PAGE 4
PRESS PERSPECTIVES
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
FROM THE
EDITOR'S DESK...
BY ALLISON OLIMB
EDITOR, WALSH COUNTY PRESS
Well, that is it. I am out. There
should be a baby by now.
The Press is now in the very ca-
pable hands of Katrina Hodny,
Terra Linn. and Larry Biri with the
occasional writing styles of Tynan
Nelson.
Even if the kid didn't manage to
amve when scheduled (which my
husband says proves that he or she
will be just as timely as mom) the
doc scheduled another day, which
would guarantee a bund!e of joy.
So. for the next month or so, 1
will not be taking phone calls, de-
signing ads, running job work,
writing, reporting, making appear-
ances at meetings, sitting at my
desk, replying to emails, laying out
pages, or even thinking about the
newspaper business (or at least I
am going to make the attempt).
While I do love my readers, (I
am not even going to attempt a lie
here) I love this little stinker more.
Both have given me late nights and
heartburn over the past year, but
let's lace it. babies much are cuter
than any newspaper I've ever read.
When I finally decided to clock
out, Terra said she was surprised
that I stuck it out this long.
Like" the Wah'h C?)untv Ps on l:acebook
and check out our hlog at http.'//walsh
court,press, wordpress.com
/
Congratulations
Prank and Allison
on your first baby!
from the staff of
lhe Wadsh Counly
Press
Kalrina. Terra, Larry, Tynan
Hello,
I've told you about Veto. Vern
Baker. He's a dog. Like that old
song, "He's a dog". Well. maybe
it's not just like that song, but he is
a dog. You know he came from
Baker. Montana. That's how he got
his last name. His first name. Vern,
came from a previous owner. I'm
not sure if his original owner died,
decided he had to kill himself or the
dog, or just abandoned Vem
l rescued Veto Baker from an
animal shelter a couple years ago.
They said he was five. Really, I
think that is his IQ. Five. That's
not very high even in dog talk. Oh,
my daughter says he has abandon-
ment issues. He'd spent a year and
a half in the pen. A little kennel in
the shelter. Veto was sun'ounded
by mad. barking dogs day and
mght. Because of his age or his IQ
Vern never got picked to go to a
new home. He just lay there and
dreamed of chasing cows. He's an
Australian Shepard. They are bred
Hat
to herd sheep and cattle.
When he got to our place he
quickly began living his dream. He
chased cows. He chased horses. He
chased cats. He chased roping
steers. He would grab them by the
tail and on some; he could actually
bring them to the ground.
Now. don't get me wrong. I'm
not eulogizing Veto. He's not dead.
Not yet. But I have threatened him
a few times. Have you ever tried to
sell cattle with their tails pulled off?.
Have you ever came home and
found your house ransacked? Your
drapes pulled down and shredded?
Your towels strewn about the
house? Your garbage dnmped all
over the kitchen? The lining of the
roof in your pickup chewed up?
Tips
See why I was concerned about his
previous owner.
And when I go out to feed
horses in the morning, I begin by
screaming, "Back Vern!" When I
want to move a heifer. "Back
Vern". When I am trying to load
cattle in the trailer, and he is hiding
under the trailer, biting their feet as
they get close enough to load, it is
really, "BACK VERN!"
Once in awhile he will have a
flash of brilliance. He will gather
the calves in the lot and help me
push them in the alley. He will
guard the gate while I hay the bulls.
He will lie peacefully under the
table while I visit in a local saloon
that pretends they don't see him.
And the manager will slip him a
piece of jerky. Which he shares
with me. "Good boy Veto".
And he pretty much lives in the
house and guards us a night. Oh, he
wouldn't attack anyone. And he
wouldn't bark if seventeen burglars
came in with machine guns and
machetes. But he's nice, quiet com-
pany who doesn't care when I go to
bed. and is always ready to go
check heifers or do chores. Or go
for a drive in the pickup. Veto un-
derstands English. He know cows,
horses, and pickups.
But maybe I'm going to have to
change a little. Yesterday Will was
playing with his son RJ. They had
a herd of toy cattle, a couple plas-
tic cowboys, and a set of pens. Will
took two small dogs and said they
were his cow dogs. RJ (three years
old) went and got a bigger dog.
RJ says, "This is Baboo's (that's
me) dog".
Then he begins screaming at the
top ofhis voice. "Back Vern! Back
damnit! Back Veto!" Later. Dean
GESTATZONAL DIA00
]Pub0000 Walsh County Health District
, ..... Short Shots
Gestational diabetes is diabetes that women can develop during
pregnancy.
We don't know all the causes of gestational diabetes. Some, but not
all women with gestational diabetes are overweight before getting
pregnant or have diabetes in the family. Gestational diabetes is more
common in Native American. Alaskan Native, Hispanic, Asian, and
Black women, but it is also found in White women as well.
Gestational diabetes that is not controlled can cause your baby to:
• Grow very large (more than 9 pounds) that can lead to problems
with delivery
• Have quickly changing blood sugars after delivery
• Be more likely to become overweight or obese during childhood or
adolescence.
Gestational diabetes goes away after pregnancy, but sometimes
diabetes stays. It is important to be checked for diabetes after you baby
is born. About half of all women who have gestational diabetes get type
2 diabetes later in life.
After pregnancy:
• Make sure to ask your doctor about testing for diabetes soon after
delivery and again 6 weeks after delivery.
• Have regular checkups and get your blood sugar checked by your
doctor every 1-3 years.
• Talk with your doctor about your plans for more children before
your next pregnancy.
• Watch your weight. 6-12 months after you baby is born your weight
should be back down to what you weighed before you got pregnant. If
you still weigh too much, work to lose 5-7% (10-14 pounds if you weigh
200 pounds) of your body weight.
• Eating healthy and losing weight and exercising regularly can help
you delay or prevent diabetes in the future.
THROUGH WiTH CHEW WEEK
FEBRUARY 19-25, 2012
Free Oral Cancer Screenings at:
Daby Dentistry, Grafton
@ 352-0730
Dr. Ekman, Lifetime Dental, Park River
@ 284-7777
Kern Family Dentistry, Grafton
@352-2013
Dr. Larson & Dr. Beneda, Park River
Dental Clinic @ 284-6131
Call to schcdule 00'our free screening!
Breatt00eND '
An initiated measure approved by North Dakota
voters provides funding to Welsh County Health
District to diminish the toll of tobacco in our state by
addressing tte number one preventable cause of
death and disease: tobacco use,
ND Once Flirted With
Presidential Primaries
With all of the excitement of Re-
publican primary contests clog-
ging the media, North Dakota par-
tisans must feel lost in the shuffle.
Don't feel badly. We had presiden-
tial primaries once. They were a
flop.
In response to the boss politics
that dominated major cities in the
late 1800s. a reform movement
swept the country, seizing control of
the political processes. It was really
an era ofa significant"power to the
people" change in our political his-
tory.
The initiative mad referendum
were passed so people could bypass
comapt le#slatures. Presidential pri-
maries were launched to give the
people a direct voice in the selection
of presidential candidates.
Since North Dakota had been in
the grips of the corrupt Alexander
McKenzie machine since territori-
al days, progressive Republicans
and Democrats joined forces to
elect legislators and a governor
committed to these reforms. They
adopted the initiative and referen-
dum in 1907 and the presidential pri-
mary in 1911.
(In 1919, the Nonpartisan League
added the provision to recall pub-
lic officials and the first users were
the opponents of the NPL who re-
called NPL officeholders Governor
Lynn Frazier, Attorney General
William Lembke and Agriculture
Commissioner Jolm Hagen.)
We held three presidential pri-
mary elections - 1912. 1916 and
1920. In order to get the pretrences
known before the national con-
ventions, the primaries were held as
special elections in March.
According to North Dakota
Votes. a compilation of the UND
Bureau of Governmental Affairs, in
the 1912 Republican primary,
Robert LaFollette of Wisconsin
outpolled Theodore Roosevelt 57 to
40 per cent with incumbent Presi-
dent Howard Taft attracting only
three per cent. Governor John
Burke ran unopposed as a favorite
son in the Democratic primary.
In the 1916 Republican primary,
Henry Estabrooke was defeated
by Robert LaFollette by 70 to 30 per
cent. Incumbent Prident Woodmw
Wilson had no opposition in the
Democratic primary but the So-
cialists celebrated a contest be-
tween Arthur LeSueur and Allen
Benson, with LeSueur winning
handily.
In the 1920 primary, Republicans
had a 3-way contest involving Hi-
ram Johnson, Leonard Wood and
Frank Lowden. Johnson ran away
with 96 per cent of the vote. In the
Democratic primary. William Jen-
nings Bryan drubbed William
McAdoo 87 to 13 per cent. The So-
cialists had abandoned the field.
After three attempts to draw the
national spotlight to the North
Dakota presidential primaries, we
gave up and repealed the legislation
for several reasons.
After the big turnout of 65.000
in 1912, voter participation dwin-
dled to 32,000 by 1920. After all,
who were Henry Seabrook and
William McAdoo that we should
hitch up the horses to go three
miles through the March snow
banks to demonstrate our support?
The low turnout made the per
ballot cost of conducting a special
election too expensive for frugal
North Dakotans. Apparently, the
presidential primaries were a luxu-
ry we couldn't afford.
Worst of all, the presidential
candidates didn't show up in an out-
of-the-way state with only a hand-
ful of convention delegates at stake.
No candidates meant no press and
publicity was supposed to be one of
the big benefits.
Even though the open primary
made North Dakota the "land of op-
portunity" for all aspiring politicians
for 100 years, the endorsing con-
vention has remained the main
route to nominations. The Repub-
lican primary was utilized for state
offices for 40 years when the reg-
ular Republicans did battle in the
primaries with the Nonpartisan
League but almost all of these can-
didates were endorsed by conven-
tions.
So. in the final analysis, North
Dakota's relationship with presi-
dential primaries was a brief flirta-
tion that never evolved into a gen-
uine love afthir. Besides. the boss-
es left long ago so the cure for cor-
ruption remains even thou the dis-
ease is gone.
E
Exchange
Entrepreneurship
Week
The entrepreneurial spirit is
alive and well in Walsh County
and I greatly appreciate those in-
dividuals who are committed to
bringing the area unique products
and needed services.
Feb. 20-24 is Entrepreneur-
ship Week in the U.S. In North
Dakota, local papers are reporting
a growing ntunber of startup busi-
nesses. Startup businesses form
the core of an economic engine
that will help continue local com-
munities', and thereby North
Dakota's. economic growth.
People start businesses quite of-
ten because of a push or a pull.
Something either nudges them
into action or something tugs
them into business ownership.
They may get a push from not
having a job or are pulled when
they see an unmet need that they
have the ability to fill.
As local consumers we can
_support their efforts and help our
local economies by shopping lo-
cally as much as possible. For the
entrepreneur or future business
owner there are several things to
keep in mind to help you contin-
ue to achieve success.
Entrepreneurs Important to
Local Economies
People starting businesses are
the one constant in any economy.
Whether you have high unem-
ployment or. as in North Dakota.
you have a rapidly growing econ-
omy, individuals search out new
business opportunities.
"Yet going into business is a big
step from staying in business,"
says Glenn Muske, the North
Dakota State University Extension
Service's rural and agribusifiess
enterprise development specialist.
"Many startup businesses will
close their doors within five years.
The reasons are many. However,
the business-owner has several
things he or she can do to improve,
the chances of surviving during
those critical first few years."
Successful business ownership
should start with a passion. Your
passion may spring from several
sources. The important issue is that
you want this business, this prod-
uct, a better community or to use
your creativity "'so bad you can
taste it." as the old saying goes.
Knowing why you are going
into business is crucial. While
this may seem obvious, you need
to verbalize easily what your
business is. what you want from
your business and how these two
items come togethen
Remember that for business
success, you must fill a need.
Does your product or service
bring value to the client? Filling
a want is good. but filling a need
increases your chances of business
success.
Along with filling the need,
clients must be willing to pay for
the product or sel-vice. This may
seem obvious, but these two re-
qmrelnents do not always come
together. Providing a product or
service that is unique also helps.
"And finally, you must plan."
says Muske. "Remember, though.
that the value here is in the plan-
ning process itself and not that you
have a nicely crafted written doc-
ument that may just sit on the shelf
and gather dust. Your plan may be
needed to generate thnds, but
more importantly, it becomes a
working document that keeps
your business on track."
Starting a business can be a
dream. Just remember that lots of
resources are available to help
you. For more information on
marketing, visit NDSU's small-
business support website at
wwwag'ndsu'edu/snmllbusiness
Sign up for the monthly newslet-
ter. You also can contact me at the
Walsh County Extension Service
office at 284-6624. email me at
kari.l.helgoe@ndsu.edu or visit
www. eXte n s i on. org/en trepre-
neurship. Federal and state' re-
sources such, as the Smalt,Busifless
Administration and Small Busi-
ness Development Centers also are
prepared to help.
Around the County
Walsh County Extension Office
Park River - 284-6624
Last week in my news column it
was stated that we seeded 75 pounds
of radishes in our cover crop mix.
There was supposed to be a dec-
imal in front of it. We seeded .75 or
3A of a pound of radishes. Do you
have any idea how many radishes
there are in a pound'?
Private Applicators Certifica-
tion
We will be having our first pri-
vate applicators certification meet-
ing on Tuesday, February 28th at the
Park River City Auditorium. Reg-
istration is at 8:30 a.m. and the class
starts at 9 a.m. and will run tmtil
12:30 p.m. for those who need to be
recertified. The initial must sit
through the whole day. We will
restart the initial afternoon session
at 1 p.m. down stairs as there is a
Township Officers meeting in the
upstairs starting at 1 p.m.. I have
been told. If you have not reserved
your spot and are planning on at-
tending this meeting we are filling
up our space. To reserve a spot send
a check tbr $25.00 made out to
NDSU Pesticide Program and let us
know you will be attending.
Please make sure to get this tak-
en care of as it is a real in conven-
ience to do this during spraying.
Get those employees all certified
so they are ready to go into the
spraying season.
Farmers Market
The farmers market in Park Riv-
er will continue for 2012 so ifvou
are planning your seed purchases
and garden, keep this in mind. We
had such a successful run we would
like to see it continue. Stay tuned for
an organizational meeting and some
of the changes we have made to
make the event even more suc-
cessful. It will again be held in the
downtown city park in Park River.
We hope everyone will have a
chance to plan for it this year and
that the weather allows us to start
early. We also discussed having a fall
market for the late crops. You can
let me know if you are interested in
growing for the market so we can
begin to get an idea who" or who
might not want to participate. You
cancan email me at bradley.brum-
mond@ndsu.edu
Prosper HRSW
We are getting down to the bot-
tom end of the Walsh County Cop
hnprovement supply of Prosper so
if you are interested in purchasing
Prosper give me a call right away at
70t-284-6624. The price is $16.55
registered bulk seed.
Dates to Remember:
2-28 Private Applicator Pesticide training 9 a.m. to 12:30 (re-
certify) and until 4 p.m. for testers. Park River City Auditorium
the £ove
