A cartoon at a memorial outside Peter Hobart Elementary School in St. Louis Park says goodbye May 23 to Peter Hobart Elementary students who died in a landslide the previous day in St. Paul. (Sun staff photo by Seth Rowe)

A makeshift memorial honoring the lives of two Peter Hobart Elementary students who died on a field trip attracted a stream of parents, neighbors and well-wishers the day after a fatal landslide.

A hill at Lilydale Regional Park in the Mississippi River bluffs gave way May 22 as fourth-grade students from the St. Louis Park elementary school looked for fossils on a drizzly day in St. Paul.

At a May 23 news conference, Peter Hobart Elementary School Principal Shelley Nielsen, left, and St. Louis Park School District Supt. Debra Bowers, right, expressed their sympathies for families whose children became victims in a landslide at a St. Paul park during a field trip the previous day. (Sun staff photo by Seth Rowe)

A large-scale rescue operation helped uncover students partially buried in the landslide, but rescue workers recovered the bodies of two students who did not survive several feet of earth that covered them.

St. Louis Park School District officials did not release the names of the students killed in the accident, but published reports, citing family members and fire officials, identified the victims as Zack Mohamed Fofana, 10, and Haysem Sani, 9. Two other boys were also injured during the landslide as well. Two firefighters were injured during the rescue operation. One of the firefighters fell unconscious after a rock struck him in the head, St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard told members of the media.

On May 23, balloons fly over a memorial of teddy bears, poems and flowers dedicated to students from Peter Hobart Elementary School who became victims of a landslide in St. Paul park during a field trip the previous day. (Sun staff photo by Seth Rowe)

Authorities called off the operation after dark May 22 as a result of concern for the safety of rescue workers. They recovered the body of Zack Mohamed the following morning.

“It’s just awful,” said St. Louis Park parent Jennifer Vought as she laid down flowers and a note at a memorial near a front gate at Peter Hobart Elementary the morning of May 23 while recovery operations for Zack Mohamed were still underway in St. Paul.

“It’s a mother’s worst nightmare,” Vought said. “There’s just no words to explain the pain that the family’s feeling. I just feel very sad.”

Nearby, several women with tears in their eyes hugged and consoled each other quietly.

Richfield resident Brittany Frechette and Minneapolis resident Maria Martini lay down flowers May 23 at a memorial at Peter Hobart Elementary School in St. Louis Park for students who died in a landslide in St. Paul the previous day. (Sun staff photo by Seth Rowe)

News of the tragedy drew individuals from beyond St. Louis Park to the Peter Hobart Elementary memorial, which included children’s items like teddy bears, poems, a book about heaven and many bouquets of flowers.

Richfield resident Brittany Frechette, a mother of two young children, said she decided to visit the school after hearing about the incident on the news.

“I couldn’t imagine sending them off to school for a field trip and not seeing them again,” Frechette said. “My heart just goes out to the parents.”

Frechette visited the memorial with Minneapolis resident Maria Martini while the two were on their lunch break from Zerorez Carpet Cleaning.

“We got some flowers and came down to show our support,” said Martini, who noted she has a brother who is in elementary school.

Frechette added, “If it happened to my kids, I would take comfort that other people care and they’re not alone.”

Martini said she grew up in St. Paul, where she recalls the area where the incident took place often being closed in the winter and spring due to hazardous conditions.

“I was shocked it was even open at the time,” Martini said.

Although a school liaison officer with the St. Louis Park Police Department said media members could not enter the grounds of Peter Hobart Elementary the morning of May 23, the St. Louis Park School District conducted a press conference in front of the school that afternoon.

Peter Hobart Elementary School Principal Shelley Nielsen said the St. Paul parks and recreation staff had worked with school staff to plan the field trip. She said she did not have information on how school officials determined conditions were appropriate for the field trip May 22. Following the question about conditions, Communications Manager Sara Thompson with the St. Louis Park School District announced that officials would not answer any more questions, leading to a turbulent end to the press conference as some reporters shouted questions that went unanswered regarding the permitting process for the field trip.

Earlier in the briefing, Nielsen and St. Louis Park School District Supt. Debra Bowers each expressed their sorrow about the accident.

“It is an incredibly sad time for our schools and our entire school community,” Bowers said. “Our hearts go out to the families, friends and everyone touched by the accident.”

Nielsen said school officials were working to provide support and resources to students and staff and had also reached out to the families directly affected.

“We have spoken personally with the families today,” Nielsen said. “They are devastated.”

She described the students who died as having a love of life and learning. Their families have been very engaged in the schools and community, Nielsen said.

“They were feeling heartfelt for our community as we are trying to express our heartfelt emotions for them,” Nielsen said.

Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital has provided support for the general school population at Peter Hobart Elementary, Nielsen said.

“For many of our students, this is maybe the very first time they’ve dealt with a tragedy of this magnitude, losing a classmate or losing anyone at all in this life,” Nielsen said. “We’re blessed in the community to have a tremendous amount of support.”

Fund

Bowers noted that a fund has been created to assist students and families impacted by the tragedy.

Citizens Independent Bank, in conjunction with the St. Louis Park School District, is overseeing the “Peter Hobart Childrens Fund.” Donations may be made at the St. Louis Park branch, 5000 W. 36th St.; the Robbinsdale branch, 3700 W. Broadway; the Hopkins branch at 10901 Excelsior Blvd.; and the Plymouth branch, 15650 36th Ave. N.

Contact Seth Rowe at seth.rowe@ecm-inc.com

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by SUSAN VAN CLEAF

SUN PRESS NEWSPAPERS

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has scheduled a May 22 status conference to decide next steps in the application of Xcel Energy to construct a high voltage 115 kilovolt electric power transmission line in Plymouth and Medina.

The status conference took place after Governor Mark Dayton, on May 13, signed legislation relating to Xcel’s proposed Hollydale power line. Both houses of the state legislature approved a bill on May 8, with state representatives voting 76-55 in favor and state senators voting 61-0 in favor. State legislators crafted companion bills after residents of both cities expressed fears about potential environmental hazards of the proposed Hollydale high voltage line.

This edition of Sun Sailor went to press prior to the PUC status conference. The agenda called for an update on actions of the Governor and state legislature and arrangements for an Aug. 29 public hearing on Xcel’s application for a certificate of need for the high voltage power line. Also on the agenda was development of a new schedule for action on Xcel’s application for a route permit for the power line.

The certificate of need proceedings relating to a high voltage line falls under PUC’s umbrella and determination of a route or routes for power distribution lines falls under the umbrella of the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

The legislation signed by Gov. Dayton was in the form of an amendment to state statutes related to state regulation of energy providers. The amendment says that it applies specifically to the proposed rebuilding of eight miles of 69 kV transmission lines with a high-voltage transmission line to meet local area distribution needs. This is a description of the Hollydale project.

A short paragraph contains the guts of the amendment. It says, “The certificate of need may be approved only if the commission finds by clear and convincing evidence that there is no feasible and available distribution level alternative to the transmission line.”

It goes on to say that in making its findings, the commission shall consider “cost-effectiveness, energy conservation, and the protection or enhancement of environmental quality.”

Finally, the amendment suspends further proceedings on routing of a high voltage transmission line until PUC determines that the transmission line is needed.

State legislators from the Plymouth area introduced their bills pertaining to the Hollydale power line just before public hearings that took place in March at the Medina Entertainment Center. At the hearings, most of the speakers were residents saying that, in some places, the proposed 115 kV line would be too close to homes, public parks and wildlife areas.

The residents said they were concerned about potentially detrimental affects of a high voltage line on health of people and wildlife within range of the electromagnetic radiation.

Several speakers asked that Xcel Energy construct “Alternative A2” instead of the proposed 115kV line. Alternative A2 would include construction of a new 115/13.8 kV substation, located similarly to the Pomerleau Lake Substation proposed in the Hollydale project, and construction of six new 13.8 kV distribution lines. The new substation would be fed from Great River Energy’s existing 115 kV Parkers Lake – Plymouth transmission line.

Maps of Alternative A2 show distribution lines in Plymouth, but not in Medina.

At the March hearings Paul Lehman, regulatory manager for Xcel Energy, explained why his company was proposing the Hollydale power line. He said feeder circuits for the Plymouth area have been overloading over long distances. His company has exhausted reasonable solutions to the problem and now is looking at how to serve the area “reliably and safely.”

Lehman explained that the certificate of need process through the PUC is required only for 115 kV power lines and above and for power lines longer than 10 miles. PUC might possibly say that lower voltage alternative lines do not require a certificate of need and certificate of need proceedings would end. Then Xcel Energy would have to decide what to do next.

After the March hearings, some Medina residents said they did not receive notices of the proceedings in time for them to attend. They requested scheduling of an additional public hearing on the certificate of need for the Hollydale project. Hearings planned for Aug. 29 will give these Medina residents their chance to speak in public.

Administrative Law Judge Eric Lipman collected public comments about the certificate of need for the Hollydale project via public hearings and letters from the public.

In their March 25 letter, Plymouth residents Mike, Ginny and Katie Benusa said, “Please do not allow these high voltage power lines to go through the proposed residential neighborhoods in Plymouth. The power lines in many cases will be just yards away from homes. This will affect the value of our homes not to mention the health risks associated with these lines. They have the alternative to bury the lines or else use a different route.”

The Benusa family also said, “Have the Xcel officials taken the time to walk through the neighborhoods where they plan to put the lines? If so, I can’t fathom why they could even think this would be right.”

Contact Susan Van Cleaf at susan.vancleaf@ecm-inc.com.

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Bike helmet sales will be offered the first and third Thursday of each month through August and are held at Fire Station No. 3, 3300 Dunkirk Lane N.

The next sale will be 6-8 p.m., Thursday, June 6. Helmets range in size from toddler to extra-large adult and come in a variety of styles and colors. Traditional helmets cost $5-13 and multi-sport helmets are $15-23.

According to the Minnesota Safety Council, if all bikers wore helmets, one death could be prevented every day and one head injury could be prevented every four minutes.

For more information about the sale call 763-509-5198 or visit plymouthmn.gov.

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The group meets the last Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. at the Plymouth Creek Center, 14800 34th Avenue North. The organization’s programming features a wide range of topics.

The meeting on Wednesday, May 29 includes a program about “sleepers.” Presenter David Schlueter will speak about items that might surprise collectors when their value is determined. Schlueter will offer appraisal for one small item per attendee.

Plymouth Antique and Collectables Club welcomes new and prospective members at any time. For information call Arlene at 763-559-9636.

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The museum will be open 1-3 p.m. the first and third Sunday of the month beginning June 2 and running through October. The museum provides opportunity to see new exhibits and learn more about Plymouth’s history.

In addition to open house hours, Plymouth Historical Society will host business meetings 7 p.m. the fourth Monday of each month at the Old Town Hall location. Visitors are welcome to attend the meetings and tour the exhibits at that time as well.

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Attendees can walk, run or bike between stations set up along the bike and walking path around the lake. Each station will demonstrate an aspect of the health or history of the lake, local wildlife and fishing as well as how to support the association in its mission to improve the health of the lake for all area citizens.

City of Medicine Lake Mayor Gary Holter will be in attendance and Harty’s Boatworks North will provide boat rides across the lake.

There is no cost to attend, and participants can start at any point along the lake’s trail. Rain date is Sunday, June 9.

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The event will provide attendees the opportunity to learn about the club and its horses. There will be games for the entire family at the event and a free horse show demonstration. Various vendors and a food booth will be available.

There is no cost to attend the open house, and all ages are welcome. For more information, call 612-819-9296.

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Nifty Nineties Luncheon 

12:30-2:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 4. Cost: $9 (free for 90-year-olds).

Event will honor and celebrate folks 90-years-old and counting. Entertainment will be provided by accordionist Skeets Langley. Several antique cars will be around for rides or viewing and Mintáhoe in Minneapolis will cater a lunch that will appeal to all – including dessert. Those older than 90 need to register by Monday, May 27.

Norway – Travelogue

10:30-11:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 5. Cost: $5.

Richard Kain will lead the program exploring an unusual area of Norway through his photographs of the trip. Kain’s photographs depict everything from walruses in the north, to Kirkenes homeland of the Sami (Laplanders) native people. Nordic treats will be served. Registration is requested by Monday, June 3.

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The grant program recently surpassed $1 million in donations to fund safety-related equipment and projects.

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8:00 a.m. – Mass at Holy Name Church, 155 County Road 24, Medina.

8:45 a.m. – Holy Name Cemetery, Medina

9:15 a.m. – St. Anne’s Cemetery, Hamel Road and Sioux Drive, Hamel.

9:45 a.m. – St. Thomas Cemetery, Trail Haven Road and 93rd Avenue North, Corcoran 

10:00 a.m. – St. Jeanne Cemetery, County Road 50 east of Rolling Hills Road, Corcoran.

10:20 a.m. – Old St. Thomas Cemetery, Trail Haven Road and 93rd Avenue North Corcoran

10:45 a.m. – St. Patrick Cemetery, County Road 10 and Nottingham Parkway North, Maple Grove

11:15 a.m. – St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Rockford Road and West Medicine Lake Drive, Plymouth.

11:40 a.m. – German Liberal Cemetery, 2695 Hamel Road, Medina.

For more information contact Roman Rowan at 763-553-2926.

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