Tomorrow night the Defeat of Jesse James Days Organizing Committee and The VFW Auxiliary will team up with the Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service for Vest Fest, a fundraiser to buy bullet proof vests for the fire and emergency service personnel of the Northfield Area.
Galen Malecha, the General Chair of the DJJD Committee said he had the idea shortly after the tragic shooting in February of two Burnsville police officers and one emergency paramedic.
Malecha contacted Fire Chief Tom Nelson wondering if NAFRS had body armor to protect the firefighters, which they do not. He then had a similar conversation with Brian Edwards of the Northfield Emergency Medical Service. Finally, he contacted Julie Odette of the VFW Auxiliary, which has long been a staunch supporting organization for the local emergency services, and together the four of them created a plan.
Nelson said the vests are an overlooked need for emergency first responders. Police receive federal and state funding for protective body armor for obvious reasons. They are the people who go into what is called the “Hot Zone,” and put themselves in harm’s way to de-escalate or end a bad situation. However, Nelson said, first responders go into what is called the “Warm Zone.” They will enter a dangerous area to extract victims and provide care. He said having the protective vests would make those situations a little less dangerous.
“What’s nice about these vests is they do make them one-size-fits-all, so you can have a cache of them in a rig or in several rigs, both ambulance and fire. That way, in the event of something like this happening, there is some amount of protection.”
Odette said on Saturday night fire trucks and ambulances will be parked outside of the VFW Post 4393, and firefighters will be outside cooking burgers, brats and hot dogs. The proceeds of all food sales will go to the vest fund. The Defeat of Jesse James Days Ambassadors will be selling buttons to raise money, and they will also have collection buckets set up for those who simply want to donate.
Malecha said this is the type of community event that every Northfielder should support, if for no other reason than the goal is to protect those each of us know and care about.
“We know these people. A lot of them grew up here. A lot of them transplants into Northfield, but we know them. They’re our nieces, nephews, cousins, husband, wives, neighbors, friends. We know them. We want to make sure that we take care of them by being able to have them protected, because one never knows. You never think something like that’s going to happen in your community. But it can.”
Vest Fest will begin tomorrow night at 4pm in front of the VFW near the corner of 6th Street and Division Street. The event is scheduled to run until 7:00.
Heywood Award goes to founding coordinator of the TORCH Program
The Defeat of Jesse James Days Committee has announced that the 2024 Joseph Lee Heywood Distinguished Service Award will go to Beth Berry.
A statement issued by the Defeat of Jesse James Days Organizing Committee said Berry is the 41st recipient of the award.
According to the statement, Berry was a guidance counselor with the Northfield School District for several years. During that time, she helped support programs that benefited the youth of Northfield and their families. Berry has volunteered with a variety of programs and organizations including the Northfield Community Action Center and the Northfield Community College Collaborative. She is the founding coordinator of the Tackling Obstacle, Raising College Hopes (TORCH) program.
Galen Malecha, the General Chair of the Defeat of Jesse James Days Organizing Committee said the organization is proud to present its most distinguished award to Berry.
“Beth is someone that has been doing such great work behind the scenes for many years,” he said. “The full impact of her work is often overlooked. We look forward to sharing those stories throughout the summer, and during the celebration weekend when we honor her.”
The Joseph Lee Heywood Distinguished Service Award was established to honor a Northfield citizen who exemplifies a commitment to public service. The statement reminded the community that the Heywood Selection Committee accepts nominations year-round. The form along with submission instructions can be found at djjd.org
Berry will be honored on Wednesday, September 4th during the Defeat of Jesse James Days celebration at the Northfield Ballroom. Those who wish to attend the Joseph Lee Heywood Distinguished Service Award Banquet can find details at djjd.org. The statement said RSVPs are appreciated.
Love your city by helping it look better
There is still time to register for tomorrow’s annual Love Our City Day.
The event, which brings people together to work on municipal gardening and maintenance projects, is a collaboration between Northfield Shares, the City of Northfield, the Northfield Area Faith Community, and other community partners.
Volunteer opportunities include cleaning up branches, brush and garbage in Ames Park and Way Park, planting at the parklets on Division Street, planting trees, weeding and cleaning the rain garden at the Northfield Depot, weeding and mulching around the Northfield Public Library, City Hall, the Northfield Police station, 2nd Street, 7th Street, or along the Riverwalk.
Erica Campbell, the Chair of the Northfield Shares Board, said these are the days and events that set Northfield apart from most other places in Minnesota.
“These are the things that people notice. I think when they come to town, they see how wonderful the flowers look and that kind of thing. And so, this is something that makes us that kind of community. And it’s a lot of fun just to hang out with your neighbors and friends.”
Northfield Shares is a community foundation that manages several different funds to which people can donate for specific reasons. Carrie Carroll, the Northfield Shares Executive Director said a fund set up by Ruth Nutting in 2017 was established with the sole purpose of making Northfield a more beautiful place.
“A lot of times those dollars from that fund specifically go toward – obviously – the beautification of our town. That was the intention of Ruth Nutting when she created the fund, spend money to make downtown Northfield a nice place to look and feel warm and welcoming. So sometimes you’ll see the flowers on Bridge Square have been funded by this fund, or the picnic tables on the river walk and the umbrellas. Some of those dollars came from the Ruth Nutting Fund.”
The event will run tomorrow from 9am-noon. Check-in for the various opportunities will vary. Visit the Northfield Shares Volunteer Hub at northfieldshares.org for details.
KYMN Daily News 5/17/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
