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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2011
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City plays it safe moving forward with sports dome Sports dome at Community Park FOR “Our community is in a unique situation. We don’t have our own school district. We are shared and embraced by Prior Lake and Burnsville … We’re trying to bring some synergy here and bring everyone together.” I
Leigh Ann Stock, representing the Prior Lake Soccer Club I “The kids deserve to have this. It makes us a better community for athletics … The extra time and the extra practice and dedication it gives these kids is not only a life lesson, it just makes them better.”
Bruce Goodwin, representing P.L.A.Y. traveling baseball I “Look at school districts and the amount of cuts that have been done to Phy. Ed, middle school sports, and then you look at the childhood obesity rate that we have – this is an opportunity for us to provide another athletic facility for our kids.”
Bryan Huff, representing the Prior Lake Soccer Club PHOTO BY AMY LYON
The Savage City Council Chambers were packed Monday night as area residents spoke out in support of and against the proposed sports dome at Community Park. BY AMY LYON editor@savagepacer.com
More than 75 people filed into the Savage City Council chambers and spilled into the hallway Monday night to witness the Council’s decision on the $5 million indoor sports facility proposed at Community Park; 28 of those individuals spoke to the Council in support of or against the project. Ultimately, the Council vot-
ed in favor of moving forward with the project by selecting Tushie Montgomery Architects to complete the necessary plans, specifications and bid documents. Councilwoman Jane Victorey voted against the project, citing budget and revenue concerns. The City Council also directed staff to solicit memorandums of understanding from the youth athletic organizations pledging their support
and estimating the number of hours they could commit to during the next sports season. Tushie Montgomery’s bid of $127,000 was one of five that ranged as high as $222,000. It served as the architect for the Vikings Indoor Facility and the Holy Angels Star Dome. “We did receive one quote l ow e r t h a n T u s h i e M o n togomery, but that architect has no dome or artificial turf
experience,” said City Administrator Barry Stock. “We also have some comfort level with Tushie Montgomery in that they have been involved in several other projects in the city that, in our opinion, have been done nicely and within budget.”
PAYING FOR IT T h e e s t i m at e d p r oj e c t cost for the sports dome and
Dome to page 2 ®
AGAINST “I don’t disagree with this project at all. I just disagree with the location … If you want to go to a business district and leave it in Savage, bring people in, I’m all for it. This is less than a football field from my back fence.” I
Matt Adelman, Louisiana Avenue resident I “There are too many unresolved issues around the close proximity to current and future residences, feared reduction in property values, and the sports dome aesthetics, noise and overall cost.”
Chris Juettner, Louisiana Avenue resident I “We ask that the City give more in-depth analysis to the location and that the City send this back to the site selection committee or city staff to find a different and better location.”
Attorney for Carla Lecuyer, Louisiana Avenue resident
25 years of reconciliation for Native Americans, whites Run will travel through Savage in remembrance of Dakota Conflict BY MATHAIS BADEN editor@jordannews.com
Remember 1862
T wo T wi n Cities-made documentaries will be shown in Jordan on an early morning during the Remembrance Run, which annually commemorates the largest mass hanging in the history of the U.S. and seeks reconciliation of age-old strife. “Dakota Exile” and “The Da kot a C on f lict ” c a n b e watched before the sun rises on Monday, Dec. 26, in downtown Jordan. From 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., the Hub of Jordan, 231 Broadway St., will be hosting runners – serving them soup, hot chocolate and coffee – and recalling Dec. 26, 1862, the fateful end of war between whites and Native Americans, and a dark cloud over Minnesota’s past. Last year, 50 people volunteered or visited – and they lear ned something about intercultural relations. “You get a history of Minne s ot a t h at mo st p e ople don’t know about,” said Bob Schmitz, who organizes the rest stop on the Remembrance
Run to page 12 ®
The Dakota-U.S. war of 1862 ended with 38 Dakota warriors executed by hanging in Mankato. At 12:05 a.m. Monday, Native Americans will participate in the 25th annual Remembrance Run from Fort Snelling, where thousands of Dakota people were detained after the war, to Mankato, where Native Americans were executed as prisoners of war. As runners pass significant sites on the route from St. Paul to Mankato, they might sing or chant and drum. They pass a staff from runner to runner as they go. Organizers of the Remembrance Run encourage spectators to bring signs and offer encouragement along the runners’ route. For more information about the run or the rest stop, call Bob Schmitz at 952-492-7804.
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13 FORT SNELLING HISTORICAL SITE
SCOTT COUNTY 169
The estimated time of runners’ arrival: in Savage is 3 a.m. in Shakopee is 4 a.m. in Jordan is 5 a.m. Actual times will vary depending on the speed of the runners. There will be a rest stop for runners at the Hub of Jordan, 231 S. Broadway St.
N LAND OF MEMORIES PARK, MANKATO
The Fort Snelling historical site is located near the intersection of highways 5 and 62 in St. Paul. The Remembrance Run gathering begins at 11:30 p.m. Dec. 25. The run begins at midnight Dec. 26.
Land of Memories Park is located in the southwestern corner of Mankato, north of the intersection of highways 69 and 169.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Cristina Oxtra reads to children at the Savage Library. She is reading from a writing journal since the book wasn’t printed yet. Oxtra adds that she wore the Mookie shirt and “silly skirt” to keep the audience’s attention.
Book proceeds to help fund scholarships for minorities BY PAT MINELLI editor@shakopeenews.com
T
he publication of her first children’s book was a lifelong dream come true for Cristina Oxtra. She also wants to help local minority students achieve their educational dreams, so she’s dedicated part of the book’s proceeds to an education fund she created in 2010.
INSIDE OPINION/4 OBITUARIES/6 LET’S GO/8-9 SPORTS/13-15 POLICE/16 CLASSIFIEDS/21-23 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6682 EDITOR: (952) 345-6376 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@SAVAGEPACER.COM.
The Savage resident, who is the communications coordinator for the Shakopee School District, is the author and illustrator of “Mookie’s Teeth,” a coming-of-age story about a friendly little monster. “It has been my dream to do this for years,” said Oxtra. She started writing the children’s book in 2004. “I never finished anything or submitted anything. I was
afraid no one would publish them.” Finally, she decided to finish the book and publish it herself. Some of the proceeds will go to the Kaleidoscope Scholarship Fund, which she started in February 2011. The Kaleidoscope scholarship is one of several that local associations, businesses and organizations offer through
Oxtra to page 12 ®
VOL. 18 ISSUE 21 © SOUTHWEST NEWSPAPERS
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