Rolling on the lake
Bootsma second at Nationals
Kayakers learn the finer points of the safety roll
Rachel Bootsma to swim in Pan American games
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2011
EDEN PRAIRIE
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Referendum planning gears up District off to a slower start this year than previous campaign BY LEAH SHAFFER lshaffer@swpub.com
In late July 2004, an Eden Prairie School District referendum kicked into gear as community leaders started gathering to plan their campaign. In August 2011, those community leaders have yet to be contacted. “Now we’re even further behind,” said Eden Prairie School Board member Holly Parker during a workshop Tuesday.
“I’m not sure who’s supposed to be steering the ship here,” she added. Board members are working with Superintendent Melissa Krull this week to compile a list and contact possible leaders for the district’s referendum campaign. Krull said they plan to follow the model of the previous campaign when it comes to planning for this fall’s referendum. The board will have to approve the ballot language at its meeting on
Aug. 23. That could include adding a second question related to a technology levy in addition to the request to increase the levy for the operating budget. This spring, the board approved a plan to ask voters this November to increase the operating levy by approximately $4.2 million (which translates to a $172 increase for the average home, valued at $350,000). The question the board faces at its Aug. 23 meeting is whether to add a
question seeking continuation of the technology levy, which expires three years from now. The referendum that successfully passed in 2004 included $4.6 million annually for up to 10 years for technology and a one-time $20 million bond levy for maintenance projects. Additionally, in 2004, voters approved $500,000 annually in the fi rst year and up to $300,000 for the remaining nine years for operating expenses. If added to the ballot this year, a
Upcoming A School Board workshop is tentatively scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 16. The next School Board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 23.
‘BOARD WEIGHS IN ON SUPERINTENDENT’S RESIGNATION, SHARES EVALUATION’ — PAGE 7. renewal of the tech levy would kick in after the current one expires, three years from now. According to Chief Operating Officer Patricia Magnuson, more than
Referendum to page 10 ®
Reflections of Haiti: Eden Prairie woman planning November trip BY FORREST ADAMS fadams@swpub.com
Destination Haiti
A 16-year-old Haitian boy named Johnny calls her “Mother.” His own mother is an invalid and unable to care for him. His father and sister live in another city. Johnny wants to be a doctor someday. Sue Valiton, an Eden Prairie resident and choir member at St. Hubert’s Catholic Church in Chanhassen, said she left her heart in Haiti. The fi rst time she visited the impoverished nation was in the summer of 2008, raising for that trip about $4,000 for a children’s orphanage called Project Hope. She has returned multiple times to satisfy her longing to make a difference. In 2010 she left the country a mere four hours before it was devastated by an earthquake. In
Arrive in Port-au-Prince, the city most heavily damaged by the deadly earthquake in 2010. Depart for the seaport city of Les Cayes and Hope Village, located about 120 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince. May and early June of this year she visited again to rekindle relationships. Valiton hopes to return to the Project Hope Orphanage with a team of about eight people this November, and bring with the team tools for a better life. Thousands of children receive care and education through the orphanage on a daily basis.
Haiti to page 10 ®
PHOTO BY LEAH SHAFFER
The Raksha Walk begins at Purgatory Creek Park.
Raksha event puts focus on safe driving Saturday’s Raksha Walk at Purgatory Creek Park drew crowds of people dedicated to taking a pledge to drive distraction-free. The walk, now in its fourth year, began when the Dixit family looked for a way to honor their daughter Shreya, who was killed in a car accident as she was returning from college. During this year’s event, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie addressed participants, and shared how he lost his daughter Rachel when her car was hit by a drunk driver.
SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT ON PAGE 2. “We’re here today because we know that, as humans, we can make mistakes,” said Ritchie. “But we also know that, as humans, we can do everything in our power to prevent bad things from happening when we can.” The Raksha event includes a pledge of protection and ceremony where people tie a band around each other’s wrists in keeping with the
holiday the event is named after, the Hindu holiday Raksha Bandhan, meaning “bond of protection.” The holiday includes a ceremony where a sister ties a ceremonial band around her brother’s wrist as a bond of protection between brother and sister. In the case of Eden Prairie’s Raksha Walk, the band serves as a reminder for people to stay focused on driving. “The idea of education, the idea of awareness is one of the most powerful things that we have in our society,” said Ritchie. Compiled by Leah Shaffer
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Sue Valiton, Eden Prairie, is pictured in Hope Village this May with Johnny, a 16-year-old Haitian boy who calls her “Mother.”
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