Tag: COVID-19

The Rooster Crows – April 9, 2021

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By Bill Anderson

Good things come to those who wait,” the old timers used to say, and once again, they were proved right on the evening of Tuesday, April 6, and the morning of Wednesday , April 7. The drought was not broken, but the edge was taken off of it as a steady drizzle deposited .4 of an inch of rain on Rutland and vicinity as of 9:15 on Wednesday morning, according to Norbert Kulzer’s rain gauge at 415 Gay Street. Roger Pearson, whose rain gauge issituated only a few feet away from Norbert’s, and generally measures less rain than Norbert’s, hadn’t checked his gauge yet, so, at least for now, Norbert’s rain gauge is right. Large amounts of precipitation are not in the near term forecast, but the weather gurus are predicting that showers and damp weather will persist until the weekend. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, “This rain may not be the end of the drought; it may not even be the beginning of the end; but, it may be the end of the beginning.”

The Rutland community is beginning to move to the “New Normal” of the post covid-19 world. On Saturday, April 3, The Rutland Community Club resurrected the community’s traditional Easter Egg Hunt for children in the community.  The event was held in the Rutland Town Hall and in the adjacent City park & playground. The following reportwas received from Community Club President Katie McLaen: “There were over 3,000 eggs hidden and over 50 kids hunting. In addition to the usual prizes, the Rutland Volunteer Firemen donated 6 bicycles as Grand Prizes. Nate Peterson; Raegan Roney; Ruth McLaen; Axel Hanson; Corbin Carlson; and, Jemma Schuster; won them. The Lariat Bar served rolls, juice, bloody Mary’s and mimosas. Hiding the eggs took almost an hour, with 7 people. Finding the eggs only took about 10 minutes.” Thanks to the members of the Rutland Community Club for starting the community revitalization process, and thanks to the Firemen for donating the bicycles.

Despite rapid progress being made on the vaccination front, the covid-19 battle is not yet won, according to Sargent County Public Health District Administrator Brenda Peterson. Ms. Peterson reports that adequate supplies of vaccine are now being received, and that all County residents 18 and older are now eligible to be vaccinated against the virus.  Sargent County now has all three of the vaccines approved for use in the U. S.: Pfizer; Moderna; and Johnson & Johnson; available.  She also said that the County’s nurses will be administering vaccinations at each shift at the Bobcat factory in Gwinner this coming week. Additionally, they will be in the three public schools in Sargent County: Sargent Central; North Sargent; and, Milnor; administering vaccinations to students who are age 16 or older, with parental permission, beginning next week. Sargent County’s covid-19 case count has been at or near 10 for a while, but 10 new cases were reported as of Tuesday, April 6, so the virus is still a threat to public health and the fight is not yet over. Sargent County Public Health has worked through its waiting list, said Ms. Peterson, so those who want a vaccination can now obtain it very quickly. To make an appointment for a covid-19 vaccination call: Sargent County Public Health at 724-3725; Forman Drug at 724-6222; or Sanford Clinic at 742-3267.

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The Rooster Crows – April 2, 2021

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By Bill Anderson

The only people who get hurt on a roller coaster are those who try to get off while the ride is still in motion. Well, there’s no getting off the 2021 weather roller coaster, and it’s still in motion. From an extremely windy high of 76 above on Monday, March 29, to an extremely windy low of 20 degrees on the morning of Tuesday, March 30, Mother Nature showed that she is quite capable of changing her mind without notice. Monday’s wind was from the south, moving soil from worked fields, and even from some no-till fields, to Canada, and Tuesday’s wind was from the north, bringing an equal amount of dirt back with it. The soil in motion never gets put back where it came from, though, and ends up clogging road ditches, culverts, and air filters. The extremely dry and windy conditions of Spring, 2021, are reminiscent of the Spring of 1988. Fortunately, history does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme. The weatherman is predicting a steady warm up beginning on Thursday, April 1, and we’re hoping that he’s not foolin’, cause he’s predicting sunny and mid-70’s for Easter Sunday. Bring it on!

Chuck & Mary Beth Anderson hitched their 5th wheel travel trailer to their pickup on Monday, March 22, and headed southwest, bound for Sedona, Arizona, and a sight-seeing tour of the Grand Canyon. On the morning of Wednesday, March 24, Chuck called a friend, Mark Wyum, to report that they were snowed in at a campground in the mountains of New Mexico. Chuck reported that at least 6 inches of snow had fallen, and it was still coming down.  A later call to friends here carried the information that the New Mexico Highway Department had opened the roads, enabling the Andersons to resume their journey. Last year, Chuck retired from the North Dakota Highway Department after 24 years, including many hours in a snowplow, and it is assumed that New Mexico’s promptness in getting the road opened for Chuck & Mary Beth was an example of professional courtesy between Knights of the Road.

Dale McLaen of this community has been hospitalized at Hennepin County Medical Center in the Twin Cities for the past week. Dale underwent surgery last Thursday, March 25, and reports are that he came through the procedure quite well. It is expected that he will be recuperating in St. Paul, under the supervision of his wife, Lisa, for the foreseeable future. Cards & letters may be sent to Dale at the following address: Mr. Dale McLaen, 720 Arlington Avenue West, St. Paul MN 55117. His many friends here wish him a speedy recovery and return to his usual good health.

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The Rooster Crows -March 26, 2021

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By Bill Anderson

The Equinox has come and went; Back to Ireland has St. Pat been sent; But no one’s complaining that it’s been a bummer; Cause we’re on the downhill slide from here to Summer! Spring arrived on Saturday, March 20, and Sunday, March 21, the first full day of Spring 2021, was full of sunshine, bereft of wind and perfect for sitting on the porch to survey the neighborhood. Still no rain, but, as the old timers used to say, “Every day that it doesn’t rain is one day closer to the day that it will.” Can’t argue with those old timers. Those modern-day old timers, the Assembled Wise Men at the Round Table, were once asked how it was that they seldom made mistakes. “Experience!” they replied. Then the question was asked, “How did you obtain experience?” “By making mistakes,” was the response. So it goes, from one generation of old timers to the next.

Norbert & Beverly Kulzer, Bill Anderson and Andy Harris joined Joanne Harris of this community for a St. Patrick’s Day supper on the evening of Wednesday, March 17. The main course was the traditional Irish meal of corned beef, cabbage and boiled potatoes. At the conclusion of the evening the hostess and guests drank a toast to the memory of the late John Harris, a descendant of Irish immigrants who took great pride in his Irish heritage. The Irish invented Guinness and Jamiesons, both of them being outstanding gifts to humanity.

Dale & Lisa McLaen of this community were back in the old hometown from Friday, March 19 to Sunday, March 21. Dale has been in the Twin Cities for the past several weeks, consulting with medical personnel at Hennepin County Medical Center. He reports that teams of doctors, sometimes as many as 6 at a time, have been examining, double-checking, discussing and diagnosing his condition for a couple of weeks, and that surgery is now planned for Thursday, March 25. Follow up treatment will be decided upon after that. As of Sunday, March 21, with the sun shining and Spring in the air, Dale said that he is feeling positive, and is ready for the surgery to be done. His many friends here wish him a speedy recovery and return home.

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The Rooster Crows -March 19, 2021

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By Bill Anderson

March! The month that was put on the calendar so people who don’t drink can know what a hangover feels like. From Winter to Spring to Winter and Spring and back again, slushy snow, mud, soft roads treacherous ice and the accumulated trash of Winter on full display in your front yard. How is it that a lawn that was so energetically raked and meticulously cleaned up last Fall and then gently covered by Winter’s first snowfall looks as if it has been abandoned for a decade when the snow disappears in March? Somebody buried broken branches, old bones, rocks, dog droppings, plastic bags and other debris under the snow when you weren’t looking. Well, nobody ever said that it was going to be easy.

The snow system that moved through eastern North Dakota last Wednesday, March 10, deposited 8 inches of snow on Rutland and vicinity. By Thursday, March 11, the snow had turned to 8 inches of slush, and by Friday it was, for the most part, gone with the wind. Sunday was sunny with a high of 53 degrees, followed by Monday with a high of 34 and a stiff southeast wind. More snow on Tuesday produced more slush that disappeared just about as fast as it accumulated, and temperatures were predicted to be up in the 50’s, possibly the 60’s, again by the weekend. The Vernal Equinox, the first day of Spring, occurs on Saturday, March 20, and after that Spring is here to stay, no matter how much snow and cold we have to put up with in subsequent days.

Mother Nature’s bird-brained meteorologists, the snow geese, are betting that Spring is here to stay. They have been moving into this area since the beginning of March, and Tewaukon Refuge Manager Pat Fitzmorris reports that approximately 500,000 of the birds were parked on Lake Tewaukon over the first weekend of the month. More are on the way, too, as millions of them are now reported to be in Nebraska and South Dakota, with the peak of the snow goose migration in this area expected to occur during the first week of April. Wildlife biologists have been studying the behaviors of migratory birds, such as snow geese, for many years, and have found some answers to some long-asked questions. For instance, migrating geese always fly in a “V” formation, with one side of the “V” always being longer than the other, and people have long wondered why that is. The answer, it turns out, can be figured out with basic mathematics – the longer side is longer because there are more geese on that side. It’s all pretty simple if you get down to basics.

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The Rooster Crows- March 12, 2021

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By Bill Anderson

From below Zero on Monday, March 1 to 62 above Zero on Monday, March 8, a very welcome respite from Winter, but “respite” is the operative word. Monday’s high temperature broke a record that had stood since 1911, when the mercury soared to 54 above zero. Tuesday’s high of 65 degrees above Zero was also a record, eclipsing the 58-degree mark that had been set in 2015. Winter is not done, yet, however. On Wednesday, March 10, the weather gurus are predicting a high of 35 and possible snow. You can rest easy, though, as Winter’s days are definitely numbered.  Daylight Savings Time is scheduled to make its arrival at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 14, and the Vernal Equinox, the First Day of Spring, according to the timetable established by the Creator of the Universe, makes its arrival on Saturday, March 20. These two harbingers of better days ahead are more precise and dependable than the groundhog, the snow geese and the first robin, although not nearly as colorful, active and noisy. Once the Vernal Equinox arrives, spring has definitely sprung, regardless of what the thermometer says. So, just sit back and relax. Winter will make its exit and Spring will make its entrance in their own good time, and all of our questions, comments and complaints will not alter their pace one whit. Meanwhile, keep your snow shovel handy, just in case you have to shovel some of that Spring sunshine off your driveway.

Paul Anderson of this community reports that he is a grandpa, again. Miss Arlo Lake Elfering was born on Monday, March 1, 2021, in Seattle WA to Paul’s daughter & son-in-law, Katie & Josh Elfering. She weighed in at 7 pounds 7½ ounces, according to Grandpa, but he wasn’t sure how tall she was on arrival. Her Mom is 5’2” and her Dad is 6’8”, so she has possibilities in either direction. Arlo joins her big brother, Rhys, in the Elfering household. Congratulations to the Elferings, and to Arlo’s proud Grandpa Paul.

CORRECTION: In last week’s report of the Monday, March 1, Rutland City Council meeting, the last names of City Council member Colton Corry and City Engineer Mike Basingthwaite were misspelled. Apologies are extended to Mr. Corry and Mr. Basingthwaite for the errors, and thanks to City Auditor Debbie Banish for noticing the errors and providing the corrections.

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The Rooster Crows – February 12, 2021

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By Bill Anderson

The month of February has brought with it the coldest weather of the year, making January, the usual cold weather champ, seem like a semi-tropical memory by comparison. Starting on Wednesday, February 3, the day after Ground Hog’s Day, the mercury began to drop and has only risen above the zero mark on a couple of occasions since then. But, while frigid temperatures are torture for some, they are opportunity for others. Mr. Sawyer Toepke, an elementary student at Sargent Central, reports that he is organizing a hockey team, and that he already has 20 prospective players lined up, if they can find 20 pairs of skates and 20 hockey sticks. Sawyer should probably be thinking of lining up a team dentist, as well. The optimism of youth sees opportunity where others see only misery and discomfort. Hang in there, Sawyer, and bring the NHL’s Stanley Cup back to Sargent County some cold winter day. That ought to make the sun shine! As the old timers used to say, “Nobody ever succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, unless they had some wild expectations to begin with.”

Ice fishing! The cold weather now has the ice on local water holes thick enough for reasonably sane anglers to get out there and go after the ever elusive walleye. Some reports have been received of a few fishermen having some success on a local body of water that bears the name of three former Sargent County Commissioners. If you know your county’s history, you might be able to figure out where that hot spot might be, but by then the fish will have quit biting. Have faith.

Rutland native Mavis (Hoflen) Wold called friends here on Friday, Feb. 5, reporting that she is still in the hospital recovering from the broken leg she suffered a month ago. Mavis said that she had been working in the kitchen of her Minneapolis home when she lost her footing, fell and sustained the broken leg. She is currently undergoing therapy, and hopes to be back in her home in the near future. Mavis is the eldest daughter of the late Oscar & Alma (Anderson) Hoflen of this community. She is a member of the RHS Class of ’47. Her many friends here wish her a speedy recovery and return home.

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