1 - Thief River Falls Times & Northern Watch

Saturday, June 29, 2013 NORTHERN WATCH Page 5
Animals I've known
This column has begun as
most do for me - with a feline
assist. Magoo has positioned
himself in front of the screen
and is fast asleep. He is one
of my best friends and more
like a child to me than a pet.
He is one of many animals I
have known.
I am a farm kid, I grew up
on a dairy farm. I know most
farms are more about tractors
and land, but animals
once were such an integral
part of farm life. I was a
member of 4-H and as such
would exhibit a dairy animal
at the fair. I loved my cattle
and named them after characters
from the 70s television
series “Charlies
Angels.” This sample of my
personal history is a bit
weird, but was my expression
of adoration and should
be seen as a compliment to
both the cattle and the
“Angels” for which they were
named.
Buddy was the first dog
that I ever owned that did
not end up staying with my
parents. Buddy was my closest
friend through some very
hard times. It was a friendship
that ended with his
death when run over by a
train. I think Buddy's death
made me stingy with my
friendship and careful about
how much of my heart I
would give away. He left
such an imprint that I still
occasionally dream about
him two decades later.
Rudy replaced Buddy and
was the perfect animal to
chase off bad memories. He
gave away love like his life
depended on it. He groaned
when you petted him,
groaned when you hugged
(Continued from Page 1)
much more than historical
value to the Thief River
Falls hockey community.
Faye Auchenpaugh questioned
why none of the
options included an estimate
to make the auditorium comply
with the Americans with
Disabilities Act. She asked if
it would be feasible to attach
the courthouse and auditorium,
which would make the
auditorium meet some
accessibility requirements.
Commissioner Oliver
“Skip” Swanson said attaching
the buildings was looked
at, but there would be so
much ramping that it wouldn’t
be practical.
Bryan Malone asked if
the county had looked at
combining a couple options
to improve the auditorium
and construct an addition.
Schwartzman replied that
it’s more space than the
county needs. “If the county
were to spend it (roughly
$9.9 million to make the
Arena ADA-compliant and
construct a courthouse addition),
they’d be upgrading
for a gymnasium,” he added.
Carol Ihle asked how
much square footage the
county needs. Could Human
Services’ needs be met by
remodeling just the lower
level of the City Auditorium?
Schwartzman said
Human Services is currently
crammed into 8,000 square
feet, when it really needs
about 14,000. The lower
level of the City Auditorium
would provide about 7,000
usable square feet and the
sides of the main level would
add an additional 3,000 to
4,000 square feet. He added
that the space would be too
divided.
Thief River Falls Amateur
Hockey Association Board
Member Tony Dorn stated
that TRFAHA is not in favor
of the Old Arena becoming a
parking lot. He said the Old
Arena is used for 500 hours
of games and open hockey
each year.
“This gives our kids a
chance to get ice time
instead of going to 6 a.m.
practice,” Dorn said.
Dorn added that Thief
River Falls hosts seven to
eight tournaments each season
and infuses between
$250,000 and $300,000 into
the local economy. The Old
Arena is used as a competition
site during these tournaments
and Dorn promised
that demolishing the ice
arena will have a negative
Rural
Reflections
Grant Nelson
The comments published in this column are intended to
stimulate thinking and discussion among our readers. They are
written by independent columnists and do not represent the
opinion of the staff or management of The Times/Northern Watch.
him and groaned when he
sat next to me in the pickup.
His sister was a little
Husky-cross named Muffin.
Muffin was one of those
quiet types who wanted little,
concentrated slices of my
time and love. She was the
type of dog who would show
up at the door of my project
garage late at night when I
couldn't sleep. Ending
Muffin's life and her pain
was a lesson in mercy and
selflessness. It was a time I
can remember in my mind
and relive through the reaction
it creates in my body.
In the Michelangelo
painting, “The Creation of
Adam,” there is a depiction
of God reaching out to
Adam. I realize the name
should explain the painting,
but the best part of art is
that its interpretation is left
to the viewer. When I see the
painting, I see Adam reaching
back to God showing his
faith that Adam realizes
God is love's source. I have
read in the Bible that we
should manage our relationships
in the way that God
conducts his relationship
with us. At times later in the
evening, I crash on the
couch to watch television
and our cat Twitch will join
me. He likes to settle in and
partially close his beautiful
eyes. As he becomes sleepy,
Twitch will reach out and
scratch me until I hold his
tiny paw. In these times,
Twitch has trust in me that I
love him and I do not fail his
faith. As his little, pink pads
disappear inside my larger
paw, we complete the contract
of love and faith among
living things and simply fall
to sleep.
Historic buildings discussed
effect on the local economy.
Commissioner Darryl
Tveitbakk said the Building
Committee would like to
meet with TRFAHA officers
face to face to discuss the
future of the Old Arena. He
added that the County
Board has not made any
decisions at this point.
Also representing TRFA-
HA was Tim Benedict and
Tom Goddard. Benedict
asked Schwartzman and the
County Board what the procedure
would be to move forward.
Schwartzman added that
the primary concern is the
courthouse and City
Auditorium’s aging mechanical
systems.
Goddard asked if the
County Board had given consideration
as to where to put
a new ice sheet.
“You can’t cram 500 hours
into two ice sheets,”
Goddard said, adding that
the city can’t even find a spot
for a church or apartment
complex. “People are begging
to build in the city.”
A variety of improvements
have been made to
the Old Arena since it
opened in 1936. Among
those improvements are the
addition of artificial ice, a
Zamboni on site, and an
addition on the south end of
the building.
Dorn said his organization
knows there are more
improvements to be made. If
there were a timeline,
TRFAHA would react to it.
Peterson asked the TRFA-
HA representatives when it
would be more cost-effective
to move on, rather than put
money into the Old Arena.
Benedict said the arena is
hardly costing taxpayers
anything. If it goes away, it
will cost the hockey community
a couple million dollars
to build a new one.
Dorn brought up the possibility
of TRFAHA owning
the Old Arena. He feels
TRFAHA would step up and
make the necessary
improvements.
When discussion returned
to the future of the City
Auditorium, Reid Froiland
said he is disappointed in
the lack of a sixth option
that would connect the
courthouse and City
Auditorium. He also took
issue with Schwartzman’s
comment that improving the
auditorium would essentially
be upgrading for a gymnasium.
Froiland said right now
Civil trial from Crookston begins
(Continued from Page 1)
months in prison with credit
for time served for his role in
stealing the squad car and
causing the crash. He was
injured in the accident.
Attorney Jon Iverson,
representing Rasicot and the
city, noted that Rasicot was
responding to a 911 call
prior to the accident. He said
Mello fought with officers
and overcame two tasers
and pepper spray. He said
the officers were assaulted,
Mello got into the squad car
and the accident occurred
one-and-a-half miles later.
Marben heard the oral
arguments in Pennington
County District Court. The
case is a Polk County case;
however, due to Marben’s
schedule, he heard the arguments
in Pennington
County.
At the end of the hearing,
Marben gave Iverson 14
days to file an affidavit
regarding whether there
was a policy and procedure
manual for police officers in
effect at the time of the
crash.
During the hearing,
Iverson noted that he was
asking the court to dismiss
all claims made by Briggs
and grant a summary judgment.
Those claims included
intentional infliction of emotional
damage and distress,
wrongful death and negligence.
With regard to the latter
claim, Iverson said Rasicot
was entitled to a dismissal
as municipalities and officers
are immune from suit.
He said municipalities are
only liable if they have
assumed a special duty to
the plaintiff. Iverson cited
three cases, stating municipalities
don’t have a special
duty to prevent a third party
from committing a tort.
Iverson indicated that circumstances
are different for
police officers in terms of
leaving keys in an ignition.
He said responding to emergency
situations creates a
the county is offering an
amenity that would be lost if
the auditorium were demolished
or remodeled into
office space.
While the majority of
audience members who
spoke did so in favor of keeping
one or both buildings, a
few had no problem stating
that they had no problem
seeing the buildings go
away.
Ron Kalinoski said the
City Auditorium could be
torn down. Kalinoski said he
invested in the restorations
of the Soo Line Depot and
Carnegie Library, but feels
enough is enough.
“Basically, I feel it should
be torn down,” Kalinoski
said. “I know St. Bernard’s
uses it and I’m Catholic, so I
hope I’m not struck down.
It’s obsolete and we have
enough old, restored buildings.”
Kalinoski continued, saying
that the building is
expensive to heat and an
addition to the courthouse,
with a centrally-located elevator,
would move the county
into the 21st century.
Gene Kauppila countered
Kalinoski’s feelings, and
noted that School District
564 has invested money into
improving its buildings. “All
of these buildings take
upkeep,” he said, promising
that the City Auditorium
will outlast the school district’s
buildings.
The discussion briefly
turned to the unlikely possibility
of building a new government
center.
Schwartzman estimated the
cost of a new courthouse
with comparable space to
the existing courthouse and
proposed addition would cost
$10 to $15 million.
“If the county were to go
to its taxpayers and say
we’re looking to build a new
government center at $10 to
$15 million, the taxpayers
would say ‘Why aren’t you
using these existing buildings?’”
Schwartzman said.
Auchenpaugh suggested
that both buildings could be
protected as historical landmarks.
If they are recognized
as such by the
Minnesota Historical
Society, they could receive
grant money to help with
restoration.
Schwartzman said could
see the Auditorium being
recognized as a historical
landmark due to its art deco
qualities, but he’s not sure
about the Old Arena.
Commissioner Don
Jensen said the County
Board does not plan on make
an immediate decision. He
said written comments may
be submitted to the County
Board.
In addition to TRFAHA,
the Building Committee is
planning to meet individually
with tenants of both the
Old Arena and City
Auditorium.
Nothing to neigh about
(Continued from Page 1)
state's horse industry
through education, funding,
communication and promotion
of horse-related activities.
Miller said she requested
and received a grant for
$6,000. With the help of the
local Sentence-to-Serve crew
and LaVerne Hamre, past
president of the Fair Board,
and a grounds and maintenance
superintendent, the
improvement was recently
completed. She said the
total cost is around $6,500.
Miller said she went
through ProBuild locally to
obtain a maintenance-free
vinyl rail system from Jam
Systems.
She said it looks great
and is really excited about
the cleaned up arena and
generating more interset in
horse shows.
In recent years, Miller
need for discretion by a
police officer. He specifically
referred to a case in which
officers were entitled to
immunity unless their
actions were willful and
malicious. He said Briggs
wasn’t saying Rasicot’s
actions were willful and
malicious but was saying
Rasicot’s actions were negligent.
Iverson further indicated
law enforcement officers
have the privilege of not
obeying driving statutes
while operating emergency
vehicles in an emergency situation.
Marben asked Iverson
whether it would make a difference
if the city of
Crookston had a specific
manual for officers regarding
the keys being taken out
of an ignition while responding
to a call.
Iverson replied yes and
later said that Briggs’ attorney
shouldn’t be able to have
some limited discovery
regarding department policy.
He said the police chief
indicated there was no policy
in place at the time of the
crash regarding keys in an
ignition and Rasicot couldn’t
violate the policy if there
were no policy.
Iverson noted there was a
Crookston city ordinance
against leaving keys in ignitions.
However, he referred
to three cases in which the
courts stated that officers
were entitled to immunity
since there were no special
policies in place at the time.
He referred to Christensen v.
Kandiyohi County in which
a suspect was placed in the
backseat of a squad car with
a canine that had never bitten
anyone in the past.
However, the canine bit the
suspect. The particular
department had no policy
regarding placing suspects
in the backseat of a squad
car with a canine.
Briggs’ attorney, Tatum
O’Brien Lindbo, said Iverson
seems to disregard ministe-
believes the economy and
lack of opportunities has
had an impact on interest in
raising and showing horses.
In the near future, she hopes
to make more use of the
Pennington County horse
arena by conducting more
horse shows. Currently, she
said there are arenas only in
Grand Forks, N.D., Middle
River, Roseau and Bemidji,
which limits the opportunity,
in this economy, for horse
enthusiasts to participate in
activities.
Miller thanked the Fair
Board for its support. In the
near future, she said she
hopes to get a new speaker
system at the arena and
horse barn.
The 112th Pennington
County Fair will be July 17-
21 at the Fairgrounds in
Thief River Falls.
rial function. She said
Rasicot had a duty to follow
the law and ministerial
function trumps immunity.
She said it wasn’t a discretionary
function.
(Ministerial function is a
function that complies with
a procedure and is completed
without an individual
using his or her own judgment
to complete it.)
O’Brien Lindbo cited a
Minnesota Court of Appeals
decision in Nelson v.
Wreckers Service Inc. In
that case, an employee and
his employer, Wrecker
Services Inc., disputed the
trial court’s summary judgment
of immunity for the
city of Minneapolis and a
Minneapolis police officer.
The officer was a passenger
in a squad car driven by a
second officer, Gary Nelson,
who was injured in the
crash.
O’Brien Lindbo said that
state statute governs emergency
vehicles traveling
through red semaphores.
She noted the officers have a
ministerial duty to activate
the siren and lights on a
squad car while responding
to an emergency situation.
O’Brien Lindbo indicated
the Court of Appeals found
that a trial court had erroneously
allowed the officer
immunity in the aforementioned
case. In that case, she
noted, the Court of Appeals
determined that the trial
court erred by granting the
officer immunity before factual
disputes were resolved.
Marben asked O’Brien
Lindbo whether one officer
should be entitled to officer
immunity if another city,
such as Thief River Falls,
didn’t have an ordinance
The Survivors Network of
those Abused by Priests has
announced that a former
Greenbush priest is one step
closer to extradition to face
charges of first degree criminal
sexual conduct in
Roseau County.
Citing a news report in
India, SNAP indicated that
the Madras high court
upheld Joseph Palanivel
Jeyapaul’s arrest. The court
found that Jeyapaul’s detention
couldn’t be deemed illegal
or unlawful.
Jeyapaul, now 57, served
Blessed Sacrament Catholic
Church in Greenbush from
about October 2004 until
September 2005. He is
accused of sexually assaulting
Megan Peterson at the
church and rectory multiple
times in 2004. Peterson, a
Thief River Falls resident,
spoke publicly about the
incident during a news conference
after she had
reached a $750,000 settlement
with the Diocese of
Crookston in 2011.
One allegation involved
Peterson, who had hoped to
become a nun. The other
1100-10155-1341 Rev. 6/13
against keys not being left in
ignitions.
O’Brien Lindbo replied
that she supposed that
would be true in theory. She
said she hadn’t researched
state statutes regarding
keys left in ignitions. She
said she looked at the law of
the city of Crookston since
Rasicot is an officer there.
She said he certainly had a
ministerial duty.
O’Brien Lindbo said the
Court of Appeals case didn’t
determine that ministerial
duties trumped immunity
since there was no evidence
that Nelson had engaged the
squad car’s siren and lights
before that accident.
Marben questioned
whether O’Brien Lindbo was
confident there wasn’t a policy
or procedure in
Crookston.
O’Brien Lindbo noted that
she had no idea whether
there was a policy since the
only allowable evidence for
this hearing was from the
criminal matter. She noted
the plea hearing in the criminal
case failed to confirm
the existence of a policy.
O’Brien Lindbo also indicated
that the court wasn’t
allowed to look at facts outside
of the complaint given
the type of hearing before
the court at this time.
Iverson replied that the
two sides would be right
back in court for a motion for
a summary judgment if
O’Brien Lindbo were granted
additional time for discovery.
He said such a policy
would be public data, and
the police chief said there
was no such policy. He said
he didn’t want to tie the
hands of officers responding
to emergency situations.
Court rules former priest’s
detention isn’t illegal
allegation involved another
girl, who remains anonymous.
Jeyapaul hasn’t been
charged criminally for the
allegation involving the second
girl.
Later, Peterson told a
Greenbush-Middle River
High School guidance counselor,
who reported it to
authorities in October 2006.
The following March,
Jeyapaul was charged in
Roseau County District
Court with two counts of
first degree criminal sexual
conduct for abusing
Peterson.
Jeyapaul returned to
India in 2005 to visit his ailing
mother. He was arrested
March 16, 2012, in India and
has been jailed there ever
since that time.
According to news
reports, Jeyapaul’s sister
had asked the court to let
him go. She stated there was
a delay in his appearance
before a Delhi court following
his arrest and he would
be illegally detained if he
continued to remain in custody.
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