Forest Lake council appoints new member to fill vacancy

The Forest Lake City Council has appointed Molly Bonnett to fill a temporary vacancy created when Council Member Jeff Klein resigned.

Klein's term would have run to Dec. 31, 2016. Bonnett's seat will be on the Nov. 4, 2014, ballot. She can run for election for the remaining two years of the office.

Bonnett, 37, is a substitute teacher and married mother of four.

Jill Lucas of Afton will serve on the Valley Branch Watershed District for a three-year term expiring Nov. 13, 2016. The Washington County Board made the appointment Oct. 8.

Watershed district governance, required by state statute, helps to control or alleviate damage by floodwaters; improve stream channels for drainage or navigation; reclaim or fill wet or overflow lands; oversee water supply for irrigation; regulate the flow of streams; divert or change water courses; provide and conserve water supply; and provide for the protection of groundwater and regulation of groundwater use.

The site of the former Moelter Pit fly-ash landfill that has been re-invented as a 40-acre park and playground will be renamed Oak Park Crossing.

After asking the public's help in naming the park, Oak Park Heights City Council picked the winning name, entered by Shelby Zeuli, a local high school student. The contest was open to those under the age of 17.

Oakdale is among the top U.S. cities for affordable housing, according to a recent survey by Money Magazine.

The city ranks 15th on the list, sandwiched between Largo, Md., and Willoughby, Ohio. Among its main attractions, Money said, are the availability of "a range of jobs, from blue collar to executive positions" at nearby 3M and Imation, as well as its extensive public park system.

"Homes in town are very reasonably priced, even for the Midwest, said [Mayor Carmen] Sarrack. Townhouses cost about $80,000, while a two-bedroom, 2,500-square-foot home on a golf course goes for about $400,000," the magazine said.

According to Money, the median price of a home in Oakdale was $130,000 in 2012.

The list was compiled using data from county and municipal assessors' offices.

The event will give prospective students and their parents a chance to tour the school, officials said, and to shadow current students as they shuffle between classes, chapel and lunch. School officials will be on hand to answer questions about the school: head of school Cade Lamberta; junior high and high school principal Robert Lynn Atkinson; elementary school principal Brian Goodbar; and athletic director Curt Wetsel. Refreshments will be served.

For questions and to RSVP, contact admissions director Velma Vigar at 651-757-4313 or velmavigar@newlifeacademy.org.

Personal tours are also available.

What started as a dispute between a Newport dog owner and some tree trimmers escalated into an Internet-fueled rumor alleging animal cruelty, flooding City Hall with hundreds of e-mails, phone calls and Facebook posts from as far away as Switzerland and Canada, officials said.

They said that earlier this month a group of tree trimmers took a photo of an emaciated dog lying in the yard of a home on Fourth Street and posted the photo on Facebook. Someone also posted the dog owner's name and address, as well as e-mail addresses of several City Council members. The backlash was swift, with many accusing the council members of having "no empathy for animal cruelty," according to City Administrator Deb Hill.

"What they didn't know is that the dog had a disease … it was under the care of a vet. It was eating and drinking water. And they knew they had to put the dog down at some point," Hill said.

She said there's a lesson to be learned about "not jumping to conclusions without all the facts." Police found no evidence of animal cruelty, she said.

"In all reality somebody saw a dog that appeared to be abused (and) they did the right thing, all things considering. But to take the extra steps that they did, without knowing all the facts, that was very hurtful to the family," Hill said.