In case you missed it in The Sun the week of July 24, 2023
Jul. 29—The following stories from this week appeared on
and in The Jamestown Sun.
The Jamestown Finance and Legal Committee unanimously recommended approval on Tuesday, July 25, of a
reclassification of pay ranges
for various positions within the city of Jamestown effective Sept. 1.
If approved by the Jamestown City Council in August, the janitor I position at the Jamestown Civic Center will move from a range 10 to a range 18 and the janitor II position will move from a range 22 to 29. The classification of ranges are for employees' pay rate depending on years of service.
Other positions within the city of Jamestown that could be reclassified with City Council approval include those requiring a commercial driver's license.
Jay Sveum, deputy auditor/human resource officer for the city, said new federal regulations to obtain a CDL now require individuals to do more training.
He said pay increases under the reclassification pay range proposal are anywhere from $2.47 per hour to $3.04 per hour. He said it will cost the city about $59,000 from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 if the City Council approves the reclassification of pay ranges.
Homeowners who live on the east side of Jamestown Reservoir say that the Stutsman County Park Board has the authority to issue dock permits and change the language for the permits to accommodate the residents.
The homeowners say
they don't have the same rights
and full use of the land to the shoreline as the cabin owners on the west side of the reservoir.
"Throughout the whole perimeter of this reservoir, that land should be treated the same and it's not," said Steve Maier, a cabin owner for 35 years west of the reservoir and homeowner east of the reservoir.
The park board has issued 13 dock permits for 2023 to homeowners.
Stutsman County is the owner and manager of the land between the shoreline and the homeowners' property along the east side of Jamestown Reservoir. The Bureau of Reclamation is responsible for the operation of Jamestown Dam and Jamestown Reservoir and holds primary jurisdiction over the lands and water of the reservoir, according to Stutsman County's 2023 seasonal boat dock permit.
An anonymous application that was sent to the Lynx Links for Cancer organization might change Jamestown native Colby Schrenk and his family's lives.
The
application was picked
to receive the proceeds of the organization's charity golf tournament.
"We were blown away by the support, somebody reaching out and nominating him for that," Colby's father, Tyler Schrenk, said. "It was really early on in our journey when that took place. It was a lot of things going on outside of that. Once we got that news that he was nominated, it was touching that someone felt the need to try to help us out at a time when we weren't sure what we needed."
In early February, Colby, 7, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer that impacts a person's white and red blood cell count.
As of July 24, Schrenk said his son is continuing to fight acute myeloid leukemia at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo. Colby is undergoing chemotherapy at the hospital. Schrenk said his son will have to undergo a bone marrow transplant in the near future after not reacting to the chemotherapy during the most recent round.
The Lynx Links for Cancer organization will host the 10th annual golf on Friday, Aug. 11, at the Maple River Golf Course in Mapleton, North Dakota.
Mosquito counts in Jamestown
have been consistently high this summer, according to Shaun Schafer, vector control officer for the city of Jamestown.
Schafer said the number of mosquitoes caught in the nine traps around the city of Jamestown has been high since May. Average counts of 10 or more mosquitoes trigger consideration of spraying for adult mosquitoes.
"When it gets unbearable to sit outside and the traps are above 10 we spray," he said.
That has resulted in ground spraying Jamestown 13 times this summer.
The counts in the traps peaked at 68 in July prompting the city to authorize aerial spraying on July 12.
The Jamestown City Council approved on a 4-0 vote on Thursday, July 27, a
warding the bid for an emergency stormwater replacement
to CC Steel out of Fargo for almost $1.8 million.
Councilman Brian Kamlitz was not present at the special City Council meeting on Thursday.
City Engineer Travis Dillman said the city of Jamestown received quotes from CC Steel and Swanberg Construction out of Valley City. Swanberg Construction's quote was almost $1.9 million.
Dillman said CC Steel will work with Naastad Brothers Inc. on the project.
Stormwater runoff and flooding resulted in the failure of a 96-inch stormwater pipe located south of 25th Street Southwest and east of 8th Avenue Southwest. The sinkhole at the site was estimated to be 12 to 14 feet deep.
Dillman said the work is expected to start in September. The contractor is hoping to have the 96-inch pipe installed in the ground in seven days.
Dillman said 25th Street Southwest will be closed while the work is done and a detour route has been planned.
The North Dakota Division of Water Quality has issued
harmful algae bloom advisories
for two Stutsman County lakes.
Emily Joynt, environmental scientist with the division, said high levels of cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae have reached high levels in the waters behind the Jamestown Dam and at Alkali Lake.
"Once an advisory is placed it is tested every two weeks," she said.
The advisory is the second of three ratings the Division of Water Quality can issue concerning blue-green algae. If the bloom spreads to cover a significant portion of the body of water the advisory would be raised to a warning.
Lower levels of blue-green algae toxin have also been reported at Pipestem Reservoir and Roule Lake also in Stutsman County.
"We advise people who recreate to avoid areas with blooms, especially with young children and pets who are more likely to ingest water and to rinse off with clean water after swimming," Joynt said. "lf ingested, the toxin causes nausea and diarrhea within hours. Skin exposure to the toxin can cause rashes."
Blue-green algae toxins are dangerous to humans, pets and livestock.
