Dakota County
Tribune
Farmington | Rosemount and the surrounding areas www.dakotacountytribune.com
May 1, 2014 • Volume 129 • Number 8
OPINION
Light rail project on track The route for Southwest Light Rail was approved by the Metropolitan Council and Minneapolis should also support the project of regional significance. Page 4A
THISWEEKEND
Moms and Neighbors founders (from left) Melissa Cook, Mary Jo Shelton and Joann Cochran helped organized the 2011 Moms and Neighbors Carbone’s Night Out in Rosemount. (Photo submitted)
Moms and Neighbors band together Nonprofit group hosts music, food, silent auction fundraiser by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Stacy had been living in foster care ever since her mother died. The only family she ever knew were her foster parents. When Stacy (not her real name) turned 18, she was no longer eligible for foster care and moved into
Beauty and the Beast Twin Cities Ballet debuts its latest production next week at the Ames Center in Burnsville. Page 19A
an apartment with little or no support network. That’s when the Dakota County-based nonprofit Moms and Neighbors stepped in. “When you hear these kinds of stories, we ask what we can do to help,” said Sara Haugland, cochairwoman of the group. About five years ago,
Moms and Neighbors started networking with Rosemount-Apple ValleyEagan School District counselors, social workers and area churches with the goal to help families and young people like Stacy with basic needs – food, shelter and clothing. On Friday, the group will hold its largest annual
Isaac Trowbridge, 8, a student at Red Pine Elementary School, wraps a gift for one of the recipients through the Moms and Neighbors holiday gift-giving campaign in December 2013. (Photo submitted) fundraiser with the Moms and Neighbors Carbone’s Night Out from 6-11 p.m. at the downtown Rosemount restaurant. The money raised during the food, music and silent auction event will go to sustain the group’s daily efforts and a holiday giftgiving drive. As long as diners men-
tion the fundraiser to their servers, a portion of carry out or dine-in sales during the event will go to Moms and Neighbors. Haugland said the event is great for all ages to begin with and changes over to a 21-and-over crowd later in the night. See FUNDRAISER, 17A
Book’s use of ‘R-word’ questioned Parent of District 196 students and special education teacher makes request to remove book
SPORTS
by Jessica Harper SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Track and field’s elite Competitors from Dakota County high schools stood out at the Hamline Elite track and field meet last week. Page 12A
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INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Announcements . . . . . 6A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 12A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 14A Public Notices . . . . . . 17A
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A parent in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District is asking officials to consider removing a book published in the mid1980s that uses the word retarded to refer to special education students. The book, “Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You,” by Barthe DeClements will be reviewed by a committee of parents, teachers, a principal and library specialists. The 11-member committee will read the book and vote on May 14 whether to remove the book from school libraries and reading lists. The meeting is open to the public and will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the District Office at 3455 153rd St. W. in Rosemount. The book focuses on Helen, a preteen with learning and behavior issues. A teacher recognizes her educational issues and enters her into a special education program. Helen manages to overlook teasing from classmates and improves her reading. Jenna Boutain, who is a parent of children in the district and a special education teacher at Falcon Ridge Middle School, said she believes the book, which uses the word retarded eight times, is outdated and uses language that is no longer acceptable. In her request for reconsideration, Boutain writes, “The word retarded does not support our district’s beliefs of preparing students to be contributing members of a diverse society and providing students with a safe, respectful and positive learning environment.” In an interview with the newsSee R-WORD, 5A
The University of Minnesota Ballroom Dance Club will offer swing dance lessons 6:30-7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 3, during the Dakota County Historical Society’s 75th Anniversary Diamond Dance. (Photo submitted)
Society put the swing into history 75th Anniversary Diamond Dance slated in Rosemount by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Rhett Butler and Dorothy with her ruby red slippers would have made quite a pair back in 1939. This weekend at the Dakota County Historical Society’s 75th Anniversary Diamond Dance, one might see that duo swinging the night away. The chance pairing could be made possible because the Saturday, May 3, event at the Rosemount Community Center asks
attendees to dress up like characters from the top movies of 1939 – the year the society was founded in South St. Paul. “We wanted to do something fun,” said Lynn Gruber, historical society executive director. “There won’t be any program. There won’t be any speeches.” The event will start with swing dance lessons directed by the University of Minnesota Ballroom Dance Club from 6:30-7:30 p.m. After that, the Bend in the River Big Band will provide the
musical backdrop from 8-11 p.m. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. People can also enter a raffle to win one or more of the 40-plus prizes that will be offered. Tickets are $15 in advance and at the door. The previously announced price of $20 at the door has been reduced. Gruber said she is looking forward to seeing what costumes people will devise. Some of the hit movies include “Gone with See SOCIETY, 13A
New beginning for Sunrise Ponds subdivision by Jennifer Chick SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
The Sunrise Ponds subdivision in Farmington has a new developer, a new name and a new plan. The Farmington City Council approved plans to replat the subdivision with a 3-2 vote at its regular meeting April 21. Mayor Todd Larson and council members Christy Fogarty and Terry Donnelly voted for the replat while council members Jason Bartholomay and Douglas Bonar voted
against it. The subdivision, located west of Cambodia Avenue and south of 210th Street, is now called New Sunrise Addition and will feature 59 larger lots and single-family homes with a redesign that will include area not originally platted when the subdivision was first approved by the council in 2006. A plat is a map, drawn to scale, that shows the division of land. Currently, there are nine homes built in the subdivision. Those homes were not part of the replat so the
new design will incorporate the existing homes. “I like the larger lot size and everything else, so I think this is a better plan probably this time around,” Donnelly said. Because of modifications to the lot lines through the replatting, the current drainage and utility easements had to be vacated. New drainage and utility easements were then approved with the new plat. See SUNRISE, 17A