PAGE 4 PRESS PERSPECTIVES APRIL 23, 2014
F TH E
EDITOR'S DESK...
BY ALLISON OLIA00B
EDITOR, WALSH COUNTY PRESS
When we were kids my parents
went full Catholic with our Lenten
observances. In addition to Sunday
services we would take part in Fri-
day Stations of the Cross, the oc-
casional weekday service and giv-
ing up something including meat on
Fridays was not a suggestion. When
we hit Holy Week it was like see-
ing the final miles of a marathon -
Holy Thursday, Good Friday, East-
er Vigil and candy on the horizon.
The whole shebang was topped
off with Easter bonnets, little gloves,
suits, and sweets left by a fluffy bun-
ny.
This year, my little family man-
aged our regular Sunday services,
but the best I could do beyond that
was Good Friday.
It wasn't easy. The kids were tired
and hungry and whiny and loud and
a little embarrassing. Some days I
think it would be easier to just stay
home, but I suppose if it was all
about easy, there would be no East-
er to celebrate.
I commend my parents for not
taking the easy way out when I was
a kid. It left me with a faith I didn't
know I had until I was determined
to do the same for my kids.
I love Easter from the religious suit and tie.
aspect to the family time, bunny and They were probably the fanciest
beyond, kids in the congregation. I miss the
We went to the Spring Carnival days when a new Easter dress was
at Park River Area High School last
Saturday to indulge in a little egg
hunt and bunny action. The kids
took pictures with the bunny. Gary
cried when he won a bike because
he had to stop playing the fish
pond game. It was wonderful qual-
ity family time.
Thank you to Mayor Dan for do-
nating the bike my little man took
home. And thank you to Sunshine
Kids Center for putting the event on.
Once my little man got over the ini-
tial shyness and right up until nap-
time kicked in, he had a great time.
He sat on his bike in the living
room for the rest of the day.
The next day was Easter Sunday.
We got Olivia all dolled up in her
Sunday best, complete with booties
and an oversized flower headband
in place of a bonnet. Gary wore his
a requirement for our Easter shop-
ping. But we were not without tra-
dition; in fact we started a new one.
We brought Easter to my broth-
er's home. He said it was a B.Y.O.E
situation.., bring your own food.
He did provide the treats though. By
the time we got to Easter Sunday,
Gary had this egg hunt thing down.
He was so good at it, he found all
of the eggs and re-hid them before
his cousin got there.
There is something about tradi-
tion that is so much sweeter when
it is passed on to a new generation
and there is something even better
when a new tradition is thrown in
the mix.
Alleluia.
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Hello,
I've always enjoyed stories about
the river. To me, that would be the
Little Missouri River. It begins
down in Wyoming and winds it's
way across the comers of Montana
and South Dakota, before entering
North Dakota and eventually dump-
ing into Lake Sacajawea on the Mis-
souri River.
It is, most of the time, a slow
moving, silt filled river. Like theY
say about the Red in Texas, "too
thick to drink and too thin to walk
on". It's pretty much cattle country
from the wide gumbo flats on much
of its journey, to the buttes and sharp
gullies of the badlands in southwest
North Dakots.
The Little Missouri badlands
can be brutally harsh in the winter.
And brutally hot in the summer.
When it is wet, the gumbo sticks to
wheels, boots, and anything else it
touches. When it is dry, a cow
Hat
walking across a gumbo flat can
raise a cloud of fine dust.
I always think of the tough old
boys that homesteaded this country.
The guys that dug a hole in a side
hill, set a couple of posts in that
gumbo, and nailed up a shanty
along the river.
Which reminds me of a story.
There was this old boy that built
a cabin on the river down in the bad-
lands. Neighbors were few and far
between. He wasn't even sure if he
had any.
One day he saddled up old paint
and trotted off to the west. I imag-
Tips
ine, trotting along, he could have
made it twenty miles or so in a good
half day. Lo and behold he came
across another homestead shack
on the north side of the river.
Damn, he was glad to see some-
one after a couple months of no con-
versation except for visiting with his
horse and a handful of cattle. They
had a good visit. They talked about
the hail storm that stripped the
leaves from the trees. They talked
about the wind, which nearly always
came from the northwest, but could
be oh so cold, if it blew from the
east. They talked about the thun-
derstorms and how the lightning
could light up the sky.
After a couple hours of visiting,
the guy pulled the cinch up on old
paint and said he'd better be getting
back. It was going to be a long trot
in the moonlight already.
As he stepped up on Paint, the
other guy invited, "Come on back
on Saturday. I'm having a party."
"Really! What's happening?"
"Well," the homesteader replied,
"There '11 be a steak supper. There'll
be a little drinking, a little fighting,
a little dancing, and maybe a little
loving!"
"Count me in," the rider replied.
"What should I bring?"
"Oh," the homesteader, "Don't
make too much difference. Just
going to be you and me!"
Later, Dean
samaritan
N(00ictv
Happenings at Our
Good Samaritan
Nannette Hoeger, Activities Dir.
Thank You to the Westwood Park Theater for sharing Easter with us,
We really enjoyed your play. We had our Pen Pals Come this week from
Mr. Omdahl's class for an Easter Egg Hunt as well, However I was busy
passing out candy and doing the Bunny Hop so no pictures. Good Friday
we had The Western Miniserium come in for a service and we truly love
that they think of us during the Easter season and all year long. So as you
see we had a very busy week last week and we hope you all had a won-
derful Easter with family and friends.
This week Apr. 20th - 26th:
Apr. 20th Happy
Easter Easter Service
2:30pm w/Pastor Hin-
richs, Coffee 3pm
Apr. 21 st 10am Em-
broidery Group, lpm
Making Deviled Eggs
5pro Rosary, 6:45 Bingo
Apr. 22nd 10am Photo:Submitted
Men's Time, Making
Buns, 3:30 Bible Study Above: Westwood Park Theater.
Apr. 23rd 3:15 Bingo
Apr. 24th 3pm Auxiliary w/St. Mary's Catholic Church Park River,
6:45 Movie Night
Apr. 25th 10:30 Nail Time, 3:30 Making May Day Baskets
Apr. 26th 9:30 Mass, lpm Crafts, 2:30 Bingo
Thank You to our many volunteers: Pastor Hinrichs, Linda Larson, Don-
na Settingsgard, Shirley Soblik, Lois Ydstie, Arnold Bmaten, Lorene Lar-
son, Jeanean McMillan, Sue Fagerholt, St Mary's Catholic Church Aux-
iliary, Terry Hagen, Corrinne Ramsey, Father Luiten, Mary Thompson,
Comella Wylie, Barb Ellefson. I am sorry ifI missed anyone. If you have
a talent or time you would like to share please call Rose Ulland at 701-
284-7115.
Z0000'rzA00VE
Walsh County Health District
P ..... t. P .... re, Protect, Short Shots
The ND Department of Health, Division of Cancer Prevention and Con-
trol, wants to make you aware of a no-cost colorectal cancer screening ini-
tiative made available by state funds during the 2013 legislative session.
What is the colorectal cancer screening initiative?
• 250 screening colonoscopies will be provided at no cost to eli-
gible North Dakotans
Any North Dakota resident who meets the following criteria may en-
roll and receive no cost screening as long as funds are available:
• North Dakota resident
• Age 50-65
• Reported household income at or below 200% of poverty, with no
proof of income required
• Uninsured or underinsured (high deductible/co-pay or insurance pol-
icy that does not cover screening colonoscopy)
• Has not screened for colorectal cancer or is due or past due for screen-
ing
• No prior personal history of colon cancer or genetic colorectal polyp
disorders.
The cost ofa pre-op office visit and most pre-op lab work, along with
the bowel prep is covered.
The following ND facilities can provide these no cost screening colono-
scopies:
Homeland Committee
Considers Sanctioning 'Pootin '
"TillS" 1S" lt!" ThiS" is it!" corn- them," Holger Danske concluded.
plained D'orsey Crank as he en What's a sanction?" asked Old
tered the remodeled Bohemian Sievert. '
Lodge Hall for another quick
meeting of the town's 14 electors.
"One more of these emergency
meetings and I'm going to demand
that we get paid - at least, get
health insurance," he grumbled as
he chose the last remaining metal
folding chair behind Old Sievert.
"What's the deal this time,
Ork?" he demanded gruffly.
"Some crank told the mayor we
ought to join the United Nations in
sanctioning Pootin for bullying
Ukraine," Ork explained.
"Who is the Ukraine?" Holger
Danske asked. "Have they been
sending terrorists after us?"
Being the chief alert officer in
charge of terrorists, this question
got Garvey Erfald out of his chair.
"The Russians claim they are
entitled to grab any geography that
has a lot of Russians," Garvey
downloaded. "And the Ukraine has
a lot of Russians."
"If Pootin isn't sending terror-
ists after us, why should we get in-
volved?" asked Josh Dvorchek.
"Our town has enough trouble
keeping the streets open, let alone
pick a fight with the Russians."
"We don't even have a secretary
of state to speak for us," noted Hol-
ger Danske. "We need to appoint a
secretary of state first."
"Well, everybody is afraid that
this idea could be carried to its log-
ical conclusion," Garvey reasoned
aloud.
"If Pootin gets away with this,
he could claim Mclntosh County
because there are Germans from
Russia there and he could claim
they were Russians claiming to be
Germans. And I heard there are
some Russians in McLean
County."
Einar Stamstead suddenly saw
the light. He rose to his feet.
"If this idea works in the
Ukraine, Norway could take half
of North Dakota and Germany
could take the other hale This is se-
rious business," he declared.
"We need to stop them Russians
in their tracks by sanctioning
"That's what your wife does
when you celebrate too long and
too loud at the Sadburg bar. She
sanctions you - no food, no wash-
ing, no nothing." Josh explained.
"A lot of no nothing," agreed
Orville Jordan.
"I spose we could demand that
the town bar - if we had one - not
sell any Russian vodka," Einar
Torvald suggested. "But that
would sanction us more than
them."
"The president is making sanc-
tions personal by tying up the bank
money of Pootin's rich friends,"
Garvey explained.
"We could do that. There's this
Russian guy renting the old Soker-
bey's farm for his cattle - Irloff
Pavlenkovich. Maybe we could
impound his cattle or something,"
proposed Orville Jordan,
"He's not a Russian; he's an
American; moved here from Mon-
tana," Madeleine pointed out.
"How do we know who to sanc-
tion if we don't know who's a
Russian?" queried Stamstead
"Well, he has a Russian Tracker
and we know that dog is Russian
because he claims territory that
doesn't belong to him and I've got
the tore pants to prove it," Jordan
explained.
"So how do we sanction this
Russian dog - kick him if he
comes to town?" asked Josh.
"It just don't seem right to kick
the dog because he's Russian,"
Madeleine countered.
"I think we need to appoint sec-
retary of State to sort these things
out for the next meeting," pro-
posed Dorsey.
That was the signal for a quick
retreat from a troublesome prob-
lem and everyone headed for the
door.
This time Ork didn't care. He
had a cousin in Ashley who
claimed to be a German from Rus-
sia but her pet was a Russian
Tracker. He just wasn't sure about
her.
o Altru Health System-Grand Forks ............... i .... 701-780-6533 h h 'He's not a Russian; he's an .,dalerlcan;
o First Care Health Center-Park River ............... 701-284-4611
o McKenzie County Healthcare System Inc.-Watford City .... 701- moved here {Tom Montana,' Madeleine
842-7131 pointed out. 'How do we know who to
o Sanford Health-Fargo ................................ 701-234-6292
o Trinity Health-Minot .................................. 701-857-3535 sanction if we don't know who's a
o Heart of America Medical Center-Rugby ...... 701-776-5261 ext. Russian?' queried Stamstead."
2386 (Karl)_
Extension Exchange
We love our volunteers
Timing is everything, and my
timing can be offfi'om time to time.
April 6-12, 2014 was National Vol-
unteer Week, a time to celebrate •
people doing extraordinary things
through service.
4-H is a youth development pro-
gram that relies on volunteers to be
successful and I would be remiss if
I didn't celebrate the heart of the
Walsh County 4-H program.
At the heart of a strong 4-H pro-
gram are the caring adults - our 4-
H volunteers and leaders. Walsh
County 4-H is fommate to have the
best of the best (okay, I'm biased,
but I've seen their dedicated in-
volvement first-hand and it's im-
pressive)!
Volunteers are the key to fulfill-
ing the 4-H program mission of
hdlping youth reach their full po-
tential through parlnerships with car-
ing adults. Currently, Walsh Coun-
ty 4-H serves over 130 youth who
are impacted daily by our 30+ 4-H
volunteers and leaders.
Our volunteers help the youth
with individual projects, assist them
with livestock tasks, and lead work-
outs for judging teams such as
crops, meats, horse, and consumer
shopping. They are teaching our
youth to enjoy outdoor activities
such as camping, archery and shoot-
ing sports. They are providing re-
sources and supplies from their
own pockets to introduce youth to
new activities and they are teaching
character traits that will make them
honorable adults.
Our volunteers are committed to
providing the essential elements
which are critical to a youth's 4-H
experience. The elements are be-
longing, mastery, independence
and generosity.
Belonging, in the simplest of
terms, is creating a fellowship be-
tween the youth and the adult vol-
unteers and a sense of connection
between group members. Our vol-
unteers make a conscious effort to
makelthe 2)ruth the) interact with
feel • physically and emotionally
safe while they participate in group
activities and lessons. It's about in-
clusion and respect. Kids can fail or
succeed and not feel threatened
that they're leaming processes will
be found lacking.
Mastery for 4-H youth involves
increasing self-confidence. Our vol-
unteers excel at making the youth
of Walsh County believe they are
capable to accomplish the activities
they participate in. Youth may en-
counter failure along the way, but
I've seen our volunteers encourage
and problem solve with a 4-H'er to
help make the experience the best
it can be. TheY explore activities and
projects together. They prompt and
cheer. They inspire the youth to take
chances and help them explore
new interests. I've seen the support
of volunteers help determine career
paths.
Independence is the pursuit of in-
dividual interests. 4-H leadership
opportunities and volunteer guid-
ance and encouragement help our
youth mature in their own self-dis-
cipline and responsibility. They
learn to better understand them-
selves and become independent
thinkers. They help form the future
leaders of our communities.
Generosity is the final essential
element and our leaders give our
youth the opportunity to discover the
meaning and purpose of generosi-
ty during their 4-H experience. By
participating in community service
and citizenship activities youth
connect to their communities and
learn to give back to others. These
experiences help provide the foun-
dation for helping youth under-
stand the "big picture" of life and
find purpose and meaning. Our
leaders teach our youth about being
part of a global community, raising
their awareness about their actions
and the impact on others. They mod-
el compassion for others.
Our volunteers are our greatest
asset in accomplishing and imple-
menting these four essential ele-
ments in our 4-H programming, and
in the development of our youth
members. We are truly grateful for
their time, dedication, passion, and
overall belief in the 4-H mission.
Thank you.
If you would like to share your
talents and time and are interested
in becoming a 4-H volunteer please
call me at the Extension Office (284-
6624) any time of year!
Around the County
Walsh County Extension Office
Park River - 701-284-6624
Plan out your garden
If you haven't been already, it's
time to start thinking about your gar-
dens! Having full sun, and decent
soil will make a difference. Get
your soil tested as a first time gar-
dener to see what amendments
may need to be made. It's not a bad
idea for experienced gardeners to
have their soils tested if it's been sev-
eral years or some crop have not
produced as successfully as you
would have hoped.
Devise a plan of where you'd like
everything in your garden to go. If
you feel crunched for space, that's
ok. The bigger YOur garden, the
more to weed! You can plant a lot
ofproduce in a little area. Ifyou are
new to gardening, start small.
Sometimes mapping it out can feel
overwhelming. Do some research
on companion planting. Look up
ideas of what plants tend to grow
well around each other, and which
ones to avoid growing as neighbors.
Remember that you don't have
to plant every seed that comes in
your packets, either. Another im-
portant step is the variety of seed se-
lected. Over the years, Extension
Horticulturalist Tom Kalb and 500
gardeners from North Dakota as
well as other Midwestem states
have devised a list of recommend-
ed varieties that grow well in North
Dakota. 2014's recommendations
can be found at
<http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/horti-
culture/vegetablevarietyrecom-
mendations2014.pdf> or stop into
the office and we can get you a copy.
Its important to know your cool
crops and warm crops. Many of
your leafy greens can handle cool-
er temperatures and even some
small amounts of frost. These can
be planted inside first or sown di-
rectly into the ground. I have even
heard that a light frost may add
some flavor to spinach and chard.
Other cool crops include but are not
limited to kohlrabi, lettuce, onion,
celery, cauliflower, carrot cabbage,
brussel sprouts, broccoli, beets,
peas, rutabaga, and radishes. Just be
sure that if you decide to start these
plants indoors, you harden them off
before putting them directly outside
and transplant carefully. Hardening
off can be done by placing them out-
side for a few hours at a time, slow-
ly lengthening their time outside, to
moving to leaving them in your
garage ovemight, to being able to
leave them outside most of the
day. Basically, you are gradually ac-
climating them to outside condi-
tions. Some plants may harden off
faster than others. The whole
process may take a few days to a
couple weeks.
Warm crops include those plants
such as your bean, sweet com,
pepper, eggplant, melon, squash, cu-
cumber, pumpkin. You want to put
these in the ground when the soil is
warmed up and moist and all
chances of frost are gone. Those
that require longer growing season
may want to be started indoors, like
melons, even though some seed
packets do not recommended you
do this so you must be very careful
in transplanting. Always remember
to harden off these plants as well if
you start them indoors.
Succession planting in your gar-
den will guarantee you to have the
same vegetables stretched out over
a longer period of time, rather than
everything getting harvested at
once. There's an overwhelming
amount of information on growing
your own produce, but the best way
to leam is to get out there and try it
yourself.