Friday, August 20, 2021

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At a regular board meeting ofthe Lake Superior School Districton August 10th Jay Belcastro, Su-perintendent, stated that there areno mandates related to Covid-19in place as the school year begins.

Belcastro stated that the deci-sion was made based on consulta-tion with public health and healthexperts, and information on thecurrent status of Covid-19 casesin the region.

Several residents of the districtwho were on the agenda voicedtheir opinions about interventionsregarding Covid-19.

Handing out a “notice of liabil-ity” to board members, JoanneJohnson stated that if masks wererequired for students by theschool board she would distributethe same notice to householdswith students in the district.

Louise Anderson, formerly aschool nurse for the district,complimented the district forpartnering with public health andhealthcare professionals in theirpandemic response. She stated

No Mask, No Testing, No Vaccine Required for Lake SuperiorSchool DistrictBy Kitty Mayo

that scientific research is showingthat the Delta variant is more le-thal because it rapidly infectsmore people, and that the variantcan be spread to children.“Weneed to continue to be diligent,”Anderson then thanked the boardfor; “staying the course and usingthe best evidence to protect chil-dren and our community.”

Although no official public dis-cussion has taken place regardinga Covid-19 vaccine mandate in thelocal schools, some residents ap-peared to be concerned that itcould become an issue. DelcieGubrud, Silver Bay, read a letteron behalf of John Szurpicki, stat-ing, “Everyone has a Covid shotwho wants it, and everyone elseknows the risks of not taking it.”

Gubrud also addressed masking,and offered the opinion that re-quiring children to wear maskscan cause social, emotional andhealth issues, asking whether thedistrict has considered implement-ing more effective masks that fil-ter small airborne particles betterand require fit-testing. Endingwith the statement, “Allow those

who want to use masks to do so,and allow those who don't to exer-cise their right not to,” Gubrudreferenced that possibility somestudents would not participate inschool sports if masks were re-quired.

Boni Bieniek stated that hard de-cisions lay before everyone, re-gardless of their opinions aboutmask-wearing or vaccines. “Weneed to make some hard decisionsevery day, that's what life is. Ifyour hard decision is to wear amask, by all means. Or vaccinateyour family, you have my bestwishes. But, I do not want yourhard decision to infringe on myrights.”

Belcastro stated that the currentplan is to bring students back toschool without a masking man-date, “But we encourage everystudent and staff that chooses tomask.”, and added a reminder, “toget students tested when needed,and keep kids home when sick tomitigate risks in school.”

“The school board always has

the right to modify and makechanges in the best interests ofstudents and staff,” said Belcastro,adding, “If Covid taught us any-thing, it can change on a dime. Ifthings do (change), (the board)will have the right to change.”Belcastro offered to stay after themeeting to speak to anyone withquestions.

Tracy Tiboni, chair of the board,invited anyone who had not ar-ranged to be on the agenda to con-tact the district by letter or emailto share their opinions, or to re-quest to be on a future meetingagenda to speak. Tiboni remindedthose gathered that such regularlyscheduled board meetings are nottechnically open to the public tospeak unless they have requestedto be placed on the agenda aheadof time.

The school board also voted tohold a special election for a bondreferendum relating to improve-ments and upgrades to buildingsin the district. The referendumwill be the only item on the balloton November 2nd.

Named in honor of Bill Monroe,“The Father of Bluegrass Music,”Monroe Crossing dazzles audi-ences with an electrifying blendof classic bluegrass, bluegrassgospel, original bluegrass andeven selections outside the blue-grass genre. Their superb musi-cianship and on-stage rapporthave entertained audiences acrossthe United States, Canada and Eu-rope.

For nearly 20 years this Minne-sota based band has averagedover 100 shows a year performingin intimate rooms, communitytheaters, major venues and out-door festivals. They are favoritesamong bluegrass connoisseursand non-bluegrass audiencesalike. They love introducing new-comers to bluegrass music!

Monroe Crossing is made up offive very distinct personalitieswith differing musical back-grounds. When combined, theirindividual histories make for aunique sound. The three originalmembers are: Mark Anderson(bass), Lisa Fuglie (fiddle & leadvocals) and Matt Thompson(mandolin & harmony vocals).Derek Johnson (guitar & lead vo-cals) joined in 2011. DavidRobinson (banjo, dobro & back-ing vocals) joined in 2012 andnow performs with the band on apart-time basis.

In 2007, Monroe Crossing wasinducted into the Minnesota MusicHall of Fame. They have twicebeen selected to showcase at theannual World of Bluegrass con-vention hosted by the InternationalBluegrass Music Association(IBMA) and they have appearedtwice at Carnegie Hall in NewYork City. In 2016, MonroeCrossing had the honor of beingthe first Minnesota bluegrass bandto perform in South Korea.

Monroe Crossing has recorded

17 CDs to date. The band’s dis-cography consists of: traditional &original bluegrass, three bluegrassgospel recordings, a tribute to BillMonroe, a collection of ClassicCountry, two Christmas record-ings, and two collaborations withthe award winning choir Vocal Es-sence.

Whether playing traditionalbluegrass, original bluegrass orsome surprising songs outside thebluegrass genre, Monroe Crossingis one of the most entertaining acts

Monroe Crossing Bluegrass Masters to Perform Music in thePark Concert Series

in bluegrass today!

Rocky Wall Productions is a Sil-ver Bay nonprofit organizationfocused on producing and pro-moting live music events in SilverBay and on Lake Superior’s NorthShore. The SILVER BAY MUSICIN THE PARK CONCERT SE-RIES is sponsored by a generousgrant from Lovin’ Lake Countyand assistance from Best of theNorth Shore. Bring a chair or ablanket and enjoy Music In ThePark! (see ad on page 8)

Monroe Crossing scheduled to perform Friday, August 20th at Music in the Park Free Concert Series atCity Center Park (next to City Hall) in Silver Bay, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM.

(Photo submitted by Nelson T. French)