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WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY MAY 27,26, 2015 2011
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Utility project decision postponed
Glance
by Kristine Goodrich Editor
Last day The last day of school for Mahtomedi students is Thursday, June 4. In the White Bear Lake Area School District, the last day of school is June 2 for seniors, June 4 for juniors and June 5 for K-10 students.
MAHTOMEDI — A controversial proposed sewer and water project is on hold indefinitely and city leaders are considering requiring inspection of every private septic system. The Mahtomedi City Council on May 19 decided not to move forward on the proposal to install city utilities and/or improve the roads in the Briarwood neighborhood. Instead, the council asked city staff to draft an ordinance for council consideration that
Upcoming events See inside for details about the following upcoming events: graduation ceremonies, Level Up Academy open houses, Mahtomedi High School engineering projects open house, Fare For All Express, White Bear train depot presentation and Ladyslipper Ensemble concert.
would mandate regular inspections for all of the septic systems in the city. Each septic system user would be required to arrange and fund their own inspection. A recently completed feasibility study estimates the cost to extend sewer and water to the Briarwood area, pave two gravel roads and repave six streets at $4.7 to $4.9 million. That proposal has been met with significant resident opposition, due to its high cost. The project would be funded by a combination of assessments to property owners, a city tax increase and increases in utility fees. The feasibility study suggests an assessment of
$17,000 per developed/developable property for the vast majority of units which don't have city sewer and water access. There also would be significant additional costs for residents to convert and connect, estimated in the $10,000 to $20,000 range. If the city spread out its cost contribution over a decade, the city's consulting engineer estimated that a 0.5 percent tax levy increase, 2 percent sewer rate increase, 2.5 percent water rate increase and 1 percent surface water
Postponed/see page 7A
911 bill signed into law
Candidate filing by Debra Neutkens Regional Editor
Candidates for the White Bear Lake City Council and District 624 School Board must file by June 2. For the City Council, the ward 1, 3 and 5 seats are up for election and the location to file is at White Bear Lake City Hall. Three at-large school board seats are up for election and candidates can file at the school district office or the Ramsey County elections office.
- Photo by Paul Dols
Boisterous cheering section
Public notices See page 4B for public notices, including a White Bear Lake City Council hearing on a proposal to allow dynamic business signs.
Students cheer on their classmates as they compete in a relay race during the elementary school track and field event outside Lakeaires Elementary School Wednesday, May 20.
ST. PAUL — Seeing a bill through the legislative process tested Keith Mueller's mettle. But the Grant resident was motivated to amend a bill protecting citizens who call 911 from civil suits. His tenacity paid off when Gov. Mark Dayton signed SF1025 into law May 19. Mueller spent two years drafting language for the bill that amends the state Strategic Litigation
911 Bill/see page 7A
Girls night out inspired 60 years of reunions Weather Tidbits
Week of May 27 - June 2, 2015
Weather tidbit: June outlook: Average high: 78.3°. Average low: 58.8°. Mean rainfall: 4.62. June 2015 Forecast: Temperatures near normal and rainfall wetter than normal. Year Ago this week: May 2014 ends on a wet note with 1.61” inches on the 27th and .76” on the 31st. For the month I totaled 5.97 inches. The rain continues into June with June 1-2 totaling 1.59 inches.
Weekly Averages High Low %Sun PCP 74° 53° 60% 0.91” (More weather on sports page)
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VT
by Kristine Goodrich Editor On their last trip to Las Vegas, a group of White Bear Lake High School alumnae donned tiaras and handmade sashes with punny pretend beauty queen titles such as “Miss Taken,” “Miss Demeanor,” and “Miss Behave.” Every fifth year for 25 years, a dozen or so beauties from the White Bear classes of 1955 and 1956 have visited Sin City. Every year for 62 years they have gone out for a nice meal together. The meal that spawned nearly six decades (and counting) of girls-only reunions was in 1953. A group of approximately 30 sophomores and one freshman got gussied up and went to the Piccadilly. They decided no boyfriends and no parents were allowed. The girls saved their baby-sitting funds and bought new dresses. “It was a big deal to go out to dinner back then. Especially to some place as fancy as the Pic-
cadilly,” said Margaret Sandberg. “It was the first time many of us had ever been in a classy restaurant.” Sandberg was the sole freshman of the group. She was just a few days too young to be a member of the class of 1955 and had many friends among that class. She doesn't remember what she ate but remembers how excited she and the other girls were when their Coca-Colas came with an umbrella. The girls went out to a fancy dinner the next year, and then the next and the next. It became a tradition to reunite at least once a year. “Many of us have been friends since kindergarten or grade school, and the older we get the closer we grow,” Sandberg said. For the 25th meal, the ladies returned to the Piccadilly and invited their mothers to join them. It was the only time guests were allowed. Although he wasn't invited, Sandberg's bother secretly called ahead and asked the Piccadilly staff to put umbrellas in the
- Photo by Kristine Goodrich
Ten members of the White Bear Lake High School class of 1955 reunited for lunch May 16 in Maplewood. It was the 62nd annual dinner/lunch for the group. At left, front to back are: Deanna Neuman of Oakdale, Louise Dinehart of Maplewood, Margaret Sandberg of Brooklyn Center, Johanne Riebel of White Bear Lake, Madeline Morency Jantz of Oakdale and Virigina Dippel of White Bear Lake. At right, front to back are: Pat Burt of St. Paul, Jan Fredricks of White Bear Lake, Barb Rosengren of Maplewood, Marylyn Bovee of Florida and Vadnais Heights, Judy Hall of White Bear Lake and Grace Flynn of White Bear Lake. drinks. Somewhere along the line the annual wintertime dinner became a spring or summer lunch — to accommodate the snowbirds and the older they got the less willing they were to go out in the cold or drive at night, Sandberg said.
Their last reunion was May 16 at the Olive Garden in Maplewood. Of the original 30 or so, there were 11 who made it this year. A few of the originals have died, others have moved away and others were kept at home by health problems.
An address book is passed at the end of each meal to the member who volunteers to plan next year's get-together. Judy Hall took home the book this year. She was one of five attendees who still live in White Bear Lake.
Alumni/see page 11A
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