The Angler
It’s the coldest, darkest time of the year here in Bridgeland, but you wouldn’t know it from all the community news we have to report. Clearly Bridgeland residents are not the hibernating type!
Dick Westby, active in the Seward community for many years and considered the neighborhood’s “honorary mayor,” was celebrated at a December luncheon hosted by the Seward Civic & Commerce Association at the Northern Clay Center.
“Thank you to everyone here for a wonderful dinner and recognition,” Westby said to the 30 business owners attending the luncheon.
Westby, 73, born and raised in Seward, is retired after 10 years serving as a Baptist minister and 25 years as community education director for Seward’s Matthews Community Center.
“It seems my world is here, and I’m happy for that,” said Westby at the luncheon, noting that when he has traveled — including a visit to Costa Rica — he has made a point of mentioning he was from the Seward neighborhood.
Welna Hardware owner Jim Welna recognized Westby for his work and devotion to the biennial King’s Fair festival over many years.
Westby has also led the Seward kids’ parade since it started in 1969. “I’m identified now as wearing a costume at the parade,” which he said is “a small thing, but it continues all these years.”
— Bill Hoffmann
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Congratulations to Como resident Jeannean Klempka, who was recently honored with an Office Volunteer All Star Award from the Minnesota chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Klempka is part of a volunteer group that works once a week in the chapter office, stuffing thousands of envelopes throughout the year to make sure people receive timely information from the MS Society.
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Tim Meers, lockmaster of the Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam has been awarded the Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service medal for his meritorious actions immediately after the collapse of the 35W bridge.
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ online newsletter, the Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam facility served as the location for the incident operations center during the search and recovery efforts following the collapse. Throughout the three-week effort, Meers worked long hours every day to coordinate the many logistical needs of the different agencies involved and played a key role in closely managing water levels in coordination with diving operations.
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Local Bridgeland girls received national press coverage in a Nov. 28 New York Times article, “To Muslim Girls, Scouts Offer a Chance to Fit In.” Reporter Neil MacFarquhar featured Girl Scout Troop 3009, which is led by Farheen Hakeem and meets at the Brian Coyle Center in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.
The article noted that the Girl Scout Council in Minneapolis has made a concerted effort to become more cross-cultural in its recruiting and activities, and that there are approximately 280 Muslim girls involved in 10 predominantly Muslim troops in the city. To read the article online, go to www.nytimes.com and search “Muslim Girl Scouts.”
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Condolences to the family and friends of long-time Prospect Park resident Fulton P. Holtby, who died in November at age 96. Holtby was a world-renowned forensic engineer who taught for 41 years at the University of Minnesota.
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A belated happy 80th birthday to Marcy-Holmes resident Laurice Jameison, who celebrated the occasion with a lively evening of dancing with friends and neighbors at the Eagles Club in the Seward neighborhood.
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South High School was named the Fall Champion in the Total Bikes category of the newly formed Minnesota State Bike-to-School League, organized by BikeOn.org. The league conducts bike counts at schools for two weeks each season. For fall, South came in first with 79 bikes, followed by Southwest at 68 and Richfield at 58. In the Ridership category, which calculates bikes as a percentage of student population, Richfield came in first at 4.76%, followed by South (4.70%) and Southwest (4.68%).
A full list of schools and their bike counts can be found at www.BikeOn.org.
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Are you interested in the possibility of a dog park on the East Bank of the Downtown Mississippi riverfront? Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association (MHNA) Director Melissa Bean is working on establishing one and has gotten a lot of support from city officials and riverfront businesses. If you’d like to take part in the project, call the MHNA office at 612-623-7633 or email Melissa at office@marcy-holmes.org.
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Justin Eibenholz, environmental coordinator for the Como neighborhood, reports that during January and February, Midwest Mountaineering in Cedar-Riverside is collecting burned-out compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) as part of the company’s efforts to be a good environmental steward. CFLs typically last 10,000 hours or more, but they do burn out, and unlike conventional bulbs, they contain mercury and so need to be disposed of properly. Midwest Mountaineering is located at 309 Cedar Ave. S.
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Hennepin County is looking for volunteers for its Tax Aide Volunteer program of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Volunteers receive 40–50 hours of free training to prepare them to work helping low-income, elderly or limited-English-speaking people to prepare their tax returns. If you’re interested in helping out or learning more, contact Ruth Kildow at 612-673-3004 by Jan. 1.
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And finally, apologies to Como resident Lee Hibbard who we noted last month had been honored with a 2007 Adult Volunteer Recognition Award for her extensive volunteer work at Van Cleve Park. We inadvertently said Lee was honored for “his” work rather than “her” work. Sorry, Lee, and thank you for the contribution of your time and talent!
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If you have community news you’d like to share, please contact Linda Lincoln at lmlincoln@comcast.net or call 612-379-4301. Check out her regular “Bridgeland” blog online at www.readthebridge.info.
last revised: January 10, 2008