Ramsey Resident - 1990 - September

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BUSINESS SCENE: 14150 Sunfish Lake Blvd. NW PARABODY, INC. If you haven't seen it yet, may we suggest that you take a drive along Sunfish Lake Blvd. and look at the new facility being constructed for Parabody Inc. What started out in 1979 as two young men in a 20' x 40' garage with high hopes and a lot of ambition developed into a company leasing a 45,000 square foot manufacturing plant on Hwy. #10 in Ramsey and a 20,000 square foot warehouse in Fridley. Parabody now boasts employing 150 persons and is relocating their warehousing operations and company head. quarters to their brand new 63,000 square foot facility on Sunfish Lake Blvd. Parabody manufactures free weight exercise equipment and services 350 dealers in the United States, Canada, Japan and Sweden. The company packages and ships over 10,000 units (40 truckloads of merchandise) per month. Each month the manufacturing operations consume 3/4 million pounds of steel, 900 sheets of plywood, 5,000 square yards of vinyl, 100 miles of welding wire, and 3000 pounds of powder paint. Over the past 2-3 years, Parabody has been introducing new products at a rate of 6-8 per year and is planning on another 6 new products in 1991. Again, please make it a pOint to drive by the new Parabody facility and see another one of our commmunity's success stories in the making. Congratulations, Parabody! USING A LIVE TREE AT CHRISTMAS REQUIRES SOME EARLY PLANNING Every year calls are received at the Anoka County Extension Office in reference to using a live potted or balled and burlap- ped evergreen for the holiday Christmas tree. This can be done but there are risks and the following guidelines MUST be followed for any chance of success. Even so, a winter with little snow cover can prove fatal. The hole that the tree wil be placed in must be dug early before the ground freezes. This hole can then be filled with wood chips or mulch and the backfill dirt placed in an area where it won't freeze. Purchase a small, usually not more than 6-7' tree that is balled and burlapped with a root ball of about 20.22" in diameter. Move the tree to a protected, unheated area such as a garage for several days prior to taking it into the home. This will lessen the effects of changes in temperature and humidity the tree will experience. Once you move the tree into the home, plan on leaving it there only 7-10 days. Place in a large tub or waterproof container so the ball can be kept moist but not standing in water. After a period of not more than 10 days put the tree back into the garage or shelter for a few days and then plant outside in the hole dug earlier in the season. Backfill with unfrozen dirt and using the mulch that was originally placed in the hole, mulch around the tree after it's planted. Water and in the spring resume watering to help the root system re-establish itself and to help settle the soil. FERTILIZING TREES IN THE FALL Fall tree fertilization is the easiest and probably the most ef- fective, reports Janette Monear, Tree Specialist for Anoka County Extension Service. The ground is easier to work and the nutrients will be available to the tree very early in the spring when growth begins. Fertilizer may be applied from late September until about Mid-November. A balanced fertilizer such as a 10-10.10 placed in 12-18 inch deep holes around the dripline (area where the bran- ching ends) of the tree is the most effective. Space the holes approximately 2 feet apart and apply approximately 2 TABLESPOONS per hole. Place all holes 3 feet from the trunk of a mature tree so that the root collar will not be damaged. After fertilizing, water with an open end hose until the soil is saturated to a depth of a least 11/2 to 2 feet deep. Water weekly until the ground freezes. Send $1.00 for the publication TREE FERTILIZATION to cover postage and handling to: Anoka County Extension Ser- vice, 550 Bunker Lake Blvd. NW, Anoka, MN 55303. RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING SEPTEMBER 21, 1990 AS BUSINESS APPRECIATION DAY WHEREAS, our business community forms the economic structure of our City and is vital to our quality of life and community spirit; and WHEREAS, our business community responds to the wants and needs of our citizens and is the vehicle for growth and prosperity; and WHEREAS, our business and industries offer goods and ser. vices which provide comfort and convenience and sustain the health, safety, and welfare of City residents; and WHEREAS, our business and industries provide employment which supports our standard of living and provides oppor- tunities for personal fulfillment; and WHEREAS, our eXisting businesses and industries are the foundation of our economy, provide continuity and stability in our community and offer opportunities fot the communi- ty growth through their expansion; and Whereas, new business and industries ensure a continuos- Iy stable community and yield new opportunities for com- munity and prosperity. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUN- CIL OF THE CITY OF RAMSEY, ANOKA COUNTY, STATE OF MINNESOTA, as follows; That the City Council of the City of Ramsey hereby proclaims September 21, 1990 as Business Development and Apprecia- tion Day and call upon all people of Ramsey to recognize and participate in this special observance. HOME STUDY COURSE ON FAMILY FINANCES Learn more about family financial management. A 6-lesson home stUdy course, Getting Control of Your Finances, begins September 26, with lessons mailed every two weeks. There is no mail-return. All activites are completed at home. Lessons include publications from the University of Min- nesota. Fee is $6.00. Send to Minnesota Extension Service- Hennepin County, 701 Decatur Avenue N.,Suite 105, Min- neapolis, MN 55427. A flyer is available by calling 542-1422. MINNESOTA EXTENSION SERVICE, ANOKA COUNTY TO CHARGE FOR MOST PUBLICATIONS To improve the quality of its educational publications, the University of Minnesota's Extension Service, including Anoka County, will begin charging a small fee for many of its printed materials beginning Sept. 1. Patrick J. Borich, dean and director of the Minnesota Extension Service, says the pric- ing policy will affect publications distributed through both county extension offices and the Distribution Center on the University's St. Paul campus. Last year, the Minnesota Extension Service distributed more than 1.7 million educational folders, brochures and fact sheets on nearly 2,000 topics at a cost of $742,000. Rising printing and mailing costs also played a role in the decision to charge for publications, according to Borich. Single-page fact sheets and small folders, however, will continue to be free. Publications of four to 12 pages will be priced between 50 cents and $3. Libraries will be able to purchase publications at a reduced cost so they can make them available to a wide audience. In addition, persons who cannot afford to pay for publications will be able to obtain them for free. Money collected from sales will pay for additional prin- ting, mailing and the purchase of new educational materials, according to Borich. "Unlike most other state extension services--including Iowa and Wisconsin--Minnesota has up to now resisted asking county offices to pay for the educational materials they order and use," Borich says. "We now find it necessary to try to recover at least some of our costs so we can maintain the high quality of educational material our citizens have come to expect.' , All county and state offices will charge the same price for publications. The branch stations of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station will also sell extension and experiment station publications. Each of Minnesota's 87 counties has an extension office, and several large counties have more than one. County ex- tension agents, who are University of Minnesota faculty members, provide educational programs and information to Minnesotans in the areas of agriculture, home economics, 4-H, natural resources and community economic development. For more information regarding this new charge policy, contact the Anoka County Extension Service, 755-1280. ~.. ~. RECYCLING IS AS EASY AS 1-2-3 1. REDUCE Residents must become environmentally conscientious consumers. We must purchase items based on some of the following simple guidelines. · How much do I need to purchase · Is the product over packaged · Is the packaging easy to recycle · Buy quality products as they last longer and do not need to be replaced as often. · Cancel unwanted cataloges and advertising mail · Keep appliances and vehicles in good working order to extend the products life and reduce energy costs. 2. REUSE When purchasing and disposing of materials, look at the potential future use of the products. Plastic eating utensils can be used over again at your next picnic or party. Glass and plastic jars can be used to store household items such as nails, screws and buttons. A reuseable coffee cup at work can add a personal touch to your work area and cut down on the number of disposable cups purchased by your office. 3. RECYCLE Many items can be recycled with a small amount of ef- fort. The most common are glass, metal cans, aluminum, and newspaper. These items can add up to immense sav- ings in landfill space and the use of virgin sources of materials. In the future, more programs will also be recycl- ing plastics but until that time consumers must be aware that the future Earth our children inherit lies with the choices we make. This includes the items we buy and how they af- fect the environment. All glass containers that food is pur- chased in may be recycled. Metal cans may also be recycl- ed as long as they are washed out before being recycled. jij ~ REMEMBER THE MORE WE REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE THE MORE OUR CHILDREN WILL HAVE IN THEIR LIFETIMES