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Home Field Advantage: page 6
New Look. Same Local Coverage since 1854. Vol. 162, No. 50
11 2nd Ave. N., Unit 103, Sauk Rapids, Benton County, MN 56379
Braiding palm
Thursday, April 13, 2017
PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER
Sister Mary Angela (left) and Mother Marie Immaculata, of St. Clare’s Monastery in Sauk Rapids, participate in palm braiding as Easter nears. Sister Mary Angela made the palm processional piece for this year’s Palm Sunday Mass.
BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
Poor Clares carry on tradition
in practices, but I’m more excited to hear it come together with the orchestra and hear how all of our individual work has paid off to make the piece sound full, whole and complete.” The Àve movements — IntroitKyrie, Vanitas Vanitatum, Agnus Dei, Sanctus and Lux Aeterna — are sung in Latin and will be accompanied by a full orchestra made up of musicians from the area. Lathe said imparting the vision of what the master work will look like is one challenge he faces with executing the performance.
SAUK RAPIDS — As road improvements continue in Sauk Rapids during the year, the city council will have the opportunity to address a potential safety hazard at the intersections of Second Street in the downtown area. City engineer Terry Wotzka addressed the council during a presentation for the upcoming Second Avenue South Improvement project. This project includes portions of side streets and could alternatively include crosswalk upgrades. “Pedestrian accidents are on the increase,” said Wotzka, of Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc. “Not only in the state of Minnesota, but across the country.” According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, 60 pedestrians were killed in the state during 2016, the highest number in 25 years. Wotzka said Sauk Rapids has increased the vitality of the downtown area and will soon have a large number of apartment dwellers living in the heart of the area. The ampliÀed residential and commercial properties will attract more pedestrians. He also said he felt uncomfortable with the current colored concrete walkways used to denote pedestrian walkways at the Second Street intersections of Benton Drive and Second Avenue North. “Colored concrete tends to lost its vibrancy and delineation. As I drive through those intersections at driver height, the distinction between the plain concrete and decorative concrete has become more and more difÀcult for me. Particularly if that pavement is wet,” Wotzka said. Wotzka recommended a grinding of stripes at the intersections which would be painted with an epoxy paint and coated to give them more reÁectivity. The anticipated additional cost to include the modiÀcations to the two intersections would be $32,000. The total cost for the Second Avenue South improvement project is estimated at $2.67 million. The project will include new sanitary sewer and water improvements, street widening in some areas, sidewalks, decorative lighting, additional electrical Àxtures and special drainage designs to reduce sediment and pollution. The council approved the plans and speciÀcations and authorized the advertising for bids contingent upon the approval of municipal state aid. The decision to go forth with or without the walkway alterations will be decided by the council in the coming months before the project is awarded. In other council news: • Recognized Harvey Mouzolf for his 10 years of service to the city of Sauk Rapids as an employee of the utilities department. • Sauk Rapids-Rice Superintendent Dan Bittman, along with school board chair Mark Hauck and business manager Kim Eisenschenk presented information about the upcoming school referendum which will be put to vote May 23. As well as the proposal and tax impacts, Bittman said the school is the third largest employer in Benton County and as it grows it creates new jobs. He also told the council the district does not plan on coming back to the voters following the building referendum to increase operating costs and that the money requested will be sufÀcient. Council member Jason Ellering asked Bittman to clarify how many students from outside of the district were attending the Sauk RapidsRice Schools. Bittman said about 900 students enter SRR through open enrollment, but that about 500 students within the district also choose to attend elsewhere. Therefore, additional students are roughly 400-500. The council did not take action at this time.
Chorale: page 5
Sauk Rapids: page 2
BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
SAUK RAPIDS — Last Sunday, Christians across the world came together to celebrate the beginning of Holy Week. They remembered the jubilant celebration of Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem. At the heart of their processionals and reÁection was the palm — a traditional symbol of victory. It is said in Christian belief, that when Jesus entered Jerusalem during the Jewish Passover celebration, he was given a hero’s welcome. People waved palm fronds and spread them throughout the street. Centuries later, those celebrating Palm or Passion Sunday, depart their places of worship with a distributed blessed palm leaf. Upon returning home, the reverence of the object is not forgotten. Palm pieces are placed throughout homes and property for protection and even sometimes burned to mitigate oncoming storms. Some community members participate in the folk art of weaving palms. “We would get our palms on Palm Sunday, and then we would all sit down at home and weave,” said Mother Marie Immaculata, of the St. Clare’s Monastery in Sauk Rapids.
“It was nothing fancy, but we each had our palm we wove and hung above a picture or a cruciÀx.” The tradition of braiding palms has been passed down through generations for centuries. It originated in the tropics where palm trees grow, but the art reÁected during the Easter season spread far from the warm weather climates as Catholic and Protestant descendants traveled. Although some of the Poor Clares had already knew of the art, others became versed in the many designs when Sister Cecelia Schmitt,
a Franciscan Sister from Little Falls, visited the monastery and shared her knowledge 20 years ago. With the help of others, Schmitt went on to create a book and Àlm about palm weaving. “She was really trying to promote the love of palm braiding again and bring it back as a folk art because to her experience it seemed to be dying out. She was trying to reinvigorate it,” Mother Immaculata said. “Some of the patterns we knew of already, but some of them were quite intricate. We didn’t have any
idea they even existed. It was very enlightening.” A handful of St. Clare’s Sisters still weave the palm fronds they receive each year from the St. Cloud Book Shop. Patterns range from simple designs, such as the comb and the looped three-strand braid, to the more ornate projects like the crown of thorns, bird and German cross. Sister Mary Angela prepares the processional piece for Palm Sunday, as well as other weaving.
Poor Clares: page 2
A new leader
Watkins assumes interim superintendent position July 1 BY ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER
SAUK RAPIDS – Bruce Watkins is passionate about education, so much so that he even came out of retirement. “I was the superintendent of the St. Cloud district for four years before I retired in June 2008,” Watkins said. “Even though I retired, the district extended an invitation in spring 2010 for me to come back, so I did and I was there for another three years.” Prior to his tenure at St. Cloud, Watkins was a teacher and principal in Proctor for 27 years, as well as a director of operations for a school
in Duluth for Àve years. After he served his second term in St. Cloud, he served a one-year interim position as the executive director of Nova Classical Academy and conducted a large teacher evaluation for the St. Paul Academy of Artists as well. Currently, he is the interim superintendent for the Elk River school district. As of July 1, he will take on a new position in yet another school district. Watkins was named interim superintendent for the Sauk RapidsRice school district last week. The change in leadership comes after the resignation of Dr. Daniel Bittman, the current SRR superintendent, as Bittman moves on to serve the Elk
River schools. is excited to step into “You could his new position. say Dan and I are “I have always switching places,” liked the Sauk Watkins said. Rapids area,” he said. “Because I was “It is a community working in Elk River, that is educationally I knew Dan was a supportive and I am strong candidate for looking forward to the superintendent not having to travel position there and I or commute.” had a feeling Sauk Growing up and Rapids-Rice would attending college in be searching.” central Minnesota, In addition Watkins has long to his educational known about SRR positions, Watkins and appreciates the Bruce Watkins also has a consulting dedication he has business, where he works with seen over the years. schools, government entities and “I really appreciate what businesses on ofÀce management. Sauk Rapids-Rice has going on, Watkins, who has been married both in the district as well as the to wife Geri for 45 years and is the father of four and grandfather of 12, Watkins: page 2
PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER
The Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota practices at St. John’s University April 9. The choir will be performing “Requiem for the Living” at the Paramount Center for the Arts later this month.
Sauk Rapids youth present at Paramount
Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota performs “Requiem for the Living” BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
COLLEGEVILLE — Five Sauk Rapids residents are among the nearly 100 choir students who will be performing a premiere concert later this month. Rebekah Asp, Emma Gunderson, Megan Henning, Ainsley Holien and Allison Mach are part of the Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota. The singers will execute the 45-minute, Àve-
Crosswalk alternative proposed
movement Dan Forrest work “Requiem for the Living” at the Paramount Center for the Arts on Friday April 21 and Sunday, April 23. The composition is a reÁection on the journey of those striving for inner peace after the loss of a loved one. “A requiem is traditionally a concerted work of the Catholic Mass for the dead,” said Garrett Lathe, artistic director for the choir. “Rather than following the typical
mass structure, it departs from the liturgy. It changes it from a work about mourning and loss to a piece about mourning, hope and solace. It’s less of a prayer for the dead than a prayer for those who are left behind.” The high school students, hailing from 23 different schools, have come together each Sunday evening for two hours since September to learn and rehearse their parts. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it,” said Asp, a senior at Sauk Rapids-Rice who joined the chorale four years ago. “I’m excited and nervous. It’s interesting to hear it