The following are stories from the previous week that appeared on www.jamestownsun.com and in The Jamestown Sun.
Man arrested after Thursday standoff
JAMESTOWN – The James Valley Special Operations team apprehended a 41-year-old man following an hours-long standoff on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 4, in northwest Jamestown.
Kevin Gene Garnica, no confirmed address, was arrested at about 4:20 p.m. in front of an apartment building at 119 5th St. NW, where he was reportedly armed with a gun and a knife. Garnica was inside unit 9.
Edinger said the Stutsman County Communications Center dispatched Jamestown Police Department officers to the apartment after receiving a report that Garnica held a female victim overnight and threatened to kill her, and she escaped. Garnica had warrants out of Pierce County in North Dakota and had made threats over recent weeks that he would injure or kill law enforcement, he said.
Edinger said reports will be forwarded to the Stutsman County State’s Attorney’s Office for formal charges.
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Executive director of Jamestown Tourism resigns
JAMESTOWN – The executive director of Jamestown Tourism submitted his resignation on Wednesday, Aug. 3, and his last day will be Sept. 9.
Searle Swedlund said he is thankful for those who supported him in the community. He has served as executive director since 2013.
Swedlund and his family are moving to Morris, Minnesota, and he will be working in economic development for the Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission.
Couple helps girl in Jamestown Reservoir
JAMESTOWN – A Jamestown couple saved a teenage girl from drowning in Jamestown Reservoir on Thursday afternoon, July 28.
Tim and Kylie Greshik were driving on their way to a funeral service by the reservoir when Kylie noticed someone’s head sticking out of the water and a kayak up against some rocks.
“That’s when I heard her scream and it kind of clicked,” Kylie said.
Tim slammed on the brakes, and they both heard someone screaming for help. The Greshiks went back to the girl’s location, which was south of the Hondo’s Hideaway and about 50 yards out in the water.
Kylie swam to the girl and had the girl backstroke to shore while she pushed her.
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Tim said the girl’s mother reached out to the Greshiks and thanked them for saving her daughter, who they did not identify because she is a juvenile.
Commission declines counteroffer on building purchase
JAMESTOWN – On Tuesday, Aug. 2, the Stutsman County Commission voted 3-0 to decline a counteroffer to purchase the Ringdahl EMS building and renegotiate a purchase agreement with a triple net lease with the seller.
The negotiation of the lease will include charging market-rate rental prices for office space, the upper level and heated garage space.
Stutsman County Sheriff Chad Kaiser said the original asking price was $850,000 and Stutsman County made an offer for $815,000 to purchase the building. A counteroffer of $835,000 was made that includes the seller, Ringdahl Inc., leasing back a portion of the building for one year at about $4,580 per month. The counteroffer also includes changing the lease to month to month at $6,200 per month. Ringdahl would pay for all utilities throughout the lease occupancy.
Commissioner Steve Cichos said a triple-net lease with Ringdahl would mean the lessee would pay for everything, including taxes, insurance and maintenance.
The commission has also been considering a proposal to construct a new building that is needed for storage for the Sheriff's Office.
City Council approves VC purchase
JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council unanimously approved on Monday, Aug. 1, a request from the city of Valley City to purchase three of Jamestown's solid waste vehicles.
Valley City will purchase three trucks for $30,000. The three trucks haven’t been used by Jamestown employees for about five years.
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The city of Valley City currently uses the trucks for emergency situations.
Ceremony for new headstone held at trooper's grave
JAMESTOWN — The only trooper for the North Dakota Highway Patrol killed in the line of duty was honored Monday, Aug. 1, at a ceremony for a new headstone that was placed at his grave in Highland Home Cemetery in Jamestown.
Trooper Beryl McLane, 58, died on July 30, 1954, near LaMoure, North Dakota, when his patrol car was struck head-on by a vehicle driven by a drunk driver traveling on the wrong side of the road at a high rate of speed, the patrol said.
The North Dakota Trooper's Association and an anonymous donor paid for the cost of a new headstone and his wife, Bernice, after learning Beryl McLane's headstone was small.
Officials from the Trooper's Association and North Dakota Highway Patrol, family members and others attended the ceremony at the cemetery.