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LIGHTING CONTEST: Winners named for local displays PAGE 14
School divvies up hypothetical $1.9 million COUNTRY
BY JESSICA DE LA CRUZ EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
During Monday night’s meeting of the Amery School Board, district officials considered a breakdown of how a proposed $1.9 million per year operational referendum would be applied to overall district needs. Superintendent James Kuchta presented a rough outline that could apply
$550,000 of the annual funds to staff needs, $500,000 to technology needs, $700,000 to maintenance and security needs, and $150,000 toward curriculum and resources. However, a projected $800,000 budget shortfall for the 2017-18 school year still has the potential to throw all of those numbers up in the air. One thing is for sure, however, and that is that any money for new facili-
years down the road we have another ties will have to wait, at least for now. If the board does move in that di- point in time. At least in my mind what rection, it would appear that a second we’re looking at is doing these operareferendum could be on the not too dis- tional things—what we need to look at doing right now. That buys us time tant horizon. School Board President Darren Van to determine as a community what we SEPTEMBER 33, 2222 to do when it comes to additional Blaricom seemed to echo much THURSDAY, of how want VOL. 131 NO. 19 facilities www.moraminn.com $1.00 and swimming pools.” the board was feeling on the matter. The school board must pass a resolu“We’ve got two points in time. We’ve got this point in time where we have tion by January 23 if it intends to this debt falling off, and then two SEE REFERENDUM PAGE TWO
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County moves to upgrade 911 system
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBERsystem 33, 2222still works, the E911 BY SUZANNE LINDGREN VOL. 131 NO. 19 www.moraminn.com $1.00 and equipment insoftware EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM Polk County approved a $1.5 million upgrade of its 911 system last week, fast-tracking a purchase that was originally part of next year’s budget. The purchase includes $1.1 million in equipment and $464,000 for ongoing services. The early approval will save the county almost $200,000. “Motorolla would only guarantee our prices through the end of the year,” County Administrator Dana Frey told the Polk County Board Dec. 20. “We don’t know exactly what the would have charged us if we’d gone past January 1, but they told us that the increased cost would be $182,000.” What is the county getting? New radio dispatch equipment, a microwave network upgrade and E911 (enhanced 911) equipment, which links wireless callers with the closest 911 service. Although the county’s 911
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ISANTI-CHISAGO
A recovered replica of baby Jesus sits on the kitchen table of Mary Appel. The hands of the piece were rebuilt using wire and plaster, just one of the many pieces rebuilt in a restoration project by Mary Appel and Julie Cardinal.
With loving hands Women give new life to old nativity scene BY JESSICA DE LA CRUZ EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
they’ll probably be able to tell you. But that wasn’t the case for an old nativity set that had seen better days. Many of its figures were in pieces. Jesus himself was even missing a few limbs. A few recalled seeing it before, in boxes, during cleanings of years gone by. But none seemed to recall a time when it had ever been displayed. Church goer Mary Appel says the set is marked as coming from Germany. “It’s a Catholic set,” says Appel. “Which seemed weird because why would a Catholic
THE SUN Cleaning out a church basement is a task that can yield unusual treasures, especially at a rural church like Elim Lutheran in Range. Such was the case this fall, when a miracle of sorts brought new life to a crumbling symbol of Christmas. With nearly a century of history, many of Elim’s remaining parishioners have been there for decades, and are now in their 80s. If you asked them what’s in their church basement,
SEE NATIVITY PAGE 28
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stalled in 2009 have become obsolete, which would complicate any necessary future repairs. “If you go to the 911 center,” Frey explained, “the consoles that they sit behind, the computers, all that equipment, that’s what has become obsolete. That’s what’s passed end of life.” Chisago County reportedly waited six months for a switch replacement, putting a console out of service, Frey reported. The new system is expected to last about a decade. The value of the E911 system was reinforced this fall, when a software issue left the location system compromised. “There was a weekend where 911 didn’t work,” said Frey. “They got no more information than they got over a regular telephone — you couldn’t locate (callers).” Fortunately, the system was restored by the time the county really needed it.
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