Gail Rasmussen, dressed as Dr. Seuss’ most popular character “The Cat in the Hat,” not only reads, but acts out the book Friday for Dawn Schindeldecker’s fifth grade class at Falls Elementary.
Jeff Hardwig reads Friday to first graders in Lisa Auran’s class three books he said had been recommended by teacher, and his wife, Mary Kay Hardwig, whose classroom is just down the hall at the school.
Koochiching County Sheriff Perryn Hedlund reads Dr. Seuss’ “Horton Hears a Who” to third-grade students in Paul Hjelle’s class.
People who regularly read get smarter and increase their vocabulary and test scores, Gail Rasmussen told fifth graders at Falls Elementary School Friday.
While that’s a good goal, she said reading is fun because it takes you to new places and allows you to meet new people.
Dressed as Dr. Seuss’ character “The Cat in The Hat,” Rasmussen celebrates Read Across America and Dr. Seuss Week each year with Falls Elementary students.
The reading initiative was recognized at the school Friday when dozens of community members came to the school to read books to classes at the school.
As former teacher Rasmussen met with Dawn Schindeldecker’s fifth grade class, she told the students all Dr. Seuss books teach a valuable lesson. Rasmussen read, of course, “The Cat in the Hat” and “The Hunter” by local author Mary Casanova.
Jeff Hardwig read to first graders in Lisa Auran’s class three books he said had been recommended by teacher, and his wife, Mary Kay Hardwig, whose classroom is just down the hall at the school.
The local psychiatrist read “Hooray for Fly Guy,” by Tedd Arnold; “A Hat for Minerva Louise,” by Janet Morgan Stocke; and “King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub,” by Audrey Wood and Don Wood.
Koochiching County Sheriff Perryn Hedlund read Dr. Seuss’ “Horton Hears a Who” to third-grade students in Paul Hjelle’s class, but the real work for the reader came after he closed the book and students questioned him about the job to which he was elected in November.
Three Falls High School students who brought weapons to school last month were expelled Monday by the Falls School Board.
The expulsions, which last one calendar year, are the result of an investigation by school officials that began after a Feb. 21 incident. The names of the students, who are minors, were not released.
During an open discussion Monday, the board agreed to pass three resolutions – one for each student involved. The first resolution did not list a reason for expulsion because the student waived their right to a hearing prior to Monday’s board meeting, according to Falls Superintendent Kevin Grover. Hearings were conducted last week.
The next resolution said the reason for action was possession of a weapon on school property and the third said it was for possession of a weapon and possession/distribution of drugs on school property.
“The issue started in the building on a Saturday during an extra curricular activity,” Grover said.
After administration was notified of a potential problem, an investigation started and through a series of meetings, three students were identified, he said.
“Any time we get information and have credible belief...we start an investigation,” he said. “We investigated what we could and law enforcement was involved.”
The superintendent said recommendations to remove students from the school aren’t decisions he enjoys making. But, he said, when the safety and welfare of the rest of the school is involved, it is something he takes seriously.
“It isn’t taken lightly,” he said. “I believe everything with this incident is taken care of...If people have credible evidence of a situation, we’ll look into anything we can. We want this to continue to be a safe place.”
Mark LeBlanc’s ice sculpture of the Transamerica Pyramid is lit up at night.
Mark LeBlanc’s ice sculpture is still standing, despite unseasonably warm temperatures this week.
While most Borderlanders are enjoying the heat wave this week, one local man is lamenting its timing.
Mark LeBlanc finished building an 11-foot ice sculpture of the Transamerica Pyramid, the tallest skyscraper in San Francisco, early Sunday morning. Monday afternoon, LeBlanc said the bright western sun was already starting to do its damage to the sculpture’s sides.
LeBlanc said he’s been building ice sculptures every winter since 1992, as a tribute to his parents, who passed away within five months of each other. As a kid, LeBlanc said his family would visit an uncle in Fort Frances, and there was always someone on his uncle’s street working on an ice sculpture.
When his dad got sick before he passed, LeBlanc said he’d visit him in the Twin Cities and check out the ice castles area builders were creating, like the ice palaces for the St. Paul Winter Carnival. Ice sculptures were a common bond they had, he said, and a way for him to honor his parents’ memory.
This year, however, LeBlanc said he wasn’t sure he’d be able to make an ice sculpture. He usually starts making ice for the sculptures in January, and the cold temperatures of the past two months were good for making ice, he said.
Almost too good.
“This year was a pretty darn good year to do it,” LeBlanc said. “But it got to be so cold, you don’t feel like going out and doing it.”
In the past week or so, LeBlanc said he was waffling, and going back and forth on whether to build the ice sculpture or not. When the wind picked up and he caught a bad cold along with it, he said he was going to throw in the towel.
“But this past weekend on Saturday, I said ‘I’m either going to finish it or not,’” LeBlanc said. “Either way I’m going to try and build it.”
The inspiration to build the replica Transamerica Pyramid came from a trip earlier this winter when LeBlanc traveled to California to see some relatives. Driving around the San Francisco area, he said he was reminded of his desire to sculpt the Golden Gate Bridge, but sculpting the cables is an issue.
“But then I noticed the tower, and I hadn’t done that one,” LeBlanc said. “I’ve thought of doing the Great Pyramid of Giza before, but it’s too plain. But this building is a pyramid, it’s just a tall, skinny one.”
He was keeping his California relatives updated on the status of his sculpture, LeBlanc said, but he hasn’t let them know he’s finished it yet. He emailed his aunt last week to let her know he wouldn’t finish, so now that the sculpture is complete, he said, there’s an added surprise.
The final structure stands more than 11-feet tall, he said, which is the tallest sculpture he’s ever built. If it weren’t for some adjusted calculations, though, it would have stood taller.
“I started out with a four-foot wide base, and drawing it out, with the correct angle it would have been about 17- or 18-feet tall,” LeBlanc said. “There’s no way I would’ve been able to do that, so I had to cut it down.”
Some notable sculptures LeBlanc has made over the years include the Eiffel Tower in 2000, the White House and the Space Shuttle Columbia. He sent pictures of the White House sculpture to the actual White House, he said, and received a letter back.
The space shuttle sculpture was in honor of the disaster that took place in February 2003, when the shuttle disintegrated upon reentry into the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members aboard. LeBlanc said he sent sculpture photos to NASA, and received a “nice handwritten note” back. The organization also told him the photos would be included in a massive poster they were making of all the photos people had sent regarding the disaster.
Those who want to catch a glimpse of LeBlanc’s work can see it at his home on Third Ave., just south of O’Reilly Auto Parts.
Rainy Lake level drops as flood water recede last August.
An International Falls native and Rainy Lake summer resident will present an abstract at this week’s International Rainy — Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum at Rainy River Community College.
Jeffrey C. Kantor, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Notre Dame, will present a model for predictive control strategies for implementing rule curves for the Namakan Reservoir and Rainy Lake Watershed.
The special focus session at this year’s forum is “Effects of artificial lake level management: Multidisciplinary preparation for a review of the IJC 2000 rule curves for Rainy Lake and Namakan Reservoir.” That special focus will be a part of the forum along with the usual topics related to the Rainy-Lake of the Woods basin, such as nutrients and water quality, algae, aquatic invasive species, remote sensing, modeling, paleolimnology, fisheries and climate change, among others.
For more information on the forum see www.lowwsf.com/forum.html
Kantor is among several local people presenting abstracts and posters at the forum. Several Voyageurs National Park scientists and staff, including Steve Windels, Ryan Maki and Mary Graves, and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Kevin Peterson and Ben Vondra are scheduled to present at the forum.
Special speakers at Wednesday evening’s Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation reception are Brian Shipley, consul and head of Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Service with the Consulate General of Canada in Minneapolis, and John Linc Stine, commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Meanwhile, Kantor, in his submittal information, said he would present the results of a series of modeling and simulation studies exploring the improvements in lake level control that would be possible with an advanced, integrated control strategy for the Rainy Lake — Namakan Reservoir system.
His presentation is scheduled to start at 10:20 a.m. Thursday.
Kantor serves on the resource and technical team of the Rainy Lake Property Owners Association, formed in August following flooding last spring that brought area lakes and rivers to historical levels.
Tom Dougherty, who helped organize the association, said he’s excited about Kantor’s presentation and modeling. He said he’s exchanged information since November with Kantor, who will use it in the abstract.
“It’s encouraging for us the fact that he is on the resources and technical team and presenting at the forum,” Dougherty said.
In addition, Dougherty said the RLPOA is a sponsor of this year’s forum.
The association is also expected to present a poster during the session, which offers information about the organization, its mission, goals and current projects, Dougherty said.
