2015
DECEMBER 30, 2015
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WHITE BEAR/VADNAIS HEIGHTS PRESS
JULY CONTINUED To Invade White Bear Lake” the headline read. “The idea was to take a clip from a 1950s sci-fi movie poster and replace the flying saucers with zebra mussels,” said district board member Scott Costello. • The Mahtomedi City Council adopted four measures aimed at promoting water conservation: rebates for residents who replace their washing machine or a toilet, a new fourth-tier water rate increasing the cost for top consumers, formation of a conservation committee to educate top water users and a pledge that any new city irrigation systems should recycle stormwater. • Washington County Sheriff deputies pooled their funds to give a birthday surprise to a favorite worker at a Mahtomedi gas station they often frequent. They took James Roberts, who has developmental disabilities, on a limo ride. • The White Bear Area Emergency Food
Shelf welcomed a new executive director. Andrea Kish-Bailey brought 16 years of nonprofit leadership experience. • The Birchwood City Council adopted new lawn watering restrictions with the aim of conserving water and raised its water rates to fund rising costs and replenish the city’s water fund. • City of White Bear Lake leaders continued to discuss the future of its sports center and whether to invest between $1.4 to $2.4 million to replace its ice system. They mulled asking neighboring communities and the school district to chip in. • Social media helped identify a man who robbed the downtown White Bear Lake TCF Bank. Ernest Luera was charged and later convicted of aggravated robbery. • Boatworks Commons, the 85-unit apartment building with public parking and a community room, had its grand opening.
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Mahtomedi’s test takers, 85 percent passed the math and science exams and 83 percent were proficient or better on the reading assessment.
Ken Anderson tinkers with timepieces.
Local pros compete at LifeTime Fitness.
• Local fundraisers held their 30th annual Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic. The pro mixed doubles tennis tournament, and for the last several years also a run/walk, has raised nearly $5 million for Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota cancer prevention and treatment research initiatives. • Mahtomedi Public Schools again was the top performer on state standardized tests. Of
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AUGUST • Mahtomedi decided to allow beekeeping in backyards. Prospective beekeepers must meet a number of conditions and obtain a permit. • Olive Branch Oil & Spice Company moved into the remaining vacant former Floral Trunk space that was the subject of debate in the winter. The company moved from a smaller downtown location. • The owner of Zappa’s Sporting Goods announced he would close his Highway 61 store after 14 years in business. The store closed in December. • Noodles and Company opened in the Heights Plaza strip mall in Vadnais Heights, in a space previously occupied by a PDQ gas station.
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• Ken Anderson, the owner of White Bear Jewelers, has a passion for old pocket watches. One of a dying breed of watchmakers, he repairs timepieces from all over the country. • Bailey Jordan Garcia, 19, was sentenced to 27 years in prison for shooting and killing David Frigaard. • Anthony Michael Longville, 29, was charged with malicious punishment of a child. When Longville’s son was 2 months old, the baby sustained multiple injuries allegedly caused by shaking or blunt force trauma. • In a survey of downtown White Bear Lake business owners, the top request for change was “more accessible parking.” Runners-up were “more retail shops” and a “larger selection of merchandise.” • Two decades after her mother found a Purple Heart in a dump, Tami Heart of White Bear Lake was able to return the medal to its rightful family. Turns out the medal was given in mem-
10 Years 95 years ory of a WWII soldier who once lived in what became Heart’s family cabin. • Young hockey players got to skate with Wild center Ryan Carter, thanks to a White Bear Lake hockey mom and her nonprofit organization. Hockey Moms USA provides equipment, player scholarships and free camps for youth hockey players from lower income families. • A primary election was held after 10 people filed to run for District 624 School Board. Less than 1 percent of the school district’s registered voters turned out to select six candidates to advance to the general election. • Christina Pierre became the new principal of Sunrise Park Middle School. She previously was an associate principal at South Campus. • The sale of Bald Eagle Island finally reportedly was finalized. Hans Stachowiak of Megabien Entertainment has plans to build a new recording, film and TV studio on the island. • The Vadnais Heights City Council denied an application from the White Bear Lake Area Hockey Association to take over the charitable gambling operation at Jimmy’s Food and Drink. The council then approved a moratorium to indefinitely block the hockey group from reapplying. • The Alchemist, a new cocktail lounge in downtown White Bear Lake, opened with wellknown mixologist Johnny Michaels behind the bar. The small lounge has a steam punk motif much like owner Terry Kellerman’s adjacent event center. • Robert Darren Olson, 47, was stabbed to death inside a White Bear Lake home and Joseph James Derks, 21, was charged with homicide. Derks claimed he stabbed Olson because Olson was choking his brother. A trial is scheduled for April.
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SEPTEMBER
Craig Flor works 12 to 16 hours per day each of the 12 days of the State Fair.
• Vadnais Heights resident Craig Flor has been to every Minnesota State Fair grandstand performance since 1989. The grandstand manager said the most rewarding part of the job isn’t meeting celebrities or getting a prime view of their performances; rather, it’s that he gets to watch up to 13,000 fans “having a great time each night.” • For the sixth consecutive year, Bernard Mike Tschida won the Minnesota State Fair blue ribbon for growing the most gargantuan tomato. He also added largest bell pepper to his sizable stack of best vegetable ribbons.
• The White Bear Lake City Council gave approvals allowing a two-phase development called Tower Crossings on Centerville Road. The developer purchased a vacant farmland and city property next to the water tower. Phase One is a 112-unit senior facility and Phase Two is 40,000 square feet of retail space. • White Bear Lake turned down a $200,000 grant to help replace the refrigeration system at the city sports center. City leaders haven’t decided if they want to invest in the upgrade that would cost at least $1.6 million. • Auto-Owners Insurance gained approval to build a new headquarters in Lake Elmo and move from County Road E in White Bear Lake. • Sylvia Johnson recalled her childhood residing above Johnson Boat Works and her missionary work with her husband, a fellow Johnson, in Japan. • The city of White Bear Lake adopted a licensing requirement for massage therapists, who now must have a professional certification or be working toward certification. • Dellwood resident Jim Hansen endowed a considerable sum to provide Mahtomedi teachers with enrichment grants. He pledged a $1 million endowment, to be awarded upon his death, to the Mahtomedi Area Educational Foundation, plus $10,000 a year for the remainder of his lifetime. He is a former district teacher and school board member and was a founding member of the educational foundation.
2222 4th Street • The White Bear Lake White Bear Lake, MN Area Hockey Association 651-261-6662 and the business that owns thealchemistwbl.com Jimmy’s Food and Drink filed legal appeals to the Minnesota Court of Appeals over the Vadnais Heights City Council’s denial of their charitable gambling booth application. The appeals judges later ruled they didn’t have jurisdiction over the issue. • Colleagues of Mahtomedi teacher of the year John Taylor said he has has a gift for using humorous storytelling to engage his students. He has taught language arts at Mahtomedi High School for 16 years. • A check of two areas of White Bear Lake found zebra mussels. A DNR expert told that conservation district that a summer survey of four prime areas of the lake found between 27 and 68 mussels in each 50-meter area. Boat lift owners were asked to check their lifts for mussels when they pulled them out for winter. • A new nonprofit called Friends of White Bear Lake formed to lobby for augmentation of White Bear Lake. Its chairman is Harry Melander, a Mahtomedi resident who represents much of Washington County on the Metropolitan Council. • Ramsey Washington Suburban Cable Commission programs received seven honors at the national GovSEE YEAR IN REVIEW, PAGE 12A