An Owatonna woman, charged with 1st degree Arson in connection with a fire near Fox Lake in Forest Township, once again, failed to appear in court. A settlement conference was set for last Friday. 33 year old Jennifer Dawn Ohm, aka Jennifer Marx is accused of setting a fire in August of 2016 where family thought 2 people were trapped. Gratefully no one was but the parents didn’t know that. Ohm allegedly started the fire to get back at her boyfriend, the adult son, and to kill his dog. The body of the dog, Kane, was found in a locked closet. The adult son was staying somewhere else and
did not have his phone. A warrant has been issued while the Court has set a jury trial for December 10th. This is the 4th time she’s failed to appear.Marx-Ohm complaint
Dundas Council sends 3 resolutions to NAFRS
The City of Dundas has been a stickler for following the rules as one of the 3 entities in the Northfield Area Fire & Rescue Services Joint Powers. The Dundas Council, last week, approved 3 resolutions to take to the Joint Powers Board meeting this month, including one to Clarify the Duties of the NAFRS Coordinator, a position recently awarded to Sean Simonson, a City of Northfield employee and Fire Captain, at $50 an hour, 10 hours a week. The sticking point, according to the resolution, seems to be that there are no documents or Board Action assigns any Administrative duties. Another resolution asks for clarification on the payment of claims, specifically those paid without Board approval and finally, the clarification as to who can cancel Joint Powers Board meetings. NAFRS Joint Powers includes Northfield, Dundas and Rural (which make up the 7 surrounding townships). They are a public entity whose meetings are open to the public.
Nfld Schools to renew SRO contract
The Northfield School Board is working on a new contract for a School Resource Officer with the Northfield Police Department. Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann said, in fact, Chief Monte Nelson was the District’s School Resource Officer at one time. The School District pays for half the salary of the Officer. They’re looking at renewing the contract for another 3 years. Officer Bart Weise is the SRO. He teaches the DARE classes, supports the staff daily in things such as custody issues and more. Weise has developed a great relationship with the students. The Board plans to approve a new contract at their December 10th meeting.
Luminaries, holiday lights and fireworks!
Northfield’s Winter Walk Snowflake Ornament Hunt began today! The first clue is on kymn.net. A new clue will be aired each morning at 8 o’clock up to Thursday morning or until the ornament is found. Whoever finds the metal ornament will receive $500 in Chamber Bucks! It’s the 20th anniversary of Winter Walk and the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce is celebrating in a big way by replacing those paper luminaries. President Todd Bornhauser said they invested $4,000 to purchase plastic luminaries that look like paper bags but will last for many years! There will be over 1200 lights! The Chamber is bringing back a parade, which will start at Family Fare and go to Bridge Square for the tree lighting at 5pm! All are welcome to be a part of it, wearing lights is encouraged! Festivities are scheduled through 9pm when, new this year, fireworks will go off at Ames Park. Be sure to check out the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce website for a list of all the events including wagon rides, where Santa will be, the model trains at the Library and more.
