According to the calendar, summer officially began on Tuesday, June 20, but the weather did not agree. Last week, the sun was shining brightly and temperatures reached the upper 80s.  When the first day of summer finally decided to arrive, the temperature had dropped to the upper 60s and the long needed rains fell on Rutland. Sudden weather change brought little drought relief on Father’s Day, when a trace of rain accompanied by hail went through the area, and again early Tuesday morning when hail hit the roofs about 3 a.m. and then throughout the day rain trickled bringing that much needed inch of rain to fields and gardens.

The last high temperatures of the spring did not deter activities at the Sargent County Relay for Life. The event, held in Gwinner on Friday, June 15, was an outstanding success according to attendees and participants alike.  Fundraising over the past few months, and the day of the event, raised more than $57,000 and funds are still being received to help fund cancer research and treatments.  Fifteen teams participated, averaging about $3,900 each, keeping in line with prior fundraising efforts.  Team JB Weller garnered television coverage for the event as members ran from Fargo to Gwinner with an elapsed time of 12 hours and 46 minutes, running 83.81 miles with an average 9:08 pace. The event was held in Rutland last year and has also been in Milnor and Forman.  Congratulations to all the participants and donors on this year’s success.

Bill Anderson arrived back in Rutland on the evening of Saturday, June 16, at the conclusion of a 6 day trip to Dauphin Island AL where he attended the reunion of Co. D, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, the unit he was with in Vietnam back in 1970.  Dauphin Island, about 3 miles wide north to south and 17 miles long east to west, is one of the barrier islands that parallel the Gulf Coast from Florida to East Texas.  In 1715, the French established the capitol of Louisiana Territory, an area that then encompassed all of the land west of the Allegheny Mountains and east of the Rocky Mountains drained by the Mississippi River, including much of what is now central and western North Dakota, on Dauphin Island.  The island is in the heart of the area impacted by the massive 2010 British Petroleum oil spill, but has been so thoroughly cleaned up that no trace of the hundreds of millions of gallons of crude oil that fouled the beaches only two years ago can be seen, a remarkable testament to what can be accomplished when individuals, government and business work together to solve a problem.  Further evidence of the effectiveness of the clean-up effort is the abundance of fresh fish and shrimp being produced in the Gulf region, some of which was enjoyed by those attending the Company D reunion on both Monday and Wednesday evenings.  Alumni of Company D include long haul truckers, farmers, mechanics, building contractors, fishermen, public employees, small businessmen, at least four attorneys, two school administrators, one Federal Judge and a United States Senator, Jim Webb of Virginia.  Geographically, they span the continent, from Mel McKinnon, a Portland OR Electrical Workers Union official who, after being severely wounded during the 1969 battle for Liberty Bridge near AnHoa, witnessed a fellow Marine exhaust the ammunition of his M-16 on the assaulting NVA and then kill 7 more enemy soldiers with a knife before succumbing to wounds himself; to Dale Wilson of Charlotte NC who, while on patrol in “The Arizona Territory” on February 19, 1970, lost both legs and his right arm to an enemy explosive device, and in August of 2010 was named the Disabled American Veterans’ Man of the Year in recognition of his many accomplishments with 2 prosthetic legs and a prosthetic arm.  Approximately 80 Marines and family members attended the reunion, a biennial tradition that began in 1983.  This was the first reunion which Bill has attended.  These old comrades share a bond, forged in the fire and blood of combat that time, age, and even death itself, cannot break.  The war in Vietnam was very unpopular with the American public back in 1969 and 1970, but the Marines and soldiers who were sent by their fellow citizens to fight it suffered the wounds of body and spirit, endured hardship and privation, and won every major battle they were called upon to fight.

John “Pat” Prindiville stopped to visit Rutland the weekend of June 15-17, along with his six children and their families.  Michael, Andover, MN; Joel,  Tea, SD; Mark Prindiville, Fargo, ND; Jenifer, Savannah, GA;, Johnell, Fargo; and Erin Prindiville, Eaton, CO.  The gathering ended with a band on Saturday night when the sky over Rutland was aglow from the firework show courtesy of the family.  The visitors all departed from Rutland early Sunday morning.

Vincent Young made a quick trip south while Pat and the gang were in town.  Vince flew to Arizona on Friday to visit his mother, Gwen Young. The Arizona heat hit 111 degrees when they left on the flight back on Sunday.  Gwen and Vince are enjoying the ND weather, a nice change of pace from the dry heat of the southern climate.

The Wise Men’s Round Table group has yet to be infiltrated.  Jack Brummond is chomping at the bit to get his name in the paper again and I did not want to disappoint him this week.  He had been advised to drop by but he must have missed the turn as he sped home.  He will have to try harder next week.

United Blood Services of Fargo will be conducting its June 2012 blood drive in Rutland on Tuesday, June 26, 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the Rutland Town Hall.  Local coordinators Janet Kiefer, Sheila Wyum and Pam Maloney  are in the process of contacting regular donors to schedule donation times.  If you’re not on the list, contact one of the coordinators to schedule your time to donate a gift of life, or walk in to the Rutland Town Hall on Tuesday morning and be a volunteer.

The Rutland City Council Organization meeting will also be held on Tuesday, June 26, at 8:00 p.m. in the Town Hall. Ron Narum will be sworn in as Mayor and Bert Siemieniewski and Bradley Christensen will be sworn in to four-year Council terms, joining continuing Council Members Michael Mahrer and Barry Christianson.  The Council will allocate portfolios, appoint the City Auditor, City Attorney and City Engineer and conduct other organizational business to be ready to roll at the July 8 regular Council Meeting.

The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, commonly known as the G.I. Bill of Rights, was signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on June 22, 1944.    President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Statement on Signing the G.I. Bill:

This bill, which I have signed today, substantially carries out most of the recommendations made by me in a speech on July 28, 1943, and more specifically in messages to the Congress dated October 27, 1943, and November 23, 1943:

It gives servicemen and women the opportunity of resuming their education or technical training after discharge, or of taking a refresher or retrainer course, not only without tuition charge up to $500 per school year, but with the right to receive a monthly living allowance while pursuing their studies.

It makes provision for the guarantee by the Federal Government of not to exceed 50 percent of certain loans made to veterans for the purchase or construction of homes, farms, and business properties.

It provides for reasonable unemployment allowances payable each week up to a maximum period of one year, to those veterans who are unable to find a job.

It establishes improved machinery for effective job counseling for veterans and for finding jobs for returning soldiers and sailors.

It authorizes the construction of all necessary additional hospital facilities.

It strengthens the authority of the Veterans Administration to enable it to discharge its existing and added responsibilities with promptness and efficiency.

With the signing of this bill a well-rounded program of special veterans’ benefits is nearly completed. It gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our armed forces that the American people do not intend to let them down.

By prior legislation, the Federal Government has already provided for the armed forces of this war: adequate dependency allowances; mustering-out pay; generous hospitalization, medical care, and vocational rehabilitation and training; liberal pensions in case of death or disability in military service; substantial war risk life insurance, and guaranty of premiums on commercial policies during service; protection of civil rights and suspension of enforcement of certain civil liabilities during service; emergency maternal care for wives of enlisted men; and reemployment rights for returning veterans.

This bill therefore and the former legislation provide the special benefits which are due to the members of our armed forces — for they “have been compelled to make greater economic sacrifice and every other kind of sacrifice than the rest of us, and are entitled to definite action to help take care of their special problems.” While further study and experience may suggest some changes and improvements, the Congress is to be congratulated on the prompt action it has taken.

The G.I. Bill became one of the major forces that drove an economic expansion in America that lasted 30 years after World War II. Only 20 percent of the money set aside for unemployment compensation under the bill was given out, as most veterans found jobs or pursued higher education. Low interest home loans enabled millions of American families to move out of urban centers and buy or build homes outside the city, changing the face of the suburbs. Over 50 years, the impact of the G.I. Bill was enormous, with 20 million veterans and dependents using the education benefits and 14 million home loans guaranteed, for a total federal investment of $67 billion. Among the millions of Americans who have taken advantage of the bill are former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford, former Vice President Al Gore and entertainers Johnny Cash, Ed McMahon, Paul Newman and Clint Eastwood.

Well, that’s it for this week.  For more information about Rutland, stop by the community’s internet web site at www.rutlandnd.com.  Thanks for the kudos (and for holding any complaints).