Thisweek Burnsville and Eagan

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Rosemount High School to stage show with past, present, future students SEE STORY IN THISWEEKEND ON PAGE 9A

NEWS OPINION SPORTS

Thisweek Burnsville-Eagan JUNE 4, 2010

VOLUME 31, NO. 14

www.thisweeklive.com

Opinion/4A

Announcements/7A

Puzzle Page/10A

Real Estate/11A

Two incumbents, two newcomers will vie for two council seats Challengers are arts center critics; incumbents voted against center but say city must now make it work by John Gessner THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Two City Council incumbents who voted against building the Burnsville Performing Arts Center will be joined in the November election by two newcomers who say their displeasure with the center is a key reason they’re running. Incumbents Charlie Crichton and Dan Kealey will seek re-election to fouryear terms in November. Joining them in the four-way race for two seats

Crichton

Kealey

BURNSVILLE are Paul Mudge and Greg Tomlinson. Filing closed June 1. Crichton and Kealey say their goals include a 2011 tax levy with little or

no increase over the 2010 levy, which was held flat through an unprecedented $3.5 million in city budget cuts. They also said the council must try to boost revenue at the financially underperforming arts center. In its first year, 2009, the center required a $533,600 operating subsidy from the city, according to VenuWorks, the Iowa company hired by the city to manage the $20 million venue. The company had predicted a $346,220 subsidy,

and the city budgeted for only $265,475, according to VenuWorks. Tomlinson, 28, criticized Crichton and Kealey for approving more spending to acquire a grand concert piano. Last December, the council voted unanimously for a five-year lease-purchase of the piano at an annual cost of $6,687. The cost is being shared equally with the Friends of the Burnsville Performing Arts Center. “That doesn’t fit right See Council, 19A

Classifieds/13A

Sports/17A

Celebrate Eagan’s lakes – and their fish – at LakeFest 2010 June 12 event offers fishing, family activities, food and fun by Erin Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

The city of Eagan has about 30 lakes for residents to swim in, fish in, boat on, and walk around, as well as a proactive approach to keeping them healthy. To celebrate its bountiful bodies of water, the city is inviting residents to Eagan LakeFest 2010, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 12, at Blackhawk Park. The event will feature fishing, food, activities, and

EAGAN music. In honor of “Take a Kid Fishing Day,� residents can take their children ages 16 and younger fishing without a license, and bait and equipment will be provided. “The skill of fishing is not something a lot of kids have these days. We’re trying to invest in that future of fishing,� said Jessie Koehle, water resources techniSee LakeFest, 8A

Burnsville High’s top ELL student makes proclamation in poetry Graduating senior from Somalia will study accounting next year but makes a stir with her words by John Gessner THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

She likes jewelry like any other girl, Burnsville High School senior Shukri Ahmed proclaims in her poem, “Ask Me My Name.� And yes, she confirms, there is hair beneath her ever-present headscarf. Don’t ask me who I am. Ask me my name, for I would love to tell you Because I’m not different from you. Teacher Jean Braun read the poem over the PA as her student walked to the stage during the school’s recent senior awards program.

BURNSVILLE The reaction was electric for the words written by the 18-year-old from Somalia, who was honored as the English language learner department’s top senior. “The applause went on a long, long time,� Braun said. “It was pretty powerful.� Since coming to School District 191 as an eighthgrader, Shukri has fielded classmates’ questions about her clothes, her headscarf, her hair and her five daily prayer sessions.

“I kind of like explaining to the students sometimes,� she said. “But after a while, you get tired of it.� One of three Ahmed children, Shukri was still a young girl when her parents left Somalia for Kenya. Seeking better economic fortunes, they came in 2005 to Burnsville, where Shukri’s sister lives. Shukri credits Metcalf Junior High ELL teacher Joyce Lindstrom with helping her find her way, and she’s a fan of her recent Photo by John Gessner ELL teachers at the high school – Braun and Cynthia English language learner teachers at Burnsville High School named Shukri Ahmed the department’s top senior this year. See Poet, 8A

Memorial Day salutes

Flags will fly in Heart of the City

Photo by John Gessner

Photos by Rick Orndorf

Above: Members of the Dan Patch American Legion Post rifle squad fired a salute during a Memorial Day ceremony at Pleasant View Memorial Gardens cemetery in Burnsville. Left: Members of the Civil Air Patrol Valley Cadet Squadron placed a wreath during a Memorial Day ceremony at Bicentennial Garden in Burnsville.

Bruce Auburt of Design Flags put finishing touches on installation of three flagpoles in Burnsville’s Nicollet Commons Park.

Ceremony on D-Day, June 6, will unveil red, white and blue by John Gessner

BURNSVILLE

THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Burnsville’s Heart of the City will be red, white and blue on Sunday, June 6. Three new flagpoles in Nicollet Commons Park will be dedicated in a 1 p.m. ceremony. In addition, 200 U.S. flags will be newly hung on lightpoles along Nicollet Avenue and Burnsville Parkway. The ceremony will also serve as the formal opening of the Walk of Honor, a path of engraved pavers in the park that honor individual soldiers and veterans. The ceremony is on the 66th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces stormed the beaches at Normandy.

“I think it’s important that we recognize those people who have done an awful lot for us,� said Rich VanderLaan, founder and CEO of Baseball Association 191 and vice president of the Burnsville Community Foundation. The flagpoles and the smaller lightpole flags are the result of a fundraising collaboration between BA 191 and the Burnsville Community Foundation. The Burnsville Rotary and Burnsville Breakfast Rotary clubs have donated $15,000 to the project, which includes a See Flags, 19A

General 952-894-1111 Distribution 952-846-2070 Display Advertising 952-846-2011 Classified Advertising 952-846-2000

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