The River Ridge School District has a new District Administrator. Dr. Kevin Shetler took over this school year.

"It's a pleasure and an honor to serve as the new superintendent of the River Ridge School District," said Shetler in a newsletter. "I have already had the opportunity to meet many enthusiastic and caring individuals within the community. In addition, I am most excited to collaborate with educators and parents to help students achieve at their potential for learning. In doing so, it is my hope that we can help the students stretch their talents as far as possible."

Shetler said that it is important to offer an open line of communication in an effort to build a bridge of trust between the school and home. It is critical, he said, that parents/guardians maintain a level of involvement that can effectively provide a cooperative effort to share in the responsibility of educating children.

Before coming to River Ridge, Shetler was the superintendent/middle school principal at Black Hawk Schools in South Wayne/Gratiot for two years. Before becoming superintendent, he was an elementary/middle school principal.

Shetler and his wife Kelly have four children, Ethan, 7, Kaelan, 5, Morgan, 3, and Olivia, 8 months.

Shetler said that it is his hope to make learning fun, engaging, interesting, and even challenging for students. In fact, he said that he feels that it is the job of the learning community to ensure that students in a kindergarten through high school environment have the skills and knowledge required to be successful members of society.

City representatives met Sept. 24 with Blair Dillman and a group of area businessmen who are proposing to assist the city in dealing with its storm water problems.

Following a Sept. 18 city council meeting at which the idea was introduced, the plan was further discussed at a joint meeting of concerned business people and members of the public works and storm water advisory committee.

Dillman and Randy Weeks spoke on behalf of the business group and reiterated their proposal to complete, largely at their own expense, five of the projects identified as high priority items on the city's proposed storm water utility.

If weather allows, they propose completing three, with estimated total costs of $122,000, before freeze-up this year. Because they would be supplying their own workers and equipment whenever possible, they felt the costs would be appreciably less than the estimate. The other two would be completed next year.

The business people involved freely admit that a major source of their motivation is to eliminate the need for a storm water utility, which they feel would place too great a burden on business.

Under the current system, the storm water costs are part of the total city budget, which is based on assessed property value. With that system, residential homeowners pay the majority of the storm water costs.

The utility costs would be based on the amount of storm water runoff generated by impervious surfaces (surfaces which do not absorb water) such as parking lots, and the major cost burden would shift to business and other organizations. Businesses which already had their own storm water retention systems would receive up to 50 percent credit for the systems. Dillman, who had come under fire at the council meeting for presenting an "11th hour proposal" just before a scheduled vote on the utility, said it was last-minute because, since he had his own retention system, he hadn't at first realized he would also be billed.

Most council and committee members at the meeting expressed an interest in exploring the possibilities of the plan, but wondered if abandoning the idea of a utility was not premature.

Kathleen Hein, a council member, praised the business proposal, saying, "as an engineer I like the idea of thinking outside the box." However, she suggested the storm water utility might be a good framework for storm water planning, perhaps only for a limited number of years. "At some point," she added, it won't be worth it to have a utility."

Mayor Cheryl Mader said there had been some discussion of setting up a utility and not funding it so it would be in place if needed. Mader said that without a utility homeowners would still pay an inordinate amount for storm water. "However," she added, "I haven't heard any great outcry from the homeowners."

Jaaren Riebe and Joe Ruskey, also council members, worried about funding for storm water projects without a utility. In a utility, said Riebe, money can be set aside to save for big projects; a city budget must be spent at the end of each year.

Despite reservations, the group will recommend at the Oct. 3 council meeting that an advisory group appointed by the mayor be formed to see if an acceptable plan can be worked out. The advisory group would consist of public works, council, residential and business representatives.

Contacted after the meeting, Randy Weeks of Design Homes elaborated on opposition to the utility. The tax burden on business, he agreed, was a major factor, but he also worried that a utility might become a permanent fixture. "Once in place," he said, "it's such a money-generator it never seems to go away."

Weeks said it was the position of businesses involved in the proposal that if the big projects are eliminated there should be no need for a utility, and the city would simply need to keep storm water maintenance projects a priority when creating a budget.

Over 60 businesses, he said, had signed a petition opposing the utility. So far, Dillman Equipment, Prairie Sand and Gravel, Design Homes, Bennett Hardwoods, Prairie Industries and Cabela's are the only groups lending financial support to the proposal, but Weeks said they "are hoping to bring more of the larger corporations on board to help solve the problems."

Weeks said he felt the Storm Water Technical Advisory Committee had done an excellent job of identifying the needs. "Hopefully," he said, "we can work together in eliminating the biggest problems."

"Eventually, we hope to have nontoxic shot for small game," said Yager about the lead poisoning problem.

Chellevold isn't implying that the process is easy, or that it comes without stress, financial hardship or mourning over irreplaceable items such as photographs or family heirlooms lost in the flood of August 18 and 19.

What he's trying to convey is that the residents aren't about to let the flood defeat them, and that if anything, the disaster has brought the community closer together.

Chellevold considers himself relatively fortunate that he had enough advance warning to prepare for the flood at the locker plant. Friends, relatives and employees came in about 2:30 a.m. Aug. 19 to help move whatever they could to higher ground. By 7 a.m. the water was in the street, and by 8 a.m. was lapping at the door. Ultimately, he said, there was 52 inches of water covering the slaughter floor and 18 inches in some other areas.

Chellevold said he was able to move all of the customers' meat cut and wrapped meat into locker drawers, where it remained cold. He had, however, to dispose of 16 beef and 14 lamb carcasses, worth approximately $30,000, which he was unable to refrigerate once the power went off. After talking with his insurance representative he believes that loss will be covered, since it was due not to the flood itself but to loss of electricity.

Ten days after the flood, with the assistance of volunteers, the building had been cleaned and sanitized, had passed state inspection and was open for business.

Chellevold said he knew of only one business in town that wasn't either open or planning to re-open. This had been a major concern for residents, who feared the town would lose businesses, the heart of the community, and also a major source of tax revenue.

Chellevold expected that a few residents would move, if not out of the community, at least out of the flood plain, but felt the vast majority planned to stay put and make whatever repairs or adaptations were necessary.

He praised the many volunteer groups and individuals who came to help. "Everybody's been really, really good. They've come from all over and been fantastic."

Even so, things are far from being back to normal. FEMA representatives are still doing damage assessments, and the village building inspector is completing an evaluation of flood-damaged homes to determine which ones have experienced substantial damage„damage in excess of 50 percent of assessed value.

If the damage is less than that, flood proofing is encouraged by not mandated. If the damage is more than 50 percent, the village cannot issue a permit for repairs unless the property is brought into compliance with flood plain zoning. In other words, if the building stays, it has to be raised above flood level.

Many people have returned to their homes, but deputy village clerk Maura Otis estimated there are about 25 people who are still displaced.

Residents are busy getting estimates for furnace or appliance replacement, wondering if their heating ducts can be cleaned or should be replaced„or wondering if they'll even be able to afford the necessary repairs. Some know how much assistance they will receive; others have not yet heard. FEMA assistance will cover only essential needs, so people are being encouraged to complete Small Business Association (SBA) application forms as well. The SBA can provide low interest loans, but the forms are also used to determine other types of appropriate assistance as well.

A committee appointed by the Village Board is in the process of weighing the options for prevention of future floods. These options include building a dike, raising buildings above flood level, cleaning out the river and relocating to higher ground. Judging by the reaction of the community as a whole, it appears that relocation will be the choice of only a few„and for some of those, it may be only because they have no other choice.

In the meantime, the community hasn't allowed the flood to interfere with the annual Apple Festival, scheduled for Sept. 29 and 30.

Apple Festival chairman Joe Brandt said that, with only minor adjustments, the festival will go on as planned. There will be good food and good music, a parade, an apple race, two and five mile runs, a horseshoe tournament, a rummage sale, kiddie carnival and flea market, among other things..

Brandt, too, remarked on all the help the community has received. "The outpouring has been unbelievable," he said, ticking off the names of the groups and organizations which have helped„and continue to help„with the cleanup, "and now we're moving on."

He added, however, that he hopes for a record-setting attendance at the Apple Festival, commenting "We need it now more than ever."