SartellNewsleaderSchool district hostsstaff wellness fair

The Sartell-St. Stephen School District is hosting a staff wellness fair on Jan. 17.

Does your group/organiza-tion/business deal with well-ness? Wellness = physical fit-ness, nutrition, stress-reduc-tion, relaxation and more.

If so, the school district invites businesses to have a table at its wellness fair. The goal is to increase staff knowl-edge about local wellness choices. Also, you can get the word out about your group/organization/business.

If interested in participat-ing, please call or email Asha at 656-3701 X1208 or asha.po-epping@sartell.k12.mn.us by Dec. 20 for more information.

Important property tax notice announced

An important property tax no-tice will affect the amount of property tax paid in 2013, and may affect eligibility for a proper-ty-tax refund.

Property owners in Stearns County who need a homestead classification have until Dec. 17 to file the application. Contact the county assessor at 320-656-3680 or stop in their office to file a homestead application if one of the following applies:

• A property was purchased in the past year and the owner, or a qualifying relative, occupy the property for homestead purposes on Dec. 1; or

• The property owner or a qual-ifying relative occupies a property for homestead purposes on Dec. 1 and the property was previously classified as non-homestead.

The Stearns County assessor must also be contacted by Dec. 17 by the property owner or a qualifying relative of the property owner if the use of the property has changed during the past year.

If the property owner should sell, move or for any reason no longer qualify for the homestead classification, they are required to notify the county assessor within 30 days of the change in home-stead status. Failure to notify the county assessor within this 30-day period is punishable by recalcula-tion of tax as non-homestead, in addition to a penalty equal to 100 percent of the homestead benefits.

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Small Business Solute

by Dennis Dalmannews@thenewsleaders.com

There was a time, when she was a very young girl, when Ellen Bloom cried all the way to swimming lessons. Not any-more. The swimming champ came back to Sartell all smiles when the Sartell Sabres earned second place, behind champion Northfield, in the Class A state championships last weekend in the Twin Cities.

It’s hard to believe Bloom wasn’t born swimming and lov-ing every minute of it.

At the Minneapolis Aquatic Center last weekend, she won first place in the 200-yard indi-vidual medley (the second time in two years she has done that), and she also won first place in the 100-yard backstroke race. She was also champ in those two races last year, helping bring the Sabres to their second state championship. Their first was in 2009.

“I didn’t like swimming les-sons,” Bloom recalled. “I took them when we lived in Wiscon-sin. But when I was about age

Sabres take second at state swim meet

contributed photo

Ellen Bloom competing in the 200-individual medley final.

contributed photo

Tiny Tim yells his warm Christmas greeting during a rehearsal for “A Christmas Carol,” which opens Nov. 24 at the Paramount Theatre.

by Dennis Dalmannews@thenewsleaders.com

One of the great Christmas classics – Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” – will be per-formed by Great River Educa-tional Arts Theatre as a musical at the Paramount Theatre in St. Cloud.

Among the large cast are six actors from Sartell.

The play will open Nov. 24 for 10 public performances. Tickets can be obtained online at www.GreatTheatre.org or by calling the box office at 259-5463.

“A Christmas Carol” features spectacular sets, costumes, mu-sic and special effects, including flying.

Directed by Linda McGowan

with music director Kevin Stueven and choreographer Molly MacNeil, “A Christmas Carol” boasts a cast of 50 mem-bers ranging in age from 7 to adult. The six Sartell residents with roles in the play are Shel-by Rahm, a fourth-grader at St. Francis Xavier School, who plays Fan (Scrooge’s sister); El-lie Karasch, a sixth-grader at Sartell Middle School, who is a member of the chorus; Brad Hoelscher, a student at St. Cloud State University, who plays Fred (Scrooge’s nephew), Macken-zie Hansen, a sixth-grader at St. Francis Xavier School, who plays Mary Cratchit, a daughter of Bob Cratchit and the father-daughter duo of Phil and Megan Corbett. Phil plays Dick Wilkins,

Six Sartell residents have roles in ‘Christmas Carol’

by Dennis Dalmannews@thenewsleaders.com

The Rev. Barbara Winter Martin never dreamed when she and her husband, Stephen, moved to Grandview Estates in Sartell, they would be living

just two miles from their future church site.

They moved from St. Louis Park to Sartell three years ago. About five years ago, they pur-chased a small building near Lake George in St. Cloud as a site for their church, Uni-

ty Spiritual Center of Central Minnesota. Many years ago, that white stucco building once housed the Christian Science church.

Winter Martin commuted from St. Louis Park to St. Cloud for two years to the church.

The commute was necessary because they were trying to sell their St. Louis Park home in a time that was far from ideal for home sales.

It was a relief to be living in Sartell, closer to their church

Spiritual Unity Center continues to thrive in Sartell

Carol • page 2

Swim • page 3

Center • page 7

Friday, Nov. 23, 2012Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com2

NewstandsLittle Dukes on PineconeSartell City HallSartell-St. StephenSchool District OfficesWalgreens

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P.O. Box 324 • 32 1st Ave. N.W. • St. Joseph, Minn. 56374Phone (320) 363-7741 • Fax (320) 363-4195 • E-mail address: news@thenewsleaders.comPOSTMASTER: Send address changes to ST. JOSEPH NEWSLEADER, P.O. Box 324, St. Joseph, MN 56374.

Contributing WritersTaLeiza Calloway

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and Megan is a member of the chorus.

“A Christmas Carol” will be performed from Nov. 24-Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays.

This year, 2012, is the 200th anniversary of Charles Dick-ens, the great English author of “A Christmas Carol.” The perennially popular short story, first published in 1843, cen-ters around stingy Ebenezer Scrooge, an employer who is

one night terrified by dream vi-sions that force him to confront his mean-spirited life.

As a result, Scrooge learns to connect with the people around him and finds a family of sorts in Bob Cratchit’s impoverished family, which includes a little crippled boy named Tiny Tim. By the end of the story, Scrooge has discovered the meaning of kindness, compassion, human connectedness and the true giv-ing spirit of Christmas.

“A Christmas Carol” has been the subject of countless movies, plays, musicals and pageants ever since it was published. The story continues to be a world-wide hit, year after year.

Carol from front page

Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com 3

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Swim from front page

Swim • page 4

10 I started liking swimming. That’s when I joined a swim club in St. Cloud.”

The Blooms moved to Sartell when Ellen was in first grade.

At last weekend’s meet, in a final breathless moment, Bloom helped her team edge ahead of the Visitation High School team during the last event of the weekend – the 400-yard freestyle relay. That is when Visitation was in second place, ahead of Sartell by just a point. Bloom, who was the fourth relay team member (the “anchor”) plunged in when the team was just two points behind in the relay race. Swimming fast and furiously, she touched the other end of the pool where her fans and friends erupted into a joyous frenzy. Bloom and her team had earned second place and bested Visita-tion in the tough competition. She beat her competitor, Emily Conors of Visitation, by 2.16 sec-onds with a time of 50.66.

The other members of the

relay team for that race were Jen-nifer Thompson, Anna Ellis and Gaby Hagen.

“I heard them cheer before it was my turn,” she said, “but once in the water I was so focused on what I was doing I didn’t hear anything. It was stressful, but I knew the whole team was there behind me, and I also do well under pressure, and that helped.”

Under the coaching of Dave Olson, the Sabres girls swim team were state champions in 2009 and 2011.

Bloom and her team were elated to win second place this year, partly because they’d faced some obstacles along the way. The team was unusually young this year, for one thing. For an-other, champion swimmer, se-

nior Marisa Wood, could not participate because of an illness, although she was able to be at the meet to cheer her teammates on. Wood won the 500-yard free-style championship eight times, every year since she was in seventh grade. The only two seniors among the 13 girls who competed were Bloom and Lau-ren Martens.

“It meant the world to me and to the other girls that Marisa was there,” Bloom said. “Her support was so helpful to us, to pull off something great.”

Bloom credited the Sabres’ excellent swimming, including her own, to team work.

“That’s what I like best about high-school swimming,” she said. “It’s my teammates, my

Friday, Nov. 23, 2012Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com4

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contributed photo

Above: The 400-freestyle-relay team, (left to right) Jennifer Thompson, Anna Ellis, Gaby Hagen and Ellen Bloom, celebrates after their second-place finish which captured the team’s second place in the meet. Top right: Bloom on the medal stand after her state championship 100-backstroke final.

Swim from page 3

best friends. We see each other so much, and I couldn’t ask for better girls. They are the sweet-est, nicest, classiest girls.”

Bloom’s parents, Goeff and Karla, were at the meet, as well as her other sibling, brother Ryan, who is now a graduate student at the University of Min-nesota-Twin Cities. Other fans included women who had been part of the Sabres team in previ-ous years: Mollie Giffin, Kate Hellie, Paige Kohlman and Bon-nie Sova. Bloom also credited Sabres alternate swimmers for contributing to the team’s cohe-sion and morale boosting – Ellie Hill, Kate Karpel, Paige Pawlenty and Sara Symanietz. Freshman Pawlenty swam in the freestyle relay and the 100-yard butterfly Friday, the first day of the two-day meet.

Like all Sabres swimmers, Bloom worked extremely hard in-season and out-of-season.

She belongs to a swim club in Edina and swims there with a coach’s guidance four days a week. After graduation, she will attend the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, on a swimming scholarship. She is not yet sure of her area of study. Bloom’s hobbies are hanging out with her friends and playing piano whenever she can find the time.

The Sabres earned 175 points at the weekend meet. Northfield won first with 223 points. Third place was Visitation with 172. The others, in order of their points, were Mankato West, Be-nilde-St. Margaret’s, Albert Lea, Hutchinson, Blake, Monticello, Foley, Melrose, Albany, Sauk Centre and Sauk Rapids.

One of the crowd-pleasing highlights for Sabres’ fans and teammates at the meet was when Anna Ellis, a seventh-grader, came in sixth in the 100-backstroke race, the one that Bloom won.

For the rest of the story, more photos and highlights, visit www.thenewsleaders.com.

Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com 5

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Friday, Nov. 23, 20126 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

Fred C Joesting, SartellIf you read closely in the Opinion and

Our View columns of Dennis Dalman you will find a sentence that should be the goal of everybody. “The main law should forbid partisan control over election pro-cesses at every level.” But when reading the two columns by Dalman, all you hear him talking about is what he perceives as Republican efforts to suppress votes and other forms of voter fraud. I am in no way indicating there is no fraud and suppres-sion by Republicans. However, if Dalman would expand his horizon to hear from some independents and conservatives he would find allegations against Demo-crats are also substantial. The Newsleader prints a section telling us “staff members have the responsibility to report news fairly and accurately and are accountable to the public.” To be fair and accurate it

seems to me one has to look at fraud and suppression by anyone regardless of party affiliation.

Gov. Dayton aired many ads about defeating the amendment for voter photo identification because he said we had to go back and get it right. Now we hope Dayton and the Democrats will work with the Republicans to get a bill on voter pho-to identification done. Hopefully saying we have to go back and get it right was an honest statement and not just a fraudulent way of defeating the amendment.

One of the things Dalman lists as at-tempting to suppress voting is “purges of names on voter registration lists.” Does he want names to stay on forever once some-one has voted? If you want a fair election the only names on a list should be legal voters. If someone has died, if someone has moved or if someone has committed

a felony then those names need to come off the voter registration list. To not do so enables fraud to happen.

Dalman talks about “”Attack ads against Obama.” I am sad to say there were definitely attack ads against Obama but also very sadly there were attack ads against almost everybody running as a Republican or as a Democrat. Obama’s campaign spent months attacking Rom-ney even before he won the nomination. Dalman decries “despicable statements made by Rush Limbaugh and Tea Party extremists.” But I did not see him wor-ried about the same kind of statements by extremists like Move-On and the Demo-cratic National Campaign groups.

I wonder how Dalman feels about the ultimate voter suppression? The dis-enfranchisement of millions because of abortion.

A gaggle of teenagers who live at the end of the block sometimes struts down the street puffing away like crazy. I feel like saying, “Kids, don’t smoke.” But they wouldn’t listen. They’d scoff like I did once upon a time.

I quit smoking four years ago. It’s the smartest thing I ever did. The dumbest thing I ever did? That’s easy – starting smoking when I was a teenager.

I quit, cold turkey, for almost six months back in 1987. Like a fool, I started again. All it took is one lousy ciga-rette, and I was back once again in my chain-smoking mode, sending out toxic smoke signals.

Not a week went by since then that I didn’t vow to quit smoking – maybe to-morrow, perhaps next week and certainly by the time the New Year rolls around. Empty vows. Then, one afternoon, I was sitting at the kitchen table talking to the neighbor lady, Marty. I put out my ciga-rette, crushed the empty pack of Basic menthols and tossed it into the trash.

“That’s it,” I said. “No more smok-ing!”

“I’ve heard that one before,” said Marty, laughing.

“Well, this time I’m serious,” I said. “Wanna bet? Ten bucks!”

We shook on the bet.

In the coming days, Marty later ad-mitted she would sometimes peek in my kitchen window to see if I was “sneak-smoking.” She would enter my house, her nostrils quivering, sniffing the air for lingering smoke traces.

A week later she paid up, slapping down a $10 bill on the table.

The first four days were cold-turkey hell. I was light-headed, shaky, loud. I paced and kicked furniture. At one point, guests fled the house, fearing I was about to murder them. I kept having a ridiculous urge to go to the mailboxes at the south end of the mobile-home park. I kept thinking, “I’ve GOT to get to the mail-box! To deliver those letters! Now!” It was only later I realized the mailbox-tor-ment was nothing but the inner nicotine demon prodding me. The mailboxes are next to the grocery store where I bought cigarettes. The demon knew if I got as far as the mailbox, I’d think, “Oh, what the

heck, I’ll get a pack of cigs and then quit tomorrow. Or maybe next week.”

That’s my advice: Don’t listen to the devious trickster. He will give you infinite excuses to destroy your resolve. Tell the demon to shut up. After four days of his sly torments, he will leave you alone – except for a rare return visit.

I quit cold turkey because I knew if I used patches or gum, I would foolishly think, “Oh well, I can smoke just one or two and then quit again. Maybe next week.” I wanted my quitting to be a tor-ment so when I was over it, I wouldn’t want to go through that misery again. But whatever works for you (gum, patches, whatever), do try it. If you fail, try again.

I recommend writing a list of the doz-ens of reasons why smoking is not good: smelly house, too expensive, fire dangers, offensive to other people and to pets, and last but not least – bad for your health. When the demon tempts you, re-read that list and then tell the demon to bug off.

A few times, I admit, I was so tempted to smoke a cigarette – “just one.” But that was the demon again, back for a quick visit. I told him where to go.

My advice to kids is this: “Please, kids, don’t start and you won’t have to stop.”

Ron ScarbroGuest Writer

Opinion

Fairness and ethicsNewsleader staff members have the responsi-

bility to report news fairly and accurately and are accountable to the public. Readers who feel we’ve fallen short of these standards are urged to call the Newsleader office at 363-7741.

If matters cannot be resolved locally, readers are encouraged to take complaints to the Minnesota News Council, an independent agency designed to improve relationships between the public and the media and resolve conflicts. The council office may be reached at 612-341-9357.

Our View Tell the nicotine demon to bug offDennis Dalman

Editor

Letter to editor

Hats off to the Sartell Sabres girls’ swim team.

The team scored a second-place win in last weekend’s Class A championship meet at the Aquatic Center in Minne-apolis.

The Sartell Sabres girls’ swim team were Class A state champions last year and in 2009.

Just because they didn’t get top honors this year makes them no less “champs.” They gave that state meet their all, exerting themselves like pros, both as individuals and as a team. They made Sartell proud.

It’s often said sports, at their best, are all about teamwork. That is one of the life-lasting lessons athletics teaches in high school: teamwork. Every girl on that swim team has said without teamwork, their winning streak could not have happened. And that is not false modesty; it’s true.

Just one example of that is Sabres swimmer Ellen Bloom. She told the Newsleader a day after the event that she’d been under intense pressure as the last swimmer on her relay team for the 400-yard freestyle event. By the time Bloom was ready to dive into the pool, the Visitation High School team was just a point ahead for second place, behind Northfield. Bloom saved the day, beating Visitation in that race by 2.16 seconds and earning the Sabres the second-place trophy for the weekend.

As exhausting as that swim was, Bloom forged ahead with grit and deter-mination, and with every stroke she felt energized by her teammates and the fans cheering her and the team on through all of the two days of competition.

“I heard them cheer before it was my turn,” Bloom told the Newsleader, “but once in the water, I knew what I was do-ing. I didn’t hear anything, but I knew the whole team was there behind me . . .”

All of the Sabre swimmers can tell you the foundations of teamwork are hard work, moral support, mutual depen-dency and a deeply caring camaraderie. Anybody who sees those girls together could mistake them all for sisters in a very, very close-knit family. That cama-raderie and team spirit shines through every task they undertake and every lap they swim.

We salute the Sabres on all of their seasonal accomplishments. They are definitely some of Sartell’s very finest.

Sartell Sabre swimmers make the city proud

Reader responds to Newsleader opinion page

I was watching a discussion the other day between some Democrats and some Republicans. The Dems were saying this country is in trouble because the Reps are refusing to compromise their posi-tions. The Reps were saying the country is in trouble because of the policies of the Dems and the only way to fix the mess is to turn away from those policies and re-turn to fiscal sanity. The debate reminded me of two football teams facing each other on the 50-yard line with neither side able to move the other. As a result, noth-ing gets accomplished. Nobody scores.

The election showed us clearly the country is almost equally divided between those two positions. It also showed us this situation of deadlock must be desirable because the electorate continued the stale-mate by their election choices. When a stalemate happens in a football game, the soccer-style kicker is called upon to come out and kick a field goal. That usually is not very satisfying, but it at least brings about an end to the deadlock. I believe what is needed in this country is a good field-goal kicker.

I have written before Republicans do Republican things because it’s what they believe. Democrats do Democratic things because it’s what they believe. For either

side of this debate to say, “Be reason-able, do it my way” is ridiculous. Most Republicans probably think if they caved to the demands of the Democrats, the country would suffer irreparable harm. I’m pretty sure the Democrats feel the same way. At least I hope their thoughts are more with the country and not just with their political parties or with their own particular political futures. This is what I know however, if compromise is not reached, the country will suffer and possibly more than either side could ever repair. The so-called “fiscal cliff” we are facing is a reality. It isn’t going away. If it happens, Greece will look like a Sunday School picnic.

The people we have chosen to repre-sent us are our employees. They answer to us. They are charged with the responsibil-ity of doing the business of government. The economic mess we are in is their doing. It’s not the failure of the American

people. It’s the failure of their elected rep-resentatives. Every citizen in this country needs to write their representatives and give them the following message. Put your party affiliation aside, do a quick re-read of the Constitution, swallow your egotistical pride and compromise for the good of America. Unscrew what you have screwed up. Failure to act is a criminal of-fense and you will be held liable, period.

The election is over. The country has chosen. For better or worse, the status quo has been re-elected. Many of you do not like the results. Many do. Today it does not matter. What matters is the people we have chosen to get the job done need to get busy with that job and get it done. Failure truly is not an option.

We all have our opinions as to what is the best policy for this government. The resolution to the fiscal mess we are in will probably have to take on some from both sides. Like a field goal it prob-ably won’t be totally satisfying to either side, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is resolution be found and compromise be reached. Another thing is crystal clear. Both Obama and the Congress are equally responsible for our situation and they both will be held accountable.

Be reasonable, do it my way

Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com 7

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site. Then, about three years ago, the chance came up to buy the facility formerly owned by Celebration Lutheran Church, which had moved to a new site in north Sartell. Unity Spiritual Center bought the building and moved into it about 18 months ago.

The St. Cloud church build-ing was a small place, far too small for Unity’s congregation of 50 and growing. And there was no room for social occa-sions, so the new Sartell facility was a godsend.

Now there are about 70 con-gregants at Unity in Sartell, which holds a weekly Sunday service at 10 a.m., as well as a 7 p.m. Wednesday service for those who cannot make it on Sundays. Many members come from miles around.

Unity Spiritual Center of Central Minnesota is affiliated with Unity Worldwide Minis-tries, based in Unity Village,

Mo., which has about 700 con-gregations in the United States, including six in the Twin Cities and the one in Sartell. Uni-ty has had its St. Cloud base for 19 years. The Unity move-ment was founded in 1889 in Kansas City by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. It started as a healing ministry based on the power of prayer and the power of thoughts for people to cre-ate their own realities with a knowledge that God is in every person. Charles Fillmore, inci-dentally, was born in St. Cloud in 1854. The author of many books, he lived to be 93.

The mission statement of the church, Winter Martin said, is to be a center for “an inclusive community of positive-minded people learning and supporting one another in living healthy, prosperous and meaningful lives.”

Winter Martin said Unity emphasizes inclusiveness be-cause she and members of Uni-ty strongly believe every person is at a different place on their spiritual paths, and the purpose of Unity Center, she said, is to

help those people discover and enhance the divinity within them to lead fulfilling lives in all ways.

“We are culturally Chris-tian,” she said. “We consider ourselves spiritually unlimited. Wherever people are on their spiritual paths, they are wel-come.”

A typical church service in-cludes a message followed by a guided meditation period and interspersed with music of all kinds – folk, pop and sacred.

“We use music that is uplift-ing and joyous,” Winter Martin said. “Many of the people in our congregation are very tal-ented, such as Dennis Warner of Clearwater, who is a musi-cian and songwriter.”

The church recently brought on board a music director, widely renowned violinist Cris-tina Seaborn, who lives in St. Cloud.

Unity is not big on rituals.“We get very centered on

oneness during our medita-tions,” she said. “The Bible is one of our books, but we interpret it metaphysically, not Center • page 8

Centerfrom front page

literally.”The church also draws heav-

ily upon inspirational and spiri-tual writers such as Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle and Dr. Phil, plus many others.

After every service there is a sharing fellowship time during which congregants share pot-luck food, ideas and lots of fun.

A major part of Unity’s mis-sion is the many classes and gatherings it hosts. There are book clubs for men, book clubs for women and book clubs for both. Congregants of Unity spend a lot of time learning in groups. One class Winter Martin is teaching is called “The Lazarus Effect,” which attempts to contact the divinity that is often “hidden” within each person. The class is based on the writings of Mary-Alice and Richard Jafolla. After the new year starts, a course called “Fabulous Prosperity” will be-gin. The 10-week course is in-tended to help people learn, by opening up to the power of the divinity in them, to be “pros-perous” in all areas of their

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The Rev. Barbara Winter Martin

Center from page 7

lives – spiritually, within rela-tionships and financially, too.

“We like wisdom wherever it comes from,” Winter Martin said. “We offer classes and book studies so people can do their own personal spiritual search-ing. Everyone has their own internal knowing, and they will find their own spiritual path. We help create our world by the beliefs we hold. It’s about coming back to our own power

and realiz-ing the di-vine beings we are.”

Ano the r mission of Unity is to w e l c o m e anyone to their church, even if it is only to use their facility for meetings. Many groups, includ-ing the Girl Scouts, have met there. Another group is Co-Dependents Anonymous, and Winter Martin is seeking other chemical or alcohol 12-step-

type programs which would like to hold sessions in the church building. The church also welcomes couples who, for whatever reason, do not feel comfortable being married in other churches. Winter Mar-tin will officiate at those mar-riages within Unity Center, or she welcomes other clergy to do it there, if they choose. She will also perform holy unions for same-sex couples. Winter Martin and Unity members are very proud of an outdoor space they created for outdoor weddings. They raised $15,000 to landscape the area that in-

cludes shrubs, flowers and pot-ted plants. Many people, espe-cially younger ones, like to get married outdoors because they derive inspiration and divinity from contact with nature, Win-ter Martin said.

Unity Spiritual Center also hosts a program for children at 10 a.m. each Sunday, and it has a daycare program for children at that same time.

Winter Martin was born and raised in St. Louis Park. She lived in Modesto, Calif. for 15 years, where she met her husband-to-be. For years in California, she had her own

practice as a counselor in a hos-pital. Back in Minnesota, she was also a chemical-dependen-cy counselor at the Hazelden Treatment Center in Plymouth. She holds a master’s degree in transpersonal psychology from JFK University in California. Her husband, Stephen, owns an at-home web-and-graphic-design business called “Ste-phen Martin Designs.”

They have three grown chil-dren – Stephen Jr. of Reno, Nev.; John of Seattle; and Becky of Modesto. They have four grandchildren.