To the Editor:
A month ago I was fishing on the dock at Stieger Lake in Victoria when an eighth grader came on his bike with his rod and reel.  He asked if he could help me fish, so when he added bait and a bobber, he cast out an instantly had a sunfish.  Six times he cast and instantly had fish.  He shared his type of hook to buy and exactly where to find it in the nearby sports store.
Such a friendly, helpful, and courteous boy, and it gave me renewed faith in the younger generation.  Need-less to say, his friendliness and eager-ness made my day, and all of my friends have to hear about this boy.  He really came down to cast for walleyes and release them.  Instead he befriended a senior citizen and would not keep any of the fish.  He said he is on a private lake and can get al he wants.
Thanks for reading this.
Lola E. Sletten, Hopkins, Minnesota

To the Editor:
I urge you to vote for Mary Meu-wissen for mayor.  I have worked with her as a member of the city council for the past four years and have found her to be an outstanding leader.  She is a consensus builder who solicits, and is guided by, inputs from as many stakeholders as possible.
Mary always tries to make the outcome of any issue a win/win for the affected parties. She is very good at identifying common ground and negotiating differences so everyone involved feels like they've been heard and the resulting decision is a fair, carefully considered one that is in the best interest of the majority.
During her tenure as mayor she has demonstrated a genuine concern for what's best for the residents as a whole and is not swayed by special interest groups.
I have also worked with Mary on the downtown redevelopment commit-tee for the past five years.  Early on, she personally interviewed every down-town resident and business owner to understand their needs and communicate the city's vision for this area.
Many positive things have happened downtown since the project began, including Stieger Lake Stores, home to four businesses, Natures Bounty, Doctor Baker's Clinic and a major addition to HEI, the largest employer in town.
The council's strategy has been to acquire property when it becomes available so when new businesses want to come to Victoria, the city has the land available.   To date the council has purchased 6 parcels downtown toward this goal.
Mary and the city council are focused on managing growth in Victoria and have concentrated on understanding the real cost of growth and are determined to make certain new developers and homeowners pay for all these costs. 
For example, the new water tower and forty acres of parkland are being purchased from fees collected from new housing units, not from current homeowner's property taxes.  This kind of fiscal responsibility has actually reduced the city property tax rate from what it was six years ago when Mary became your mayor.
For example, the city portion of the property tax on a $200,000 home in Victoria was $1,070 in 1994.  Assume the home has appreciated so it's worth $250,000 today.  The city portion of the tax in 2000 is $1,038!  Very few units of local government in Minnesota have been as frugal during this period.
Mary is an extremely energetic person and has committed countless hours to city issues. Keep her working for us by reelecting her as mayor of Victoria.
Jerry Bohn, Victoria City Council

To the Editor:
I have been working with our Mayor Mary Meuwissen for about nine months on the elementary school issue that has so dramatically affected the City of Victoria.  I want to take this opportunity to say how impressed I have been with Mary's perseverance and willingness to follow through on this issue on behalf of the residents of Victoria. 
It has not been an easy road and Mary sustained many "battle scars" along the way.  Nonetheless, she endured and Victoria has learned what it needs to know for our next "go around" with ISD #112.
Without Mary's leadership we would still be wondering what went wrong and trying to figure out how Victoria was going to obtain commu-nity based education for its children.
The elementary school is just one issue Mary has dealt with as mayor.  Other areas receiving attention from our mayor include parks and recreation, residential and downtown development and roads.  These are all areas of interest to the residents of Victoria.  We can take comfort that these areas are being addressed and managed in a responsible fashion to the benefit of the City of Victoria.  We are fortunate to have the oppor-tunity to benefit from Mary's leadership for another term as Mary has agreed to run for mayor again this November.  She is not, however, running un-opposed.  I wanted to take this oppor-tunity to endorse Mary Meuwissen as my candidate for mayor.  I know that in endorsing Mary, I am endorsing a person who is listening to the residents of Victoria and putting the energy and resources of Victoria into those issues that are most important to the residents of Victoria.
Good luck, Mayor Mary, in your race November 7th.  I happily endorse and support you.
Mary A. Velazquez, Victoria, Minnesota