Captain Mike Harris USN and wife, Joy, arrived in Rutland on Wednesday, August 19, for a week of visiting with family and friends here. Mike recently completed a three-year tour of duty aboard the USS Green Bay, including 1½ years as the ship’s Executive Officer, and 1½ years as Commanding Officer. The USS Green Bay is an Amphibious Transport Ship, designated by the Navy as Landing Platform Dock (LPD) that, in addition to the crew of officers and sailors who operate the ship, carries a complement of several hundred U.S. Marines and their equipment, along with the helicopters, amphibious landing craft and fixed wing aircraft needed to project American power ashore to engage anyone, anywhere, any time, and win. Home base for the Green Bay was in Sasebo, Japan. Mike’s new duty station will be at the huge U.S. Navy Base at San Diego CA. Mike and Joy are residing at the home of his mother, Joanne Harris, during their visit here. They intend to depart for San Diego on Thursday, August 27. Mike says that he has now completed 33 years of service in the Navy, including duty aboard aircraft carriers, amphibious warfare ships, other surface warfare vessels, and shore duty with NATO at Naples, Italy and at other Navy bases in the U. S. and Asia. The Harris’s many friends in Rutland extend their thanks for Mike’s decades of service on the front line of America’s defense perimeter.

Roger Pearson, Greg Donaldson, Hal Nelson and Kyle Mahrer of Rutland, along with Harvey Dawson of Brampton, headed northeast early on the morning of Thursday, August 20, bound for Ballard’s Resort on Lake Of The Woods, along the U.S.-Canadian border, for a few days of fishing for the elusive walleye. The five local men were part of a fishing excursion sponsored by radio station KFGO AM790, and hosted by Bonnie Amistadi, one of the station’s news personalities. They returned home on the evening of Sunday, August 23, with a full complement of fish and fishing stories.  Roger reports that they caught a lot of fish, but not many real big ones. The walleyes were “eating size,” which is OK with Roger. The anglers report that a good time was had by all, and justifiably so.

The streets of Rutland are a bit quieter these days as Sargent Central School District resumed full-time classes on Wednesday, August 26. Students and teachers are looking forward to seeing each other again. Everyone is hoping for a good year and keeping fingers crossed that COVID steers clear of the school.

Well, that’s the news from Rutland for this week. For additional information about what’s going on in the little city that can, check out the community’s internet web site at www.rutlandnd.com, and stop by the Rutland blog and Facebook page while you’re out there in cyberspace, too.