701 Rundown: Feb. 12, 2024

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

Unknown substance spilled on McKenzie County Road

A suspicious and unknown substance on the roadway of County Road 10 and another related site on 125th Avenue prompted numerous calls to officials on Jan. 17.

Local officials responded to the site and quickly took action to contain and minimize the impact of the chemical.

“It stunk worse than a pig farm, I mean it just burned your nose,” said McKenzie County Emergency Manager Karolin Jappe.

“After being out there, when my road foreman parked his truck in the shop and a semi that had been parked out on that road came in and parked in the shop, well, the next morning when the shop guys came in, they couldn’t even breathe, it was so bad.”

Jappe said she is familiar with the smell of salt water that is produced by fracking, and while she is sure there was some of that in there, she said there was clearly something else in the substance that spilled as well.

A HAZMAT team from Williams County came out the next day to test the air quality but did not find anything.

At this time, the nature and source of the substance are unknown, but officials say there is no risk to the public.

(Story by Kristen Jones, McKenzie County Farmer)

4 on the floor … again!

Twelve years after the Carrington Cardinaires made history at the North Dakota Association of Dance and Drill (NDADD) state championship by winning an unprecedented four-event sweep, they did it again.

The 2024 version of what has become Class B's premier dance troupe equaled the exploits of the 2012 team by winning the high kick, hip hop, pom and jazz categories at this year's competition, held at the Minot State University Dome January 26-27.

It was the third time overall that the Cardinaires have swept all eligible categories. Aside from the aforementioned years, the team also won a three-event victory in 2006, two years before hip hop debuted in the NDADD program.

Co-Head Coaches Tressa VanRay and Lindsy Pavelko once again helmed the team this season, and VanRay could tell this year's team was up to the task of taking on the "four on the floor" feat.

"This group really had the mindset of becoming better and stronger as a team," said VanRay. "Although we've been smaller than we've been in past years, they did not let that stop them from achieving their goals."

"One thing we try to instill in our team is the pride of carrying on a tradition of dance in both our school and the NDADD community," she added. "Our goal is never to 'win'; our goal is always to leave the floor feeling like we did the best that we possibly could.

"After that, it's up to the judges."

The championships the Cardinaires earned marked the 40th, 41st, 42nd and 43rd category titles historically, by far the most of any Class B program.

(Story by Erik Gjovik, The Foster County Independent)

Threatening calls in Crosby deemed a hoax

Two fake shooting threats on Thursday, Jan. 18, resulted in lockdowns for both the Divide County Elementary School and St. Luke’s Medical Center.

The elementary school received the hoax call around 1:17 p.m., according to Sheriff Zach Schroeder. The caller claimed to be a former student.

“The individual that took the phone call wasn’t able to ask any questions,” Schroeder said. “As soon as she put it on speaker and went to go get the principal at the elementary school, they hung up.”

Schroeder and two other deputies went through the school and did not find any evidence of a threat.

Another officer was stationed at the high school during that time as a precaution.

Superintendent Sherlock Hirning said in a statement that the school notified the public of the lockdown after it was determined that the phone call was fake.

“All students and employees of the district were never at risk of harm throughout the lockdown,” he said.

Divide County was the second of five schools to receive threats from the same phone number, which Schroeder said has a Las Vegas area code.

The hospital also received a hoax call around 4:50 p.m. from the same number, and the Sheriff’s office cleared the hospital of threats by about 5:10 p.m.

(Story by Jordan Rusche, the Journal)

Fentanyl found in possession of Watford City High School student

“On Thursday, January 18, 2024, a freshman student at Watford City High School was found to be in possession of pills that tested positive for fentanyl,” began a letter sent to parents from Watford City High School Principal Jim Green.

This was the first time that fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, had been found at a school in Watford City.

Local law enforcement was involved and are handling the incident, but the presence of this drug in the school has many people worried.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA),” Fentanyl is a deadly synthetic opioid that is being pressed into fake pills or cut into heroin, cocaine and other street drugs to drive addiction.”

The counterfeit pills are made to look like legitimate medication, however they are often laced with fentanyl and other substances that are not only highly addictive, but often lethal.

Miranda Samuelson, behavioral health specialist with the McKenzie County Community Coalition and the Western Educational Regional Cooperative, says that the presence of fentanyl in school is an opportunity to have a serious talk with their teens and younger children about the dangers of taking any substance recreationally.

“We live in a great area, but with our rural setting, people often think, ‘oh opioids and drugs are something that only happens in big cities,’ but that isn’t true at all. In fact, this is a huge issue right here in our county," Samuelson explained.

(Story by Kristen Jones, McKenzie County Farmer)