Year in Review: Top 10 local stories of 2018

As we reach the end of another year, the "New Rockford Transcript" would like to share some of the top-read newspaper stories from 2018. The stories are shared in no particular order but were tracked electronically from readership of the newspaper's online edition and interaction with the articles on the Transcript's Facebook page.

1) July 8 severe storm: Residents of the communities of New Rockford and Sheyenne woke with a start on Sunday, July 8, around 3:30 a.m., as winds at speeds of up to 100 mph whipped through their neighborhoods. The ensuing damage was evident early on.  

The paper's Facebook page was accessed thousands of times over the next 48 hours by citizens looking for updates as crews worked to remove the many damaged and down trees and restore electricity and telecommunications to residents.

The next week's paper reported, "As soon as the storm passed, volunteers from the ambulance and fire department went door-to-door across New Rockford and Sheyenne checking on residents. Everyone was safe and uninjured, but both towns' neighborhoods had changed in a big way: hundreds of trees were on the ground, appearing as though they had been "pushed" over by the high winds.

The Transcript provided ongoing coverage throughout the month, including photos and stories of the clean-up efforts that were organized. In addition, Gerri Makay of the North Dakota Forest Service contributed articles on how to care for injured trees as the communities recovered.

2) 2018 Election: The candidates running for the local offices, including the contested races for Eddy County Commission and Eddy County State's Attorney, all received coverage in the weeks and months leading up to the election. As a result, the county welcomed two new faces, Ashley Lies as the new state's attorney and Dave Gehrtz as a new commissioner.

3) Transcript-exclusive series: Two of the paper's monthly series were widely followed this year: the New Rockford Chamber of Commerce's Employee of the Month award articles and Kristi Frahm's series, "Where are They Now?", which features New Rockford-Sheyenne graduates and where their lives have taken them since graduation.

4) Forty Years and Counting: When Deb Stafford came back to school this fall, she began her 40th consecutive year working with New Rockford students. She has been a stable force against a backdrop of continual change in the local education system. The article chronicles many of the changes that have taken place over Stafford's 40 year career with the school and she says that retirement isn't on her mind right now. "I'm ready to go back to school in July," she said. "It feels like my home."

5) Celebrating a Centenarian: Thelma (Sund) Myhre of New Rockford celebrated her 100th birthday in August, and her heartwarming story was one of a centenarian who is still living in her own home. Myhre is a lifelong resident of Eddy County who was born in 1918, in the midst of the Great War and the influenza pandemic, during the year when daylight savings time was enacted and a full two years before women had the right to vote. The widely shared story showed how so much has changed since she was born.

6) 60th Annual Stream Threshers: The Central North Dakota Steam Threshers Association beckoned people to attend their 60th Annual Threshing Reunion in September, which featured sawmills and miniatures. In addition to those lines, several of the large steamers were on display and would run in the Parade of Engines each day.  

Activities included threshing, potato picking and plowing with gas tractors and steamers, woodcarving, Morse Code, Prony Brake, food vendors, craft show, flea market, a 4-H Roast Beef Dinner, Cook Car breakfast and a Memorial Church Service. Members offered tours of the schoolhouse, Tiffany Hall, and Brinsmade Post Office and Church in the pioneer villiage.

7) Camp Grafton South expansion proposal: It was standing room only in the Eddy County courthouse basement when the North Dakota National Guard presented their proposal to expand Camp Grafton South located in eastern Eddy County. The expansion would allow them to acquire additional land needed to expand and meet additional readiness requirements.

A letter sent to landowners living or farming close to the training area said that since Sept. 11, 2001, NDNG has transitioned from a Strategic Reserve to an Operational Reserve. Historically, the NDNG has been a strategic reserve that would be mobilized in the event of a larger than expected contingency or in the event of a domestic emergency.

The letter went on to inform the landowners that, as an operational reserve, the National Guard has been a critical component in the country's defense and must be ready to deploy on shorter notice than ever before, while also being ready to serve locally and meet the needs within the state.

"The obligation of being an operational reserve comes with added and more complex training and readiness requirements," the letter states. "The Camp Grafton South training area and range complex are inadequate in size and capabilities to meet our current readiness needs."

An expansion like the one the NDNG is proposing requires legislative approval and funding.

8) The Kindness Club: A story written by NR-S sixth grader Lora Wobbema, told about Eddy County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Bittmann visiting the school to talk about bullying. By the time he left, he had inspired a group of third graders (Karsyn Wetzel, Olivia Larson, Lily Whitley, Emmie Belquist and Jocee Lawrence) to start The Kindness Club. More students had joined since that time to help stop bullying.

The Kindness Club was started by these students mostly because of the amount of bullying that goes on. The club founders know that bullying happens most often outside of school, at recess, in the bathroom, in the lunchroom or online- anywhere lacking adult supervision. They no longer want to see people cry after being bullied and they no longer want to witness bullies lashing out. They want to stop bullying.

9) Neighbors in Need: A group of stories written about Eddy County residents undergoing serious medical conditions were also widely read and shared. These stories included the following:

 • A story about nine-year-old Jacob Sogge and his ongoing medical costs associated with a surgery that took place in March, 2018 to treat Type 2 Chiari Malformation. His story was one about his surgery and the recovery that doctors warned would take a long time. Jacob is still continuing his recovery.

 • The story about six-year-old Taylin Jacobson and her diagnosis of stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma and the treatment she underwent to fight her cancer.

 • Susie Semmens, a long time New Rockford resident, was diagnosed with stage 3c ovarian cancer three years ago, in February of 2015. Her story includes the surgery and treatment she has gone through to fight her cancer.

 • Cassidy Clifton's surgeries to remove tumors from her spine in a risky, invasive procedure, her recovery from them and the incredible spirit that kept her fighting, even while visiting others to keep their spirits up.

10) Local Business Portraits: The final top stories for 2018 featured New Rockford businesses, one new and one with decades of service to the community.

 • New business James River Ag was featured this spring. Taylor Koepplin (2010) and Eric Perleberg (2009) established James River Ag in the fall of 2017, an effort they said was the product of "just a couple of friends talking." The result is a newly-constructed facility equipped with offices, a warehouse and a bulk soybean treatment plant along U.S. Hwy. 281 that used to be no more than a vacant farmstead. This was the most shared business story of the year, with thousands of reads on the website alone.

• Thomas Sauby purchased Kent Braunberger's share of Evans Funeral Home as of Jan. 1, which generated quite a buzz in the community. He became the sole owner of Evans Funeral Home four years to the day after he moved back to his hometown to take over for his dad, Fred. A subsequent article about Braunberger reflected on his three decades of service to the community.

Watch for a recap of other stories from 2018 in upcoming issues of the "New Rockford Transcript."