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THURSDAY,NOVEMBER 18, 2021
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VOL. 18 NO. 24 www.readthecitizen.com $1.00
HAPPY THANKSGIVING: How is turkey made? PAGE 3
Holiday lights still offer feeling of hope for future BY CORINNE STREMMEL STAFF WRITER
It’s the most wonderful time of the year … time for Press Publications’ Holiday Lights Contest, that is. Press Publications is eager to see everyone’s displays. The second annual contest will kick off the week of Dec. 22 and run through Dec. 31. With COVID-19 still hanging around this holiday season, many families are looking to get out and about to find a way to celebrate. “Everybody is at a different point in their COVID journey, and people have different levels of concern, so this activity is open to most people,” said Publisher Carter Johnson. Last year’s holiday lights contest was created out of a pandemic year,
and while this year may feel a bit different with the return of holiday concerts, plays and family events—all thanks to increased vaccinations— the holiday lights still offer a feeling of hope for the future. “The lights have different meanings to different people,” Johnson noted. Whether it’s to celebrate the birth of Christ or to cope with the gradual onset of the shortest days of the year, an opportunity to view holiday lights can be another reason to get families together. Press Advertising Manager Patty Steele has her own holiday lights tradition to uphold. “We go out and look at the Christmas lights every Christmas Eve. It’s a fun memory to go out with a group of people,” Steele said.
For those looking to do more than just beautify their lawn during the darker months, some holiday lights displays require a true engineer to design and execute some of the displays exhibited last year. “A few homes over the years have had just magnificent displays. There are two that stand out to me on Bald Eagle Lake,” Johnson recalled. “It’s like having Disney in our own backyard. The garage is lit up, and the house. There are different scenes as you drive by, and you’ll want to pay attention to the upstairs window because there’s something special there.” Last year’s 20 submissions exceeded expectations, and this year Press Publications hopes to see another SEE HOLIDAY LIGHTS, PAGE 14
Afternoon do-si-dos
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Enter this year’s Holiday Lights Contest online at presspubs.com/holidaylights
Regional trail route upsetting to Bald Eagle homeowners BY DEBRA NEUTKENS STAFF WRITER
PHOTOS BY PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Square dancers from the Jolly Promenaders and Triple T clubs were joined by staff members during a recent demonstration, led by caller Bob Maiden, at the Good Life Senior Living facility Hugo. The historic origins of the traditional folk dancing style can be traced back to England and originally came to America on the Mayflower. See page 14 for more photos.
Privacy is something Doug and Dianne Dorschner will lose if the county sticks to its latest layout for the Bruce Vento Regional Trail extension. The Bald Eagle Boulevard residents say the planned trail will be 10 feet from their bedroom window, the logic of which eludes Doug. "They are encroaching on people's property along Bald Eagle Boulevard," he said. "There are better routes." The Dorschners voiced their concerns at a wellattended open house recently hosted by Ramsey County parks and recreation staff at Boatworks Commons. The couple, and many of their neighbors, wondered how and when the route changed. According to the county website, the preferred alignment corridor for the final phase of the trail project was selected in early 2020 as a result of public engagement starting September 2018 to 2020 with predesign starting January 2021. A draft amendment was approved by the Board of Commissioners in May and submitted to the Metropolitan Council. That's news to Tim David, a Bald Eagle resident SEE BRUCE VENTO TRAIL, PAGE 13
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