The Rooster Crows- March 12, 2021

On March 12, 2021March 14, 2021 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster CrowsLeave a comment

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 —– January 15, 2021

On January 15, 2021January 14, 2021 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster Crows2 Comments

By Bill Anderson

Rutland and vicinity have been enjoying a welcome guest since the New Year began. The traditional annual visit of “The January Thaw” began early and has stayed late. This is one guest that doesn’t get old after 3 days. A high temperature of 41 above was forecast for Wednesday, January 13, and even though cooler weather is being predicted for the coming week, the highs are still predicted to be in the mid-20’s to low 30’s, with the lows in the double digits above zero. Weather like that for North Dakota in January just can’t be beat. But, Winter isn’t over, yet, so don’t lose track of your parka and snow shovel!

The house at 301 First Street, also known as The Bagley House, has been occupied by Aaron & Silvia Brooks since shortly before Christmas, 2020. Mr. Brooks is a native of New Orleans LA, and Mrs. Brooks grew up in Bakersfield CA. He is employed by RayMac at Gwinner, and she has her own residential cleaning business in addition to attending classes at the State College of Science in Wahpeton and working part-time as a bartender in Gwinner. The Rutland Community extends a hearty welcome to Aaron & Silvia Brooks! As soon as this covid-19 pandemic is over, we’ll teach you how to make lefse and rommegrot. Uff-Da!

Sonja (Anderson) Christensen, one of the organizers and original sponsors of The Rudy Anderson Memorial Pinochle Tournament, has announced that, due to the covid-19 pandemic, the 26^th annual tournament, originally scheduled for Saturday, February 6, 2021, has been postponed and rescheduled to Saturday, February 5, 2022. Sonja extends best wishes to all of the tournament’s regular participants and hopes to see all of them at next year’s event. They are all longing for those Rutland scalloped potatoes.

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Hens Do Crow! Jan. 24, 2020

On January 24, 2020May 7, 2020 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster CrowsLeave a comment

Mother Nature packed another wallop for the three-day weekend which became a four-day weekend January 17-20 for many. She rolled in the winds and snow on Friday resulting in school closings to the delight of many children and the angst of parents. Kids not only got an extra day off but they were restricted to the indoors for most, if not all, of the weekend.

Rutland residents received an extra surprise in the early evening of Saturday, January 18^th, when water slowly trickled out of the faucets. The City of Rutland sent out an alert to not use water around 5 p.m. that evening. A hearty crew bundled up and drove around town in an attempt to find the problem. The water tower was checked and appeared to be functioning during the storm, although it had a malfunction earlier in the week. The piles of recent snow did not help in that effort. Mike Mahrer and Rodney Erickson, along with the help of Calvin Jacobson, soon found the break near the intersection of First and Front Streets. By this time an army of helpers had gathered to assist with turning off the valve to stop the flow. Mike, Rodney and Calvin were joined by Rutland residents Mitch Mahrer, Chuck Sundlie, Colton Corry, Brad Wyum, Andy Harris, Kyle Mahrer and Mac Pherson. Staff from Southeast Water Users also traveled to Rutland to assist with the locating the break. Turning the valves proved to be a huge task as it takes about 21 turns to shut the valve and one turn of the valve was nearly a Herculean task. The entire town was without water until about 5 p.m. on Sunday. When the water returned to the south side of the tracks, it was again just a trickle. The water in the tower itself had a thick sheet of ice on top and needed to be thawed. A two-man crew from Maguire Iron of Sioux Falls drove to Rutland on Tuesday to thaw the tower; however, they had to give up due to the high winds that followed the storm. They resumed the job on Wednesday thawing out the large chunk of ice that reduced the water flow. On Wednesday morning, the parts needed to repair the main break were on their way from Fargo to Rutland so that they could be installed to hopefully restore water to the North side residents on Wednesday.

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