THANK YOU, MARY MACKBEE Central High School Principal Retires After 26 Years of Service
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Renovated building Institute celebrates Free festival = sustainable home immigrants and focuses on vibrant for watershed district 100 years art scene PAGE 2 PAGE 6 PAGE 12 Midway Como Your community newspaper since 1975 June 2019 Vol. 44 No. 11 www.MonitorSaintPaul.com 21,000 Circulation • THANK YOU, MARY MACKBEE Central High School principal retires after 26 years of service By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN lence defined Mackbee’s long ca- The International Baccalaureate The sixth period bell rang at reer as an educator. It could be said and Quest Programs were just get- Central High School on Friday, that the secret to her success was ting started and, while those en- May 24, 2019, and the auditori- convincing students they could be riched programs were excellent, um doors opened for an afternoon successful, too. they were offered on a separate program. The guest of honor, retir- Principal Mackbee’s connec- floor of the school. We reorganized ing principal Mary Mackbee, was tion with St. Paul Public Schools the building so that teachers were ushered in. started when she graduated from grouped by departments – not Past and present students took Xavier University of Louisiana in programs. Contracts were also re- to the stage singing songs, sharing 1966, a historically black college structured so that every teacher stories, and saying thank you to in New Orleans. With her teach- taught a range of classes, and inter- the woman who had worked tire- ing degree in hand, she was quick- acted with students across all abili- lessly on their behalf since 1993. ly recruited by SPPS in an effort ty levels.” to bring more African American Central has a dedicated fan ‘TYPICAL STORY OF BLACK KIDS teachers to the district. Her first base, and its own foundation es- IN THE SOUTH’ job was at the now closed Mounds tablished almost two decades ago As a child growing up in the Park Junior High School on St. by a group of alumni. The goal of Seventh Ward of New Orleans, Paul’s East Side, where she taught the St. Paul Central High School Mackbee attended segregated pub- for 11 years. Foundation is to give back and to lic schools. She said, “Neither of The next 20 years brought give forward. The Foundation es- my parents had more than a sixth teaching jobs at the junior high tablished an annual scholarship grade education. I was the first of and high school levels in both of $3,000 in Mackbee’s name: the my siblings to go to college; that Minneapolis and St. Paul, a brief Mary Mackbee Legacy Scholarship just wasn’t something you took stint as a stay-at-home mom with is awarded each year to a student for granted back then. My brothers her first two children, and an ap- exhibiting strong qualities of lead- joined the military, and eventually pointment as director of secondary ership, academic excellence, and went to college on the GI Bill. education with SPPS. service. “It was a typical story of black Altogether, the St. Paul Cen- kids in the South. Our teachers re- BUILDING A SCHOOL UP tral High School Foundation ally pushed us to succeed against When Mackbee took the awarded $96,500 in various schol- the odds.” job of principal of Central High arships to 21 students this year. Mary Mackbee has retired as the principal of Central High School at age 75. She The desire to push herself School, she said, “The school said, “I always thought I would be a teacher, but over the years -- I realized I could (and her students ) toward excel- didn’t have the best reputation. Continued on page 7 be even more effective as an administrator.” (Photo by Margie O’Loughlin) St. Andrew’s teardown okayed by Council By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN playground noise. demolition being done by TCGIS [email protected] According to the District 10 “to destroy any hope that the In six weeks, the wrecking Como Community Council, in building lives on,” according to ball may hit Historic Saint An- normal circumstances, it takes internal school emails. drew’s Church, destroying the about six weeks to receive all the 92-year-old facility designed permits and approvals needed to MERA RESTRAINING ORDER by St. Paul’s first city architect, start demolition and construction. SHSA filed a suit in Ramsey Charles A. Hausler. The city council had origi- County on June 3 under the Min- Last year, property owner nally been slated to vote on the nesota Environmental Rights Act Twin Cities German Immer- issue on May 22, but then de- (MERA) seeking a temporary re- sion School announced its in- layed it so that representatives straining order and permanent tention to tear down the de- from the school and neighbor- injunction to ensure that the commissioned church build- hood group, Save Historic Saint 92-year-old structure will not be ing to construct a three-story, Andrews (SHSA), could meet torn down. 25,000-square-foot addition with with a mediator as encouraged MERA protects cultural and Christina Morrison with four-year-old twins Jack and Keira, learn about the pro- two gyms. by City Council President Amy historic resources from destruc- posed B Line along Lake/Marshall. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen) On Wednesday, June 5, Brendmoen, who lives a few tion, and requires owners and 2019, the St. Paul City Council blocks from the school. developers to demonstrate that voted against designating Saint City-hired mediator Aimee there are no feasible alternatives Andrew’s Church as an Historic Gourlay did not think there was to demolition. The State Historic Faster transit coming to Marshall Preservation site, as recommend- enough time for the process and Preservation Office has said the By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN are moving less than half the ed by its own Historic Preserva- concluded in her report: “There church qualifies for listing on [email protected] time. tion Commission, on a 5-0 vote is little likelihood of a useful the National Register of Historic Travel down Marshall Ave./ And over 10,000 rides are with one recusal (Jane Prince, mediation at this point. A failed Places. Lake St. by bus is slow with taken on this route per day. East Side) and one absence (Kas- conflict intervention could make “We absolutely believe there stops on the Route 21 every For those people, things sim Busuri, East Side). things worse and could reduce the are alternatives other than dem- two blocks. are about to get faster. The council then approved potential for successful conflict olition here, and we need more During rush hour, buses Metro Transit plans to con- both the site plan and the three resolution in the future. At some time to explore them,” said SHSA slow to average speeds of only struct the region’s third bus variances requested by the school point there will be another oppor- President Teri Alberico, who lives eight miles per hour, and it’s rapid transit line on Lake St./ with conditions that seek to ad- tunity to resolve differences.” next door to the school. considered one of the slowest Marshall Ave. in 2022. dress impacts the school’s en- A City Pages article on May “We owe this to our future. transit corridors in the metro. rollment growth has on parking, 15 detailed behind-the-scenes, Once this structure is gone, it’s Red lights mean that buses Continued on page 2 traffic, pedestrian safety, and sabotage and a plan for partial gone forever.” Rebuild Repair Recycle Monitor Advertise in our new special section aimed at letting readers know about businesses and organizations that support greener living! Contact [email protected] or call 651-917-4183. Capitol Region Watershed District moves 1/20th of state lives ningly renovated building that nity Watershed Conversations meets the standards of the Lead- across St. Paul in May and early within this urban ership in Energy and Environ- June. Anna Eleria is division watershed district, one mental Design (LEED).” manager with CRWD’s depart- Their office building was ment of planning, projects and of 45 in Minnesota formerly occupied by MacQueen grants. Equipment, which serviced and At a meeting held at the Hal- repaired municipal machinery. lie Q. Brown Community Center, By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN she said, “Our watershed district Capitol Region Watershed POCKET PARK AND LEARNING is the most urban in the state, District (CRWD) has moved into CENTER and that provides some unique the Midway neighborhood at CRWD is one of 45 water- challenges. We cover 41 square 595 Aldine St. shed districts in the state of Min- miles, five lakes, and over 500 Administrator Mark Doneux miles of storm sewers – every Capitol Region Watershed District is now located at 595 Aldine Street. Its nesota. It is a special purpose said, “CRWD followed the City one of which drains into the Mis- neighborhood assets will soon include a pocket park for public use, and a water- unit of government whose staff of St. Paul’s Sustainable Building sissippi River. One twentieth of shed learning center. (Photo by Margie O’Loughlin) members have agreed not to seal Policy, and the result is a stun- themselves off from the commu- the population of the state lives nity they serve. within our boundaries.” The new location is in the The Watershed Communi- heart of a residential neighbor- ty Conversations were a chance hood, and CRWD is making their for community members to help space accessible to the communi- CRWD draw their road map for ty in a number of ways. the next 10 years. For readers One of the community high- who weren’t able to attend but lights is a pocket park still under would still like to share their construction in the NE corner of thoughts, visit bit.lyCRWDsurvey.