Question: With all the enforcement projects going on, why are we still seeing so many fatal crashes being reported? I thought the enforcement projects helped with that?

Answer: You’re right. We have had deadly 2013 on our roads. Deaths are up slightly compared to 2012. This demonstrates how dangerous our roads can turn when unsafe decisions are made behind the wheel.

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The month of June has been identified as Home Safety Month by the Home Safety Council. In keeping homes and the people living in them safe from fire, The National Association of State Fire Marshall’s and the Home Safety Council promote fire safety practices by paying particular attention to activities associated with summer months.

Barbecue safety:

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School is done for the year and kids of all ages are longingly watching the weather and asking “when will the rain stop so we can go fishing?”

Yes, Minnesota summer is here and so is the rain, but a lot of kids aren’t wondering if the sun will come out. They are wondering if someone will come to the rescue, bring some fun into their lives and step up to be their Kinship Partner.

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Crow Wing County prevented the issuance of $166,410 in fraudulent government benefit claims last year, according to a report released by the county’s Community Services Department.

From April 2012 to April 2013 the county’s fraud investigator completed 337 investigations of pending and open cases and identified the following cost savings:

• $19,165 from Cash Programs, SNAP (Food Support), Federal Medical, State Medical and Child Care assistance programs at application.

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■ Sylvan Heritage Day Celebration planned

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CAMP RIPLEY — Professional anglers from across the mid-west visited Camp Ripley June 8 to share the joy of fishing with soldiers and wounded veterans.

“It allows them to heal, to get back in the outdoors which was what being a Mid-westerner is all about,” said Col. Scott St. Sauver, Camp Ripley Post Commander.

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Wadena bloodmobile dates announced

Donors are greatly needed when the Red Cross Bloodmobile is at the Wadena VFW Post No. 3922, 213 First Street SE, Wadena, from noon to 6 p.m. June 24 and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 25 to collect blood. The goal for Monday is 103 and Tuesday’s goal is 74. Double red blood cells will be collected both days.

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55+ driver improvement courses announced

The Minnesota Highway Safety Center will be offering a 55+ Driver Improvement Course on the following days: from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 17 (4-hour refresher), Aitkin Public Library, 110 First Avenue NE, Aitkin; and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 18 (4-hour refresher course), Pequot Lakes Baptist Church-Community Ed, 20028 County Road 112, Pequot Lakes.

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Sheriff’s office confirms

3-year-old boy’s drowning

The Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday confirmed the drowning of a 3-year-old boy who was found near the shoreline of Edna Lake at about 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Emergency services and area law enforcement responded to a report. The child was located near the shoreline by family members. Attempts to revive the child were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead on scene. The child was transported to Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office.

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STAPLES — Jordan Wick pitched a 1-hit complete game as the Staples-Motley Legion team blanked Pillager 4-0 Monday night.

Devrin House had the lone hit for Pillager. Wick went on to strike out six and walk only one with one hit batter.

Tanner Fischer was 1-2 with two RBIs and Jordan Jenkins was 1-3 with an RBI for S-M.

Pillager 0 1 3

Staples-Motley 4 2 2

WP: Jordan Wick. LP: Tristan Litke. Record: SM 3-0. Next: SM at Park Rapids 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 11 (2).

■ S-M sweeps Wadena-DC

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Class rank will be eliminated at Brainerd High School, but the class of 2014 will be grandfathered in.

The move was one of three handbook changes approved by the Brainerd School Board at its Monday meeting.

The elimination of class rank will be effective immediately, but the senior class of 2014 will still have the ranking system available as it has been in the past.

Officials are still working on an alternative recognition program to still honor students. That will be brought before the school board tentatively before the next school year.

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On one of the first sunny days when temperatures even hinted at the summer to come, a tragedy took the life of a 3-year-old boy in Nisswa.

The child was reported to have drowned in Lake Edna, Nisswa officials said. The alarm was raised about 6:30 p.m. Monday. First responders and law enforcement responded to the scene on the lake’s east shore.

Lake Edna is a small lake, about a couple hundred acres just west of Highway 371.

Brainerd residents who turned out Monday night to consider the city’s future expressed support for specific priorities the Brainerd City Council identified, but also voiced frustration at government spending.

The mixed reaction at the 90-minute meeting at Brainerd High School was part of a months-long process in which the council has been formulating its mission statement and strategic focus areas.

No comments were prompted by the mission statement: “Committed to providing high quality, cost effective public services and leadership in creating a sustainable city.”

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Sunlight is the primary source of ultraviolet (UV) radiation that can damage tissues of the eye.

Crow Wing County Community Services recently cited studies show spending long hours in the sun without eye protection increases the chances of developing eye diseases according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Potential eye disorders from UV exposure include:

• Cataracts — a form of eye damage in which a loss of transparency in the lens of the eye clouds vision. If left untreated, cataracts can lead to blindness.

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An unusually warm, dry spring and summer may have contributed to a substantial drop in cases of disease caused by ticks in 2012 in Minnesota, but the decline doesn’t mean the risk of illness from tick bites in 2013 will be any less than in most previous years, state health officials reported Monday.

The three main tick-borne diseases carried by blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, in Minnesota — Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis and babesiosis — were all down in 2012.

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County Road 30 closed north of Ironton

The Crow Wing County Highway Department advises that County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 30 north of Ironton between the Portsmouth Mine and Pennington Mine accesses is closed due to water over the road. Barricades have been placed to keep traffic from entering the flooded area. This route is expected to be closed until at least mid- day on Tuesday.

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Speech-a-thon planned

A speech-a-thon will be from 6:30-9 p.m. Wednesday at the Brainerd Public Library, 416 South Fifth Street, Brainerd.

For additional information or to sign up, contact Brian Hinton brianjhinton@gmail.com or call 507-269-4550.

Rachel Ruhl, daughter of Melonee and Vince Ruhl, Pillager, will participate in the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine (NYLF/MED) in Chicago this summer. At the Forum on Medicine, students will join other high school students who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential and an interest in a career in medicine.

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Natural gas leak leads
to road closures Saturday

The Brainerd Fire Department received a call regarding a propane smell Saturday near 13th Street by the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds and the Stoney Brook mobile home community.

The first call came in at 11:41 a.m. as the gas smell evidently was moving south on the wind. A gas leak wasn’t found. Another call came in at 4:37 p.m. by Beech Street where a natural gas leak was discovered at a substation. CenterPoint Energy was called. Firefighters cleared the scene at 5:25 p.m.

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