New Orleans Dixieland Jazz...

A Tribute

to the Hall Brothers New Orleans Jazz Band

peformed by the Bill Evans Jazz Band.

Bill Evans, string bass, trombone; Don "Doggie" Berg, drums; Charlie DeVore, cornet; Tony Balluff, clarinet; Mike Polad, banjo, soprano sax, piano (behind); and Steve Pikal, string bass, trombone.

05/10/2008

A New Orleans style jazz tribute

to Dakota County's own Hall Brothers Band.

The Bill Evans New Orleans Jazz Band performed,

featuring some of the former Hall Brothers Band members.

.

Bill Evans

Tony Balluff

Mike Polad

The Hall Brothers Band ... "is best described

as traditional or New Orleans style jazz rather than Dixieland.

And they sang my favorite!!!

"Oh Mr. Johnson turn me loose...

Don't put me in the calaboose...

Oh Mr. Johnson...

I'll be good!"

and on and on and on...

what fun!

.

Cannon Falls Police Department Citizens Academy Review

From left to right are: Rosie Schluter, Tim Dehmer, Jay Sjoblom, Rod Holst, Aaron Ekstrom, Mike Manning and Chief Jeff McCormick.

What, Why and How...

Cops doing their duty

.

The use of assault rifles.
Deciding if a person is under the influence.
Under what circumstances should you shoot?

These are some of the opportunities presented to six area citizens in the recent seven week Cannon Falls Police Department Citizens Academy.

Once a week programs ranged from seminars by law enforcement representatives, including the police, county attorney, county judge and volunteers. In the latter case, two people took part in the Standard Field Sobriety Testing to demonstrate what police officers look for in making a DUI arrest.
The purpose of the program, according to Cannon Falls Police Chief, Jeff McCormick, is to educate the public as to the “What, why and how we do do things.” McCormick continued, “We are privy to some of the deepest, darkest secrets of society… but the police are there to protect the quality of life issues of the community.”

Usually the public doesn’t get to see what the police are doing in an “on-going” investigation. Some things cannot be made known at that time.
Some of the information given at the academy will probably not be made public either. All of the students had to pass background checks and when taking part in a “Ride Along” with a cop they were warned not to reveal names of people who might be encountered.

Some of the stories told helped the students get a feel for being a cop. Like the danger from passing cars when making a traffic stop. Officer Scott Mattingly recalled feeling a mirror of a car pass near his back.

Also, the citizen participants got to drive a squad car (at city hall) as they learned the rules in making a traffic stop. Example: shine your flashlight at an angle if the windows are tinted… look for weapons and anything else illegal… watch the movement of the passengers in the car… be careful so the door doesn’t open on you… approach the car with your gun side away from it so your hand is free… as you walk up to the car, touch the trunk to make sure it’s closed because people have jumped out of one… this also means your fingerprints are on the car so you can identify the vehicle if needed.

Some of the topics covered are included in these photos from the course.

Use of Force demonstration included using a tazer on volunteer, Tim Dehmer. Police Chief Jeff McCormick also volunteered. Here Officer Dave Timm helps Dehmer.

Rod Holst uses a demo assault rifle in a “routine” traffic stop that turns out "bad".

.

Taking fingerprints off evidence is demonstrated by Jay Sjoblom and was taught by police officers Scott Mattingly and Dave Timm

First one to volunteer to shoot was me. I figured, if I’m going to embarrass myself I might as well get it over!

Assault rifle instructor, Officer Dave Timm, instructs Aaron Ekstrom at the rifle range.

A Glock handgun is aimed by Mike Manning with an approving smile from instructor, Dave Timm.

The academy led to a greater understanding

of the men and women in law enforcement

and the commeraderie and experiences

that bind them.

.

"Wagons Ho!”

150 years has changed things!

The couple dozen or so wagons and carriages in the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Wagon Train led by Wagon Master, Jon Olson, headed out from Cannon Falls on Monday, May 5, the first day of a 99 mile trek that would find them camping in other “villages” like Hay Creek, Hastings, and Inver Grove Heights before reaching their destination at the State Capitol in St. Paul last Sunday.

The original old-time wagon trains heading west didn’t have street signs to tell them the direction to go… or a speed limit of 55 miles per hour… and their outriders on horseback didn’t have to protect them from wind-gushing semi’s and noisy metal vehicles.

The sound of “Clip-Clop” from horses’ steel shoes hitting the roadway and the crunch of iron wheels on gravel roads blended in with the song of birds and a gentle breeze as they ground their way out of town.
Also heard along the way were friendly greetings from city folk and school kids - who were probably happy to get a break from their studies.
Kevin Perron from Elko, MN drove his carriage with a team of red sorrel Belgians, standing 17.3 hands. His sidekick was Darwin Sasse from New Prague.

But a problem that probably hindered a lot of the real wagon trains was “getting stuck”. The narrow iron wheels burrowed into the pasture provided for the morning break at the Ray and Toni Otto farm off C.R. 8 Blvd. A little more “horsepower” was needed so Ray got out his pickup truck to help out.

Another problem that was probably pretty common was protecting your clothing when you stepped out of the wagon! Although the “exhaust particles” of the power source pulling the wagons were natural and organic, it still meant that you were wise to watch where you stepped! How women folk managed to clear the wilderness, fight rattlesnakes, raise children, bake, cook and clean while wearing these long skirts, amazes me!

And it's with admiration for these pioneers that we take a trip into the past - via this Sesquicentennial Wagon Train - if only for a few hours on a lovely spring day in the year, 2008.

.

"Morning on the Little Cannon River"



Beautiful… or not really?

It’s a beautiful stream… the Little Cannon River.
Its water flows swiftly across rocky ledges and slows down over spring-fed sandy bottoms.
Brown trout hide in its shadows and rare minnows dart in its pathway.
Cascading water splashes in the sunlight to reflect myriads of prism colors.

And then someone warned it could be hazardous to your health.

It was a difficult article to write.
The results of the tests were scary.

If they were right, we had to alert the public. If not, we had to alert the public.

The fact was that E.coli bacteria was found in the Little Cannon River.

Many folks living near it have been swimming and playing in that river all their lives.

One of those, the editor of this newspaper, was one of the volunteers testing the river.
He was a valid source.

The Cannon River Watershed Partnership (CRWP), who received the grant to test area streams, is also a valid source.

So why was I questioning them?
It’s my job.
Also, I live by that river and my children and grandchildren have been swimming in it.
And I didn’t want it to be true.

My research came up with varying insights on the problem.
I found that the strain of E.coli that is toxic wasn’t being tested. It’s too expensive to do that. But the E.coli that was found can indicate the worse strains. And some people believe there are more strains that are bad.

So this is the puzzle.
If you don’t tell people that it could be there, and they get sick, how responsible do you feel?
On the other hand, how careful do you have to be?

A website of a law firm representing victims of food poisoning gave some usual safety precautions but also warned: do not play in any non-chlorinated water. (But I have heard some scary problems with chlorinated pools.)
They also warned: …do not touch or pet farm animals. They explained that even using wipes to clean your hands afterwards may not be adequate.

After reading this type of information you wonder what should you do?

Just how safe can we be, or on the other hand, how safe do we choose to be?

In the past, folks probably didn’t swim in the Little Cannon River when a rainfall made it muddy and high. It would be more likely to be polluted from anything at that time.

As far as not touching farm animals? What about the emotional benefits of having a close relationship with animals?

Maybe we should try to be more careful… but still have fun.

.

The only place in the world...

It's blooming!

The only place in the world where the Dwarf Trout Lily grows

is in the Cannon River Valley...

right here!

One of our guests came

with a T-shirt just made for the occasion!

The refreshments were waiting...

New friends came...

and old acquaintenances too.

And so many others joined in...

on a lovely afternoon in May.

.