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Home My WebLink About1990 AugustFirefighting is a tough job. Currently, it is the most dangerous occupa- tion in the United States. It's hard, stressful, dirty work, and demands im- mediate response all hours of the day and night. However, few other occupations provide the challenge and satisfaction of public safety work. If firefighting sounds like the kind of work you would like and you feel you can meet the challenge, then the Cottage Grove Fire Department is the place to do it. Cottage Grove is currently seeking applicants who are available to respond during daytime hours at both Stations #1 and #2. You will be applying for membership in one of the finest firefighting organizations in Minnesota. The Cottage Grove Fire Department includes full and part-time firefighters, and maintains two stations: Station #1: 8183 Grange Blvd. S., Cottage Grove, MN 55016 (458 - 2856); Station #2: 8641 80th St. S., Cottage Grove, MN 55016 (458 -2809) In addition to your firefighting duties you will be trained to work with one of the most respected Public Safety Paramedic Programs anywhere. The Fire Department assists in providing 24 -hour Advanced Life Support Services to Cottage Grove. Requirements In order to become a Cottage Grove firefighter, you must be at least 18 years of age and be able to pass a written entrance exam and physical examination. You must live or work within the area served by the depart- ment or be able to respond to either station within five minutes. During your first, probationary year, you will be required to attend an average number of the department's calls and training sessions. You will also be required to complete training in Emergency Medical Service and approximately 72 hours of basic Firefighter Training which will be included in your response average. Benefits Cottage Grove firefighters receive a per -call reimbursement based on the number of calls and training sessions attended. This is paid on a semi- annual basis. The department furnishes all of the personal protective clothing and equipment you will use, including a helmet, coat, boots, uniforms, and an alert/monitor pager. As a Cottage Grove firefighter, you are eligible for Minnesota Workers Compensation, life, and other related disability insurance benefits in the r event of injury. You will also be Please send more information on volunteerfirefighting in Cottage Grove. eligible for a 10, 20, or 30 year . ..... _.458 -2841 pension benefit upon reaching j Name j 50 years of age. .........458 -2804 If you are interested in j Address more information, please j complete the form at left. You -2808 will be contacted by a member j of the department with an Telephone j application and information on j Hours of Availability ) an orientation session. We hope you will seri- f Mail to: j Fire Chief Denis Erickson j ously Consider this chal- lenge. The citizens of Cot- Cottage Grove Fire Department, 8641 tage Grove depend on you! 80th St. S., Cottage Grove, MN 55016 Jill Seacrist .................459 POSTALPATRON Carrier Route Presort Bulk Rate U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 1 Cottage Grove, MN 55016 LOCAL POSTAL PATRON - e Police officers will soon begin to follow up on overdue pet licenses. See article on Page 3. .. ., Cottage Grove needs more part -time, volunteer firefighters. For more information, see page 8. A ^' Mayor's Column ....2 License Pets .......... 3 Arthritis Meeting ....3 City Scenes ...........4 Greenhouse Effect 5 Composting ...........7 Firefighters ............8 I MW Twelve thousand years ago, Cottage Grove was a bleak, howling wilderness of frozen sand and gravel interspersed with scrubby patches of spruce trees and sedges. The last of the great ice ages, the so- called Wisconsin epoch (which began around 55,000 years ago), was ending and a massive glacier was foundering beyond the St. Croix Moraine in what is now the northern Twin Cities metro area. As the ice lobe wasted, streams from the melting glacier carried away Immense quantities of sand and gravel which mantled the landscape, leaving only a few bedrock outcrops — such as the Camel's Hump and the limestone knobs in eastern Cottage Grove — stranded above the outwash plain. Some blocks of stagnant ice were buried for centu- ries before melting, and this is the origin of Gabel's Lake, Shep- ard's Lake, and the unnamed ponds in the Cottage Grove Ravine. The latter is all that remains of a huge, very ancient (500,000 - plus years old) valley trail that was nearly filled in by the debris from the last glacier. Outwash from the wasting glacial ice filled up much of the Mississippi valley, forcing the Glacial River Warren (the ancestral Mississippi River) to cut new channels. One of these short-lived glacial river beds can still be seen in the long, shallow swale that extends from behind Jack's Union 76 station, Continued on Page 6 City of ""7 L 1 Cottage LEANED ro City Hall open 8 -4:30, M -F ............. ...................... 458 -2800 j Emergency .......................... 911 Police Admin .... . ..... _.458 -2841 Fire Hall 2 __ ..... ..... _458 -2809 Bldg. Inspection .........458 -2804 Ice Arena ............_.....458 -2845 ) Public Works /Parks .. ............................458 -2808 Recreation ._..... ....... i F Mayor: Dick Pederson . ........... 459 -6397 City Council: Bill Buth ...................... 459-5249 Jack Denzer ..... ...... _.459 -2553 Lyle Puppe ..... ___ .... .459 -9996 Jill Seacrist .................459 -8832 City Administrator ........................ Kevin Frazell Arena ......... Tim Johnson Building .......... Everett Anderson Community Dev........ Gary Berg Finance ................ Diane Archer Fire Chief ........... Denis Erickson Parks .............John Fredrickson Police ................. Dennis Cusick I Public Works ........Les Burshten i Editor .................... Margo Doten - e Police officers will soon begin to follow up on overdue pet licenses. See article on Page 3. .. ., Cottage Grove needs more part -time, volunteer firefighters. For more information, see page 8. A ^' Mayor's Column ....2 License Pets .......... 3 Arthritis Meeting ....3 City Scenes ...........4 Greenhouse Effect 5 Composting ...........7 Firefighters ............8 I MW Twelve thousand years ago, Cottage Grove was a bleak, howling wilderness of frozen sand and gravel interspersed with scrubby patches of spruce trees and sedges. The last of the great ice ages, the so- called Wisconsin epoch (which began around 55,000 years ago), was ending and a massive glacier was foundering beyond the St. Croix Moraine in what is now the northern Twin Cities metro area. As the ice lobe wasted, streams from the melting glacier carried away Immense quantities of sand and gravel which mantled the landscape, leaving only a few bedrock outcrops — such as the Camel's Hump and the limestone knobs in eastern Cottage Grove — stranded above the outwash plain. Some blocks of stagnant ice were buried for centu- ries before melting, and this is the origin of Gabel's Lake, Shep- ard's Lake, and the unnamed ponds in the Cottage Grove Ravine. The latter is all that remains of a huge, very ancient (500,000 - plus years old) valley trail that was nearly filled in by the debris from the last glacier. Outwash from the wasting glacial ice filled up much of the Mississippi valley, forcing the Glacial River Warren (the ancestral Mississippi River) to cut new channels. One of these short-lived glacial river beds can still be seen in the long, shallow swale that extends from behind Jack's Union 76 station, Continued on Page 6 N by Dick Pederson Mayor, Cottage Grove My congratulations to Police Sergeant John Mickelson and to Joe Schnide, who were just named Employee and Volunteer of the Semester. We appreci- ate the outstanding jobs they have done — Sgt. Mickelson for his fine work in public safety, and Joe Schnide for his chair- manship of the Recy- cling Committee and the Cable TV Commis- sion, and for his long involvement with parks and environmental issues in our city. More information on these two men will be available in the next issue of Cottage Grove Reports. Recycling The Recycling Program for the City of Cottage Grove will come before theCity Council for a vote on Aug. 15. It will be an excellent program, and will be implemented early this fall. We may not be the first city to have a recycling program in place, but I believe our program will be one of the best. I encourage everyone in this city to partici- pate in recycling when the program is in place. Olympic Festival Torch Run Thank you to all participants in the recent McDonald 's Torch Run. It was a great event for the runners, and for everyone who watched them. I would like to express special appreciation to John Fredrickson, Cottage Grove Parks Director, and Diane Evans, our Recreation Supervisor, for their excellent work in coordinating the whole effort. Strawberry Festival The Strawberry Festival Committee, headed by City Attor- ney Jack Clinton, did an excellent job again this year. Although we were partially rained out it was a great effort. Also, I want to thank VFW Post 8752 who hosted a number of events and paid for the great fireworks. Meetings of the Public Safety Commis- sion and Cable TV Commission have now been added to the programming lineup on access cable televi- sion. They join the current broadcast schedule, which includes meetings of the Cottage Grove City Council, Planning Commission, and Parks Commission. City meetings are cablecast live on Channel 12 on the following schedule: Parks Commis- sion: 7 p.m., first Monday of each month; Public Safety Commission: 7 p.m., second Tuesday of each month; City Council 7:30 p.m., first and third Wednesdays; Planning Com- mission: 7:30 p.m., fourth Monday. Videotaped replays of each meeting run on Chan- nel 12 on the day after the meeting, and at the same time of day. Cable TV Com- mission meetings are videotaped on the fourth Thursday of each month and are replayed on Public Access Channel 10. A Channel 10 schedule can be obtained by calling 731 -1512 or 459 -4279. For more informa- tion regarding Channel 12 or any cable TV government program- ming, please call 458- 2829. r-111 111110 19 &A to glog "Growing Up Drug Free: Can We Make It Happen ?" is the title of a new informational videotape produced by the City of Cottage Grove and the Drug Free Schools Advisory Committee. The half -hour video presentation, hosted by KARE 1 is Gail Plewaki, takes a look at the chemical abuse problems in the District 833 schools and the neighboring communities. It will be shown throughout the summer and fall on Public Access Channel 10, Municipal Access Channel 12, and Educational Access Channel 3. Dates and times will be published in Channel 10's Bulletin Board and in the cable TV section of the Washington County Bulletin. The video draws on information gath- ered in the Minnesota Student Survey, police and school district reports of actual chemical usage, and the observations of educators and coun- seling professionals working within the community. 6 The City of Cot- tage Grove has announced the fall schedule for flushing water mains, hydrants, and sanitary sewer lines. Flushing will take place west of Highway 61 from Sept. 17 to Oct. 5. East of High- way 61, flushing is scheduled for Oct 1 through Nov. 9. During the flushing period, water is safe to drink. However, check for signs of discolora- tion before using water for washing, particu- larly for white clothes. To speed the process of returning to clear water after flushing, open all cold water taps in your home and let them run for 15 to 30 minutes. Also, flush your toilet several times. This process will also help flush your plumbing system. If emergency situations occur, such as loss of service, broken pipes, etc., please contact the Public Works Depart- ment at 458 -2808 Fall Flushing Schedule West Hwy. 61 Sept. 17 to Oct. 5 Converting lawn and garden waste into rich organic material is not a complicated process. Decomposition of organic material in the composting pile is dependent on maintaining bacterial activity within the compost heap. To maintain this activity, you must have the following requirements: AIR— needed for bacterial microbes to decompose waste. Without adequate oxygen, decomposition will occur slowly and odors will occur. MOISTURE— Dry compost will not decompose efficiently. The material to be composted should feel moist to the touch. If the heap is too wet, composting will slow down and create odors. NITROGEN— Bacterial microbes require nitrogen to sustain themselves and to grow. Nitrogen can be added to the heap by adding fertilizer or manure. You can compost grass clippings, leaves, straw, kitchen waste, plant trimmings, and smaller pieces of wood trimmings. Larger pieces of wood decompose but at a much slower rate. Preparing the Compost Pile A compost heap can be as simple as putting the material in a pile in the corner of your garden, or as elaborate as a multi- chamber bin that you purchase. Compost should be prepared in layers of eight to 10 inches deep. To provide the nitrogen for bacterial activity to begin, a cup of lawn or garden fertilizer per 25 square feet of surface area or a two -inch layer of livestock manure should be added to each layer of material that is to be composted. Then place a one -inch layer of soil over this. The purpose of adding soil is to provide bacteria to aid in the composting process. Repeat this layering until you have filled the bin three - quarters full. Keeping it Going To maintain the compost pile, prevent odors, and hasten decomposition, turn the compost occasionally. An actively composting pile will reach internal temperatures of 130 -160 degrees. If you see steam rising on a cool morning, you will know that proper composting is taking place. The pile should be turned when the internal temperature begins to cool. The composting process is essentially complete when mixing no longer produces heat in the pile. It will usually take about two months for a well- managed compost pile to decompose. An unshredded pile of com- post material may take over a year to decompose properly. The finished pile will be about one -half the original size and the compost will have an earthy smell. Start composting now! Your yard and your environment will be better for it! Continued from Page 1 through the ponds in Hamlet Park, to the west beyond Langdon. Sometime around 9,000 B.C., the prehis- toric Mississippi, swollen with torrential meltwaters, excavated its present trench. Where the Cottage Grove landscape was forested, the trees were nearly entirely spruce, part of a gigantic boreal forest that stretched from the Appalachians to the Rockies. Over the millenia, the vegeta- tional sequence was replacement of the spruce forest by a succession of birch and alder, followed by a forest of pine, ash, and balsam fir, and ending (around 7,000 B.C.) with a mixed deciduous forest of oak, elm, and maple interspersed with prairies. Patches of the natural "oak-savanna" landscape can still be seen around Oakwood Park and the Camel's Hump. The post - glacial climate was monoto- nous, cold and dry: even in retreat, the continental glaciers had a profound impact on local weather conditions, producing extremely low levels of precipitation, accompa- nied by constant, nearly gale -force winds. The general lack of topsoil and forest cover must have caused terrific sandstorms, and in some spots today we can see the glacial sediments overlain by up to several inches of foes (eoleon sift) and blowsand. Who was present to witness Cottage Grove's emergence from the ice ages? Of course, there were plenty of animals about, including several extraordinary species which are now extinct. Herds of ele- phants, including mastadons and mammoths, roamed the tundra in the company of camels and saber -tooth tigers. There was also a species of ground sloth, the Eremoth- erium, which attained elephantine size, and a Six - foot -tall giant beaver, called Casto- rides. All of which passed into extinction between 15,000 and 9,000 years ago, leaving our forebears to inherit a zoologically impoverished world. What killed the elephants, ground sloths, and giant beavers which used to make Cottage Grove their home? Perhaps the most popular theory advanced to explain the late -ice age wave of extinctions is predicated upon the notion of catastrophic N1 climatic change (amelioration) caused by the sudden retreat of the glaciers. A bold and imaginative hypothesis currently espoused by many archaeologists points to early man, the last of the large animals to arrive in the Americas during the ice age, as the extinguisher of the mastodon, mammoth, saber -tooth tiger, et al. The key to human migration from the Old World to the New was the glacial ice itself, which lowered sea level and left the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alaska high and dry. Scholars are still debating the date of the "discovery of America" by Neo- lithic hunters from Eurasia, but most agree that the ances- tors of today's Native American Indians entered Alaska be- tween 35,000 and 12,500 years ago and fanned out across the continent. it must have been a big game hunter's paradise: a land teeming with large animals which had never seen a two - legged predator. There is evidence that Paleo- Indian hunters and gatherers lived in Minnesota at least as early as 10,000 B.C., but the archaeological record of their presence in the Cottage Grove area is extremely sketchy. Distinctive chipped stone spearpoints, called Clovis and Folsom points and dating to 12,000 to 8,000 B.C., have been found in surface deposits around the Twin Cities area. The geologic context exists for Paleo- Indian finds (a Grey Cloud resident recently plucked a fossilized mastodon molar out of a gravel pit) and city archaeolo- gists continue to probe glacial till and outwash terraces, looking for tell -tale signs of the elephant hunters of Cottage Grove. MOM • • M y "Arthritis Medica- tions: Pills, Problems, Prevention" will be the topic of a free program at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14, at the 3M Chemolite Center in Cottage Grove. The program will be sponsored by the Arthritis Foundation, Minnesota Chapter. Speaker will be David J. Ridley, M.D., a rheumatologist (arthritis specialist) from St. Paul He will discuss how medications work to control pain and joint damage, and what can be done to control the side effects often asso- ciated with medications. For more informa- tion, call the Minnesota Chapter at 874 -1201. 0 bring a court fine. Cat owners as well as owners of dogs and exotic pets must apply annually for licenses in compliance with the Cottage Grove Animal Ordinance. Licenses must be purchased on or before March 1 each year. Late licenses will be issued with a $1 per month late fee. All animal licenses (dogs, cats, and wildlife) will be issued at Fire Station #2, 8641 80th St. S., Cottage Grove, or may be purchased through the mail using the form below. A current certifi- cate of rabies vaccina- tion must be presented with the application. Proof that the pet has been neutered or spayed will result in a $5 reduction in the license fee. The only Cottage Grove residents exempt from the pet licensing requirements are those owning properties of 10 plus acres in zones R1, R2, Ag1, and Ag2. Any questions about rural zones can be an- swered by City Hall staff at 458 -2800. License fees are: Non - neutered, non - spayed pet .......... $15 Neutered /spayed pet ............................ $10 Late fee ..... $1 /month --------------------------- 6 APPLICATION FOR ANIMAL LICENSE I F The following certificates must accompany your application: 1. Current Certificate of Rabies Vaccination; 2. Certificate of Neutering /Spaying, if applicable. Owner's Name Home Phone Address Work Phone Check one in each column: Fee Enclosed (check one) Dog Female Spayed $15 Male/Female Cat _ Male Neutered _ $10 Spayed /Neutered Other I ( AnimalName I Color Breed Age MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO: City of Cottage Grove MAIL TO: Fire Station #2, 8641 -80th St. S., Cottage Grove, MN 55016 I I I I L— _ — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — J r, m has begun on the River Oaks golf course, located on Highway 61 just south of The Mississippi River is visible in the distance. W,01 The ninth annual Miss Cottage Grove Scholarship Pageant will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at Woodbury Senior High. This year's pageant will feature Brenda Arm- strong, Miss Minnesota 1990, and Julie Grief, Miss Cottage Grove 1989 and first runner -up in the Miss Minnesota contest. In conjunction with the pageant, the com- mittee is sponsoring two new pageants: Junior Miss of Cottage Grove (ages 9 -12) and Miss Teen of Cottage Grove (ages 13 -16). More information on these pageants is available from Sue Bargsten, 459- 7907. The Miss Cottage Grove Scholarship Pageant is open to women between the ages of 17 and 26 who live, work, and /or attend an accredited school in Cottage Grove or in certain neighboring communities. The winner of the pageant receives more than $1,000 in scholar- ship monies in addition to wardrobe and pag- eant preparation ex- penses. Anyone interested in competing in the Miss Cottage Grove Pageant should contact Contest- ant Chair Linda Butcher, 461 -2153. Tickets for the Aug. 18 pageant are $6. it ♦. i .. The greenhouse effect is mainly caused by an excess of carbon dioxide in the atmos- phere from the conver- sion of fossil fuels into energy. By now, most people have heard all they wish of global warming and the greenhouse effect. Many people wish the environmentalists would concentrate their efforts on the people cutting down the tropical forests or the operators of mills and factories. They are the ones who are causing these problems. Let them fix them. Yet, we are also guilty. As we burn fossil fuels for warmth and transportation and buy the products of the mills and factories, we contribute our share. As Pogo once said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Urban Forest ° What can we as individuals do? Main- tain a healthy urban forest! Trees, through the magic of photosyn- thesis, lock up carbon dioxide in sugars, starches, and cellu- lose. Urban trees are especially well suited to battle the green- house effect. Properly situated shade trees aid in cooling our homes. Three well - placed shade trees can cut home air condition- ing costs from 10 to 50 percent. Shaded streets and parking lots will soak up less energy, thus helping neutralize the "heat islands" that have built up around our metro- politan areas. By breaking up winter winds, trees (especially pines and spruces) can cut the heating costs of even the most efficient homes. The right tree We know the right tree in the right place can be helpful in cutting our energy costs, locking up carbon dioxide and helping to cool our cities' heat islands. Does this mean that all we have to do is plant more trees? Unfortunately, it isn't quite that easy. A healthy growing tree uses about 13 to 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. A less healthy tree is less efficient and not as great a benefit to mankind. We must maintain our trees in a healthy condition to reap the most benefits from them. To do this, we can learn a lot from the natural habitat of the trees we now plant in cities. A%k. A thick layer of bark or chip mulch over the roots of a tree helps hold moisture and keeps the roots cool much like the leaf litter in the forest. Planting ground covers that don't need mowing and weed whipping benefit the trees two ways. One, they have the benefit of cool, noncompacted soil as in their native wood- lands. Also, they don't receive mower and weedwhip damage that injures and kills many trees every year. To furth3r aid our trees, we must water them when the rains are insufficient. De- pending on the soil in your area, one to two inches of water every few days will be needed. Slow, deep 61 watering is best. Water is especially important when the trees are starting to grow and when they are prepar- ing for winter. Proper care of the physical shape of your tree is, of course, also important. This will be covered in the next issue of the Cottage Grove Reports. I would like to end this article with some numbers that help put the relationship between trees and carbon dioxide into perspective. For every ton of wood produced, 1.47 tons of carbon dioxide are locked up and 1.07 tons of oxygen are released. Two hundreds trees using 13 pounds of carbon dioxide per year each offset driving a single, average car 13,000 miles yearly.