June 10, 2021 at 1:12 p.m.
Commissioners updated on Working Together Coalition programs
Pine River-Backus, Northland Remer-Longville and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley School Districts participate in Working Together Coalition.
At high school graduation time and Memorial Day, students contacted owners of stores selling alcoholic beverages and asked whether they and adult chaperones could place Zero Adult Provider awareness stickers on beer and wine cooler multi-pack cartons.
Felton said they received an overwhelming positive response and have had some store owners ask for a roll of stickers to continue the program through the summer.
Sheriff Tom Burch has added the ZAP logo to the outside of squad cars. The message on the stickers reminds people that it is a criminal offense to provide alcohol to minors or, in Cass County, also to host a party where alcohol is served to minors.
The goal is to cut down on the number of adults who provide alcohol to minors and people who host underage drinking parties, Felton said.
All three school districts have alcohol prevention educational programs starting in fourth grade, she said.[[In-content Ad]]Betty and Jack Thomas made a presentation to the board on their plans and fund-raising efforts toward building Paws and Claws Animal Shelter in Hackensack. Cass is one of the few counties in the state without a shelter.
They have donated land for the project and established a means to create an endowment when they die that will keep the shelter operating. Their current effort is to seek grants and individual donations to build the building.
The Thomases have engaged a Houston, Texas, architect who specializes in state of the art shelter buildings to design the project. All individual kennels for dogs and cats would have individual air handling systems.
Phase 1 will include the animal shelter, a pet cemetery and a boarding facility. There also will be a spay and neuter facility and veterinary clinic.
Older people would be able to set up a trust for their pet's care if they die or can no longer care for their dog or cat, Betty said. The pet then would be placed in foster care and cared for the same way it has been at home. Any money left at the end of the pet's life would go to the shelter, she explained.
Phase 2 will be a training center for helper dogs to assist elderly people and veterans, Betty said. Paws and Claws is a tax-deductible non-profit corporation.
Jeff Holubar, Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust, a multi-county insurance trust serving 81 of Minnesota's 87 counties, reported claims experience enabled a 4.5 percent rate reduction for property and casualty coverage and a 7.8 percent rate reduction for workers' compensation in 2010. This meant a $3,401 reduction for Cass County, he said.
While MCIT's reinsurance costs were stable through 2011, Auditor-Treasurer Sharon Anderson, who serves on the MCIT board, said she expects those rates to rise because of flood and fire disasters around the country this year.
In addition to providing insurance to counties, MCIT also offers safety training programs online and via DVD and CD for county employees.
Second publication rights after Brainerd Dispatch.
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