Apple Valley Police Department members in the memorial ride, from left, were: Det. Tommie Booth, Ofc. Adam Tschida, Det. Brian Bone, Ofc. Brian Plantz, Ofc. Wayne Criger and Sgt. Greg Dahlstrom. (Photo submitted)

Six members of the Apple Valley Police Department recently donned road gear to participate in the annual Law Enforcement United memorial bicycle ride, a 250-mile trek from Chesapeake, Va., to Washington, D.C. to honor police officers killed in the line of duty.

The Apple Valley officers used their own money and did local fundraising to cover their costs for the May 10-12 ride, proceeds from which go toward a summer camp for children of fallen officers, and to help fund the Officer Down Memorial Page, a national registry of officers killed in the line of duty.

The six officers – Det. Brian Bone, Det. Tommie Booth, Ofc. Wayne Criger, Sgt. Greg Dahlstrom, Ofc. Brian Plantz and Ofc. Adam Tschida – were joined on the trip by their support team including Sgt. Mark Deming; Ofc. Criger’s son, Grant Criger; and Det. Booth’s wife, Katie Booth.

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Steve Sullivan & the Factory is bringing its indie-blues-folk fusion to the Kelley Park music series on June 14. (Photo submitted)

Apple Valley’s Kelley Park has become a Friday night gathering spot for families in recent summers with its free concert series hosted by the Apple Valley Arts Foundation.

This summer, Music in Kelley Park returns with eight nights of music starting June 7, when the series kicks off with local rock/country band The Laurent Brothers, featuring identical twin brothers Travis and Kalin Laurent. Special guests for the kickoff show will be the Southview Singers, directed by Greg Barnes from Southview Elementary.

Each concert runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and will see vendors offering festival food such as burgers and brats along with wine and beer. As in past years, there will be free weekly drawings guests can enter to win a new bicycle or guitar.

The series continues June 14 with the indie-blues-folk fusion of Steve Sullivan and the Factory, followed on June 21 by Dustin Hatzenbuhler, the Apple Valley singer-songwriter who this spring appeared on the NBC singing competition “The Voice.”

After the Dustin Hatzenbuhler concert, Music in Kelley Park takes a week off as attention in Apple Valley shifts to the annual Freedom Days festival at Johnny Cake Ridge Park and other local venues.

The concerts return to Kelley Park on July 5 with an evening of music by jazz singer T. Mychael Rambo. The David Gonzalez Band takes the stage July 12, followed July 19 by Patty Peterson & Friends.

Acoustic artist Michael Monroe, a native of Minnesota’s North Shore who’s played the Kelley Park music series each year since its inception in 2008, is set to perform July 26, and the summer concerts conclude Aug. 2 with jazz from MacPhail Center for Music’s instructors and students.

Admission is free to the Friday night concerts in the park located at Founders Lane and West 153rd Street in Apple Valley’s Central Village. More information about the series is at Facebook.com/MusicInKelleyPark.

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Jessica E. Dachel, 23, and Katie L. Scott, 22, allegedly used the stolen credit cards to purchase iPads, iPods, TV sets and other items totaling more than $3,700.

A criminal complaint filed recently in district court gives the following account:

The victim contacted Apple Valley police Jan. 28 to report the theft of her wallet and unauthorized transactions on her credit card after accidentally leaving the wallet in the checkout line at Cub Foods, 15350 Cedar Ave.

Police reviewed Cub Foods video surveillance, which showed Dachel, in line behind the victim, taking the wallet and placing it in her purse when she reached the checkout. Dachel then purchased a frozen pizza using her own debit card.

According to statements provided by Dachel and Scott to investigators, after taking the wallet Dachel called Scott and the two decided to use the credit cards to make purchases. They first drove to the Target store on Pilot Knob Road in Apple Valley, where Scott used a stolen credit card to purchase two TVs, two iPods, and an iPad, with the items totaling just over $1,700.

The duo then drove to the Target store on Cedar Avenue in Apple Valley, where Scott used a stolen credit card to buy an iPad, a docking station and multiple gift cards, with a total purchase price of approximately $2,050.

Dachel and Scott then headed to Walgreen’s, 15250 Cedar Ave., where Scott attempted to purchase 26 gift cards with a total value of $2,375, but left the store without the gift cards when she was asked to provide identification after presenting the credit card.

Dachel told police that she pawned an iPad and an iPod at a Burnsville pawn shop, and that she had shredded the contents of the stolen wallet, according to the complaint.

Dachel and Scott have each been charged with one count of financial transaction card fraud, a felony that’s punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Dachel was also charged with misdemeanor theft in connection with the stolen wallet.

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A mock crash at Lakeville South in October. (photo by Rick Orndorf

Mock crash a sobering reminder

It’s a special time of the year for high school students.

It is the season for elaborate proposals, corsages, limousine rides, perfect dresses, dinner reservations, dancing and memories. It can be a wild time for high school students during prom season.

But, how wild, exactly?

Behind all the excitement stand anxious parents and the watchful eyes of safety officers.

“Kids are having a great time, but kids will be teenagers,” Rosemount High School dean of students Drew Storley said. “You want them to think carefully; make sure it stays a celebration and not something else.”

Prom, homecoming and graduation are annual causes for celebration, but they can be magnets for trouble. So school districts and communities have taken steps to make sure these events are remembered with smiles.

Crashing the party

One of the most effective methods of teaching young people about their own safety is showing them what happens when things get out of control.

Rosemount High School was the site of a mock crash Thursday in the school parking lot where juniors and seniors witnessed what happens when alcohol mixes with driving.

It involved two cars, one carrying a parent and child, and another filled with Rosemount students dressed for prom.

Police and an ambulance were called to help who they could before making arrests. Perhaps one of the more effective reminders is that the cars used were destroyed in accidents caused by drinking and driving.

A helicopter airlifts one of the students away while a funeral home comes to gather the fatalities.

All of the juniors and seniors were 50 feet from the action.

There’s also a program for ninth- and 10th-graders featuring three speakers whose lives have been affected forever by driving-related accidents, along with a panel discussion.

Several of the speakers have had a family member or someone close to them die in an alcohol-related accident, but two spoke about distracted driving and the importance of wearing a seat belt.

“You have a lot of kids that say it will never happen to me because I don’t drink, but we try to show them that one quick decision can change a life,” Storley said.

Rosemount holds the event every other year so every student will experience the presentation before graduation.

“It’s pretty powerful stuff,” Storley said. “Some kids don’t realize how powerful it is. We always have special ed services and counseling services available. Everybody has different circumstances. For some it might hit a little to close to home.”

Does it work?

Teenagers are notoriously incorrigible, but they can sense when someone is being honest and genuine.

“It’s anecdotal – I don’t have any stats –­­­ but without a doubt anybody who sees the faces on these kids and sees what they’re talking about afterward, they take it seriously,” Storley said. “One thing that really surprises them is how long it takes for the emergency services to respond. They see in movies and TV, the ambulance arrives right away. They’re seeing it drawn out in real time and seeing their peers involved.”

Storley has been helping organize prom at Rosemount for 17 years.

“I almost never have anything negative,” he said. “I’ve never had to recognize any discipline issue. The kids have built up this moment as the end-all, be-all event of the year, so they’re not going to take any risks.”

Rosemount’s prom once again will be at the Great Hall in St. Paul. Grand march begins at 5:30 p.m. and dancing starts at 8:30 p.m. About 30 adults will be present as chaperones in addition to the on-staff security.

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The Crystal Mormon Church in Minneapolis is holding its second annual “Mormon Prom” from 7-10 p.m. Saturday.

This is the second year for the event. Last year, students from Lakeville organized a dance for their church as an alternative to those put on by area high schools.

“Two or three years ago some of the youths had gone to prom and had bad experiences because of the music and the way the students were carrying on,” said Kim Milne, president of the Young Women’s Organization for the 12 Mormon congregations from Apple Valley to Fairmont. “The next year they just didn’t go, but last year they came to us to see if we could put on a prom. The kids loved it. We talked with other congregations in the metro and we’ve decided to put on one big prom.”

She said many of the young people of the Mormon faith want to enjoy a dance where students had not been drinking and the dancing was not so suggestive, The prom is alcohol free, participants are modestly dressed, and the music is G-rated.

They’re expecting 200-300 students with about 45-50 coming from the Dakota County area. Parents have been organizing decorations for five months and professional party planners have donated their time to help set the scene.

They’ve invited any high school aged couple in the community that shares the ideals. Although, each participant must have an interview beforehand in order to get a dance card, which is their ticket into the dance.

“They have to sign off on a honor code,” Milne aid. “There’s guidelines for the way they dress like no sleeveless or low-cut dresses – more modest. The dancing needs to be appropriate. The music is prescreened. If they sign off, they get a free ticket.”

There are Mormon Proms all over the United States, but this was the first in Minnesota, according to Milne.

For more information about attending the prom contact Milne at 952-469-5534.

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Danny and Megan McHugh joined the “Rock of Ages” tour in August of last year, and they’ll be performing with the show through the end of the summer. (Photo submitted)

A career in theater is a dream Danny and Megan McHugh are chasing together.

The Apple Valley siblings cut their teeth in the performing arts while students at Eastview High School, and both went on to earn musical theater degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Their stage talents now find them on tour with “Rock of Ages,” the Tony-nominated rock ‘n’ roll musical that will be playing May 17-19 at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis.

“Touring with Danny is awesome – it’s comforting to have my brother with me on the road,” said Megan McHugh, who spoke with Sun Thisweek by phone Monday as the tour bus for the “Rock of Ages” cast was en route from Tennessee to Illinois.

In “Rock of Ages,” Danny McHugh plays glam rocker Joey Primo, while his younger sister Megan is cast as social activist and protester Regina. (Photo submitted)

“It’s a really good time because we actually do like each other,” she said with a laugh.

After an early regimen of voice and dance lessons while they were students at Greenleaf Elementary and Falcon Ridge Middle School in Apple Valley, the siblings embraced theater and music opportunities at Eastview. Megan McHugh’s a 2005 graduate of the high school; her older brother Danny McHugh graduated in 2002.

The siblings cite their involvement in the high school’s theater productions and the annual “Bravo!” music and dance shows – as well as the encouragement and training they received from performing arts instructors Judy Sagen and Scott Durocher – as helping to lay the groundwork for what they’re doing now.

“It was just so great to go to a school where the arts were so accepted,” Megan McHugh said. “It allowed us to think about the prospect of doing this as a career.”

The McHugh siblings joined the “Rock of Ages” tour in August of last year and will be performing with the show through the end of the summer.

As for their plans after “Rock of Ages,” both Danny and Megan McHugh plan to move to New York City to pursue musical theater there.

“Always together,” Megan said of the siblings’ bond.

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Jimmy Erickson

For the service project required to earn his Eagle Scout award, Jimmy Erickson collected more than 1,500 used books as a donation for Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis.

Along with the service project’s practical value, there was also a symbolic one.

Jimmy’s baby brother, Jack, was a frequent patient at Children’s Hospital prior to his death from a rare chromosome disorder, and spina bifida, in December 2005. Jack was seven days shy of his third birthday.

“Jack went in for surgery practically every three months, and I spent a lot of time at Children’s Hospital,” said 12-year-old Jimmy of Apple Valley, a member of Boy Scout Troop 205 and a seventh-grader at Falcon Ridge Middle School.

Jimmy, in fact, also has been a patient at the Minneapolis hospital – he had his tonsils removed there – and the Erickson family continues to volunteer at Children’s, wrapping Christmas presents each holiday season for the young patients.

Jimmy’s older brother, Andrew, also undertook an Eagle Scout service project with baby brother Jack in mind. Last spring, Andrew organized the Fun Run/Walk for Chromosome 18, which was held on the track at Eastview High School to raise money and awareness for the nonprofit Chromosome 18 Registry and Research Society.

For his own Eagle project, Jimmy set up collection boxes in his neighborhood and enlisted the help of his classmates at Falcon Ridge. He set up a drop box for used books at the school during the month of April, and recorded a video promo for the book drive that was aired as part of the school’s morning announcements.

He delivered the first of several batches of books to the hospital last week.

“The people at the hospital helped make it comfortable for us (while Jack was a patient there). I wanted to do something for them,” Jimmy said.

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Vlade N. Jones

A Bloomington man is facing criminal charges following a police chase on County Road 42 in Apple Valley earlier this month.

Police say 21-year-old Vlade N. Jones had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.18, more than twice the legal limit, when officers took him into custody in the early hours of Saturday, May 4.

The criminal complaint gives the following account:

At about 2:10 a.m. May 4, an Apple Valley officer observed Jones’ SUV speeding and running a red light on westbound County Road 42. When the officer activated his emergency lights to stop the vehicle, the SUV continued on at a high rate of speed.

At one point, near the County Road 42 and Cedar Avenue intersection, the SUV moved into the right lane, activated its right turn signal and appeared to be coming to a stop on the shoulder, but then abruptly moved back into the left lane and accelerated rapidly away.

Eventually, after turning off of 42 onto southbound Pennock Avenue, the SUV drove into the parking area of an apartment complex at a high rate of speed, “causing several pedestrians to scatter to avoid being hit,” the complaint said. The vehicle came to a stop, and Jones was taken into custody.

Arresting officers noted that Jones smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred, but field sobriety tests were not administered because “Jones was irate and swearing and yelling at officers,” according to the complaint. However, Jones provided police with a breath sample, which showed a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.18.

As he was being transported to Apple Valley police headquarters, Jones “continued to kick and bang his head against the window and other objects in the squad car,” the complaint said.

Jones has been charged with fleeing police in a motor vehicle, a felony punishable by up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine, along with two misdemeanor counts of DWI, which each carry a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

His next court appearance is scheduled for June 4 in Hastings. Jones remained in custody in the Dakota County Jail as of noon Monday.

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The Mouldy Figs (Photo submitted)

The Mouldy Figs, a Twin Cities jazz band specializing in 1950s-era Chicago-style jazz, will perform from 11 a.m. to noon Thursday, May 23, at Apple Valley’s Galaxie Library as part of the ongoing Silver Tea concert series geared to adults 55 and older.

Admission is free and more information is www.dakotacounty.us/library.

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According to testimony provided by the wife, light from the silent, low-flying object began shining into the bedroom just after 1 a.m. Saturday, April 27.

“I was almost asleep when I noticed a bright light shining on me through my closed eyes,” the wife reported on the witness database of the Mutual UFO Network, a Denver-based nonprofit which seeks to scientifically resolve the enigma of UFOs.

“I opened my eyes, woke my husband and we watched a silent object that didn’t seem very far away move south across the sky.

“The object seemed to be at the same level as us. It kept its beam of light facing our bedroom window for about 10 seconds … It just kept moving south until it was out of our view.”

The wife reported she did not get out of bed to watch the object’s departure because she was “paralyzed with fear.”

“My husband walked around the house a little just to check to make sure the doors were locked,” she stated.

The  Mutual UFO Network, or MUFON, compiles reports of such incidents and often conducts follow-up investigations with the witnesses, whose identities are not publicly released.

The Apple Valley Police Department received no reports of anomalous aerial phenomena in the early hours of April 27, police Capt. Michael Marben said.

Minnesota had four reported UFO sightings in April, according to coverage of the recent Apple Valley incident at the news and entertainment website Examiner.com.

“Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade,” the Examiner.com report notes.

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