High speed chases and gun shots?

High speed chases and gun shots…

these ideas came to mind as I signed the waiver that makes it possible to ride along with the Cannon Falls Police.
Being pretty wimpy, I chose what I thought would be the dullest, most boring day to ride… a Wednesday afternoon. The weather was in the upper 70’s and sunny. I met Officer Scott Mattingly at city hall.

First of all he explained that I couldn’t take any pictures and couldn’t reveal any names. Later, as he stepped out of the squad car and left me alone with all the electronic equipment, he warned me not to touch any buttons! (That was the hard part!)

I had just missed a lot of excitement in a domestic abuse case. We had learned about this problem at the CF Police Department’s Citizen’s Academy. An awful lot of policemen are injured or killed in these situations.
I was grateful I missed it. I just wanted a quiet afternoon in a small town in rural America.
But for a while it didn’t look like I would even get a boring ride because Mattingly had to write up the report on the “domestic”. So instead of waiting I decided to run over to the feed mill to pick up some grain for the horses. When I got back, he was ready to go.

Mattingly pointed to his squad car and after some gear was moved I was situated in the front passenger seat. This is preferable to the back seat which is simply a poured plastic form that doesn’t have any cushioning. It has a drain in the floor so if someone gets sick you can just hose it down.
This might have been a better place for me because I immediately got “car sick”! Had nothing to do with Mattingly’s driving. It’s just me. But I figured I could tough it through. And later I got to feeling better.

As he's driving Mattingly said: “This is the best job!” You get to drive all around and listen to whatever radio station you want! He likes rock, rap and just about anything.
You don’t take the same route everyday – because then the bad guys would know it.
We drove by a day care center and the kids were outside waving.

The speed detector was pretty amazing. It recorded the speed of the cars coming and going. This is already registered by the time the driver sees the squad car so you don't have time to slow down.
But folks were taking it easy that afternoon. I breathed a sigh of relief as I can understand going a bit over once in a while myself. But Mattingly concentrates on those going a good bit over.

In this cause we headed over to cover a street near the high school when school was letting out. Mattingly explained, “We’ll help the kids slow down a bit.” One kid was slowed down quite a bit as he got a ticket for going 15 miles over the speed limit.
Afterwards, a neighbor came out to the car and thanked the officer because they had so many problems with excessive speed on that side street.

Next we headed up to the water tower… then around the swimming pool… and checking various residential areas.

Suddenly Mattingly quietly commented, “We may make an arrest in a minute.” He kept driving and I looked around. I hadn’t seen anything out of order.
He got on the radio and verified the warrant on a man he had dealt with in the past. He had given him extra time to take care of his problem but apparently he hadn’t done it.

We headed back and Mattingly went up to the man and told him to put his hands on top of his head… he checked his body for weapons… and had him put his hands behind his back for cuffing.
When getting into the back seat the man complained of discomfort and since Mattingly had dealt with him before he said, “You’ve been good before.” So he allowed the man to have his hands cuffed in front of him. Actually the two of them had a nice conversation as we traveled to meet an officer from another county coming for him.

A touching moment came when a 75 year old lady from out of town had gotten separated from her group biking on the Cannon Valley Trail. The police were called because she had asked for help.

She appeared a little confused and although she knew her phone number, she didn’t remember her address. Later she mentioned that she had “a little Alzheimers”. Mattingly put her bike in the trunk, she got in the car and we headed to the police station.
Her husband, also a biker, was waiting for her there. He gently kissed her on the forehead and explained that the doctors had suggested that exercise would be good for her.

She was so apologetic but I think she did the right thing… she asked for help. Aside to Mattingly I kidded that many men wouldn’t know enough to do that!

Other similar situations occurred that afternoon and I got to thinking that this part of being a cop doesn’t make headlines. It doesn’t grab the highlights on TV.

What I saw on a “boring” afternoon is a big part of what being a cop is all about. And that makes the idea of "boring", awfully nice!




.

They're budding now!

They're just beginning to bud!

That's the rare endangered species of wildflower...

The Dwarf Trout Lily

The only place it grows in the world

is in

the Cannon River Valley.

.

.

Will keep you posted!

Hopefully Spring will be here soon!

.

2008 Horse Expo at the St. Paul, MN Fairgrounds

The Hollywood movie stunt man, Tommie Turvey, demonstrated how they show a horse on fire.
Special material protects the horse while the flames shoot up



While showing his tricks with his Mustang horse, Turvey also teaches that repetition and consistency and understanding animals is what works in getting this working partnership with the animals.



Many breeds were highlighted during the Expo. Here are the Friesiens.



Hundred of booths and vendors displayed their wares.
Of course, the T-shirt business was busy with many pictures to choose from.



Food, family, and friends... animal and humans... made the 2008 Horse Expo a delight again this year!

They just disappeared...


They disappeared in the night!

It was in the middle of a dark cold winter night. While the children were sleeping, their parents disappeared. When they woke up the next morning they had no idea what had happened.
The neighbors didn’t know either.
A couple of weeks later the two younger children were taken away by the police. They didn’t know what had happened to their older brother.

This didn’t happen in Nazi Germany… or Imperialist Japan… or some other foreign dictatorship.
It happened in the U.S. A… in the heartland… in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The youngest child was now visiting the recent exhibit at the Cannon Falls Library about the imprisonment of approximately 15,000 German-American civilians between 1941-48. Fred Theberath lives outside of Northfield, MN.
He and his wife, Fern, found his name in one of the photo panels in the display.

Fred recalled that night back on December 8, 1941. He was 11 years old when the FBI came around 2:30 a.m. and took his parents, Peter and Marie away. The children woke up to find them gone. “No one told us.” he explained. His sister Gertrude was about 13 and his oldest brother, John, was 16.
The neighbors had no idea what had happened either and helped the children by feeding them along with their own families.

Two weeks later, Fred and Gertrude were taken by the police to a detention center were they were housed in separate buildings. Fred recalled that his room was like a bare 8 x 10 foot jail cell with a cot and a metal stool. This is where he spent Christmas.

The next two years he stayed in a Home for Dependent Children (Orphanage) and then was put into foster care.
Fred didn’t know what had happened to his older brother. John had to find a job and a place to stay. He found work at a bakery and a lady there had a son near his age and invited him to stay with their family.
Fred’s mother was released in early February but the only job she could find was as a cook and she couldn’t earn enough money to keep the children with her.

Family history in pictures displayed by Fred Theberath include his wedding picture in 1953. His wife, Fern, met him when she worked for the FBI and he had been drafted into the Army.

The center photo is of his father, Peter, in 1944 and on the right as a soldier in WWI. Peter had emigrated to the U.S. in 1928. Fern explained that her father-in-law felt war with Germany was imminent in the 1940’s so he had applied to the German Embassy for his disability check from being wounded while in the German Army in WWI. He apparently figured it would not be available later. But this might have caused a problem for Peter Theberath and his family later.

Fred's father was sent to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia and then on to Bismarck, N.D. These were among over 50 detention centers or internment camps in the U.S. Although Germany surrendured in May 1945, Peter wasn’t released until after Japan surrendered in August.
Their personal property had been stored in a warehouse but years later when they were able to retrieve it they found most of it was missing.

Ironically, when Fred was 22 years old he got a draft notice for the Army. He said he wondered how the government could trust him then when at 11 years old he was a danger to the country?

The book, Vanished, reports internee’s stories like Fred's. It is edited by Michael Luick-Thrams, Executive Director of TRACES, a non-profit educational organization in St. Paul, MN created to gather and preserve stories of people during WWII with German heritage from the Midwest and make their history known.

.

Show off!

The first blooming flowers in our woods...

What a show they make!

Greeting you after the snow has melted...

and foretelling the bright days of summer.

.

Introducing "Flat Stanley"...

Flat Stanley is a paper cut-out that some elementary school students send on a trip.
He is flat so he fits nicely in an envelope.
He then travels around with the person receiving him.

Here is Flat Stanley's visit to Grandma and Grandpa on the farm in Minnesota.

***

Dear Emma,

Flat Stanley had a wonderful time visiting here. He has been fun to have around. He is kind of quiet but friendly.

He met Sparkle, the cat. All the animals are losing their winter furry coat. So they look pretty fuzzy.

Here are some of the things that Flat Stanley did with Grandma and Grandpa last week.

Friday March 28 through Friday April 4, 2008

Friday - Rested after arrival at Grandma and Grandpa’s ranch.

Saturday - Went to the AARP-IRS Tax Help volunteers session at the Stone House Apartments to help people with their taxes. Then the Work Out Center and the car wash.

Sunday - Went to the Work Out Center.

Monday - Went to the Work Out Center, played in the snow. Went to the Police Department for the flyers they had printed up for us, then the library to pick up a book, the drug store, the mall, the bank and stopped at an accident on the way home but the police were taking care of it.

Tuesday - Went to Park Street Apartments to help people with their income taxes, then visited the Stone House and went to the Work Out Center, visited the neighbor by the mill, the library and attended the Police Department Citizen’s Academy in the evening.

Wednesday - Went to the Work Out Center, then the Tack Store, the grocery store, the library and visited a church program in the community room of the library.

Thursday - Went to the Wangen Prairie Bible Study, and visited Red Wing, MN and Apple Valley, MN for shopping.

Friday - Went to a business promotional meeting and then home for another meeting.
Then Flat Stanley got to ride a horse.

Maybe Flat Stanley can come to visit with you sometime!

Love, Grandpa Paul and Grandma Rosie


.

“Use of Force” demonstrated at
Cannon Falls Police Department
Citizen's Academy

“Use of Force” was the topic under discussion at the Cannon Falls Police Department Citizen's Academy recently. Every Tuesday night for seven weeks, six local citizens are learning the “what, how and why” officers do what they do. They include: Tim Dehmer, Aaron Ekstrom, Rod Holst, Mike Manning, Jay Sjoblom and Rosie Schluter.




Leading the group is Police Chief Jeff McCormick. Instructors have included officers Mitch Altoff, Dave Timm, and Joe Berg.



Safety is a priority with the Cannon Falls police, they explained. Therefore the safety of the officer and any innocent by-standers will determine the use of these devices. Last week’s “hands’ on” session taught about some of the protective measures used in police work ranging from an expandable baton to electronic control devices like the Taser known for its Neuro-Muscular Incapacitation (NMI).

Officer Timm, a firearms and use of force instructor for the department, demonstrated putting handcuffs on Officer Joe Berg and then observed when Mike Manning practiced how to “Cuff a Cop!”, as someone quipped.





Berg is a Certified Taser Instructor for the department. In explaining the effectiveness and safety of the Taser, Berg reviewed that a Christmas tree bulb has 1.0 amps and the Taser has less than 0.004 amps. It's not the volts, it's the amps that are dangerous. For example: the X26 taser is 50,000 volts, low amps, less than 0.004, and a safe energy of 0.36 Joules per pulse. Cardiac Defibrillators are greater than 150-400 Joules. Therefore: High voltage + Low amperage = Safe and effective weapon system.
Officer Berg aimed his taser at the mounted target. The attached wires could be triggered again if needed to keep the criminal under control. Timm showed how the hooks shot by the taser should embed themselves in the skin or clothing a short distance apart for the best effect.




None of the citizens appeared to want to play the role of the criminal being apprehended with a taser. And the officers had all done it before and didn’t want to again! So Chief McCormick volunteered. Instead of having the “hooks” shot at him, McCormick taped one to his ankle and the other to his shoulder while Officers Timm and Nick Sather held his arms to protect him from falling when the shock hit him.





Apparently since the students saw that the chief had survived (although if you look at his face you’ll see a grimace as he feels the two to three second blast from Officer Berg), Tim Dehmer decided to feel its effect. He explained afterwards that he wanted to see if it was worse than an electric fence. To protect him, Officer Timm had Dehmer lay down on a cushion on the floor. The probes were taped to one leg . Even so, Dehmer was amazed at the strength of the shock he got which was less than one second of the normal five seconds used in dangerous situations. As you can notice in the picture, one of Dehmer’s shoes slipped off as he felt the blast.





Future sessions in the citizen's academy are planned to include crime scene processing and a “ride along” with local police.


.

Visitors...

Taking a break on their journey...

these Canadian Geese

soon took flight

and headed onward.

.

Heartfelt thoughts…

Many years ago I met a young woman living along one of our country roads who shared some of her heartfelt poetry with me. I listened and was touched.
I haven’t seen her very often over the many years since then but every time I did I repeatedly questioned her as to whether she had written any more poems. The answer was always… “No.”

Now I don’t usually read poetry. I guess maybe it goes too slow. Or it tends to catch my mind and I get caught in its web when I want to take off on another project.

But the other day I met my friend downtown and as usual I quizzed her as to what poems she had written lately.
She hadn’t. But a few days later I got a call and she read one to me.

I just felt she would also send it to me in the mail. That’s special nowadays because so many of us use e-mail instead of hand writing and posting a letter. But I miss the personal touch and the artistic script that I saw in her letter.
She explained that she almost never shares her poetry. I understand that. When you spend time and effort expressing your heartfelt thoughts they cannot be casually touched or just brushed aside by uncaring or simply busy wayfarers.

But she saw something in me that connected us… and she wrote: “Remember, we are all brothers and sisters, belonging to our Heavenly Father who never leaves our side and always understands when no one else can hear our pain.”

And if you can take the time… to allow someone who might have been down a similar path as yours… to touch your heart and encourage you along your way…

she requested to remain unknown so as to allow you to make it more personal...

if so, read on…

My Journey

I did not know when I began
How long would be my journey.
Each new day was a gift to me
And the future for my learning.

Sunbeams spilling into each new day
Filling moments to the brim.
There were no thoughts of self back then.
To everything I seemed akin.

There were those days when showers came
And all seemed upside down.
But all it took was mom or dad
To turn it all around.

The years passed by and I began to see
Storm clouds on the horizon.
I braced myself, but fear ran deep
As though I had taken poison.

Where is the sun I used to know?
Why has it gone away?
Remember me. The little one
Who once came out to play?

Remember me and those carefree days
When all was safe and good?
Why does it have to be so hard;
I wish I understood.

Memories are such precious things
But selective I must be.
Tossing those which weigh me down
Keeping only what will set me free.

Time is short, so very short.
So hard I have had to run.
In faith I must look up to see

The guidance of the Son.

.