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Salute to Excellence, Page 2
• Geography Bee, Page 7 • Conference Champs, Page 1B
Paynesville
“Darkside,”
Page 6
Press
www.paynesvillearea.com
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Pinewood Derby,
Page 11
Volume 129, No. 4
Briefs
1975 BLIZZARD
Locals recall “the Storm of the Century”
Movement limited
to snowmobiles
by famous 1975
January blizzard
‘Warm Your Hearts Praise
Concert’ will be held on
Sunday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. in the
Paynesville Area Schools
auditorium. The concert will
feature uplifting music from
various local church choirs,
worship bands, and ensembles.
Ticket sales from this concert will benefit the local
foodshelf at the Paynesville
Community Service Center.
The center hopes to replenish
their needs after the holidays.
Tickets are $8 for adults, $7
for seniors, and $5 for students. Tickets are available at
the Paynesville Community
Education office, at Teal’s
Market, at Central Minnesota
Credit Union, at Bloom Coffee
and Floral, and at the door.
By Brian Haines
Minnesotans are exceptionally accustomed to winter
storms. Many remember the
Halloween blizzard of 1991,
and most have some knowledge of the Armistice Day
blizzard in 1940, but only one
storm is labeled as the Blizzard
of the Century. In January
1975, residents of Paynesville
felt the full effect of Mother
Nature when close to two feet
of snow and 20-foot high drifts
brought Paynesville to a sudden halt.
It’s been referred to as the
Super Bowl blizzard, and it
ranks high on the list of
Minnesota’s worst snow
storms. “It seems like we used
to get more snow back then,”
said longtime resident Harold
Fangmeier, as he was about to
go out and clear a dusting of
snow from his driveway. “It
just doesn’t seem like we get as
much these days.”
Called the worst blizzard
since 1888, the “Storm of the
Century” dumped 18 inches of
snow on Paynesville and saw
wind gusts up to 70 mph. With
a statewide death toll of 14, the
storm sticks in the memories
of those who witnessed it firsthand. “It was the worst storm
I’ve ever seen, even worse than
1940,” said another longtime
Paynesville resident Harlan
Beek, who witnessed the
storm’s full fury. “It took days
for people to dig out; it started
out as a light but wet snow,
then it really blew hard on
Friday and Saturday.”
The snow began to fall on
Thursday, Jan. 9, 1975, and did
Concert to raise
funds for foodshelf
PAHS to hold
annual Sweetfest
Press File Photo
In the aftermath of “the Storm of the Century” in January 1975, Paynesville residents had to dig out from 15-foot snow drifts,
left by 18 inches of snow and 70-mph winds. Some rural residents were without power for 30 hours.
not subside until Sunday.
Schools closed early on
Thursday (and remained
closed on Friday). “They said
the buses couldn’t get any further. When I saw the bus pull
into our driveway, I was afraid
that I was going to have a
house full of kids for the weekend,” said Marlene Christle,
who was living on a rural
farm south of Paynesville at
the time. “Luckily they were
able to get all the kids in our
neighborhood home. I don’t
know what I would have done
with all those kids.”
As the weekend dawned, the
wind began to blow with full In the wake of the storm, snowmobiles (shown at the high school, atop another large snowdrift) were used for transportation and by the police to patrol the city streets.
BLIZZARD– see page 3
SAUK RIVER
Paynesville Area High
School will hold its annual
Sweetfest coronation on
Friday, Feb. 13, at approximately 2 p.m. A dance will be
held that evening from 9 to 11
p.m. Senior Sweetfest candidates are Heather Arnold,
Breanne Ashton, Brooke
Caldwell, Trent Gertken,
Hayden Hengel, Shelby Rue,
Brandon Schleper, Lexi
Skoglund, Mitchell Weidner,
and Anthony Wendlandt.
Winter parking ban
in effect in city
The overnight parking ban
on all city streets is in effect.
The parking ban on residential streets started on Saturday,
Nov. 1, and will last until the
end of March. On all residential streets, the overnight
parking ban starts at 1 a.m.
and lasts until 6 a.m.
On downtown streets, the
year-round parking ban starts
at 3 a.m. and lasts until 6 a.m.
Fines are $10 for the first and
second offenses and $25 for
additional offenses.
MPCA looking for comments on watershed restoration
MPCA report
summarizes
scientific studies
about watershed
The Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency (MPCA) is
seeking comments on a watershed restoration and protection report for the Sauk River
Watershed. The report, known
as a Watershed Restoration
and Protection Strategy
(WRAPS), summarizes moni-
toring and water quality
improvement projects completed over the past several
years and identifies strategies
necessary to restore and protect the Sauk River Watershed.
A public comment period
began on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and
continues through Thursday,
Feb. 19.
The Sauk River Watershed
begins just outside of
Alexandria, with Lake Osakis,
and includes the cities of Sauk
Centre, Melrose, and Cold
Spring. In this area, it includes
the cities of Eden Valley,
Roscoe, and Richmond and the
Sauk River Chain of Lakes,
including the connected Vails
Lake, Eden Lake, Brown’s
Lake, and Long Lake.
The Sauk River drains into
the Mississippi River near St.
Cloud.
Required by the state Clean
Water Legacy Act, a Watershed
Restoration and Protection
Strategy summarizes scientific studies of a major watershed including the physical,
chemical, and biological
assessment of the water quality; identification of impairments and water bodies in
need of protection; identifica-
tion of biotic stressors and
sources of pollution; and proposed strategies and actions
designed to achieve and maintain water quality standards
and goals.
The draft report is available
on the Sauk River Watershed
webpage or at the St. Paul
MPCA office, 520 Lafayette
Road N. Comments may be
submitted to Scott Lucas,
MPCA, 7678 College Road,
Baxter, MN 56425, or by e-mail
to scott.lucas@state.mn.us, by
4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19.
For more information, call
Lucas at 218-316-3874 or toll-
free at 800-657-3864.
Written comments must
include (1) a statement of your
interest in the draft WRAPS
report; (2) a statement of the
action you wish the MPCA to
take, including specific references to sections of the draft
WRAPS that you believe
should be changed; and (3) specific reasons supporting your
position.
More information on all of
Minnesota’s 81 major watersheds is available at the MPCA
watershed webpage (www.pca.
state.mn.us/jsrie74).
AIS TRAINING
Effective July 1, state
law requires training
for boat trailers
Movement to alter
– or repeal – AIS
required training
alive at capitol
By Brian Haines
DNR Photo
By July 1, 2015, the DNR will require new AIS training for boat trailers, with a special decal to
afix to the trailer. To prevent the spread of AIS, such as Eurasian watermilfoil, state law also
requires that boat owners remove all vegetation from their trailer when leaving the water.
It’s a familiar scene on Lake
Koronis every summer, hundreds of boaters enjoying one
of Minnesota’s beautiful
lakes. However, in recent
years a new menace has
emerged on Minnesota lakes
and rivers. Aquatic invasive
species (AIS), particularly
zebra mussels, are posing a
serious threat to the Land of
10,000 Lakes.
Effective July 1, 2015, the
State of Minnesota is scheduled to have a new law to
address the spread of AIS.
After that date, any person
trailering watercraft in the
state must take a mandated
training course and complete
a test on the dangers of AIS.
Upon completion, boaters
will be given a decal to be
placed on their trailers, being
visible to AIS inspectors and
conservation officers.
TRAINING– see page 11
$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 2015 •
Two Sections
Index
Blotter
2
Corrections
2
Salute to Excellence
2
1975 Blizzard
3
This Week in History
3
Viewpoint
4
Here’s What I Think
5
History Column
5
Weather
5
Business Brief
6
One-Act Play Preview
6
Way Back When
6
Foster Grandparents
7
Geography Bee
7
School News
7
Under the Big Green Roof 8
Community Events
9
What’s Cookin’
9
Entertainment
10
Dorian Festival
11
Pinewood Derby
11
Wrestling Salute
12
Sports
1B, 3B, 7B, & 8B
Real Estate
2B
Basketball
3B
Classifieds
4B
Public Notices
5B-7B
Gymnastics
8B