701 Rundown: Nov. 28, 2022

Here’s your weekly rundown of some of the most interesting headlines from newspapers across North Dakota.

Blaze on west main street consumes Calico Cat

Just after 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15, the Ellendale Fire Protection District responded to an apartment fire on West Main Street, across the street from the Opera House.

The flames were moving fast, sending thick smoke billowing into the overcast sky. The building quickly going down in smoke was the Calico Cat building, which sits right next to the Laundry Room.

Thankfully, no one was injured and no rescues were required. Tragedy did strike for one family, however, as several pets belonging to Daniel and Crystal Preus and their four children were lost in the fire.

Also lost was the Calico Cat - a ceramics studio owned by Marilyn Burrow. The Calico Cat has operated at that location in Ellendale since 1996, and its loss is a major blow to both Burrow and her patrons.

Unfortunately, the blaze had spread significantly before firefighters had even began streaming water onto the building, which had steel siding and a steel roof.

After several hours, the upper story of the Calico Cat building fell in on itself. The laundromat building was left intact, though badly damaged by smoke and water.

An outpouring of support and small-town generosity followed the tragedy, as Z’s Fresh Market pitched in immediately with food supplies for the Preus family.

Justin Meidinger, owner of True Value, offered one of his rental units to the family.

“We’re a community,” said Meidinger. “It’s just what we do.”

(Story by Ken Smith, Dickey County Leader)

Groundbreaking held for school’s new CTE facility

Last Wednesday was the occasion for much excitement at New Salem-Almont High School as the school hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Career and Technical Education Facility.

Students, teachers, staff, school board and CTE Committee members and others from the community gathered to witness the groundbreaking of the new facility, which will offer many opportunities for students, while also freeing up more classroom space within the school for other classes.

NSA Superintendent, Brian Christopherson, and ag teacher, Shawn Feiring, applauded the efforts of the CTE committee and school board.

They also expressed appreciation for the countless hours researching the project and putting together the plans with EngTech, the engineer and architect firm working on the project, and Consolidated Construction Co. Inc., the contractor of the project.

The new facility will allow for increased room for ag classes, horticulture, technical programs, robotics, hopefully bringing back the Family and Consumer Sciences program, just to name a few.

(Story from the New Salem Journal)

Watford City mayor warns of lethal drug on the rise in western North Dakota

Mayor of Watford City, Phil Riely, has issued a public service announcement (PSA) advising residents to be aware of what their children are in reach of.

In particular, “Rainbow Fentanyl,” has proven to be a dangerous drug that’s on the rise in the area.

In his PSA to residents, Riley describes the substance as being in the form of brightly colored loose powder or pills. Riley also said this drug has only made its way to western North Dakota in recent weeks.

“It could come in any shape or size and it’s stupid deadly. It’s nothing to fool around with,” says Riely.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that has become more prevalent in the last decade, and its lethality has wreaked havoc in communities nationwide.

“It’s just a matter of time before it gets to Watford City,” Riley says. “I’m sure there’s Fentanyl in Watford City. Not the Rainbow Fentanyl, but it’s just a matter of time before it chugs its way across the state.”

Riely put the drug’s lethality into perspective.

“Two milligrams of Fentanyl is deadly, and I take 1,000 milligrams of Tylenol when I have a headache,” he says.

(Story by Ashleigh Plemper, Mckenzie County Farmer)

Explosion rocks quiet Rolla neighborhood

On Sunday, Nov. 6, several emergency vehicles responded to a call of an explosion at the Channing Mears home in northeast Rolla. No one was injured in the blast.

Rolla Fire Chief, Brad Ebensteiner, said the culprit of the blast appears to be a water boiler which was heated by a wood-fire stove.

Ebensteiner could see smoke exiting out of the basement as he arrived at the scene on Sunday, but water from the boiler had already extinguished the blaze.

“There was enough pressure to lift the house off its foundation,” said Ebensteiner, marveling at just how powerful the blast was.

The home is in need of “extensive repair,” he added, and that it will also need to be sealed up in order to keep the pipes from freezing as temperatures begin to plummet.

(Story from the Turtle Mountain Star)

Deer Dumpster Program helps Chronic Wasting Disease

In an effort to help slow the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), the Cass County Wildlife Club in Casselton - in conjunction with the N.D. Wildlife Federation and the N.D. Game and Fish Department - is implementing a local Deer Dumpster Program.

The program is just one component of a state-wide effort to monitor and reduce CWDs spread.

To that end, deer carcass dumpsters have been placed in key areas across the state. In Cass County, a carcass dumpster will be placed at Gordy’s Travel Plaza in Casselton, where it will remain until the end of November.

If carcasses were to be left on the landscape, they could serve as a source of CWD infections for years to come, according to the Game and Fish plan.

Beginning next year, hunters will be able to freely move intact carcasses within the state, if it is not harvested in an infected unit, but waste parts must be disposed of in a landfill.

(Story by Angela Kolden, Cass County Recorder)