DECEMBER 26, 2012 THE PRESS ' CE 3
Walsh County
Spotlight
The merchants below are
proud to announce:
Park River Hockey and Park River Figure
Skating will be hosting a teen dance for grades
7 to 12 from 9 p.m. to midnight on Saturday,
Dec. 28 at City Hall in Park River. Entry charge
is $5. Kringstad's will DJ the event. All teens in
attendance at the dance will have the chance to
win a UND hockey jersey. Also in conjunction
with the dance will be a raffle for an iPad mini.
All proceeds from the raffle and dance go
directly toward the payment of the new ice plant.
COUNTY
Park River
PO Box 49
Park River
301vCounty Road12B!
..... iiii:.284.7115 1
AUTO
PARTS
Park River
Implement
284-6316
Insurance
Park River ,-, 284-7244
Adams ~ 944-2231
Grafton ~ 352-3668
Mi(
• .'hig.an ~ 259-2112
Hoopm ~ 894-6123
Crystal ~ 657-2168
110 4th St. E
Park River
\
Jim's Super Yalu
101 3rd St. W
Park River For all your dinner needs!
ldHA'r' YOU tNC 7
The Press will print your announcements
- weddings, milestone birthdays,
anniversaries, or babies- free of charge
Small fee applies for open house invitations
1Br Apts \1
/ Park Court Apts - Park River
, All udlities paid 1
**Income Based** -- /
Private Entrance with NO STEPS I
t Now AVAmABLE:,
!\ Call Vicki 701-331-3826 ½ \1
i%j ...... 70,_35212275
Ill
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IV [ ,k¢~/ Prairie Homes Management ~ ~11
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-Walsh County Veterans Service Office
Cheers.to the New Year
We survived the rtunored end of the world and I hope you StLrvived Christ-
mas. These columns of mine are always intbnnational and to the point.
I wanted to take a moment and wish everyone well as we transition from
2012 into 2013.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I am looking forward to the next
year. I love having that mindset of 'tomorrow is a new day', but having
a whole new year is by far the best.
My 2011 was full of family trips and events, but it was also a year of
heartbreak and change. I couldn't wait for 2012; rightfully so as 2012 was
my In'st drama-free year in a very long time.
I took this job in the Veterans Service Office to help people. I wanted
to be a do-gooder and a person that you could call for straight answers.
My wish has come true a few times where I was able to help where no
one was able to before.
Thank you my area Veterans for allowing me to be a resource, voice,
confidant, friend, and ally. The last tv o years have been a great start and
I hope my stride will continue into 2013.
Please let your fellow Veterans know this season that they are neither
alone nor abandoned in their quest to get their voices heard. If there is a
concern of eligibility of benefits, call me. If there is a topic that should
be forwm'ded to the lawmakers of this great state, call me. If your neigh-
bor has a question about being a Veteran but doesn't know who to ask,
call me. If there is an event that you would love me to attend, call me.
I am the only Veterans Service Officer in the NE comer of the state, aside
fi'om Grand Forks, that is available more than two days a week. Sin-e, there
may be a lot on my plate from time to time, but I always have a moment
or three to answer a question or follow up on one.
Contact Information: Office Phone 352-5030; Office Fax 352-5031; Work
Cell 331-1700; Work Email kahodny@nd.gov; Web Site www.walsh-
countynd.com/veteran; Facebook Walsh County Veterans Service Office
Here's to a New Year and all the good things that come with it.
Katrina HotbO, * Walsh Count' Veterans Semice O/ricer
Administrative Building, 638 Cooper Ave, Grafton
Walsh Winners 4-H club news
By Sandra Kjelland the Catholic church. We elected
PARK RIVER, N.D.- Walsh officers for the 2013 4-H year.
Winners had our December President-Zach Nelson, vice
meeting on Sunday the 16. Our president-Jordon Brummond,
president Kaitlyn Nelson called a treasures-Kaitlyn Nelson,
meeting to order the Pledge and Secretary-Jette Peterka, and
Pledge of allegiance. Beatrice
reporter- Sandra Kjelland. We
Kjelland did the Secretary's report, finished our meeting with a
Andrew Bmmmond did the
treasurer's report. We welcomed community service project, of
new members the Jacobsons who making trays of cookies for the
elderly; we also made cookies for
are officially club members, We the local business that supported 4-
discussed going skiing with the , H at the county fair premium sale.
Spirit 4-H club for our January
meeting. We decided to go to the " Editor's Note: Kjelland is
parliamentary procedure workshop reporter for the Walsh Winners 4-H
February 2. All officers are club.
expected to come and at least 1 Editor Note: Kjelland is
leader. The next 4-H event is reporter fbr the Walsh I¢4"nners 4-
communication arts March 16 at H club.
Espeliens celebrate 70th wedding
anniversary over Christmas
PARK RIVER, N.D. -- The children of Joe and Irene Espelien are
happy to announce the 70th Wedding Anniversary of their parents.
Joseph Espelien and Irene McLauchlin were married December 25,
1942 in Alexandria, Louisiana. They have four children: Arden
(Donna) Espelien, Scappoose, Oregon, Carmen (Steve) Severson,
Minto, ND, ReNae (Wayne) Gerszewski, Park River, ND, and Jo
Ellen Espelien, Honolulu, HI.
They also have 9 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Four generations gathertogether
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Chris Hillebrand, daughter Aspen of
Fargo, ND, Great Grandinother Dorothy Hodny of Grand Forks, ND,
and Grandmother Louise Hillebrand of Petersburg, ND captured a
moment celebrating four genereations of family.
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD
By Richard Volesky
BELFIELD, N.D. -- North Dakota is near the top among states in
drunken driving deaths per person. Alcohol was involved in more than
half of the fatal crashes in North Dakota this year, meaning more than half
of those crashes may not have happened.
Some say it's a part of the culture in a rural state where there are long
distances, nearly everyone drives, and alcohol is mixed in with most types
of get-togethers. While it can be said alcohol is a part of the culture - but
sadly linked to that is a DUI culture - where drinking and driving is con-
sidered acceptable by some. Often mentioned in the media lately is that
there were more than 6,000 DUI arrests last year. Not mentioned is that
the actual number of drunk diivers likely is much higher because law en-
forcement cannot be everywhere all of the time.
The DUI culture has to change. Maintaining the status quo would mean
we accept these types of crashes as inevitable.
In recent years, the mantra of community developers has been that a
key to success also includes a good quality of place, where recreation and
other amenities abound. Cellainly, North Dakota can't claim to have a
good quality of place, if our highways can be ranked among the least safe,
where one can wonder if today's the day someone will once again meet
a drunk drivel-.
The htunan costs are immeasurable.
On Oct. 29, 201 l, Charles Boehm, 21; Trevor Erie, 21; and Eastman
Nadeau, 22; died in a Mandan crash in which their driver was drunk. At
Lake Metigoshe in Bottineau on July 9 of this year, two brothers, Alar-
ies Ruiz, 5, and Cyris Ruiz, 9, died when a tent they were camping in was
driven over by an alleged drunk driver. Three days earlier, a drunk driver
going the wrong way on Interstate 94 near Jamestown killed Aaron
Deutscher, 34, his wife, Allison, 36; their daughter, Bridle, 18 months,
and their unborn child.
Look at the ages: Those are some of the young lives in our state with
potentials not fully realized but now lost.
In the case of the Deutschers - with Aaron being my nephew - the old
phrase that says "words cannot describe" the aftemaath is certainly true.
Aaron and his family were headed to a family reunion - with all the hap-
piness that could entail - but instead that turned into days of shock and
sorrow that dichl't have to be. As one relative said, "This truly makes your
heart break."
Once caught and convicted, a drunk driver of course faces fines, jail
time and legal costs. A proposal ofRep. Ed Gruchalla, D-Fargo, seeks to
stiffen the penalties. Yes, stronger penalties should play a role. Rep. Kim
Koppelman, R-Fargo; Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Attorney General Wayne
Stenehjem this week also announced legislation that includes mandatory
jail semences, higher fines and use of a sobriety program for DUI of-
fenders with testing twice per day for alcohol use.
While penalties are important, it seems that the greater "value'" to a
driver is simply the opportunity to drive. After all, people with sus-
pended-licenses still can and do. Another "'wall" needs to be put up be-
tw'een ddrunk ddrivers and their access to their steering wheels.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) supports the use of ignition
interlocks, which are already used in 17 states. A person who has been
convicted of ddrunk driving must first blow into the device before his or
her vehicle starts. The vehicle won't start unless the driver's blood alco-
hol is below a preset level.
Costs of the interlock can be assessed to the driver, and there should
be penalties for anyone who tampers or overrides the device. Ignition in-
terlocks should become mandatory for all offenders.
MADD, citing a National Research Council report, says that interlocks
are effective in saving lives mad reducing repeat offenses and are more ef-
fective than license suspension because 50 to 75 percent of convicted driv-
ers continue driving without being licensed. Interlocks are effective in re-
ducing repeat offenses by 67 percent, according to MADD, citing the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While a current state budget proposal calls tbr additional highway pa-
trol troopet in North Dakota to help pan:ol the roads of a state with a
growing population, local police and sheriff's departments should also be
offered a helping hand.
Federal funding, funneled through the N.D. Department of Trans-
portation, has been assisting law en~brcement with DUI and underage
drinking issues. Considering North Dakota"s ample financial resources,
the state certainly can aflbrd a grant program to enhance entbrcement. Lo-
cal entities should be offered optional funding that would mean increas-
ing the number of man hours, or if staffing would allow, providing for
overtime with existing officers.
When someone is arrested on a DUI charge, the possible outcomes are
a conviction, a lesser charge or a dismissal. Prosecutors have the discre-
tion ofdetemlining the direction of a case. A part of the DUI problem, as
Becky Byzewski, prevention and safe commtmities coordinator with
Community Action in Dickinson, sees it, is that too many DUI cases end
up in reduced sentences. This doesn't help those who were charged or
everyone else on the road, she says.
Certainly, we all need to keep the pressm'e on our judges and state's
attomeys, letting them know that leniency isn't an answer, it can be a part
of the problem.
In the stone North Dakota county in recent years, a drunk dliving crash
that included fatalities resulted in no jail time for the surviving drivel
while in another case the driver was put behind bars. True, the circum-
stances in each case were different, but one result- death- was the same.
A mandatory minimum sentence for any drunk driving death or injury
could have a deterrent effect.
A few days after the Deutscher and Ruiz clashes, eastern North
Dakota resident Wayne Stautz proposed an idea to require the marking
of driver's licenses of convicted DUI offenders. People with marked li-
censes wouldia't be served. Sen. Tim Mathem, D-Fargo, is supporting the
idea as another bill to be taken to the Legislature in January.
Marked driver's licenses, however, could become entangled in First
Amendment challenges. Pefllaps electronically marked licenses, which
would still have the same effect, are another route.
North Dakota has a law against serving alcohol "to a habitual drunk-
ard, an incompetent, or an obviously intoxicated individual." But for there
to be an anest, the over serving has to occur in the presence of a law en-
forcement officer. The reality of such a circumstance is unlikely and prac-
tically makes the law lneaningless"
A possible alternative is changing the law so that a report by anyone
about over serving can lead to an investigation and an arrest. Even in a
bar, there still could be others, such as designated drivers, who would be
coherent enough to report what they have seen.
North Dakota has much to be proud of', but should be ashamed of its
DUI culture. Lawmakers who don't support changes in that culture are
complicit in it, and so are we all, if we don't speak up.
Editor;s Note: Voles : isJ?om Be(ileAl, N.D.
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