Fire destroys shop near East Leaf Lake

By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Sheriff deputies, on Aug. 31, reported that a pilot about to land at the Battle Lake airport shortly after noon, for an organized fly-in, lost power but escaped injury when his plane landed in a corn field. A four-year-old passenger also escaped injury.

The pilot was a 41-year-old male from Kindred, North Dakota. There was minimal damage to the Piper Super Club airplane.

Minor injuries in

Amish buggy mishap

An accident involving a vehicle and Amish buggy and horse in eastern Otter Tail County, north of Bluffton, resulted in minor injuries to a person in the vehicle and scratches to the horse. The accident took place near the intersection of Highway 75 and 425th Street.

Sheriff deputies said the vehicle struck the right corner of the Amish cart. The time of the accident was 10:32 a,m. on Aug. 31. Sebeka Rescue, across the county border in Wadena County, responded to the scene of the accident.

Driver injured east

of Pelican Rapids

A driver escaped serious injury near Lake Lida, east of Pelican Rapids, at 2:09 a.m. on Sept. 1. Sheriff deputies said the driver failed to negotiate a sharp curve at the intersection of 430th Street and 233rd Avenue.

“The driver struck a tree but was able to call his father,” said a sheriff deputy. “He was transported by his father to an area hospital after sustaining an ankle injury. The driver was wearing a seatbelt and the airbag was deployed.”

Fire destroys shop

north of Henning

Sheriff deputies said that fire destroyed a shop near East Leaf Lake, north of Henning, on Sept. 1. Firefighters were called to the scene of the fire at 12:47 p.m.

The property owner was burning some brush at a bonfire about 100 yards away from the shop. Embers on a box, that he didn’t want burned, was thought be extinguished. He left it outside for an additional 30 minutes and then put it back in the shop.

Shortly thereafter he saw that the shop was on fire and called authorities. The shop contained a Piper Super Club airplane and numerous other valuable items. The shops was a total loss.

County traffic fatality

near Pelican Rapids

Sheriff deputies, on Sept. 4, reported a fatal traffic accident northeast of Pelican Rapids in Dunn Township. The accident took place at 8:53 p.m.

The victim was a 50-year-old resident of Barnesville, with the accident taking place on Highway 20 near Pelican Lake. This was a one-vehicle accident with the driver pronounced deceased at the scene of the accident.

The sheriff’s office was assisted by the Pelican Rapids Police Department, Pelican Rapids Ambulance, Pelican Rapids Fire Department, Life Link, Becker County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota State Patrol and Barnesville Police Department.