The Cannon River Drug and Violent Offender Task Force announced on Wednesday that they have made a major seizure of Fentanyl.
On May 13th, Faribault Police Officers conducted a traffic stop on a 2007 Cadillac STS belonging to Christopher James Page, a person known to the task force as a possible Fentanyl dealer, for a stop sign violation and expired vehicle registration. During the stop, the officers identified Payne as the driver and his girlfriend Kaley Maria Wethern as the passenger
Payne admitted to having a canceled driver’s license, and officers searched the vehicle. They found a 9MM handgun with a round in the chamber, a glass smoking pipe with methamphetamine residue and a large quantity of blue and gray compressed fentanyl pills. Payne and Wethern were placed under arrest for controlled substance crimes.
The street value of the Fentanyl pills found in Payne and Wethern’s possession, if broken down and sold individually, would be $75,000.
Payne is facing charges in Rice County for 1st Degree Aggravated Controlled Substance Crimes and Prohibited Persons in Possession of a Firearm. Wethern is facing charges for 1st Degree and 5th Degree Controlled Substance Crimes.
Cannon River Drug and Violent Offender Task Force Board Chair and Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliott said, “Fentanyl overdose deaths are at an all-time high in our local communities. The work the task force agents, and our local deputies and officers do daily is so important in preventing overdose deaths, but we can’t do it alone. We need our friends and neighbors to report suspected drug dealing to us… We also ask that if you or someone you know is battling addiction, please try to get help.”
For support for yourself or others, in Rice County you can call the Mobile Opioid Support Team (MOST) at (507) 299-0204 and throughout the nation you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
KYMN Contributor Cait Kelley assisted with this piece
NAFRS Board working through differences
The Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Board recently completed a retreat that was scheduled to work on several different issues,
and as board president Paul Liebenstein put it, “get everybody on the same page.
Last year, a commissioned organizational report put together by consultant Barb Strandell portrayed the NAFRS board as dysfunctional. A joint powers board, the group is brought together to represent Northfield, Dundas, and the Rural Fire District which encompasses seven townships. Quite often, the report said, new members do not completely understand their roles as board members, or the role of the board itself. The report suggested a retreat be scheduled in order to address the many problems Strandell identified, and the members of the board agreed.
Interim Fire Chief Tom Nelson downplayed any perceived acrimony on the board, but said the retreat was a good place to have important conversations.
“To me it’s analogous to – I mean, I love my siblings. We all love our siblings, right? But sometimes we don’t always agree. In a Joint Powers group everybody, just by the nature of it, is supposed to be coming in with a different perspective. So, by making the Joint Powers group [get in the same room], it brought it all together. There were just some items that we needed to hash out.”
Nelson said the group addressed a long list of items, from the mundane discussion of the budgeting process, to far reaching ideas like establishing NAFRS as a taxing district. The role of the board was discussed and defined in historical context, and a discussion was had about the merits of operating as either a working board or a policy board. A large part of the discussion centered around the history of the department itself, explaining the origin of the Rescue Squad, addressing the need for the group and debating whether it is necessary to maintain an ambulance license when the same type of service is operated by the Northfield Hospital.
Another idea the group discussed was onboarding and training of new board members. Liebenstein said there have been some misunderstandings about how the board and the department function, and it is clearly necessary to improve the training new board members receive so they do not “spend the first year trying to get up to speed.”
Strandell’s report also strongly suggested the role of the Fire Chief by made a full-time position. Nelson said the topic was discussed, but a decision will not be made until later in the year.
In-person Memorial Day ceremony returns to Memorial Park on Monday
Monday is Memorial Day. More than the unofficial beginning of summer, Memorial Day is, of course a time to remember those
who died while in the service of our country. Several ceremonies will be held across Rice County, to honor those who have fallen.
In Northfield, after two years of remote services, the American Legion and VFW will host an in-person Memorial Day service at Veterans Memorial Park. The ceremony begins at 9 a.m. with an address by Legion Post 84 Commander Ray Ozmun and a reading of 44 Northfield and Dundas area veterans who have died in recent years. An honor guard will present the flag and a rifle squad will fire several rounds in salute to the deceased. A wreath will be laid on crosses used to denote each conflict in which American troops have fought. Local Scouts will hand out programs so attendees can follow along.
The featured speaker is Keith Beckwith, former pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Northfield, and an Air Force pastor. A bugler will play taps to end the program. While the city provides bleachers for the event, it is recommended that attendees bring folding chairs on which to sit as the bleachers fill up quickly.
Following the ceremony, members of Northfield’s Beyond the Yellow Ribbon organization will provide lunch to attendees in the adjacent Riverside Lions Park pavilion.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net.
[recent_post_carousel slides_to_show=”1″ limit=”5″ slides_to_scroll=”1″ category=”10″ media_size=”medium” dots=”false” show_read_more=”false”]
