spv aug 2012

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Mary Diedrick HansenStaff Writer

Trucks and steam shov-els rumbled noisily in

the background providing an exciting backdrop for the June 25 groundbreak-ing ceremony for a new West St. Paul Sports Dome. The 110,000-square-foot, $7 million structure is be-ing built by Jorgenson Construction Company on city-owned property next to City Hall at the southwest

corner of Wentworth and Livingston Avenues, one block west of South Robert Street. By the end of August concrete work should be complete and the dome fit-ted with its fabric top. The projected completion date is mid-October, with doors opening for activities on Nov. 1.

It was three years ago that City Councilmember Jim Englund broached the topic of building a sports cen-ter in the city. The original

plan included a new hockey arena in addition to the Sports Dome but after care-ful analysis the hockey are-na was deemed too costly. The city council voted 4-2 in favor of financing plans for the dome, which will be paid primarily through the sale of taxable and nontax-able bonds.

Although the dome will be used primarily for soccer, lacrosse and other sports, it will be open to the commu-nity with an indoor walking

area around the perimeter of the field.

Councilmember Ed Iago, president of West St. Paul’s Economic Development Authority, said that from an economic standpoint the Sports Dome is expected to draw hundreds of people to the city, with a residual ef-fect of tens of thousands of dollars spent in the commu-nity with each event.

Englund talked about the three year project, filled with highs and lows.

“The biggest challenge was convincing people of the vision,” he said. “It’s all about the rejuvenation of West St. Paul. It’s the first step and will continue with the Robert Street renova-tion and the park system. The whole idea started on the back porch with a cou-ple of guys sitting around asking, ‘What can we do to rejuvenate this town?’”

He went on to thank Matt Saam, city engineer, who bore the brunt of the

work on the project, and Sandy Christianson, the city’s finance director who worked the numbers, a challenge in this economy.

What about the hockey arena? It’s in limbo right now, with the existing arena open for one more year. The local hockey association is raising funds to make some low-cost minor repairs on the building. A new roof and structural beams are estimated to cost up to $500,000.

Construction begins on Sports Dome in WSP

Former Sibley grad creates official commemorative artfor Minnesota State Fair


Hey, State Fair lov-ers! You might be in-terested to learn that a former Henry Sibley High School graduate is responsible for creating this year’s official Min-nesota State Fair Com-memorative Art: an enormous rooster sur-rounded by State Fair food.

The artist with the flair for capturing the past and the present is former West St. Paul resident Joe Heffron. His vibrantly colored, fanciful creation features an oversized drawing of a roost-er surrounded by signature Fair landmarks such as the space needle and ferris wheel. Whimsical cheese curds, mini-donuts and other delicacies float about. The water-color colored pencil drawing measures 17 inches by 22 inches.

“It’s a great honor,” said Heffron, who now lives with his wife near Como Lake, not far from the fairgrounds.

It’s the second time that the State Fair put out a call for Minnesota artists to apply to create the commemorative art. Fifty artists submitted proposals this year.

“I submitted a simplified sketch in October,” he said.

Joe Heffron / 2

• Cherokee Heights implements Learning Dreams program.• New community choice system on the way.


According to Principal Sharon Hendrix, teach-

ers and staff at Cherokee Heights Elementary West Side School of Excellence are passionate about their work. She refers to them as a “called” group that is will-ing to do whatever it takes to help the school’s 500-plus pre-K through sixth grade students succeed. The school faces several obsta-cles in achieving that goal, including income and lan-guage barriers. Over 90 per-cent of Cherokee Heights students qualify for free or reduced hot lunch, a pov-erty indicator, and 50 per-cent are English Language learners.

“We’re in the business of saving lives,” said Hendrix.

“If these kids can’t read and comprehend by the time they are in third grade, stud-ies show that it is really dif-ficult for them to catch up. Education will enable them to achieve their dreams.”

State scores don’t tell the whole story

It’s frustrating for Hen-drix when State testing scores show that her school is lagging behind other el-ementary schools in reading and math proficiency. What the numbers don’t show, she contends, is that Cherokee’s students are just one “sea-son” behind academically, which means that what the average Minnesota student knows by December, stu-dents at Cherokee Heights know by March. While tutoring and after-school programs are helping close that gap, Hendrix has not stopped there. She is shor-ing up the learning foun-

District, community continue to pour resources and innovative programs into West Side schools

West Side Schools / Page 2

Photo courtesy of St. Paul Schools

Summer school at Humboldt High School helps students close the achievement gap.

Joe Heffron

August 2012

Volume 46

Number 8

The St. Paul

- St. Paul Voice - August 2012

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Your community news and information sourceE ducation

dation for her students by trying to increase parent involvement, which is not an easy task because many of her school’s families are living paycheck to pay-check. To do this, she has implemented the Learn-ing Dreams project, pio-neered by Dr. Jerry Stein, director of the Masters of Education program in Youth Development Lead-ership at the University of Minnesota. Developed in 1996, the program focuses on getting parents excited about achieving their own dreams, which in turn en-ables them to help their children achieve their own. Over time, it re-energizes and builds on-going paren-tal involvement and raises successful learning to a pri-ority level in the home and in the community. Learning Dreams operates under the assumption that learning is fundamentally anchored in the home and community,

and that parents must be involved in both their own learning and in supporting their children’s education.

Learning Dreams was first implemented with one class and one set of parents at Pratt Community School in Minneapolis. Seeing the success there, Hendrix asked Stein if he was ready to take on an entire school. In 2010, he helped launch a three-year Learning Dreams project at Cherokee Heights.

“We looked at students and families that needed an extra boost,” said Hen-drix. “Our parents are over-whelmed with life. They are shocked when someone asks them about their dreams. It gives them hope in the mid-dle of despair; that things can change for their chil-dren. Most parents wanted to get their GED, a driver’s license or to become more fluent in speaking English.”

Through Learning Dreams, volunteers continue to help parents and students achieve their dreams. For example, tutors from the University of Minnesota

have helped some parents improve their English. Oth-er volunteers helped some learn how to bake, working with staff at Jerebek’s Bakery on the West Side. One stu-dent learned to ride a horse, while another learned act-ing at Steppingstone The-atre. Last year Learning Dreams took seven families to a park south of Rochester for their first-ever overnight camp-out. Parents and chil-dren wobbled their way in and out of canoes, cooked over a campfire, tracked animals, hunted frogs in the mud and slept outside.

“It was really interesting watching the kids near the water,” said Michaela Con-lon, Learning Dreams field coordinator and neighbor-hood educator. “Since they take swimming lessons at Cherokee the kids are all good swimmers. It’s the par-ents that had some difficul-ties. One of them wanted to go out in a canoe but was afraid because she didn’t know how to swim. She did it anyway and afterwards was telling everyone, ‘I did it!’”

“These experiences help students understand life experiences that they read about in books, but have no understanding of,” said Hendrix. “After camping they understand now how easy it is to topple over in a canoe, or how easy it is to make a mistake when following a recipe. It gives them a middle class experi-ence that they just can’t af-ford.”

Hendrix was thrilled when one of her par-ents called the school and wanted to “talk to the prin-ciple about her child’s test scores.”

“The confidence-building is a joy to see,” said Hen-drix. “And a great measure of success.”

West Side schools and Area D

Cherokee Heights, River-view West Side School of Excellence and Humboldt Secondary are part of St. Paul Independent School District (ISD) 625. Roos-evelt Elementary, which

closed in 2010, is expected to reopen for the 2013-2014 school year. That will also be the first year of ISD 625’s new community choice school system, which promotes learning closer to home. District data show that students attending schools close to home are academically equal to those who attend schools in other parts of the district. As a result, the school district has been divided into six neighborhood learning ar-eas. Starting in the fall of 2013, transportation will be provided only to students attending schools within their learning area. Parents may enroll their children in schools outside their area but must provide their own transportation. The exception is if a particular school has been designated as a regional or district-wide school. In that case, stu-dents from anywhere in the district will receive trans-portation. Estimates show this approach will save the district around $2 million per year.

The West Side is desig-

nated as Area D. Students at West Side elementary schools will be channeled into Humboldt Secondary, which will include grades 6-12.

This year, pre-school will be added to the dual immer-sion (English and Spanish) program at Riverview Ele-mentary. In the fall of 2013, Riverview will be classified as a regional school, which means students living in other areas of the city will be able to enroll there and receive transportation. Half of Riverview Elementary students are English Lan-guage Learners and over 90 percent qualify for free and reduced hot lunch. 2010 MCA scores show high proficiency in reading, with third graders at 61 percent, fourth graders at 52 percent and fifth graders at 57 per-cent. Math scores are a bit lower, with third graders at 39 percent, fourth graders at 44 percent and fifth grad-ers at 18 percent.

Humboldt Secondary has similar student demo-graphics as its fellow West Side schools. Over 90 per-

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Half-mile schools include:

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St. Paul Voice - August 2012 -

Your community news and information sourceE ducationcent qualify for free and reduced hot lunch, nearly 50 percent of students have limited English proficiency, and 20 percent qualify for special education. Accord-ing to the district, a pleth-ora of academic resources are available to meet the needs of Humboldt’s di-verse student population, such as college access pro-grams, Homework Help, academic intervention, tu-tors, guidance counselors, social workers, behavior specialists, and a Health Start clinic that provides so-cial work, medical and nu-

tritional support. Because of its unique environmental studies and agriculture fo-cus, Humboldt Secondary will continue to be open to students district-wide, with transportation provided. Only the secondary school’s Advanced Placement cours-es will be restricted to West Side students once the com-munity learning areas are implemented. West Side students who wish to en-roll in International Bac-cauleaureate courses will be able to study at and receive transportation to Highland Park High School.

Humboldt Secondary is getting a lot of attention from ISD 625. It is part of a No Child Left Behind school improvement grant program funded by the fed-eral government because its students have persistently trailed behind other stu-dents in the district and state in annual testing. The extra funding is intended to help improve academic pro-ficiency and encourage stu-dents to not only graduate from high school but to aim for college as well. Last May, the Minnesota Department of Education introduced its

new Multiple Measurement Ratings academic account-ability system, designed to provide a clearer and more accurate accounting for the 10 percent of the total number of schools in the state that qualify as Title 1 schools. To qualify as a Title 1 school at least 40 percent of its students must qualify for free and reduced lunch. These schools receive fed-eral supplemental funding to meet the needs of at-risk and low income students. District officials like the new system because it fo-cuses on student growth,

closing the achievement gap, and it aligns well with other district priorities. Since half of Humboldt’s students are English Lan-guage Learners, many are taking an extra year to grad-uate. Humboldt’s four-year graduation rate is currently 56.1 percent. Its five-year graduation rate is 74.2 per-cent.

Humboldt Principal Mike Sodomka tells his stu-dents that “it’s okay to be where we are, it’s not okay to stay where we are.” Then he challenges his students and staff to improve.

“Humboldt’s students will graduate from school competing against their peers from around the city, state and even the world,” said Toya Stewart-Downey, ISD 625 spokesperson. “Humboldt and the district will not deviate from our mission to provide a pre-mier education for every student and to ensure that they graduate ready to pur-sue higher education or a ca-reer. The journey may take longer or follow a different path for some students, but we must keep our focus on the destination.”

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Thanks to a voter-ap-proved levy and the

work of interim superin-tendent Tom Nelson, Dr. Nancy Allen-Mastro has reason to be optimistic about her first year as su-perintendent of Indepen-dent School District (ISD) 197. She began her duties on July 1, succeeding Jay Haugen, who left last year to become superintendent of the Farmington School District. Filling the gap was Nelson. Since “retir-ing” as Superintendent of the Buffalo School District in 2004, Nelson also served as interim superintendent with the South Washing-ton School District and the Stillwater School District.

“He didn’t just keep the seat warm either,” said Mark Spurr, ISD 197 school board chair. “He looked around and said, ‘Oh gee, we could do some things differently and better, save money here and reorganize

there. I am so pleased and grateful that Tom Nelson stepped in. He gave us good perspective. It was perfect.”

District leadership

“It’s been a good year, ac-tually a terrific year,” said Nelson of his time with ISD 197. “We moved forward in a positive way. Leadership comes from lots of different places. We have an excellent central administrative team. The school board, with its three new members, came together very well as a group. But the real strength in the district is the teach-ing staff. They are mature, talented and a pleasure to work with.”

When the $1.8 million operating levy passed last November with 63 percent of voters in favor, Nelson was amazed.

“That number is unheard of,” he said.

The vote allowed the dis-trict to renew a $1.7 mil-lion operating levy that was set to expire this year and

increase it to $1.8 million. According to the district, the tax impact to property owners is about $35 per year or about $3 per month for every $100,000 in home value.

Nelson was also im-pressed with the work of the 40-member Strategic Rede-sign Advisory Committee, which was charged with finding ways to increase the quality of education in the district without increasing funds.

“The community involve-ment to the level and com-mitment that was shown with the Strategic Redesign Committee is unusual,” said Nelson. “Leadership came from the board. The committee met every two weeks for four months with nearly all staying in till the end. You expect a drop-off, but it didn’t occur.”

TechnologyThe advisory commit-

tee meetings gave members the chance to talk about the district’s latest technol-

ogy innovations and receive valuable insight as to what the future might hold for the district as it evaluates how to best upgrade and add new technology to its

teaching tool box. “The district is looking at

technology as a way to en-able educators to be more productive,” said Nelson. “This is especially important

now with states tightening their educational budgets, and school districts not see-ing more resources coming their way in the future.”

“We are interested in per-

ISD 197 enters coming school year with new funding, new leadership

Using a College Readiness grant from the Center for School Change, Henry Sibley High School is creating a Post Secondary Success Center at the school to help students better prepare themselves for contin-ued education and a career. The third floor of the school’s media cen-ter is being remodeled this summer to house the center.

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Your community news and information sourceE ducationsonalizing education with online coursework and computers,” said Spurr. “We can also partner with other districts. For example, if a student wants to learn Japa-nese but there aren’t enough other students interested, the student can sign up on-line and take it with other interested students from other school districts. It’s all pretty darn complicated, with lots of moving parts, but this is where the new superintendent comes in. She’s all about curriculum and learning and how best to move the vision for-ward.”

This past year the district hired a new technology di-rector. ISD 197 offers over one dozen classes where stu-dents do part of their work online and part in class.

“It’s here,” said Nelson. “Kids are online. Change is coming rapidly and re-sources are in short supply.”

College courses

One of the committee’s recommendations was to redevelop a space at Henry

Sibley High School that is focused on college prepara-tion. It will give teachers, college recruiters and busi-ness people a better area to meet and talk with students.

“Counselors will be avail-able to help plot out a high school student’s courses in advance,” said Nelson. “There is no reason seniors should not have one year of college under their belt by the time they graduate. In the past it’s been, you need X, Y and Z to gradu-ate. Now it’s like grades 11-14 are collapsing in on each other.

“There is a loose relation-ship with colleges that the state legislature is enabling, where the high schools pay a small portion of the cost of college credit, and the colleges pick up the rest. It’s a great way for families to save money on college costs.”

Added Spur, “It’s excit-ing, the potential of college in school. We already offer lots of post secondary class-es, but this will be a focused space to help students make a transition to post second-

ary. The district hopes to go further in that direction.”

Early Childhood Education

According to Nelson, ear-ly childhood programs are under-funded by the State and are a point of concern for the district. The current district budget will allow 120 families to be added to pre-school this year and another 100 in 2013-2014. What is unclear is where they will put the new stu-dents.

“ISD 197 has a long wait-ing list of young students wanting to enroll,” he said. “They are seeing some kids entering kindergarten read-ing at a third grade level and some who are struggling to understand their A,B,C’s. There is a tremendous need and a shortage of space in the district. It’s something they will have to work on.”

The district may get some budget relief since the state recently added $4 million in pre-K scholarships for low-income families. The district also received $45

million in federal funding from the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge.

Title 1 in ISD 197Last May, the Minnesota

Department of Education released its Multiple Mea-surement Ratings (MMR) to provide a more accurate accountability system for the 10 percent of Title 1 schools in the state. Gar-lough Environmental Mag-net School and Moreland and Pilot Knob elementary schools are Title 1 schools and receive supplemental federal funding. To qualify for Title 1 funds, at least 40 percent of a school’s stu-dents must qualify for the free and reduced lunch pro-gram, a poverty indicator.

Of the three ISD 197 schools, Garlough is the only one that landed on the MMR focus rating list, which means it has an achievement gap problem among some of its students. The focus rating zeros-in on proficiency and growth of minority students, English Language Learners, Special

Education students and those qualifying for free and reduced lunches, and then compares how they are do-ing with students who are not of those groups. Gar-lough has a 17.6 percent focus rating and needs to increase it to 42.96 percent for two consecutive years to be removed from the list. On average, Title 1 schools achieve focus ratings in the 50 percent range.

Over the last 20 years student demographics at Garlough have changed dramatically. From 1990-2010, the number of white students dropped from 442 to 129, Hispanic students increased from 22 to 201 and African-American stu-dents increased from 10 to 64. In 2010, 68 percent of all students qualified for free or reduced hot lunch.

“Teachers and board members take this serious-ly,” said Nelson. “Achieve-ment gap has to do with economic disparity not race. A young person may have a high comprehensive score, but not be perform-ing at that level.”

Nelson is not happy with the new MMR system, which he calls “compli-cated” and which “reduces everything to a number.”

“Education and develop-ment of kids is not a num-ber,” he said. “A test can pinpoint where kids need help, but I think it’s mis-leading and undervalues the efforts of teachers.”

However, Spurr believes MMR is a huge improve-ment and is a much fairer system for gauging student achievement.

“Garlough needs to move their kids along,” he said. “Yes, it has received all kinds of awards and accolades, but it’s about achievement. We are waiting to hear what recommendations there are. This again is where the new superintendent will step in and conduct a thorough re-view. She has an ambitious 100-day plan in the works.”

District 197 serves ap-proximately 4,500 students in grades K-12, with addi-tional early learning oppor-tunities for children from birth through age 5.

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John E. AhlstromStaff Writer

As a senior member of the Baby Boomer genera-tion, born in 1946 in the aftermath of World War II, I have witnessed sweeping changes in the American culture. I was a toddler when Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play major league baseball. Soon, all professional sports leagues were integrated. I was in grade school in the era of the “Big Red Scare,” when classroom teachers conducted routine “civil defense” drills to prepare us in case of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union. Every term paper I wrote in high school was pecked out on a typewriter. There was no delete button, no “cut and pasting,” certainly no inter-net. If you made a mistake, you erased it as best you could and typed over it, or you started over.

And, sadly, I grew up in an era when very few girls

were given the opportunity to participate in sports. I spent all of my teen years in St. Peter, Minn., and I spent most of my summer after-noons at Recreation Park, which had a swimming pool, baseball and softball diamonds, basketball hoops and tennis courts. Girls shared the pool, but beyond that they mostly jumped rope, played hop scotch and did “arts and crafts.”

Vickie Davis was two years younger than me. In 1960, when she was 12, she consistently beat me – and 80 percent of my buddies – in the 100-yard dash. She could leap over the four-foot high snow fence that surrounded one of the base-ball fields. Unfortunately, Vickie Davis never got an opportunity to become the truly great athlete that she most certainly would have become.

When I was in high school, the only girls who exercised regularly after ninth grade were the five

cheerleaders. There was an after-school Girls Athletic Association (GAA) pro-gram that met once a week, but it was almost always a sparse gathering. In 1972, Congress enacted the Edu-cational Amendments Act. Title IX of that piece of legislation, authored by In-diana Senator Birch Bayh, stated that “no person in the United States shall on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimina-tion under any education or activities program receiving federal financial assistance.” The overriding intent of the legislation was designed to give equal opportunity to women in all areas of the education process. Women, for instance, could no lon-ger be denied entrance into a law school or a medical school on the basis of their gender.

One of the lasting lega-cies of Title IX is the co-

Celebrating 40 years of women’s athletics

Title IX empowered girls to experience the thrill of competition

Catalina Smith has been coaching girls softball on the West Side for 22 years.

continued on next page


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University of Wisconsin-Stout centerfielder Santiago Morales, who was perfect in the outfield during the 2012 season, was one of three outfielders to receive the 2012 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division III Midwest Gold Glove award. Morales, a 2009 graduate of Henry Sibley High School, recorded 87 putouts and seven assists this season without posting a single error. In addition to his prowess in the field, Morales batted .351 as Stout’s lead-off hitter, scored 33 runs and recorded 54 hits, including

10 doubles, five triples and four homeruns. He added eight stolen bases and his 30 runs-batted-in were second highest on the team.

Head coach Toby Gardenhire (son of Minnesota Twins manager, Ron Gardenhire) said that Morales “was our sparkplug at the top of the order and was lights-out de-fensively in centerfield. He is a great team leader on and off the field.”

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lossal transformation and advancement of women’s athletics. Catalina Adamez Smith, a lifelong resident of St. Paul’s West Side and an athlete and a coach, has experienced the impact of Title IX from every angle. In 1968, when she was ten years old, she and her four younger sisters and their friends were introduced to softball at the Belvidere Recreation Center, now the site of the West Side Boys and Girls Club.

“My older brother Jesse taught us the game and we got hooked” she recalled. “Jesse coached us through our teen years.”

But the girls had no chance to participate in that sport – or any sport for that

matter – at Humboldt High School.

“My older sister Molly and three of her friends ac-tually tried out for the boys baseball team but they did not survive the final cut,” said Smith.

By the time she graduated from Humboldt in 1976 – four years after the passage of Title IX – the school had started girls programs in volleyball, basketball and softball. Smith’s younger sisters and millions of kids nationwide have been the beneficiaries of that historic legislation. In 2009, her sis-ter Dorie became the first woman enshrined in the Humboldt Athletic Hall of Fame.

While attending college

in the late 1970s, Smith worked summers at the Bel-videre Recreation Center.

“Ida Gaul was the center’s director and she enlisted me to develop girls’ sports,” she said. “I recruited and encouraged girls to com-pete in the St. Paul Urban Tennis program and to play softball.”

“Coach Cathy,” as she is referred to by most of her players, has coached girls softball on the West Side non-stop since her daugh-ter DeAna started playing T-Ball in 1990. Why does she do it?

“There are so many rea-sons,” she said. “First, I teach the girls that playing is a privilege. You have to respect the game and each

other. There are so many of life’s lessons: working to-gether for a common cause, developing relationships and self-esteem, respecting authority and the opposi-tion, following rules, learn-ing how to compete, and most important of all, hav-ing fun!”

Because of Title IX and the efforts of folks like Catalina Adamez Smith, the growth in women’s sports competition is staggering:

In 1971-72, there were 294,015 girls playing high school sports in the United States. In 2010-11, there were more than 3.1 million.

In 1982, ten years after the enactment of the legis-lation, there were 74,239 women participating in

NCAA programs. In 2010-11, there were 193,232.

It is still a bit numbing to realize that several genera-tions of women were denied the opportunity to compete on an athletic field, but it is equally exhilarating to reflect on the progress that has been made.

In London, in the com-

ing weeks, the fruits of that progress will be on center stage. It is a given that the USA Men’s Basketball Team will receive the majority of coverage, but my focus will be on Lindsey Whalen and the women’s team as they live out their childhood dreams and compete for an Olympic gold medal.

Henry Sibley grad wins Gold Glove Award


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Tender Child Care opens on the West Side

Tim SpitzackEditor

This spring when St. Matthew’s Child Care

moved into its temporary location at St. Matthew’s School, the rooms of its former facility at 15 W. Winifred St. in St. Paul fell silent, but not for long. On May 14, Tender Child Care opened at that site and the joyful sounds of children once again fill the building. St. Matthew’s will be part of the new Community of Saints school this fall, lo-cated in the former St. Mi-chael’s school building in West St. Paul.

Tender Child Care has around 40 students at the 5000-square-foot center, but that number is grow-ing as it continues to at-tract families from St. Paul and beyond. The center, which is licensed by Min-nesota Department of Hu-man Services, offers care for infants, toddlers, preschool-ers and school age children

up to age 12. Its teachers are multilingual in English and Somali and are first aid/CPR certified. They use a curriculum that incorpo-rates structured play and free play, games and group activities, story time and music, arts and crafts, group time and outdoor play.

According to spokes-person Asha Abukar, one of the biggest benefits of the center is its hours. It is open 6 a.m.-11 p.m. Mon-day through Friday, and 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

“We want to make sure the kids are in good hands,” said Abukar, in reference to the center’s evening hours. “Our goal is to provide a safe environment. It is our job to make sure all the kids are well-cared for.”

The center is owned and operated by Ali Ibrahim, a certified teacher. He serves primarily in a supervisory role as the center’s director, but assists in the classroom when needed. The cen-

ter currently employs four teachers, but is looking for more to meet expected in-creases in enrollment.

“Many families don’t have access to quality, affordable childcare,” said Ibrahim. “This center can bridge that gap. We serve families of all cultures and backgrounds. Our curriculum is tailored to the age level of the chil-dren and is offered by our competent and qualified teachers.”

Tender Child Care at-tracts families from a wide area because it offers trans-portation services. How-ever, Abukar said they are interested in getting more families from the neighbor-hood.

“We invite our neighbors to tour our center and see for themselves what we have to offer,” she said.

To arrange a tour, or to receive more information, call 651-224-3636 or 612-481-7586.

Asha Abukar, enjoys a ride down the slide with a few of the students at Tender Child Care, located at 15 W. Winifred St., St. Paul.



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John E. AhlstromStaff Writer

The former Dairy Queen at the corner of George

Street and Stryker Avenue was a favorite summertime destination for numer-ous West Side residents for nearly a half century before it closed for good in the fall of 2011. Fortunately for those who patronized the place on a regular ba-sis, the “For Sale” sign on that property came down in June.

On June 24, 2012, Pom-peyo Sanchez re-opened the business as the Icy Cup.

“We feature gourmet cof-fee drinks and also numer-ous ice cream treats, and we thought that the name ‘Icy Cup’ incorporated both of them,” said Sanchez.

Sanchez, a native of Mex-ico, met his wife Betsey,

who was raised in Minne-sota, when they were both working as volunteers on a building project in Mexico in 1985. They were married in Minnesota in 1991.

Sanchez worked for eight years at the Ford Plant in Highland Park, saved some money and opened the Fireroast coffee shop and restaurant in South Minne-apolis in 2000. His family farms coffee beans in Mex-ico and it was a natural for him to open a coffee shop. He also served tamales, sandwiches and ice cream. He sold that business in 2006. After a two-year hia-tus in Mexico, Sanchez and his family moved back to Minnesota in 2008.

“I worked at various cof-fee shops in the Twin Cities, but I never stopped looking for an opportunity to open my own business again,” he

said.That opportunity arrived

when he discovered the “For Sale” sign on the Dairy Queen building at George and Stryker. The Icy Cup is clearly a family affair, with Betsey and their two children, Jerico and Caro-lyn, both college students, working the business.

While the Icy Cup ad-vertises itself as “a new res-taurant specializing in soft serve and coffee,” its menu features numerous food items as well, including sandwiches, wraps, tamales, hot dogs and chicken strips.

The business celebrated its Grand Opening on July 14. This summer, its park-ing lot is the site of the West Side Farmer’s Market, held 9 a.m.-noon every Satur-day. For more information, call 651-222-3596 or visit www.icycup.net.

George Street Dairy Queen reopens as the Icy Cup

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A family affair - Carolyn, Betsey, Pompeyo and Jerico Sanchez all lend a hand at the Icy Cup, which opened in late June at the site of the former Dairy Queen at George and Stryker on the West Side.


Your community news and information sourceS ample St. Paul

On the TownArtists’ Quarter408 St. Peter St., St. Paul651-292-1359www.artistsquarter.com

The Artists’ Quarter offers live entertainment throughout the month, including jazz bands and poetry nights.

Black Dog Café308 Prince St., St. Paul651-228-9274www.blackdogstpaul.com

Jac Klatt will present a program of roots music on Friday, Aug. 17, Wil-lie Murphy will perform blues on the piano on Friday, Aug. 24, and Carl Franzen will play the pi-ano and sing on Tuesday, Aug. 28.

Children’s Museum10 W. Seventh St.St. Paul651-225-6000www.mcm.org

“Cyberchase” is pre-sented through Septem-ber. Based on the Em-my-winning PBS KIDS GO! math mystery “Cy-berchase,” this exhibit presents math in a fun, kid-friendly environ-ment, allowing children to make use of their criti-cal thinking skills and approach math with an investigative, positive at-titude.

“Curious George: Let’s Get Curious!” is presented through Oct. 7. This exhibit allows visitors to explore famil-

iar buildings and locales from the Curious George book series and televi-sion show while learning concepts in science, math and engineering. Tickets are $9.50. Explore the museum free of charge 9 a.m.-5 p.m. the third Sunday of each month.

History Center345 W. Kellogg Blvd.St. Paul651-259-3000www.mnhs.org

“1934: A New Deal for Artists” is present-ed through Sept. 30. In 1934, against the back-drop of the Great Depres-sion, the U.S. govern-ment created the Public Works of Art Project — the first federal govern-

ment program to support the arts nationally. A se-lection of 56 paintings will be on view in the exhibit, organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

“The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862” - This ex-hibit features documents, images and artifacts relat-ing to the war.

Ongoing exhibits include: “Minnesota’s Greatest Generation: The Depression, The War, The Boom,” “Open House: If These Walls Could Talk” and “Weath-er Permitting.”

Museum tickets are $11 for adults, $9 for seniors and college students, and $6 for children ages 6-17. The center offers free ad-

mission on Tuesdays, 5-8 p.m.

Nine Nights of Mu-sic – Free concerts are held 6:30-8 p.m. every Tuesday in August at the Minnesota History Cen-ter Plaza. The schedule includes:

• July 31 - Moonlight Serenaders with Lee Engele, swing

“Chicago” is presented Aug. 7-12 at the Ordway Center.

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Your community news and information sourceS ample St. Paul• Aug. 7 - Tropical

Zone Orchestra, Brazil-ian

• Aug. 14 - Voices of Sepharad, Jewish music of the Mediterranean

• Aug. 21 - Paul Metsa and Cats Under the Stars, rock ’n’ roll, New Or-leans, country and blues

• Aug. 28 - Ross Sut-ter and Friends, Swedish; The Barley Jacks with Brian Wicklund, blue-grass.

In case of rain, per-formances will be held indoors in the 3M Audi-torium. For more infor-mation, visit www.min-nesotahistorycenter.org/events-programs/nine-nights-of-music or call 651-259-3000.

Landmark Center75 W. 5th St., St. Paul651-292-3225www.landmarkcenter.org

Yolande Bruce, best known as a member of the award-winning vo-cal jazz group Moore by Four, will perform at 5 p.m., Sun., Aug. 12 at PipJazz Sundays. The event is hosted by singer Pippi Ardennia. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. For more information, visit www.pipjazz.com.

Ordway Center 345 Washington St.St. Paul651-224-4222www.ordway.org

Ordway’s Summer Dance Series offers free dancing and live music in Landmark Plaza, 5th and Market Street in down-town St. Paul, on Thurs-day nights. On Aug. 2,

tango/waltz dance in-struction is offered by Cinema Ballroom; mu-sic by Café Accordion Orchestra. On Aug. 9, swing dance instruction is provided by Arthur Murray; music by River-side Swing Band.

“Chicago,” winner of six Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and a Grammy, is presented Aug. 7-12. Tickets are $27-$100.

Park Square Theatre20 W. 7th Place, St. Paul651-291-7005www.parksquaretheatre.org

“Into the Woods” by Mu Performing Arts is presented through Aug. 5. A baker and his wife seek to break a witch’s evil curse, sending them on a raucous journey through the woods where they cross paths with Cinder-ella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and his beanstalk. But in this story happily ever af-ter is not always what it seems. Tickets are $30-$40 with discounts for seniors and students.

Science Museum120 W. Kellogg Blvd.St. Paul651-221-9444www.smm.org

“Real Pirates: The Un-told Story of the Whyd-ah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship” is presented through Sept. 3. Don your pirate hat and climb aboard a recreation of a pirate ship. Learn to tie knots and hoist a pirate flag. Explore what life was like on a real pirate ship and see more than

200 artifacts from North America’s only authenti-cated pirate shipwreck. Tickets are $29 for adults and $26 for children and seniors.

“Under the Sea” Om-nitheatre film is pre-sented through Sept. 27 - Take a giant screen journey to some of the most exotic and isolated undersea locations on Earth, including South Australia, the Great Bar-rier Reef, and the Coral Triangle islands of Papua New Guinea and Indo-nesia. You’ll come face-to-face with some of the most mysterious and stunning creatures of the sea.

“The Living Sea” Om-nitheatre film is present-ed through September. The film is narrated by Meryl Streep and features the music of Sting. View-ers will discover how ocean waters are connect-ed by currents, tides and water cycles, they will see humpback whales, jelly-fish and other mysterious ocean inhabitants, and experience an unforget-table Coast Guard rescue training mission.

Museum tickets are $11 for adults and $8.50 for children and seniors. Omnitheater tickets are $8 and $7 respectively.

Xcel Center199 W. Kellogg Blvd.St. Paulwww.xcelenergycenter.com

Coldplay will perform at 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 10 and Saturday, Aug. 11. Tickets are $29.50-$99.50.

Meet local artistsThe Artist Mercantile,

24 West 7th Place, St. Paul, hosts a free event 11 a.m.-1 p.m., the first and third Thursday of the month through Sep-tember to allow the pub-lic to meet local artists and ask them questions about their creations, techniques and inspira-tions. Artists include Chris Gray (blown glass) on Aug. 2, Theresa An-gelo (journals and travel-ogues) on Aug. 16, Sheila Bayle (seed beaded jewel-ry) on Sept. 6 and Chris-tine M. Johnson (jewel-ry) on Sept. 20. For more information, visit http://www.artistmerc.com.

Lowertown Roots Music Festival

The second annual Lowertown Roots Music Festival will be held Sat-urday, July 28 at Mears Park. Headliner Mike Farris will perform gospel roots music at 8:30 p.m.

Los Conocidos will offer a Tex-Mex perfor-mance at 7 p.m., Butch Thompson and Friends will perform at 5:30 p.m., McNally Smith Showcase at 4 p.m., and The Barley Jacks with Brian Wicklund at 2:30 p.m. All concerts are free.

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Your community news and information sourceA rts & Culture

“After a series of prelimi-naries, lo and behold they selected my design. In January they gave me two months to finish it.” His submission was selected by a panel of judges including members of the visual arts community and State Fair staff.

Heffron said he has had an intuitive desire to draw since he was four or five years old. His grade school years were spent at West St.

Paul’s St. Joseph’s Catholic School. He went to Grass Junior High and graduated from Henry Sibley High School in 1970.

“As a pre-teen I discov-ered what other people had done with art in the past,” recalled Heffron, “and that’s when I committed to doing it more often.”

Once he graduated from high school he had a short stint in sign painting, and then military service before studying at the Minne-apolis College of Art and Design. When one of his

instructors offered him a job designing and drawing black and white illustrations for newspapers and maga-zines, he snapped it up. His next stop was working for Don Biehm Advertising as an illustrator for a couple of years before setting out on his own and freelancing for 25 years.

“I had good years and bad years, made and lost money, but always man-aged to pay the bills,” said Heffron.

But new technology and the digital age brought ev-erything to a pause. Hef-fron is a hands-on kind of artist, and digital illustra-tion did not appeal to him. He found an outlet for his hand-rendered artwork in the stained glass window

business. He drew designs primarily for churches and nursing home chapels. Af-ter 10 years, business has declined yet Heffron pro-claims that “at the golden age of 60 I am still freelanc-ing!”

The commemorative poster, a limited number of signed prints and other merchandise featuring the art will be available for pur-chase. Proceeds will support the Minnesota State Fair Foundation, a nonprofit mission to preserve and im-prove State Fair buildings, grounds and educational experiences. The original art will be on display in the Fine Arts Center, along with past poster winners, during the 12-day run of the Fair, Aug. 23-Sept. 3.

Joe Heffronfrom page 1

The commemorative poster and a limited number of signed prints are available for purchase. The original art will be on display in the Fine Arts Center during the State Fair, Aug. 23-Sept. 3.

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Discovery Club supervisorSaint Paul Public Schools seeks a supervisor for the Discovery Club school-age child care pro-gram with Saint Paul Public Schools. Candidate must have a Bachelor's degree in education, community education or a related field and five years of professional level experience in school-age child care which must include three years of supervisory experience and experience manag-ing a large budget. For a detailed job description or to apply, visit: hr.spps.org/Search_Jobs_and_Apply.htm Attach a resume and cover letter to your online application. Saint Paul Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer and supports an inclusive workplace environment.


Your community news and information sourceN ews BriefsVolunteer opportunities

• Ramsey County Com-munity Human Services has volunteer opportunities for people age 18 and older. For more information, con-tact 651-266-4090 or [email protected].

• Minnesota Litera-cy Council - Volunteers are needed to help adult refugees and immigrants learn reading, writing and speaking skills. Morning, afternoon and evening op-portunities are available throughout the Twin Cities. Training and support are provided. For more infor-mation, contact Allison at 651-251-9110, or [email protected].

• St. Paul Public Schools - Volunteers are needed to tutor elementary stu-dents in the St. Paul pub-lic schools in reading and math. Under the guidance of a classroom teacher, vol-unteers assist students one-on-one or in small groups. For more information, contact Connie at 612-617-

7807 or [email protected]. Volunteers age 55 and older are eligible for free supplemental insurance, mileage reimbursement and other benefits through the Retired and Senior Vol-unteer Program (RSVP), sponsored by Volunteers of America of Minnesota.

• The Minnesota Read-ing Corps is seeking read-ing tutors. The program provides free, one-on-one tutoring to children age three through third grade. Minnesota Reading Corps members receive a living stipend, reimburse-ment for college (up to $5,350) and health insur-ance (for full-time mem-bers). For more information or to apply, visit www.Min-nesotaReadingCorps.org or call 1-866-859-2825.

• Neighbors, Inc., a so-cial service agency serving Northern Dakota County, has a number of volunteer opportunities to assist local residents. For more infor-mation, contact 651-306-2145 or [email protected].

• Volunteers of America is looking for volunteers age 55 and over to assist children who are struggling with homework and read-ing. Time commitment ranges from 3 to 12 hours a week. To volunteer or re-ceive more information, contact Gil Zamora at 651-470-7416.

• DARTS, a nonprofit organization in West St. Paul, has several volunteer opportunities to assist fami-lies and individuals with transportation and in-home services. For more informa-tion, call 651-455-1560 or visit www.dart1.org.

• St. Paul Senior Chore Service is looking for senior clients age 60 and over, as well as volunteers to help these clients with basic home and lawn projects. For more information, call 651-649-5984.

• Big Brothers Big Sis-ters - Big Brothers Big Sis-ters is looking for men, es-pecially Latinos, to become mentors for St. Paul area boys aged 7-12. Volunteers are asked to commit just

a few hours a month. To volunteer, call Jean Setley at 651-789-2479 or visit www.bigstwincities.org.

• Cerenity Senior Care–Humboldt is seeking vol-unteers to assist with activi-ties, such as baking, crafts and performing music. Located on the West Side, the Cerenity Residence at 514 Humboldt provides as-sisted living, memory care and transitional care, and the Cerenity Care Center at 512 Humboldt provides nursing care. To volunteer, contact 651-220-1725 or [email protected].

• Guild Incorporated, a social service agency based on the West Side that serves people with mental illness, has a number of volunteer opportunities, including drivers, phone buddies and help with administrative tasks. For more informa-tion, contact 651-925-8456 or [email protected].

Keyes receives safety professional of the year award

Carol Keyes, president of CHESS, Inc., a lo-cal safety and health consulting firm, recently re-ceived the Practice Specialty Safety Professional of the Year award from the American Society of Safety Engineers. The award recognizes a commitment to professional excellence, dedication to enhancing the safety field and contributions to individual practice specialties.

Keyes is president and one of the founding part-ners of Complete Health, Environmental and Safety Sciences, Inc. (CHESS, Inc.), which specializes in providing occupational safety services to smaller Midwestern industries, including manufacturing, automotive repair and local municipalities. She holds three national professional certifications: Cer-tified Safety Professional, Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and Certified Case Manager. She is also an active member of the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce, which serves West St. Paul and Mendota Heights.

Get to know your Neighbors!The following community boosters encourage you to attend a

Night to Unite Celebration

Tuesday, August 7!

Jim’s Market Your Neighborhood Grocer!

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Charitable Gambling - #01042Pull Tabs, Liquor & Food. Public Welcome!

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Buffalo Wild WingsProud sponsor of youth activities1458 South Robert St., WSP

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Signal BarbersServing the community since 19558-A Signal Hills Center, WSP

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Southview Animal Hospital32 W. Mendota RoadInver Grove Heights

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Your community news and information sourceN ews BriefsSpaghetti dinner for Pow Wow

A spaghetti dinner and the showing of the video “Rebirth of the Mendota Dakota Community,” with guest speaker Jim Red Sky Anderson, Mendota Mde-wakanton Dakota Commu-nity Wacipi tribal chairman, will be held at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Aug. 6 at Chero-kee Park United Church, 371 Baker St., St. Paul. The event is a fundraiser for the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community Waci-pi’s 13th annual Pow Wow. For more information, call 612-209-2342.

WSP schools receive early literacy tutors

Moreland Elementary and Garlough Environmen-tal Magnet in West St. Paul have received five elemen-tary literacy and preschool literacy tutors from the Minnesota Reading Corps, a statewide initiative to help every Minnesota child become a successful reader by the end of third grade. Moreland and Garlough are still recruiting for three more full-time elemen-tary literacy tutors for the coming school year. Tutors work with kindergarten through 3rd grade students to implement early literacy strategies. They commit to 11 months of AmeriCorps service and receive a modest living allowance of about $500 bi-weekly and an edu-cation award. Full-time tu-tors may also receive health insurance. To apply, visit www.MinnesotaReading-Corps.org or contact Anna Peters at 866-859-2825.

Humboldt student in Belize

Humboldt High School student Solina Nhil is in Belize July 10 to Aug. 7 as

part of the Youth Ambassa-dors program. She and oth-er youth ambassadors are learning about the country’s culture and leadership and are doing community ser-vice projects. Upon return, they will serve their home communities through vol-unteer projects.

Nhil is involved in Hum-boldt’s Future Farmers of America program, acting as this year’s chapter president. She is also active in theater, swimming and badminton and is on the student en-vironmental steering com-mittee.

Free summer meals available to area children

School District 197 is participating in the Minne-sota Department of Educa-tion’s Summer Food Service Program and will serving free meals to children age 18 and under at the follow-ing locations:

• Garlough Environmen-tal Magnet School cafeteria, 1740 Charlton St., West St. Paul. Meals served Tuesday-Thursday through Aug. 2, and Monday-Friday, Aug. 6-Aug. 17. Breakfast is served 8 a.m.-9:30 a.m., and lunch 11-12:15 p.m.

• Henry Sibley High School cafeteria, 1897 Dela-ware Ave., Mendota Heights. Meals served Monday-Friday through Aug. 2. No meals served July 27, 30 and Aug. 3. Breakfast is served 7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m., and lunch 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Class of ‘67 reunion

Sibley High School Class of 1967 is hosting its 45th class reunion Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Pool & Yacht Club in Lilydale. Registration and cocktail hour begins at 6 p.m., followed by a Bar-becue dinner at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $30. Make checks payable to Sibley Class of

1967, and mail them to 1783 Trail Road, Men-dota Heights, MN 55118. RSVP by Aug. 15. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/sibley-highschoolclassof67, email [email protected] or call 651-491-4908.

Jamberry Nails expands to St. Paul

Miranda Hatfield, who lives on the West Side, has become an independent consultant for Jamberry Nails, a company that offers nail shields in several artis-tic colors and designs. The shields last approximately 2-3 weeks for fingers and 6-8 weeks for toes. Hatfield is booking parties to dem-onstrate the products. Start-up kits are under $100. For more information or to book an in-home party, visit www.TwinCities.Jam-berryNails.com, or contact Hatfield at 651-373-2632 or [email protected].

Community Calendar

• The Optimist Club - The Optimist Club of West St. Paul meets 5-6 p.m., the first and third Wednes-day of each month at West Side Lanes, 1625 South Robert St., West St. Paul. Visitors and new members are welcome. For more in-formation, contact Cheryl Bergstrom at [email protected] or 651-450-7391.

• Veterans’ meetings - The Riverview-West St. Paul VFW Post 4462 hosts monthly meetings at 1 p.m., the first Wednesday of each month, at the West St. Paul Armory. For more informa-tion, call 651-437-4481. American Legion Post 521 also hosts monthly meet-ings at the Armory. Meeting times are 7 p.m., the fourth Tuesday of each month.

• Rotary Club - The West St. Paul/Mendota Heights Rotary Club hosts a weekly meeting at 7:30 a.m., Wednesdays at South-view Country Club, 239 E. Mendota Road, West St. Paul. Each meeting features breakfast and a guest speak-er. For more information, visit www.rotarywspmh.org.

• Kiwanis Club - The Kiwanis Club of West St. Paul hosts a weekly meeting at noon, Tuesdays at West Side Lanes, 1625 S. Rob-ert St., West St. Paul. Each meeting features lunch and a guest speaker.

• Chamber of Com-merce - The Dakota County Regional Cham-ber of Commerce, which serves West St. Paul, Men-dota Heights, Eagan, Rose-mount and Farmington, hosts a monthly meeting called “The Buzz,” at 7:30 a.m., the first Thursday of each month at DARTS, 1645 Marthaler Lane, West St. Paul. Each meeting fea-tures networking, a guest speaker and refreshments. For more information, call 651-452-9872 or visit www.dcrchamber.com.

• Asperger/HFA Game Club - The Minnesota As-pergers/HFA Game Club meets at 6:30 p.m., the sec-ond and fourth Thursday of each month at Riverview Baptist Church, 14 E. Mo-reland Ave., West St. Paul. The club is designed to help youth ages 9-16 increase so-cial and cognitive skills. For more information, contact Vicki at 651-552-7381 or [email protected]. Cost is $10 or $48/six weeks. A parent support group is also available during the same time.

HHW collection Ramsey County’s house-

hold hazardous waste col-lection site at Bay West, lo-cated near the State Capitol at 5 Empire Dr., St. Paul, is open year-round. Drop-off is free for residents of Ramsey, Washington, Da-kota, Hennepin, Anoka and Carver counties with a pho-to I.D. For hours of opera-tion and more information, call the Ramsey County Re-cycling & Disposal Hotline at 651-633-EASY (3279) or visit www.co.ramsey.mn.us/ph.

Free gardening advice from local experts

Ramsey County Master Gardeners are available to offer free advice on home horticulture, plant and pest diagnostics and other gar-dening questions. To get answers to your questions, contact 651-704-2071 or www.extension.org/ask. Master gardeners also visit county compost sites to an-swer questions. For hours and locations, visit www.co.ramsey.mn.us/master-gardener/services or call 651-633-3279.

Ramsey County residents may bring insect or plant samples to 2020 White Bear Ave, St. Paul for di-agnostic testing 11 a.m.- 1 p.m., Wednesdays and Sat-urdays.

Student NotesVictoria Pineiro of Men-

dota Heights and Brianna Hempel and Laura Leritz of West St. Paul were named to the dean’s list at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Alexandra Gustafson of West St. Paul was named to dean’s list at Northwestern College.

Samuel Kleinberger of Mendota Heights and Ash-ley DeRusha of West St. Paul were named to the dean’s list at Normandale College.

Alyssa Frank and Kev-in Murphy of Mendota Heights were named to the dean’s list at Concordia University, St. Paul.

Gabriella Gione of West St. Paul graduated from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Ia.

The following students were named to the dean’s list at the University of Wisconsin-Madison: Jen-nifer Bernick, Reid Dixon, Samantha Garretson, Asha Ghassemlouei, Erin Mette and Alyssa Karel of Mendo-ta Heights, Benjamin Saxon of Sunfish Lake and Robyn Geist and Katherine Sather of West St. Paul.

Rose Yackley of Mendota Heights and Samantha Ja-cobsen and Lauren Mistel-ske of West St. Paul were named to the dean’s list at the University of Wiscon-sin-River Falls.

Joe Gangl of Mendota Heights and Kaitlin Wenda of West St. Paul gradu-ated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Wenda was also named to the dean’s list.

Kaitlin Gardner of Men-dota Heights and Anthony Letourneau, Elizabeth An-derson, Mallory Link and Jordan Loeffler of West St. Paul were named to the dean’s list at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Cole Jessen of Mendota Heights was named to the dean’s list at Luther College.

Melissa Klocke of Men-dota Heights graduated from Lawrence University.

Ashton Miller of West St. Paul and Madison Smith of Mendota Heights gradu-ated from Marquette Uni-versity.

Christopher Miller of West St. Paul was named to the dean’s list at Dunwoody College of Technology.

Zerr Her of West St. Paul was named to the dean’s list at the University of Wis-consin-LaCrosse.

Maureen Baker of Men-dota Heights graduated from the University of Wis-consin-LaCrosse.

Heidi Czlapinski of West St. Paul and Stephanie Tu-ley of Mendota Heights were named to the dean’s list at Bethel University.

Crystal Chen of West St. Paul and Samuel Johnson of Sunfish Lake were named to the academic honors list at at Purdue University.

Megan Holec and Steph-anie Means of Mendota Heights graduated from the University of Iowa.

Samuel Lane and Rob-ert Lennon of Mendota Heights were named to the dean’s list at the University of Iowa.

Jacquelyn Bernick of Mendota Heights and Alex Hubbell of West St. Paul were named to the honor roll at the University of Kansas.

The following gradu-ate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison: Christopher Daly, Andrew Yankovich and Alyssa Karel of Mendota Heights and Christy Donovan and Ju-lian Spindell of West St. Paul.

The following were named to the dean’s list at the University of Minneso-ta-Twin Cities: Kallie Bat-tarbee, Danielle Berg, No-lan Hudalla, Albir Khalil, Emil Khalil, Robert Kul-hanek, Andrew Lauwagie and Megan Spanjers of Mendota Heights, Saman-tha Hurley of Sunfish Lake and Anna Verstraete, Mar-tin Kapsch, Anna Marchio and Susan Miranda of West St. Paul.

John Nye of Sunfish Lakewas named to the dean’s List at Washington University in St. Louis.

Henry Sibley High School junior Molly Nemer was awarded a full academic scholarship to Case Western Reserve University for her 10-minute documentary entitled “Opening Levit-town: Moving the First Black Family into America’s Second Suburb.” She pre-sented the documentary at the National History Day competition in June in Washington D.C. She ad-vanced to the national com-petition after winning the Minnesota State History Day competition this spring in the Senior Individual Documentary category.

First FridayCapitol River Council/

District 17 will host a First Friday social 4-6 p.m., Fri-day, Aug. 3 at Hunan Gar-dens. The event is sponsored monthly to give downtown residents an opportunity to become better acquainted.1695 Dodd Road, Mendota Heights | 651.454.9822

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Your community news and information sourceN ews Briefs

Concessions | Pull Tabs | ATM

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August 1...... Safari PartyAugust 8 ..... “Tickled Pink” PartyAugust 15 .... Disney PartyAugust 22 ... Black & White PartyAugust 29 ... Rock & Roll Party

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Free workplace English classes

South Suburban Adult Basic Education offers Workplace English classes to adults age 18 and older who want to enter the workforce and wish to improve their English language and job search skills. The classes are free and open to residents of ISD 197. To enroll or re-ceive more information, call 651-457-9441.

WSP man wins $2K in credit union contest

West St. Paul resident Sean Higgins, a recent col-lege graduate, was awarded $2,000 from the Minnesota Credit Union Network. He entered a Facebook contest that is part of the network’s “Bankziety” campaign, which stress the advantages of credit unions over banks. You may view his story at http://seeyoulaterbank.com/video1.html.

Flag disposalAmerican Legion Chal-

lenger Post 521 has a col-

lection box in the vestibule at the West St. Paul Mu-nicipal Center, 1616 Hum-boldt Ave., for American flags that are torn, frayed or discolored. For more in-formation on flag disposal or on the Challenger Post, call John Ertel at 651-457-5597.

Music in MearsMusic in Mears will pres-

ent concerts in Mears Park at 6 p.m. on Thursdays in August. Goondas, Maudin and Rockford Mules will perform Aug. 2, Mayda, Kill the Vultures and No Bird Sing on Aug. 9, In-ukshuk, Chemistry Set and Flaming O’s on Aug. 16, Savannah Smith, Brian Da-vid Band and Honey Dogs on Aug. 23, and High on Stress, Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank and Charlie Parr on Aug. 30.

Hiking in the Vento NatureSanctuary

A Hike It! program is of-fered at 9:30 a.m., Satur-day, Aug. 18 and 6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 12 at the

Bruce Vento Nature Sanctu-ary, located near E. Seventh and Payne. In addition, the Lower Phalen Creek Proj-ect is soliciting feedback on how to improve the sanctu-ary. To participate in a pub-lic survey, visit www.lower-phalencreek.org.

MMAA reopens downtown

The Minnesota Museum of American Art will oc-cupy temporary space in the Pioneer/Endicott build-ings while it is being con-verted from retail and office space to apartments. When the construction project is completed, the museum may make the Pioneer/En-dicott its permanent home. The museum was former-ly located at the Ramsey County Government Cen-ter West, but in 2009 lost that space. The museum has about 4,000 pieces of art from American and Minne-sota artists.

City Passport events

The City Passport senior citizen center located at

the mezzanine level of the Alliance Bank building at 55 E. Fifth St. has the fol-lowing events in August: happy birthday party, 2 p.m., Monday, Aug. 13; trivia, 10:30 a.m., Wednes-day, Aug. 15; writers group, 10:30 a.m., Friday, Aug. 17; current events discussion, 11 a.m., Friday, Aug. 17; leather lace key chain crafts, 1 p.m., Monday, Aug. 20; ice cream float social, 1:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 24; ladies tea, 2 p.m., Monday, Aug. 27; blood pressure tests, 10 a.m. on Mondays; acupunc-ture, 9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays; movies at 1 p.m. on Thurs-days.

Free program by Dakota County master gardeners

The University of Min-nesota Extension Volun-teer Master Gardeners of Dakota County are host-ing an evening of garden-centered presentations 5-8 p.m., Tuesday, July 31 on projects underway at the Rosemount Research and Outreach Center and other topics of gardening interest,

including growing healthy food, sustainable landscape, bird gardening, preserva-tion of pollinators, Minne-sota research and gardening for kids, as well as special presentations on weeds, the well-tended garden, plant photography and honey bees. The event will be held at the Dakota County Mas-ter Gardener Research and Display Gardens in UMore Park, 1605 W. 160th St., Rosemount.

Pedro Park plans under review

Comments and sugges-tions on the future of the proposed Pedro Park near Tenth and Robert are being evaluated by the St. Paul Department of Parks and Recreation. The comments were obtained from two public meetings and a ques-tionnaire that was complet-ed by nearly 850 people.

Great River Passage meeting

The Great River Passage master plan is scheduled to

have a public hearing be-fore the St. Paul Planning Commission on Aug. 24. It has already been reviewed by several district councils, the St. Paul Parks Commis-sion and the transportation committee of the Planning Commission. The plan of-fers a 30-year vision for the future of parkland along the Mississippi River. The city has 26 miles of shoreline and 25 miles of trails next to the river.

Tamales in Town Square

La Loma has opened a tamales shop on the skyway level of Town Square, next to the skyway to the Securi-an building. This is the first St. Paul location. It has two other restaurants in Min-neapolis. La Loma offers meat and vegetable tamales, enchiladas, chilaquiles, bur-ritos and taco salads.



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Faith, Community, Compassion

HumboldtAd:Layout 1 10/18/11 4:04 PM Page 1


What’s the secret to keeping a small fam-

ily-owned business operat-ing for 100 years? For the Rascher family of Rascher Plumbing & Heating on St. Paul’s West Side, it seems to be, “where there’s a will there’s a way.”

In their case, the “will” may have something to do with their names.

Carl William Rascher started the business in 1912. His son William Carl took over in 1937. Grand-son William Joseph took the reins in 1980 and great-grandson Joseph William took charge in 1999.

If you’ll notice, that’s a lot of “Williams’s.” Now Joe (officially Joseph Wil-liam, of course) is proud to carry on the family busi-ness that has always aspired to a tradition of providing professionalism, quality workmanship and prompt, courteous service to all its customers.

When Carl William founded the business in 1912 he had little more than a wheelbarrow full of plumbing tools to call his own but, “where there’s a will there’s a way.” He managed to maneuver his wheelbarrow onto streetcars to reach his customers.

His son William Carl was in his late twenties when he

followed in his father’s foot-steps in 1937. By then the father-son business was op-erating out of an old Model T truck they purchased to transport tools and the two plumbing experts to their job sites.

William Carl went on to become involved and in-fluential in the plumbing profession at the state and national level. In 1959 he was named Contractor of the Year by the National Plumbing, Heating, Cool-ing Contractors Associa-tion. He also served as presi-dent of the St. Paul Chapter in 1959, national president in 1968, and state president in 1967.

“Grandpa ‘William C.’ was quite a character and an influential guy in the busi-ness,” said Joe. “He was a visionary with people skills, professionalism, and his aim was to raise the image of the plumber out of the ditch to a highly trained craftsman to protect public health.”

When William Joseph the grandson took over in 1980, the business had been operating out of 712 Smith Ave. S. for 28 years. Like his father, William Jo-seph saw the benefits of be-ing involved in the plumb-ing associations. He served as state president in 1987, was Minnesota Contractor of the Year in 1994, and received the Distinguished

Service Award from the Minnesota Mechanical Contractor Association in 1998. By this time the Ra-scher name was well-known in the plumbing, cooling and heating industry. The Raschers are the only three generation family to serve as president of the Min-nesota Plumbing Heating and Cooling Contractors Association (William C., William J. and Joseph Wil-liam).

“Their involvement helped put the company on the right path,” said Joe. “You meet a lot of plumbers and are able to learn from each other. You meet con-tractors and work with sup-pliers and building inspec-tors. Establishing a name is important.”

Nonetheless, Joe’s mother Rita Rascher pointed out that despite having a solid, well-respected name, “We are not trying to be a big company. We are a personal company and it works.”

Joe has fond early memo-ries of the business.

“I remember coming into the shop, which was on the first floor, and going up to office and there was a toy truck with pipes and fit-tings on it that I would play with,” he said. “I started meeting employees, and was sweeping the floors in 7th and 8th grade. Then I started putting pipe fittings away, which is something my youngest son has started doing.”

Joe remembered his grandpa, William Carl, as a humorous old guy who really enjoyed life and run-ning the family business.

“Grandpa would come in every day for an hour in the morning and give ev-eryone grief,” said Joe. “The employees loved to see him and take his heat. We knew he was really sick when he didn’t come in one morn-ing. He passed in 1991.”

Joe’s father took over in the late ’70s and ran the business until he died sud-denly in 1999 at the age of 60.

“The most difficult day in my life was the day after he died,” recalled Joe. “I had to inform the employees that

he had died. I had to take on the business much ear-lier than I had planned.”

But Joe was well pre-pared, having graduated from college with a degree in construction manage-ment and completed a five-year apprenticeship.

“My friend graduated from medical school the same year I finished my training,” said Joe. Rita ex-plained the irony.

“Well, William J. always said plumbing was like heart surgery,” she said of her husband. “It’s fixing valves and pipes!”

Being in the same loca-tion has helped the Raschers keep the same customers for decades.

“It’s rewarding to work with the next generation of customers whose parents were doing business with dad and grandpa,” said Joe. “To go into a home and see the Rascher sticker that has been in place for 30 or 40 years. We provide a sense of stability. Customers know what they are going to get.”

When a customer calls Rascher Plumbing, it’s Joe’s wife Michelle who answers the phone. She said that af-ter seven years she is finally able to figure out what a toilet repair entails, but still can’t tell a customer what is wrong when they describe their problem over the phone. She also works part-time as a registered nurse at the Veterans’Administration Hospital in Minneapo-lis. That and juggling the schedules of five children in

four schools keeps the Ra-schers on their toes.

The company has weath-ered many challenging peri-ods: World War I, the Great Depression and World War II, and is soldiering through the current economic slow-down. Joe said it takes a combination of business acumen and technical know-how to keep moving forward.

“It’s important to have good business skills as well as technical knowledge,” said Joe. “It’s hard to suc-ceed if you don’t have both, because it can be chal-lenging. Especially when someone is calling in from the field looking for a part and you have to coordinate jobs.”

Will the Rascher family continue with the next gen-eration? It looks like Joe’s son Tim has the mechani-cal know-how and interest to step in when the time is right. He is following in his dad’s footsteps by attending college and helping in the shop.

To celebrate the compa-ny’s centennial, the Raschers are throwing a party on Fri., Aug. 3 at Cherokee Park, 4-8 p.m. It’s open to the public and they will have music, food, kids’ games, giveaways, a dunk tank, and an opportunity to ride the old Rascher Model T. The family says it’s a chance to thank their customers and suppliers, and for people to learn about their company.

Rascher Plumbing & Heating still going strong after 100 years

Submitted photo

The Rascher Clan: (back row, left to right) Tim, Joe, Rita, Michelle, Ben, (front row) Emily, Daniel and Katie.


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Your community news and information sourceB ack in Time

Don MorganContributor

We live in a culture that seems to spend

an awful lot of time fol-lowing the activities of the latest talent show winners, reality show stars and any-one with a hit movie. Life in St. Paul wasn’t much dif-ferent 85 years ago, except that people read newspapers instead of viewing cable TV or the internet. In August 1927, folks in St. Paul fol-lowed some flash-in-the-pan celebs, as well as some stars that still are significant today, and some got up-close and personal with two of the biggest names of the 1920s.

The month began with locals following two big stories, one happy, one de-cidedly not. In the sports pages, Yankee sluggers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were engaged in a home run battle that overshadowed the American League pen-nant race (not much of a race actually, New York finished 19 games ahead of the Athletics.) That month, the anarchist duo of Sacco and Vanzetti, convicted of murders committed dur-ing a 1920 payroll robbery, had their final appeal de-nied and were headed for a date with the Massachusetts electric chair. But it was ce-lebrity appearances that de-fined the month. The 1927 U.S. Amateur Golf tourna-ment was held at the Mini-

kahda Golf Club in Min-neapolis, which meant a lot of top golfers were in the Twin Cities for a week or so, including the top player of them all, Atlanta’s Bobby Jones.

Jones, one of the top names in American sports in the 1920s, was at the peak of his game in 1927. At age 25, he had already twice won the Amateur and the United States and Brit-ish open tournaments. Even though the tournament was in Minneapolis, contestants made personal appearances at local clubs around the Twin Cities and had recep-tions in both downtowns. Jones was the big draw and handled himself with grace when meeting the public or press. After a meeting and photo with the mayor at city hall, he headed back across the river for the opening of the tournament.

Normally the presence of someone of Jones’ stature and fame would have been the big story of the month in St. Paul, even if he did spend most of his time in Minneapolis, but he was trumped by the visit of perhaps the biggest Ameri-can celebrity of the entire decade, Minnesota native Charles Lindbergh.

Lindbergh, also 25, was new to the celebrity role, having been one for only a little over three months. Following his solo flight in May across the Atlantic in the plane Spirit of St.

Louis, he went from being an obscure mail pilot to an international hero literally overnight. After receiving the Legion of Honor award from the French, huge pa-rades in his honor in Paris and London, a gigantic ticker-tape parade in New York, and the Distinguished Flying Cross at a ceremony in Washington, he em-barked on a cross-country tour to promote American aeronautics. Sponsored by the Daniel Guggenheim Fund, the tour covered over 90 cities in 48 states. Min-nesota was one of his early stops.

Lindbergh was from Little Falls and had no real connection with the Twin Cities, except for his days hanging out in the mail rooms at both airports. His time here was limited. Naturally, both St. Paul and Minneapolis wanted him, and just as naturally there were squabbles over his schedule. After negotiations and at least one coin flip, a compromise was reached. Lindbergh would perform some aerial maneuvers over the St. Paul airfield in the Spirit, head for Wold-Chamberlain field in Min-neapolis to land, travel by open car caravan back to the St. Paul airport for an address, drive to the Lowry Hotel for rest, and then go to the St. Paul Hotel for a banquet in his honor that night. St. Paul was consid-ered to have gotten the best

of the Lindbergh bargain.All pretty much went

as planned. A huge crowd gathered at the St. Paul airport and across the riv-er on the bluffs of Indian Mounds Park, hoping to catch a glimpse of the fa-mous plane. Flying in from Milwaukee, Lindbergh ap-peared in the sky right on schedule and swooped a couple of times across the field (nothing fancy, he was not a stunt pilot and the Spirit was definitely not a stunt plane), and then headed west for his landing. Back in St. Paul a couple of hours later, he gave a brief speech to a large crowd, ex-horting the need to main-tain both of the Twin Cities’ airports.

The banquet that night at the St. Paul Hotel was attended by the “financial,

professional and political leaders of Minnesota,” in-cluding the governor and mayors of both of the Twin Cities. His address was di-rect. After a brief word of thanks to all of Minnesota, he spoke on the develop-ment of American com-mercial aviation. He noted how the war in Europe had moved aviation to the point of practicality and called for a coordinated aeronautical program for the Twin Cit-ies. The talk was short and quite technical, but well re-ceived.

Lindbergh spent another day in St. Paul, resting. The next day he was in the air again; first to Little Falls for a visit home, and then to Fargo and another push for aviation facilities.

Bobby Jones easily won his third U.S. Amateur title,

setting a course record at Minikahda at almost the same time that Lindbergh was flying over St. Paul. Also on that same day, Sacco and Vanzetti were executed by the state of Massachusetts. People still argue today over their guilt or innocence.

Jones and Lindbergh both remained celebrities for the rest of their lives. As they aged, the role became harder for each. Jones suffered seri-ous illness, and Lindbergh became more withdrawn after family tragedy and wartime controversy. Jones died in 1971; Lindbergh three years later. Both had flaws but both were men of accomplishment. And thankfully today, people are still able to distinguish real celebrity from the kind that will be soon forgotten.

August 1927: St. Paulites enjoy brush with fame

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Your community news and information sourceR iver Connections

Reflections from the

RiverfrontTim Spitzack

Editor

Same bench, same time, new musingsEditor’s note: this is the ninth of a 12-part series where I am spending 30 minutes in the same place along the Mississippi River each month to contemplate life in our river town. To read previous articles, visit www.stpaulpublishing.com/mississippiriver.html.

July 6, 201212:30 p.m.96 degrees FOvercast

It was bound to happen and today it did. As I

walked across the great lawn at Harriet Island Regional Park I saw two young wom-en sitting on my bench. I glanced around and could see a dozen other benches along the riverfront and they were all empty. Yet, they chose mine. I guess I can’t blame them. It’s a good bench. It is shaded by a large cottonwood tree and provides nice views of the river, both upstream and down. I moved to a bench further on down the trail. At first I was disappointed, but then I thought, “What the heck; a new bench, a new perspective.”

My most striking obser-vation today is how placid the river looks and how quiet the park is. I suspect it

has to do with the weather. It is hot and humid, just an-other in a long string of days with temps that have hov-ered around 100 degrees. We’re only a few weeks past the summer solstice and already people are retreat-ing indoors for the comfort of artificially cooled air. It is 56 degrees warmer to-day than when I sat on my bench around the time of the winter solstice. I think back to that day, which was unseasonably warm, and how people were grumbling about the cold and were planning get-aways to plac-es closer to the equator. Six months ago many would have sold their birthright for the chance to bask in 96 degree heat. Now that it’s here, they want nothing to do with it.

The “hard-core” bik-ers and runners of recent months are also absent, re-placed by only a few people who are leisurely making

their way along the trail. I see only two or three run-ners and the same amount of bikers, all moving rather slowly, and just a hand-ful of walkers. Talk of the weather dominates our con-versations these days and includes colorful adjectives like stifling and scorching.

There is a gentle breeze blowing at my back and I am quite comfortable in the shade. I look at the river and see no traffic upon it. On the morning of Sunday, July 29 it will look much differ-ent. Some 300 paddlers will be stopping at the park for a rest break along their 2-day, 39-mile trip down the river. They are paddling to help raise money for the Friends of the Mississippi River and the causes it supports (see www.fmr.org). The thought of being on the river excites me and I begin to devise a plan to paddle around Pike Island this weekend. For Father’s Day, one of my

daughters gave me a gift of time: to go on some small outdoor adventure together. We had planned to go hik-ing this weekend but I think I will suggest that we canoe the river. Having recently viewed the new “U.S.-Da-kota War of 1862”exhibit at the Minnesota History Center, I’ll enjoy paddling around what was a very sig-nificant locale of that era. In the 1860s, Pike Island was the site of Dakota vil-lages, a treaty signing and an internment camp that held Dakota prisoners after the war. The exhibit, which commemorates the 150th anniversary of the war, did a nice job of profiling both sides of the conflict.

After I left the park I won-dered if I had too harshly judged my fellow Minne-sotans for their spineless re-treat from the intemperate weather so I drove around to a few restaurants with outdoor patios to see how

many people were soaking up the sun. They were all empty. My suspicions were confirmed so, defiantly, I decided to dine outside. I drove to cafe on the West Side that has a small patio with a view of the limestone bluffs of St. Paul and ate a

chicken salad sandwich on rye. It was hot and humid and the sun beat down on me. I washed down my sandwich with luke-warm water and wiped some beads of sweat from my brow. Did I say it was hot? No, it was sweltering.

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Your community news and information sourceC ommunity Organizations

Adult Education students harvest grapes – and knowledge – at Trout Brook Vineyards

Although it somehow seems like summer has only just begun, displays in nearly every store remind me that it is “Back to School” season. Soon enough kindergarteners will be packing new backpacks for the first time, teenagers will be waking up before noon so they can get to class on time, and college freshmen will be moving into the dorms. While a part of me is sad to see summer end, I have always en-joyed the first day of school and I am glad to see students returning to their classrooms every fall.

I am also glad to work at a place like Neighborhood House, where education takes place year-round and ex-tends well beyond senior year and the four walls of the classroom. This organization has been encouraging life-long learning for over a century. It makes me proud, as a

former educator, to see this tradition continue today. Every day at Neighborhood House, preschool children learn the social and literacy skills they will need in kindergarten and grade school, youth develop leadership skills and healthy habits, and adult students practice English and learn cul-tural lessons that will help them integrate into our com-munity.

Most of our Adult Education students are immigrants and refugees who have been in this country only a short time. English enables them to communicate with their new neighbors, but as you can probably imagine, language is just one key skill they need in order to live, work and support their families in the United States. Our English Language Learners (ELL) courses incorporate lessons about American culture into the daily curriculum, helping stu-dents learn English along with computer literacy, job skills and ways to navigate school, healthcare and legal systems in Minnesota. This is why our Adult Education program was recognized as the best in the state by the Minnesota De-partment of Education and the Literacy Action Network last year. After gaining English literacy through our ELL program, students graduate ready to pursue their goals, whether that means steady employment, higher education, or simply thriving as a member of our community.

In addition, the Adult Education program partners with Trout Brook Vineyards every fall to provide a unique way to help students enter the workforce. When the grapes rip-en in late August and early September, owners Lynn and Ernie Betker hire a group of our students to help with the harvest. Along with being paid for their labor, students get the chance to bond with classmates and to practice their

English in a real work environment. “I am inspired by the Betkers’ innovative spirit,” said

James Bernard, Adult Education instructor. “So often peo-ple fail to see the intelligence of those who cannot articulate themselves due to language barriers, but Ernie and Lynn made everyone feel like friends first and workers second.”

One student from the Advanced English class, Thim, had so much fun that he joked about staying at the vineyard forever.

“It was the first job for me in the U.S. and I really like this job,” he said. “If I can, I don’t want to stop that job. I want to do it forever… I was learning many things from the job and I could understand a little more about what a job in the U.S. does.”

Like many of our students, Thim, who is from Cambo-dia, comes from a rural area and has a farming background. While he benefited from the work experience, he also en-joyed feeling as though the skills he gained in his home country were valued.

By partnering with Neighborhood House, Trout Brook is able to find a hard-working and enthusiastic workforce for their harvest season and students are able to practice their English and gain valuable work experience. It is not charity, but a mutually beneficial partnership. At Neigh-borhood House, we believe in building community and we welcome the opportunity to create corporate and business partnerships like this one. Visit www.neighb.org/social_in-novation to learn how your company can develop a part-nership with Neighborhood House.

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WE TAKE LEARNING PERSONALLY!

School District 197 offers a variety of great options from

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Las familias que habla español están bienvenidas

West St. Paul- Mendota Heights - Eagan Area Schoolswww.isd197.org · 651.403.7000

find District 197 on

Garlough Elementary (Environmental Magnet) Thursday, Aug. 30, 4-5:30 p.m.

Mendota Elementary Thursday, Aug. 30, 3-4:30 p.m.

Moreland Elementary (Arts and Health Sciences Magnet) Thursday, Aug. 30, 5-7 p.m.

Pilot Knob Elementary (STEM Magnet) Wednesday, Aug. 29, 5-6:30 p.m.

Somerset Elementary Thursday, Aug. 30, 4-6 p.m.

Friendly Hills Middle School Thursday, Aug. 23, 12-7 p.m.

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Henry Sibley High School Wednesday, Aug. 29, 10 a.m-6 p.m.

2012 Back to School Events

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spv aug 2012

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