Rutland, ND

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.

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!

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.

A “Vision Statement and Strategic Plan” was developed for Rutland using the collated input from the Study Circles, Community forums and other Horizon work during the year. The Vision Statement is shown below and future blog segments will address where we are in working on each of the goals and strategies. (The Vision Statement can also be viewed on the “Rutland’s Vision” page link at right.)

GOAL 1: Volunteers will be the driving force in providing services and activities that would otherwise not be available in a community the size of Rutland. Those currently active in the community will invite and encourage individuals of all ages not currently active, to engage in leadership roles and will be open to the new ideas these new volunteers bring to the table.

GOAL 2: Rutland will be a clean and inviting community in which to live and work.

GOAL 3: Rutland’s economy will expand and diversify providing a thriving Main Street, while retaining existing business and services. Tourism will be a significant area for economic growth.

GOAL 4: Rutland will have appropriate housing and services for disabled and elderly with the goal of keeping that population in the community.

GOAL 5: Rutland will provide a recreational program addressing the social, educational and cultural needs of all age groups.

The Rutland/Cayuga Rural Fire Department recently received a donation of $2,000 from Dickey Rural Networks (DRN) to be used towards the purchase of a new fire truck.  The Department request of $10,500 to purchase a first response vehicle from MyHometownHelper.com (aka Hamburger Helper) is presently being reviewed; the site will announce awards in about one week.  Keep up the good work guys!

Americans grow happier as they grow older, according to a University of Chicago study that is one of the most thorough examinations of happiness ever done in America.

The study also found that baby boomers are not as content as other generations, men are less happy than women, happiness can rise and fall between eras, and that, with age the differences narrow.

“Understanding happiness is important to understanding quality of life. The happiness measure is a guide to how well society is meeting people’s needs,” said Yang Yang, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago and author of the article, “Social Inequalities in Happiness in the United States, 1972-2004: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis,” published in the April issue of the American Sociological Review, the official journal of the American Sociological Association.

The research relies on data that social scientists consider the gold standard of happiness research—responses to questions about contentment with overall life gathered in the General Social Survey of the National Opinion Research Center, which the National Science Foundation supports at the University of Chicago.

In another study in the same issue of the journal, University of Chicago researchers reported that, contrary to popular thought, older people do stay social as they age, often volunteering, attending religious services, and spending time with their neighbors.

Did they tell Rutland residents anything new???? (You can read more from this article through the University of Chicago.)

Bill Anderson’s pen has dried up. “The Rooster Crows” column ceased as of April 25, 2008. After more than 11 years, Bill retired from writing his weekly column which covered a lot of Rutland news as well as providing a spin on politics. Anderson began writing the column in 1988 and 1989. He resumed it again in April 1997. The column, featured in The Sargent County Teller, was something I looked forward to reading weekly. Lately I had been checking out “The Rooster Crows” directly online. Jeanne Leinen has gratiously taken the helm to get the Rutland news in The Teller (and also will be contributing to this blog soon).  Now we’re just hoping that Bill will take us up on contributing to this Rutland blog. How about it Bill?

If you’re reading this, then you’ve found the Rutland Community Blog. This is a “community blog” which means that more Rutland residents are wanted — and needed — to make this a successful community blog. You can contact me - Debbie Banish - or Carolyn Christensen to sign up to blog. Let’s make this a real community blog!