Sharing memories

My Graffiti Bridge memory

It was fun to read Karla Wennerstrom’s favorite E.P. story about Graffiti Bridge in the April 24 Eden Prairie News. It helped bring back a memory to me about the bridge.

I believe it was in the fall of 1987 when a group of Eden Prairie women finally followed through on a long-discussed plan to “paint the bridge.”

We had laughed about doing this for several years. OK – let’s do it! (We were NOT teenagers.)

We knew it was not against the law, but there were reasons we didn’t want anyone to recognize us. So, we dressed in “costumes” to hide our identities. Why didn’t we want to be recognized? I was an English teacher at the High School and the wife of an EP council member. Two of the women were wives of two EP principals and another two, both of whom had their doctor’s degrees, were administrators in the Minnesota university system. Retired school board members made up another two of our group while three others were “dignified,” involved community members. (A friend told me that I looked like a “terrorist.”) We went to the bridge about 10:30 p.m. so that traffic would be light. To lots of laughter, we painted up and down and all around.

All of us were married, but we spray painted things like “A Woman Without A Man Is Like A Fish Without A Bicycle” and “Wild Women Don’t Get The Blues.” Our “signature” pink flamingo appeared in several places – some not recognizable, depending on the “artist.”

It was great fun, but like all Graffiti Bridge decorators, we found that our “masterpiece” was repainted by the next weekend – probably by a group of teenagers! It’s a great memory though!

Sonja Anderson

Eden Prairie

Environment

We pick up
your cigarettes

I want you all to know that you should feel free to pitch your cigarette butts out the window of your cars, throw them on the ground when walking, etc. I am a member of the Eden Prairie Women of Today, and we go out and pick up your trash every year. We do a park and a long stretch of road. The overwhelming majority of trash is your butts. So the next time you throw out a cigarette, know it’s OK, a very nice lady will bend over and pick it up for you in the spring.

K. Anderson

Plymouth

Legislature

Support
small business

We’re all concerned, Democrats and Republicans alike, about the direction our economy is heading but it’s easy to become confused about all of the proposed solutions. Will any of them really help in the near-term and will they be solid answers to our long-term economic concerns?

What I’d like to concentrate on here is our direct support for business and the creation of jobs. A current Republican proposal focuses on enticing large companies to Minnesota that can create 500 new jobs. Nothing wrong with that; it’s important for Minnesota to stay competitive in that race.

But historically, small business is where the real job creation happens. Thousands of small businesses are distributed throughout our state and helping them create 10, 15, 20 jobs or more each would result in a more sustainable, vibrant improvement for our economy.

Small businesses are also generally where new ideas are born. And new businesses based on new ideas begin with a few employees and, with appropriate support and encouragement, can grow into major employers. So, tax incentives to support this job growth can be a strong investment in our future.

The University of Minnesota is a small business incubation center. Currently a large investment is being made in a Medical Biosciences complex and in biotechnology in general. The research that results from these programs — not to mention the highly trained individuals who graduate from them — are a fantastic resource for new businesses and new jobs. Support for the University, properly applied, can result in economic growth.

New green technologies are emerging and Minnesota is in a strong position to lead the nation in the creation of new green industry jobs. This is not a pipedream conjured up by naïve so-called “tree huggers.” We already have substantial wind resources, which need further development. We are leaders in agricultural research and innovation. Businesses and academic scientists in our state are working with new types of algae that can be developed into economical, sustainable bio fuels. We also have a strong history of recycling and creating new products from those reclaimed materials.

We also need to be aware of the types of jobs we’re creating. We often get caught up in the promise of hundreds of new jobs, only to discover that the average pay is low, often minimum wage level, and that sometimes the jobs aren’t even permanent. Often, the better-paying, higher level jobs come from small businesses and new ventures.

Our long-term economic health will be better if we support businesses and job creation that has the greatest long-term potential. And that begins with small business and new ideas. We need that kind of vision to revitalize and rebuild the strong economy for which our state has always been justifiably famous.

Jerry Pitzrick

Eden Prairie

Editor’s note: Pitzrick is a candidate for the Legislature in District 42B. 

Flying Cloud Airport

Disappointed with
airport noise

I have been a resident of Eden Prairie for one year. I live approximately three miles from Flying Cloud Airport (FCM). I am more than disappointed by the frequency of loud low-flying airplane and helicopter traffic which flies directly over my neighborhood each and every day and night. While I have come to learn that certain air traffic is of an emergency nature, I understand most is not, and, in fact, depending on the weather, airplanes do not have to file flight plans to tell anyone they are arriving at FCM (alarming in this post-9/11 world). I also understand that noise at FCM is not new and that recent improvements have been made.

However, according to an Eden Prairie official, noise and aircraft frequency is expected to get a whole lot worse for Eden Prairie residents beginning in 2009 after the FCM runway expansion work concludes. What I fail to understand is why aircraft are allowed to approach FCM from any and all directions and at such low levels, despite the improvements that were instituted in 2007. It doesn’t appear that the new flight path rules are being observed nor does MAC or the city of Eden Prairie insist that they be used. Tracking who and what flies into FCM is a good starting place to track violators. While there appears to be a wealth of information on FCM traffic at macnoise.com, I’m not certain we are actually doing anything meaningful with that data to make progress on this important and growing noise issue for Eden Prairie.

S. Sullivan

Eden Prairie

Eden Prairie Schools

Day of Silence?

I recently heard a discussion on my car radio about something called the “Day of Silence.” They suggested that I go to a Web site called www.missionamerica.com, so I did. What an eye opener. The event, apparently was advised about a decade ago by an adult homosexual advisory group, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, with the goal of promoting homosexuality to all students in a given school. It has grown significantly as a support group for the gay agenda and has been embraced by many schools and impressionable students nationwide.

The Web site led me to another one, www.truthatschool.org, and then to another one, www.americansfortruth.org. I read page after page of some pretty disturbing stuff, which included a list of schools believed to be observing this “Day of Silence” on April 25. I went to the Minnesota section where it stated that Minnetonka High School had withdrawn, but guess what Eden Prairie High School and Central Middle School were on the list as having students that were participating. Neither Chaska High School nor the Bloomington High Schools were on the list.

What’s going on anyway? I don’t have kids in the Eden Prairie Schools anymore, but if I did, I would be scratching my head and asking myself, “Why do we spend millions of dollars building and maintaining these schools? For this?

Fred Koppelman

Eden Prairie