen by the Farm Table Foundation. A little over a year ago, sadness struck Amery when business owner Rob Bursik was killed tragically when his vehicle was hit from behind in a distracted driving incident. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2222 was married and Rob33, Bursik VOL. 131 NO. 19 www.moraminn.com $1.00 the father of three children. He was the owner and founder of Dragonfly Gardens, a Bursik nursery and greenhouse with locations in Amery and Turtle Lake. His businesses offered native plants, wetlands, forest wildflowers, annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables. He was also a biology instructor at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park. Bursik’s love for plants and growing them started when he worked for his parent’s business, Bursik’s Greenhouse, in Rib Mountain, WI. According to SCFV’s scholarship description, “Bursik was strove to understand nature’s relationships. He brought to life plants rooted in healthy soil for the public to purchase. He designed planted environments that
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SEE BURSIK ON PAGE 2
Amery alumni steps from law enforcement to laughter
THE SUN BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
Joe Elkin always new that he wanted to pursue a career in acting or comedy, but until he could figure out how to make that happen, after
graduating from Amery High School in 1995, he thought he should get a “real job.” Elkin became a certified EMT and was hired as a 911 dispatcher. He also spent time working as a paramedic and as a deputy sheriff. He nev-
prise, based in the Windy City. It also has training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre opened Dec. 16, 1959, and since that day it has become one of the most influential and prolific
er stopped thinking though about his desire to make a break into show business. The Second City in Chicago seemed to be the answer to his comedy goals. The Second City is an improvisational comedy enter-
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
comedy theatres in the world. The Second City has produced television programs in both Canada and the United States, including the popular weekly airing of Saturday Night Live (SNL). Since its SEE LAUGHTER ON PAGE 32
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 33, 2222
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March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month Get your colonoscopy. Schedule today.
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