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SPORTS CENTER: Dome deflates under snow load PAGE 8A
Despite neighborly opposition, dog beach stays BY DEBRA NEUTKENS EDITOR
The ‘snow’ must go on
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Top photo: Instructor Vanessa Brooks Agnes leads children in a performance during a musical theatre workshop Saturday, April 14 at the Hanifl Performing Arts Center. The students were scheduled to perform during an open house at the center before rapidly deteriorating weather conditions, above, forced cancellation of the event. At left: Snow and wind create near whiteout conditions in downtown White Bear Lake Saturday, April 14. The National Weather Service reported that the more than 14 inches of accumulated snow that fell between Friday morning and Sunday evening across the area was the largest April snowstorm on record.
WHITE BEAR LAKE — The swimming beach for canines at Matoska Park survived a city-imposed probationary period. It will remain an area amenity. Thirteen months after new rules were imposed on users of the waterfront park, City Council revisited issues of compliance, or lack thereof, and took comments, pro and con from residents only, at its April 10 meeting. After all was said and done, the vote was 3-2 to keep it open. Significant to the motion was removal of the word “temporary.” The park is no longer on probation, although council did direct staff to look for alternative sites with water access. That could be tough. Other potential spots in the city are either too cramped or too swampy, so it's unlikely one will be found as nice as White Bear Lake. Nearby resident Brian Bonin suggested fencing off part of Optimist Beach. “It's a space issue at Matoska,” he told council, “that has changed over time with more people using it.” He pitched the idea of giving 70 feet of city beach to the dogs since fewer people live near Optimist and “it's not a backwater lake.” The Eighth Street homeowner, who sat on the Parks Commission when the dog park was approved in 2007, complimented SEE DOG PARK, PAGE 9A
1940 custom cruiser looking for home on White Bear Lake BY DEBRA NEUTKENS EDITOR
As a kid growing up in Birchwood, Howard Nicholson fondly remembers a white 38-foot cruiser on White Bear Lake. “It was the biggest boat on the lake and easy to spot. It stuck out like a sore thumb,” he recalled. Little did Nicholson know at
the time that he would eventually own the boat: he purchased it from Walter “Buster” Johnson in 1982. Buster inherited the cruiser from his father, John O. Johnson, founder of Johnson Boat Works. After 36 years as “caretaker,” Nicholson is ready to return the boat to its roots. He's willing to give it away with one important stipulation: the cruiser
stays on White Bear Lake. Built in 1940 at Johnson Boat Works on Lake Avenue South, the boat's in pretty good shape for its age, Nicholson said. He keeps it at a marina on Lake Superior's south shore, so transportation to White Bear Lake will be required. A Mariner High School SEE CRUISER, PAGE 9A
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Johnson Boat Works founder J.O. Johnson, his wife and another couple took the JoanII down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico and on to St. Petersburg, Florida, in the fall of 1940 where they spent the winter.
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