Years of wear have left his headstone illegible, but thanks to members working with the federal government, it will be replaced with a new one.

Vernon Cemetery is located at 30 Evans Ave. N.W., Elk River. The event will begin at 10 AM

In addition to your dinner, tickets include a one year membership to Ducks Unlimited. Doors open at 5:30 PM. April 15th 2011

http://www.ducks.org/minnesota

Ryan, who will be a senior at Zimmerman High School, approached the city in June 2009 regarding a possible Eagle Scout project. The council determined one needed service would be painting the light poles on County Road 4 to improve the appearance of the city’s main thoroughfare.

Upon inspecting the poles, Ryan found that they were faded, peeling and beginning to rust. His goal was to keep the poles from deteriorating any further.

Ryan worked with Dave Horvath, Public Works Director to set up the project. The city provided the necessary paint and Ryan worked several hours to complete the necessary tasks, including edging the tops and bottoms of the pole, the electrical box, and painting the poles themselves.

Safety was an important part of the project. Workers wore safety vests and the roadway was blocked off with cones to alert drivers. The project was successful and Ryan painted 72 light poles in all.

Mayor Dave Earenfight thanked Ryan and his father, Robert, on behalf of the City of Zimmerman, for all of the time and effort donated to complete the project.

Council member Karen Michels asked Ryan to let the council know when his Eagle Scout Court of Honor would be held.

I let you know how it goes after I’m finished.

People often forget how much work goes into events like this, so I would like to say a warm thank you to the Zimmerman Chamber and especially Deb Kazle for putting this event together for us.

Here are some pictures:

(Click on each one to see a larger version)

Now, if I had my druthers (Tennessee term!), we would be able to go on a ride-along with the deputies, but apparently the insurance companies don’t like that idea very much. When I attended the Citizen’s Police Academy in Tennessee, they did do ride-alongs. One of the nights I went, there was a scary domestic violence call. The officer I rode with took off down the city’s main street at 102 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone, and went through the neighborhood at 80 miles per hour in a 20 mph zone. I can see why insurance companies might worry a bit!

This week we started out with Lena Coe and Deanna Thompson from a non-profit organization in Monticello called Rivers of Hope. They spoke to us about domestic violence, including verbal, physical, emotional, psychological and sexual abuse. Family violence can be defined as “patterns of behavior that maintain power and control over the victim.” Anyone who lives in the same household with an an abuser or is related by blood can be a victim of family violence.

Their program works with victims as they go through the court process. They work with teenagers who struggle with self-mutilation to teach them healthy coping skills. Here are some of the other topics we learned about:

• The cycle of abuse
• Abuse of children
• Dating abuse in teens
• Civil and criminal orders of protection
• How to be a friend to victims of abuse
• Having a domestic violence safety plan
• Summer mentoring program for youth

They also have a volunteer program and welcome applications. Contact them at: http://www.riversofhope.org/General_Info/volunteers.htm for more information.

Lena Coe and Deanna Thompson of Rivers of Hope

Chris Aleshire, Sherburne Sheriff Department Drug Recognition Expert spoke to us next. He is one of several trained experts in the area. In addition to alcohol, prescription medication and illegal drugs are also cause for DWI’s. His job is to identify what type of substance a person arrested for DWI is under if there is no evidence of alcohol.

Drug Recognition Expert Chris Aleshire

We learned how sobriety tests are conducted and what clues law enforcement officials look for. Deputy Renee Brandt was kind enough to demonstrate some of the tests:

Deputy Renee Brandt Passes Sobriety Test

I never knew what whiskey plates were before, and I learned that coffee does not make the alcohol go away. Instead, you just have a wide-awake drunk!

Here is a picture of our class! (Click for a larger view.)

Sherburne Citizen Academy Spring 2009 Class

As part of our Storm Spotter training last month, we also had to become licensed amateur radio operators. The class today was well-organized and Mike Steckelberg, the instructor, provided the information in a way that made it very easy to learn. We spent the day going over the 10 different sections of material that would be covered on the test, and then had breaks in between to study our test-prep handout.

The examiners came in and administered the test right before 4:00 pm. The test consisted of 35 multiple-choice questions and after spending all day preparing, was pretty easy.

Now, the next step is to figure out what kind of radio we need!

If you didn’t figure it out yet, we both passed!

Some of the material we had to study!

Yikes–there’s a lot to know!

Our class taking the licensing exam.

Mike Steckelberg (standing) and the examiners (from left to right)

John Smolenski, Boaz Erickson, Greg Ogden, and Ken Carlson.

We talked to a lot of great people and took some good photos. Click on them to see larger versions.

By the way, those pork chops were EXCELLENT!

I’ll be putting together a video of the booths, but for now, here are a few pictures.

In the first picture Marilyn Bina from Prime Advertising and Deb Kazle, Chamber Administrator, welcome Business Expo attendees.

This is the Four Wheeler that is being raffled to raise money for the Golf Tournament this summer. You may see it sitting in different places around town. Where will it be next?

Here are Kary Tillman and Zimmerman Mayor Dave Earenfeit.

This is our illustrious new Sherburne County Sheriff, Joel Brott.

I didn’t get the name of this gentleman, but his hat was sure a hit!