By Bill Anderson
What would the 4th of July be without fireworks? There was quite a display of fireworks from every corner of Rutland commencing about 10:30 p.m. on the evening of Sunday, July 3, but Mother Nature topped off the evening an hour or so later with a Thunder & Lightning sound and light show of her own. She even added half an inch of rain for effect.
The heat and humidity of recent weeks, coupled with plenty of soil moisture and a few timely rains, have had crops in this area literally jumping out of the ground. Despite having been planted only a little over a month ago, local cornfields had all surpassed the traditional “knee high by the 4th of July” indicator of a good crop coming. Well, a lot can happen between now and harvest time, and we don’t want to be counting our chickens before they’re hatched, or our corncobs before they’re picked.
Rutland’s City Election was held back on Tuesday, June 14, in conjunction with the North Dakota State Primary Election. The City had two 4-year terms on the Council up for election, and one 2-year term to fill out, Bert Siemieniewski’s unexpired term. Incumbents Rodney Erickson and Lori McLaen had filed petitions to be put on the ballot for the 4-year terms, and both were elected. No one had filed for the 2-year term, though, and some voters wrote in their choice for the position. The result was a tie, with Kathy Wyum and Bill Anderson each receiving four write-in votes. At the Council’s Reorganization meeting on Tuesday, June 28, the two names were put on slips of paper and placed in a bucket. The Council selected the winner by drawing out one name. Bill Anderson was declared to be the victor as the result of his name being drawn. No claims of election fraud, stolen election or shenanigans at the polling place have been made by either Kathy or Bill, and no riotous crowds have assaulted the Rutland Town Hall as the result of the election’s outcome. Bill had previously served on the Council from 1978 to 1985. He says that he intends to work with Mayor Mahrer; City Auditor Banish; and the other Council members: Rodney Erickson; Delores Lysne; and Lori McLaen; to maintain & improve Rutland’s services and infrastructure. In other business at the Reorganization meeting the Council set the first Monday of each month, with the exception of those months in which the first Monday is a legal holiday, as the Council’s regular meeting date; re-appointed Debbie Banish as City Auditor; re-appointed Mike Basingthwaite of Interstate Engineering as City Engineer; and, reappointed Attorney LeeAnn Even as City Attorney. The next meeting of the Rutland City Council is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Monday, July 11, at the Rutland City Hall.
Rutland native Harold Young, now a resident of Mesa AZ, arrived in Rutland on the evening of Thursday, June 23, intending to vacation in his old hometown for a couple of weeks. Harold brought Arizona’s heat and North Dakota’s humidity together for a tropical experience. This is Harold’s first visit in Rutland since the Summer of 2019, pre-pandemic. This time, he was here for the interment ceremony for his mother, Gwendolyn (Prindiville) Young, on July 2, and said that he planned to start working his way back to Arizona on July 6.
Continue reading “The Rooster Crows – July 8, 2022”
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