Bradbury Township

Mille Lacs News

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Nexus

James D'Angelo

CEO

Board Members

Janet Benway Chairperson
 

Larry Riesselman,

Vice Chairperson
 

Father Jerry Schik,

Secretary
 

Darnell Allen
 

Tami Farrell-LaQua
 

Peter Freeman
 

Kevin Gray
 

Jeffrey Talley
 

Laurie Zenner
 

5/26/2007
 

Nexus "Steals Home" in Onamia
 

Mille Lacs News staff writer

Jim D'Angelo

"Nobody wants to live by us," said Nexus CEO James D'Angelo about the Mille Lacs Academy, a juvenile sex offender treatment facility which is forcing itself on neighbors in Bradbury Township.                  

That was one of the few things he said which I actually believed during my lengthy telephone conversation with the smooth-talking head of Nexus, a multi-million dollar nonprofit organization which is bullying it's way into a neighborhood where indeed nobody wants to live by them.

"We will be neighbors," D'Angelo said, stressing that no matter how strongly individual property owners oppose the forced occupation by this sex offender facility, they have absolutely no control, no say about what is coming into this residential area. Or who....

"For the Good of the Community?"

When does the good of the community supersede an individual's (or 20 individuals') rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness? When there is an agenda to be met and money to be made. Jim D'Angelo says, "We will leave a very small footprint on the land." Yet, on the other hand, he proclaims with enthusiasm that this project will be the largest in the history of Onamia. So which will it be? Small footprint? Or largest project? If someone has tiny feet but wears oversized shoes, it is the size of the shoes which will leave a huge footprint.

The "for the good of the community" argument falls short when one considers that this institution doesn't have to be built in it's currently planned location. There are more appropriate sites in the area. What it amounts to is: disregarding the lives of certain citizens - not for the good of the community, but for the good of one commercial enterprise, i.e. ruining people's lives to benefit a single business.. It's all about money. Nexus could certainly build in a different location - one which would not affect any local residents, but chooses not to because it would be more expensive. With a yearly budget of $38 million dollars, Nexus could afford to pay for the added cost. Instead, it chooses to save money and sacrifice people unnecessarily - neighbors who are part of the community. People who, at least until recently, believed they were part of the community...

There Goes the Neighborhood

"We've been a good neighbor for many years," D'Angelo says.

"Well, what are we? Chopped liver?" responds one of the Bradbury residents. "Most of us folks in the neighborhood have been here for far more years than Nexus. We were born here, grew up here, went to school here, worked here, fell in love here, got married here, built our homes here, raised our families here, and buried our loved ones here. We are neighbors who spent our money here, bought our groceries here, paid our taxes here... and we have been good neighbors here. Real neighbors... We live here. Jim D'Angelo lives in Golden Valley. He is not our neighbor."

When I asked James D'Angelo why people don't want to live next to his sex offender treatment facilities (he runs four of them), he said, "Oh, you know. The traffic, the noise.... the boys." He said he likes the 38 acres site because of the neighborhood's peace and quiet. It is very private.

"But it's our privacy," exclaims an exasperated property owner whose land sits adjacent to the proposed Nexus complex - which is planning to construct several buildings, including: a school, a recreation hall, several dormitories, an administration building, a gymnasium, and more. Outdoor recreational areas, such as ball fields are also part of the plan. Not to mention new roads, driveways, parking lots, street lights, etc. etc.  These private citizens (private in the literal sense), have no desire to forfeit that privacy. Like everyone else not wanting to live next to this juvenile sex offender facility, they don't want the traffic, the noise, or 94 boys. They want their privacy protected. But there is no one who will support them. In fact, all of the town leaders and many of the Onamian citizens stand firmly against the people who are protesting the relocation of the Mille Lacs Academy to their neighborhood.

"We will continue to fight 'til the end, and then some," said J.J. Swift, a well-known musician, composer, and owner of Tundradogs Music Publishing. A thirty-year resident, Swift has been one of the most out-spoken in the opposition to Nexus and the Onamia city officials. She has composed most of her music from her farm in Bradbury Township, including a six movement symphonic suite which was inspired by the beauty, nature, and wildlife in the area. "I wrote 'Heart in the Forest' here," Swift said. "The piece includes movements such as 'Deer in the Meadow', 'The Pines', 'The Bradbury Brook'... all inspired by the area where I live. What am I going to write now? 'Perverts in the Parking Lot'?"

Swift, like other local residents, is upset that such a small group of people - a seller, a mayor, four city councilmen, and a corporate CEO can destroy an entire neighborhood on a whim. "What is happening here is un-American," she said. "We aren't going to roll over and play dead for these people. There are principles at stake."