DISTRICT FORUM Volume 21, No. 8 www.daytonsbluff.org October 2008

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Neighborhood Meetings ....Page 2

Garden Tour.....................Page 2

Open Space Celebration .....Page 2

Access Saint Paul Corner ...Page 3

Dayton’s Bluff Postcards .....Page 3

October at the Mounds ...,.Page 3

Mystery Postcard................Page 4

Church Directory..............Page 4

Women’s Fire Expo .......Page 4

State Fair Poll Results ........Page 5

Mystery Photo..................Page 5

Eastside Networking Event ..Page 6

Council Candidate Profiles ...Page 6

The Regime .........................Page 7

An Open Letter ...............Page 7

Inside This Issue

Dayton’s Bluff District 4Community Council798 East 7th Street

Saint Paul, MN 55106

NONPROFIT ORG.U. S. POSTAGE

PAIDSAINT PAUL, MNPERMIT NO. 3996

ECRWSSPostal Customer

For more information on theseevents read this paper, contact

Karin@daytonsbluff.orgor call 651-772-2075

Dayton’s Bluff Vacant Home Tour

October Events

3M will soon be just another memory

Postcard photo by Steve Trimble

The next Dayton’s Bluff Vacant Home Tour will be on Sunday, October26, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Maps with the home information and loca-tions can be picked up at the Dayton’s Bluff Community Council at 798East 7th Street at the beginning of the tour. Our spring Vacant Home Tour was a wonderful success with about 300people attending. Since then, eight of the twelve homes on the tour havesold. The October tour will also have some great homes and great deals. Although anyone looking for a home in Dayton’s Bluff is welcome, weare giving a special invitation to employees of Traveler’s Insurance, Metro-politan State University, the City of St. Paul, and the State of Minnesota. Mark your calendars and tell your friends. For more information watchour web site or call Karin DuPaul at 651-772-2075.

Sunday, October 26Vacant Home Tour

Thursday, October 2Community Meeting

Monday, October 20Community Council Elections,

Potluck Dinner andAnnual Meeting

Friday, October 31Halloween

Saturday, October 4Take a Hike

On Monday, October 20 polls areopen from 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. at798 East 7th Street at the corner of7th and Margaret. Come and vote foryour representatives. A list of candi-dates will be available at the Commu-nity Council office. Also read the can-didate profiles on page 6. Any Dayton’s Bluff resident age 18or over can vote. Voters can cast bal-lots for their Sub-district Representa-tives and for an At-Large seat. Write-in candidates are also permitted. The Board of Directors totals 18members of which 16 represent foursub-districts and two are At-Largepositions. Sub-district representativesmust be residents of that particularsub-district while the At-Large Direc-tor can be either a resident of Dayton’sBluff, a business owner, or an opera-tor of a Dayton’s Bluff business ororganization.

All of the current Board openingsare two (2) year terms. Are you unavailable on October20th? Absentee ballots maybe re-quested. All requests for absentee bal-lots must be made at least ten (10)days prior to the election, in writingand signed by the voter. All absenteeballots will be mailed by the Councilat least seven (7) days before the elec-tion to the residence of the voter re-questing the absentee ballot. Absen-tee ballots must be received in theCommunity Council office by Octo-ber 20, 2008. Be sure to come for the Pot LuckSupper, which starts at 6:00 p.m., bringa dish to share, and stay for the An-nual Meeting and the results of theelection. It’s a great way to find outwhat the Dayton’s Bluff CommunityCouncil is all about and have supperwith some neighbors at the same time.

Vote for your Community Council Representatives Some of the activities the Dayton’sBluff Community Council has beeninvolved in this past year include,Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood CleanUp, Block Club Clean Ups, BlockClubs, National Night Out, SummerYouth Sign and Clean Up Project,Greening Dayton’s Bluff and its plantswap, Dayton’s Bluff NeighborhoodHome Tour, Dayton’s Bluff VacantHome Tour, Arts and Culture Com-mittee, Greenspace Committee, Va-cant Building Committee, park cleanups, Land Use issues, and so on. If you have any questions about theCommunity Council, the election, thepotluck, and/or the Annual Meetingemail Karin@DaytonsBluff.org or callKarin at 651-772-2075.

Read Community Councilcandidate profiles on page 6.

On September 18th 3M anounced that over the next several years the St. Paul Port Authority will be buying its entire 45-acreEastside campus. The buildings will be razed and the land used for a new business park, ending 3M’s century-long prescence in ourneighorhood. See page 3 to buy a set of color postcards including the one shown above and other Dayton’s Bluff landmarks.

and stay for our Pot Luck and Annual Meeting

Wednesday, October 15Eastside Community-Business

Networking Breakfast

Page 2 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum October 2008

Dayton’s BluffCommunity Meeting

Take a Hike

*Wilson Avenue Block Club meetson the second Wednesday of eachmonth at Mounds Park United Meth-odist Church, at Earl and Euclid, at 6:30p.m. *Beech/Margaret Block Club meetson the last Tuesday of each month atBethlehem Lutheran Church, at Mar-garet and Forest, at 7:00 p.m. *Margaret Rec Center Block Clubmeets on the second Thursday of eachmonth at the Margaret Rec Center, atMargaret and Frank, at 6:30 p.m. If you wish to have your block clublisted, or need information about start-ing you own block club, please con-tact Karin at 651-772-2075 orKarin@DaytonsBluff.org.

Block club meetings

Meet with the police

Dayton’s Bluff RecyclingEvery Tuesday. Have your

recyling on the curb by 7 a.m.Call 651-772-2075 for a bin.

The next Community Meeting isThursday, October 2nd from 6:30to 8:00 p.m. in the meeting room atthe Dayton’s Bluff Community Coun-cil, 798 East 7th Street at the cornerof 7th and Margaret. The Dayton’s Bluff CommunityCouncil holds its Community Meetingon the 1st Thursday of each month.The purpose is to work with blockclubs and neighborhood residents onproblem properties, criminal and nui-sance behavior, code enforcement is-sues and any other neighborhood is-sues, concerns, and/or new ideas forimprovement in Dayton’s Bluff. If you can get me the addresses ofproblems ahead of time I can get themto the police and code enforcement.Then they can bring information aboutthe problems to the meeting. Remem-ber, it’s always on the 1st Thursdayof the month. All Dayton’s Bluff resi-dents are welcome to attend. If youneed more information emailKarin@DaytonsBluff.org or callKarin at 651-772-2075.

The Eastern District Police hosttheir monthly meetings for communitymembers at 722 Payne on the cornerof Payne and Minnehaha Avenues.One is on the third Wednesday of eachmonth at 6:30 p.m. and the other onthe third Friday of each month at 9:30a.m. In October the meetings areon the 15th and 17th. The meeting is intended as a time tolisten to and address people’s concernsabout crime and other issues on theEast Side.

Dayton’s Bluff Take a Hike occurson the first Saturday of most months.The next hike is Saturday, October4th.We meet at 10:30 a.m. in IndianMounds Park at Earl St. and MoundsBlvd. We’ll hike from Mounds Parkto the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuaryand then walk along the Bruce VentoRecreational Trail through SwedeHollow Park to the new East SideHeritage Park. Along the way we willshare stories and learn some local his-tory of the area. The hike is about fourmiles long with some moderatelyrough terrain. Transportation will beavailable to return to Mounds Park,or you may hike back. Join us and explore some of ourparks and the regional trail. For moreinformation contact Karin at 651-772-2075 or Karin@DaytonsBluff.org.

Dayton’s Bluff springbusiness class

Budget Towing of Minnesota,Minnesota’s largest towing company,is owned by Roy Carlson, an activeDayton’s Bluff Community Councilboard member. Budget Towing willremove any junk car or truck—locatedanywhere in Saint Paul—and disposeof it at no charge to the vehicle owneror the property owner where it is lo-cated. The vehicle owner will receivepaperwork for a tax donation, and Roywill also make a small donation to theCommunity Council for each car hetows. Call Karin at 651-772-2075 fordetails.

City of St. Paul Curfew forJuveniles Age 15 or younger:

Home by 10 p.m.Age 16 – 17:

Home by 12 a.m. Midnight

It’s the law! The curfewlaw, that is!

Saint Paul Police DepartmentJuvenile Unit

Get rid of a junk carand help the

Community Council

The next Dayton’s Bluff Neighbor-hood Microentrepreneur Class is start-ing in April 2009. This program helpsstart-up and young businesses on theEast Side. All East Side entrepreneursare welcome. Class training lasts 8 weeks and in-cludes topics such as operations man-agement, marketing, financial manage-ment, one to one assistance with cre-ating a successful business, and pre-paring a business plan, plus 8 hours ofone on one time with the instructor. Those who successfully complete thecourse and locate their businesses intarget neighborhoods are eligible forongoing business support services. Some examples of businessesstarted by people who have previouslytaken this course include graphics,landscaping, photography, food ser-vice, restoration of wood furniture andworks of art, custom floral design forweddings and events, and exterior andinterior painting. The course is spon-sored by the Dayton’s Bluff Commu-nity Council and the NeighborhoodDevelopment Center. There is a smallregistration fee based on a sliding feescale. The next session will start inApril 2009 and class size is limited. Please call Karin at 651-772-2075or email Karin@DaytonsBluff.org foran application.

Garden tour participants stop for a photo in a beautiful garden with afabulous fountain during the August 26th event.

Garden tour enjoyed summer blooms

The garden tour started with introductions and people getting to know eachother. The tour was hosted by members of the 4th and Bates area Block Clubwith members of the 654 Beech/Margaret Block Club among others attending.The tour started by looking at the boulevard gardens and hanging baskets on 4th

and Bates. The neighbors have done a wonderful job of improving the streetscapeof their block. Signs from the Sign and Clean Up Youth Project also grace theboulevard on 4th Street. The three green signs say “Be productive,” “Be polite,”and “Be peaceful”. The concept is like the old Burma Shave signs that werealong the highways in years gone by. The gardens were great - one had all colors of beautiful roses and a pondwith fish; another had a wonderful assortment of plants and a marvelous foun-tain; and another had gorgeous plants in gardens on the boulevard, the sideyards, and all of the back yard. We will soon be planning for the 2009 garden tours. If you know of greatgardens and gardeners please email Karin@DaytonsBluff.org or call Karin at651-772-2075 with the information

On Saturday, October 25, 2008 Friends of Swede Hollow (FOSH) ispartnering with Pepsi to get many volunteers to help remove invasive specieslike Buckthorn and Siberian Elm trees and clean up the park. Volunteers willstart at 9:00 a.m. with a cup of coffee and rolls, then everyone will get busy inthe park and at 1:00 p.m. the work will stop and a picnic will follow. Everyone is welcome to help. According to Mike Grealish, FOSH memberand Pepsi employee, “the more neighborhood volunteers we get, the more fundsthat Pepsi will donate to FOSH for them to continue their work to improveSwede Hollow Park.” Pepsi has an excellent employee program that encour-ages employees to be involved and volunteer in their communities. Your help isneeded. To sign up call Mike at 651-246 -0217.

Nearly two acres of land adjacent to the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary hasbeen acquired for a future interpretive center. Join the Trust for Public Land,Embrace Open Space and Lower Phalen Creek Project to celebrate this newaddition to the City of Saint Paul park system! When: Wednesday, October 8, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Where: Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary (corner of East Fourth Street andCommercial Street) As part of the event we are holding a “story slam” to gather and share storiesabout this special place. Also, cookies and cider will be served. For more information, contact Karin DuPaul at 651.772.2075.

Swede Hollow invasive plant removal

Celebrate the latest protected openspace in Dayton’s Bluff!

Little Brothers Friends of theElderly need volunteers to connectwith elders in Saint Paul/Minneapolis.We have a variety of volunteeropportunities. We need visiting volunteers to makea visit to an elder’s home twice amonth. The elders we serve areisolated and alone. If you are interested please visitwww.littlebrothersmn.org,emaillmineau@littlebrothersmn.org. or call612-746-0753.

Volunteers needed toconnect with elders

A free one-page, foldout guide tothe Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary’secological and cultural resources isnow available. You can pick up copies at theDayton’s Bluff Community Counciloffice (798 E. 7th St.) or visit the LowerPhalen Creek Project website atwww.phalencreek.org and downloadit to you own computer. Thank you to the St. Paul AudubonSociety for providing key funding forthis project.

Vento Nature SanctuaryGuide Now Available

October 2008 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum Page 3

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” con-tinues its run at the Mounds Theatrethroughout October. This is the original1975 cult motion picture. The movie, accompanied by live perfor-mances and audience participation, willbe shown on October 4, 18, 31 and No-vember 1. All shows begin at 11:00 p.m.Ticket price is $7.00. The Oct. 31 and Nov.1 showings are special Halloween events.The Nov. 1 show is the final one of theseason. For people who don’t want to stay upso late or aren’t interested in live perfor-mances and audience participation, the“Rocky Horror” movie by itself will beshown on Oct. 4 and 18 at 7:00 p.m at aspecial price of $5.00

The Dayton’s Bluff area has always been picturesque. It has so many scenicviews—and now they are available in postcards! There are 12 different scenes,including the 3M Campus (front page), the Seventh Street Improvement Arches(top), Margaret Recreation Center (above) and nine others. A set of 12 is $10—only $5 for Dayton’s Bluff residents. Photography andprinting of the postcards was donated by Dayton’s Bluff resident Steve Trimble.All proceeds support our local paper, the Dayton’s Bluff District Forum. Call651-772-2075 for more information.

Set of 12 Dayton’s Bluff postcardsOctober at the Mounds Theatre

Postcard photos by Steve Trimble

“Rocky Horror” Run Extended

“Dead Reckoning” is a new televisonseries in the "pitch" stage, with its firstepisode filmed at St. Paul's historicMounds Theatre. Each hour-long epi-sode will take you on a haunting, paran-ormal investigatory journey to historicallocations throughout Minnesota and theupper midwest plain states. Join us at the Mounds Theatre for anexclusive screening of the Premiere Epi-sode. Meet the “Dead Reckoning” cast, andbe a part of the beginning of a new televi-sion series. This will take place on Thurs-day October 23 and Friday October 24 at7:00 p.m. Admission is $10 with all pro-ceeds going to the Portage for Youth. Also watch “On the Road with JasonDavis” on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 10:35 p.m.onKSTP TV Channel 5 to see the making of“Dead Reckoning” at the Mounds The-atre. For more information concerning anyof these events, please visitwww.MoundsTheatre.org or call 651-772-2253. The Mounds Theatre is located at1029 Hudson Road, St. Paul, MN 55106.

“Dead Reckoning”

This Halloween, why settle for a fakehaunted house? The historic MoundsTheatre is recognized as one of St. Paul'smost haunted locations by the manypsychics and ghost hunters who havevisited it. Three resident ghosts remainwithin it's walls as well as the namelessshadows that roam the aisles and the vis-iting spirits who have been seen sitting inthe auditorium to watch shows alongsidethe living audience members. This October the Mounds Theatre ishosting Real Haunted Tours, which meansyou will have an opportunity to visit thisunique location and have a guided tourled by professional ghost hunters. For one hour, you and nine other peoplewill have two experienced paranormal in-vestigators walk you through the theatrein near darkness. They will answer yourquestions, show you how to ghost huntyourself, and you will hear the stories ofthe resident ghosts and why they seemto be tied there. Don't forget to bring your

Real Haunted Tours

camera, voice recorder or video cameraand attempt to catch your own evidence! Special Tour Event: During every tourwe will be giving you an opportunity totry and speak to the theatre ghosts andhear their replies in audible EVP form! Ourparanormal technician has made a GhostBox radio scanner that will allow you tohave a chance at hearing responses toyour questions in real-time. Tours will run througout October. Alltickets must be booked in advance due tothe limited size of each tour group. Tick-ets cost $20 if prepaid or $25 if paid at thedoor. Visit www.realhauntedtours.com formore information and to order tickets.

Page 4 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum October 2008

Mystery postcard with community connectionBy Steve Trimble The Forum was recently sent an oldpostcard with a community connec-tion. The contributors didn’t knowmuch about it, having found it on eBay.So we set the Forum’s crack researchteam on a mission to see what theycould discover. This is what they foundout. But first, a description of the post-card. On the front it showed a colorphotograph entitled “Machine GunTraining.” It had been sent to“Westphalingers, 231 Maria St. Paul,Minnesota.” Here’s the message:“Dear Folks, Thursday. Arrived hereO. K. and next leaving for the camp.This is the South and I guess you knowthey live. Hope it will be O. K. TellMarie to be sure and send the fifteenas I will need it. Love Roy.” It camefrom Camp McCain and was post-marked from Grenada, Mississippi onJanuary 21, 1943. The house still stands on Maria andis located just about where the streetintersects with Hudson Road. Built in1906, it contains 1560 square feet,three bedrooms and one bathroom. The 1918 city directory indicatedthat Mr. and Mrs. WilliamWestphalinger resided at this address.The 1924 city directory indicated thatWilliams middle initial was F. The 1930city directory indicates that Williamwas a verifier employed by the U. S.Customs Service, and revealed that hiswife’s first name was Carry, althoughother sources spell it Carrie. According to his obituary William,who was born in Maine, was one offive brothers to have enlisted in thearmy in 1896, during the time of theSpanish-American war. He was as-signed to Ft. Snelling and served asthe leader of the Third Infantry banduntil 1905, at which time he retired inSeward, Alaska. A date for his mar-riage has not been found at this time,but records did show that the couplehad a daughter, Helen M., who wasborn in 1897. Other sources showedthat the middle initial stood for Marie,likely the person that Roy hopedwould send him “the fifteen,” undoubt-edly referring to dollars. According tothe 1920 census, Roy was born in thenorthernmost region on August 2,1905. William then moved his family to St.Paul, although exactly when is stillunknown. He began working at the

United States Customs Office andstayed with them until 1917 when here-enlisted in the Army at the time ofWorld War One. He entered as a sec-ond lieutenant, probably because of hisearlier service. He was in Michigan during the war,was discharged in 1919, and was againemployed at the Customs Office in St.Paul. He retired in 1931 and remainedactive in a number of local fraternaland veteran’s organizations. Williamdied on March 7, 1941, and was notaround for the postcard’s arrival. Hedid rate a sizeable obituary in the Pio-neer Press. It has been difficult to find informa-tion about Roy. The only Google ref-erences found concern the fact thatRoy Westphalinger of Mechanic Artshad been the St. Paul hockey-scoringchampion in 1924 with a total of tengoals. The 1941 city directory listedCarrie as a widow living with HelenM. and Roy S. (for Stanley) who wasa salesman for Ramaley Printing, adowntown business. According to military records, onMay 6, 1942, Roy went into the infan-try at Fort Snelling during World WarTwo. Nothing is known at this pointabout what he did between that timeand when he was sent to the fort inMississippi. The World War bonuslists are on microfilm at the Minne-sota Historical Society. They werecompiled in the late 1940’s and early1950’s and give some new informa-tion. Although hard to read, they seemto say that he served as a clerk in theArmy. They also state that he washonorably discharged in August 29,1945. At the time the bonus lists were

developed his address was given as1596 Ashland Avenue, apartment #4,apparently living with his sister. Their mother Carry continued to livein the old family home until her deathin 1947. There does not seem to be amention of her life in the local news-paper obituary section. Helen Marie continued to be foundin the city directories. In 1951 Roy’ssister, listed as H. Marie, was a ste-nographer for NSP, and lived at 1596Ashland, apartment #4. A decade laterfound her at 1877 Grand, apartment#200, still working for NSP. The MHSrecords give her date of death asMarch 27, 1981. The last trace of a RoyWestphalinger—although it may be adifferent person—was found on theInternet. It was a New York Timesreprint of an April 27, 1969 report ongolf in a Sunday issue of a Californianewspaper. So maybe our postcardmailer moved to the West Coast. At least for now, the trail seems tohave gone cold. Roy could not befound in the social security death in-dex, but he has surely passed awayby now. There are no Westphalingersleft in the St. Paul telephone directoryor seemingly in the state of Minnesota.There is probably a chance to add tothe story, but the research teamneeded to rush to make the paper’sdeadline. Any information that read-ers might have would be greatly ap-preciated. And next time you drivedown Maria on your way to or fromHudson Road, take a moment toglance at 231 Maria and remember theWestphalinger family.

This postcard arrived in Dayton’s Bluff from Mississippi in 1943.

The City of Saint Paul, in conjunc-tion with the North Star Women’sFirefighter Association, is hosting aWomen’s Fire Service Expo onOctober 25, 2008. This event is anall-day event, for women who are in-terested in becoming a firefighter, butwould like to “try it out” for a day.After a brief classroom session, par-ticipants will work hands-on with lo-cal female firefighters to put out fires,cut cars apart, do search and rescue,and other exciting scenarios. The event is open to anyone whoregisters in advance, but space is ex-tremely limited (up to 40 or so partici-pants) on a first-come, first serve ba-sis. This event is one of the first re-

cruitment activities in preparation forthe City of Saint Paul’s upcomingFirefighter exam. We hope to an-nounce the position of Firefighter inJanuary of 2009. If you have any questions or con-cerns, please contact Liz Staberg at651-266-6534

Women invited to Women’s Fire Service Expo

Church DirectoryAmazing Grace Assembly of God1237 Earl St.651-778-1768Sun 9:30 am - Sunday school allagesSun 10:30 am - morning WorshipSun 6:00 pm - evening Worship

Hmong Asbury UnitedMethodist815 Frank St.651-771-0077

Bethlehem Lutheran Church655 Forest St.651-776-4737Sun 9:00 am - Morning ServiceSun 10:15-11:15 am - Sunday School& Bible HourSun 11:15 - Hmong Service

Faith Temple - Templo De Fe1510 Payne Ave651-778-0096Sun 10:30 am - Spanish BilingualServiceSun 6:00 pm – Spanish BilingualServiceWednesday family night

First Lutheran Church ELCA463 MariaSt. Paul, MN 55106651-776-72101 block North of Metropolitan StateSun 8:00 am - Free Community BreakfastSun 9:30 am – Worship serviceSun 10:45 am - Education for all agesHandicapped accessibleALL ARE WELCOME!

Mounds Park United Methodist1049 Euclid St.651-774-87369:15 am - Sunday School, 4-year-old through Adult10:30 am - Worship

Our Savior’s Lutheran ‘LCMS’674 Johnson Pkwy651-774-2396Sunday Worship - 9:15amEducation Hour - 10:30 amWednesday Worship - 6:30 pm

Sacred Heart Catholic Church840 E. 6th St.651-776-2741Sat 4:00 pm – MassSun 9:00 am – MassMon, Wed, Fri 8:00 am – WeekdayService

St. John’s Catholic Church977 E. 5th St.651-771-3690Mon-Sat 8:00 am – Daily MassSat 4:15 pm - MassSun 9:00 am, 11:00 am - Mass

St. John’s Church of God inChrist1154 E. 7th St.651-771-7639Sun 9:30 am - Sunday SchoolSun 10:45 am - WorshipWed 7:00 pm - Bible Study

St. John Ev. Lutheran765 Margaret St.651-771-6406Sun 9:30 am - WorshipThurs 6:30 pm - Worship

Cerenity Senior Care Center onDellwood Place will be having their an-nual Craft Sale on November 14th from9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There will be a widevariety of crafts sold by several vendorsand a resident craft table. Cerenity Se-nior Care Center is located at 753 E. 7thStreet.

It’s been a great first year for theliquor store. We have met many won-derful people in the community. Weare growing every day and will con-tinue to strive to meet all your liquorneeds. There are specials everymonth on beer and liquor. And in honorof our first anniversary, we will beholding drawings for prizes. So stopon by, check out our deals, meet ourfriendly employees and register for thedrawings. We value all our custom-ers—new and old. Mound Liquors is located at 1047Hudson Road, right next to Paul’sLounge. If you have any questions, feelfree to call us at 651-774-9381.

Mound Liquors first year anniversary!

Craft Sale on Dellwood

October 2008 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum Page 5

Mystery Photo: Who, What,Where, When, Why and How?

Photo by: That might spoil the surpriseWe’ll give you some of the answers: It’s a dead elm tree being carved with a chainsawin mid September somewhere in Dayton’s Bluff. But where exactly is it located andwhat will it be when it is finished? The answers to all these questions and more will berevealed in the November issue of the Forum.

During the 12-day run of the Minne-sota State Fair, 7,465 fairgoers took thepoll conducted by nonpartisan HousePublic Information Services. It is an infor-mal, unscientific survey on issues dis-cussed in prior legislative sessions andmay again be topics of discussion. Nearly 50 percent of those participatingin the 2008 House of RepresentativesState Fair Poll support raising the state’ssales tax by three-eighths of 1 percentwith the money dedicated to the environ-ment and arts. Voters will be asked the dedicated fund-ing question at the Nov. 4 election. While42.9 percent of fair voters oppose themeasure, 8 percent were undecided or hadno opinion. Not voting for the questionat the General Election will count as a “no”vote. Sportsmen and environmental advo-cates have pushed for dedicated fundingfor many years, with the original plan be-ing to dedicate a portion of the existingsales tax. In the 2007-08 biennium, theplan evolved into one that would raisethe sales tax, and include funding forclean water, parks and trails, and the arts.Opponents have wanted to keep the origi-nal proposal and are opposed to the ideaof constitutionally dedicated funding. Another environmental question foundthat 76 percent of voters support requir-ing grocers and large retailers who useplastic carryout bags to make in-store bagrecycling available. With the state looking at a potentialmulti-billion dollar deficit next fiscal year,voters narrowly support budget cuts asopposed to tax increases, 46.5 percent to

House of Representatives 2008Minnesota State Fair Poll results

43 percent. However, 84.6 percent of vot-ers do not want to have clothing subjectto sales tax.. Just over 7,000 votes were cast onwhether law enforcement should be ableto stop a motorist solely for not wearing aseat belt. By five votes, fairgoers believethey should. Thirty more people voted “yes” in-stead of “no” when asked if public schoolstudents should be required to recite thePledge of Allegiance each day. Two-thirds of polltakers said votersshould be required to show a picture iden-tification at the polls; 62.1 percent believeundergraduate students at a state collegeor university should have their tuitionlocked in so it cannot increase during afour-year period; 61 percent said thestate’s nuclear power plant constructionmoratorium should be lifted; and 60 per-cent believe lawn care companies andother commercial applicators should post48-hour advance warnings before spray-ing city yards or farm fields with weedkillers or other pesticides. Nearly 51 percent of polltakers say thestate should set a maximum number ofpatients a nurse can care for during a shift,and 40.6 percent believe the state shouldoffer an investment tax credit for bio-science business investments. However,30.2 % were undecided on the issue. And, finally, 35.2 percent of polltakerssaid ice hockey should be designated thestate sport, 6.9 percent more than fishing.But many fairgoers commented that theLegislature should not waste time on such“trivial” matters. More than 600 peopledid not vote on the question.

Page 6 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum October 2008

The following people are running forthe Dayton’s Bluff Community Coun-cil Board of Directors

Susan RichterAt Large Susan moved into Dayton’s Bluffneighborhood in 2001. She has stronginterests in nature, birding, ecology,and environmental education. Her goals include: to become in-volved in neighborhood concerns andhelp find solutions, as well as to pro-mote Dayton’s Bluff as a great placeto live. She is very interested inDayton’s Bluff and Indian MoundsPark cultural and natural history. Challenges include: to celebrate thatdiversity and learn from and abouteach other to make Dayton’s Bluff thebest neighborhood in Saint Paul.

Jean ComstockSubdistrict B Jean has been on the board since2003. She is the current Board Sec-retary and serves on the Vacant Build-ing, District Plan, and Arts and Cul-ture Committees. She has lived inDayton’s Bluff since 1982. Her goals include: helping residentsimprove the exteriors of historichomes, and to improve safety and thesense of community in the neighbor-hood. Challenges that face Dayton’s Bluffinclude: dealing with effects of fore-closures/vacant houses and pooreconomy in general; and negative im-pacts of poorly managed rental prop-erties.

Lara MerrillSubdistrict B Lara is new to Dayton’s Bluff, buthas ten years experience in commu-nity and political organizing here inMinnesota and Chicago. She is a mem-ber of MN Multi-Housing Association,certified in Property Crime Free Prop-erty Management, and is well versedin MN Landlord and Tenant Law, Her goals include: to see an aggres-sive clean up of rental properties thatare poorly managed and not see theseproperties become vacant, but becomenice homes for decent citizens in thecommunity. She would also like to seemore small businesses in the commu-nity.

Challenges include: like all cityneighborhoods, issues that stem frompoverty; such as homes falling apart,community members striving to findways/solutions to rectify this, and va-cant properties. Our communityneeds to stabilize these properties withhomeowners, good tenants, and newbusiness owners.

Paul GodfreadSubdistrict C Paul has lived in Dayton’s Bluffsince 2002 and has served on the boardfour years. He is a recent law schoolgraduate. His goals include: making the neigh-borhood better for existing and newbusiness. Also improving the housingquality and affordability in Dayton’sBluff. Challenges facing Dayton’s Bluffare: vacant commercial buildings inpoor condition; and a poor but improv-ing image of Dayton’s Bluff.

David SkeltonSubdistrict C David has served on the board fortwo years. He has lived in Dayton’sBluff for four years and is an activeblock club member. One of his goals is to help for fosterengagement in the community. Challenges include: residents’ de-tachment from civic life.

John BarbieSubdistrict D John has lived in the Mounds Parkneighborhood for nine years. He hasbeen on the board for two years andis currently the Vice President. He isCo-chair of the Greenspace Commit-tee, which recently created theDayton’s Bluff Community GardenGroup, which is working on creatinga community garden within SkidmorePark. The community garden will bea place for residents to grow their ownfood. John is a member of the Vento/Mississippi Trail Connection SteeringCommittee. He views the greatest challenges inDayton’s Bluff as the disproportion-ate amount of vacant homes, and theperception of it being an unsafe neigh-borhood. Currently one of the waysthe District Council is working on theseobstacles is the vacant home Tour.

John hopes to see our community gar-den development create a positivemessage seen beyond Dayton’s Bluff.

Jacob DorerSubdistrict D Jacob has lived in the Mounds Parkneighborhood for eight years and hasserved on the Community Council formost of that time. He was presidentfor two years and chairs the VacantBuilding and District Plan Committeesand a number of city committees. Healso maintains the Mounds Park emaillist. His goals include: addressing thevacant home problem, work to developbetter park planning, and better rela-tionships between neighbors. Challenges facing Dayton’s Bluffare the falling home values, concen-tration of rental properties, and a needto improve the marketing and imageof the neighborhood.

By Lara Merrill I am a new resident to Dayton’s Bluff, only15 days, and with complete sincerity I cansay I love living here! Dayton’s Bluff is cer-tainly well on its way to expanding as a spec-tacular place to live, work, attend school, andvisit. As a new person to the community thereare two issues which immediately come tomy attention in District B: 1. There are only ahandful of small businesses and 2. More thana handful of neglected housing properties. I want the opportunity to serve on the Boardso I may assist and strengthen my new com-munity with their current goals of bringingmore vitality to the neighborhood throughstabilization, addressing livability issues, andrecognizing and promoting the natural beautyof the Bluff and its residents. I have a prop-erty and leasing Management Company; I amalso a rental property owner. One of my ar-eas of expertise is ‘Clean-Up and Lease-Up’.I specialize in stabilizing properties and rent-ers, which have been neglected due to previ-ous absent landlords and foreclosures. Thismuch of the time entails improving the prop-erty and its units aesthetically, and generallyrenting the property to new strong applicants.My management motto is “We strive for clean,safe, and healthy properties. Our Residentsare responsible and respectful citizens.’ I do not view the closed up homes as acrisis (due to the Council’s hard work) how-ever, it is a problem because it degrades thecommunity’s efforts of moving in a positivedirection and it hinders attracting people tothe community who are responsible and re-spectful citizens. I know my property man-agement background would be an asset in as-sisting Dayton’s Bluff in “cleaning up” theappearance of homes and rentals alike; andsupporting “good” landlords and making “poorquality” landlords responsible for the nega-tive effects their ill managed property(s) andless desirable renters have brought to the com-munity. I am certain community orientated smallbusinesses would venture to invest inDayton’s Bluff given the occurrence of morestabilized properties and residents in the area.I know I could encourage potential small busi-ness to believe investing in Dayton’s Bluff isnot a risk but an opportunity on many fronts. Dayton’s Bluff shares many of the samechallenges that all city neighborhoods face.Issues of livability such as littering, loitering,graffiti, and crime I find can be easily resolved.Issues of poverty are not easily resolved. Theproblems and stress financial struggle bringsto poor and low-income residents will alwaysbring heavy burdens to the community. Aunique challenge to Dayton’s Bluff is the num-ber of unoccupied homes. I would be positiveand enthusiastic in conquering these vacan-cies; it would be an exciting challenge to seekoccupancy for these properties through homeownership or superb renters. I have over 10 years of community andpolitical organizing experience on local, state,and federal levels. In 2004 from the nationssecond most diverse zip I organized over3,000 new Americans to vote for the firsttime. In 2005 I headed a Minneapolis CityCouncil Election Campaign. For me “multi-cultural’ is a phrase- I live, serve, and workwith people from all economic, religious, andethnic backgrounds this is my daily life. I ama MN Multi-Housing Association Member,Certified in MN Crime Free Multi-HousingProperty Management, well versed in MNLandlord and Tenant Law, and very knowl-edgeable of housing codes and inspections. Ihave participated in different neighborhoodcommittees and various neighborhood meet-ings in Minneapolis. I have attended AugsburgCollege, University of MN, and Minneapolisand Technical College, areas of study includeethics, religion, art, and Middle East studies. It is said Minneapolis and St. Paul peopledo not cross the River; after 15 years of livingin South Minneapolis I have crossed the bridgeto experience the sound of the trains at night,the sight of the trees from my bedroom win-dow, the view of downtown, the kind people,the animal lovers, and the beauty Dayton’sBluff naturally possesses. I want to share andconvey the beauty and kindness of this com-munity with others by serving on the Boardof Directors representing District B.

Community Council Board of Director Candidate Profiles A letter to Subdistrict B residentsfrom a candidate for the Commu-nity Council Board Of Directors

The fourth Eastside Community-Business Breakfast Networking eventis being held in the community roomof the Ames Lake Community Cen-ter, 1144 Barkley; just 2 blocks southof Maryland. Barkley is just East ofthe Bureau of Criminal Apprehension(BCA) Building located near Mary-land between Johnson Parkway andWhite Bear Ave. There is free on-street parking. These free events provide a stimu-lating space and time for connectingwith others working on Building Com-munity on the Eastside; and alwayshave plenty of free hot coffee, rolls,fruit, and juice available. The Themefor October’s session is “Building aBetter Community For EastsideYouth.” Representatives of the Mayor’s of-fice, and the East Side Learning Col-laborative, will make brief presenta-tions between 8 a.m. and 8:20 a.m.with a lively question and answer ses-sion to follow. A number of youthserving agencies will have informationtables at the event as well. Topics tobe covered include: the Fall Circula-tor, Kidventure opportunities, theMayor’s Second Shift Initiative, EarlyChildhood education, and CollegeAccess work among others. Also in-vited is a representative of the St. PaulPolice Juvenile unit to talk about YouthCrime and Prevention. These free networking events bringresidents and business people together,as well as government officials andfoundation representatives, every 2-3months to make informal connectionsand network around Eastside concernsand possibilities. October’s event issponsored by: the Eastside SocialLeaders Action Network (SLAN),and Bolder Options (a Youth Servingand Mentoring organizationwww.bolderoptions.org). RSVP to Ed Lambert 651-772-2075, or just show up if you later de-cide you can come.

Business BreakfastNetworking EventWednesday October 15

7:30 to 9:00 a.m.

October 2008 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum Page 7

An open letter to John McCain, Barack Obama and everyone elseinterested in the future well being of the United States of America

By Mary Ann Cogelow

“Children are always the only future thehuman race has. Teach them well.”Anonymous

If we in the United States want our fu-ture as a nation and the future of theplanet to be as bright as possible, we needto take these words to heart in our poli-tics. This means that each of us needs tosee that our personal future depends notonly on the children we raise in our ownhomes, but on all children. It further re-quires that we think carefully about whatwe do as individuals and collectively as asociety to invest in all of the children whoare our future. In an article in the business section ofthe Minneapolis Star Tribune (Septem-ber 1, 2008), Chuck Slocum, President ofthe Williston Group, offered to you, Sena-tor McCain and Senator Obama,Minnesota’s expertise in supporting chil-dren before they enter kindergarten sothat they arrive on the first day of theirformal schooling fully prepared to takeadvantage of being well taught. Hetouched briefly on a number of importantpoints that I want to examine in more de-tail. One of these is the Minneapolis Fed-eral Reserve Bank’s research on the eco-nomic return of investing in early child-hood development. In the March, 2004issue of the Fed Gazette, Art J. Rolnickand Rob Grunewald argued that earlychildhood development is the best pub-lic development investment that societycan make: “Persuasive economic researchindicates that there is a far more promis-ing approach to economic developmentwith government assistance. It rests not

on an externally oriented strategy of of-fering subsidies to attract private compa-nies, but rather on government supportof those much closer to home – quite lit-erally: our youngest children.” When arguing that all of us need to poolour resources, including our financial re-sources, in support of the healthy devel-opment of infants and toddlers, there ex-ists a danger that we in the collective sensewill attempt to “fix” children and in theprocess send a message to parents thatthey really don’t matter that much, thatthey don’t have and can’t acquire thecompetence to parent their children well.The truth is that the role of parents in thehealthiest possible development of theirchildren for school and for life success iscrucial. In the early 1970’s research evi-dence pointing to this crucial role was al-ready overwhelmingly persuasive. Basedon this evidence, Minnesota SenatorJerome Hughes authored legislationbased on the convictions that the homeis the first academy and that parents arethe first and most important teachers es-tablishing Minnesota Early ChildhoodFamily Education at six sites. These first programs were available toany and every parent of a child betweenbirth and school entrance who lived inthe designated attendance area. Theydiffered from most programs for youngchildren in seeing the parent as the pri-mary learner in the program as well as theprimary educator of his or her children.Children were also seen as learners andevery attempt was made to create excel-lent programs for infants and toddlerswhich served the double function of sup-porting child development and modelingexcellent practice in the care and educa-tion of young children. These initial six

programs were so successful and popu-lar with the parents and children theyserved that the number of programs keptexpanding until at present Early Child-hood Family Education Programs are avail-able in all but a handful of school dis-tricts in Minnesota. In addition to its focus on parents asprimary learners and teachers, MinnesotaEarly Childhood Family Education offersa number of other unusual characteris-tics. It sees all of the child’s life (includ-ing prenatal life) as influencing school andlife success. For roughly the same lengthof time that Minnesota Early Childhoodhas existed, Alan Sroufe and ByronEgeland at the University of Minnesotahave been doing elegant research whichdemonstrates the lifelong influence ofparent-child attachment in the first yearsof life. When we think we can start help-ing children become school and life suc-cessful at the ages of three or four, formany children we will have missed theboat. We really have to see and supportparents as the primary teachers of theseinfants and toddlers. Another unusual aspect of MinnesotaEarly Childhood Family Education is thefact that it is a universal access program.To participate, parents have to have ageeligible children and live in the school dis-trict. In a society which often focuses onissues of risk and in which funds for do-mestic issues are increasingly scarce, thismay seem like an injudicious choice. Butthere is enormous real support in a pro-gram that sees all parents as needing in-formation and support, which believesthat every parent has strengths to shareand needs for which help is available. The last aspect of the Minnesota EarlyChildhood Family Education Program that

I want to draw attention to is the fact that,while it was established as a school suc-cess program, it takes a broad approachto understanding the base of cognitiveand educational success for kids. Mr.Slocum in his letter to you mentioned thesix “learning domains” measured by theMinnesota Department of Education.These are Social and Emotional Develop-ment, Approaches to Learning, Languageand Literacy Development, CognitiveDevelopment, and Physical and MotorDevelopment. All of them play essentialroles in school and life success. Some-times programs which claim to be aboutschool success get too narrowly focusedon direct teaching of reading and mathskills to young children. Minnesota EarlyChildhood has a long and proud historyof focusing on the broad base of devel-opment for the soundest possible readi-ness for school and for life. Most of the evaluation of the Minne-sota Early Childhood Family EducationProgram is anecdotal and informal becausegood formal evaluation costs money andmoney has always been too scarce inthese programs. The formal evaluationswhich have been done assert the value ofthe program for all parents who attendand attest to continuing parent involve-ment on the part of parents when theirchildren enter elementary school. Further-more, the Program has come to the posi-tive attention of the Harvard Family Re-search Project and other evaluators. TheMinnesota Association for Family and EarlyEducation online at www.mnafee.org hasmuch, much more information on specificevaluations of Minnesota Early ChildhoodFamily Education Programs as well as a wealth

“Open Letter” continued on page 8

Page 8 Dayton’s Bluff District Forum October 2008

Dayton’s Bluff District Forum

of other information about the benefits of theprogram. A last word: While I believe that all ofus need to do our level best as a society toensure that all of our children are fully readyto take advantage of school, academic successis not the whole story. We do need to closethe achievement gap and we need to raise aca-

Continued from page 7

“Open Letter”demic achievement for all of our children. Butwe need to achieve more than academic suc-cess. We need to raise children who are alsoemotionally intelligent, compassionate, mor-ally sound and ready for citizenship. Pleasethink wisely about these issues. If you areleading a national campaign, please assign staffmembers to learn more about the education ofvery young children. These are issues of na-tional security and national prosperity. Thank you!

798 East 7th StreetSaint Paul, MN 55106Phone: 651-772-2075FAX: 651-774-3510E-mail: karindupaul@comcast.net

Monthly Circulation: 8,000Also available online at www.daytonsbluff.org This is a publication ofHopewell Communications, Inc. and is intended to provide a forum forthe ideas and opinions of its readers and to be an instrument for developingcommunity awareness and pride. No material contained in this paper maybe reprinted without consent of the editor. Articles and letters to the editorare welcome and may be emailed to KarinDuPaul@comcast.net or faxedto 651-774-3510. The Dayton’s Bluff District Forum is delivered to everyhome and business in the Dayton’s Bluff area. Outside this area,subscriptions cost $12 and may be arranged by calling 651-772-2075.Board of Directors: Greg Cosimini, Karin DuPaul and Steve TrimbleEditor & Layout: Greg Cosimini.Next issue: November 2008. Deadline for material: October 5, 2008.