Rutland, ND

The Rutland-Cayuga Fire District annual Barbeque Supper will be this Saturday, July 19, 7-9 p.m. in Rutland City Hall.  This is the time for everyone to come out and support the crew.  Adults $10, 15 and under $5, Preschool is Free Will.  They will also have their annual drawing for door prizes.  We did buy tickets already which includes the drawings.  Last year when we walked into the Hall for the dinner my name was drawn for a First Aid kit.  (I’ve already won two or three fire extinguishers!).  I’m waiting to see who wins this year (and I’m hoping they spread the prizes around).

Diane Smith and Deb Liermark have gratiously accepted the challenge as Rutland’s “volunteer coordinators.”  These two women will now have the responsibility to coordinate service needs and match those needs with volunteer interests, abilities and availability.  The appointment of these two residents accomplishes the first action step in Rutland’s Vision Plan.  Residents willing to volunteer services — providing rides, getting groceries, mowing lawns, etc. — can contact either of them.  If you need volunteer services, let them know!

Yesterday, Carolyn Christensen, Diane Smith and I attended the Horizons Final Celebration in Bismarck. Representatives from all 21 communities were there to share in the recognition.

Lynette Flage, NDSU Horizons Extension Project Director, emceed the program. She highlighted several community achievements including: Steele formed a non-profit organization for their local food pantry; Harvey set up a local community foundation for long-term philanthropic efforts (several other communities are in the process); Cando increased the local library mill levy; Dodge received a grant to purchase library resources; Walhalla got two new cell phone towers (something we could use around here in Rutland!). Other initiatives include Farmer’s Markets, walking trails, community theatre building renovations, and neighborhood watches. She mentioned that “Rutland, Steele, Maddock and Hazelton are working on housing issues in their community by surveying residents and working to develop various housing opportunities for all.”

Dr. D.C. Coston, NDSU Vice President for Agriculture and University Extension, spoke to attendees and recognized the achievements of the communities.

Governor Hoeven also spoke at the program and recognized the great strides that the Horizon communities have taken. He noted that North Dakota’s future depends on the six pillars of growth: education, economic development, agriculture, energy, technology and quality of life. The Governor said North Dakota has expanded its economy, adding thousands of new jobs, and grown its targeted industry sectors, including value-added agriculture, advanced manufacturing, energy development, technology-based business and tourism.

Following the Governor’s talk, there was time for photos and presentation of a plaque (and an $8500 check) to each community. Carolyn, Diane and I had our photo taken with The Governor, Dr. Coston, representatives from the Northwest Area Foundation, and Jodi Bruns, our advisor throughout the Horizons project.

Horizon community representatives gave a quick five-minute presentation or skit to communicate what they accomplished through the 18-month involvement with the Horizons program. Carolyn and I gave a quick PowerPoint presentation about Rutland’s work through the Horizons program and showed photos that demonstrated the involvement of our residents.

We all learned a lot and developed contacts to help us proceed with some of our action plan goals. I returned with a new sense of energy and a true feeling of accomplishment for what Rutland has done already. As Hubert H. Humphrey once said, “You don’t have to save the world. Just save your hometown. It will add up.”

I cannot believe it!  We were “shooting for the stars” with our blogging, but getting frustrated that we weren’t getting the bloggers we needed.  All of a sudden, people pitched in & we reached our goal.  We were notified yesterday that we will receive a computer and printer for our community.  The Rutland General Store, which has a wireless hook up, has generously donated space for them.   It will be wonderful for people that do not otherwise have access to a computer, to be able to come to the Rutland General Store and use the one there.

As many of you may know, our little town had two Relay for Life teams this year. The Rutland Community Club Rockets and the Rutland General Store each sponsored a team. The Rockets had a 50’s themed dinner and a movie, the General Store had a gourmet barbecue. The Rockets sold chances on baskets and the general store donated a percentage of their doughnut sales. Both teams had good ideas, hard workers and a desire to help defeat the devastation that cancer causes. Next year will see some changes.
Next year, we will not only share a common goal but will be combining our teams. We will take a page from our Horizons leadership training and partner with each other thus expanding our resources, manpower, talent, and enthusiasm. Look to next years Rutland team to be even bigger and better.

I participated in my very first Relay for Life event on Friday night.  I was not prepared for the feelings I experienced during the night of staying awake, walking, listening and seeing all the luminaries lit.

My dad died of lung cancer in 1991 & I still miss him every single day.  My mom is a survivor of cancer of the vocal chord 2 years ago & in March had her cancerous bladder removed.  My dad’s mother & grandmother and all 3 of his sisters and 3 of his 5 brothers also died of cancer.  Seeing all the luminaries lit in memory of Dad & in honor of Mom, as well as the luminaries for the many other family members gave me a lump in my throat.  When I saw Mom doing the survivor lap with all of the other cancer survivors, I couldn’t help but get a little teary thinking about what she’s been through these last 2 years with radiation therapy & surgeries & how thankful I am that she’s doing o.k.

The person who gave their survivor story during the opening ceremony is a young, single mother who last year finished her treatment for an aggressive form of breast cancer.  Melissa is also a relative of mine.  Her story was so moving; especially how she told her young daughter about her cancer.  She urged everyone to get to know their bodies so that we know when something isn’t quite right  & to educate ourselves on symptoms of cancer so that we can advocate for ourselves the medical care that we need.

But, it was a festive atmosphere with every booth lit up, all kinds of goodies & other items being sold & people milling around visiting & laughing.  There was also a talent contest where each team had someone imitate a famous person.  Our talent was one of our male team members dressed as, & doing an imitation of Aretha Franklin singing  “Chain, Chain, Chain”.  It was evident on the faces of the people watching that they didn’t expect such an excellent portrayal of that talented singer.  The Rutland General Store had 2 women portraying Elvis.  They had the audience rolling the aisles.  At 1:00 a.m., it was a good pick-me-up.

Our booth sold a variety of popcorn as well as hamburgers, hot dogs & floats.  The Rutland General Store booth sold smoothies, candy and t-shirts.  I think there were 13 or 14 booths & every booth was selling something just a little different.  We all wanted to raise as much money for cancer research as possible. 

Staying up all night was difficult; I need my sleep.  Walking was also difficult towards the end; I was so tired.  That’s the purpose of staying up all night & walking all night… to get some sense of what a person with cancer goes through. 

Yes, it was a tough night.  But, it was only one night.  Those who have been struck with cancer put in many nights  & days worse than what we went through on Friday night.  We just lost some sleep for one night & in a couple of days, we’ll be back to normal.  We won’t lose our hair, throw up or die from the effect of one night of lost sleep.  People with cancer struggle with the effects of their disease every day for weeks and months and even years & too many lose that struggle. 

The goal of Relay for Life is to raise enough money for research so better, more effective, treatments can be found & cancer can be eradicated.  The Sargent County Relay for Life teams raised a total of $34,000 toward that end.  I was so proud to be a part of it.

Last weeks Rutland News disappeared from my computer and went ???? It went some where because my computer was never told it was undelivered…I still have a copy of the Anderson Reunion, and will summit it this week instead.

Silver Lake continues to be a very busy hub of activity…

The street dance, put on by the Lariat Bar, was a huge success on Saturday night.  They held karaoke for all those wishing to be a star for one night.  Not much dancing went on, but the stage held a singer or duet most all night. A fun time was had by all.

Thanks to Kylee and Sami Hambeck, Rutland has a T-Ball team again this year and we have more than 10 kids playing!  The two sisters are coaching the little kids with some help from Mom, Diane Pherson.  Rutland has a full roster with 15 kids ages 3 to 8 participating.  They got a slow start with one practice several weeks ago before the rain spell we had.  However, this past week the kids were busy.  On Monday, the team participated in a tournament in Lidgerwood.  Three games is quite a bit for the little guys but most of them held through to the end and were happy to get their ribbons.  On Tuesday, they played in Forman and Wednesday evening were two games in Gwinner.  Next week is not as busy.  Due to the rainouts, additional games are scheduled into early July — so there is plenty of time to watch the kids play.  Come on out and show your support for the kids.  They are fun to watch.  (The schedule is on the Rutland Happenings page).

The election results were announced last week and Rutland has some newly elected officials.  There was a contested race for City Council with four residents vying for two seats — something that had not occurred for years!  Lary Arneson was re-elected and Bertha Siemieniewski was newly elected to the Council.  Mayor Narum ran unopposed.  The Park Board race resulted in one new member, Jeff Olson, and Diane Pherson was re-elected.  I am looking forward to hearing what the new members, and re-elected officials, have planned for the future of Rutland!

Rails to Trails out of Washington, D.C. is recruiting 20,000 people to pledge to walk and bike more this year and use their vehicle less this year. Horizons communities around the state have identified actions to address poverty in their community. Many have identified our cultural reliance upon personal vehicles as an impediment to thriving communities. There is little public transport in rural areas and safe-bike ways are forgotten. Rails-to-Trails is an organization that has addressed this concern positively around the country, including in some of the Horizons communities. Take the pledge to support the effort to reduce our reliance upon oil and to build healthier communities where people are at the center. Visit their website to take the pledge.