By Rich Larson, News Director
The Northfield Public School District has announced that they have terminated an employee of the Early Venture Childcare Center for administering melatonin to at least one infant without consent of that child’s family. 
Northfield Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Matt Hillmann said that, once alerted, the district moved swiftly to investigate.
“We know that she placed at least one tablet into the bottle of an infant, and possibly others. And so, we consulted with the Northfield Police Department on Wednesday, who suspect that it’s a child size dose of Melatonin. And of course, we made the appropriate reports to the Minnesota Department of Human Services as well as Northfield Police Department. And [on Wednesday] we did terminate that employee based on the investigation results. We have no evidence that anyone else was involved.”
Hillmann also said that the district will offer help and resources to the families of the victim, as well as the other children enrolled with Early Ventures.
“We’re going to be providing support for those families. That’s the sense of urgency we have right now, to make sure we are supporting those families in that classroom. They’re going to have access to parent educators and medical personnel to help provide them with education and support.
“We just can’t emphasize how angry and appalled we are as a district that an employee would violate the trust that parents put in us every day to care for their children.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, Melatonin is a hormone that plays a role in sleep and is commonly used to treat sleep disorders such as insomnia and jet lag.
Dr. Hillmann acknowledged the breach of faith that this incident may have caused and said that the district will work very hard to meet the community’s expectations.
“We understand that an incident like this diminishes trust with our families, specifically the families involved. And we will work as hard as we can to rebuild that trust with those families and our community.”
Early Ventures is a childcare center for infants, toddlers and preschoolers that is licensed by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and operated by the Northfield Public Schools. Dr. Hillmann said the former employee had worked there for four years.
Rice County break up theft ring
Rice County law enforcement has announced that they have broken up a theft ring that was involved in more than 20 different burglaries across the state.
Authorities said Troy Thomas Cook and Angela Michele Degrood, both of Faribault have been taken into custody after stolen property was discovered at their home. Both are CHARGEd with receiving stolen property, additionally, Cook is charged with Ineligible Possession of a Firearm and 5th Degree Possession of a Controlled Substance.
On November 25th, members of the Rice County Sheriff’s Office, the Faribault Police Department and the Cannon River Drug and Violent Offender Task Force executed search warrants at 1016 Division Street West in Faribault and discovered a stolen residential water heater, a stolen arc welder, and an oxygen and acetylene torch. Further investigation led the authorities to property that they say was involved in more than 20 different burglaries across the state. Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn said much of the property recovered was high quality equipment.
“Everything from hand tools – the amount of tools they recovered was unbelievable. There were very expensive tampers that you would use prior to putting down concrete. There were auto levelers, the things that landscapers and construction companies use to make sure that the grade is level, which are GPS equipped.”
Dunn also commented on the work done by the detectives, investigators and agents involved in the case, calling them tenacious, and explaining why stopping an operation like this one is so important.
“Some calls come into my office sometimes, say ‘Sheriff I need to report a theft or a burglary.’ And we talk to these people. Our investigators share this with [thieves and burglars] when they’re arrested: you’re not only stealing people’s items, you’re taking away their feeling of security. Kids can’t sleep. They run into their parents’ room at night because they’re afraid somebody’s going to break into their house and steal something. When you think of it that way, you’re doing more than just stealing someone else’s property. You are taking away someone’s sense of security and affecting thir quality of life.”
If found guilty, Degrood is facing 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
With the additional charges and his prior history, Cook is facing a fine of as much as $50,000 and 25 years in prison.
Big Woods park closed for special deer hunt
And the Big Woods State Park will be closed this weekend due to a special deer hunt that will take place in the park. 
The DNR announced last month the park would close on December 5th & 6th in order to facilitate a special hunt designed to manage the park’s deer herd and protect its natural resources.
“Too many of one animal or plant species in an area can start to throw off the balance of other species in that area,” said Tavis Westbrook, natural resource program coordinator for the Minnesota DNR. “When there are too many deer in a park, they feed too much on certain trees and native plants, so occasionally we allow deer hunts as a way to thin the herd.”
The hunt is open to firearms, muzzle loaders and archery, however the deadline to apply for a permit for a special hunt like this one has long since passed.
Big Woods State Park will resume regular hours of operation at 8am on Monday.
