July 12, 2007
Stories on the Front Page
Seniors housing plan withdrawn by developers
by Jon Kerr
After nearly four years of controversy and debate with neighbors, Mary T. has pulled the plug on the Margaret Place Senior Apartments.
In a letter dated June 26 to city officials, Mary Tjosvold - CEO of Coon Rapids, Minn.- based Mary T. Inc. - announced the end to the $7 million proposal for 51 units at the corner of Court and Oak streets.
"At this time I believe it is time for us to forego our plans for development of an apartment for seniors in Prescott," wrote Tjosvold. "We are sorry for the disappointment of seniors who looked forward to living in this congregate living environment as well as the senior center space that we would be providing. Currently we are looking at putting the building and land up for sale."
The letter gained little response from city council members at their July 9 meeting, with only Mayor Mike Hunter inquiring whether there were any signs up yet indicating the property sale.
But signs of the decision had been coming for months according to City Zoning Administrator Jayne Brand, who had been part of negotiations which bogged down over details of service and developer's agreements.
"It's been so long coming and we'd discussed it at several meetings," she said. "So I think the city council and planning commission really weren't totally surprised."
Indeed, the Margaret Place Apartments may have been effectively scuttled well over a year ago when council members backed the proposal but included requirements that aimed to meet concerns of neighbors over the project's long term direction - but which may have served as a poison pill when initially accepted by Mary T. Inc.
Tjosvold now says the requirements doomed its feasibility. Contacted by telephone she objected in particular to provisions that limited the amount of health services residents could receive and another that would have required Mary Inc. reimburse the city for any legal costs incurred from litigation by project opponents.
"You can't open yourself up to that kind of thing," she said, noting that her attorneys refusal was matched by insistence from city legal staff. "It didn't feel like there was going to be any movement."
Equally troubling to Tjosvold were limitations of service delivery to senior residents of no more than 28 hours a week - a demand of opponents who argued that allowing more services would also allow Margaret Place to become yet another nursing home.
But Mary T. Inc. sought more flexible standards in order to meet the needs of residents for a variety of health care while still living independently, she said.
"What worked in 1980 doesn't work in 2000," said Tjosvold. "People are older now when they come to a place like Margaret Place from their homes. They need more services."
She further questioned the very idea of city involvement in determining the extent of health services at the project.
"I've never had a development that got into programming," said Tjosvold. "Usually they're about financial issues."
But Brand disagreed, pointing to the Town Centre project and other examples of city involvement in details of development agreements.
"It's not unusual. We get pretty specific sometimes in development agreements," she said, agreeing however that in this case the details may have been largely dictated by project opponents. "That coalition was so organized and knew exactly what they wanted. I think that's what happened that the Council wrote in their concerns."
Tjosvold insists that Mary T. had already responded in numerous ways to concerns of neighbors and the City Council including site changes, reduction in number of apartments, and a market study that she says proved Prescott needed Margaret Place.
"We spent a lot of time and money moving it around and changing it. We wanted to be a part of the community," she said.
But now it appears that will not be the case, with Tjosvold saying she is "95 percent certain" of the project's demise.
"Of course you always hope something might change and it might happen. ...And I know we had seniors in our villas (Maria's Villas) who were really looking forward to moving in," she said. "But it doesn't look like it's meant to be."
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Condon has first hearing
by Jon Kerr
Shackled by the ankles and wearing jail fatigues, Prescott resident Michael Condon Sr., 45, sat through initial courtroom arguments and a June 10 viewing of computer images that law enforcement officials believe will merit him felony convictions for possession of child pornography.
Pierce County District Attorney John O'Boyle displayed six images of nude or semi-nude young girls found by police investigators on a laptop used by Condon. Prescott Police investigator Rob Funk testified that Condon told him in an interview that he had seen and deleted child pornographic images from the computer.
But Condon's attorney Liesl Nelson argued that viewing
and deleting images is not meet the legal definition of "possession."
Other members of the family - some of whom sat through the hearing - also
had access to the laptop, she noted.
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Helicopter training shows LifeLink III connection to save lives
by Erik Anderson
In a visit that included the touchdown of a LifeLink III helicopter, representatives from the LifeLink III ambulance service provided a hands-on in-service to members of the Prescott Fire and Emergency Medical Services departments.
The in-service was designed to both demonstrate the benefits of an air ambulance and give guidelines on how and when to request and safely utilize the air transportation service for patients.
LifeLink III, is a Twin Cities based ambulance service that utilizes both ground transportation and air transportation methods to transport patients in need of hospital-level care to one of it's six member hospitals: Hennepin County Medical Center, Regions, St. Cloud, Fairview, Children's and Allina hospitals.
The service has been in the area for over 20 years and is now in the midst of expansion.
Starting with two helicopters, LifeLink III now operates four helicopters, one of those is based out of New Richmond.
"We find that a lot of our calls and patients come
out of western Wisconsin," said Dominic Ehman, a Registered Nurse with
LifeLink III, who led part of the program. He said with the base in New
Richmond, a LifeLink III helicopter with its pilot, flight nurse and a paramedic,
could arrive in Prescott in less than 15 minutes after being called.
Ehman said the purpose of requesting a LifeLink III helicopter would be to get the patient to an advanced level of care faster.
"We can get to Regions within 10 minutes (of leaving Prescott), where an ambulance could take a half-hour," he said. "(An ambulance) could take even longer depending on what time of day and traffic. It could be an hour."
Ehman added that a flight nurse and paramedic travel with the helicopter to respond to the call.
LifeLink III air ambulance landed in Prescott, Monday as part of an exercise with city EMS staff. Photo by Erik Anderson. |
Much of the inservice concerned requesting a LifeLink III helicopter, including when to request the service, how to request the service and how to set up a landing zone near the location.
"We can only help you if we arrive safely," Ehman said, stressing the importance of creating a safe and secure landing zone for the helicopter.
Besides Ehman and the helicopter crew, Bob Rhiel a flight medic with LifeLink III and Susan Ehman, Dominic's wife, a flight and trama nurse with LifeLink III and a trama nurse clinician at Regions were present at the in-service.
Prescott Fire Chief and Emergency Medical Services Director Bill Dravis said the training was productive for his team.
"Helicopter transports are something we do and the bottom line is safety," Dravis said. "Anytime we can get training for safety, it's productive."
Dravis added that his team was able to get a better feel for how the LifeLink III service works in a training situation rather than in an emergency situation.
"I've known these people for years," Dravis said. "They are almost an extension of Prescott EMS."
Pierce County has utilized the LifeLink III service 19 times last year and six times this year.
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New business walks and wags on your pet needs
by Jon Kerr
Candiss DelCastillo is nothing if not dogged. With her 14-year-old daughter and assistant Michelle at her side, Prescott's newest business owner determinedly sets out to win over her latest clients - both man and dog.
Panzer - a German Shorthair Pointer - turns out to be largely a pussycat. And truth be told, owner Greg Gamache is also an agreeable listener and learner. But DelCastillo does have to overcome some hurdles in showing how using dog psychology to change behavior can benefit both.
"I don't want to train a lot of stuff out of her," said Gamache early on, explaining that Panzer is a hunting dog. "I don't want her walking right beside me all the time and things like that which take away from her natural instincts."
But DelCastillo is undeterred as she analyzes the dog's quirks, including sometimes excessive barking, a dislike of delivery persons and an aversion to water.
"When I was younger I was very successful with dog obedience and I still think its good to have basic manners," she said. "But every dog was bred for a reason and a purpose and we want to keep that purpose even as we help them learn how to fit in. ...You want to show her you are the pack leader. They really want that - to be rid of that burden."
Being an animal - and human - psychologist is part of the job description for DelCastillo even though it is not officially listed on the price list for Walks & Wags Pet Service. But as a believer and student of Ceasar Millan approaches - National Geographic's "Dog Whisperer" - she weaves her learnings into all activities but especially dog behavior / modification sessions which are currently running at the very affordable rate of $35 for a 90 minute session.
More basic services include dog walks - $9 for 15 minutes, or $13 for 30 minutes - and pet sitting in homes at $15 for a single visit for dogs or $10 for cats. Repeat visits and additional services are available at scaled rates. The visits include a walk and auxiliary benefits such as picking up mail, adjusting blinds, shades or lighting to make the home appear lived in.
DelCastillo stresses the health benefits to the animal, which she notes is greatly aided by the stress-relief of regular walks that can head off annoying, destructive and even dangerous behaviors in dogs. Similarly, she promotes pet sitting or home visits as an alternative to kennel stays which can result in trauma to the animal or possible exposure to illness or disease from other animals.
Michelle plays a valuable role in the Walks and Wags as the walker and roller-blade runner with dogs. The psychological aspects of her service are more clearly the focus of her mother, Candiss. She is also planning to offer classes to groups in the Hudson to Hastings area - including through Prescott community education.
"It's amazing what can be done to make a dog feel more balanced," she said, sounding like she could be describing humans. "Actually a lot of this is training for the owners so that they can troubleshoot behavior."
Working with Panzer, DelCastillo quickly assures that none of her planned activities will do more than augment the dog's natural instincts. She quickly tells Gamache to always lead the dog out the door as a first sign that he is the pack leader.
"She loves you. She needs you. But there's an element of respect missing," said DelCastillo, who also teaches a control technique of leading Panzer on a leash high over her head. "She's actually much happier that way."
The walk itself is relatively uneventful.
"She's doing really good. She's not nearly as whacked out as most of the dogs we deal with," said DelCastillo of Panzer. "I don't really talk much on walks anyway. They do so much based on your energy."
More interesting is Panzer's encounter with a sprinkler. The dog's efforts to avoid the water runs head on into DelCastillo's own firm insistence that she follow her lead.
"We don't want to scare her or make her tense up too much so her brain locks up," she said of Panzer. "But you need to address their fears because fears can turn into phobias."
It is a psychological approach that carries over into other dog behaviors such as aggressiveness with other animals, added DelCastillo.
"A lot of people try to keep their dogs inside or strictly chained up," she said. "But it's more important than ever to walk and get that energy drained so they can learn to socialize."
DelCastillo's tactics with Panzer - and the generous usage of several dog biscuits - eventually pay off as the German Shorthair soon learns to find his way through at least some narrow streams of sprinkler water.
"This is way better than she's ever done," says Gamache with excitement at Panzer's improvement.
"If you are committed to keep working with her she'll learn to handle this in a few days," said DelCastillo with a laugh and a bit of final advice. "A balanced dog is a happy dog."
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School district adds up Pre-K options
by Erik Anderson
Citing educational benefits but also hoping for a financial windfall, Prescott School Board members are looking to create a kindergarten program for four-year-olds. In addition to offering earlier learning opportunities to students the pre-kindergarten program would boost the financially-strapped district's state funding, as pre-kindergarten students would be included in the district's enrollment count - boosting the dollars that Prescott would receive from the State of Wisconsin.
But successfully implementing this win-win program might be trickier than it originally seemed, as board members learned at their June 26 meeting.
Malone Elementary School principal Scott Halverson said the main challenge for the district's plans is that Prescott schools lack space for additional students and also lack funding to hire additional teachers.
"We don't want it at our school. We don't have space and we don't want to build (more space)," said Halverson. "I hope the day never comes where our school has to house any four-year-olds."
Instead, district plans for the program include collaboration between community child-care centers and area schools.
Halverson said qualified child-care centers would host the program, hiring certified teachers and providing the classroom space.
"We feel children will have a better start in schools, with this program," he said.
Three other school districts in Pierce county already have pre-kindergarten programs, - Elmwood, Pepin and Plum City - with others soon to follow as River Falls is currently in the process of implementing one. None of those districts however, have community hosted programs. Students are instead taught at district-run locations with district employed teachers.
How Pre-K Will Work
New pre-kindergarten programs have been introduced all over the state after the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction recently renewed funding for the programs in 1984.
Halverson said those numbers have jumped considerably in the last 10 years, starting at 61 school districts hosting the programs in 1996 and jumping to 257 school districts hosting programs in 2006.
Halverson said that number was over half the school districts in the state of Wisconsin. Additionally, 200 of those districts host pre-kindergarten programs in their school building.
Halverson said that leaves only 57 school districts that have community hosted pre-kindergarten programs.
"It's a unique thing, but they are out there," he said.
The school district is currently looking at creating a four-year-old kindergarten council to develop a master plan for how the program would run, with an anticipated starting date for the 2008-09 school year.
Three program options are supported by the DPI, the first hosts the program at district buildings with district teachers, the second has community partners host the program with district teachers instructing, while the third has the district contract with community partners to provide both the space and teachers for instruction.
"We don't have the space for us to offer a program," Halverson said of the reasons why the district chose to pursue the third option.
While a community hosted pre-kindergarten program may be unique for each community, Halverson said that helps the program meet each community's unique needs.
In contracting with the school district, community pre-kindergarten providers would have to maintain school district standards in curriculum, as well as maintain properly certified teachers.
The district would offer transportation to and from providers and compensate the providers for their expenses.
Halverson said the district could also provide advanced professional training to pre-kindergarten teachers hired by community providers.
He said he anticipated the cost for a community hosted pre-kindergarten program would be less than it would be for a similar program hosted by the district.
"The costs aren't as high in a private versus a public program," Halverson said. "I don't think it will cost a child-care center what it would cost us as a school district."
According to DPI consultant Jim McCoy, the rules for receiving funding for a pre-kindergarten program are fairly flexible. He said too many districts are concerned with questions of church and state separation, disagreements with teachers' unions or about pushing private providers out of business. He said those concerns were important, but by working together a community could find suitable agreements.
Benefits of Pre-K Program
Halverson said the advantages of an earlier education could not be overestimated for children.
He added that since education standards have moved into lower and lower grades, teachers have had to teach more at younger ages, making an earlier education needed. He said a pre-kindergarten program will help address those issues.
"What has been in first-grade has come down to kindergarten, what has been half-day kindergarten has come down to pre-kindergarten," he said. "It's good for kids and helps prepare them for kindergarten."
Patrick Gasper, a communications officer with the DPI cited findings summarized on the DPI's website as evidence of the benefits of an earlier education.
Those findings stated that Wisconsin pre-kindergarten students showed growth in all ten academic skills assessments with gains particularly noteworthy in students' ability to write their names and identify letters. Find
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