by Rich Larson
High speeds and dangerous driving habits have been a strong concern for local area law enforcement agencies all year long. 
Both Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott and Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn have frequently expressed concern over trends in careless, distracted and negligent driving that began last year during the statewide shutdown and have carried over well into 2021.
Already this year, more than 300 people have died on Minnesota roads. This past weekend the Rice County Sheriff’s office responded to two more serious accidents, one of which resulted in yet another fatality.
Around 12:30 Sunday morning, Rice County deputies were called to the scene of an accident in Walcott Township. The first deputy to arrive on scene located a truck in the ditch, as well as a heavily damaged golf cart and an unresponsive female. The victim has been identified as 40-year-old Megan R. Graham of Faribault. Attempts were made to save her life, but she was pronounced dead shortly after 1am. Preliminary information from the ongoing investigation shows that both vehicles had been north bound on County Road 19 and that the truck, a Chevrolet Silverado pick-up, rear-ended the golf cart driven by Ms. Graham. The driver of the truck has been identified as 55-year-old Orville Knott, Jr. He was not at the scene when deputies arrived but was later located at his home.
On Sunday night, deputies were called to the scene of a single utility vehicle accident. Two juveniles were driving the UTV northbound on Appleton Avenue in Warsaw Township, when it went into the ditch, ejecting both the driver and the passenger. The driver was transported by ambulance to District One Hospital in Faribault. The passenger was air lifted from the scene to St. Mary’s hospital in Rochester with non-life-threatening injuries.
In a statement, Sheriff Dunn expressed his condolences and those of his department to the family of Ms. Graham and asked again that all drivers watch their speed and their surrounding
Elementary Principals present goals for new school year
With a brand-new school year at hand, the principals of the three Northfield elementary schools addressed the school board last week to go over the lessons that were learned last year thanks to Covid-19 and their goals for the 2021-22 school year.
Principals Sam Richardson of Greenvale Elementary, Nancy Antoine of Bridgewater Elementary and Scott Sannes of the newly renamed Spring Creek Elementary gave a unified presentation to demonstrate that the education students receive at all three schools is very much the same.
The plan showed goals in four areas, literacy, math, social and emotional learning, and parent satisfaction. The presentation showed that, despite the everchanging situation with Covid-19 and a period in distance learning, students did show overall growth during the school year. Moreover, the pandemic forced innovations in the ways schools communicated with and connected to parents, and many of those programs will remain in place moving forward.
The plan sets a goal to have 80% of all elementary students at grade level in literacy and math, or higher, as measured by district developed common assessments, while they will look to reduce the percentage of students determined to be “at risk” by 2%, all by the end of the year. All students will receive two positive phone calls, emails, or notes from staff members throughout the year, and the district will work to see that 90% of all elementary families will participate in fall conferences either in person or via zoom.
Hillmann said he is very proud of the way the elementary level staff is working together.
“Our elementary staff has just come together in the last several years like we’ve never seen it before. In a lot of school districts, elementary schools can operate as independent contractors. We want each building to have its own character and its own culture, but we also want to have a team approach across the entire school district. And so, our staff and our principals and our Director of Instructional Services, Hope Langston, have just done an excellent job.”
The presentation also calls for renewed goals in anti-racism. Staff and students will address ever incident of racist behavior and every racist comment. within one school day. A list of culturally appropriate resources will be provided to grade level teachers to use with students.
Elementary students encouraged to ‘Be the solution to stormwater pollution’
And earlier this month, the Northfield City Council honored the winners of the 2021 Stormwater Pollution Prevention Poster Contest. Northfield students in grades 2 through 5 were asked to create a poster that represented the theme “Be the Solution to Stormwater Pollution.” The contest is co-sponsored by the City of Northfield and Clean River Partners to help educate students and families about what they can do to keep city stormwater and the Cannon River clean and safe.
In the 2nd and 3rd grade category, all three winners were in the 2nd grade at Greenvale Elementary School. First place went to Aaliyah Emanuelson, second place went to Liv Nelson, and Aedea Thoreck took third place.
In the 4th and 5th Grade category, first place went to Greta Peterson a 5th grader at Bridgewater Elementary School, in second place was Penelope Johnson a 4th grader at Prairie Creek Community School, and Lola Bauman a 5th grader at Spring Creek Elementary School took third place.
The top three posters in each category will be displayed at Northfield City Hall throughout the year. First place received free custard for a year from Culver’s, second place received ten free admissions to the Northfield Pool and a Clean River Partners “Do 1 Thing” t-shirt, and third place also received ten free admissions to the Northfield Pool.
All of the winning posters can be seen on the Northfield City Website.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
