WALKER-Steven White, Leech Lake Tribal Council member from District 3, presented a check for $2,500 from the council to Cass County Sheriff Tom Burch for the dive team during Tuesday's Cass County Board meeting.
He thanked the sheriff for the dive team's and multiple law enforcement agencies' work to recover the body of Kenneth Gale, who drowned in Leech Lake last summer. Gale's brother and sister also expressed their appreciation.
Lakes Area Dive Team is comprised largely of law enforcement officers who offer their time to search for missing boaters and drowning victims.
Gale's family noted the support offered to family members during the search and cited not only the sheriff's department, but also Leech Lake Tribal Police, Pike Bay Police and DNR officers.
In other county board business Tuesday, Auditor-Treasurer Sharon Anderson reported the Leech Lake Reservation has petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs to have 490 acres in Wilkinson Township, comprised of 12 land parcels, placed in trust for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.
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Recorder Katie Norby informed the board she has engaged Data Trace to replace a company that was providing property fraud alerts to county property owners a few years ago. Information about the service will be provided to landowners with their property tax bills this spring.
Any county landowner can sign up for alerts now, however, by going to the county website at www.co.cass.mn.us , click on recorder department, then on what's new. Data Trace will notify registered landowners whenever there is a change in recording on their property by email or post card.
Cass County will pay $3,000 per year for the service, but it is free to landowners.
Teamsters Local 320, representing Cass County jailers, has approved the same contract terms as agreed to earlier by other unions representing county employees.
It calls for 2.5 percent pay raises in January of 2017, 2018 and 2019, plus a July 1 step increase equal to about 3 percent for those who have not yet reached Step 10 on the pay scale (representing 10 years of service).
Those having more than 10 years of service receive Dec. 1 each year 1.75 percent of their base monthly pay as of that date multiplied by total full years of service instead of a step increase.
The county board authorized paying the budgeted $1,500 to Mississippi Headwaters Board and $5,000 to Cass County Agricultural Association (fair board).
Veterans Service Officer Jeff Woodford announced veterans of active duty, reserves or the National Guard members who served at Camp Lejeune between Aug. 1, 1953, and Dec. 31, 1987, may be eligible for a medical disability if they later suffered from any of the following illnesses:
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Adult leukemia, aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or Parkinson's disease.
The Veterans Administration has identified pollutants which were in the water at Camp Lejeune that could cause later development of these diseases.
Contact Woodford by phone at 218-947-7530 or by email at jeff.woodford@co.cass.mn.us for more information.
As a follow-up to reorganizing Health, Human and Veterans Services Department last month, the county board Tuesday named Renee Lukkason as the community health services administrator.
The board appointed Michael Hansen as the city of Pine River representative to the Pine River Sewer Board. He will fill the vacancy through this year of the unexpired term of Gary Siltman.
