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RUSH LINE: Township discusses corridor PAGE 11 VID-1 CO
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Day service providers for disabled struggling to cover costs BY DEBRA NEUTKENS STAFF WRITER
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Protecting each other Above: White Bear Lake Fire Department Captain/EMT Dave Peterson accepts a donation of 100 protective masks from Scott Woskie last week. The masks were constructed at the Minnesota-based My Pillow factory. The washable masks will be used by first responders and also distributed to area nursing homes and care facilities. At right: In conjunction with a statewide collection effort, Sandy Ranallo delivers 75 hand-sewn masks to a drop-off area at the White Bear Lake Fire Department Saturday, April 25. She has two daughters working in health care and said that, “sometimes it has to hit close to home before people realize how serious this (the COVID-19 crisis) is.”
Gritty novices climb Mt. Kilimanjaro for charity BY BRUCE STRAND SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR
Seven adventurers, mostly local, who had never climbed a mountain before, traveled 8,350 miles to make the 19,341-foot trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro late February. The fund-raising climb up Africa’s highest mountain, located in Tanzania, was “the adventure of a lifetime,” said Patty Hall, co-founder of H20 For Life, which organized the quest. Another climber, Terri Williams, said when they reached the summit and the sun peeked through the
clouds, “We saw all those pinks and oranges and umbers, and it was so beautiful, you felt like you could reach out and touch the face of God.” Along with Hall and Williams, both of White Bear Township, the H20 group included Patrick Rivard and Linda McFarlane Valeri of St. Paul, Kathy Hartzell of Dellwood, Kate Booth of North Oaks, and Ann Silcher of California. The age range was 23 to 72. Paying their own expenses, they raised $30,000 for H20 For Life, Hall said. The White Bear Lake-based non-profit provides opportunities for youth to learn about the global water
crisis, and to take action to raise funds to provide water, sanitation and hygiene education (called WASH in Schools) to schools worldwide. Many White Bear Lake Area schools have participated in the program. Williams runs a company called MAINS’L that has conducted missionary operations in Africa for two decades, and is a board member for H20 For Life. Williams and Silcher, a partner in her company, made the climb to raise money to build a school and well in a village in Zimbabwe, with Hall’s blessing. Williams said SEE KILIMANJARO, PAGE 11
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WHITE BEAR LAKE — About 90% of the 110 employees at Phoenix Alternatives Inc. (PAI) are furloughed. The 30-year-old nonprofit offers a day program that serves people with developmental disabilities. When its doors closed due to COVID-19, so did its revenue stream. “We’ve skinnied down,” said President Mike Miner, who described the health crisis as “a punch in the gut financially and a slap in the face at the same time.” Miner offered two perspectives regarding the pandemic’s impact on PAI. “One is the impact on our organization and operation. We aren’t able to serve the people we traditionally serve, so we have zero revenue coming in, yet have a lot of fixed costs to cover. “Interestingly, we don’t talk enough about the impact as we furlough. People are going on unemployment. Most nonprofits like us are self-insured. In normal times, we have to pay 100% of unemployment costs. It’s 50% now (because of government action), but that is still hundreds of thousands of dollars that we don’t have revenue to cover.” Like other nonprofit executives, Miner is hoping for support from the state or federal government — equitable support that covers nonprofits the same as private companies. PAI is celebrating its 30th year in 2020. Well, not celebrating really, due to the current situation. Is Miner worried about PAI’s future and the 262 participants it serves? “We’re not going anywhere,” he replied. “It’s important for our folks to understand and be confident in that.” Still, his staff worries about program participants whom they haven’t seen for a month or more. “We know families and residential providers are doing what