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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 VOL. 121 NO. 28 www.presspubs.com $1.00
LAKE LINKS: Committee putting pedal to the metal PAGE 9A
After 8 long years, Ramsey Beach to open BY DEBRA NEUTKENS EDITOR
The lake has reached a level just high enough to convince county officials it's time to open the beach at White Bear Lake County Park. The swimming area has been closed for eight years. Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt said the decision to open transpired late last week. “We sent someone out there to look,” said Reinhardt, a White Bear Lake resident and county chair. “They came back to me to say it's the minimum but we can do it.” That “magic moment,” as she called it was when the lake reached a threshold of 923 feet.
The guarded beach will open June 10 along with other parks in the county system with one important caveat: “Our community needs to understand the factors in our decision-making between now and then. Safety has always come first and will continue to come first,” stressed the commissioner. “Should the level begin dropping again between now and June, or anytime during the summer, we will re-evaluate the plan for the remainder of the season.” Encouraged by the current conditions, Parks staff plan to clear aquatic weeds and vegetation and redistribute sand in the weeks ahead. Reinhardt noted the county expects to have its permit request ap-
proved by the Department of Natural Resources in order to open by June 10. In addition to lifeguard stands, there are plans to add signs to clearly state the rules and boundaries of safe use of the beach this year. “Both this year and in past springtimes, I have appreciated our community’s enthusiasm around opening the beach area at White Bear Lake County Park,” Reinhardt said in a statement. “Like many neighbors and visitors, I have fond memories of using the swim beach when my sons were children, and I would be delighted to see my grandchildren wading and splashing there with other families.” SEE RAMSEY BEACH, PAGE 8A
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt strolls along the beach at White Bear Lake County Park accompanied by her granddaughter. Reinhardt announced Friday the beach would open for wading on June 10.
White Bear Teacher of the Year has ‘best job on earth’ BY SARA MARIE MOORE VADNAIS HEIGHTS EDITOR
WHITE BEAR LAKE — The 2017 White Bear Lake Area Schools Teacher of the Year considers his classroom to be family for the school year. Nicholas Marty began as a student teacher in the district almost a decade ago. He currently teaches fifth grade at Lincoln Elementary and has also taught at Hugo and Oneka. Marty gives parents hope for their inquisitive, fidgety children, said colleague Pam Johnstone, who introduced him at the award ceremony. “What brought him into the profession was his own personal experience as a child and family of educators as a child,” Johnstone said. Marty has empathy for children who learn differently, she added, which he learned from his mother who was also a teacher. “The kids know his heart is for them,” Johnstone said. “Mr. Marty teaches in a very unique way — different than most teachers,” a student said. “He’s every kid’s best friend,” another said. Marty’s use of technology in his classroom PAULS DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Lincoln Elementary fifth-grade teacher Nicholas Marty, standing, was named the 2017 White Bear Lake Area Schools Teacher of the Year.
SEE TOP TEACHER, PAGE 8A
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