Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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As we live through this COVID-19 pandemic, stories about good things are plentiful. I am seeing them everywhere… on the news, in the papers and in social media. This pandemic has united the world against one common foe. Video clips from Brazil showed residents of high-rise apartments joining together, despite the challenges of social distancing, to sing together and the sweet sound of their song swelled across the entire city. Israelis also joined to make noise from their balconies, letting t...
It's a world of laughter, a world of tears, it's a world of hope and a world of fears. There's so much that we share that it's time we're aware it's a small world after all. That Disney song keeps running through my mind these days, reminding me about family and friends all over the United States. So, as I watch the COVID-19 statistics for North Dakota and Minnesota where most of our family lives, I am also concerned for loved ones who live farther away who are in some of the hotspots in the...
A mere four hours after the last print edition went to press, Governor Doug Burgum made a big announcement that affected all of us. He signed executive orders limiting school and business activity throughout the state. One order effectively closed bars and restaurants to any dine-in or on sale activity amid coronavirus concerns; and ordered school buildings to stay closed indefinitely. He also ordered the closure of recreational facilities such as theatres, bowling alleys, health clubs and gyms. “We anticipate there will be additional North D...
If you're looking for ways to keep your kids (and yourself) busy during times of social distancing, you might want to try an idea that gives us all a sense of togetherness, even in isolation. During times when we are being told to stay home, we can all be thankful that technology like Facetime, Skype, Duo and Zoom all offer us the opportunity to check in on our elderly parents and our grandchildren without danger of exposing anyone. It was social distancing that gave Mandy Gill, a Bismarck...
The Rockford Theatre may be closed for business right now, but community volunteers are hard at work inside. They're renovating and preparing for new seats that theatre manager Glenda Collier says are scheduled to ship in May. The theatre's 192 seats will be replaced with 150 new blue seats with black accents, allowing for more room between the rows and making movie watching much more comfortable. Collier says there is also a platform being built which will provide room for four wheelchair-acces...
As we watch the novel coronavirus continue its spread across the United States, there are many grim and scary facts that we have come face to face with on a daily basis. We try to balance these thoughts with stress reduction practices and reminding ourselves to take things one day at a time. But even at this time when the news is so full of illness and people are afraid, it is heartening that it is quite easy to find stories where people have seen the good. I am one of those people who has been...
Uncertainty about Coronavirus has many of us a little unnerved as we wait in the United States to see what unfolds as the disease progresses across the country. The internet has been overtaken with information, both good and bad, while toilet paper seems to have become one of society’s most valuable items. Conversation in local businesses centers around coronavirus, so the conversation about calving that I overheard while waiting in line at the store yesterday was a refreshing, back to normal c...
On a recent mini-vacation to Minnesota, it was interesting to see how small towns across Minnesota promoted St. Patrick’s Day. I realized how little I knew about St. Patrick’s Day. Interestingly, my research showed that while St. Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland, many of the St. Patrick’s Day traditions were actually born in the United States. History.com tells us that the United States becomes an “emerald country” every March 17, wearing green clothes and drinking green beer. Green mil...
We’ve all had moments of feeling like we didn’t belong. Just imagine for a moment, being born into a world where fitting in was never an option. Michele Sullivan, who has a rare form of dwarfism, shares how her physical posture taught her the most effective relational posture with others. This knowledge helped her become one of the most powerful women in philanthropy. Michele has literally spent her life looking up. As the first female president of the Caterpillar Foundation, she has used that u...
Each month, Kate and Derek Ehnert, the owners of the Hillsboro Cafe and Bakery designate a cupcake flavor as the cupcake of the month and donate a percentage of the proceeds from those cupcake sales to the Hillsboro Public Schools unpaid lunch accounts during the past year. Since they started the program in 2019, they have sold 2,425 cupcakes to help pay unpaid lunch balances. According to a recent article in the “Grand Forks Herald,” the Ehnerts approached Hillsboro Public Schools Sup...
“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” —Scott Adams Somehow I missed National Random Acts of Kindness Day this year until I saw it being shared on Facebook that day. Each year on Feb. 17, National Random Acts of Kindness Day grows in popularity, inspiring people every day to encourage acts of kindness. People everywhere are enjoying doing acts of kindness that not only bring joy to the receiver but spread positive reactions to...
In my elementary school years, February meant preparing for the annual sugar-laden Valentine’s Day parties and making our Valentine’s boxes. Kids seemed to either love or hate the idea of turning ordinary household boxes into our personal Valentine mailboxes. My mom saved containers and always had great ideas on how to turn those containers into cute Valentine boxes, so I loved it. Now, of course, a simple search on Google would give you more ideas than you would ever be able to use in this lif...
Many hearts are hurting this week after hearing about the deaths of the nine people killed in the helicopter crash that included basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. My heart hurts for the Bryant family, who lost two of their family members at the same time. It’s a pain that is hard to imagine but the story became so much more heartbreaking as I read the stories about all nine of the people who were killed while on their way to a youth basketball tournament. They inc...
The last few days have been quite deceptive. While I love the sunshine streaming through my windows, the bright sun and blue sky are masking the real weather story— the bitter cold. The only hint I get that it is so cold outside is the frequency of the furnace starting. If you are one of those people who waits for winter and snow so you can go play in it, this column probably isn’t for you. Yesterday when I was complaining about the cold and said that it was time to move somewhere with a mor...
“Although no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending.” Carl Bard If you’ve read previous columns, you know that I am not a fan of New Year’s resolutions. The success rate statistics on New Year’s resolutions are abysmal. However, I am a fan of goal-setting and that’s why I liked this quotation from Carl Bard. It draws attention to one of the best things about a New Year’s resolution but reminds us that no matter what happened yesterday, w...
Sometimes the world that we live in makes it a little difficult to see the good in things when it seems like the bad news far outweighs the good. When those weeks come, I must confess that it’s hard to write this column. There have been losses this week that have made me realize just how small a world we live in but it’s also enforced the power of human connection. There are people in the news who have suffered devastating circumstances, our family members who have suffered illnesses and dea...
It’s under the tree, but who’s around it.” That is so true, isn’t it? I hope that you had a great Christmas and that you had enough of the right people around your Christmas tree to celebrate with you and make your spirit bright. Now, we are looking to the New Year, contemplating the year behind us and wondering what the future holds for us. Looking at the year that is stretching out ahead of us, we realize that we are being given a gift… an opportunity to pursue happiness and fulfillme...
Someone asked me a while ago about my favorite childhood Christmas memory or tradition. The question has generated much thought about the family traditions we enjoyed. Tradition is defined as the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation. Memories are the act of retaining and reviving facts, events, impressions, or of recalling previous experiences. The menu changed, the place and people we celebrated with might change but there were things that always remained the same....
Ten-year-old Riley and her mother, Lynn Christensen, were huddled in front of the family computer one day, checking out models and prices of bikes. Christensen suggested to her daughter that they should pick one out for Riley’s dad’s birthday. Christensen scrolled down the home page of the Bike Rack, a shop in their town of St. Charles, Ill., and a video link for Project Mobility Hallmark Heroes caught her eye. She clicked on it out of curiosity. It’s a nine-minute video that is worth watch...
Hallmark movies— you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em. So, which camp are you in? I love them. My husband does not. He has grudgingly accepted my Christmas movies between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I have finally admitted that, if it weren’t for him, I would probably be one of those people watching Christmas movies in July. He, of course, would tell you that I do watch Christmas movies in July. I guess he’s right. I do. I just try not to when he’s around. Hallmark’s 10th annual “Count...
While I think of my grandparents a lot, I miss them most around the holidays. When I think about someone who modeled gratitude and hospitality, I think of my maternal grandmother. Throughout our lives, she made it clear that she was thankful for her family and that we were always welcome in her home. No matter what she was doing, she appeared to love it when family driving through would unexpectedly drop in for a visit, coffee and a treat that she could always pull from the freezer. For most of...
"Brighten the corner where you are, brighten the corner where you are. Someone far from home may need a guiding star. Brighten the corner where you are." This song, which I loved to sing with my grandpa when I was a little girl, is one that keeps Scott Macaulay's annual Thanksgiving tradition going year after year. The now-annual Thanksgiving tradition began when he faced his first Thanksgiving alone in 1985. Macaulay was thinking that he would have to heat up a frozen turkey dinner and turn on...
You may have already seen this story, as it has been widely reported in the last few days. It’s a story about “Mr. Doug,” a 98-year old World War II veteran who is still able to make a daily trip to his local Arby’s location in Chandler, Ariz. Mr. Doug has become a familiar face to the Arby’s staff at that location and they enjoy their loyal customer. Arby’s location manager, Christina Gamage, said she absolutely loves Doug, which she says is a feeling that is shared by many of the location st...
Veterans Day is a day that is set aside to honor and celebrate the people who have given so much to guarantee our freedom in the United States. This column will tell the stories of two of those veterans and the very different paths their lives have taken them. The two people whose stories are being told don’t even know each other but both have had their lives changed by the Valley Brook Home for Veterans. The Valley Brook Home for Veterans was a lifesaver for veteran Joe Malcolm. As a matter o...
Yesterday, a Facebook meme made me smile and think of my dog. Along with a picture of a dog’s greying muzzle were the words that said, “I love the energy of little puppies, but there is just something special about the sweet face of an old dog.” Yes, the meme made me think about my current dog, our German Shepherd-Labrador mix but I got a little nostalgic and started reminiscing about the old dogs of my youth. My favorite was a gentle, yet protective German Shepherd named Christy. One of my f...
