Maple Lake Messenger Page 2 November 13, 2013

Viewpoint
harvested a rooster off of Cocos point in a Walk In Area to get us off to a good start. I had an opportunity in the afternoon when Vana went on point along a fence line in a WMA (Wildlife Management Area). When nothing happened I tapped my gun barrel on the barb wire and the rooster jumped. It looked easy, but neither of my shots were effective. Regardless, I praised Vana for her efforts and rejoined Hennen, but not before flushing seven hens. Later in the day we found a WIA that wasnt in the atlas. Hennen was walking the edge of a bean field and had three roosters flush. He connected on one that fell in the bean field and I got a look at the second one he shot at which had one leg dangling. Coco went out to retrieve the first bird, which Hennen said suddenly got up and flew only to die in mid-air and fall into the grass on the edge of the WIA. Coco apparently didnt see the roosters resurgence and continued to hunt for the downed bird rather then help us out looking for the dead bird. Vana eventually found the rooster and stood guard until I picked it up. Finding his second bird was more difficult and we had pretty much given up and started hunting again when Vana went on point and suddenly lunged for the crippled bird which she held down until I got to her. Im not sure what the shooting rule book says on doubles, but after some diligent thought Ill give Hennen credit for a double, after all he hit both of them. I had one more golden opportunity that afternoon when Vana gave me another great point, but I let her down. We were pleased with both dogs efforts and Vana is showing more aggressiveness in her second year of hunting with me. I liked the way she handled the crippled bird which didnt have any teeth gouges in its breast when I dressed it out. . . In the deer hunting department Ron Rassat and Tom Neu each harvested eight-point bucks on successive days, Ron on Saturday and Tom on Sunday in Folden Hills Township near Henning in Ottertail County where they have a cabin. Its an area I hunted while growing up, but Im sure they know the area better than me. It was kind of unique because it had an old country school house commonly referred to as the lost schoolhouse. I dont think the building is still there, but there is a road labelled Lost Schoolhouse Road, apparently in its memory. * * * Congratulations to the Irish gridders for your come-from-behind win Friday night. Practicing in the snow didnt look very appealing last week, but were sure it helped get you prepared. Great going guys, and were with you all the way!

Bleat
by Harold Brutlag
I had the opportunity to tune up my eyeballs one day last week at Gold Meadows with Mike Muller and believe me they need a lot of fine-tuning. My hunting associates would readily agree that most of the time Im just blowing holes in the sky. My alibi is that I have good days and bad days and so far this fall I seem to be racking up way too many bad days. Both of our dogs, Vana and Mikes Lucky, had a great morning with all the birds and scent that was present at the shooting preserve. Lucky is a young aggressive English Setter and surprised Mike when he retrieved the pheasants even though he didnt receive an A+ from the trainer. Vana ran down one of my cripples, but she was reluctant to bring it back. Both dogs were hot on a crippled rooster in a harvested corn field, chasing it in the weeds with Lucky bringing it back to Mike. Im hoping Vana will pick up the retrieving habit learning from Lucky and Daryl Hennens Coco. A day trip to Morris in Fridays wind with Anna along to keep me company turned out to be kind of an exercise in futility. The wind made it miserable hunting, but Vana did her job and gave me enough points on roosters for a two-bird limit. My miserable shooting hasnt improved and the one bird that I broke a wing on apparently wasnt hit very hard and it got away from both me and Vana to add insult to injury. . . Im toying with the idea of calling it a day when I get two chances and blow them both! Saturday was backyard cleanup day even though the leaves were still wet from the snow and rain, but on Sunday Daryl Hennen and I decided to explore the area west of Milan. We had planned on breakfast at the More Cafe in Milan but it was closed and the cafe near the river serves breakfast, but their stove was down and the owner recommended Pegs Cafe in Appleton where we ended up eating biscuits and gravy. There were lots of deer hunters and a few pheasant hunters out enjoying themselves on a day that was warm with little wind. Hennen

Brutes

Minnesotan in training by Gabe Licht

Its hard to believe that Ive been the editor of the Maple Lake Messenger for a year. Mondays Veterans Day program marked that milestone for me, as it was the first thing I covered a year ago. Once again, I was impressed not only with the quality of the program, but the way the students carried themselves. When the veterans were speaking, the students listened. When the students participated in the event by reading, reciting the pledge or singing, I could tell they were proud to salute veterans. And, of course the best part is when the students went down the receiving line of veterans, shaking their hands and thanking them for their service. Speaker Mike Yanish said the act meant a lot to him, as he had not been warmly welcomed home from Vietnam. Suffice it to say that the program was a success. As I start my second year here, Ive been reflecting a lot on my first year. The learning curve has leveled out a bit, but it still seems like I am learning something new every week, if not every day. Some things I have learned from making mistakes. Among those mistakes was my inclusion of a photo of a vehicle that was in an accident in last weeks paper. I was happy to report that the individual had escaped without lifethreatening injury. That was largely because she was wearing a seatbelt, something that should have been included. In fact, the details of the accident should have been verified with more than one source before it was printed. Furthermore, the photo should not have been printed without permission of the individual who had taken it. I sincerely apologize to everyone involved and thank everyone who contacted me with concerns, as I cannot correct or learn from a mistake if I do not know about it. Thank you for bearing with me as I try to make the paper better.

The Retiree
by Jerry Hoem guest columnist
The other day at the gym, we had just finished hearing the relative merits of Silver Sneakers versus Silver & Fit from Tom, the instructor, when Bob said to me, It looks like we've separated into two teams here. He was right. The people in our exercise class had split down the middle, with a dozen on the other side of the room and a dozen on our side. And the split was balanced, with each team having just as many diligent exercisers as fat out-of-shape people with a fear of death by flab. I think we should make a team sport of this, I said. Let's split up like we did in junior high school gym class. Those guys on the other side of the room will be the Skins, and we can be the Shirts. That's how Mr. Rodenborn did it in eighth grade basketball. Once in awhile a Shirt would pull up his shirt and a Skin would mistakenly pass the ball to him, but most of us can't throw any more, so that wouldn't be a problem. Tom always tells us how bad we are at bouncing balls. Oh, I think it would be a big problem, said Bob. Not throwing the ball, but getting the Skins to take off their shirts. Look around. How many of those people would you like to see with their shirts off? Some of us just ate, you know. Not many of them would want to take off their shirts, either, like the woman in the black over there. She still looks pretty good in a t-shirt and she'd object for sure. Or Ted, who just replaced his pacemaker and has another scar. I can imagine how that looks, but I'd rather not. Some of my ideas won't ever come to pass. I suspect those Skins take off their clothes in the locker room, and what's the harm in going up to the exercise room that way? After all, they can keep their shorts and sweatpants on. But with people who have seven or eight decades of experienceor six, or nineyou can expect they'd be set in their ways. I don't bother to use the pool at the gym, and don't know if they treat that the way we did in junior high, where the girls had swim suits but the boys didn't. Nobody complained then. Of course we didn't swim at the same time, or use the same locker rooms. People have bad ideas from time to time. Think of the Edsel. Or New Coca-Cola. Now we can look back at those ideas and say they were no good. But at the time, who knew? Bob's probably right. I guess I'll drop the idea. When I go to class, I usually just ate, too.

Letters
Readers are invited to take part in discussions of interest to the Maple Lake community. All letters to the editor must be signed and must include the writers address and telephone number. Letters of private thanks, solicitation, petition, and those containing libelous material will not be published. The Messenger reserves the right to edit all letters.

The National Education Association has set November 18 through 22, 2013 as American Education Week. Our students are fortunate to be part of a community that surrounds them with positive influences that help them succeed in their elementary and secondary education and prepare them for the next steps in their lives. We are proud of our students educational accomplishments and pleased to have so many dedicated educators in our schools. American Education Week provides an opportu-

nity to recognize public education and thank all the individuals who are making a difference by helping every child in Maple Lake receive a quality education. Please join us in thanking all of our staff members for their hard work and continuous efforts in providing the very best education for our students. Kris Harlan, Maple Lake Elementary Principal David J. Hansen, Maple Lake High School Principal Mark Redemske, Maple Lake Public Schools Superintendent

Ask a Trooper: Red lights, stop signs and crosswalks

by Sgt. Jesse Grabow
Question 1: If you are taking a right turn at a light and the light is red, are you supposed to stop? I ask because my daughter and I walk everywhere and a few times we have almost been hit by cars turning right while we had the walk signal. Answer 1: Yes, drivers coming upon a red light and turning right MUST stop. Question 2: Are you supposed to stop before a stop sign or is it legal to stop past the stop sign. I have seen a lot of people stop after and into cross walks. Answer 2: Vehicular traffic facing a circular red signal/stop sign alone must stop at a clearly marked stop line but, if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then before entering the intersection and shall remain standing until legal and safe to proceed through. Question 3: Are cars sup-

posed to wait for you to be out of a cross walk or can they pass if there is space for them to go by you? These questions are very important to me as I was already hit by a car while in a park with my daughter. I now have panic attacks when cars come close to me. So if these are legal actions I will be even more cautious about walking. Answer 3: Here is what the Minnesota State Statute says about pedestrians and vehicles pertaining to crosswalks: Where traffic-control signals are not in place or in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall stop to yield the right-ofway to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a marked crosswalk or at an intersection

with no marked crosswalk. The driver must remain stopped until the pedestrian has passed the lane in which the vehicle is stopped. No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield. If you have any questions concerning traffic related laws or issues in Minnesota, send your questions to Trp. Jesse Grabow Minnesota State Patrol at 1000 Highway 10 West, Detroit Lakes, MN 565012205. (You can follow him on Twitter @MSPPIO_NW or reach him at, jesse.grabow@state.mn.us).

Good News
This column is not intended for items of personal thanks, promotion or editorial comments. Its purpose is to simply give recognition to local residents for their contributions to our community.

We wish to thank everyone who donated items, volunteered their time, talents, pledged contributions, the support from our local businesses who sponsored the event, those who came and enjoyed the gala on Oct. 20th

and all the prayers sent our way for the success of our 4th annual fundraiser, it truly was a blessed evening! The communities of Hanover, Maple Lake, Silver Creek and Buffalo say THANKYOU!!! Love Inc. Committee

The Maple Lake

Maple Lake, MN 55358
Michele Pawlenty, Publisher publisher@maplelakemessenger.com Gabe Licht, Editor news@maplelakemessenger.com Harold Brutlag, Master Printer, Columnist, Publisher 1968-2000 Kayla Erickson, Projects Manager Vicki Grimmer, Ad Sales/Marketing Linda Ordorff, Office/News Ashley Becker, Student Intern Published every Wednesday at Maple Lake, MN 55358, Second Class Periodical Postage Paid at Maple Lake, MN 55358

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