A lone bear was spotted walking in a field north of Kilkenny, near the intersection of Highway 99 and County Road 3, on May 1, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
DNR Wildlife Resource Biologist Andrew Tri, who is one of two bear research specialists in the state, spoke to the Faribault couple who reported the bear sighting.

A Warsaw man was transported to North Memorial Hospital following an accident at approximately 11:45 a.m. Thursday, May 17. Anthony Arthur Ernste, 69, was driving his 2006 Harley Davidon Roadster eastbound on Highway 60 approximately 1 mile west of Waterville . According to the Minnesota State Patrol report, a Dodge Ram Pick-up driven by John J. Gustav Moore, 76 of Waterville, was also travelling east on Highway 60 when the two collided. The report said the motorcycle slowed for an accident on the left shoulder and the pick-up was not able to stop fast enough to avoid the crash.

A two-vehicle accident in Eagle Lake Saturday evening, May 5, injured three.

A 2012 Ford Fusion driven by 32-year-old Amber Atherton of Waterville, and a 2010 Ford F-150 driven by Matthew Anderson, 42, of Clear Lake, IA, were involved in the crash at approximately 7:45 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 14 and 598th Ave near Casey's General Store.

More than three dozen couples attended the 2018 WEM Junior/Senior Prom in Waterville Saturday, May 5. The Grand march was held in Waterville followed by dinner and dancing at the Owatonna Country Club. More than 70 students also attended the Post Prom Party at The Village in Waterville.

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School’s Fine Arts Department presented another crowd-wowing performance last weekend, April 27 thru 29, with the third annual WEM STOCK. The theme for this year’s student-led production was “Shock Me All Night Long” and kept audience members entertained by spotlighting students’ vocal and instrumental talents. Choreographed dancing, artistic backdrops, and technical lighting added a nice polish to the show.
Pick up a copy of the May 3, 2018, Life or Enterprise for more photos.

O'Leary's Service Station, which stood at the corner at First Street North and Sakatah Boulevard in Waterville for more than 90 years, was demolished Monday, April 30. The station has not been operated since late December 2018 / early January 2018 when John "Johnny" O'Leary retired, and the iconic building was considered dilapidated. The property owners plan to use the land to create two pads for campers.

The small service station at the corner of First Street North and Sakatah Boulevard in Waterville is slated for demolition.
Locals refer to it simply as O'Leary's.
The place is as iconic as its manager, 98-year-old John "Johnny" O'Leary, who operated the station for almost 80 years, up until winter 2018 when his body no longer allowed him to work at the station.

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School junior Sarah Best, daughter of Dave and Cherie Best, earned first place in the Original Oratory division at the Class A Speech Tournament in Apple Valley on Saturday, April 21.
Senior Buccaneer Elijah Bass, son of Angela Sweetland, also competed in the State tourney and finished 12th in Extemporaneous Reading.
Pick up a copy of the April 26, 2018, Life or Enterprise to learn more.

A set of sisters, Claire and Natalie Elness, claimed top honors in the Annual Spelling Bee of Lutheran Elementary Schools in Southern Minnesota that was held at St. Paul's Lutheran School in Truman on April 21.
The girls are the daughters of Troy and Aubrey Wetzel and Alec and Nicole Elness.
Big sister Claire, a fifth grader at Trinity Lutheran School, North Morristown, competed in the fifth and sixth grade division, and little sister, Natalie, represented Trinity Lutheran in the third and fourth grade division.

Minnesota has new Czech Slovak ambassadors when the royalty was crowned at the annual Miss Czech Slovak MN Pageant at the American Legion Post 79 in Montgomery on Saturday. The new royalty is pictured with the night’s Czech Helpers. 

Pictured are: Czech Helpers Melanie Le Brun, Miss Congeniality and Second Princess Michelle Vlasak, Queen Heather Vikla, Czech Helper Hayden Dietz, First Princess Mary Carson and Czech Helper Alenka Jans. The royalty was crowned after interviews, parent introductions, and talent and kroj competition. 

Because of the severity of the winter storm, the Miss Czech Slovak MN Pageant has been moved to Saturday,  April 21. The location and times will remain the same. It will be held at the Montgomery American Legion Club. A public reception and dinner will be held prior to the 7 p.m. pageant. 
 
Pageant contestants include: Mary Carson, daughter of John and Rosalind Carson, Heather Vikla, daughter of David and Kelly Vikla, and Michelle Vlasak, daughter of Ed and Debbie Vlasak. 
 

Le Sueur County Historical Society (LCHS) is pushing back in the lawsuit brought by members who are asking for access to its documents and a “democratic” board election.
 
The response from LCHS was filed in Le Sueur County District Court on March 28 in response to a lawsuit from 16 members who allege the existing board of LCHS has mismanaged the society, has murky financial dealings, and has held anti-democratic processes, which, they state are contrary to Minnesota law and LCHS bylaws. In a filing on February 21, the citizens asked for a judge to intervene.
 

Jon Cramer, husband of 2005 Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School graduate Elissa (Preuss) Cramer, is recovering from a series of complications stemming from a ruptured appendix and a subsequent, emergency surgery to wash his organs and remove a section of his colon.
After three weeks in the hospital, Jon is now home recovering with the help of his wife, children, Carter, 5, and Maya, 4, and other family members and friends, but will be out of work for months.

A fire Friday, April 6 at approximately 3:30 p.m. damaged a garage at the Randy Coon residence located on North Cottrill St. in Waterville. Waterville fire fighters worked to keep the fire under control and not let it spread to adjacent homes. The garage was a detached, two stall garage. According to Fire Chief Chris Meskan the fire is under investigation. No one was home at the time of the fire.

Brian Spatenka of Waterville was honored with the 2018 Friend of the Fire Department Award during the Waterville Fire Dept. annual meeting March 19.
According to Waterville Fire Chief Chris Meskan, during the recent flooding events the last few years, Spatenka has voluntarily worked side-by-side with the fire department in sandbagging efforts around town.
He only took breaks to check the flooding around his home and refueling the generator that was running a pump to keep water out of his house.

Contract negotiations are currently underway between Waterville-Elysian-Morristown School principals and the school district.
Two of WEM’s three principals are working without current, signed employment contracts.
High School Principal John Kaplan’s most up-todate employment contract with the school district was signed on July 20, 2012. The term listed on the contract is 2011 to 2013.
Annastasia Braam, principal of WEM’s Morristown building, is also working under an outdated employment contract that covers 2015 to 2016.