McKenzie County ND

Meet-the-Candidates forums to be held:

One is scheduled Thurs., Sept. 18 in Alexander City Hall 6:00 p.m.

Another is scheduled Thurs., Oct. 16 in Watford City Civic Center 6:00 p.m.

Forum begins formally at 6:30 p.m. with panel presentations by four county commissioner candidates.
Coffee and light goodies are to be served by area’s respective American Legion Auxiliaries at 6:00 p.m.
The forum should last no longer than two hours.

The format is as follows:

Names drawn will determine order of delivery for prepared answers to five questions regarding
1. What are your top three concerns for the oil industry impact and some strategies to deal with them?
2. What are your top three priorities for modernizing county’s infrastructure?
3. How serious is the issue of underage access to alcohol and how do you propose to address it?
4. The same question is posed for the issue of underage access to tobacco.
5. If you were living in poverty, is McKenzie County a good place to be? Why or why not?
6. Each candidate, in random order, will be given the podium for four ‘free minutes’ to discuss any issue(s) they wish.
7. Finally, a Question and Answer period will be allowed for about 20 to 25 minutes.

All citizens welcome!!
Thank you, everyone, for your interest in this important citizenship effort!
Dale A. Swenson with the Watford City Community Coalition and American Legion Auxiliary 
journalistdale@gmail.com or phone 586-3340 or 701-421-1999

The aroma and look of an Internet Cafe swept into the Healthy Hearts Wellness Center Monday morning.

A gift valued at $1,000, plus an additional $700 worth of paper and toner supplies, was delivered to McKenzie County Healthcare Systems’ Healthy Hearts Wellness Center on Monday, Aug. 11, 2008. A small group of ladies enjoying their “after-exercise” coffee and visit, rejoiced to consider future lap-top sessions amid their conversations in this same comfortable location.

Mike Miller of Minot, who is tech support and trainer through the Extension service of North Dakota State University, set up the Dell 1125 multi-function black and white laser printer and a “choice” Dell Desktop dual-core 2.4 GHz processor, Vista, Home Premium, 2 GB memory, 500 GB hard drive, and 20-inch wide-screen flat panel display in the Wellness Center lobby.

The gift, state of the art technology, was a prize that Dale A. Swenson, county agent Marcia Hellandsaas, Dorothy Reil, Peggy Hellandsaas, Rev. Timothy Swenson, and Jan Dodge, bloggers of McKenzie County’s Horizons program of Leadership to Reduce Poverty, won through meeting and exceeding the program’s blogging challenge. See http://mckenzie.communityblogs.us/

Pictured left to right are Lael Reed, Reil, Dodge, P. Hellandsaas, T. Swenson, M. Hellandsaas and D. Swenson. (The framed award held by Hellandsaas and Swenson will repose above the computer cubicle.)

“People will have another reason to come here and congregate,” smiles Miller, after pre-installing Microsoft Office 2007, and other productivity software. “Any topics they may discuss will have a “world of information’ easily accessed through the Internet to enhance their conversations.”

According to Lael Reed, Rehabilitation manager of the wellness center and McKenzie County Physical Therapy department, “It is exciting to have this computer for our customers to use. People have the option of bringing in their own lap-tops to use the wireless Internet connection. Customers can utilize the printer and scanner connected to the computer. We want to encourage high school and college students to come to work out, have a cappuccino, latte, smoothie, or chai tea and enjoy this new service! A huge ‘Thank you’ to those individuals that work with Horizons that thought of our facility to make this happen in our community. Stop in and blog your favorite topic!”

CEO Dan Kelly of McKenzie County Healthcare Systems says, “The Horizons program of Leadership to Reduce Poverty is an excellent grass roots organization with formidable goal of reducing poverty within McKenzie County. I thank this organization for their efforts in securing this computer system. The McKenzie County Healthcare System Healthy Hearts Wellness Center is pleased to serve as a site for the placement of the computer. I hope that community members will use the computer and in doing so, think of the Horizons Program.”

The Traveler’s Gift

by Andy Andrews.

Another book report on one of the fine selections the Horizon’s program has donated to our area. The books are located at the McKenzie County Library in Watford City.

Decision for Success

1. The buck stops here. I accept responsibility for my past. I am responsible for my success.

2. I will seek wisdom. I will choose to act. Charge!

3. I am a person of action.

4. I have a decided heart.

5. Today I will choose to be happy. As soon as I wake up, I will laugh for 7 seconds.

6. I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit.

7. I will persist without exception.

This would be a great text for today’s young persons. Besides giving them a glimpse into famous persons’ lives and a brief tour of the world, it gives some wonderful advice.

Arnegard’s Postmaster Sharon Prestangen played Crazy 8s with customers on Friday 08/08/08. Those who won got their name placed in a special drawing box. The lucky person would win $8.88 in postage stamps. Every letter posted that day got the official Crazy 8 cancellation and post cards with the Crazy 8 logo were available. Relay For Life members, Kari Grieger and her son, Jacob, and Lowaine Gudmunsen of Arnegard served hot dogs, chips, lemonade, bars and bottles of water for 88 cents.

“Look out for 09/09/09!” says Prestangen, whose inspiration for this crazy date and episode is the 10 and 1/2 card game famous in Arnegard’s Cafe.

The final celebration for completing the Horizons Poverty Study Project was held at the RamKota in Bismarck on July 9, 2008. Attending from McKenzie County were Marcia Hellandsaas, Dale Swenson, and Dorothy Reil.

I liked Anita Rohde’s comment that the length of this program is about equal to the gestation period of an elephant. I would like to add that Mom Elephant’s milk nourishes the calf for 3 to 4 years. That means our work has just begun and we have four more years to devote to the nourishment of our goals. Change may not happen overnight, but it will happen.

Nolan Swenson, who will be a Senior at Watford City High School, organized a revitalization of a tall playhouse in Arnegard’s park, one in which he used to play. For the Eagle Scout honor, he has put materials, supplies, tools and local carpentry talent together to remake the structure, in addition to staining it a dark brown, inside and out.

The “small fry” of Independence Day play found the restored playhouse in the trees plagued by chalk graffiti and set to work scrubbing the writing off the dark boards.

“We want the playhouse to look nice and not be all marked up,” said one young boy with a wet eraser in his hand.

Nolan is pictured near the doorway of the plain board building standing high on six or seven foot footings.

Children played and Nolan smiled. More play was to be had on the large air-filled “inflatable games” just across the roped-off street.

Arnegard Boosters threw another marvelous party for the 4th of July Celebration. The parade was lead by Old Glory in the care of Watford City’s American Legion Color Guard. Remarkable in length, with horses, cars and fire trucks, its end meant the beginning of the dinner line. The plate of baked beans and tender roast beef was served by the Arnegard Lions and the ice cream dessert cups came from the McKenzie County Bank in Watford City.

The Family that provided the beef for the meal presented song and history of the Oluf and Annie Hovde family, whose homestead celebrates its centennial this year in the early afternoon. All veterans were honored near the dedicated memorial under the flag prior to the program.

Games continued for the children all afternoon, while adults visited in the picnic shelters, enjoying music provided first by Ordean Tweden and his wife, then by Jeff Nelson. Suppertime found the Lions serving up their usual Friday evening ‘Burgers in the Park’ and the line was long in the 94-degree sun.

Wilmington Lutheran Church’s cool basement provided education and entertainment with a DVD virtual walking tour of Washington, D.C. Newt Gingritch’s record of God in the Founding Father’s manuscripts and nation’s buildings ended at Arlington National Cemetery. Most amazing was the cameo of Martin Luther, whose work made possible the settlement of North America with Protestant Christian ethics.

The fire alarm went off around 9 p.m. and a grass fire on the northeast edge of town was quickly put down by the local fire department.

The Arnegard fireworks started around 10:30 and went on to around midnight, with boom, bang and “ahhhhhes……” Arnegard once again put on a marvelous 4th of July celebration.

Oh, yes, that R us! Butt (I think you are supposed to put sic here) it is a good feeling to know we have accomplished, and we will accomplish more!

We received some magnificent books through the Horizons program. Man, these books cost mega bucks, and we have a whole trough full. They are at the Watford City library so go and check something out. It won’t matter which one. All of the information is wonderful.

I took Leadership Gold by John C. Maxwell.

Subtitle: Lessons I’ve Learned from a Lifetime of Leading.

I found some fantastic things to share with you. And I am sure you would jump over these and find something wonderful for yourself. So here it is:

“Criticism is something you can avoid easily—-by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”………Aristotle (We are used to this one.)

“Don’t put live eggs under dead chickens.” ……..Howard Hendricks (We tried but it didn’t work out.)

And now let’s address our own skills in communication. I UNDERSTAND this area needs some work.

Direct quote from the book:

You spend half your day—about 4 hours—-in listening activities.
You hear about two hours’ worth of what is said.
You actually listen to an hour of it.
You understand only thirty minutes of that hour.
You believe only fifteen minutes’ worth.
And you remember less than eight minutes of all that is said.

Ahem…………does this ring any bells? Ding ding ding

Another quote:

Control your destiny, or someone else will.
Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it were.
Be candid with everyone.
Don’t manage, lead.
Change before you have to.
If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.

Don’t send your ducks to Eagle School.

If you send ducks to Eagle School, you will frustrate the ducks.
If you send ducks to Eagle School, you will frustrate the Eagles.
If you send ducks to Eagle School, you will frustrate yourself.

I will equate this to trying to give a town a treasure. And everyone refused it.

I now invite you to check out this book and find some treasures for yourself.

And if you have a dripping wet cat who was outside when our rain/hail deluge hit……., get out the towel and the hair dryer! We need ACTION, when ACTION is needed!

Our bloggers posted many stories in a “Shoot for the Stars” competition and won big! Now who will tend this sweet machine we have as reward?

We bloggers of McKenzie County won the blog incentive and the Dell 1125 multi-purpose black and white laser printer that scan, copies, faxes and prints comes with “choice” of Dell Desktop (slim-line design) dual-core 2.4 GHz processor, Vista, Home Premium, 2 GB memory, 500 GB hard drive, 20-inch widescreen flat panel display

OR

the Dell Laptop-dual-core 1.7 GHz processor, Vista Home Premium, 2GB memory, 250 GB hard drive, wireless, 17-inch wide screen display.

Either machine comes with software to include Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

By June 25 Dale A. Swenson must fill in these blanks:

1. Community name:_____________________

2. _______Desktop OR ______Laptop

3. Where will it be kept in our community_________________________

Since Wednesday, June 18, I have been around Alexander looking for a Main Street area for the public access computer prize package. After several “No, thank yous, ” tonight, it is Jennifer Morton’s turn to think about providing space and monitoring it in her Country Cafe. I’ll call her Monday morning to see if we can set it up there, and if she will be responsible as the public location that can be monitored during the day-time hours and locked during non-business hours, like the city office or public library. While this prize is free to be used by our citizens, someone must assume the maintenance and liability for any/all of these items that are received.

I have also left a message for Dave Farver, Lions president, requesting assistance with this project. The Alexander Lions know all about Horizons-Leadership to Reduce Poverty in McKenzie County since Tim and I did a presentation to the group in February. See it on this blog posted Feb. 25.

Update June 24:

The Lions said, No.

Dorothy Reil suggested one last try with the local branch bank of First International Bank & Trust. I sent Steve Stenehjem an email message last night.

Update June 25:

At 1 p.m. today I’ll know if the public computer access can reside in the bank at Alexander.

The partnership of the Horizons program in McKenzie County and the Watford City Community Coalition asked the Forrest E. Williams American Legion Auxiliary Unit # 94 of Alexander to co-host a public political forum to be held in Alexander in September. The unit agreed unanimously during their regular meeting of June 18, 2008 to support the forum which will allow commissioners to share their positions on pressing issues, especially those that involve what makes communities thrive.

Saturday, May 31st at the Watford City Fishing Pond would have been the place to be with your youngster, grandchild or young friend! The US Forest Service, the City of Watford City and the ND Game and Fish led the charge in sponsoring a Kids Fishing Day at the Watford City Fishing Pond. It was great fun to be had by all with the big catch of the day being a turtle! 122 kids registered for the event plus parents! All kids earned a prize by participation and all involved enjoyed a free lunch thanks to the generous donations.

I am quoting a friend of mine from Fargo who responded to the WC Fishing Day with some great philosophy that I want to pass on: “Fishing has really shaped who I am. Weird to think of it that way, but the millions of hours that I have spent in a boat talking and learning from friends and family while watching the world pass by is priceless. There are so many lessons to be learned by osmosis when you fish. To me it’s a sign that a community cares about its future when they put effort into a park and activity like that, Go Watford!”-Jon Scraper

Sometimes the most simple act of kindness, whether it be in contributions towards an event or actual “time” spent with our youth can have monumental and positive consequences! Keep up the great work and thank you, everyone!

View the linked website to join in with all the smiles!

http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/dakotaprairie/recreation/fishing_derby/08_fishing_derby_files/frame.htm