Preview Party.  Nan Emmer of Victoria held a Preview Party on October 29th for the downtown condos to be constructed near the new downtown bridge and Victoria City Hall.  The condos, to be built by Wensmann Homes, are to be known as "Shores of Stieger Lake."  Some of the people who stopped by later that evening for the un-veiling of floor plans, features, amenities, and pricing -- as well as hors d'oeuvres and wine tickets -- are photographed above.  Nan, a realtor with Coldwell Banker Burnet, and husband Jim are shown on the left.

Merry Christmas, Kathy Kraemer.  Thank you for helping with ads for the Gazette each month.  Merry Christmas, also, to the men in your life --Mike, Nicholas, Lance, and Jonathan.
~Editor Sue

Making a Difference.  About 30 volunteers from Dolce Oak Ridge Conference Center, Timberwall, Precision Landscape, Outdoor Environments, and Mount Olivet Rolling Acres stopped by on October 25th to help replace a crumbling retaining wall at Mount Olivet Rollin Acres' Kings Lane Home for Adults with a disability in Chaska.  The King's Lane home is the most recent of Mount Olivet's 18 community homes.
Rolling Acres is based in Victoria and has been offering an array of services rang-ing from respite, transitional, and residential care to crisis and outreach support, for over 38 years.  We saved about $20,000 through our partnerships with Oak Ridge, Timberwall, and all of the volunteers.  The work involved lifting and securing 800 eight-pound blocks into place in the home's backyard. 
Scott Hertzenberg of Timberwall, who provided technical advice and coordination commented on the project:  "Mount Olivet Rolling Acres needed help and this was a good way to give back to the community."  Timberwall is also based in Victoria.
Kelly Commerford, director of marketing for Oak Ridge, said, "We wanted to par-ticipate in Make a Difference Day, so we researched the area and are thrilled to assist our neighbors."  In addition to the goodwill and manpower, Dolce Oak Ridge provided box breakfasts and lunches for the volunteers.  Make a Difference Day, the largest national day of helping others, was started in 1990 by US Weekend and takes place on the fourth Saturday in October.
~Wayne Larson, Executive Director, Mount Olivet Rolling Acres, Victoria, MN

State Representative Paul Kohls (R-Victoria) was looking to learn a little more about the positive impact that home health care has on homebound patients during his recent visit to Ridgeview Home Care.  Paul is drafting health care legislation for the upcoming 2004 Minnesota legislative session that would provide incentives for people to purchase long-term care insurance.  Janet Benz, Director of Ridgeview Home Health Services, said that most people want to stay in the comforts of their own homes, and their services allow people to retain that independence.  The 2004 Minnesota Legisla-tive session starts February 2nd.               
~Paul David, Ridgeview Medical Center, Waconia, MN

Jake Kahnke, an eighth grader at Shakopee Jr. High, earned his National Championship title on Saturday, November 15th.  Jake won the 138 lb., 13 to 14-year old division of the Border Wars Cham-pionships which was held in Holt, Michigan.  This is Jake's first National Championship and his fifth All American title.  He was invited to participate in the Nor-folk, VA, matches in December, a great honor and opportunity of a lifetime.  Jake is the son of Jesse Kahnke, who is the son of Jeff Kahnke, owner of Nature's Bounty in Victoria.  Both Jake's Dad and Grandpa Jeff were all-city wrestlers at Minneapolis Southwest High School in the late '60's and '70's.  ~Uncle Mike at Nature's Bounty, Victoria, MN

The Classic Gymnastic Girls Team from Eden Prairie competed in the Jam Hops  Classic Invitational on November 8th at the Fridley High School.  The following Victoria girls (left to right) competed in this meet.  Level 4 team:  Stasi Zabel, 9, had an all-around score of 33.450.  Stasi took third place overall out of 35 girls.  Erin Sattervall, 12, had a score of 23.550.  Erin did not compete on the floor event.  Stasi and Erin helped the Level 4 team take first place with overall score of 103.975.  Level 5 team:  Kayla Lindeman, 9, had an all-around score of 33.2.  Kayla took eleventh place overall out of 70 girls.  Cady Nielsen, 11, had an all-around score of 33.1.  Candy took twelfth place overall out of 70 girls.  The Level 5 team won third place with overall score of 101.275.  Great job, girls!  Kayla and Cady have since advanced to the State meet in December.
~Kim Nielsen, Booster Cub Secretary.