By Deborah Banish

Mother Nature has not been playing nice lately and I know I am getting tired of the snow. The snowfall and ground blizzard on February 24th resulted in some area events being postponed or cancelled. The Rutland Community Club Fun Night has been rescheduled for Sunday, March 10, same time (4-6 p.m.) at the Rutland Hall. The Rutland Sportsman’s Club cancelled the Fishing Derby at Silver Lake but the Club’s drawing will be held once all the sold tickets are received. The next snow event that is predicted for Friday, March 1, is the date of the Rutland Sportsman’s Club Fish Fry but that won’t stop this event from happening. The Sargent Central Clay Target League members will be holding their bake sale fundraiser that evening so be sure to head in early. Serving starts at 5:30 p.m.

The Rutland Community Development Corporation (RCDC) had to postpone their January 30th meeting to February 20th at the Rutland Senior Center. Several members attended but, due to weather, the turnout was less than planned. The Lariat Bar is current on the loan payments with the RCDC and those are the only two loans out at this time. The RCDC has money that is available to be invested in the community if any individual or entity is interested in establishing a business in town. Calvin Jacobson and Jake Erickson were both elected to another term on the RCDC Board and Cam Gulleson was elected to fill the remaining two-years of the term held by Sam Gillespie.

The members of Bergman-Evenson Post #215 of the American Legion met at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 26, in the dining room at The Lariat Bar in Rutland. Commander Larry Christensen called the meeting to order and Post Adjutant Doug Olstad reported that the Post currently has $3,600.00 on hand to fund Post activities in the community. Post members voted: to hold pancake & sausage fund raisers on the second Sunday in October, 2019, and on the 1st Sunday in February, Super Bowl Sunday, of 2020; to hold meat raffles at The Lariat Bar on a regular basis; to donate $500, each, to two individuals in the Rutland and Cayuga communities who are currently undergoing medical treatment for serious health problems. Commander Christensen appointed Post Vice-Commander Tom Manley, member Doug Spieker and member Bill Anderson to a committee to organize and oversee the meat raffles. Commander Christensen also reported that 3 members of Post #215 assisted the Havana Legion Post at the funeral for the late John “Jack” Brummond in January. Vice-Commander Tom Manley reminded members that the 10th District Spring meeting will be held on Thursday, April 11, in Lamoure. As Tom is currently serving as 10th District Commander, he requested that as many members of the Rutland Post as possible attend the 10th District meeting. Post members then adjourned the meeting to The Lariat Bar for refreshments. The next meeting of Post #215 will be held at the call of the Commander.

The City Council has moved its monthly meeting to Monday, March 11, for a public hearing on the City of Rutland Emergency Lagoon Repairs 2019-1. The City’s Lagoon bank is being eroded by the sewer force main due to a broken pipe. Plugged discharge and transfer pipes do not allow the lagoon to function as needed. The project will repair the sanitary sewer force main that is eroding the lagoon bank. The City has been awarded $116,400.00 from the CDBG Governor’s Set-Aside Fund. Total project cost is estimated at $220,000.00. The public hearing is required before proceeding with the project. Following the public hearing, the Council will convene its regular monthly meeting.

The Sargent County Farmers Union and Sargent County Farm Bureau will host a Legislative Forum on Saturday, March 16th starting at 9:00 a.m. at the Forman Senior Center. Senator Jim Dotzenrod and Representatives Sebastian Ertelt and Kathy Skroch will attend. This is an opportunity to meet with your Legislators, hear what is happening and provide input on issues.

Saturday, March 16, is also the next meeting of the North Dakota District 26 Dem-NPL District Reorganization Meeting at Rutland City Hall starting at 11 a.m. This is an opportunity to get involved so be sure to stop by after the Legislative Forum.

Diane Smith reports that the Rutland community play will be moved to Sunday, March 24th and will be another original focusing on Rutland’s history in the 50s. It promises to be a fun Sunday afternoon so keep your schedule open to get to Rutland.

Let’s hope Mother Nature settles down and doesn’t send more snow like Rutland had in 1896: The winter of ’96 was one to remember. Legend has it that John Bloomdale, who lived in a shack near the stockyards, added a section of stovepipe after every blizzard to keep the chimney above the snow banks. And, by spring he had 28 feet of chimney above his little shack. The city was cut off from the outside for nearly three months before the Great Northern Railroad finally broke through the snow and delivered the mail for the first time in 1897.

Well, that’s it for the news from Rutland for this week. Remember to get to the Fish Fry – if you were lucky to get one of the 500 tickets sold. Rutland is the place to be!