The Citizen

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2018

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VOL. 15 NO. 26 www.readthecitizen.com $1.00

RUFFRIDGE JOHNSON: Welcomed to Centerville PAGE 3

District chooses land for new school in Hugo BY SARA MARIE MOORE VADNAIS HEIGHTS EDITOR

The district has picked land for a new school in Hugo. The School Board approved purchase agreements for three parcels of land on Everton Avenue N., just north of Frenchman Road, at a closed session Dec. 10. Details of the offers were not released. The three vacant parcels sandwich another parcel that houses a farm, according to Washington County records. The district did not reveal whether it is in negotiations with the owner of

the middle parcel. The two southerly parcels are owned by St. Agnes Church in St. Paul. One is about 17 acres and worth about $256,000, according to county records. The second, a thin strip bordering the fi rst, is half an acre and worth about $7,000. The northerly parcel is owned by Karen Anderson of North Branch. It is 12 acres and worth about $214,000. The three parcels are currently zoned residential. A proposal for a school on the land has not come before the Hugo City Council. The district wants to secure land

for possible construction of a school due to the growth it has seen in the Hugo area, reported Marisa Vette, director of communications and community relations. Kindergarten through fi fth-grade enrollment at Hugo and Oneka Elementary Schools could nearly double within a decade, according to a recent enrollment projection study. Overall district enrollment could increase from 8,500 last school year to up to 11,000 in a decade. “We have not determined what will be built in Hugo, but this

each of their births, each event being the biggest quake we had felt up to that point.” The Wittkops have three children, 4-year-old Will, 2-year-old Hollis and their newest addition, Rockney, who was just one week old when the earthquake struck. “Will arrived a week after we had a shake in 2014. Hollis came four days after Anchorage’s last big quake in February 2016. This time around, the hospital started to sway while we were there, two days after we had Rockney,” she said. “I thought it was crazy, being that the last quake we had felt was when Hollis was born, and we don’t really feel them all that often. I presumed we’d gotten the ‘Wittkop Boy Quake’ out of the way ...” But she was wrong. The magnitude 7.0 earthquake a week after Rockney’s arrival and after the family returned home shut off power, ripped apart roads, caused fi res and damaged SEE EARTHQUAKE, PAGE 2

SEE MEN’S CLUB, PAGE 3

SEE NEW SCHOOL, PAGE 15

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Boy oh boy: Minnesotans ride out Alaska earthquake When the magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 8 miles outside of Anchorage, Alaska, on Nov. 30, it should have been no surprise to the Wittkop family. Hugo natives Jim and Kazandra Wittkop have lived in Alaska for more than 10 years. The day after their wedding at St. Genevieve’s in Centerville, they moved to the remote village of King Salmon after Jim accepted a job as a federal law enforcement officer and pilot for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. After eight years or so, the family relocated to live on the road system 30 miles north of Anchorage in Chugiak — which happens to be 10 miles north of the quake’s epicenter. “To be honest, we should have been expecting the earthquake. There is a strange irony surrounding the births of our children and earthquakes,” Kazandra said. “We have experienced a quake within a week of

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BY JANICE COLLOVA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Dec. 12, residents at Keystone Place at LaValle Fields in Hugo were enjoying cupcakes and ice cream as a men’s volunteer group led everyone in “Here Comes Santa Claus.” Then sleigh bells began to ring. Heads turned. Eyes and smiles widened. “Ho ho!” one resident shouted. Santa Claus himself had arrived. St. Nick shook hands and offered hugs to residents before joining the men’s volunteer group — the St. John the Baptist Men’s Club of St. Genevieve’s Church. “Here Comes Santa Claus” was followed by 30 minutes of Christmas classics such as “White Christmas” and “Silent Night.” Even though the men’s club stood at the front of the room and told residents which songs from the caroling booklets to sing, both the club and residents seemed to sing with one voice. Each person seemed to enjoy the singing as much as the other. A “very active” men’s club Serving desserts and caroling at senior homes in Hugo and Centerville is a tradition the club started 15 years ago to spread Christmas cheer to the area’s senior community. Along with Keystone, the club also brings this tradition to Muller Manor in Hugo and Chauncey Barrett Gardens in Centerville. The caroling is just one of many ways the club gives back, both to the parish of St. Genevieve’s and to Hugo and Centerville as a whole. According to Men’s Club President Bill Courteau, the group donates about $15,000-$20,000 every year to community and parish causes, including disaster relief and food shelves. A few service events the club participates in include repair and maintenance within the parish and the annual Lenten fish fry that attracts visitors from all over the Twin Cities. Courteau said St. Genevieve’s is one of the few parishes that has a “very active men’s club.” According to Courteau, many parishes have a women’s service group under the organization National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW), but few have a similar group

Hugo natives Jim and Kazandra Wittkop have lived in Alaska for more than 10 years. Also pictured are two of their three sons, 4-yearold Will and 2-year-old Hollis.

BY SHANNON GRANHOLM EDITOR

Men’s club brings Christmas cheer to seniors

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