I did some lobbying to open up some of our empty schools to help the Minnesota Ballet fix and store their storm damaged costumes. As a result I got a mention in this story about their travails.
Call it constituent services on my part. A member of our church who is a friend of the Ballet’s management called to ask me if ISD 709 might have a gym they could use so that they could take their costumes out of the plastic construction bags into which they were thrust a few days after the chimney of the Board of Trade building fell in on their costume storage room. I think I emailed all concerned including the School Board on Thursday night. By Sunday I’d not heard back and when I was told the Ballet was desperate to get started I was a bad boy and put in a second request and also sent the email to the Duluth News Tribune.
That’s sort of like putting a lit match under a sitting person’s toenail. I got an email remonstrating with me for pushing staff on such short notice. Yup. I did. The staff is hunkering down for the busy work of starting a new school year and pretty preoccupied. Had someone simply told me talks had begun I’d have been satisfied and not bothered with a second pushy email. I think this is a pretty easy peasey fix and sure enough Kerry Leider, our soon to retire Facilities Director, was helpfully already on the case.
I may make a motion tonight to offer our help to the Ballet at tonight’s meeting if it becomes obvious that a formal proposal be voted on. I kinda don’t think that should be necessary. Surely all of us on the Board are rooting for the Ballet to get back up on their toe shoes.
Besides, I suggested that they might offer a performance or some other token of their gratitude if we gave them a helping hand. I’m sure we have some break dancers who could use a few pointers on pirouettes.
