The weather and the stock market have both been bouncing around like a yo-yo on a string for the past week, but now it appears that both the weatherman and the stock brokers have made up their minds, sending both into the tank. The mercury hit 15 below zero in Rutland on Monday morning, then topped out at 22 above by Tuesday afternoon before starting a slide into the cellar that is not predicted to stop until it hits bottom at 25 to 30 below sometime this weekend. Well, the weather forecasts aren’t always right, but why is it that they usually miss when they’re predicting sunny and 70, but are rarely wrong when predicting ferocious, frigid and frozen? Ask your stock broker, he’s as likely to have the answer as the weatherman.

Cameron Gulleson, Mark Wyum and Rob Wyum drove down to Texas during the first week of January to discuss contracts for spraying crops in that area with Texas farmers. Cameron and Rob, along with Lance Gulleson and Cody Gulleson, own and operate an agricultural chemical application business, and the boys are looking for a way to keep the equipment rolling year-round. Reports are that the number of acres planted to winter wheat in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas is way down this year due to increases in the acreage going into the production of corn, soybeans and milo. King Cotton in Texas has suffered the same fate as King Wheat in North Dakota. They have both been deposed in favor of a new regime. As a result, there is now a shortage of wheat and the price has soared to stratospheric levels for winter wheat, spring wheat and durum. The price could just as well be $100.00 per bushel, though, because no one has any to sell right now. There is one thing, though, that the American farmer can do better than produce, and that’s overproduce, so just give him a few years with some timely rains and it won’t be long until crop prices are back in the tank with the weather and the stock market, too.

Edith Malpert underwent surgery at a hospital in Fargo on Monday, January 7. After a week of recuperation, Edith returned home and hosted Bible study in her home on Monday, the 14th.

Mike Kulzer has been on the disabled list this week, after undergoing surgery to repair an abdominal hernia on Tuesday, January 8. Norbert Kulzer has been keeping the doors open at Kulzer Feed and Seed while cousin Mike recuperates.

Arnold Pederson has decided to relocate from his apartment at 316 Ross Street to the Four Seasons Healthcare Center in Forman. Arnold is a patient at a Fargo Hospital this week, undergoing tests to determine the cause of a stomach ailment. His many friends here wish him a speedy recovery.

Butch Craig of Cayuga was in Rutland on business on Wednesday, January 9, and reported that he has been busy cutting wood to feed the wood-burning heaters he has installed in his home and at the Cayuga Bar. With the price of heating fuel pushing the $3.00 per gallon mark, it is likely that the old wood burning stoves will recover some of the popularity they enjoyed during the last energy crisis about 30 years ago.

What the heck is a blog? If you want to find out, check out the following site on the internet: http://communityblogs.us to get in contact with bloggers from across the upper northwest, from Iowa and Wisconsin to Washington and Oregon. The word “blog” it turns out, is computer geek speak for “web log” and is a site on the internet where folks can meet to chat and exchange ideas. The Rutland community now has its own blog at the http://communityblogs.us address, courtesy of the Horizons Program, says Horizons coordinator Carolyn Christensen. Plans to link Rutland’s new blog site to the community’s internet web site at www.rutlandnd.com are in the works. So, check it out and become a Rutland blogger.

Members of the Rutland Sportsmen’s Club held their regular monthly meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 10, in the dining room at the Lariat Bar with president Clint McLaughlin presiding. Club members discussed the annual Sportsmen’s Club Fish Fry which will be held in the Rutland Town Hall on Friday, March 7. Secretary-Treasurer Travis Paeper stated that tickets will be available for distribution to members at the February meeting. The fish fry ticket price was set at $10.00, apiece, the same as last year. Correspondence from Gene Vaneckhout of the North Dakota Game & Fish Department informed the members that Ralph Swanson has made 2 sites on his property at Consolidated Slough and Crappie Crossing Slough available for the installation of boat ramps and boat docks which will be furnished by the Department, provided that a local entity co-sponsors the sites. Club members voted to make the Rutland Sportsmen’s Club the sponsoring entity in order to get the improvements put in place. A long-term easement from Mr. Swanson to the Game & Fish Department will guarantee public access to the facilities, and to the fishing resource, into the 22nd Century. In other business, Club members set the annual election of officers to take place at the February meeting which will be held on Thursday, February 7, in the Lariat Bar’s dining room; discussed recent improvements to the clubhouse at the Club’s trap & rifle range near Silver Lake; authorized the purchase of a large thermometer for the clubhouse; discussed the acquisition of equipment which will be needed to use the clubhouse as the Hunter Safety classroom for this Spring’s class; and, discussed the Club’s annual Youth Day held in August of each year. Vaughan Rohrbach’s name was drawn as the winner of the annual attendance prize, a $200.00 gift certificate redeemable at Sportsmen’s Warehouse in Fargo. By ironic coincidence, Vaughan missed the meeting at which he won the attendance prize. The next meeting of the Rutland Sportsmen’s Club will be held on Thursday, February 7, in the dining room at the Lariat Bar.

Corey Arnold visited at the Joe & Patty Breker farm home in Tewaukon Township last weekend, and accompanied Joe to town on Saturday afternoon for a stop at the Rutland General Store for coffee and conversation. Corey is a graduate of Sargent Central High School and has most recently been a student at NDSU in Fargo. He is also a member of the ND National Guard’s 191st Military Police unit. The 191st is getting ready to deploy to Iraq, and is scheduled to depart Fargo on Friday Jan. 18, bound first for Ft. Dix NJ, then to Kuwait, then to Baghdad. The unit’s mission will be to train and patrol with Iraqi police units. All in this community wish Corey and his comrades the best of luck as we, the American people, send them into harm’s way to do our dirty work.

A packed house was on hand for Customer Appreciation Night at the Lariat Bar last Friday, January 11. Owner Janice Christensen set up free food and beverages for the Lariat’s patrons, and they certainly felt appreciated. A good time was had by all, and justifiably so.

The Rutland Fitness Center’s Fitness Challenge started on Monday, January 14, but it’s not too late to participate. Just contact Jen Christianson at 724-3406, for information about the program which is aimed at helping people feel better, look better and live better. Who wouldn’t want to do that? The Fitness Center will also be sponsoring monthly Couples dancing classes at the Rutland Town Hall starting on Sunday, January 20. Contact Ione Pherson or Jen Christianson for more information about the Rutland Fitness Center and its programs.

Pam Gulleson is on the road this week, heading out to Washington DC on Sunday, January 13, as part of her job as Deputy State Director for U. S. Senator Byron Dorgan’s office. Senator Dorgan’s staff will be involved in putting the final touches on the new Farm Bill, as well as pushing for the speedy confirmation of former North Dakota Governor Ed Shafer as the nation’s new Secretary of Agriculture. The President, Mr. Shafer’s new boss, has threatened to veto the Farm Bill, even though the version passed by the Congress is paid for and the version proposed by the President is not. Although Karl Rove is no longer muttering incantations and casting spells in the basement of the White House, his twisted logic and “big Lie” techniques still pervade the place. Under the Bush-Cheney-Rove regime, paying your own way as you go along is defined as “fiscally irresponsible”, while borrowing and spending with no thought of repaying the debt incurred is defined as “responsible fiscal management.” Well, you be the judge.

Andy Harris departed Rutland on Monday, January 14, bound for the shores of sunny Italy. Andy plans to spend several months in Italy, headquartering out of the home of his brother, Lt. Commander Mike Harris, in Naples. Mike is currently serving at NATO’s Mediterranean Headquarters there. All of the Harrises plan to be heading back to the States this Summer.

Change is what you get back after you have paid for something, and it’s usually less than the amount you originally handed to the cashier. Change is what every candidate now running for the office of President of the United States is promising to the American people. Well, if we also get what we paid for, change may not be a bad thing. The late Earl Weber once commented, though, that, “We’re just d—-d lucky that we don’t get all the government we pay for.” All of the front running GOP candidates have pledged to retain the Bush foreign policy, the Bush economic policy and the Bush fiscal policy if elected, so their definition of “change” appears to be keeping everything unchanged. Strange logic, but it is an election year, after all. At any rate, North Dakota citizens of both political inclinations will have the opportunity to participate in the Presidential candidate selection process on Tuesday, February 5, by casting a ballot in the State’s residential Preference Caucuses. Information about polling places is available on the internet, at the Secretary of State’s web site. In District #26, the Democratic-NPL Party will have polling places in Milnor; Gwinner; Rutland; Lidgerwood; Wyndmere; Sheldon; Lisbon; Oakes; Fullerton; and, Lamoure. The Dem-NPL polling stations will be open from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The 26th District GOP has designated 1 polling station, in Wyndmere, for its Presidential Preference Caucus. This is the citizen’s chance to have a say in who’s running the show, so, whether Democrat or Republican, let ’em know what you think.

With the price of a barrel of oil hitting $100.00 last week, with homeowners paying more than twice as much to heat their homes this Winter as last, with truckers and farmers having to wait in line to buy enough fuel to keep the wheels turning, and with North Dakota produced oil being docked more than $11.00 per barrel, even though it is top quality crude, the time has come, according to Dem-NPL State Representatives Kenton Onstad of Parshall and Shirley Meyer of Dickinson, to consider the construction of a new oil refinery in North Dakota. They propose 3 possible alternatives: that a new refinery could be constructed, owned and operated by the State, in the same manner as the State owned Bank of North Dakota and the State owned North Dakota Mill and Elevator have been for more than 8 decades; that the State could partner with a private company to own, construct and operate a refinery; or, that the State could finance the construction and operation of a new refinery by a private company. North Dakota, they say, is currently missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars of oil revenue and tax collections because the price paid for the high-quality crude oil produced in this State is discounted due to a lack of refining and pipeline capacity. The recent estimate of more than 400 billion barrels of high-quality oil reserves in the “Bakken Formation” underlying western North Dakota underscores the need for a refinery in this State. Just multiply 400 billion by $11.00 per barrel, the current discount charged against North Dakota oil, and $4.4 trillion is what North Dakotans and North Dakota stand to lose without a refinery of their own. Well, as the late Sen. Everett Dirksen of Illinois once said, “A billion here and a billion there, and the next thing you know you’re talking real money.” The time has come for North Dakota to seize control of its economic future, but the time will pass with nothing done if the same old leadership remains entrenched in the legislature and the State capitol. Will the voters of North Dakota once again refuse to answer when Opportunity is knocking at the door? Stay tuned, the future holds more episodes in this drama.

Meanwhile, on the national scene, New York Senator and Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton really committed the ultimate political sin last weekend, and she is being pilloried for it in the national news media. Senator Clinton has been on the national political stage for a long time, and she really should have known better than to do what she did. The offense she committed was so heinous, so egregious, so offensive that it aroused the ire and derision of nearly every major media conglomerate. So, what was this terrible thing that Hillary did, the thing that no national politician dares be accused of? Well, she spoke the truth. Yep, that’s right, the truth. Hillary stood right up there and said that the Rev. Martin Luther King’s dream of equality of opportunity for every American, his dream of a time when Americans would be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character, began to become a reality when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Dr. King’s dream is embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution. It is the dream of all Americans. The Civil Rights Act had been drawn up by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and sent to the Congress by President John F. Kennedy in August of 1963 to bring that dream closer to reality, but the bill was in danger of being carved up, whittled down and washed away by Representatives and Senators from the southern States. When Lyndon Johnson became President in November of 1963, he pledged to continue the policies, programs and proposals put forward by JFK, and it was his political courage, strength and cunning that pushed the Civil Rights Act through the Congress. Rev. King had the dream and he led the movement, but Lyndon Johnson changed the law, and that’s a fact. Both Dr. King and President Johnson deserve some credit for moving America closer to its ideal. Without either one of them, it probably wouldn’t have happened, at least not then. So, why was the national media so offended by a simple statement of fact? Well, a lot of folks are frightened by things that they aren’t familiar with, and a national political leader intentionally speaking the truth, even an innocent little statement about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, is enough to send paroxysms of fear shivering down the spines of the national press corps. You never know, though, like waving a flag in front of a horse, after they get used to it, the concept may not frighten them so much. Mark Twain once said, “Always do what is right. It will please some of the people, and surprise all the rest.” Speaking the truth was the right thing for Senator Clinton to do. With a little luck, the concept might catch on.

Checking in on Rutland’s internet web site at http://www.rutlandnd.com is a concept that has been catching on all over the country. Grace Picot of New Mexico stops by every week to check up on old friends in Rutland. She says that she really doesn’t remember that Ray Erickson was ever shy. Well, Grace, Rusty Silseth says Ray is shy, and we always believe what Rusty tells us, don’t we?

The following are excerpts from the L. S. Sanderson column of January 15, 1953: The winter of 1952-3 has broken all records for mild weather. At this date, January 12, flies can be seen around the house and boxelder bugs are appearing in large numbers. We are perfectly willing to give the devil his dues, as they say, but we are inclined to credit this change to the Republicans.*Jalmer Strand has returned from Milwaukee. He enjoyed the rose bowl game by television and is eagerly awaiting its arrival here.*Mrs. Hans Dyste is visiting friends in Rutland and Forman this week. Mrs. Dyste has been at the home of her daughter in Claremont, S. D. since the death of her husband. *1953 fishing licenses are now on sale and this year fishermen are permitted to keep everything they catch, regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude. The reason for the change in game laws? No fish! ”Over the Back Fence” is the heading the columnist uses in her column appearing weekly in the Lidgerwood Monitor. Naturally these articles bear a trace of femininity, but we never miss reading them and get quite a kick out of them even tho our hobby is baseball. Last week she stated, quote: ”In Roasting a duck, the flavor can be greatly enhanced by stuffing it with sauerkraut,” then adds, “I have never tried it, but some time I might.” In commenting, we will say, “Don’t try it. If you have any sauerkraut on hand, throw it over the back fence. We have heard a number of people tell how they made sauerkraut, but we have never heard anyone say why they made it.”*Mr. and Mrs. Al Kulzer and children are leaving this week for Colorado Springs to visit their daughter there, Mrs. Arnold Erickson. Arnold has been stationed there since entering the army, but has now been discharged. They will continue to reside there.*Fishermen at the South Dakota lakes were lucky last Sunday. The honor of catching the big on went to Blackie Kriz who brought home a 9½ pound northern. Martin Harles succeeded in getting a 4 and also a 5 pounder. The biggest fish I ever succeeded in catching was so big I was unable to use the scale, so we weighed its shadow, which tipped the scales at 11 lbs.*150 members with employees represent a weekly payroll of $15,000.00 or more and it is doubtful that anything will be accomplished this week. It appears that when a party supports and elects a man to represent it, a branding iron should be used, just as stockmen brand their cattle when sent out on the range, otherwise they just get lost. If, and when, they get organized we presume the first thing on the agenda is to find something to tax.*Maynard Olstad is a patient at Excelsior Springs, Mo., where he is seeking relief from a prolonged attack of arthritis.