701 Rundown: April 24, 2023

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

Fires at the landfill area a cause for concern

For over a week at the beginning of March, a fire burned in McKenzie County despite the best efforts of fire fighters.

It took place at the McKenzie County Landfill, and was one of the reasons Rick Schreiber, the director of the landfill, went before the Board of County Commissioners.

“We are a household waste facility. That means that, if it comes from a county residence, we can take it. Obviously there are some exceptions, but that is the general rule,” explained Schreiber.

“We can take ten percent ‘other,’ which covers things not produced by a household, but, for example, that other stuff cannot be radioactive, it can’t be industrial waste, it can’t be special waste because here in the state of North Dakota each one of those is a separate division, i.e. hazardous, industrial and special permitted waste.

“There’s facilities here in the state that take those materials and basically, it can’t be here at the end of the day,” he concluded.

According to Schreiber, some in the oil industry – typically subcontractors – will try to dispose of their waste at the landfill rather than going through the proper channels.

Doing so creates danger not only for those working at the landfill, but also the county as a whole. Schreiber said they’ve had the ambulance there twice for crew members impacted by the dangerous waste.

(Story by Kristen Jones, McKenzie County Farmer)

City approves $15,000 fire department purchase

Ryan Schneibel, the City of Harvey’s fire chief, attended the April 12 city council meeting to request approval to move forward with a bid of around $15,000 to replace the existing water tank on pumper Unit 3 with a poly tank and the fittings.

The bid was approved with a 10 percent cushion if additional repairs, upon removal of the tank and further inspection, are needed.

Schneibel said that the 1990 International Pumper is showing its age but that the engine is working well and he doesn’t see a need to purchase a new pumper at this point.

Schneibel also communicated that the manual garage doors are leaking, causing water drainage issues.

When the frozen water hoses thaw after freezing because of a winter fire, there is no place for the water to go except the garage bay floor, Schneibel explained.

(Story by Shelly Chin, The Herald-Press)

In a better, wheelchair-free place

Last year, the Wilcox family of Fordville, N.D. suffered a terrible loss when 8-year-old Eli Wilcox passed away at his home after living with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy. This March, his family celebrated his memory during Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month.

His mother, Lacey Wilcox, said, “He taught us a lot. It’s nice to talk about him. We wouldn’t be the people we are if we didn’t go through all of that. I think honestly one of the most important things to come of this is just realizing a lot of people look at a kid like Eli and think ‘oh he can’t ever run, he can’t ever walk.’

“But people don’t know what they don’t know,” she said. “Eli had never walked, he didn’t know what that was. He wasn’t thinking every day that he can’t do certain things even if we are. He was content and so happy every day just how he was.”

Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that cause problems with movement, balance and posture. It affects the cerebral motor cortex, a part of the brain that directs muscle movement.

The family is finding peace in donating Eli’s various adaptive equipment back to the places they got them from, therefore playing a part in the care and well-being of another in need of help like Eli.

(Chelsea J. Wysocki, The Walsh County Record)

Inconsistent property valuations protested at board of equalization meeting

Some residents are demanding an explanation from Cass County Tax Equalization Director Paul Fracassi.

Whenever property value increases more than 10 percent, the assessor must notify the property owners, and in Casselton, 322 individuals were notified of the value increase.

Of those, less than a dozen called to protest and only a handful appeared during the city’s Tax Equalization meeting.

“A property owner who has questions about their valuation should contact the county assessment department. They may appear before the local Board of Equalization and County Board of Equalization. Either may change the property evaluation assessment,” Fracassi explained during the meeting.

One of those in attendance to protest the increase was West Funeral Home owner Craig Olson.

Olson presented the board with a list of assessed values for other commercial properties in Casselton, questioning why some properties were arbitrarily assessed higher than neighboring properties.

“I spent a lot of money building a new building and it’s not worth its assessed value. We invested quite a bit of money into a nice building, but it's far from Taj Mahal,” he said.

After hearing all protests, Gust made a motion to accept the valuations as presented by the county, excluding those who protested.

The motion passed, with board member Barry Heck casting the only ‘no’ vote.

Following the vote Gust stated she agree the document that Craig Olson shared needs to be looked at in the future.

(Story by Angela Kolden, Cass County Reporter)

Sandbagging occurs in Traill County

The Traill County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday signed an emergency declaration in anticipation of overland and river flooding this spring in the Red River Valley.

“The ditches are full. The culverts are frozen. We just have way too much snowpack out there right now,” said Traill County Sheriff Steve Hunt. “We are watching carefully to see what happens.”

The weather service projected the Red in Fargo to climb from 15 feet to 28.7 feet, which would lead to moderate flooding.

A small team of volunteers filled sandbags and loaded them onto pallets on a city street east of the Mayville Fire Department building on Tuesday.

(Story by Cole Short, Hillsboro Banner)