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AUGMENTATION: City drafts resolution of support for bonding bill PAGE 2A
Readathon topped off with cherries
Curtain call steadily approaching for old theater
Parent volunteer Emily Paradise watches as students, Connor Green, Eleanor Senart and Nicklas Albrecht use Lincoln Elementary School Principal Dan Schmidt as the foundation for an elaborate sundae, complete with a variety of ingredients, including whipped cream, candy sprinkles and cherries on top, at right. The stunt was the reward for the students reaching their goal of reading 250,000 minutes during the Minions of Minutes Read-a-thon.
BY DEBRA NEUTKENS REGIONAL EDITOR
When the curtain goes up in fall of 2017 in the new theater, community theatergoers will be part of Lakeshore Players 65th season. It’s a dream goal for a dream project. “But the dream will only happen with everyone’s involvement,” said Lakeshore’s Executive Director Joan Elwell. By everyone, Elwell means, well, everyone. “We need people who want to help with the capital campaign, help us make connections, fundraise, make in-kind donations and add expertise,” she said. “We’re hoping people will step up.” Individuals have already come forward to contribute to the theater’s $6.2 million capital campaign. So far, 165 donors and several foundations have contributed $3.4 million towards a new theater, which is 54 percent of the goal. If all goes as planned, construction should start this summer on the former site of Twin Cities Nursery in White Bear Lake. Thanks to a $1 million contribution from a “family with old ties” to White Bear, the 2.8 acres of land at 4941 Long Ave. was purchased in 2014. Demolition and site preparation should start this summer now that a contractor has been hired. A facilities committee heard presentations from four companies this winter after sending out a request for proposals. They decided on McGough Construction, which Elwell said has much experience building performance arts space. “We felt they anticipated our every need just perfectly,” noted Mike Spellman, president of Lake
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
SEE THEATER UPDATE, PAGE 9A
A people and their llamas
Keep traveling: Internet encyclopedia doesn't tell all BY LORETTA HARDING SPECIAL TO THE PRESS
The world was created out of llama fat. That's what I learned during my recent trip to Peru. For the ancient Inca people living high in the Andes Mountains, fat found in a llama was the only source of energy available to them. Because human life in the Andes couldn't be sustained without fat, it must have meant that the energy to create and sustain the entire world had also come from the llama — the only source of energy the Incas knew. Because of its life-giving energy, the animal I'd always thought of as a kind of cute horse with wool has always
LORETTA HARDING | SUBMITTED
Market day is every Wednesday in Urubamba. SEE LEARNING ABOUT LLAMAS, PAGE 8A
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