A Day of Sorrow

On Saturday May 1st just before 7am Maplewood Police Sergeant Joe Bergeron was gunned down by two assailants as he was investigating a carjacking report from earlier in the morning. Sergeant Bergeron had not even exited his squad car when the two assailants rushed in on him and shot him.



You can read or watch the details of this story by going to any Twins Cities media outlet. They all have been covering this incident since its beginning on Saturday. These are just three links that you can use to learn more of the story: WCCO, KSTP, KARE.



It is difficult to make any sense out of an incident like this, which is why it is so difficult for any of us to deal with it. We want it to make sense. We want a justification, some way to make it work in our minds.



A few years ago I visited Washington DC. On that trip I had some free time so I decided to visit the Capitol Mall area. There was different art work and of course memorials to past presidents and to the veterans of the wars America has fought. It was all just an interesting afternoon until I came to the Vietnam War Memorial. As I walked down the ramp alongside of the wall covered with the names of all of the people who gave their lives in that war I started to cry. I didn't at the time understand why. It was one of the few times that I did not immediately try to control myself. Somehow it seemed right to let my emotions run their course. After, I tried to reflect on what it was about that Memorial that had triggered my emotions. I think it was that nothing about that war made any sense to me. All of these young people gave their lives and what did we gain?



The murder of Sgt. Bergeron has affected me in the same way. Both on Saturday and again today at different times my emotions have gotten the best of me. Sgt. Bergeron was not a close friend. I spoke to him on occasion. He was however a part of the Maplewood family. All of us that live here or work for Maplewood are part of the family. Joe was one of the people that was willing to take on the role of protecting the rest of us. He was good at his job. He was well trained. Joe had many friends who have talked about his unique outgoing personality. He was the type of person who liked people. Although his seniority and abilities would have allowed him to choose a variety of job duties he wanted to be on patrol duty because it allowed him to work directly with people.



As near as I can tell the assailants in this case are people whose lives are a mess. Lengthy run-in's with the police, prison time, a history of hurting people. They certainly seemed to view most people as not having value, as a "mark" to make a buck. Both of them were on the opposite end of the spectrum from Joe.



To me there is no sense to the outcomes from this event. It is troubling in many ways. It is frustrating that there seems to be little any of us can do. For now we are left to show our respect for Sgt. Bergeron and to all of those who choose to risk their lives so that the rest of us can feel secure.



There will be a visitation at the Maplewood Community Center on Wednesday May 5th, 4pm-8pm. The funeral will be on Thursday May 6th at 10am at the Cathedral of St. Paul. Also on Thursday there will be a funeral procession, part of which will pass through Maplewood. The details for this are being finalized and will be posted on the Maplewood website. I would ask that if at all possible you attend, to stand with others and show your respect for our fallen officer. I certainly believe he would or has been there for you.

The LOLlie Preview is OUT!!!

This morning I anxiously took a look to see if there was a current addition of the Lollie Preview. I was disappointed that I was not able to find a new issue.

For the last two years on April 1st. Someone has posted on the Internet the best Maplewood political humor that I have ever read. So I was naturally hoping that there would be a other issue. Tonight I took one more look and I was delighted to see that the latest issue is out. You can view it by clicking here.

Don't miss the past issues link in the Preview to remind yourself of what was in the past issues. Although the publisher is a mystery I have to take my hat off to them. To quote The cable guy, " I don't care who you are that right there is funny".

Magellan Pipeline Maintenance

This spring the Magellan pipeline management company will be doing maintenance of their pipeline easement in Maplewood. The work will involve removal of brush and trimming of trees. It may be that some trees will have to be removed. The city has been in contact recently with Donald Jensen the pipeline maintenance foreman for Magellan. Mr. Jensen has indicated that this work is required for safety and access within their easement. Magellan will be contacting property owners in the area about the work. If you have some questions you can contact Mr. Jensen at 612-991-0141.

The picture above shows where they will be starting their work in the south portion of Maplewood.