Tom Nelson, the interim Chief of the Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service had the word “Interim” removed from his title yesterday, as the NAFRS Board of Directors appointed him to the position of full-time Fire Chief at their regular board meeting. 
Earlier this year the board had recommended appointing a full-time chief in order to meet the growing demands of the service area, leading and developing the volunteer-paid-on-call department and performing fire inspection and prevention duties.
A statement released by the NAFRS board said Nelson was selected after an extensive community-based interview process that included panel members from the NAFRS board, current firefighters, and community members.
The statement went on to point out that he is not new to the organization. He has been a firefighter with first the Northfield Fire Department, and then NAFRS for over 34 years. He has been assistant chief for the last 20 years and was named interim part-time chief in January after the retirement of long time Fire Chief Gerry Franek. He has firefighter II, fire inspector I & II, and EMT-B certifications, as well as many years of management experience in private sector employment.
The organization has been through many changes in the past year as Nelson has revamped the leadership structure of the department, instituted more training options for firefighters, and reinvigorated the department’s fire inspection program.
Nelson said he was happy about the announcement.
“I feel like it’s a great fit,” he said. “I’m ready to hit the ground running.”
Chief Nelson will take over the full-time duties on February 1st.
Waterford Town Hall move to be rescheduled
The planned move of the Waterford Township Community Center and Town Hall has been canceled by Xcel Energy. 
The building had been scheduled to be moved tonight and tomorrow morning between the hours of 10pm and 6am from Waterford Township to the Rice County Steam & Gas Engine grounds. That move requires Xcel Energy crews to move and replace power lines, however winter storms have called many Xcel crews to Wisconsin to help with power outages across the state. Therefore, Xcel has decided it cannot spare the workers needed to enable the move.
Waterford Township announced last September that the Town Hall had been donated to the Steam & Gas Engine organization in an effort to preserve a piece of local history. The Waterford Township Board had been looking at options for what to do with the building, which was built in 1882 as the Waterford Public School Building, for five years. After 140 years, the building could no longer serve Waterford Township’s needs, and an alternative location had to be found. However, the building, which had been put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, could not be demolished, nor was there any desire for that, and the maintenance and upkeep of an historic building had become cost prohibitive to Waterford Township.
The Township Board contacted both the Dakota City site on the Dakota County Fairgrounds and the Steam & Gas Engine organization. Dakota City declined as that site already includes a one room schoolhouse. But the Steam & Gas Engine group jumped at the chance to place the building on its grounds.
After the building is moved and secured, it will be displayed on the Steam and Gas Engine property in its original form as a one room schoolhouse. The expectation had been that it would be ready and open to the public by Labor Day of 2023. Indeed, the building was to be moved to its new location in late October, however, logistics and scheduling prevented the move from happening until now. There is no word on how the delays will affect those plans
An alternate date for the move will be authorized by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and supported by the Minnesota State Highway Patrol. A timetable for that decision has not been announced.
Bridge Square Menorah will be lit on Sunday
And this Sunday, Rabbi Shlomie Greene will light a public Chanukah menorah erected at Bridge Square at 5pm, followed by a community-wide 
celebration of the 1st night of the eight-day holiday. The ceremony, organized by Chabad of Southern Minnesota, will feature dignitaries and other guests from within the community. Before and after the menorah lighting ceremony, donuts, latkes and hot apple cider refreshments will be served along with music and other holiday fun including all sorts of holiday giveaways and taking pictures with the dreidel man.
In a statement issued by Chabad of Southern Minnesota, Rabbi Greene said, “The message of Chanukah is the message of light. The nature of light is that it is always victorious over darkness. A small amount of light dispels a lot of darkness. Another act of goodness and kindness, another act of light, can make all the difference.”
The celebration of Chanukah recalls the victory of a militarily weak Jewish people who defeated the Syrian Greeks that had overrun ancient Israel and sought to impose restrictions on the Jewish way of life and prohibit religious freedom. Today, the public display of Chanukah has become a staple of Jewish cultural and religious life. Northfield’s menorah is one of several menorahs sponsored by Chabad around the region, helping children and adults of all walks of life discover and enjoy the holiday message.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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