Rutland, ND

Only three more days before the benefit for Hal Nelson is held. At this time, Hal is expected to arrive in Rutland Friday afternoon.  He has been gone since last October when his home exploded and he spent several months in the Hennepin County Burn Unit in Minneapolis.  Watch for the news coverage this weekend.  On Saturday, August 29, there will be a free-will pork dinner, a silent and live auction and a raffle.  We expect a crowd of over 500 so Rutland will be a busy place.  The Hall doors open at 4 p.m. and the silent auction will be held from 4 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.  More than 100 items have already been donated and more is anticipated.  Items include golf outings at The Springs, Mary Kay baskets, fishing items, framed photos and prints (including limited edition USPS collections - Giants, Baseball, Mickey Mouse) and more.  Some of the items for the live auction (starting at 7 p.m.) include We Fest 2010 passes (2), handmade quilts, Terry Redlin collectibles, guns, fishing gear ($150 cooler full), farm chemical application, Bret Favre (Green Bay) USPS framed print/stamps.  There is also a raffle for a television and grill and other prizes.  Don’t miss the fun and excitement to benefit Hal Nelson.  The event is sponsored by the Rutland Park Board and Rutland residents.

Congratulations to Rutland 2009 Graduated Seniors: Brady Haussler, Travis Peterson, Shelly Pherson and  Ryan Siemieniewski.  Best of luck in all your future endeavors.

The Memorial Day Program and Dinner had an exceptional turnout.  A reported 100 people attended.  Mother Nature co-operated and kept the rain from dropping until after the military rites service.

Andy Harris returned home from Italy to spend the summer at the lake with his parents.

David, Ivan, Joel, Ronnie, Wayne and Sandra Susag were in town for the Memorial Day Dinner and military rites ceremony.

Susan Brummond from Monument, Colorado arrived at the Bill and Mary Kay Woytassek farm pulling her 5^th wheel camper.  She visited for the weekend and then continued on with her travels.

The Rutland Buzzards flew to Milnor for a double-header softball game.  The Buzzards won both games; upping their record to 4-0.  Come on out to the field next Tuesday, June 2 to cheer them on!

Sara Schwanke, Diane Pherson’s niece, from Maddock, placed 3^rd in the mile at the ND state track meet. Next school year, she will finally be in high school. She has a history of long distance runners in her family….on her mother’s side.

I am sure that Rutland will be partying long tonight to send off the Lariat Bar.  A new bar will be built over the summer with the goal to complete construction by fall.  The Lariat will provide ‘temporary’ service this summer at the American Legion building.  The Rutland Fitness Center has relocated most of its equipment to the Fire Hall so that residents can continue their fitness routines during the summer construction.   The Legion Hall needs some preconstruction to get ready for the bar to open and provide food and beverages to its clientele this summer.  Stay tuned here or on the rutlandnd.com site for updates and future photos of the progress this summer.

Well, it happened!  The school bond issue needed 60% approval and managed to obtain 66% of the 780 votes cast on Tuesday.  The “Yes” vote for Sargent Central will provide funds to:

• Replace the sewer system
• Replace modulars with ten classrooms plus a Kindergarten center
• Convert existing locker rooms into Interactive Television Classroom (ITV) facilities and provide a larger counselor office, a commons area and storage
• Provide a library/computerized research center open to the public
• Improve safety so all areas can be notified at once of fire, tornado or lockdown situations (rather than having to telephone or walk to inform some classrooms!)
• Meet ADA and Fire Marshall code compliance and Health and Safety codes
• Connect the existing facility to the Activity Center
• Provide for future student population growth

Thank you to everyone who worked to help make the bond issue pass.  Your hard work paid off!

Today, during the brief snow flurries - which foretell what is to come tonight — we had a visitor on our windowsill.  As it occasionally happens, a bird flew into our window and needed to sit on the ledge for a while.  It was a strange looking visitor for this former City girl.  Luckily it perched long enough for me to find my camera (on the other end of the house of course).  I took a few photos and then spent some time investigating to determine what strange creature had appeared in our yard.  It looked like a bird of prey so we started there to seek out photos.  We eliminated the owl family and moved on to researching hawks and to our surprise what we have here is a falcon — The American Kestrel falcon to be exact.  Many may know this creature as a sparrow hawk and it supposedly is a very common falcon.  This was my first opportunity to view one up and personal.  He (yes, it’s a male) took an interest in us as well before he flew off to perch on top of a pine tree.  If you want to check for more on this creature, click this link to the Chipper Woods Bird Observatory.

Rutland made it into the Forum news today thanks to Izetta Colvin.  There is a new feature on Izetta and her connection to the Navy.  If you missed it, clink this link to “A seat from sailors.”

Well, I’m glad to report that the Wild Rice River has stopped running over our township road.  The change in the water flow is due to the fact that a portion of County Road 10 here South of Rutland collapsed on Wednesday.  Yesterday a portion of the westside lane fell into the Wild Rice near the culvert.  This morning the rest of that portion over the culvert collapsed.  We are lucky in that we can get to town easy but I pity those who live south of that culvert because now they have a bigger challenge of getting into Rutland to enjoy the amenities it offers!

It has been a while since I’ve blogged.  I didn’t mention the snowstorms or freezing weather of another long winter.  Those have come and gone.  The big issue throughout the State — mainly Fargo and surrounding communities to the north and south — is the force of nature in the form of water.  Rutland and its area is not immune.  There are “holding ponds” in Rutland proper.   We’ve got a wonderful view of the water on the westside preventing us from getting on the blacktop (Hwy 10) leading to Rutland.  The water from the Wild Rice River is slowly receding but it is a force not to be reckoned with.  Hopefully we won’t have to sandbag this time like we did two years ago (and in 1997!).

As many of you know, Hal Nelson has been in the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) Burn Unit since last October.   Many well-wishers have visited his caring bridge site to keep in touch with him.  Today’s Fargo Forum features an article about the “Rock” and if you missed it follow this link to read the full article — and don’t miss hearing his voice at the Forum site in their ‘Related Content’ link.

Check out the Minneapolis WCCO-TV news broadcast from Friday, February 27, that covered Hal’s story.

Rutland residents Bill Anderson and Pam Gulleson were among the thousands who attended the Inauguration ceremonies in Washington, D.C., in January.  Accompanying them were Lowell Wyum of Forman and Lance Gulleson of Lisbon.  They have provided several photos from the inauguration events and photos taken at the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in which Bill Anderson is pointing at some names.  Bill sends along this information:  “Larry Dyer and Larry Greene served with me in the US Marine infantry platoon I commanded in Vietnam, and were killed in action on February 4, 1970, brother Paul’s 21st birthday and a day I will never forget.  They were both only 19 years old.  Cleo Levang was from Forman and graduated from Sargent Central High School in 1964.  He was in the Marines, too, and was killed in action on January 5, 1967.  He was only 20 years old.  I thought that our national leaders had learned the lessons of Vietnam, but Iraq showed us that you are not likely to learn the lessons if you never showed up for the class.  Anyway, we had a great time in Washington.  It was a  trip of a lifetime and I am really glad that I went.  There were millions of happy, hopeful, positive and optimistic Americans there on Inauguration Day, very pleased that a dark chapter in American history was coming to a close and that a new day was dawning for the American people, and the people of the world.  Well, that’s enough preaching.”