In case you missed it in The Sun the week of May 8, 2023
May 13—The following stories from this week appeared on
and in The Jamestown Sun.
The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. Board of Directors unanimously approved on Monday, May 8,
an application for a Flex PACE interest buydown
for up to $25,000 for a business to purchase and renovate a building.
The building at 115 4th Ave. SE will be purchased by 4th Avenue Concepts, which is owned by Joel Guthmiller and Lori Tarno, and renovated to house Joe Mechanical LLC — a plumbing, heating and cooling contractor in Jamestown — and another tenant, said Corry Shevlin, CEO of JSDC. Guthmiller also owns Joe Mechanical.
Justin Skadsem, owner of Studio 40 Tattoo, said in a message to The Jamestown Sun that he will be staying in that location.
Shevlin said the maximum amount needed for the project is more than $17,400, but the JSDC New Business Attraction Committee recommended approval for up to $25,000 for the project. The funds will be used to buy down the interest rate and the savings will be passed along to tenants in the building, according to the application for the Flex PACE interest buydown.
Motorists who fueled up their vehicles in Jamestown got to enjoy the lowest gasoline prices in North Dakota on Tuesday, May 9.
The price of gasoline in Jamestown
was at $2.99 per gallon on Tuesday
at some gas stations in Jamestown, according to GasBuddy.com. The average price of gas in Stutsman County was $3.24 per gallon on Tuesday.
The average price of gasoline in North Dakota was $3.39 per gallon as of Tuesday afternoon, said Gene LaDoucer, regional director of public affairs for AAA-The Auto Club Group. He said the statewide average for gasoline was $4.01 per gallon at this time in 2022.
Combined releases from Jamestown and Pipestem reservoirs increased to 1,300 cubic feet per second by Wednesday afternoon, May 10, after recent precipitation, but
the risk for flooding remains normal
or potentially slightly elevated in the Jamestown area, according to Allen Schlag, hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck.
He said the actual risk is low for problematic high water that threatens roads or significantly impacts agricultural interests.
"We have seen the water remain abnormally high for the foreseeable future, but as far as the risk of flooding, I would say that's probably pretty close to normal, maybe even slightly elevated," he said.
A 3-inch rainfall north of Jamestown and Pipestem reservoirs resulted in an increase in combined releases from 1,000 cfs to 1,300 cfs by Wednesday afternoon, said Alex Flanigan, water manager of Pipestem Dam for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in an email. Combined releases increased from 1,000 cfs to 1,100 cfs on Monday, May 8, and again to 1,300 cfs on Wednesday afternoon.
Releases from Jamestown Reservoir increased from 700 cfs to 800 cfs on Tuesday, May 9, and were increased again to 900 cfs on Wednesday afternoon. Releases from Pipestem Reservoir increased from 300 cfs to 400 cfs on Monday.
Flanigan said the most probable peak combined release range from the two reservoirs is 1,300 cfs to 1,600 cfs.
A motion
to close Alfred Dickey Public or Stutsman County libraries for a week
for staff to review books for "explicit sexual material" failed due to a lack of a second at the James River Valley Library Board of Directors meeting.
Joe Rector, library system director, said Wednesday, May 10, that the staff would comply and meet the March 31, 2024, deadline of the passed House Bill 1205, which says "a public library may not maintain in its children's collection inventory books that contain explicit sexual material."
Rector suggested closing Alfred Dickey Public Library for a week in late July while Stutsman County Library remained open and vice versa to review the books.
Board member Gail Martin said she wants to hear from the attorney in California who is representing North Dakota librarians and board trustees at no cost as part of a class action lawsuit against HB 1205. The attorney, who is originally from Bismarck but is now located in Los Angeles, is from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and specializes in First Amendment cases.
Two business owners in Jamestown
provided a meal for Stutsman County Correctional Center employees
on Tuesday, May 9, during National Correctional Officer and Employee Appreciation Week, which is May 7-13.
Nikki Domke, owner of Grateful Plate, volunteered to cook and serve the meal while Bre Rueda Deleon, owner of Complete Cleanliness, cleaned Grateful Plate's kitchen.
Around 30 people, which included 22 correctional center employees, enjoyed a taco bar with all the fixings and homemade cookies. The correctional center also invited a nurse supervisor, members of the Stutsman County Law Enforcement Center's maintenance team and food service employees to join them as well.
Bre said she was interested in serving the meal to correctional center employees because they don't get much recognition. She said the two business owners wanted to serve a meal instead of just purchasing items or gift cards for the correctional center employees because everybody loves food and a "happy belly" means a "happy heart."
The
26th annual Penny Drive
at Jamestown Middle School raised $8,310 in five days, which was given to three recipients on Wednesday, May 10.
During a presentation on Wednesday at the school, each of the recipients received $2,770. They are Colby Schrenk, Dar Jung and JRMC Cancer Center.
Colby, 7, is a first grader at Roosevelt Elementary School. He was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on Feb. 2 and is facing an extensive treatment plan including being hospitalized for about four weeks at a time for four to six cycles over the next several months, school officials said. He is the son of Tyler and Lisa Schrenk, and Tyler coaches the high school football team.
Dar Jung, a substitute teacher for the Jamestown Public School District for many years, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in September 2022. Jung receives chemotherapy treatments every other week and travels to the Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo once a month for check-ups.
JRMC Cancer Center has been operating for four years. The donation will help provide gas and grocery cards to those going through treatment.
