Savage Pacer - Announcements - Comments

I like peel-and-eat shrimp,

Joanna Miller — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:07:52 -0500

I like peel-and-eat shrimp, and popcorn shrimp, so I guess it's kind of similar?
I could probably eat smelt no problem if I didn't have images of minnows and fishing bait in my head after Ruth Anne's comment. (Thanks Ruth Anne! j/k)

Lisa failed to mention that,

Ruth Anne Maddox — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:31:12 -0500

Lisa failed to mention that, at smelt frys, they dip the slimy critters in batter whole -- yep, heads, shoulders, knees and toes all cooked up and slapped into a basket for your dining pleasure. (Their size is not exactly conducive to filleting.)

I tried them once and I can tell you that I didn't get my "all-you-can-eat" money's worth -- but that's OK.

On the other hand, my sister the tofu queen actually likes them. Go figure!

They're not completely bad

Lisa Steinbauer — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:29:27 -0500

They're not completely bad tasting - more of an acquired taste. They'll go down easier with baked beans, coleslaw and tap beer ... and the area's VFWs and Legions always do it up right!

So, give us the dirt - are

Joanna Miller — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:45:26 -0500

So, give us the dirt - are smelt good to eat, or should we avoid trying them at all costs? Or is it more of a joke?

Slimy little fish - slightly

Lisa Steinbauer — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:45:39 -0500

Slimy little fish - slightly bigger than a minnow - that I've seen battered, fried and served with several cold beverages (to help wash them down, I think!). For many years, my husband and his smelt-loving buddies would travel north to the Knife River near Duluth on one weekend in May - THE one weekend in spring when the smelt were officially "running." They would stand in waders, in knee-high water, to catch the smelt. Rumor has it the smelt run at the Knife ran dry several years ago, but many of his friends still make the trek ... bringing home no more than a small Ziploc bag of smelt!

What is smelt? What's the

Nancy Huddleston — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:01:42 -0500

What is smelt? What's the best way to cook it?

Everyone's hands are tied by

Nancy Huddleston — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:15:34 -0600

Everyone's hands are tied by this situation because it involves a lawsuit. The newspaper and the school district have asked for Lind's personnel file to be made public, and we are awaiting a ruling. Although talking to folks about Chris Lind makes sense and garnering info from both sides is a good idea -- it's easier said than done. Folks want to talk to each other about this situation, but not the newspaper for fear of getting sued themselves or putting themselves out there. Several citizens have come to school board meetings to get Mr. Lind to talk, he has chosen not to. So it's a touchy situation.
If you could get an interview set up with Mr. Lind for us, that would be great. And when you find his unlisted phone number, please let us know!

Thanks Nancy. I did read

Savage Guy — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:32:50 -0600

Thanks Nancy. I did read that article. Guess I'm looking for some fresh information. Maybe we will just have to be content with not knowing more than we know. Until Lind decides to sue or not sue, I imagine he will continue to give us the silent treatment.

Well, I guess you missed a

Nancy Huddleston — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:12:47 -0600

Well, I guess you missed a story we ran in our paper in December. I think we did what you're suggesting here.

As well, yes, lot of people are talking amongst themselves about their experiences with Chris Lind, but they don't want to be quoted in the newspaper.

The story we did in December is copied and pasted below:

School
district
at odds
over Lind
By Joanna Miller
CORRESPONDENT
Two petitions posted online last week illustrate a community still at odds over the election of former school district employee Chris Lind to the Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board.
The first petition posted on www.ipetitions.com asks Lind, 44, of Savage to “release his personnel file and/or resign from the ISD 719 School Board.”
Another petition, posted to the same site, quickly appeared, countering, “We want some people to accept the outcome of our elections and the defeat of the referendum. Since no one seems to get that message, we believe it best for our district to have the entire ISD 719 school board RESIGN IMMEDIATELY. Plus our petition is better because we used more caps in it.”
The petitions have garnered real signatures, anonymous sup-porters and hoax replies taking jabs at board members, administra-tors and the election process.
Lind declined to comment this week for the story, stating that he’s decided not to do any more interviews until after the New Year.
To date, Lind has also declined to open his personnel file to the public or to comment in more detail, outside of information released by the School Board about his termination.
On June 18, the board voted to fire Lind, then a Prior Lake High School campus supervisor, in a 4-2 vote.
Last week, former Board Member Martha Hoover of Savage was the first to sign the petition asking Lind to open his personnel file or resign.
“We just want the truth, and it was suggested a petition could be started,” Hoover said.
While many Web signatures are listed as anonymous, Hoover said every person on the list has a name, address and contact infor-mation related to the posting that can be confirmed.
As of Monday, she said 350 people, including 44 district employ-ees, had signed the petition. Hoover said people who have signed the petition plan to bring it to the board at its Jan. 14 meeting. The point of the petition is to get a response from Lind, she said.
“It’s best for the public to know the facts,” Hoover said. “We need to know why they fired you.”
The fact that Superintendent Tom Westerhaus resigned due to Lind’s election raised a red flag, she said. “I think the severity of the issues was increased. For him to take that kind of a stand is big,” Hoover said.
The author of the second petition, Robert Thibodeaux of Savage, said he posted it because of his belief in representative government and because of “the kind of self-righteous nature of the previous petition.”
Thibodeaux said his petition shows the absurdity of online peti-tions. He pointed out his comment about the use of capital letters as sarcasm. He said fake responses to his petition illustrate the silli-ness of the online format.
The 3,000-some odd votes cast on Election Day speak louder than a petition, Thibodeaux said.
He corrected his own petition as well, noting that it does not, in fact, have more “caps” than the first, “which online is the equiva-lent of yelling.”
Thibodeaux did give credit to people for staying informed on the issues, “though, I don’t always agree with them.”
Instead of an online petition, Thibodeaux said he thinks public meetings would be a more proper channel to petition government. “Starting a smear campaign in the local paper is not,” he said. “Those who had a vested interest in the referendum immediately began attacking Chris and demanding he answer to them following the election.”
Personnel file
Little information has been released regarding Lind’s firing.
The board was limited in the information it could provide until Lind’s termination was approved due to data privacy laws.
Once the termination was approved, Chairman Michael Murray was legally able to comment on specific incidents leading to the fir-ing.
Lind was advised to maintain appropriate boundaries between adults and students in June 2006, Murray said.
In August 2006, a parent complained to Westerhaus about a con-versation Lind had with a child on school property relating to the child’s sexual orientation. Lind received a written reprimand and “was directed to not have conversations with students regarding their sexuality or his sexuality, as this is not part of his duties as a campus supervisor,” Murray said.
In January 2007, an employee complained to the high school and district about a conversation the employee overheard between Lind and students while he was working as campus supervisor.
“The topic of conversation was bi-sexual relationships,” Murray said. “An investigation was conducted and Chris was subsequently disciplined by being given a three-day suspension for violating the previous directive.”
Murray said Lind was informed that any future violations would result in termination.
In May 2007, a student complained to a teacher that he or she heard Lind tell another student that “today is National Pick-On Lesbians Day,” Murray said. “An investigation was conducted and, based on the previous disciplinary action and directives, the district administration concluded that Chris’s employment should be ter-minated.”
Lawsuit?
Lind has stated that he feels he was wrongfully terminated and he has not ruled out filing a lawsuit, but he has not yet filed any-thing against the district.
Should Lind sue the board for wrongful termination, it could be the first case of its kind in Minnesota, said Shelley Tougas of the Minnesota School Boards Association.
According to the association, the potential lawsuit against the district by one of its board members would be new territory. “We’re not aware of any law that prevents a board member from suing his or her district,” Tougas said.
Tougas explained that under the Open Meeting Law, a School Board can close a meeting for litigation strategy. She was unaware of any way the board could exclude a board member who is the party on the other side of the lawsuit.
If true, this would mean Lind could sit in on strategy meetings regarding his own lawsuit if he sues the district.
“If the board went ahead with a litigation-strategy session under these circumstances, the suing board member could probably be part of that session,” Tougas said.
As for the residents’ petition, it cannot legally be used to remove a member from the board, she said.
Tougas said a state statute exists to remove a board member, but the wording is vague. “There is a statute, (123B.09, subd. 9) which allows a School Board member to be removed for ‘proper cause,’” she said.
Tougas said that to her knowledge, this provision has “not sur-vived a challenge and may not be constitutional, because it trumps the will of the voters.”
She said there is not a clear definition of “proper cause.” “Addi-tionally, there is no recall procedure for School Board members in Minnesota,” Tougas said.
Web site
Hoover said the petition calling for Lind to resign isn’t about at-tacking the constitutional process of elections.
Lind’s use of myspace.com to converse with students is one area Hoover said makes her uncomfortable with the board-member elect in his new role. She said the fact that Lind has had more than 500 friends through the online account, many of them past or current students, is alarming to her.
“We have seen copies of different ‘chats’ that he has had on his MySpace. A grown man with children has a MySpace account and chats on it with kids … (it) doesn’t add up. Plus, some of the conver-sations are totally inappropriate,” she stated.
She thinks Lind should open the page for public view. Currently, only online friends approved by Lind can access the site.
“I think parents did not know he was talking to their kids online,” she said. “It bothers me. It’s just not normal. If it’s all fine, and it’s a great thing, explain it.”
Lind’s Web site, www.myspace.com/satansucksgodrocks, has continued to collect posts since his election to the board, with its last update as recent as Dec. 15. Comments have included congratu-lations from young people on his board spot.
Hoover said she questions the language he’s used on the site as well as its content.
In a page view acquired by the newspaper, Lind advocates for abstinence in an Oct. 17, 2006 post:
“WHEN YOU GET IN A PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIPS YOU ARE CHEATING ON YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE. THOSE MEMORIES WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU. You live a ******ty life you get to marry a ******. (sorry tough language but true) LIKE SOME VIRGIN GIRE IS SAVING HERSELF FOR SOMEONE WITH EXPERIENCE. I know many friends who have chosen to stop having physical rela-tionships. For years the dated when they found the right women. They asked her to forgive their previous life style. She id because of the length of time he showed himself faithful. ARE YOU FAITHFUL TO YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE OR JUST SELFISHLY CHOOSING SHORT TERM GRATIFICATION.”
“You’re an elected official,” Hoover said of questioning Lind’s personnel background and actions. “You chose to do this. No one is making him stay in the arena. He has to report to the public.”
At the time of Lind’s firing, Jim Fry of Prior Lake, a friend of Lind, told the board that Lind asked him to sit in on a meeting be-tween himself and Human Resources Director Tony Massaros last January.
Lind was directed to take down his MySpace page – something other staff members at the school hadn’t been asked to do, Fry has said.
Fry said the directives to Lind extended beyond his time at the school as campus supervisor.

Joanna Miller can be reached at jmiller@swpub.com.

I know he is holding you at

Savage Guy — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:14:30 -0600

I know he is holding you at arm's length and for all we know will continue to do so even after the lawsuit issue is settled. However, hundreds of people know him from his time as campus supervisor. Why not interview a bunch of them and do a story on what they have to say? Get an even number of opinions both from supporters and detractors.

We've been asking since he

Nancy Huddleston — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:34:09 -0600

We've been asking since he was elected and we've also been asking the school district. The problem is that he's threatening a lawsuit. That's the reason for the silence!

You are the journalist. Go

Savage Guy — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:56:39 -0600

You are the journalist. Go get the interview or find someone else who will talk. The silence is deafening.

A better questions -- when

Nancy Huddleston — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:45:57 -0600

A better questions -- when will Chris Lind agree to an interview?

The Star Tribune had a nice

Savage Guy — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:28:07 -0600

The Star Tribune had a nice Q&A interview with Dr. W. over the weekend. When is the Prior Lake American or the Savage Pacer going to get a Q&A interview with Chris Lind published in the paper?

Do they drill the holes for

Savage Guy — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:22:27 -0600

Do they drill the holes for you?