Rutland, ND

There will be a meeting of the Screening Committee/Action Plan Chairpersons on Tuesday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m. at Nordland Parish Hall.  The Steering Committee will be discussing the suggestions for the use of the $8,500 we received for successful completion of the Horizon Project.  Rutland residents have provided input through the suggestion boxes at the General Store and Cafe.  Suggestions included: 

As many of you have already heard, Hal Nelson of Rutland was seriously injured Saturday, October 18, when his house exploded.  If you missed the broadcast you can view it at WDAY-TV which shows what little is left of his home. You can link to Hal’s CaringBridge site to keep updated on his steps to recovery or to post your words and thoughts for Hal and his family.

A benefit fund has been established for Hal to help him with the costs that will be incurred on his road to recovery.  Donations can be sent to any Sargent County Bank (link for address) with a memo area notation “Hal Nelson Benefit.”  Cash donations are being accepted in a donation jar at the Rutland General Store as well for the Fund. 

The Rutland Community received $8,500 for successfully completing the Horizons Project.  This money is available to help us work on the goals chosen at the Community Forum regarding advertising, recreation, housing and a hiking/biking trail.  The goals - and vision - were formulated and are shown on the Rutland’s Vision page.

We are soliciting community input on how to use the funds.  Suggestion boxes are in the Rutland Cafe and the Rutland General Store.  Comments can also be left here and they will be posted for more of a forum for input and community discussion.  Suggestions are being accepted until October 30.  The Horizon Steering Committee plans to meet and make a final decision based on these suggestions.  The meeting date has not yet been determined.

It’s not too late to get your voice heard.  Maybe there are other ideas that are not on the vision or goals list.  Get your comments, ideas and suggestions in.  Many other things fall under the categories of recreation - like a library which we don’t have in Rutland — or a regular ‘gym night’ in the Hall or whatever!  The Steering Committee will review and consider all suggestions.  Start now!

Yesterday, my family and I attended the 11th Annual “Youth Day” held at the John Narum Memorial Trap & Rifle Range near Silver Lake.  The event drew about 190 youth and their families from throughout the area.  Activities included trap shooting, archery, BB gun, 22 rifles and casting with rod & reel (into small swimming pools) and a coin scramble.  This was the first time we attended and we were all extremely impressed with the event and the size of the crowd.  The three hours flew by quickly and wrapped up with an impressive raffle of about 45 door prizes of hunting vests, decoys, bow sets, rifles, shotguns and BB guns and other items.  All the winners were full of smiles.  That included my son who won a 12 gauge shotgun that weighs considerably more than he does.  He is now looking forward to growing up so he can use that gun.  This annual event is sponsored by the Rutland Sportsman’s Club, Sargent County Pheasants Forever, and the Windy Mound Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.  Many “thank you’s” are in order from my son and I’m sure from all the other proud winners.  Congratulations to all the winners and a Big Thank You to everyone involved in helping with this event — which I understand is the largest youth event of its kind in the Upper Midwest.

Well, you know UffDa Day is not far off when the rolling pins are steaming along.  Last Thursday’s crews managed to get a good start of about 470 produced.  There will be more groups this week starting with Monday, August 25, 8 p.m. session.  Tuesday - and maybe Thursday - more will gather to work toward the goal of 4000.  This is the 24th year for Uff Da and let’s hope we don’t all burn out so that we can make it 25 years.  I wonder what else happens during that 8 p.m. rolling session???  Guess I’ll have to go just to find out. Stay tuned.

County Fairs are a great opportunity for county residents to showcase their garden produce, craft, food or sewing item that was made by them.  Tonight, for the first time, I went to enter some items into the Sargent County Fair.  Being a “city girl” I never entered anything in Minnesota but now that I’m a “country girl” I finally got my act together!  My boys - age 7 and 5 - also had some projects to enter.  My 7-year-old did his project about a month ago - which meant he didn’t have many K’Nex pieces to work with for some time. 

The kids look forward to returning on Saturday to find their projects and also participate in Fair events like the tractor pedal pull.  Even if none of us get any other recognition, the sense of self achievement and pride is something they have discovered this year. 

Don’t forget to come to the Fair and to stop by the Food Building (the white building).  The Rutland Park Board is there again this year as another means to raise funds for our town.  Stop in to say “Hi.” I’ll be in the kitchen Sunday so I’m hoping it won’t be too hot this weekend!  See you there!!!

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!

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.