wbPM4CSi Weather…

.TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS IN
THE EVENING 40 PERCENT IN THE VALLEY CITY AREA. LOWS IN THE LOWER 50S. NORTH WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.
.WEDNESDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY.   HIGHS IN THE LOWER 70S. NORTH WINDS
10 TO 20 MPH.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE UPPER 40S. NORTHWEST
WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH IN THE EVENING.
.THURSDAY…SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 80. SOUTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.
.THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S.
HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 80S.
.FRIDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS. LOWS IN THE LOWER 60S.
.SATURDAY…PARTLY SUNNY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S.
.SATURDAY NIGHT…DECREASING CLOUDS. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. LOWS IN THE LOWER 50S.
.SUNDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 70S.
.SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE UPPER 40S.
HIGHS IN THE 70S.

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON.

A SLOW WARM UP BACK TO NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES BY FRIDAY BEFORE A

POTENTIAL COOL DOWN ON SATURDAY

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY

NIGHT ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA.

 

Jamestown (CSi) – An  accident occurred Monday August 17 when a City of Jamestown sewer vacuum truck drove north on 2nd Ave NW (corner of 13th St) with its hydraulic boom not fully stored,  catching and tearing down a Century Link distribution telephone cable.

Minor damages to the CSi line above were reported, but it did not cause any outage for customers.

As of Tuesday afternoon, some residents in the area were still without telephone service as the line had not yet been fully repaired

 

Valley City (CSi) The Valley City Commission met in Regular Session, Tuesday evening at City Hall.  All members were present.

APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA INCLUDED:

A Tree Trimming License for Ground to Sky.

Blocking Off Street for the VCSU Welcome Weekend on August 21, and Street Dance on September 2, 2015.

PUBLIC FORUM No one spoke..

NEW BUSINESS

City Commissioners approved awarding contract to Water Smith Inc. for replacement of Well #5 in the amount of $97,746.00. City Administrator Schelkoph indicated that the bid was not the low bid but included items needed, such as tree removal.

Commissioners reviewed the parking plan for VCSU to accommodate Flood Protection Project. KLJ & City Administrator Schelkoph said temporary parking would allowed be on 4th Avenue and Viking Drive, on a temporary basis….VCSU President Tisa Mason said the temporary parking would be through September 30th, to help students with getting settled for the academic year.  An area west of Foss Music Hall would be available for parking with 50 spaces.  The City Commission voted to approve.

Discussion was held on a solar plant, and to approve funds for legal review. Commissioner Luke said electric rates will be variable in the future, adding new changes in EPA regulations will mean increases in electric rates. She added that a proposed 700KW Solar Plant at $1.75 million would be investor owned, with tax breaks, and after five years selling back to the city.  There would be a refundable $35,000 in up-front costs, from the city’s electric fund. She said the proposal would allow the city to buy the plant, at a fraction of the average cost.  The power is presently purchased from Missouri River Energy and WAPA. The company being looked at is Olson Energy. A completed plant would be at the end of 2016.  She said the legal review is necessary to not expose the city to any risks and review Olson Energy’s background.

City Attorney Myhre said his office was not consulted in regard to legal work on opinions on the issue.  The City Commissioners will hold a Special Meeting on August 27, 2015, to vote on authorizing funds.

CITY UPDATE & COMMISSION REPORTS

City Building Inspector Dave Andersen said the issuance, Tuesday, of the building permit for the new Wellness Center, brings the total dollar amount so far this year, at $9 million ahead of last year at this time. He said property owners removing trees should be responsible for removing the stumps. Otherwise the city will remove the stumps and charge the cost to the property owner.

City Fire Chief Retterath said the city has undergone a review for fire protection rating, with the results expected in about four months.

KLJ reviewed the progress of street projects.  Flood wall construction on College Street continues.

The meeting was shown live on CSi Cable 68, followed by replays.

 

Jamestown (CSi) The official groundbreaking was held Tuesday for construction of Edgewood Senior Living , a 23-unit assisted-living facility and a 39-unit memory care unit, under construction on the west side of 10th Avenue Southwest, west of the Fairfield Inn.

The facility will occupy five-acres with completion of the project in about a year.

 

(CSi)  University of Jamestown has once again been ranked as a “Best in the Midwest” college by The Princeton Review in its annual review of colleges and universities. 

Princeton Review’s Senior VP-Publisher, Robert Franek, says,  “We chose University of Jamestown, and the other outstanding institutions on this list, primarily for their excellent academics.”

The Princeton Review editors made their selections based on data the company collected from its survey of administrators at several hundred colleges in each region, as well as its staff visits to schools over the years, and the perspectives of college counselors and advisors whose opinions the company solicits.

Franek added, “We also gave careful consideration to what students enrolled at the schools reported to us about their campus experiences.  Only schools at which we see a strong level of satisfaction among their enrolled students – whom we consider their customers – make it to our final slate of regional ‘best’ college selections.”

UJ Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean Paul J. Olson says,  this designation is a reflection of the high quality of teaching by our faculty.  Whether it is in a classroom, a lab, at a camp on the shore of Hudson Bay, or in a hospital in rural Kenya, students at UJ have come to expect excellent teaching from our professors.”

The Princeton Review survey asks students to rate their colleges on several issues –from the accessibility of their professors to the quality of their science lab facilities – and answer questions about themselves, their fellow students, and their campus life. One student commented that the University of Jamestown, “is literally a home away from home.” Another said that the University is “small, friendly, [and has a] family-like environment” where “everyone cares about you.”

A significant portion of the students come to Jamestown for, as one student put it, “the most intense, high-esteemed nursing programs in the area.”

Detailed information about the Journey to Success or academic programs at University of Jamestown can be found at www.uj.edu or by contacting the Office of Admission at 1-800-336-2554.

 

Jamestown (CSi) T he Jamestown Public School Board, Monday approved a new contract for Superintendent Robert Lech. The one-year contract agreement is effective through June 30, 2016. It provides an annual salary of $140,946.

Lech said, he’s happy with the boards approval and feels, ‘fortunate to be in Jamestown.’

School Board Vice President, Heidi Larson said, “We are very pleased to have Mr. Lech back this next year to continue with the good work he is doing for our district.”

In his Strategic Plan Quarterly Progress Monitor report, Lech said the focus over the past three months has been on the enrollment study and the facility planning process, and preparing to implement the findings of the demographic study.

Lech said he would like the board to discuss allowing a Jamestown High School student to be a non-voting member of the School Board at the board retreat in October.

Larson said the student council reports are already presented to the board monthly during the school year and should continue.

In other business, the board approved, the administration master agreement, the central office administration and food service director contracts, hiring high school teachers including Allison Mack, business and computer teacher, Janelle Green science, Vanessa Grehl as a second-grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary, and Mitch Ostlie as a marketing/IT instructor at the James Valley Career and Technology Center.

The meeting was recorded by CSi 10 THE REPLAY CHANNEL, now showing. 

A reminder, a public forum will be September 17th at the Jamestown Middle School, for residents to learn more about the proposed vote on a $19 million bond referendum that would approve or disapprove school building changes.

. Early voting is September 15th through September 28th at the Stutsman County Courthouse.

Voting will be September 29th.

 

Jamestown (CSi) The USGS invites the public to help celebrate 50 years of conducting research for the management of the Great Plain’s natural resources.

On Tuesday’s Wayne Byers Show, on CSi Cable 2 Deputy Director, Mark Sherfy said Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center is holding an anniversary open house Saturday, August 22, 10-a.m.-2-p.m., for the public to come out celebrate, and learn about the research, watch demonstrations, and meet the staff.

Those include scientists and biologists, plus presentations from local researchers and biologists on cranes, amphibians, and honeybees, along with elk and cranes, including capture techniques.

He pointed out that this area is the core of the prairie pothole region of North Dakota.

The center’s operations include tracking migratory bird populations, along with grassland and wetlands information.

The center is located one mile south of the Bloom Interstate East of Jamestown.

Click here to learn more about the center.

Founded in 1965, the center established a scientific foundation and has provided information for the Department of Interior’s waterfowl management programs. It became an internationally respected center for waterfowl and wetlands research through many field studies in the Prairie Pothole Region.

 

Jamestown (CSi) Fort Seward in Jamestown, presents BIG Guns of the Old West on September 12, 2015, starting at 1 pm, with an 1870’s Gatling Gun demonstration by Chuck Keller.

At 2 pm, Keith Norman and Dale Marks will demonstrate the Howitzer cannon. At 2:30 pm, there will be a Sam Colts presentation, an open fire cookout and encampment. The event will run until 4 pm, and is free and open to the public.

 

 ALICE, N.D. (AP) – The North Dakota Highway Patrol says a 58-year-old man is dead after he lost control of the truck tractor he was driving and was partially ejected from the vehicle.
 
     Authorities say the incident happened around 10:10 a.m. Tuesday on Cass County Road 38, about 2 miles south of Alice. The vehicle slid sideways and overturned on the road, coming to rest upside down in the ditch.
 
     Authorities say the driver was not wearing a seatbelt and was found partially ejected underneath the truck. The Fargo man was pronounced dead at the scene and authorities didn’t immediately identify him.
 
     The Highway Patrol says the truck tractor the man was driving was towing an empty belly dump gravel trailer when the incident happened.
 
     The Highway Patrol says the incident remains under investigation.
 

 

 WAHPETON, N.D. (AP) – A judge has set bond at $100,000 for a North Dakota man facing an attempted murder charge after a stabbing at an apartment in Wahpeton.
 
 A  judge in Wahpeton set the bond for 24-year-old Jesse Wetsit on Tuesday. Prosecutors are accusing the West Fargo man of stabbing a 23-year-old woman at least five times with a kitchen knife during an argument on Friday.
 
     Authorities say the knife had a blade about 4 1/2 inches long. The woman was taken to a Fargo hospital. Her condition is unknown.
 
     The judge on Tuesday also ordered Wetsit to have no contact with the victim. Court documents do not list an attorney for Wetsit. The charge against him carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A federal judge in North Dakota has ordered a hearing on an effort to block a new rule that gives federal authorities jurisdiction over some state waters.
 
     Thirteen states led by North Dakota are challenging the rule by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. The states say the new rule illegally expands the jurisdiction of those agencies under the federal Clean Water Act.
 
     The law goes into effect Aug. 28. The states want the judge to order an injunction to suspend the new rules. 
 
     Judge Ralph Erickson set a hearing on the request for Friday in Fargo.
 
     The other states joining the lawsuit with North Dakota are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, South Dakota and Wyoming.
 

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Authorities have identified a Mandan woman who died in a crash on Interstate 94 earlier this month.
 
     The Highway Patrol says 31-year-old Erin Seehafer was driving from Mandan to Bismarck the morning of Aug. 7 when her sport utility vehicle went off a curve and into the ditch, through a fence and through the grounds of a National Guard armory.
 
     The SUV struck a concrete walking bridge, overturned and started on fire. Seehafer died at the scene. She was alone in the vehicle.

 

MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) – A Moorhead man has been charged with child neglect after authorities say an 8-year-old girl was found in a filthy house without electricity or running water.
 
      22-year-old Manuel Carrillo was arrested after the incident Thursday night. Clay County Attorney Brian Melton says that police were tipped off by the girl’s mother, who is in custody at the Cass County Jail in Fargo.
 
     Melton says police found the house in a “state of disrepair.” He says people living at the house, including the girl, were “defecating in plastic bags.” Police say razors, torches and drug paraphernalia were found in the home.
 
     According to court documents, the girl is in the custody of other family members.
 
     It wasn’t immediately clear if Carrillo has an attorney.

 

  BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A Bismarck man charged in connection with a head-on crash that killed two people has pleaded not guilty.
 
  28-year-old Jordan Morsette entered pleas Tuesday to two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and one count of criminal vehicular injury.
 
     The North Dakota Highway Patrol says Morsette was intoxicated while driving a pickup the wrong way on the Bismarck Expressway on June 27 when the incident occurred. Authorities say the pickup collided with a car, killing two passengers inside the car.
 
     The passengers were identified as 22-year-old Abby Renschler of Lincoln and 21-year-old Taylor Goven of Mandan. The car’s driver, 21-year-old Shayna Monson, was in a coma for several days.
 
     Defense attorney Jodi Colling waived a preliminary hearing Tuesday. A trial has been scheduled for Nov. 16.

 

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A state lawmaker says North Dakota should modernize its death investigation system and refrain from relying on non-medical personnel to act as county coroners.
 
     Doctors are county coroners in only 23 of the state’s 53 counties. Other counties rely on nurses, funeral directors, law enforcement and even an emergency manager to certify cause of deaths.
 
     North Dakota averages 16 deaths daily.
 
     West Fargo Republican Sen. Judy Lee says deaths in the state deserve a look from a trained medical investigator to better determine whether foul play is responsible.
 
     Lee is the chairwoman of the interim Human Services Committee, which met Tuesday at the state Capitol to discuss improving death investigations in the state.
 
     Suggestions from the committee could end up in proposed legislation when the Legislature reconvenes in 2017.
 

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Hot, dry conditions over the past week have helped North Dakota farmers make progress on the harvest, though the weather also has stressed row crops in the state.
 
     The Agriculture Department says in its weekly crop report that the harvest of North Dakota’s staple spring wheat crop is nearing halfway complete, well ahead of the average pace. Eighty-two percent of the crop is listed in good to excellent condition.
 
     The same percentage of the sugar beet crop is rated in those categories, but only about 64 percent of potatoes are rated good to excellent.
 
     Pasture and range conditions in North Dakota are 60 percent good to excellent, and stock water supplies are 86 percent adequate to surplus.

 

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Officials say the slowdown in North Dakota’s oil patch should help keep fuel supplies adequate for the state’s fall crop harvest.
 
     The harvest often spurs diesel shortages for farm machinery in the Upper Midwest. In North Dakota, the problem has been magnified in recent years because of the oil drilling activity in the western part of the state.
 
     It takes about 3,000 gallons of diesel daily to power one drill rig. On Tuesday, there were 73 drill rigs working in the state. That’s 120 fewer than on the same day one year ago.
 
     South Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association Director Dawna Leitzke says an expected “phenomenal harvest” this fall could cause a diesel shortage in that state and petroleum dealers might look to North Dakota for fuel.

 

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) – Searchers have recovered the body of a Rapid City woman who went missing after a boat crash on Pactola Reservoir.
 
     The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office says searchers on Monday used a remotely operated underwater vehicle to locate the body of 33-year-old Gabrielle Fisher.
 
     The Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department and the Bismarck Rural Fire Department in North Dakota sent personnel and equipment to the scene to help in the search.
 
     Fisher was one of two people on a boat that collided with a personal watercraft Friday. The personal watercraft driver is facing charges of boating under the influence and manslaughter.
 
     Jody Kreycik made his initial court appearance Monday but did not enter a plea. He faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted.
 

 

In world and national news…

CHELAN, Wash. (AP) – Scores of blazes burning uncontrolled throughout the dry Western United States have prompted authorities to call out the military. The National Interagency Fire Center has activated 200 troops to help contain roughly 95 Western wildfires.
 
     WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration Tuesday proposed cutting methane emissions from U.S. oil and gas production by nearly half over the next decade. It’s part of an ongoing push by President Barack Obama to curb climate change. The administration’s target is to cut methane from oil and gas drilling by 40 to 45 percent by 2025.
 
     DETROIT (AP) – U.S. safety regulators are investigating a June collision between a Volkswagen SUV and a deer in which a Takata air bag inflated with too much force. The June 7 crash near St. Louis caused the left side air bag to inflate in a 2015 VW Tiguan, blowing apart a metal canister. It raises questions about the safety of newer air bags made by the Japanese company.
 
     SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The family of a California bank robbery hostage who was shot and killed by police in 2014 has filed a lawsuit against the department. The lawsuit says Stockton police officers used unreasonable force when they fired more than 600 times at the vehicle containing the suspects and hostage Misty Holt-Singh, who was struck by 10 bullets.
 
     STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – A former Pennsylvania beauty queen accused of faking leukemia to benefit from fundraisers has apologized for her actions and is promising to pay all the money back. Twenty-three-year-old Brandi Weaver-Gates has waived her preliminary hearing on charges of theft by deception and receiving stolen property.