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PUNCH NEAPOLITAN PIZZA: Coming this fall to Vadnais Heights PAGE 9A
Property owners sue township over land use dispute BY DEBRA NEUTKENS REGIONAL EDITOR
WHITE BEAR TOWNSHIP — You are being sued. That was the first sentence in a summons filed in Ramsey County Court against the township by Scott and Nanci Stoddard, former residents who own property southeast of Benson Airport. The Stoddards want to turn a former horse farm into a 19-lot townhome development at 5685 Portland Ave. Their application required an ordinance amendment altering the airport safety zones, which was denied 2-1 last fall by the Town Board. Attempts at mediation between plaintiff and defendant did not arrive at a settlement to the complaint, which was filed in December, said Township Clerk/Treasurer Bill Short. Representing the Stoddards is Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren, a Bloomington firm that specializes in land use and zoning. When they considered the application Oct. 5, Town Board members Ed Prudhon and Bob Kermes felt airport use would be jeopardized by modifying or eliminating the safety zones. Nearby Lake Animal Hospital and several homes on Border Pine Court would be negatively impacted, as well, they said, since those addresses would have been placed inside redrawn safety zones. Prudhon listed 10 reasons for denying the request, among them the fact the property was knowingly SEE LAWSUIT, PAGE 8A
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Bear’ly Open golf tournament on ice Fat Boyz team members, from left, Andrew Chapirson, Matt Gamnis, Alex Lessard and Jake Harper watch as Brandon Gamnis hits a tennis ball toward the green during the Bear’ly Open golf tournament on ice Saturday, Feb. 6 on White Bear Lake. The colorful chub suits they wore made them easy to spot out on the frozen lake during the annual benefit for the White Bear Area Emergency Food Shelf.
The politics of decoding dyslexia BY DEBRA NEUTKENS REGIONAL EDITOR
SUBMITTED
Sen. Roger Chamberlain, left, and Rachel Berger, founder of Decoding Dyslexia Minnesota, testified at hearings last year in efforts to modify a reading tax credit for parents of qualifying children and require schools to adopt a local literacy plan.
Fortunately for Lyn Haselmann's son, the White Bear Lake School District offers sign language, which meets the requirement for a second language. Without those credits, it'd be tough for him to enter the college of his choice. A foreign language is something her son cannot grasp, Haselmann said, because he is dyslexic. The White Bear Township woman is part of a parent advocacy group called Decoding Dyslexia knocking on legislators' doors as the 2016 session nears. They are a grassroots movement that includes mothers from White Bear Lake and Hugo determined to change policy regarding the heritable brain-based disability, which affects an estimated 20 percent
of the population. Symptoms and causes vary, but basically dyslexia makes it hard for people to read and process language. Letters are often seen flipped or the person simply does not understand the principles that underlie the reading process. They do not read words backwards, as is a common notion. "The issue is systemic," said Rachel Berger, a Hugo mother of three and founder of Minnesota's Decoding Dyslexia chapter. "When it comes to struggling readers and dyslexia, I feel a strong sense of moral and ethical responsibility to share our knowledge with the community. We are advocating on behalf of those impacted to ensure all children have access to an education that meets their needs." SEE DYSLEXIA, PAGE 8A
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