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DISTRICT FORUM Volume 20, No. 1 www.daytonsbluff.org March
2007
By Ed Lambert, Executive Director,Dayton’s Bluff Community
Council The purpose of a district plan is todescribe the
community’s vision of itsfuture development and to help guidecity
staff and residents in working to-ward that vision. The plan
outlines acommunity’s history and charts itsmajor development
experiences andplanned future direction. In short, itspells out
what we have been as acommunity and where we want to go. Dayton’s
Bluff first assembled a dis-trict plan in 1978; and updated it
in1986. It has been our adopted planfor the last 20 years. In St.
Paul, com-munity plans should be updated or re-done every ten
years. Ours has fivekey areas:
* Commercial and Economic Devel-opment* Community Life, Public
Spaces,and Recreation
Sharon McCrea, Dave Murphy and Marge Smith were added to the
Saint Paul Neighborhood Honor Roll this year. Nominationsare now
being accepted for next year’s Honor Roll. Back row(l to r): Kathy
Lantry, Dave Murphy, Jacob Dorer, Ed Lambert,Ellen Biales and John
Smith. Middle row: Jean Comstock, Angela DuPaul and Marge Smith.
Front row: Sharon McCrea andKarin DuPaul.
Hundreds of people attended theCelebrate Saint Paul’s District
Coun-cil reception held at St. Thomas Col-lege in January. The
yearly celebra-tion started in the 1980s as did theSaint Paul
Neighborhood Honor Roll,a list of Saint Paul citizens who havedone
outstanding service in their neigh-borhoods over a long period of
time. Each year all 17 District Councilscan add three names to the
honor roll.Past honor roll inductees volunteered
Dayton’s Bluff Adds Three to Neighborhood Honor Roll
for years at a church or a school,served on the community board,
ledprojects like Buckthorn removal orspearheaded ongoing
communityevents. This year Dayton’s Bluff addedSharon McCrea, Dave
Murphy, andMargie Smith for their years of ser-vice in the Dayton’s
Bluff neighbor-hood. The Saint Paul NeighborhoodHonor Roll is
located in the hallwayon the third floor of the Saint Paul City
Hall and Court House. The quality andamount of volunteer time
that makeour communities better is amazing inSaint Paul. The
Dayton’s Bluff District 4 Com-munity Council is looking for
threepeople to add to the honor roll nextyear. If you know of
someone whohas done an outstanding job of volun-teer work in
Dayton’s Bluff, [email protected] or callKarin at
772-2075.
April Showers Bring New District Plan* Housing and Residential
Life* Neighborhood Safety and Liv-ability* Transportation, Traffic,
andParking.
The Dayton’s Bluff CommunityCouncil has been guiding the
devel-opment of our new plan through sur-veys, public meetings,
research, andcommittee work since 2004 when itwas decided to create
a new plan. Watch this space for announcementsof the final public
meetings to presentthe new plan to the community, andsend it to the
city to be incorporatedinto St. Paul’s overall city plan.
TheCouncil intends for this document toinform the community of the
vision andgoals which were expressed by thecommunity itself. Given
continuedcommunity involvement, it will guidethe growth and
development of theBluff.
Community Meeting........Page 2
Be Your Own Boss..............Page 2
Greening Dayton’s Bluff.....Page 2
Get Connected to the Bluff..Page 3
Walk the Bluff Program ..........Page 3
Dayton’s Bluff Princess........Page 4
ECFE Plays Post Office.........Page 4
DB Rec Center Activities.......Page 5
Young Artists do Mulan.....Page 5
Myth of Xee.......................Page 5
Portage Summer Camps.......Page 5
Black History.....................Page 6
Touring the Bluff....................Page 6
Neighbors Close Store.......Page 7
Multi-Cultural Fair................Page 8
Inside This Issue
Bethlehem Lutheran Church at 655Forest St. recently received a
$50,000grant designed to generate thousandsmore in financial gifts
to the church.The grant, “Sharing the Blessing in theCenter City”
will provide biblicallysound stewardship principles forBethlehem’s
culturally diverse mem-bers to enable them to effectivelyreach out
to the surrounding inner cityarea. The grant is one of 75 awardedby
the Thrivent Financial forLutherans Foundation as part of its$4.8
million Charitable Gifting Initia-tive program. “This grant will
help Bethlehemremain on the east side of St. Paul andcontinue it’s
ministry in our commu-nity for many years to come,” saidBarbara
Fallert, a Bethlehem member.“It is our hope that this grant
willstrengthen Bethlehem’s ability to in-form potential donors of
various op-tions available to them to financiallysupport
Bethlehem’s work,” said BradHewitt, president of the Thrivent
Fi-nancial for Lutherans Foundation. “Aspeople come alongside
Bethlehemwith charitable gifts, Bethlehem willbecome increasingly
effective in car-rying out its ministry and mission.” The 2006
Charitable Gifting Initia-tive grants ranged from $5,000
to$100,000. The 75 grants are expectedto generate a total of more
than $160million in immediate or deferred mon-etary gifts to
Lutheran institutions.
Keep these two dates open so youcan be part of finalizing the
plan: anevening meeting on April 17, and aSaturday meeting on April
21. De-tails will be in the April District Fo-rum and on
www.daytonsbluff.orgearly in April. Call 651-772-2075 formore
information.
BethlehemLutheran ChurchReceives Grant
“Grant” continued on page 2
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Page 2 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum March 2007
Dayton’s BluffCommunity Meeting
The next Dayton’s Bluff Neighbor-hood Microentrepreneur Class is
start-ing April 4, 2007. This program helpsstart-up and young
businesses on theEast Side. All East Side entrepreneursare welcome.
Class training lasts 8 weeks and in-cludes topics such as
operations man-agement, marketing, financial manage-ment, one to
one assistance with cre-ating a successful business, and pre-paring
a business plan, plus 8 hours ofone on one time with the
instructor.Those who successfully complete thecourse and locate
their businesses intarget neighborhoods are eligible forongoing
business support services. Some examples of businessesstarted by
people who have previouslytaken this course include
graphics,photography, food service, restorationof wood furniture
and works of art,custom floral design for weddings andevents, and
exterior and interior paint-ing. The course is sponsored by
theDayton’s Bluff Community Counciland the Neighborhood
DevelopmentCenter. There is a small registrationfee based on a
sliding fee scale. Thenext session will start in April 2007and
class size is limited. Please email or call Karin
[email protected] or 772-2075for an application.
Be Your Own Boss
The next Community Meeting isThursday, March 1, 2007 from 6:30
to8:00 p.m. in the meeting room at theDayton’s Bluff Community
Council,798 East 7th Street at the corner of7th and Margaret. The
Dayton’s Bluff CommunityCouncil holds its Community Meetingon the
1st Thursday of each month.The purpose is to work with blockclubs
and neighborhood residents onproblem properties, criminal and
nui-sance behavior, code enforcement is-sues and any other
neighborhood is-sues, concerns, or new ideas for im-provement in
Dayton’s Bluff. Remember, it’s always on the 1stThursday of the
month. All Dayton’sBluff residents are welcome to attend.If you
need more information [email protected] or callKarin at
651-772-2075.
Graduates of a recent Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood Entrepreneur
Training and SupportProgram with their family and friends at the
class graduation at First Lutheran Church.Registration is now being
taken for the April 2007 class. Call Karin at 772-2075
The 2007 Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood Home Tour will be held on
Saturday,April 28th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, April
29th from 1:00 p.m. to5:00 p.m. It is part of the Minneapolis – St.
Paul Home Tour sponsored by theCities of Minneapolis and Saint
Paul. The Home Tour is free of charge andopen to the public. The
Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood Home Tour features beautiful homes,
andbuildings being redeveloped into condominiums including 770 East
6th Street,895 Mound Street, 658-666 East 4th Street, 771 East
Minnehaha, and 1158 East5th Street. We can always use volunteers to
help with the Home Tour. Volunteeringconsists of greeting people at
the door to give out brochures and informationabout Dayton’s Bluff,
and helping the homeowners for a few hours either day.If you’re
interested, please email [email protected] or call Karin at
651-772-2075.
Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood Home Tour
Residents of St. Paul are encouraged to help clean up their
favorite park orrecreation center on April 14, 2007 starting at
9:00 a.m. Each year tons of trashis removed from Saint Paul parks
and recreation centers. The parks andrecreation centers in Dayton’s
Bluff include the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary,Mounds Park, Swede
Hollow Park, Hamm Park, Dayton’s Bluff RecreationCenter, and
Margaret Recreation Center. The Clean Up is sponsored by SaintPaul
Parks and Recreation. Email [email protected] or call Karin
at651-772-2075 if you can help or for more information.
Parks and Rec Center Clean Up on April 14
Friends of Swede Hollow (FOSH) is a nonprofit organization
formed in 1994when a number of interested neighbors from both sides
of Swede Hollow cametogether to discuss our common goals, deep
affection for, and commitment tothe park, as well as our dreams,
ideas, concerns, and the history of SwedeHollow. Other dedicated
Swede Hollow supporters have joined the group sincethen. Many of
the members have been involved in Swede Hollow since theearly 1970s
when Swede Hollow Park was in the early stages of development. FOSH
has been meeting on the last Wednesday of each month, working
onSwede Hollow issues, planning and orchestrating a number of clean
ups andwork days and projects in the park, as well as oral history
sessions, historytours, and events that promote Swede Hollow Park.
FOSH initiated the Lower Phalen Creek Project, a project to extend
the BruceVento Trail and make the area from Swede Hollow to the
Mississippi River abeautiful nature area like Swede Hollow, which
is now the Bruce Vento NatureSanctuary. FOSH started a project in
1998 to save the Hamm Brewery build-ings. The brewery is just north
of Swede Hollow and the brewery is a beautifulback drop to Swede
Hollow as well as an important Saint Paul landmark. FOSH welcomes
new members. If you are interested in learning more aboutit or have
any questions email [email protected] or call
651-776-0550.
Friends of Swede Hollow Looking for New Members
Budget Towing of Minnesota, Minnesota’s largest towing company,
was located inDayton’s Bluff until just two years ago. They moved
to another part of St. Paul in orderto make room for the Phalen
Corridor and are now located off W. 7th St. near the PearsonCandy
Company. Owner Roy Carlson still has a home in Dayton’s Bluff and
is active with the DistrictCouncil. His firm will remove any junk
car or truck, located anywhere in St. Paul, anddispose of it at no
charge to the vehicle owner, or the property owner where it is
located.He will also make a small donation to the Council for each
car he tows away. Just call Karin at 651-772-2075 to find out how
you can get a junk car out of the wayto help brighten up St. Paul
and Dayton’s Bluff. For those vehicles with no real value,and you
“Gotta Get It Outta Here” call Karin.
Junk Car in the Way? Get Rid of it Free
The Thrivent Financial forLutherans Foundation is a
privatefoundations funded by Thrivent Finan-cial for Lutherans. As
a 501(c)(3) or-ganization with its own board of trust-ees, the
foundation is organized andoperated exclusively for
charitable,religious, scientific, literary and edu-cational
purposes and makes grantsand gifts to 501(c)(3) exempt
orga-nizations. The foundation does notprovide grants to
individuals. Tolearn more about the foundation andits programs,
visit: www.thrivent.com/foundations.
“Grant” continued from page 1
Plans for 2007 are well under way.We had two meetings to talk
aboutplanning for 2007. One in Novemberwith people involved in our
GardeningGrant program and the other in Janu-ary for everyone with
ideas. We willcontinue some of the favorites suchas the plant swap,
garden tours, bou-levard planting, 7th Street plantings
andworkshops. We will be adding flow-ering pots in the business
area atHudson Road and Earl Street. On Tuesday, March 13th we
arehaving a workshop, “Going Wild, Natu-ral Planting”, about the
ease and lim-ited care that native planting requirein gardens. The
Workshop will be heldin the meeting room of the Dayton’sBluff
Community Council, 798 East 7thStreet starting at 6:30 p.m. We are
in the process of schedulingworkshops: Asian Gardening in
Min-nesota, Mexican Gardening in Minne-sota, and Backyard Gardening
forBirds. Our Rain Garden Workshopwill be scheduled in May and
partici-pants are asked to bring photos, draw-ings, and/or plans
for the site of theirrain garden. The Annual Plant Sale and Swap
willbe held on Saturday, May 19th. Watchfor more information in the
next issueof the Forum. Greening Dayton’s Bluff is fundedby the
Saint Paul Garden Club and theMcKnight Foundation. For more
infor-mation or to register, [email protected] or
callKarin at 651-772-2075.
Greening Dayton’sBluff in 2007
The Greening Dayton’s Bluff com-mittee is looking for crafters
and art-ists to display their wares at the An-nual Plant Sale and
Swap on Satur-day, May 19th. Space will be avail-able to vendors of
decorative and func-tional garden accessories such asbirdfeeders,
planters, trellises, bird-houses, or outdoor furniture. To re-serve
space email Karin [email protected] or callKarin at
651-772-2075.
Garden Artisans Needed
Eureka Recycling will now collectyour milk cartons and juice
boxes withbottles and cans. Recyclers shouldremove any caps or
straws from thecontainers, then rinse and flatten them.Plastic pour
spouts do not need to beremoved. The most common types ofthis
packaging are milk cartons, juiceboxes, soup and broth cartons,
andcartons for soy and rice beverages.. This packaging is made of
70-85%high-grade paper. To be recycled,Eureka Recycling can only
collectthem with bottles and cans because itallows them to easily
separate themout at their facility. It is then sold tocompanies
where the paper is sepa-rated from the plastic coatings andmetal
linings in a pulping process andmade into new paper products.
Formore information, call Eureka Recy-cling staffed recycling
hotline at (651)222-SORT (7678).
Recycle milk cartonsand juices boxes!
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March 2007 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum Page 3
By Garry Fay, Coordinator, Walk theBluff Program The “Walk the
Bluff” programhopes to help you, your family andfriends to walk
Dayton’s Bluff regu-larly. Walk the Bluff is working tomake your
walks more frequent, en-joyable, and safe by helping you
findwalking partner(s) as well as goodplaces or trails in Dayton’s
Bluff inwhich to walk regularly. Our goal isto get hundreds more
people out walk-ing often – four times per week for30 minutes. You
and your groupchose when and where to walk. TheWalk the Bluff
program has sugges-tions on where and with whom youcan walk. We
hope to make yourwalks more frequent, joyful and safe. Walking is
healthy fun, convenientexercise as well as a simple and effi-cient
way to get places includingschool, work and shopping. One canwalk
off pounds and stress. Whenwalking one can discuss issues of
theday, spy the glories of nature in actionor enjoy quiet time
together with fam-ily or friends. Walk the Bluff can help you find
awalking partner or group. Of course,you can talk with possible
partnersabout walking together anywherewhether it be at home, in
your neigh-borhood, at church, at work – and lotsof employers want
you to walk, someeven have health club medical ben-efits. Try
asking people that you wantto see healthy, that you care about.
Ask them to walk with you. Let oth-ers know that you (want to)
walk andwant them to join you. If you already have a walking
groupor partner please share what you con-sider to be the best
times and placeson the Bluff to walk. Your story mightinspire
others to walk! Let me knowabout your walks and group. Pleasecall
Garry at 651-772-2075 or [email protected]. By walking
our neighborhoods youreyes and ears on the street help cre-ate a
safer community for all. Pre-vention of undesirable activities
oftenhappens just because someone isthere. Both the Dayton’s Bluff
Com-munity Council and Blue Cross BlueShield are funding the Walk
the Bluffprogram to make our neighborhoodsa better place to live,
work and raisea family. We have maps and lists of walkingplaces
both indoors and out in ourparks as well as some interesting
toursin our neighborhood. Where can youwalk? Who can walk? How can
youfind a walking partner or group? Ifyou have questions we can
help. Doyou want to talk to someone aboutwhere to walk? If you have
ques-tions call Garry at 651-772-2075 oremail
[email protected].
Join New Walk the Bluff Program
By Ed Lambert, Executive Director,Dayton’s Bluff Community
Council The Dayton’s Bluff District 4 Com-munity Council Board
elections takeplace each year during the month ofOctober, and new
members take theirseats in November. The Board has18 members each
elected to two-yearterms. Half are up for election eachyear as
terms are staggered to ensurecontinuity. All residents or
propertyowners over 18 are qualified voters. Two at-large members
represent thewhole district, 4 members each fromeach of our 4
sub-districts representtheir districts and the community.There is
one vacancy now (sub dis-trict A). The Council strongly encour-ages
interested residents (includingrenters), as well as property and
busi-ness owners, from that sub district tocontact the office if
they are interestedin filling that position. The Board canfill
vacancies at any board meeting;the new member takes their seat
atthe following meeting. Board candi-dates are asked to fill out a
brief in-
formation form 30 days before thenext board meeting, so as to
informmembers a candidate for election willbe on the next agenda.
After new members are seatedeach Fall, the board elects its 4
offic-ers for one year terms. 2007 Offic-ers are: President Wally
Waranka (atLarge), VP John Barbie (Sub Dist D),Secretary Jean
Comstock (Sub DistB), and Treasurer Stephanie Harr(Sub Dist D). 9
seats are up for election/re-elec-tion next Fall: 1 at-large seat,
and 2seats in each sub-district. The Coun-cil strongly encourages
all interestedpersons to contact Karin or Ed at theoffice, or any
board member, to getinformation and/or express their inter-est in
being on the Board. You canhave someone nominate you, or sim-ply
nominate yourself. We seek people with a strong inter-est in, and
commitment to, Dayton’sBluff to serve on the Board.
Recentimmigrants, as well as long time resi-dents are needed; as
well as business
By Walter Waranka, President,Dayton’s Bluff Community Council I
just wanted to drop a quick note tosay hello and briefly introduce
myselfto you. I have recently been giventhe privilege to serve as
the Presidentof the Dayton’s Bluff CommunityCouncil for the next
year. I have been a resident of Saint Paulsince moving here eleven
years agofrom Wisconsin. I have really enjoyedit all. During this
time I have beenworking as an employment consultantand have
volunteered with manygroups and organizations. I have hadmany
opportunities to serve thesegroups and organizations. I have beena
member, a board member andserved as an officer and enjoyed itvery
much. I have been a resident of Dayton’sBluff for four years and
enjoy theneighborhood very much. Two yearsago I was elected to the
CommunityCouncil and now am beginning mythird year as your newly
elected Presi-dent. I will do the best to keepDayton’s Bluff moving
in the right di-
rection and I am always open to lis-tening to any of your
concerns or is-sues. I want to encourage all of youto attend a
meeting (or more), so youcan get a first-hand idea what
yourCommunity Council does. The Community Council is com-prised of
many individuals who all be-lieve in the neighborhood and want todo
their best to serve. But we do needand welcome your input. I look
for-ward to the coming year and I will domy best to represent
Dayton’s Bluff.
Get Connected, Get Involved, Improve Dayton’s Bluff
owners who do not reside here, butown a business here. Persons
withstrong ties to the Hmong and Hispaniccommunities, as well as
the African-American and Native American com-munities, are strongly
encouraged tojoin the Board and help strengthenefforts to improve
our community.
Get connected, get involved; it’show we make progress in
Dayton’sBluff and improve our community foreveryone. Your energy,
ideas, andconcerns are needed by all of us. For more information
call Ed orKarin at 651-772-2075.
Greetings from the Community Council
Walter Waranka
Dayton’s BluffRecycling Pick up
Curbside every Tuesday.Have your recycling on the
curb by 7:00a.m.
If you need recycling binscall 651-772-2075.
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Page 4 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum March 2007
By Steve Trimble Marie Scheffer, the 1886 Queen ofSt. Paul’s
first Winter Carnival, was aresident of Dayton’s Bluff. And
re-cently another young women, who haslived her whole life with her
motherand brother on Mounds Boulevard,also becamea member ofthe
WinterC a r n i v a lroyal family. EllenE d w a r d swas
crownedPrincess ofthe WestWind at thefrigid 2007coronation
onHarriet Is-land. Shewas recentlykind enoughto spendsome timeout
from herwork in thepharmacy atthe East SideTarget storeon
SuburbanAvenue totalk about herbackgroundand her expe-riences as
part of one of St. Paul’soldest celebrations. “I’ve lived in Mounds
Park on St.Paul’s East Side my entire life,” Ellensaid. “As kids we
used to walk upthe hill to the tennis courts, ride ourbikes to
Dayton’s Bluff RecreationCenter for softball, and we would siton
the park bench across the streetfrom our house to look at the
view—it’s the most beautiful view in all ofSt. Paul.” Our perky
Princess went to St.Paul’s Adams Spanish ImmersionMagnet school and
was a member ofthe 2001 high school graduating classat
Cretin-Derham Hall. After earninga degree from Bemidji State
Univer-sity, she said “I decided to get involvedand to re-connect
with the area I grewup in after I had been away to col-lege.” The
buoyant Bluffer was encour-aged to get involved in the Winter
Car-nival by her grandmother. There wasa family connection. Her
grandfatherRed Roberts was part of the KingBoreas court many years
ago. Eachcandidate is sponsored by a differentbusiness or
organization. Once againthere was a family connection as hersponsor
was Windy Hill Auto Parts inNew London, owned by her uncle. The
dozen or so candidates had tostudy up on the history of the
WinterCarnival and its traditions. They at-tended many events
throughout theTwin Cities even before the corona-tion. There were
judges at events thatobserved how they handled them-
New Winter Carnival West WindPrincess from Dayton’s Bluff
selves and represented the WinterCarnival; however, their
identity waskept hidden for a while. Then a little before the
Carnivalopened, there were a series of inter-views with the hopeful
candidates.
T h ej u d g e sa s k e deach onestandardquestionsmeant tofind
outwhy eachy o u n gw o m a nwanted tobe in-v o l v e dand whatthey
feltt h e yc o u l dcontr ib-ute. Therewere also“ f i s hb o w l
”questionsthat weredrawn outrandomlyfor indi-
viduals. They were often a little off-the-wall and designed to
see how aperson handled themselves in a quickresponse manner. “If
you were onAmericans Idol, what song would youpick to sing?” for
instance. As part of the 2007 Royal Familythey went to schools and
nursinghomes to visit with the children andresidents. While there,
Ellen explained,they would “knight” people into the“Realm of
Boreas” At every school,she related, “Our 2007 King Boreasalways
tells the kids ‘working hard inyour life will make you happy and
suc-cessful.’” Throughout the coming year, Ellenand the other
members of the WinterCarnival royal family will go to vari-ous
local events and take trips to vari-ous festivals outside the
state. In fact,when last seen, Ellen was gettingready to go to an
event in Winnipeg, aCanadian city that, unfortunately, isusually
ten to fifteen degrees colderthan the Twin Cities. Ellen Edwards is
glad she decidedto take her grandmother’s advice andcarry on a
family tradition. She washoping it would be fun but, as she
said,“It’s been a blast!” It was a learningopportunity and a chance
to serve thecommunity. “It exceeded all of myexpectations,” she
stated. As the newPrincess of the West Winds remarked,“Doing this
makes me happy andmakes me feel successful, so I knowthat this is
what I am supposed to bedoing.”
Princess of the West Wind Ellen Edwardsand her grandfather Red
Roberts
Good programs for very young chil-dren always provide many
opportuni-ties for them to grow socially andemotionally, to
practice using theirlarge and small muscles, and to workon the
thinking skills they will need forschool success. During the month
ofFebruary, the Dayton’s Bluff EarlyChildhood Family Education
(ECFE)Program used a focus on the U. S.Postal Service to help
children developskills in all of these areas through play. Parts of
both children’s room werededicated to “mail” themes. In addi-tion
to the usual materials, the infanttoddler room had postcards to
exam-ine, bags to carry letters to the mail-box, whole table tops
covered in pa-per so kids could make their scribblemarks, the
earliest form of writing. A large area in the preschool roombecame
the “Post Office.” Therewere stamps to buy, envelopes, sta-tionery,
pens, pencils, a big red and bluecollection mail box “on the
corner” andmail boxes at several “homes” wheremail could be
delivered. Children couldwear postal uniforms and hats and
usemailbags to carry the mail. Manipulative materials in the
roomincluded puzzles around the post of-fice theme. The small block
area wasenhanced with post office vehicles andsmall postal worker
dolls. There weremany books about mail – both nonfic-tion
descriptions of the ways lettersare processed through the mail
andimaginative stories about letters beingsent and received. One
they recom-mend is “Never Mail an Elephant”. Because children’s
developing read-ing, writing, and math skills are most
ECFE Children Play Post Office
solidly learned in a context which givesthem meaning, we took
advantage ofthe Valentine’s Day holiday to helpchildren understand
that writing turnsspoken language into words on paperand tells
other people who cannot hearour voices what we want to say to them
Every preschooler who was inschool the week before Valentine’sDay
choose a classmate to send aValentine post card to. They deco-rated
the card as they wished and,with the help of a parent, addressed
itto their friend. They then bought areal US Postal Service stamp
in our“post office” and mailed it in the col-lection box. Teachers
made sure ev-ery child in the preschool class re-ceived a postcard
at their home froma friend at school. This built
children’sunderstanding of the process of send-ing and receiving
mail, while strength-ening their social connections witheach other.
Some children also“mailed” letters to their parents by slip-ping
them under the parent room doorand were thrilled to have their
parentsslip return mail back to them. Part of the post office
curriculumincluded discussions with parents aboutthe stages
children go through as theygo from scribbling and making
letter-like marks to picture writing to pre-tend writing to
beginning use of let-ters to communicate meaning. Theyalso noticed
developmental differ-ences in children’s ability to recognizeand
name letters of the alphabet. Theyhelped their kids count stickers
todecorate postcards and reinforced theidea of using money to buy a
stamp inthe post office.
There has been an increase of graffiti in manyparts of Dayton’s
Bluff in recent weeks. Com-munity members need to help stop
graffiti.The way to help stop it is to report it whenyou see it. If
the graffiti is on your property call thepolice at 651-291-1111 and
ask that a reportbe written. Also report graffiti that you see on
otherpeople’s property and public property. Call651-266-8989 or
[email protected] Remembergraffiti is a crime.
The police department takesthis crime very seriously and is very
aggres-sive in identifying and arresting graffiti van-dals for
their crimes. Often young people arethe perpetrators. Many parents
have no idea that their chil-dren are involved in these crimes nor
are they
Report Graffiti, Stop Graffitiaware of the indicators of
graffiti vandal ac-tivity. Parents should:· Check children’s
backpacks for markers and/or spray paint, as well as sketch books,
piecesof paper with graffiti “tags” on them aerosolcan caps and/or
nozzles, white shoe polishand photographs of graffiti
pieces/murals.· Check school papers for graffiti “tags” and/or
sketches of murals.· Know who your children are hanging outwith and
make sure they are home at curfewtime. Curfew times are: 10 pm for
ages 15 oryounger; midnight for ages 16-17. Graffiti is not an art;
it’s a crime. Neighbor-hood residents get very upset about
seeinggraffiti in the neighborhood. For more infor-mation email
[email protected] or callKarin at 651-772-2075.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
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March 2007 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum Page 5
Dayton’s Bluff CommunityRecreation Center800 Conway St.
651.793-3885Director: Jody [email protected]
Winter Program (Jan.- March2007 Events & Activities) Stop
bythe center to pick up your copy orvisit us on line at
www.ci.stpaul.gov/depts/parksSpring / Summer Program (April-August)
will be out in the middle ofMarch.
SUMMER SPORTSREGISTRATION Mickey MouseT-Ball, T-Ball, Nearball,
Baseball,Softball; April 2-13; Ages 3-18;Registration forms
available April 2.PARENT TOT PLAY TIME -Mon., Wed., Fri.’s; 10
am-12 pm;Free; Ages 0-5SENIOR CARDS – 500 Friday’s;12:30-4 pm; Fee:
$2 weekly fee forthe kitty.ADULT LUNCH TIMEVOLLEYBALL
&BASKETBALL Thursday’s 11am-1 pm; $1 / week; On-going.
Nochildren allowed.SPRING BREAK KIDS DANCEThurs., Apr. 5; 5:30-8:30
pm Gr.5-8; $3CRIBBAGE Looking to start anew group. Call if
interested.Adult/Seniors; Tuesday’s; 12-3 pm;.50 per week; 10
wksTEENS CLUB - The group meetson Tuesday & Thursday’s from
5-7pm.; Free; New members wanted.
ADULT CO-ED VOLLEYBALLFriday’s; 6-8:45 pm; $1 / weekINFANT /
CHILD CPRCOURSE Wed., Mar. 7/14; 5:30-9pm; $45; 2 ses.SAFE ON MY
OWN CLASSMon., Mar. 12; 5:30-7:30 pm; Ages8-11; $17SPRING PARTY
Thurs., Mar. 29;5:30-6:30 pm; Ages 12 & under;FreeJUDO FOR TOTS
Sat., Mar. 3;10:30-12 pm; Ages 4-6 pm; $20; 4ses.; Sat., Apr. 7;
10:30-12 pm;Ages 4-6 pm; $20; 4 ses.JUDO Sat., Mar. 3; 12-2 pm;
Ages7-12; $20; Sat., Apr. 7; 12-2 pm;Ages 7-12 pm; $20; 4 ses.1st
AID & ADULT CPR Tues.,April 17/24; 5:30-8:30 pm; $?; 2
ses.FAMILY SELF DEFENSECLASS Wed., April 18; 6-7:30 pm;Families;
$60/family; 8 ses.GONE FISHING Thurs., April 26;2:30-4:30 pm; Ages
6-13; FreeKICKBOXING Tues., May 1;6:30-7:30 pm; $45; 6 ses.
FIELD TRIPSParent Permission slips are required.Must register
prior to trip. Youthunder the age listed are welcomebut must be
accompanied by anadult.SWIM, GYM & A MOVIE Ages8 & up;
Fri., Mar. 9; 9 am-3:30 pm;$7ROLLERSKATING ATWOODDALE Ages 9 &
up;Wed., Apr. 4; 12:30-3:30 pm; $9
Dayton’s Bluff Rec CenterMarch and April Activities
CHAT (Center for Hmong Arts andTalent) and the Portage for
Youthhave worked collaboratively with agroup of Hmong youth to
produce theMYTH OF XEE to be staged live atthe Mounds Theatre on
March 2-4.It is directed by A. Yang and KatieVang. The public is
invited to this livestage production.
MYTH OF XEE is a fictional por-trayal of the first Hmong female
gue-rilla solder. The play raises questionsabout stories that might
have beenoverlooked or never told. “I think there were woman
soldiersbecause of the stories that my momtold me. It seems like
the women hadto fight and run from the war too, butthey just
weren’t called soldiers,” ex-plained one of the students, Lee
Vang,14, when asked if he believed therewere really female Hmong
soldiers. CHAT’s Art Saves Us program isan after school arts
program for youthto be introduced and engaged in dif-ferent art
forms. The Creative Dramaclass began in October 2006 and hasmet
three times every week to workon character development, props,
set,sound and costume design for thestaging of MYTH OF XEE. With an
all Hmong youth cast,MYTH OF XEE was written by theLive to Inspire
team made possible byCHAT’S Art Save us Program andthe Portage for
Youth.Where: MOUNDS THEATRE 1029 Hudson Road Saint Paul, MN
55106When: March 2nd and 3rd at 8 p.m. March 4th at 2 p.m.Tickets:
$5.00 General Admission For ticket info contact Kathy at
651-603-6971 or [email protected].
EXPLORE – LEARN - CREATE
The Portage for Youth will launcha new summer camp program
thisyear featuring classes in drama,dance, music, mosaic art,
photographyand video. Seven week-long sessionswill begin June 18th
and run throughAugust 17th. Morning, afternoon andfull day options
are available. Theprogram is open to girls and boys, ages8 to 13 or
13 to 18 years old. Activities will take place at theMounds Theatre
building located at1029 Hudson Road in Saint Paul.Application
deadline is May 1st or untilall sessions are filled.
SUMMER CAMP FEES$110 – per week/per child – 1/2 days(morning OR
afternoon)$200 – Per week/per child-full days(morning AND
afternoon).Morning classes are from 9am to noonand afternoon
classes are from 1 to4pm. Some scholarships are available. You may
register online atwww.theportage.org, or you may calland get an
information packet andregistration form sent to your home.For
registration packets and/or moreinformation, please call
651-772-8674or 651-772-2253.
The following Summer Camp sessionsare available:
SESSION 1: June 18-22Theatre 9am-noon; Dance (ages 8-12) 1-4pm
or Mosaic Art 1-4pmSESSION 2: June 25-29Theatre 9am-noon; Dance
(ages 13-18) 1-4pm or Video Production (ages9-15) 1-4pm or Mosaic
Art 1-4pmSESSION 3: July 9-13Theatre 9am-noon; Dance (ages 8-12)
1-4pm or Photography (ages 9-15) 1-4pm or Mosaic Art 1-4pmSESSION
4: July 16-20Theatre 9am-noon; Dance (ages 13-18) 1-4pm or
Photography (ages 9-15) 1-4pm or Mosaic Art 1-4pmSESSION 5: July
23-27Theatre 9am-noon; Dance (ages 8-12) 1-4pm or Video Production
(ages9-15) 1-4pm or Mosaic Art 1-4pmSESSION 6: Aug 6-10Theatre
9am-noon; Dance (ages 13-18) 1-4pm or Mosaic Art 1-4pmSESSION 7:
Aug 13-17Theatre 9am-noon; Dance (ages 8-12) 1-4pm or Mosaic Art
1-4pm
By Nathaniel Churchill Students from Saint Paul’s East Sideare
busy rehearsing their big premiere!The East Side’s own Young
ArtistsInitiative (YAI) was proud to be cho-sen as the first
theater company topresent a full-scale stage productionof Disney’s
Mulan. The show was originally work-shopped at the North Shore
MusicTheater in Beverly, Massachusetts,and YAI is thrilled to be
the first com-pany to be granted the opportunity tooffer audiences
a fully realized stageproduction. Disney’s Mulan is part ofMusic
Theater International’s “Junior”series, which adapts hit musicals
andarranges the music to make it moreaccessible for young
performers. The story takes audience membersback in time to ancient
China were theHuns have invaded and it is up to themisfit Mulan and
her mischievoussidekick dragon, Mushu, to save theEmperor. It is a
heartwarming cel-ebration of culture, honor and fightingspirit. For
those who are fans of theoriginal film, the stage adaptation
fea-tures all their favorites like “Reflec-tion,” “Honor to Us All”
and “I’ll Makea Man Out of You.”
Benjamin Lacina, a former SaintPaul Public Schools music
specialist,is the director of the production and abig fan of the
original film. He wasparticularly drawn to this show be-cause of
the positive role model thatMulan can be to young girls.
Lacinaadded, “We hope that this show willempower young girls on
Saint Paul’sEast Side and help them see that theycan make a
difference.” YAI believes that the arts should beaccessible to all
young people regard-less of their race, beliefs or economicstatus.
Young Artists Initiative officesand classrooms are located within
FirstLutheran Church. Performances are March 16ththrough March 25th
and are takingplace at the beautiful NeighborhoodHouse Theater
located within the Pauland Sheila Wellstone Center, 179Robie Street
East, Saint. Paul, MN55107-2360. Ticket prices are familyfriendly
at only $8 for adults and $4for students/seniors. If you would
likespecific show times, to order ticketsor to learn more call the
YAI Infor-mation Line at 651-222-KIDS or ex-plore their website
atwww.youngartistsmn.org.
Young Artists Initiative toPremiere Disney’s Mulan Live
MYTH OF XEEAt the Mounds Theatre
Portage for YouthSummer Camps
Coming off their highly successfulrun of Amadeus, Starting Gate
Pro-ductions’ next play at the MoundsTheatre will be True West. A
showdown between brothers fordominance and understanding
injectsthis brutal comedy with the tension ofa gunfight. True West
was written bySam Shepard and is being directed byBryan
BevellWhere: Mounds Theatre 1029 Hudson Road St. Paul, MN
55106When: March 23 - April 15, 2007 Friday & Saturdays at 7:30
p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.Tickets: All tickets are $18; $16 for
seniorsand students. Call 651-645-3503 orgo to
www.startinggate.org.
True West
ShopDayton’s Bluff
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Page 6 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum March 2007
By Ed Lambert February is Black History month inthe United
States. The shortest, cold-est, month of the year in
Minnesotabrings many occasions in the TwinCities to learn about
Black History;and to celebrate it as well. The an-nual Soul Food
Dinner at Metropoli-tan State University (MSU) is one ofthe most
interesting and joyful suchoccasions. This year’s took place inthe
Great Hall of MSU where some200 people were served catfish,
friedturkey, and other delicious items onFriday, the ninth of
February. The diners were also treated to anumber of entertaining
and powerfulperformances, including an “acappella” rendition of the
Black Na-tional Anthem, “Lift Every Voice andSing.” After dinner,
most adjournedto the Founder’s Hall for more per-formances, and to
view a remarkablephoto and text display of Black His-tory in the
United States. I was struckby the richness of the display, and
therealization that there is a lot to BlackHistory that many of us
do not know. The Keynote Address, “Black His-tory: Learning it,
Living it, Loving it,”was presented by George Rice III. Heis a
sought-after speaker and educa-tor who, as a Curator of Energy,
be-lieves that education is not about train-
Whose Hands Keep the Village?
ing people to answer questions a cer-tain way, but rather
empoweringpeople to ask questions that most darenot ask. He was
very effective, inno-vative, and compelling, even from thevery
beginning as he approached thepodium. After he was introduced, we
hearda voice singing but could not tell fromwhere. It was Rice, who
slowly ap-proached the podium while strollingthrough the crowd and
singing aboutjoy, acceptance, and coming forwardto live your life
for something greaterthan yourself. I have heard manyspeakers, but
have never seen this in-novative entrance before. He thenlaunched
into a powerful and inspiringtalk that reached us all with its
clarityand insight. He reminded us that we are all“Keepers of the
Village,” and must askourselves “in whose hands, if not ours,is the
keeping in?” How are you‘gonna use YOUR hands? He left usall
concerned about what we are NOTdoing to help Keep Our Village.
I’llbe there next year to get a fresh doseof inspiration, and
insight, about all ofUs… as a People…don’t miss it!Some ten groups
worked on this eventled by the African American StudentAssociation,
among others at Metro-politan State University.
We need your help with this event.We are asking residents to
bring theirstories, pictures, picture boards, scrapbooks, etc. on
big and little home re-pair projects to share. Last year resi-dents
brought photos, picture boards,and stories about kitchen,
bathroom,porch, and whole house projects.Email
[email protected] or callKarin at 651-772-2075 if you can
helpor for more information. Do you want to learn more
aboutrepairing and preserving your home?Curious about your house’s
history?We are planning our third annualDayton’s Bluff Preservation
Eveningon April 26th. from 6:30 to 8p.m. Theevent will take place
in the EcolabCommunity Room, third floor of Met-ropolitan State
University/Dayton’sBluff Library, just west of the inter-section of
Seventh and Maria Come and hear about historicallysympathetic home
preservation andrepair.
The Dayton’s Bluff CommunityCouncil has received a number
ofcalls from neighbors reporting thatpeople are stealing aluminum
cansfrom recycling bins. It is against thelaw to steal cans from
recycling bins.If you see someone stealing call thePolice 291-1111
let them know whereit is happening and give a descriptionof the
people taking the cans. Alsoemail [email protected] or
callKarin at 651-772-2075 and let us knowwhere the theft is
happening.
The American Indian Magnet andWorld Cultures Magnet are
workingtogether to improve their school play-ground. Both schools
are in the oldHarding High building on 3rd and Earl.The playground
that is there now wasinstalled in 1993 and is too small. Itneeds to
be upgraded and expanded.Both schools have 330 students mak-ing a
total of 660 in the building. Bothare Magnet schools that have
studentswho attend from all cultures and liveeverywhere in the St.
Paul school dis-trict. They have been in the buildingsince 1990.
Our school has a long history on theEast Side. It was built in 1934
and firstused as Harding High School. Afterthe new Harding was
built our schoolbecame Mounds Park Jr. High. Thiswas in 1965. The
building was closedand used for storage until it was reno-vated in
1990 and our schools beganin 1991. The cost of a new playground is
anestimated $120,000. No school fundscan be used for the
playground. Allfunds must be raised by grants, dona-tion and fund
raising. The schools areasking all businesses in the Dayton’sBluff
area to contribute. Our schools will be having a SilentAuction on
April 26 and would likebusiness and private donations. Thisis a
great way to promote your busi-ness and also a great way to find
adeal at the same time. The Silent Auc-tion is open to the
community. It willbe an evening of fun. A Foods of AllNations
buffet will be served for $3.00a person. There will be
entertainmentin the gym and over 150 items to bidon. The items
include a Vikings foot-ball, art prints, jewelry, and also
manyfamily fun coupons as well as lots ofother surprises. We look
forward to agreat night of fun. There will be no childcare
orchildren’s activities available. Pleasecall us at the school for
more informa-tion, 651-778-3100 and ask for Donna.
George Rice III and Darcell Hill at Metropolitan State’s annual
Soul Food Dinner
Dayton’s Bluff Preservation Evening Dayton’s Bluff has a
historic district,and many beautiful homes are in allparts of
Dayton’s Bluff. Neighborshave had extensive experience pre-serving
and repairing their homes.Some of these neighbors will be onhand to
speak about their homes andshow before and after images. If you
have a historic home youwant to preserve and research anddon’t know
where to start, you canlearn about researching your home andits
previous owners. Hear from ex-perts in the field, who offer
technicaladvice, assessment, and hard-to-findclasses such as
historic masonry. Metropolitan State’s Center forCommunity-Based
Learning, Dayton’sBluff District 4 Community Council,and the
Dayton’s Bluff Branch of theSt. Paul Public Library are
co-spon-soring the event. For more informa-tion, call Rebecca Ryan
at 651-793-1296.
A surprising number of people in-formally visit Dayton’s Bluff
each yearto tour the neighborhood, drive by thehistoric homes, and
visit the parks.Last November we had two folksshow up at the
District Council officefrom Bloomington who intended to dojust
that. Cathy Berg and her motherKatie Rouse had learned
aboutDayton’s Bluff by viewing a TPT“Hands on History” show
featuringDayton’s Bluff, along with two othercommunities. Cathy had
never heard of Dayton’sBluff and was intrigued enough to visitour
web site www.daytonsbluff.org tolearn more. As it turned out, the
sitewas down at the time but she did getcontact information for the
DistrictCouncil Office. On November 5thshe and Katie visited the
office to getsome maps and historic site informa-tion for their
tour. That day they spentthree hours here, had lunch at theSwede
Hollow Café (they said it wasexcellent), and drove by about 20
sites.They stopped at each to read the ma-terial we gave them about
it, and thenmoved on to the next. Next month we are expecting a
tourgroup from Eau Claire, Wisconsin tobring a busload of folks to
tour the dis-trict and have lunch here. They mighteven tour some
homes whose ownersare available on the Saturday they ar-rive. Like
Cathy, they saw somethingin the newspaper or on TV that gotthem to
look closer. Looking closerlead to making a visit, and then to
com-ing back. Cathy, her mom, and sev-eral friends will also be
back to finishtheir tour in April or May. Our web site has a load
of informa-tion about the community, its history,and the Historic
District; as well asmaps and photos of several walkingand driving
tours one can take. Youcan also find info, maps, and photosabout
the parks, business districts, andplans for the future here. You
mayhave heard about Carver’s Cave, butwhat do you know about
MontanaBill’s Cave? Touring Dayton’s Bluff is as easyas opening
your Internet browser, orgetting in your car with maps and
pho-tographs that you can print offwww.daytonsbluff.org. Go to
theCulture and History link on the homepage and take a tour
yourself. En-courage your friends to do the same.It can bring
people here who learnabout our community and want tocome back. A
lot more than St. Paulis looking up to (checking into?)Dayton’s
Bluff.
Touring Dayton’sBluff by Foot or Car
Magnet School Play-ground in the Making
Report Recycling Theft
All over the city there has been arash of break-ins into vacant
homesand buildings and even occupiedapartment buildings where the
copperpiping including gas lines is stolen. In several cases the
gas was onwhich resulted in serious gas leaks.These gas leaks could
easily be ignitedinto a explosion that could destroy theentire
building. The price of copper is
up, which makes stealing and sellingit appealing to thieves. If
you see unusual activity aroundhomes or buildings or smell gas
call911. All vacant homes and buildingsshould be secure without any
open orbroken doors or windows and thesnow and ice should be
removed fromsidewalks. If there are problems call651-266-8989 or
[email protected].
Copper Pipe Theft is a Growing Crime
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March 2007 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum Page 7
By Martin Russo Clerk: “What can I get for you?” Customer:
“Let’s see. I need milk,eggs, and bread. Oh yeah, and throwin a
crack pipe, some papers, and abong.” Thankfully, this is one
conversationthat will not happen again in our neigh-borhood grocery
store. Thanks to the grass-roots efforts ofseveral folks in the
Mounds Parkneighborhood, Adam’s Market, locatedat the corner of
Burns Avenue andEarl street, has closed. And anyoneinterested in
selling drug parapherna-lia will not be able to operate at thatspot
again. A group of neighbors, upset with thelatest incarnation of
what was once anice, little neighborhood grocery store,met a few
times about the problem,and documented their concerns. Itbecame
clear that no one (at leastthose neighbors attending the meet-ings)
felt comfortable with the kind ofstore Adams Market had become
Thanks to a violation of the existingnon-conforming use permit
(interest-ingly not even related to the drug para-phernalia issue)
the neighborhoodgroup, along with city code inspectors,asked the
planning commission tohave a public hearing about Adam’sMarket.
That meeting took place incity hall on January 4, 2007. Beforethe
hearing, the neighborhood groupmet again and clearly defined
whatrestrictions they thought should beplaced on the current (and
any future)commercial tenants of the building At the hearing, the
business ownerand the neighbors were able to ex-press their
opinions about the issue,and the planning commission ulti-mately
approved new non-conform-ing use permit restrictions (see be-low).
Just another example of the powerof like-minded neighbors!
The New Code:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RE-SOLVED, by the Saint Paul
PlanningCommission, under the authority of theCity’s Legislative
Code, that the Re-establishment of Nonconforming UsePermit approved
in Zoning File # 99-178351 for a grocery and carry-outrestaurant at
241 Earl St is hereby re-approved for a grocery only (carry-out
restaurant deleted) and modifiedwith the following conditions:
1. The sale of tobacco products atthis store shall comply with
Chapter324 of the legislative code and shallbe limited to packaged
cigarettes, ci-gars, smokeless tobacco, and lighters.No other
tobacco accessories shall besold at this store. 2. None of the
following items shallbe sold at the store: Diluents andadulterants;
separation gins and sift-ers; hypodermic syringes or needles;metal,
wooden, acrylic, glass, stone,plastic or ceramic pipes;
permanentscreens, hashish heads or puncturedmetal bowls; water
pipes; carburetiontubes and devices; smoking and car-buretion
masks; roach clips; miniaturecocaine spoons, and cocaine
vials;chamber pipes; carburetor pipes; elec-tric pipes; air-driven
pipes; chillums;bongs; and ice pipes or chillers. 3. No drug
paraphernalia shall besold. 4. No individual razor blades or
por-tions of opened packages of razorblades shall be sold. 5. The
sale of blunts and single ciga-rettes is prohibited at this store,
andtobacco products must be sold in theoriginal packaging, as per
§324.07 ofthe Saint Paul Legislative Code. 6. The store hours shall
be no ear-lier than 8 a.m. and no later than 9p.m. 7. There shall
be no permanent oraffixed temporary exterior signs thatadvertise
products. All other signageshall comply with provisions of§64.640,
Dayton’s Bluff special dis-trict sign plan. 8. There shall be no
flashing lightsor signs in store windows. 9. No pay telephone shall
be installedon the exterior of the store. 10. The rear portion of
the lot shallbe paved to provide off-street park-ing. The lot shall
be paved in accor-dance with a site plan approved bycity staff no
later than June 4, 2007.At site plan review, site plan reviewstaff
must ensure that the site planadequately addresses issues related
torubbish and other waste disposal forthe tenants of the building.
11. Indoor and outdoor trash recep-tacles shall be located near the
mainentrance of the store and shall be regu-larly emptied. 12. This
nonconforming use permitshall be reviewed by the zoning
ad-ministrator for compliance at one (1)year from the date of the
approval ofthis modified permit.
Neighbors Succeed in ClosingUnwanted Corner Store
Students’ Artwork Chosen for Exhibit Two students from Dayton’s
BluffAchievement Plus Elementary School hadtheir artwork exhibited
at the Ordway The-ater in downtown St. Paul. The display was part
of the welcomingreception for Superintendent Dr.Carstarphen,
sponsored by Saint PaulPublic Schools’ Arts for All organization.
The two students were Naly from Ms.Melas’ fourth grade class and
Rafael, asixth grader in Mr. Stanek’s class. Rafael’s portrait
(right) is marker on pa-per. The portrait was done in Art
Class.Another student was the model. Naly’s still life (below) was
created withpencil, and colored pencils on paper. It isher shoe.
She says the colorfulbackground makes the shoe stand out.
The Arts and Culture Committee ofthe Dayton’s Bluff Community
Coun-cil has scheduled a number of eventsover the months to
come.*Thursday, March 22 at 6:30 p.m. atthe 378 Maria Café, corner
of 6th andMaria. Author/Reporter DonBoxmeyer. In 2003 Don wrote
AKnack for Knowing Things Storiesfrom St. Paul Neighborhoods and
hehas written years of articles about St.Paul in the Pioneer
Press.* Thursday, April 26 at 6:30 pm is theDayton’s Bluff
Preservation Evening.
Arts and Culture Committee Events* Thursday, May 24: Dayton’s
BluffLibrary 125th Anniversary. Author/Historian Larry Millet will
be on handand walk with Historian Steve Trimbleand neighbors on a
short walking tourof the Lower Bluff.* Thursday, June 28: Historian
SteveTrimble will talk on Dayton’s BluffHistory If you are
interested in joining theArts and Culture Committee or needmore
information [email protected] or callKarin at
651-772-2075.
936 East 6th St. The building at 936 East 6th Streetwas sold to
Alex Haug, owner of TwinCities Tee’s, a company that will beusing
the building for production of silk-screened and embroidered tee
shirts.Back in November before purchasingthe building Alex met with
the localblock club and talked with the neigh-bors about his plans
for the building.The neighbors were supportive andAlex moved
forward with his plans. Alex has been working with the East7th
Street/Dayton’s Bluff Façade Im-provement Program making neces-sary
repairs and upgrades to the build-ing. Alex is an alumni of
theMicroentrepreneur Training and Sup-port Program and was voted an
En-trepreneur of the Year of the programin 2005. Dayton’s Bluff
offers thisclass to any East Side businesspersonor resident in the
spring and fall ofeach year.
869 East 5th St. Victory Through Faith, Inc. who hasthe Micah
Halfway house in Minne-apolis wanted to open another halfwayhouse
at 869 East 5th Street, theformer convent at Sacred HeartChurch.
They have been running theMinneapolis program for the last 2 ½years
and from all reports they run anexcellent program in
Minneapolis.They planned to start with 26 clientsand go up to 40 in
the future. The local block club, many neigh-borhood residents,
Sacred HeartChurch, and Trinity Elementary
Community Council Update onRecent Real Estate Activity
School were less than supportiveabout the halfway house moving
intothe old convent building. Some of theconcerns included: the
school/commu-nity tot lot is located next door; theeffect the
halfway house would haveon the elementary school becausemany
parents said they will take theirchildren out of the school if the
half-way house went in; there is already ahigh concentration of
recovery facili-ties in the area; the lack of parking inthe area;
and its effect on propertyvalues. The Zoning Committee of the
Plan-ning Commission passed a resolutionto deny the Conductional
Use Permit7 – 0. The full Planning Commissionunanimously denied the
ConductionalUse Permit.
Hamm’s Brewery The Asian Pacific Cultural Centerhas received
tentative developer sta-tus from the city to re-use a portion ofthe
southern buildings at Hamm’sBrewery. They received $400,000from the
state to work on the planningprocess and raise funds to
redevelopthe buildings. They plan to put in a the-atre, banquet
area, library, gift shop,classrooms and offices. They will bedoing
design work and raising fundsfor the construction over the next
year.
378 Maria Ave.378 Maria Café at 6th and Maria (for-merly POP’s
Café) is under new man-agement. It’s new phone number
is651-776-7000.
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Page 8 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum March 2007
Dayton’s Bluff District Forum
798 East 7th StreetSaint Paul, MN 55106Phone: 651-772-2075FAX:
651-774-3510E-mail: [email protected] Circulation:
5,000.Also available online at www.daytonsbluff.org This is a
publication of HopewellCommunications, Inc. and is intended to
provide a forum for the ideas andopinions of its readers and to be
an instrument for developing communityawareness and pride. No
material contained in this paper may be reprinted withoutconsent of
the editor. Articles and letters to the editor are welcome and may
beemailed to [email protected] or faxed to 651-774-3510. The
Dayton’sBluff District Forum is delivered to every home in the
Dayton’s Bluff area. Outsidethis area, subscriptions cost $12 and
may be arranged by calling 651-772-2075.Board of Directors: Allen
Clausen, Greg Cosimini, and Karin DuPaul. Editor &Layout: Greg
Cosimini.Next issue: April 2007. Deadline for material: March 10,
2007.
The East Side Neighborhood Devel-opment Company (ESNDC)
an-nounces a new three-year initiativecalled the “Prosperity
Campaign”with funding from the Otto BremerFoundation. A grand
openingmulticultural celebration will take placeon Saturday, March
24, 2007 from12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the HmongAmerican
Partnership Building at1075 Arcade Street in St. Paul. Allare
invited to this community resourcefair featuring food,
entertainment andnetworking opportunities. Metropoli-tan State
University President WilliamBradshaw will offer remarks about
ourcommunity vision.
The Prosperity Campaign will usecommunity organizing, networking
andmarketing strategies to connect EastSide residents and business
in creat-ing and sustaining community and per-sonal wealth. These
opportunities willdevelop awareness about
communitychallenges—safety, poverty, isolation;connect people to
programs; and in-spire residents to take action andachieve their
wealth creation goals.The campaign is designed to equipresidents
with the skills needed to earnliving wage jobs, escape poverty
andelevate their overall standard of liv-ing. The major components
of theProsperity Campaign are to create a
The Prosperity Campaign’s – Multi-Cultural Resource
Fair“pipe-line” of existing and new oppor-tunities and services to
the East Side. This Campaign is necessary be-cause 19% of all
residents and 27%of our children are living at-or-belowthe poverty
level. 78% qualify for freeor reduced-price school lunch (com-pared
to the St. Paul average of 65%).The Payne/Phalen Lake communityhas
more participants in the Minne-sota Family Investment Plan
(MFIP)and more families in federally subsi-dized Section 8 housing
than any otherneighborhood in Ramsey County. To combat our
community chal-lenges, join East Side residents, busi-nesses,
clergy members, schools andnon-profits at the March 24th
Multi-Cultural Resource Fair and discoverthe many trainings and
products thatare coming to the East Side. Enroll inhomeownership
classes, debt counsel-ing services, small business classes,youth
programs, and leadership devel-
opment courses on-the-spot or just getinformation for your
future. Mari Bongiovanni, new executivedirector of ESNDC, is
excited aboutthe Prosperity Campaign’s broaderperspective of
community develop-ment. According to Bongiovanni,“Wealth can be
evidenced by some-thing as simple as the number of rela-tionships
formed in our own neighbor-hood by those who have been isolatedby
fear, or by more traditional mea-sures of home ownership,
education,jobs, entrepreneurship, leadership andyouth development
and financial lit-eracy.” These measures are a per-fect fit with
ESNDC’s mission: Tocreate wealth and well-being in amulticultural
neighborhood. For more information, contact: MariBongiovanni,
ESNDC’s ExecutiveDirector, [email protected],Phone:
651-771-1152, x106
What should residents ofDayton’s Bluff be called?
A) BluffersB) BluffoniansC) BluffaloesD) Blufftonians
E) BluffitesF) BluffapolitansG) Not late for dinnerH)
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Send your choice to: Dayton’s Bluff District Forum798 E. 7th
St., St. Paul, MN 55106