By Bill Anderson

According to Siri, the little know-it-all who lives in the I-phone, we are now in the middle of “The Dog Days of Summer, that hot, sultry period of time when the days pass slowly and it seems as if Summer will last forever. It won’t of course. The Dog Days of Summer officially begin on July 3 and end on August 11, although they can be extended by a few days on either end, depending on the weather. So far, the weather has been hot and dry. The mercury hit a sweltering 95 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, July 18 with a blast furnace wind out of the west. The heat generated a thunderstorm on Monday night that blew down some tree limbs and left somewhere between 0.001 and .37 of an inch of rain in its wake, depending on which block in Rutland you are talking about. The .37 of an inch reading came from the weather app on Scott Haan’s cell phone, which registers the precipitation that falls at the old Rutland school grounds. The temperature dropped down to the mid-80’s on Tuesday, July 19, and, according to Alexa, a shower of rain that began at about 9:30 p.m. left another .1 of an inch of precipitation on Rutland. Chuck Anderson reports that the rain gauge in his Weber Township farmyard measured Tuesday night’s rainfall amount as .55 of an inch. Meanwhile, the crops keep right on growing. Corn that was knee high on the 4th of July was head high two weeks later, by the 18th of the month. A good rain, say an inch to an inch and a half, would be very welcome right about now. Soybean fields appear to be green & healthy. Whheat fields are filling and some are even beginning to take on that golden, pre-harvest hue. The Dog Days of Summer are doing their job.

Bill Anderson and his 12 year old great-grandson, Brody Mahrer, returned to Rutland on the afternoon of Saturday, July 16, after spending a week in Fredericksburg VA, where they attended a reunion of the U.S. Marine Corps unit that Bill had served with in Vietnam 52 years ago. They made the round trip on American Airlines, flying from Fargo to Reagan National Airport in Washington DC via Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. All flights were on time, or early, and everything went smoothly, Bill reports. Among other activities, those participating in the reunion toured the Fredericksburg Civil War Battlefield on Monday, July 11; drove up to Washington for lunch with James Webb, former Secretary of the Navy, U.S. Senator from VA, former Platoon Commander and Company Commander of Delta Company, 5th Marines on Tuesday, July 12; Visited the Marine Corps Museum at Quantico VA and took in other sites on Wednesday, July 13; toured the Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Wilderness battlefields on Thursday, July 14; and, visited the Vietnam War Memorial Wall and the Marine Barracks in Washington DC on Friday, July 15. Each Friday evening during the Summer months, the Marine Band also known as “The President’s Own,” the Marine Corps Drum & Bugle Corps and the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team, all stationed at the Marine Barracks, perform for the public in a “SunsetReview.” The performance began at 8:30 p.m. and concluded at 10:30 p.m. It was very impressive and was enjoyed by all. Those participating in the reunion at Fredericksburg were Marines who had served in Company “D” of the 5th Marine Regiment in Vietnam back in 1969 & 1970. Brody also took in King’s Dominion Amusement Park in Fredericksburg on Thursday, July 14, and throughout the week received lessons on how to play “Back Alley,” a card game that the Marines played while in Vietnam, and which they continue to this day. Bill and Brody are making plans to attend next year’s reunion, which is tentatively scheduled to be held in Louisville KY.

The price of gasoline has been dropping since the 4th of July, but it was plummeting in northern Virginia last week. Bill Anderson reports that the posted price at most gas stations between Washington DC and Fredericksburg was between $4.89 and $5.00 on Sunday, July 10, but had dropped to as low as $3.98 by Saturday, July 16. The price of diesel fuel, too, had declined, but not by as much as the price of gasoline.

Harris Construction of Crete, owned & operated by the father-son team of Mike & Mason Harris, has been busy pouring cement for some sidewalk and front step projects in Rutland during the past couple of weeks. A new, handicapped accessible front step has been installed at Nordland Lutheran Church on Cooper Street; a new patio deck has been constructed at the Mark & Kathy Wyum home on First Street; a new sidewalk has been poured at Delores Lysne’s home on Anthony Street; and, a new sidewalk extension across the boulevard to the street has been completed at Paul Anderson’s house on Gay Street. Also, Kathy Wyum has been doing some Exterior Decorating on her own house at 217 First Street, and at the house belonging to Paul Anderson at 309 Gay Street. She has been decorating with lights, flags, pottery decorations and flowers on the front porch.

This community was saddened on Thursday, July 14, when it was learned that long time Rutland resident Lary Arneson had passed away at his home here after a multi-year battle with cancer. The funeral for Lary Arneson has been scheduled for Thursday, July 28, at Nordland Lutheran Church, with burial in the Rutland Cemetery. There will be more about Lary’s life among us next week.

Preparations for Uff-Da Day XXXVII are now in full swing. Rutland’s annual Fall festival with a Scandinavian theme will be on Sunday, October 2, in 2022. Several lefse making sessions have already been held, with the latest on Tuesday, July 19 and on Thursday, July 21. . Chairpersons of the various committees are lining up their helpers for the big event. As of Friday, July 22, there will be 72 days remaining until Uff-Da Day in Rutland on Sunday, October 2, 2022.

The Rutland Roosters played their last home games of the season on Tuesday, July 19, with play commencing at 6:45 p.m. at Lou Sanderson Field. Once again, Lady Luck deserted the Roosters as they dropped 2 games to the Squirrels of Sheldon, the first by a score of 16 to 6 after 6 under the 10 run rule, and the 2nd by a score of 15 to 12 in the regulation 7 innings. It was a tough season, but we’ll get ‘em next year.

Meanwhile, up at the State Capitol in Bismarck, the big “to-do” is over the $1.8 million in unauthorized spending engaged in by the late former Attorney General, Wayne Stenhjem, before his unexpected death earlier this year. The Ag’s office used the money to make improvements to a leased office building owned by prominent ND Republicans, including a State Legislator. Will anything be done to hold anyone accountable for an unauthorized expenditure of $1.8 million of the peoples’ money? Doubtful. No one in Bismarck is even asking why the State is paying millions to lease office space from wealthy Republicans while office space in the State Capitol Building stands empty. The Party of small government likes to spend big when they’re lining their own pockets with public money, it seems.

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 http://www.rutlandnd.com, and take a look at Rutland’s 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.