To the Editor:
Good afternoon.  I'm emailing you today to bid you farewell and introduce Andrea Ross who will be taking over the position as Legislative Assistant to Senator Julianne Ortman.  If you have been around the capitol, you may recog-nize Andrea.  She has worked for Senator Mike McGinn for the past year.  If you aren't familiar with her already, she will be a wonderful asset to Senator Ortman's office.
I'd ask you to take just a moment to send her an email to introduce yourself to her, as there will be a whole new sphere of people she will need to get to know as she takes on this position. 
It has been a pleasure working with you during my tenure in this office.  Have a healthy and Happy New Year.  Best wishes.
Donna Sorrell
Saint Paul, Minnesota

To the Editor:
On the way out of the Victoria Post Office I saw our former Mayor Mary Meuwissen.  She was hustling along with her financial books, apparently checking her list of expenses and checking it twice.  The after Santa reality check is upon all of us.
We chatted about this and that, and I asked, since I have been so nosey and wondering and waiting and watching and looking and dreaming and hoping that the Magic Mary touch would soon occur on the Creamery Building in Victoria.
I was invited to look at Mary's incredible plans for the Creamery site - with the plaza, the fountain, the condos, the shops, underground parking, and the costs she incurred and labored over along with her initial investment, hours of meet-ings and heartfelt dreams. 
Mary is a shaker and a mover so I was surprised at her weary and sad attitude regarding the response of the Victoria City Council at a recent meeting with them, the lack of their timely under-standing of her huge investment, and the tabling of her plans till January, 2007.
I went to St. Victoria's historic church to lay this challenge at the feet of the Master Builder and sat quietly to pray that Mary would be strengthened and brave and not give up on her big plans.  I prayed that Mary would not just slink into making the Creamery a minimal office building with no public plaza, fountain, and lake view for the people of Victoria.
Seems like we should ask, look, listen, and support this woman of wisdom and work who served us as mayor.
Janie Jasin
Victoria, Minnesota

To the Editor:
Regarding your article on the old Lake Auburn Home for the Aged, you are doing your usual excellent job of checking details and presenting an accurate and fair summary of the history in a kind of tribute to an old building and all that it once stood for.
Happy and blessed New Year to one and all.  Peace, blessings, and love to you
Pastor Frank Jones
Lake Auburn Moravian Church
Victoria, Minnesota

To the Editor:
My youngest son Tony, who is now 23, wrote this poem, "A Sonnet for My Parents," when he was 21.  I am hoping that you will publish the poem in the Gazette.  With winter here I feel the time is right for this particular poem.  I hope you like it too.
Tony attended Chaska High School and then the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  He transferred to Augsburg for his last two years and graduated with a degree in English.  Tony currently works for Caption Max in Minneapolis.
I really think my Country Life ad in the Gazette needs to stay, so I am enclos-ing payment for the next six months. 
Jan Sutton
Victoria, Minnesota

Sonnet for My Parents
by Anthony Sutton
Victoria, Minnesota
The crows are all on wing to better trees
Delighting in the quiet grace of flight
And on a taller tree they all alight
To better watch the white pile into seas.

And patiently they whisper crow to crow
Content to simply watch the falling flakes
And careful not to interfere, each takes
A quiet knowing interest in the snow.

They only seek to find a better view
Of the snow that fills the holes that I have tread
In fierce December's dark uneven beds -
They know that spring will bring a life anew.

So, having known the turning of the night
And guided as I stumbled through the snow,
You've taught me that the winter can bring light -
The dark forbidden wisdom of the crow.