By Bill Anderson

We can always talk, and write, about the weather. We don’t, and can’t, do anything about it, but we sure can comment on it. At times we are so proud and boastful of the pleasant weather conditions in our home communities that an outside observer might think that we actually had something to do with creating it, while at other times our mournful wails against the injustice of harsh weather conditions might lead that same outside observer to conclude that some malevolent being is sending foul weather to torture us poor innocents who have chosen to make our homes here. The weather, though, is neither good nor bad. It is only our reaction to it that makes us perceive it as being one way or the other. As The Bard once wrote, “…There is nothing that is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so…” Well, that being said, after some mighty pleasant weather at the beginning of last week, a mean spirited old cold front moved through this area on Thursday and Friday, May 18 & 19, dropping temperatures down to the low 40’s, and drawing some cold weather clothing back out of the closet. The cold front brought the smoke from Canadian wildfires down to ground level, too, making breathing a hazardous practice for anyone with asthma, allergies, COPD or other respiratory ailments. The cold front also brought trace rainfall amounts to the Rutland area, further delaying Spring planting for a few more days. By Sunday, May 21, though, nearly everyone with crops to plant was in the field, some raising dust and some getting stuck in the mud, but all experiencing the feeling of action, if not the fact. By Wednesday, May 24, the temperature had hit the 90’s, a substantial percentage of the acres intended for wheat, corn and soybeans had been planted and the rocks had been rolled flat in preparation for the combine harvesters that will begin gathering in the golden harvest in a few short months, depending on the weather, of course.

The Rutland Community Club held its regular May meeting on Monday, May 15, at the Rutland Town Hall. Community Club President Katie McLaen supplied the following report: “We made a big purchase at our May meeting, 12 new plastic picnic tables and 2 new aluminum bleachers for the ball diamond at Lou Sanderson Field. Both purchases will be used through the Spring & Summer, as well as at Uff-Da Day in early October! The Annual Community Block Party is scheduled to be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14, in the City Park adjacent to the Rutland Town Hall. The Volunteer Fireman will be grilling burgers, bratwursts & hot dogs, and Miss Whitney Mahrer will be crowned Miss Rutland 2023. Everyone in the Rutland Community is invited to participate in the Block Party. It’s a great opportunity to greet your neighbors, renew old friendships and make some new ones. There is no charge, and it’s a lot of fun!

So, what the “H” is going on with the U.S. Postal Service now? For many years, the rural routes were classified as either category “J” or category “K”, and the compensation paid to rural mail carriers was based on several criteria, including mileage of the route; number of deliveries on the route; time it took to complete the route; etc. Now, however, the Postal Service has put forward a plan to classify all rural routes as category “H”, a category no one has ever heard of prior to May of 2023. Compensation on all routes will be the same, regardless of miles, deliveries and other criteria. According to at least one carrier who delivers mail to some addresses in Sargent County, the new compensation schedule will result in a reduction of approximately $1,000.00 per month for the carrier serving that route. No one is expected to get a raise under the new system. Additionally, although the Postal Service is advertising for applicants to serve as substitute carriers, the rule will be changed to require regular carriers to work 6 days a week, rather than 5, leaving no days for the substitute carriers to work. Since 2006, the Postal Service has been working hard to make itself unprofitable and to put itself out of business. It has gotten rid of postmasters, clerks and post offices. Now it’s taking aim at the rural mail carriers. It has discouraged customers by raising fees while decreasing service to its patrons. The Postal Service is subject to rules and regulations instituted by the Congress and is under the supervision of the Congress. It is about time that our Congressmen and Senators step up, take responsibility for the disaster they have created, and do something to correct it. The duty of the Postal Service is to deliver the mail in a timely and economical manner. That’s it! Pretty simple. Even a member of Congress should be able to understand it.

By Bill Anderson

The rain last Thursday & Friday, April 27 & 28, and the wind that ripped and roared through the community from Thursday April 27 through Monday, May 1, felt more like late March or early April than late April and early May, but a quick check of the calendar has confirmed that we are already into the 5^th month of the year with no appreciable field work on the 2023 crop yet completed. Even though the high temperatures have only been up in the mid-50’s lately, the lengthening days have done away with most of the snow that blanketed Sargent County with a layer of the white stuff several feet deep only a few short weeks ago. The forecasted high temperature of 72 degrees for Wednesday, May 3, was the first time that the thermometer has hit the 70 mark since November 1 of last year. 

Local farmers are anxious to get into the field, but some neighbors may have thought that Joe Breker was rushing the season a bit when they spotted Joe out with a self-propelled combine on recently tiled fields on the northerly 2/3 of Section 6, Twp. 129 Rge. 54 LTL, in Tewaukon Township. Joe explained that he was using the weight of the combine to level the filled trenches of the tiling project so he can plant a crop of radishes without wrecking his planter on rocks and dirt clods that were brought to the surface when the tile was installed. The radish seed won’t be ready for harvest until mid to late August. According to Joe, the tile was installed last Fall as part of “The Tri-Farmer Tile Project”, a cooperative effort that involved Joe, Dennis Pherson Jr., and Jerry Woytassek. The tile lines, once installed, allow what used to be excess spring moisture to drain away, taking alkali and other undesirable elements with it, leaving a field that can more easily be planted, and harvested. Joe says that the radishes he plants this Spring will hopefully yield seed that will be sold to other farmers to seed a soil conserving cover crop once their main cash crop, usually corn, soybeans, or wheat, has been harvested. So, although a combine on a bare field at the beginning of May might not be the conventional method of employing that particular implement, it is all part of the no-till and minimum till farming methods employed by many progressive, conservation minded farmers in this 3^rd decade of the 21^st Century. 

Hal Nelson & Bill Anderson of this community drove up to Fargo-Moorhead on Friday, April 28 on a multi-purpose mission. Bill visited his wife, Kathy Brakke, at Lilac Homes Memory Care in Moorhead; Bill & Hal called on Joel Heitkamp at radio station KFGO AM 790 to discuss North Dakota current events and history; and they stopped in to check out preparations for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day program and exhibit that would be presented at the Fargo Air Museum at Hector Airport on Saturday & Sunday, April 29 & 30. They also checked out gas prices at a major Fargo discount store and discovered that the price there was 5 cents a gallon higher than Rutland Oil Company’s price right here at home. That will teach them to buy at home!

Sunday, April 30, was the 5^th Sunday of the month, and was Pastor Julie Johnson’s day off at the TNT Parish. At the Nordland Congregation here in Rutland, lay members presented a skit about the blind beggar whose sight was restored by Jesus on the Sabbath Day. The established church leaders 2,000 years ago condemned both Jesus and the blind man for healing and being healed on the Sabbath. Actors in the skit were: Mike Wyum; Randy Pearson; Steve Wyum; Carolyn Christensen; Kathy Wyum; and Larry Christensen. Those involved delivered the message proficiently, efficiently, and effectively.