To the Editor:
After much looking, I found the fish-hook in the lily of the Chaska Farm & Garden ad.  I do so like your paper.  It is read from cover to cover.
Barb Johnson, Sacred Heart, Minnesota

To the Editor:
I am a Victoria native and I have some artwork on view at the MN Land-scape Arboretum for July and August.  I am looking for places to get listed in community calendars on the web and in print, and I thought I'd drop you this line.  I have quite a bit of my artwork on disc that can be supplied in any file format and can send bio material if needed.
New nature works feature pen and inks, pastels, acrylics, and Japanese style Nihonga ink paintings.  Landscapes of Minnesota, Scotland, and Ireland will also be represented.
Bruce Wilson, via e-mail

To the Editor:
A column and a half on your old lawnmower?  Guess I'll dig out my old carrot peeler with new interest.  Frankly, I loved it.  It's my kind of stuff.
The Pigster, Victoria, Minnesota

To the Editor:
I found the fishhook in the Chaska Farm & Garden ad in the lily.  I would also like to change our address.  Didn't move though.  Enjoy your paper tremendously.  Thank you.
Dorleen Schmieg, LeCenter, Minnesota

To the Editor:
After reading the last issue of the Gazette, I was left wondering if the heart of Victoria is blindly being ripped out of it by some well meaning folks but who may be somewhat misdirected in their intentions.  I am referring to the people who were at the Victoria city council meeting as you reported about the proposed children's home.
What caught me most was how some-one worded what they said about "moving here because ..."  Having grown up in Victoria and also having been part of the family business for a number of years, I think that I can give some insight into what Victoria is all about for these people who moved here "because."
  If it is the "because" that myself, the Mike Wartmans, and countless others have been a part of, imprinted by, and leaving our own imprint on, then I would like to say what I feel we were a part of what we left when we did go our separate ways. 
Growing up in Victoria was a wonderful thing.  It was a town filled with love and caring people.  Everybody knew everybody, or at least of them.  I think there was truly a "community" effort in raising almost every kid in town. 
We had "Rolling Acres" outside of town for as long as I can remember, which goes back to when it was just a two-story farmhouse housing the disabled children.
Then somewhere around the 1970's, Victoria was presented with another man's dream of having another group home for the disabled, this one right in Victoria proper, not "rural" Victoria.  With maybe a little uncertainty, the city went ahead with helping make this man's dream come true.
In time it seemed that any reservations residents might have had about Community Living all but dissipated.  It seemed that the city more or less "adopted" the people and watched for their safety's sake.  In all, it seemed that the residents of Community Living had a greater effect on the City of Victoria than the city had on them.  It also told of how bit a heart the city had.
After I left Victoria, another need was filled when the STEP group home at Lake Auburn was established - another home for those who have "terrible issues."
Now comes another calling for the good folks of Victoria.  Can Victoria stand up and be a leader once again, going onto turf that others have shied away from?  That is what Victoria is all about.  That is what I feel so many people have come here to find, the brotherly love that truly binds us together.  It's why some would come running from the Cities, to escape the doom and gloom to find the peace and tranquility that Victoria is.
But to get the full effect, one must also put down the weapons that were used in the land of gloom and doom, the "Not In My Backyard" syndrome.  If one is to worry about these "terrible issues" that these kids may bring with them, I suggest that you leave your own kid alone for hours on end and see if they don't also start acting out, doing "terrible things" because they are lacking something in their lives, the love and care that is needed for them to develop into a rational human being.
These kids are not the problem, though they may have problems.  The real problem is society - first, for allowing terrible things to happen to the kids, and, second, to be so ready to condemn the kids for having "terrible issues."
It could very well be that Victoria might be their best chance for the Cope-lands in getting something going.  It would take a city like Victoria, one that is in tune with special needs children, to be the home for them where they have a chance to straighten out their lives to become productive citizens of the future.
Good luck, Victoria!
Doug Braunworth, Chaska, Minnesota

To the Editor:
Hey, I've been out of the country for a few weeks and I was wondering if you knew what happened to the skate park in Victoria?
Zac, via e-mail
EDITOR:  You might find some answers on my City Scoop pages.

To the Editor:
I am a receiver of your wonderful Gazette paper.  We have a new address for your records.  Thanks.
Kim Stender, Assistant County Recorder, Cologne, Minnesota

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