Kenneth W. Dobie, of International Falls, Minn., died Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2008, at Falls Good Samaritan Care Center. He was 86 years of age.
He was born March 5, 1922, at Kasota Township, Minn. Kenneth grew up in St. Peter and moved to International Falls in 1951.
He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on Sept. 8, 1942, and served at Iwo Jima during World War II and received the Purple Heart Medal on July 25, 1944. He was honorably discharged Oct. 13, 1945.
On July 3, 1946, he was united in marriage to Geraldine McCabe at St. Peter, Minn.

Greg D. Olson, 52, Orr, passed away unexpectedly Monday, Dec. 22, 2008, at St. Mary’s Medical Center, Duluth, the result of injuries sustained from a tragic accident.
Memorial services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 27, at Calvary Lutheran Church, Orr.
A gathering of family and friends will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Pastor Bruce Dissell will be the officiant.
Honorary bearers will be Rick Appleby, Rick Scheuring, John Jirik, Glen Erickson, Dick Olson and Russell Holman.
Music will be provided by the Calvary Choir, Harold Anderson and Michelle Long.

Local man collects, displays antique ornaments

When Dennis Pelland decorates his Christmas tree, it’s a worldly celebration.

Pelland’s tree is loaded with precious antique European and American ornaments, dated from the late 1800s through the 1950s.

Each of the fragile beauties was handmade in Germany, Russia, Poland, Sweden or the United States. Many are made of mercury glass.

By LARRY WICKSTROM, FHS Class of 1966

It’s a week before Christmas, our last one as students at Falls High School.

• The Koochiching County Board learned Tuesday that Gov. Tim Pawlenty has cut $75,000 in funding to the county. The money will likely come out of the county’s general fund, according to county coordinator Teresa Jaksa.

Voyageurs National Park staff has been evaluating ice conditions on a daily basis and has found insufficient ice to extend the Green Trail from Ash River to Crane Lake this week.
The Green Trail between Black Bay on Rainy Lake and the Ash River community is opened and staked. Patches of slush are present along the trail and winds have created extensive snow drifts. Caution is advised as there are two pressure ridges on Black Bay and one on Kabetogama Lake north from Sphunge Island. All are clearly marked.

A Reed is back in control of the Bronco boys swimming and diving program, and the athletes are hoping results — and a rise in numbers — will soon follow

Finally.

After swimming through practice after practice, the Bronco boys swimming and diving team finally opens the season Tuesday at home in an invitational.

With Chisholm dropping the program this season, the Falls was left with only the Hibbing relays as competition before Christmas break, and that’s considered a scrimmage.

DNR Staff Report

Winter is the time to change the composition of bird foods offered and perhaps the arrangement of your feeders.

This will aid in the birds' survival, as well as increase your viewing enjoyment in the snowy months ahead.

Permanent residents, such as chickadees and cardinals, are dependable every year. Some winter visitors are birds of boreal regions. Their feeding patterns are unpredictable and tend to be cyclic. Numbers can peak at three to four or nine to 10 year intervals, or they can be "irruptive," meaning periodic appearances of unusually high numbers.

By Outdoor News

LAKE MILLE LACS
East — There is some vehicle traffic to the mud flats now that the roads are plowed. The walleye bite has been decent on the edges of the flats in 27 feet. The Boot and Blue Jug flats seem to be most productive. The best perch reports, at least for a few more big fish, are coming from just outside Isle Bay in 14 to 17 feet.

Heart of Continent Partnership plans events

VNP Staff Report

The next Heart of the Continent Partnership meeting is coming to International Falls on Jan. 15 and 16.

On Jan. 15, HOCP will sponsor a science lecture at 6:30 p.m. at the Voyageurs National Park Rainy Lake Visitor Center. The topic is about lake sturgeon in the Namakan Reservoir. The lecture will be 40-45 minutes, with time for questions and discussion after. Light refreshments will be served.