Rutland, ND

Last Sunday, Mark Wyum, Peder Gulleson and I attended a meeting in Lisbon on the North Country National Scenic Trail which starts in NY and presently ends in ND. They are attempting to form a local chapter to help expand the trail through the State. We made new contacts and received information on establishing and maintaining trails, working with landowners and the railroads, obtaining easements, and learning of potential grant funding sources for our future trail. The Rutland Trails Committee will review the information when it meets sometime in April.

I and eight other people attended the CPR training at the Rutland town hall on February 21.  I had never had a CPR class before & the only thing I knew about it was what I had learned in a high school First Aid class.  Since that was over 40 years ago, things have changed.   I’m a visual & kinetic learner, so having a good video & dummies to practice on helped me understand the material completely.  I had never seen a defibrillator before except in the movies & that whole process seemed more than a little scary.  I was surprised at how easy it could be for anyone to use.  The machine tells you what to do so you just follow its directions.  Marwood and Shelly did a really good job of explaining details and answering questions.  The two hours went by fast & we all passed the test.  There are now nine more people in Rutland and surrounding area that may be able to save your life.  Thanks to the Rutland/Cayuga Fire Department for sponsoring the class.

We met with Irv Rustad of Lake Agassiz again February 20.  We went through Rutland’s Strategic Plan and developed action plans for our objectives.  We also looked at our city plat map and decided how we think the city should be zoned being careful to remember that we are going to apply to have a Renaissance Zone.  It was a productive meeting and we’ll meet again on March 3.

Rutland will soon have a slogan.  Just to set the scene — Community members were asked to submit their ideas for a slogan for Rutland.  The Advertising Action Plan Committee met and narrowed the number down to three slogans on which the community will vote.  It was a difficult job as there were some really good ones.  After the slogan is selected, it will be used on all the advertising for Rutland’s events.  Now there’s talk of getting a logo to go along with the slogan.  It will be great to see what people can come up with there.

Mark Wyum rode around the country with Jesse Hanson one nice afternoon just like in high school.  Only this time Mark needed Jesse’s professional opinion on how to get a hiking/biking trail from Rutland out to Silver Lake, five miles southwest of town.  Jesse is the Assistant Director of Parks so has a little bit of knowledge on the subject.  There is some promise but they’ll go out again when the snow is gone, relive memories of their youth and see if that promise for a future trail can be fulfilled.

Weight No More! Those are the words on the front of the new brochure for the Rutland Fitness Center. We want to attract a bunch of losers to the Center, so Val Pherson of Rutland, who is a sophomore in graphic design at Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota, designed the brochure. We think it’s a cleverly informational piece of work. Paying for design like this out in the market place would have cost us money we don’t have and Val has done us a big favor by designing this brochure for us. She figures it’s a win/win deal as she gets some practice in her chosen profession and something for her portfolio to impress future employers. Everybody wins. Now, that’s how we like to see things done.

The Leinen family wanted families to be able to enjoy celebrating New Year’s Eve together with other families. They sponsored a New Year’s Eve party at the Rutland Town Hall with lots of food, karaoke, games, dancing, hats and noisemakers. All they asked was a free will offering to help defray some of the expense. This isn’t the first event the Leinen’s have organized. They have sponsored the annual Easter Egg hunt for many years giving away a boys and girls bicycle each year, in addition to lots of candy and other small prizes. They’ve also held kite flying contests. Jerry and Jeanne and their family are avid supporters of family fun.

The Rutland/Cayuga Fire District is sponsoring a CPR training class at the Fire Hall in Rutland on Thursday, February 21, at 6:00 p.m. This can either be for recertification or for those who have never had a CPR class. There will also be demonstrations on the automatic defribillator which is stored in the Fire Hall. We hope there’s a good turn out for this training. You never know who’s life might be saved by being informed of these procedures.

There’s a lady in town who has multiple sclerosis and she was recently widowed. She and her husband used to go to Canestota because it seemed to help alleviate the symptoms of her disease. She didn’t think she would be able to go this year, but Gretchen Vann, Laurie Green and Toni Hayek volunteered to take her there and to go back and get her at the end of the week. Thank you ladies for being so generous.

Rutland/Cayuga Fire Department has been infused with new blood with the addition of a number of young volunteers. Several of them are taking EMT classes. These 20-something young men are excited to be a part of protecting the community and surrounding area. They are already thinking of ways to raise funds for the needs of the department. An Easter brunch will be held in cooperation with the Rutland General Store and the Rutland Cafe as the first fundraiser. These new members are Jordan Wyum, Rob Wyum, Cameron Gulleson, Cody Gulleson, Zach Temple and Jim Fust.