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Remembering Our Fallen Heroes
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HOT ROD WAKE: Funeral home goes extra mile PAGE 8A
Proposed trail maps on view at open house
Demonstrating some pedal bear power
BY DEBRA NEUTKENS EDITOR
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
WHITE BEAR LAKE — The open house May 18 at Boatworks Commons' Community Room drew a few dozen people who provided input on extending the Bruce Vento Trail into White Bear Lake. The open house was hosted by the Ramsey County Parks & Recreation Department, which placed large maps of the trail segments on tables and easels around the room. The Bruce Vento Regional Trail is a 13-mile trail that runs through St. Paul, Maplewood, Vadnais Heights, Gem Lake, White Bear Lake and White Bear Township. The county parks department is planning a three-mile trail extension from Buerkle Road north to Highway 96 west. Most of the trail will follow railroad right of way and city property. It will connect to a regional trail going west at the Hwy. 96 intersection or the Lake Links trail (aka Mark Sather Trail) going east. Eventually, the Bruce Vento will link to South Lakeshore Trail at White Bear Avenue. Walkability advocate Mike Brooks said he was encouraged by what he saw at the open house. "Everyone seems in good humor about the alignment," he noted. "Let's get it done." Retired City Manager Mark Sather felt the plans were "way overdue." He started working on a trail extension through White Bear Lake 25 years ago,
Some of the more than 200 participants in the BearPower Family Breakaway Bike Ride roll away from the starting line outside Otter Lake Elementary School in White Bear Lake Saturday morning, May 21. Find more photos on page 1B.
SEE BRUCE VENTO, PAGE 9A
Schools get additions to tool belt for trades education Scholarships, tool donations and a welding grant bolster the trades BY SARA MARIE MOORE VADNAIS HEIGHTS EDITOR
WHITE BEAR LAKE — New tools, both real ones and a scholarship, have been added to the high school's career and technology programs. Northern Tool and Equipment, which opened a White Bear Lake location in April, donated $2,000 worth of tools to White Bear Lake Area Schools' South Campus technology education classroom earlier this month. The company also initiated a scholarship partnership, an annual $2,500 Nurturing Trade Excellence Program scholarship, to be awarded to a student who plans to study a trade. Marco Gambino of Vadnais Heights was the first recipient. He plans to use the scholarship to attend the Universal Technical Institute (UTI) in Illinois to study diesel mechanics this fall.
“It's definitely going to help out with my tuition,” said Gambino. “Ever since ninth grade, I knew what I wanted to do.” His ninth-grade small engines course at White Bear Lake Area Schools solidified his career decision and he currently works part-time at a local garage. Wade Kotula, owner of Northern Tool and Equipment, said his company initiated the scholarship program with White Bear Lake Area Schools because he sees a need for more employees in industrial trades. “[There is] not the same interest in it as a decade ago,” he said. “We are seeing an imbalance of employees.” Kotula wants to see the trades flourish by promoting their value. He wants to create an “interest SEE SCHOOL TOOL BELT, PAGE 9A
SARA MARIE MOORE | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Marco Gambino of Vadnais Heights is the first recipient of a $2,500 Nurturing Trade Excellence Program scholarship initiated by Northern Tool and Equipment, which plans to continue the scholarship annually in White Bear Lake Area Schools. Gambino’s automotive instructor Frank Malone celebrates in the background.
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