When I was asked by Mr. Bill to write his column for three weeks while he vacations, I was hit with a dilemma on several fronts:  the type of news to which I am privy may not have as wide an audience or interest; the need to infiltrate the Wise Men’s Round Table will require an afternoon or two in Rutland; and, the most difficult, a title.  Hens do crow you know.  Usually when the rooster has been removed from the flock a hen will take it upon herself to take his place in the area of noise making – so here goes.

Larry & Mary Jo Weller of Bristol Bay MN stopped in to visit old friends and family in the Rutland area on the afternoon of Thursday, June 7.  Larry is the son of the late Carrol & Ruth (Brakke) Weller of this community.  Larry’s father, Carrol “Dutch” Weller, grew up on the Weller farm, now the Bladow farm, 2 miles north of Rutland, and his mother, Ruth was the daughter of Luther & Josephine (Halverson) Brakke of Tewaukon Township.  Dutch and Ruth spent most of their adult lives in the Stillwater MN area, and returned to Rutland after they retired in the late 1960s.  Both Ruth and Dutch passed away in 1975.  Larry states that he and his boys have many fond memories of coming out to Rutland to spend time with Dutch & Ruth, as well as with Tollef & Ethel Lee, and to hunt pheasants & ducks in the area.  The Wellers had not visited in Rutland for a number of years, and were very pleased to see the new buildings and improvements on Main Street.

Rutland hosted the ‘ Drive Out Cancer Tractor Ride’ on Saturday, June 9. Forty-five tractors made up the 1.5 mile long caravan of old metal for the 47 mile ride.  Hot weather and winds did not deter the hearty drivers from their route. The trail took the caravan south of Rutland, up to the Coteau des Prairies lodge for a brief stop and eventually back to Rutland in 90 degree heat to raise funds for the Sargent County Relay For Life (RFL). Several people took advantage of the meal at the Hall and also purchased wares from other teams that had booths in Rutland.  Head to Gwinner on Friday for the Sargent County RFL. Official events begin at Noon when the team food booths open for sales.  There will be a silent auction, carriage rides and many other activities that run until Midnight. The weather forecast looks great.  Check the Sargent County RFL website www.relayforlife.org/sargentcountynd for details or their Facebook page. Stop by the Rutland Rockets booth for some good old scalloped potatoes and ham, brownie bites and other goodies to raise funds for a good cause!

2012 is the 30th Anniversary of Rutland’s entry in the Guinness World Record Book for the world’s largest flipped hamburger.  There is many a tale to be told about the events of that day in the little town that can.  Many a tale, unfortunately, cannot be printed in this column.  For those who would like to share a tale or two to reminisce, be sure to keep open Wednesday, July 25, when the Rutland Community Club will host a celebration and trip down memory lane.

The Rutland Community Club held its June meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 11, in the Rutland Town Hall.  Deborah Banish reported that the June issue of North Dakota Living includes an article on the American Legion Auxiliary/Rutland cookbook and orders for 60 cookbooks have already been received..  The Rutland Blood Drive will be June 26 with the Club sponsoring the treats and refreshments.  Members discussed the purchase of a bulletin board sign for the community and decided to table the matter again to Monday, June 18, 8p.m. when the Executive Committee will meet to review additional information and take action.  Ione Pherson reported on the progress for the community promotional brochure on upcoming events through October.  Uffda Day lefse production will begin on Tuesday, August 21^st, and will be every Tuesday and Thursday for 5 weeks at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.  Any willing and able rollers, turners or packers should plan to drop in at the Hall in August and September to take part in this annual production for the October 7, 2012 Uffda Day celebration. The RCC is also working on a schedule of events for the Burger Anniversary Celebration in July.  The next meeting of the Rutland Community Club is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Monday, July 8, at the Rutland Town Hall.

Several members of The Friendly Garden Club drove to Fargo to tour the North Dakota State University Garden Test plot on Monday, June 11.  The group was enjoying the outdoor tour and was nearly finished when a black cloud let out a downpour bringing the tour to an abrupt end.  After a nice lunch, they toured Kroshus Landscaping in South Fargo and several members made some late season plant purchases at the greenhouse.

This community was saddened to learn of the passing of Arlene Berg, formerly of Cayuga, on June 11.  Arlene and her husband, Leslie, farmed southeast of Cayuga from 1972 until 1987 where Arlene resided until she moved to Dakota Estates in February 2010.  Prior to that they farmed in the Fairmount area for twenty years.  Arlene was an active member of the Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church and Christian Mothers in Cayuga.  She was also a member of the Eagle’s Club, VFW Club, American Legion Auxiliary and 61′ers Homemaker’s Club.  Leslie passed away in 1988.  Funeral services for Arlene Berg were held in Hankinson on Thursday.

The Coteau des Prairies Lodge continues to make progress and the stairway treads are shaped and ready to go after a drying period. The ponderosa pine slabs were freshly cut just a couple months ago on Logging Camp Ranch in the North Dakota Badlands, where the rest of the logs came from. The lack of stairways did not deter some recent occupants at the lodge site.  A family of badgers are settled in within 100 yards of the Lodge and do not appear to be bothered by the nearby construction site.

Voters turned out in large numbers on Tuesday’s primary election date.  The primary draw for many were the ballot measures.  Measure One (Legislative Jobs) and Measure Four (Fighting Sioux) passed and Measure Two (Abolish Property Tax) and Measure Three (Religious Freedom) were defeated. Measure Two received nationwide attention as ND would be the first state to eliminate property tax.  People understand that they have to pay something to get something but the legislature will either have to address the inequities in the State’s current tax structure or be prepared to face a similar measure in the near future. Eliminating the tax would have left an $800 million gap in the State budget due to property tax loss.  The issue should have given the State Legislature a wakeup call to work on serious tax reform.  The passage of Measure Four should, hopefully, bring an end to the seven-year-long battle to retire the Fighting Sioux nickname at UND.  Supporters clearly understood it was time to lose the name in order to keep the school athletics program competitive.  However, there is still a rally cry to move it to the fall elections and put the nickname in the State Constitution.

At the local level, Jeff Olson and Rob Roney were elected by write-in vote to the Rutland Park Board for four year terms.  Ron Narum was elected to another term as Rutland’s Honorable Mayor.  Bert Siemieniewski was also elected as Councilmember and Brad Christensen was elected to the Council seat formerly held by Lary Arneson who chose not to seek reelection.  Bert has served on the City Council since 2008 and Bradley served two years as Council Member several years ago. The City Council organization meeting will be Tuesday, June 26, followed by the City Council July meeting on July 8, at 8:00 p.m. in the Rutland Town Hall.  Congratulations also to Bill Anderson and Jerry Waswick who were elected to the Sargent County Board of Commissioners.

That’s it from Rutland this week. If you need a weather report, let’s just say in continues to be dry but according to the forecast we should see rain in the area before this column is published.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and to check out the Rutland website at www.rutlandnd.com.  Compliments are welcome; please hold all complaints for Mr. Bill.