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	News from around Minnesota Associated Press September 16, 2006 http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/15532315.htm Proctor, Minn. - A man from Superior, Wis., who accused a priest of sexually abusing him forty years ago has received a $250,000 settlement in his lawsuit against the Diocese of Duluth and St. Rose Catholic Church in Proctor. The 53-year-old plaintiff said the Rev. John Nicholson molested him at the Proctor church beginning in 1965 when he was a 12-year-old altar boy. The plaintiff, a retired railroad worker, alleged that the sexual abuse caused him to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and permanent psychological damage. St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson, who is well-known for handling cases involving sexual abuse by clergy, represented the plaintiff, who declined an interview request Thursday. "It was a great relief," Anderson said of his client's reaction to the settlement. "This has tormented him every day in a very incapacitating way. The resolution of this brings a great opportunity for a new life at the age of 53." Anderson said 11 children were identified as being abused by Nicholson, who died in 1988. Anderson said four people associated with the diocese either witnessed Nicholson sexually abuse children, found him with children alone in his room or knew that he was sexually inappropriate with students. Duluth attorney John Kelly represented the Diocese of Duluth and St. Rose Catholic Church. "The Diocese and St. Rose Parish are pleased for all concerned that this matter has been settled and resolved," Kelly said. --- Faribault, Minn. (AP) - Brian Peterson, a candidate for City Council, has requested a re-count of ballots from Tuesday's primary election. Peterson fell short of making the general election ballot by a single vote, coming in seventh out of a 14-candidate field. The top six vote-getters advance to the Nov. 7 general election in which voters will choose candidates to fill the three open seats on the council. "Since it was just one vote and new machines, I decided I couldn't not do one," Peterson said. Tuesday was the first time Rice County's new precinct counters were used in an election. Peterson received 239 votes in the election, and Brian Haefner, who came in sixth, took 240 votes. The re-count is scheduled for Monday at the Rice County Government Center. --- Rochester, Minn. (AP) - The former coach of legendary gymnast Nadia Comaneci has jumped into a new job as head of JETS Gymnastics in Rochester. George Gorgoi, 63, considers the move a chance to develop more high-level athletes and put the city on the gymnastics map. Gorgoi coached the Romanian team, alongside coach Bella Karoli, at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in Montreal when Comaneci, then 14, earned the first "10" (a perfect score) in Olympic gymnastics history. She did it twice in that competition - on the uneven-parallel bars and the balance beam. Gorgoi recalls that even with a crowd of 26,000, "You could have heard a fly in the air; it was that quiet," Gorgoi said. "You can't begin to understand the stress psychologically she went through." Gorgoi became Comaneci's main coach the following year, and continued coaching her until 1981. He's been running a gymnastics program at a gym he bought in 1998 in Buffalo, N.Y. Gorgoi bought a house in Rochester and plans to start coaching in October. --- Willmar, Minn. (AP) - The Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission is looking to issue bonds to build a 16-bed psychiatric hospital in Willmar. The commission's joint operations board voted unanimously Thursday to start negotiating an arrangement with the Minnesota Department of Human Services. The bonds will total close to $4 million, the estimated cost of constructing and financing the facility, and will be repaid over 10 years. The plan calls for the commission to finance and own the hospital and lease it to the state, which would run and staff the inpatient psychiatric program. The facility is expected to employ 35 people, which would offset job losses when the adult mental health program closes at the Willmar Regional Treatment Center. "We have the opportunity to preserve a very valuable resource for our community and our county," said Steve Renquist, executive director of the commission. Throughout the state, programs at regional treatment centers are being replaced with smaller community hospitals. The state hopes to have the facility open by spring 2007.
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