Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page B9

FRIDAY, MAY 2 2003STARTRIBUNE PAGE B9 A real estate couple whose last name is May deliver flowers annually to spread the word about their services. They also send gifts through the mail to former clients. Duane Tribune Realtors Dean and Barbara May checked a load of daisies in Bloomington before making their May Day deliveries to potential clients. Each year on May Day, they use flowers to advertise their services. Their son, daughter and some of their friends were in the background.

Building business in name of May Day By Delma J. Francis Star Tribune Staff Writer The sun coaxed dewdrops to diamond brilliance against the emerald green of lawns freshened by recent rain. A goldfinch played hide-and- seek among the branches of a towering pine tree. And, slowly, a small caravan of cars cruised by, each stopping periodically to release its cargo of people and flowers. Welcome to May Day, Dean and Barbara May style.

For 15 years the Mays, Realtors for have used the play on words to get their message across to potential clients and spread a little joy at the same time. Every May Day they deliver vials containing three daisies to about 1,200 to 1,500 houses. While the delivery takes three to four hours, preparation begins many hours before. But something they look forward to each year, along with their children. job selling real is pretty said Dean May, we decided to incorporate the whole family into as a way of squeezing in family time.

The three children Ryan, 27; Rachel, 24, and Dan, 19, are still involved. In fact, Rachel and Dan have never missed a year. been doing this for as long as I can said Dan, a senior at Minnehaha Academy. remember working for candy; that was my motivation. Then it was speed, to see how fast I could make deliveries; then for money.

But do it without the money. I enjoy the family he was four, have him sitting in the bathtub, filling up said Barbara May, with a smile. Big brother Ryan and sister Rachel were 12 and 9, respectively, when the May Day deliveries began. For them, it was a little bit of a classroom exercise. Their mom, a former teacher, home-schooled them for several years.

Day was the start of my marketing said Ryan, who works for United Defense in Fridley. came up with and slogan: How May We Help A touch of spring Cruising along slowly, ready to replenish ice cream bucket of daisy vials when needed, Rachel reflected on May Day. favorite part about this is seeing smiles. like bringing them a little bit of Ken Anderson agrees. He and his wife, Shirley, have lived in their home for 40 years and have received all 15 May Day floral gifts.

know he said. a nice touch of From a crew of only the immediate May family and Barbara mother, Margaret Linde, 15 years ago, May Day has grown to include friends, school mates, cousins and girlfriends, said Ryan. His wife, Stacy, started helping with de- liveries when they were dating in high school. This year, girlfriend, Sarah Wykstra, 18, joined in. But the No.

1 recruiter is Rachel, a youth minister at Friendship Church in Prior Lake. When she arrived at her house on Thursday, she had three church interns and two other friends in tow. the one who let us said Barbara. is a lot of work, and every year before we get finished we wonder if this be the last Dan said. sometimes a hassle for those involved because it is so echoed Ryan.

family Delma J. Francis is at guy is a classic pedophilic sexual said Minneapolis police Lt. Mike Sauro, who heads the sex crimes division. A second man has come forward with accusations of abuse since the arrest, and investigators are looking for other victims, Sauro said. Tomars, 46, has been a Minneapolis School District employee since 1987.

He was placed on paid leave this week from Edison High School, where he taught literature and coached boys and girls cross country. He previously taught at Windom Open School and at Harrison Education Center, a special-education school. He would face dismissal if there is evidence that he engaged in improper conduct, said Michael Goar, director of human resources and labor relations for the district. Two letters were sent this week to parents of Edison students, the first notifying them of the arrest of a teacher and coach and the second, on Thursday, identifying Tomars, said Lynn Brun, a district spokeswoman. Parents were encouraged to talk with their children and to make sure that they experienced anything suspicious, she said.

former student told investigators that their relationship continued past his 16th birthday. It included encounters at the home and at least one at Edison, according to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court. The former student told investigators that Tomars was a student of black magic and sorcery, the complaint said. The man also told police he had taken part in a ritual in which his hair and semen were placed on a piece of parchment bearing an occult inscription, according to a search warrant affidavit. The student said that the paper was kept in a charm bag at the altar inside home in the 2600 block of Aldrich Av.

S. in the Lowry Hill East neighborhood. In their search of the home, investigators found three Bur- mese pythons, a king snake, an anaconda, an iguana, a large turtle, a water monitor lizard and an alligator. The alligator was between 6 and 7 feet long and several of the snakes were more than 10 feet in length. The animals were healthy and were taken by a group that specializes in handling exotic reptiles, said Bob Marotto, manager of Minneapolis Animal Control.

Investigators also said they found potions and charms, and pentagrams and other occult images. They found volumes of black magic books and magazines, as well as pornographic pictures, books and magazines. Among the writings, police found the spell dedicated to the former student, according to the complaint. Tomars called upon a spirit to make the former student sexually obsessed with me the complaint said. shall be my sexual slave.

He will want me to tie him up and tease him and whip him. He will endure whatever I ask in order to please The allegations against To- mars come at a time when a national report on sex abuse by teachers finds that some states have enacted new laws to combat this age-old problem. Minnesota is among 27 states that have a law targeting teachers who abuse their positions of trust to have sex with students, according to the Education Week survey released this week. Seventeen states, including Minnesota, have laws designed to curb the practice of moving offenders from school to school. Those laws protect school officials from defamation suits based on job references given for current or ex- employees.

According to the Minnesota Board of Teaching, six teachers have had their licenses revoked this school year based on convictions for criminal sexual conduct. It is unclear whether those convictions involved students. Two other teachers have had their licenses suspended for five years for having inappropriate relationships with students. Tomars is charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. He was being held in the Hennepin County jail Thursday night in lieu of $75,000 bail.

Howie Padilla is at Allie Shah is at TEACHER fromB1 2nd man has alleged abuse; police seeking other victims Fosston teen dies in car-bus accident FOSSTON, MINN. A Fosston High School senior died after his car collided with a school bus this week. David Wille, 18, was heading home from school Tuesday afternoon when his car rear-ended the bus near Lengby, just southeast of Fosston. The State Patrol said Wille died Wednesday at a Fargo, N.D., hospital. Principal Tom Sedler said Wille was an excellent football player and also was on the varsity basketball team.

He was scheduled to graduate May 25. The bus was carrying 33 students. No one on the bus was hurt. Fosston is about 40 miles west of Bemidji and about 40 miles east of Crookston in northwestern Minnesota. Associated Press Predicting the disease is tricky, Neitzel said.

Its spread depends on rainfall, mosquito populations, bird migration and other factors. The high-risk period is mid- to late summer, Neitzel added. In Minnesota, 48 people were reported with the virus last year; all survived. The virus struck 992 horses in 84 counties in the state last year, and 38 percent of them died, according to University of Minnesota veterinarians. The Minnesota Board of Animal Health on Thursday urged horse owners to vaccinate now.

Health officials also urged people to use approved mosquito repellents and to reduce standing water, which serves as a breeding place for mosquitoes. No vaccine is available for humans. In severe cases, West Nile can cause encephalitis, a serious infection of the brain. The human death toll in other states was 284 last year, the CDC said. Domagala, the veterinarian who treated the horse, said that it was eight months pregnant and that its fetus also was lost.

The mare was slow and had a locked knee joint but show any of the typical neurological symptoms of West Nile until the last day, she said. The horse owner, who was not identified, had vaccinated it with one dose in late May 2002, but did not follow up with a booster three to four weeks later or another this year, as is recommended. An initial dose with a booster should last a year, the vaccine maker says. vaccinated all his mares with one dose the end of Domagala said. of the horses aborted a few weeks after that, and he decided he did not want to give any more West Nile Denise Charpentier, a spokeswoman for Fort Dodge Animal Health of Overland Park, which makes the vaccine for horses, said the label on the vaccine does not recommend its use in pregnant mares.

However, the safety study found that the vaccine did not cause any problems in 31 pregnant mares that were vaccinated. Nor has the company received reports of problems in pregnant horses since the vaccine has gone into widespread use, she said. Dr. Paul Anderson, assistant director of the Animal Health Board, said the vaccine is effective and certainly the tool that horse owners need to protect their Vaccinated horses are times more likely to survive West Nile, said Dr. Jeff Bender, an epidemiologist and professor of veterinary public health at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.

In Minnesota, 64 percent of stricken horses had not been vaccinated, he said. Another 20 percent had only one dose. About 15 percent had received both shots, but some of those may have become infected during the three weeks it takes to become fully protected, he added. The vaccines work by stimulating antibody production, and important to get the vaccinations and boosters at the recommended times, Bender said. In Crow Wing County, many horse owners are heeding the warnings to vaccinate.

need to vaccinate, and the bottom said Teri Kinney of Grey Wolf Equine Center east of Brainerd, whose horses have shown no sign of the disease. just all have to be aware that West Nile is in the United States and here to stay. All you can do is cross your fingers and hope it hit your West Nile has marched westward across the United States since it was first detected in New York in 1999. It was first reported in Minnesota last July and has been detected in all but six states. State health officials have not begun testing any birds for the disease.

Typically, the virus is confirmed in birds before found in mammals. Birds are believed to carry the virus into an area. Mosquitoes that feed on them become infected and then transmit the virus to horses or people they bite. Neitzel said the mosquito thought most likely to spread the disease to horses, a type known as Culex tarsalis likes prairie areas. That may explain why so many horses were affected in prairie states last year, he said.

In addition, many horses are raised in those states. Neitzel said theoretically possible that an adult mosquito infected with the virus could live through winter and bite a horse in the spring. Another theory is that a few mosquitoes hatched during the first warm days of spring. Neitzel said the Health Department will step up its efforts to detect and track West Nile in Crow Wing County. The reporters are at VIRUS fromB1 State board urges owners to vaccinate horses now Twin Cities MINN.

Crow Wing Co. Fire damages Wolverton antique shop WOLVERTON, MINN. The state fire office will investigate a fire early Thursday that heavily damaged a Main Street store in the western Minnesota town of Wolverton. Wilkin County Sheriff Tom Matejka said the fire appeared suspicious. A passing motorist reported smoke pouring out of Wolverton Treasures, an antique and specialty shop on Hwy.

75, shortly after midnight. Firefighters thought they had the fire out quickly, but it rekindled shortly after 6 a.m. Associated Press AT A GLANCE West Nile virus was first reported in Minnesota last July. Here is the tally for 2002 in the state: people in 31 counties; no deaths. horses in 84 counties; 38 percent were put down or died of the disease.

birds in 67 counties. Source: Minnesota Health Department, University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. A Minneapolis man charged with raping a woman who was waiting for a bus has been acquitted by a Hennepin County District Court jury. About 5:30 p.m. Nov.

8, a man approached a 21-year-old woman waiting at the bus stop at S. 8th St. and Hennepin Av. S. in downtown Minneapolis, the criminal complaint said.

The assailant forced her into a parking lot, repeatedly raped her and threatened to kill her, it said. Police found Michael D. Stigler in the area and arrested him. Stigler, 44, was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, third-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping. The jury heard testimony for four days and deliberated about a day before returning its not guilty verdict Wednesday to Judge H.

Peter Albrecht. Margaret Zack Minneapolis man acquitted of rape Briefs A former Minneapolis school bus driver previously convicted of molesting two kindergarten boys who rode his bus pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy and an 11-year-old boy at his house. Donald H. Hanson, 49, will be sentenced to 12 years in prison, plus 21 months for his March convictions for molesting the kindergartners. The 10-year-old, who had ridden bus, was invited along with the 11-year-old by Hanson to his Minneapolis home, where he gave them pop and candy.

He also bought them toys and clothes, the criminal complaint said. Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar said the fact that other victims and their parents came forward after the first case made it possible for a longer sentence in the second case. betrayed the trust of little she said. tried to get to know the children and their parents on his route who today must feel they were misled by A driver for the Minneapolis public schools since 1994, Hanson was fired last June. Terry Collins and Margaret Zack Ex-bus driver pleads guilty to sex assault St.

Paul man sent to prison for hammer attack at store Lonnie R. Thomas, who pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder for beating a co-worker with a hammer, was sentenced Thursday to eight years and four months in prison by Ramsey County District Judge George Stephenson. Thomas, 39, of St. Paul, was attempting to steal cash from an office in a Cub Foods store at the Har Mar Mall in Roseville at 12:14 a.m. on Feb.

25. He was interrupted by Denise Dillon, a night manager. Thomas attacked her with a hammer and then fled. Dillon was hospitalized for treatment of a broken arm and head injuries. A man who said he had given Thomas a ride to the store told police that Thomas had come out of the store with blood on his clothing.

Thomas told the driver that he had done something bad in the store and had hit someone with a hammer, police said. Thomas turned himself in about 2:30 p.m. the same day to Roseville police. Paul Gustafson Lonnie R. Thomas.