False Alarm Change, Page3 • Community Service Day, Page 11 • Undefeated Season Continues, Page 1B Paynesville First Title Since 1984, Page 1B Press www.paynesvillearea.com Strong test scores help PAES earn another honor Wednesday, October 22, 2014 Volume 128, No. 42 GINORMOUS PUMPKIN PAYNESVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY State-record pumpkin makes visit… Oral histories help to preserve local history MULTIPLE MEASUREMENT RATINGS Sam Nelson of Ridgewater College speaks at annual meeting Elementary school named Celebration Eligible By Michael Jacobson Sam Nelson, a history professor at Ridgewater College in Willmar, urged members of the Paynesville Historical Society to preserve local history by doing oral histories. Nelson, the guest speaker at the historical society’s annual meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14, said local history needs the flavor and character of oral histories. “The human part is what makes local history come alive,” said Nelson, who has done several oral history projects with his college students, including the impact of Title IX, the history of Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center, and the history of Sibley State Park, a project that museum director Brian Haines assisted on. Historical records preserve and transmit knowledge, helping future generations understand continuity and change and “how we got here,” said Nelson. But they also need the By Michael Jacobson After escaping the bottom of the state rankings (Focus School) for the penthouse (Reward School) last year, Paynesville Area Elementary School nearly did it again… earning the second-highest rank in the Multiple Measurement Rankings released by the Minnesota Department of Education this year. In results released in October, Paynesville Area Elementary School is listed as Celebration Eligible, a category for schools in the 60th to 85th percentiles. (Reward Schools, as PAES was last year, comprise the Top 15 percent of Title I schools in the state.) “We were hoping to be a Reward School again this year, but were just short in reaching that goal,” said social studies teacher Dawn Knoll, who also serves as the district testing coordinator. “We are pleased with the fact that we are Celebration Eligible and will be filling out the application for recognition as a Celebration School.” “We attribute our growth as an elementary school over the MMR – see page 2 $1 Paynesville Press 211 Washburne Avenue, P.O. Box 54, Paynesville, MN 56362 Phone: 320-243-3772 Fax: 320-243-4492 www.paynesvillearea.com Copyright 2014 • Two Sections Index Sunburg Trolls 2 Here’s What I Think 2 Benefit Concert 3 Paynesville Township 3 Letters to the Editor 4 Viewpoint 4 Foresight & Balance 5 Minute with Mike 5 Trail Guards 5 Business Brief 6 Top Dog News 6 View from the Bleachers 6 Blotter 7 City Council 7 Anniversaries 8 Births 8 Obituaries 8 Community Events 9 Class of 1956 10 Entertainment 10-11 Halloween Safety 12 Sports 1B, 3B, 6B, & 8B Real Estate 2B Cross Country 3B Classifieds 4B Public Notices 5B-6B Football Contest 7B Meeker SWCD 8B All Conference Runners, Page 3B emotion of oral histories to add first-hand knowledge, to fill in gaps, and to add nuance, subtleties, and insight. While written records – newspapers, photographs, documents, minutes, records, etc. – are important to history, you can’t ask a piece of paper what they felt about Pearl Harbor, noted Nelson. You have to ask a person who remembers that infamous day. Titling in talk, “Illuminating the Shadows of the Past: The Role of Oral History in Making Local History Come Alive,” Nelson paraphrased famed documentarian Ken Burns with the theme: “Ordinary people…extraordinary lives.” Doing oral histories requires training volunteers to ask questions while recording the interviews audibly (i.e. tape recorder) and visually (i.e. video recorder). He suggested numerous areas, or themes, for an oral history project: including churches, schools, businesses, organizations, recreation and leisure, health and medicine, government and politics, technology, etc. Virtually any topic can be the subject of an oral history project, according to Nelson. HISTORIES – see page 7 News Briefs SADD seeks safe driving pledges Support the SADD Chapter at Paynesville High School by making a pledge to drive safe at www.celebratemydrive.com from Wednesday, Oct. 15, to Friday, Oct. 24. Make the 2N2 pledge – two eyes on the road, two hands on the wheel – daily during that period, as the SADD Chapter tries to earn one of the top prizes from State Farm: a $25,000 grant, a $100,000 grant, or a private concert with the Band Perry. Submitted Photos Scott Steil of Richmond, whose wife Lisa works as a physical therapist at CentraCare Health – Paynesville, brought his staterecord pumpkin (in the front of the trailer) to show on Monday, Oct. 13. Above, Koronis Manor resident Margaret Lundquist examined his record pumpkin, which weighed 1,873 pounds at the Stillwater Harvest Festival on Saturday, Oct. 11, topping the state record of 1,779 pounds. (According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world record for a pumpkin is 2,009 pounds.) Steil also brought his giant squash (also in truck), a giant field pumpkin (at right), and a 210-pound watermelon to Paynesville. FFA chapter to hold Corn Drive The Paynesville Area FFA chapter tentatively plans to hold their Corn Drive in the local area on Monday, Oct. 27, from 12 noon to 3:15 p.m. (5 p.m. for members who wish to collect donations longer. The drive may be expedited or delayed due to harvesting and weather conditions. FFA members will drive to local farms and agribusinesses to collect corn or cash donations. Wet corn will be accepted. Fifty percent of the proceeds will support Camp Courage, 25 percent will support FFA senior scholarships, and 25 percent will support the FFA chapter. Trick-or-treaters invited downtown Families are invited to dress up and visit downtown Paynesville for free trick-or -treating on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 12 noon to 3 p.m. Free photos will be available at Sheri’s Studio from noon to 3 p.m. Look for the pumpkin sign in the window of downtown businesses. SCHOOL BOARD Paynesville officially joins Central Minnesota Paynesville accepted into Central Minnesota Conference By Michael Jacobson Paynesville has been officially accepted as a member of the Central Minnesota Conference. The Paynesville School Board approved applying for membership in the conference in August and learned last week – at their meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14 – that they had been accepted by the seven remaining schools in the conference. Paynesville will start competing in the conference next year – in 2015-16. Rockford is leaving the Central Minnesota to join the larger Wright County Conference. Three things attracted Paynesville to apply to the CMC: the closer proximity of schools (35-mile one-way trips, on average, instead of 45 miles in the West Central Conference); more comparable school sizes; and a more stable conference. (This will be the first change in CMC membership since the 1990s.) Athletic director Max Meagher, having attended his first monthly AD meeting for the CMC, said he can see why the conference is so stable. Unlike the West Central Conference, they meet every month, not every season, and their meetings include an open forum where any AD can raise issues, he said. While the Central Minnesota Conference has some added features – All Academic teams, a conference speech meet, and junior high tourna- ments – Paynesville will need to find conference homes for its gymnastics and dance teams, sports that the CMC currently does not offer as a conference. In Other Business… •The board reviewed the district’s test scores with testing coordinator Dawn Knoll. (See story on Page 1.) •The board approved the district’s World’s Best Workforce plan. The goals of the plan, required by state law, are that: all children are ready for school; all third graders can read at grade level; all racial and economic achievement gaps between students are closed; all students are ready for career and college; and all students graduate from high school. There is no requirement to how detailed the district’s plan needs to be to reach these goals, superintendent Bob Huot told the school board. The plan must be reviewed periodically. •The board hired Danielle Leukam as the new school nurse, starting on Thursday, Oct. 23, replacing former school nurse Christine Kodet, who resigned. Leukam has a two-year registered nurse degree and is working on her four-year degree and her school nurse license. She will work on the support staff pay scale until she earns these degrees, when she will join the certified staff pay scale. •The board hired Sue Teicher as a program assistant for the PAWS program, which provides before- and after-school childcare. Numbers are growing in the new program, said Community Education director Matt Dickhausen. •The board approved the resignation of maintenance man Mike Kascht, effective on Friday, Oct. 24. •The board accepted the resignation of fitness center worker Jim Pastor, effective immediately. Pastor will still sub, said Dickhausen, but wants the flexibility to not have regular hours. •The board approved a PSEO tuition agreement with Alexandria Technical and Community College, where Paynesville will pay $189.76 per credit for its students, while continuing to keep state aid for these students. •The board approved facility-use agreements with the Minnesota State High School League in order to host Region 3A and Region 5A contests.