By Bill Anderson

The thunderstorm that moved through the Rutland community late on Friday night and early Saturday morning, April 22 & 23, was a real rip-roaring, rumbling, rattling, rocking & rolling sound and light show, combined with a downpour that dumped .84 of an inch of rain at the Mike & Debbie Banish farm south of town; 1 inch at the Chuck & Mary Beth Anderson farm in Weber Township; .85 of an inch at the Mark & Kathy Wyum home in Rutland; 1½ inch of rain at Jesse Brakke’s Ransom Township farmstead between Rutland & Cayuga; and, more than 2 inches at Rick Bosse’s farm near Brampton. A 4.6” gully-washer near Crete, in the northwestern corner of Sargent County, washed out a substantial section of County Road #2 near Kraft Lake, according to Sargent County Commissioner Lyle Bopp. The temperature shot up to 72 above by Noon on Saturday, and then began a rapid decline to 24 degrees by 6:00 on Sunday morning, as the weather front moved through. The forecast for the week calls for more rain and more cold, with freezing temperatures most nights until the first week of May is behind us. Well, at least there was half a day of nice weather on Saturday, April 23. There was some consternation on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 26, when a bright object appeared in the sky to the south southwest of Rutland. Concerns were relieved, though, when it was confirmed that the object was actually the Sun, making its first appearance in quite some time. It was a welcome sight, and it is hoped that it will show up a little more often in the future. There is general agreement that a week or two without freezing temperatures sometime between now and Labor Day would be nice.

Rodney Erickson reports that the paperwork he submitted to the U.S. Postal Service concerning a new Post Office location in Rutland has been received by the office in Colorado in charge of the project and is under consideration. Rodney was informed that it might take a month or two for the Postal Service to get someone up to Rutland to look things over and make a recommendation about the floor plan for a new facility. It takes a lot of planning to figure out how to put a lobby for the public up front; office space, work area & storage in the rear; and a screen line with customers’ Post Office boxes and a service window in between. Speed does not appear to be of the essence. The Post Office boxes, service window and other USPS equipment were removed from the old Post Office last week and taken to the Gwinner Post Office to be stored until they can be installed at the new location. Let’s hope that the Postal Service can remember where it put this stuff when the time comes to use it again. As of the end of April, it will have been 7 months since the door on the old Post Office was locked “for a few days.” Since then, several local volunteers have been making daily trips to Forman to pick up mail at the Post Office there and deliver it to the intended recipients in Rutland. A few years ago, before the gang that now runs the Postal Service from its lair in Washington DC was appointed, the aim of the operation was to be faster, more efficient, and less expensive. The current Postmaster General has a new goal: slower; less efficient; and, more expensive. It is time for the Congress of the United States, the body that has the statutory and Constitutional responsibility to oversee the operations of the Postal Service, to fire the Postmaster General and the entire Board of Governors of the USPS. They can then be replaced with competent individuals of good character who have the best interests of the American people in mind. So, come on John, Kevin and Kelly, step up and do your job!

In another Main Street development, The Stock Growers Bank, formerly The Sargent County Bank, has listed the Lariat Bar and its contents with the Steffes Auction Company in Fargo, to be sold sometime in mid-June. According to Casey Bopp of Stock Growers Bank, it is the Bank’s intention to sell the property as a “turnkey operation,” ready for a new buyer to get up and running in short order. The Lariat Bar has been closed since March 5, when former operators Pete & Michelle Denault, decided to terminate their lease. The Denaults had a good business going but decided to leave the business due to personal concerns. Anyone wishing to obtain additional information about the Lariat Bar in Rutland can contact Casey Bopp at Stock Growers Bank in Forman, 701-724-3216, or check out Steffes Auction’s web site at steffesgroup.com. The Lariat Bar is a great business opportunity for anyone who is willing to put forth some effort. It’s better than having a license to print your own money.

Three candidates for the Republican endorsement as candidates for the State Legislature in the upcoming Primary Election: State Sen. Robert Erbele; Representative Michael Brandenberg; and first time Candidate James Grueneich; were in Rutland on Tuesday, April 26, getting acquainted with the new boundaries of the 28^th Legislative District. The District is now comprised of Logan, McIntosh, Lamoure, Dickey and all but 2 Townships of Sargent County. Under the redistricting plan adopted last Fall by the North Dakota State Legislature, Tewaukon and Marboe Townships became part of District #25, which also includes all of Richland County to our east. Candidates Erbele, Brandenberg and Grueneich are opposed by former 26^th District Representative Sebastian Ertelt and 1st time candidate Josh Loegering for the GOP endorsement.

Rutland City Auditor Debbie Banish reports that the Rutland City Zoning & Planning Board has a meeting scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 28, in the Rutland Town Hall, to consider a building permit application for the construction of a fence in the residential area of the city, and to consider changes to the City’s Zoning Ordinance. Members of the Zoning & Planning Board are Richard “Mac” Pherson; Lori Mclaen; Andrew Woytassek; Shannon Mehrer; and Bill Anderson.

Sunday, May 1, will be Confirmation Sunday at Nordland Lutheran Church in Rutland. Four members of the Congregation: Greta Bladow; Kaycee Hamilton; Whitney Mahrer; and Charlize Willprecht; will affirm their baptism at the 9:00 a.m. service. Congratulations to Greta, Kaycee, Whitney & Charlize, and to their parents on passing this milestone of life.

The Rutland City Council is scheduled to meet at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 2, at the Rutland Town Hall. All meetings of the Rutland City Council are open to the public, and the public is invited to attend. Current members of the Rutland City Council are: Mayor Mike Mahrer; Alderman Rodney Erickson; Alderman Colton Corry; Alderwoman Delores Lysne; and Alderwoman Lori McLaen. Debbie Banish serves as City Auditor.

Rutland Housing, Inc., will hold its 51^st Annual Meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 3, at the Rutland Town Hall. Rutland Housing, Inc., is a not-for-profit corporation that was organized back in 1971 to construct and manage low-cost multi-family residential units in the community. The original members of the Board of Directors back in 1971 were: Earl Anderson; Rudolph Anderson; Norbert Kulzer; Aldon Donaldson; and Skip Sjothun. Current Directors are Delores Lysne, President; Bert Siemieniewski, Manager & Treasurer; Carolyn Christensen, Secretary; and, Bill Anderson, Member. There is one vacancy on the Board of Directors at this time. The corporation owns 3 apartment houses with 14 apartments in Rutland. All members of the Rutland community are invited to attend Rutland Housing’s Annual Meeting on Tuesday, May 3.

Mary Schlosser, Chairperson of the 28^th District Democratic-NPL Party, has announced that there will be a “Meet and Greet” for some of the Democrats’ District and Statewide candidates commencing at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 5, at The Fireside Family Restaurant in Ellendale. Katrina Christianson, candidate for the U.S. Senate; Trygve Hammer, candidate for the North Dakota Public Service Commission; and, Sharon Ulmer, candidate for the North Dakota House of Representatives are expected to be present.

Rutland Community Clean Up Day has been scheduled for Saturday, May 7. Inert materials such as tree branches, scrap lumber, etc. and white goods such as washing machines, dryers and refrigerators can be brought to the City’s inert landfill located west of Lou Sanderson Field after 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Electronic items, such as television sets, computers and monitors can be brought to the landfill and left at the designated area. One of these days Spring will be here, so let’s have the community clean and green to celebrate its arrival.

The Rutland Community Club has scheduled its meeting for the month of May for 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 9, at the Rutland Town Hall. The Memorial Day Dinner on Monday, May 30, and the Rutland Block Party during the first week of June will be among the items on the agenda. 

The Rutland Cemetery Association has scheduled its Annual Meeting for 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17, at the Community Room of the Stock Growers Bank’s Rutland Station. Members of the Cemetery Association’s Board are: Roger Pearson; Norbert Kulzer; Casee Carlson; Chuck Sundlie; and, Paul Anderson. Greg Donaldson serves as the cemetery’s Sexton.

Meanwhile, on the international scene, the Ukrainians, with the assistance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance, continues to resist the Russian invasion, and, in some instances, are even giving the Russians a thorough whipping. Some of the American admirers of Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin wonder why Ukraine is even fighting. After all, they say, wasn’t Ukraine part of the Soviet Union? The answer is: Yes, it was, but it isn’t any more. Throughout its history, Ukraine has had many incarnations, and a lot of them had nothing to do with Russia. About 1,000 years ago, the Ukrainian Capitol City, Kiev, was founded by Norse Vikings who had nothing to do with Russia as a trading center. A couple of hundred years later it was the center of a country called Ruthenia, and a significant percentage of Ukrainians spoke the Ruthenian language until the Soviet Dictator Stalin deported them to Siberia in the 1930’s. Later on, parts of Ukraine were ruled by the Swedes, the Lithuanians, the Ottoman Turks, the Poles and the Austrians. When Poland was partitioned by Austria, Prussia and Russia, some of Ukraine was ruled by Austria and a large part became a separate province of the Russian Empire. When the Bolshevicks overthrew the Czar of Russia in 1917, Ukraine, along with Finland, became independent once again, and remained so until the Bolshevick Red Army defeated the anti-Bolshevick White Army in 1922, and Ukraine became one of the Republics that made up the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). When the USSR collapsed in 1991, Ukraine went its own way once again. It had been recognized as an independent republic by the United Nations, and even by Stalin’s USSR, since the end of World War II in 1945. Throughout all that 1,000 years of history, the Ukrainians did not consider themselves to be Norse, Swedes, Lithuanians, Turks, Poles, Austrians or Russians. They were always Ukrainians, and that’s what they want to be now. They are willing to fight and die for that right. More power to them!

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 take a look at the Rutland Facebook page while you’re at it, too. Remember to patronize your local Post Office, and don’t forget to keep the pressure on the U. S. Postal Service and the North Dakota Congressional delegation to SAVE OUR POST OFFICE! Later.