The FCCLA students at Litchfield High School are helping members of our community who are in need with a food drive. Non-perishable food and personal care items and cash will be collected prior to the football game in Litchfield Wednesday evening.
Litchfield High School junior Josie Bjorkman says the game starts and 7 p.m. tomorrow evening and they’re asking that those attending bring items for the food shelf or a monetary donation. She says the need at the Food Shelf is greater than ever.
Bjorkman says the FCCLA also participated in a project called Socks for Samuel by collecting socks last night during the volleyball game. Litchfield High School junior Jailyn Mickelson says the Food Shelf is looking especially for items like cereal, baking items, condiments like jelly and ketchup, canned fruits and vegetables, toilet paper, shampoo, paper towels and laundry detergent. She says the food drive is kind of taking the place of the Halloween food collection that they used to do door-to-door.
Mickelson says cash donations are also greatly appreciated because for every one-dollar collected the food shelf is able to purchase $4 worth of food from Second Harvest Heartland.
The Litchfield School Board heard a presentation last night about the German American Partnership Program (GAPP). Students from Germany are in Litchfield right now for a 3-week exchange experience and will be leaving on October 25th.
German language instructor Carrie Larson says during the odd years, they find homes for about 20 German students who visit Litchfield in October, and then in the following even years, they send Litchfield students to Germany for a 3-week trip in June and the program builds life-long friendships. Larson says spring break is also an option for the Litchfield students to travel to Germany if they’re not comfortable with spending 3-weeks away from home.
German chaperone Christina Schneider told the Board that she’s been traveling to Litchfield in the GAPP program since 2007 with students ranging in age from 14-to-17 and the tears flow when it’s time to leave. She says they stop in New York City for a few days each year before returning to Germany and the students always ask if they can stay longer in Litchfield and skip New York. Larson told the Board that the cost for each Litchfield student to travel to Germany in June is between $3,000 and $4,000 and the Board gave her permission to begin fundraising for the June trip.
Also last night, the Litchfield School Board approved of a motion authorizing the administration to work with a consultant to develop a plan to address future facility and funding needs.
On Saturday afternoon at 2:53 p.m., the Stearns County Emergency Communications Center received a report of a baler on fire at the address of 27677 State Highway 4 in Spring Hill Township – about a half a mile east of Spring Hill. Stearns County Deputies arrived and located a New Holland baler on fire in a field.
Deputies spoke with 58-year-old Randy Bertram of Paynesville who was the owner of the baler. Bertram said that he noticed the baler began smoking in the field while baling corn stalks. Bertram moved the baler to a safe location where he was able to plow the ground around it to prevent any fire from spreading to the nearby crops. Lake Henry Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire.
