Mn Highway Dept

Name Released in Buhl Motorcycle Fatality

The name of the man who died in a motorcycle accident near Buhl on Friday has been released.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, Eric Oklobzija, 40, of Nashwauk (formerly of Virginia), was killed in an accident around noon on Friday. Oklobzija was driving westbound on Highway 169 when a car traveling northbound on Morse Road attempted to cross Highway 169 into Buhl. The driver of that car, Jason Sulzbach, 22, of Buhl, started to pull his car out from the crossover, he saw the motorcycle and stopped. Oklobzija laid down his bike and struck Sulzbach’s car. Oklobzija was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. Alcohol was not a factor in the accident.

Keith Archambeau, 28, of Mt. Iron was a passenger in Sulzbach’s car and was not injured in the crash.

The Chisholm Police Department and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department assisted the Minnesota State Patrol on the scene.

Norman Sears at Lake Benton News

Memorial services for Norman George Sears will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13 at the First Baptist Church of Lake Benton. Pastor Mark Fish will be officiating. Prior to the me­morial service, the family will have a private inter­ment at the Lake Benton Cemetery.

A tree will be planted in memory of Norman on the nature trail within his com­munity of Alamo, Texas.

Arrangements are pro­vided by Hartquist Funer­al Home, Utoft–Johansen Chapel in Lake Benton. On-line registry, condo­lences and video tribute may be found at www.hartquistfuneral.com.

On Monday, July 4 Nor­man George Sears, age 72 of Alamo, Texas, passed away at the McAllen Medi­cal Center in McAllen, Texas due to complica­tions caused by a massive stroke he suffered on Nov. 2, 2010.

He was born to the late George and Gladys (McLaird) Sears on Aug 31, 1938 in Lake Benton. Norman attended grade school in Lake Benton and graduated from Lake Ben­ton High School in 1956. On Sept. 21, 1958 Norman married the love of his life, Barbara VanDrunen, in Tyler at the Alliance Bible Church.

In 1961 Norman received a Bachelor of Science de­gree in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota in Minneapo­lis. Upon graduation, he started his career as a civil engineer with the State of Minnesota within the highway department. Nor­man switched his career path and began his federal civil service career with the USDA Forest Service in Missoula, Mont. in 1963. This career path took him and his family from Mis­soula, Mont. to Grangeville, Idaho to Washington, D.C. on to Milwaukee, Wis. and eventually back to Wash­ington, D.C., where he ended his career. In 1994 Norman and Barbara re­tired to Lake Benton. They eventually found their way to Alamo, Texas where they were currently resid­ing when Norman passed away.

Outside of his career, Norman was involved within his community. As a young boy he was a mem­ber of the Boy Scouts and was active in school activi­ties. Once retired, Norman became a member of the Lake Benton School Board and sat on the Board of Directors of ITC, the local telephone company. As a church member, Norman was a leader in the Awa­na youth program and a church deacon; he served as a member of many church building commit­tees and supervised the construction of a large Christian grade school in Watertown, Wis.

In his free time Norman enjoyed sharing his many stories of Lake Benton with friends, family or to whomever would listen. He also loved to spend time with his family, par­ticularly his grandchildren, taking them on many trips. He enjoyed gardening, bird watching and work­ing with his hands.

Annual report of the State Highway Commission of Minnesota

Report

Report of the commissioner of highways

T.H. 100 and West 36th Street study, prepared for City of St. Louis Park and Minnesota Highway Department

Uniform plan for operation of school patrols in Minnesota