By Unsie Zuege

The backhoe looked like a mechanical tyrannosaurus, its metal
bucket head  dipping menacingly at  the roof of the blue house on Quamoclit
Street. And then it struck, clumsily but
effectively, crushing the worn leaky roof and then the walls. Within a half
hour all that was left was rubble and piles of splintered walls, concrete and
brick.

Terry Kerber, a member of the construction crew, took a break
from the backhoe, and picked through a pile of bricks that were dislodged. He
found at least four Chaska bricks and chipped off old mortar, then leaned them
against a nearby tree for safe keeping.

One thing everyone in town has agreed upon is that the three
empty homes on Quamoclit Street
were eyesores and a hazard to curious intruders. The city finally took action
several weeks ago and hired Olson Construction to tear all three down. The old
café on Victoria Drive was
scheduled to be demolished Wednesday, according to Linda McNulty, a city
employee.

Now that the downtown lots are clear, the city hopes that it will
be easier for developers and businesses to imagine their businesses sited
there.  

Acorn House days are numbered

District 112 and the City of Victoria
have been working on adding a second sheet of ice at the Victoria Field House.
Because the addition will be added to the west side of the building, the Acorn
House will be torn down later this year.

Currently, the Acorn House is home to a preschool and summer
youth camps, and is a popular meeting location for community groups like Boy
Scouts, senior potluck, and the Nordic Heritage Club. Once the Acorn House
comes down, those groups are encouraged to contact city hall and use other city
meeting spaces located in city hall and in the water treatment plant.

Ice sheet timetable

The construction timeline for the second ice sheet begins Sept.
1,  Mahnke said, and is to be completed
in time for the 2009 school year. The 
expansion will be on the west side of the Field House; the entrance to
the Victoria Field House will continue to be the main entry. The expansion project
includes the second sheet of ice, and additional locker rooms to house the high
school varsity and junior varsity teams, and youth associations.

“The current locker rooms were designed mostly for use by the
fitness center,” Mahnke said, pointing out that users bring their own locks to
secure lockers  while using the gym and
fitness center. “The  new locker rooms
will have assigned lockers for students along with showers, restrooms and
changing  areas.”

The city will have an option to purchase ice time for open
skate; the concession stand operations will be taken over by the school
district.

The project includes an addition on the east side of the
building by the gymnasium. This addition is a 1,500 square foot multi-purpose
room that will have a divider enabling use for two functions at the same time. The
room will have a sink, refrigerator and restrooms, furthering its use as a
craft room and for  preschool and
daycare.

The lobby area to the right of the entrance doors will also be
remodeled. Currently it’s used as an informal coffee and conversation area.
Chess and card clubs use the space for their weekly activities. The area will
be enclosed for use as an additional meeting/activity room.