Laserfiche WebLink
1 Council Meeting <br /> • 2 May 26, 1992 <br /> 3 Page 3 <br /> 4 <br /> 5 <br /> 6 Councilmember Fleming <br /> 7 <br /> 8 The Councilmember reported responding with a letter of protest <br /> 9 to the negative article carried by the St. Anthony Bulletin on <br /> 10 the D.A.R.E. program which the City has supported and <br /> 11 encouraged. When Police Chief Engstrom called her attention <br /> 12 to a Wall Street Journal article which also raised questions <br /> 13 about the program. Councilmember Fleming said she had written <br /> 14 a note to Sgt. McGanley who is in charge of the Minneapolis <br /> 15 D.A.R.E. program requesting that he let the City know if there <br /> 16 are problems other communities are experiencing of which St. <br /> 17 Anthony might not be aware. She also told the Mayor she is <br /> 18 trying to find out who wrote the Bulletin story to identify <br /> 19 the source of that information. <br /> 20 <br /> 21 Councilmember Fleming had her notes on the conferences she had <br /> 22 attended the previous week duplicated for the other <br /> 23 Councilmembers. She had attended a conference on "Hate . <br /> 24 Discrimination . Bigotry . Racism . Crime - Right here in the <br /> 25 Suburbs" held May 18 in the Minnetonka Radisson. The program <br /> 26 addressed diversity of race, income, and family structure <br /> • 27 which call for communities making long term commitments to <br /> 28 change to meet the challenges of having populations projected <br /> 29 to reach a 45% mix of minority and ethnic by 2080. <br /> 30 Cooperation of business communities, especially Chambers of <br /> 31 Commerce will be essential, according to the various speakers <br /> 32 at the conference and the Councilmember said it was also <br /> 33 considered necessary for cities to have Active Human Rights <br /> 34 Commissions. The roles neighborhood Crime Watch programs can <br /> 35 play was also underscored. The Mayor recalled that the City <br /> 36 Council had been forced to undertake the responsibilities of <br /> 37 the City' s Human Relations Commission after such commissions <br /> 38 in the past had failed to function. <br /> 39 <br /> 40 Councilmember Fleming also summarized her notes on the <br /> 41 Community Leadership Forum on Family Violence sponsored by the <br /> 42. Ramsey County Communities at the Earle Brown Center May 21 . <br /> 43 She said she thought this conference especially was worth the <br /> 44 time and money spent on it and indicated she was surprised to <br /> 45 see hundreds in attendance. The conference called for <br /> 46 cooperation between communities in the effort to stem the tide <br /> 47 of family violence. The Councilmember noted that District <br /> 48 #282 Superintendent of Schools had already received <br /> 49 instructions on setting up a Non-Violence Program in the <br /> 50 school district. Councilmember Fleming reported being <br /> 51 particularly edified to hear almost every speaker acknowledge <br /> 52 that the problem would never he solved without God's help. <br /> • <br />