Weekend Weather
Saturday 55° 32° Partly Cloudy Chance of precip: 0% Wind: NNE at 10 mph
Sunday 60° 35° Sunny Chance of snow: 0% Wind: NW at 6 mph
Monday
67° 40° Sunny Chance of precip: 0% Wind: SW at 9 mph
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Volume 125, Issue 34
CANDO, NORTH DAKOTA 58324-0519
Floral Depot to open May 3rd By Lavonne Haugen For the Record-Herald
W
hether she is ready or not, Barb Nelsen has chosen May 3 as her opening date at the new Floral Depot, located in the former Cando Bakery building on Main Street in Cando. Barb and her husband Duane are returning to the area after leaving in 2003 following 30 years of farming in the Egeland area. With aging machinery and more sloughs than farmland to plant each spring, the couple decided to pull up their roots and relocate to property they owned in southwestern South Dakota. Barb, who is not one to sit idle for long, worked in a floral shop in South Dakota, but found herself with many ideas to make the place run better. Her husband, who also seems happier when he is working on a project, suggested she open her own floral shop. Following a brief search, the couple decided on Edgemont, SD, as the location for the new shop. Edgemont, with a population of 600 residents, had not had a flower show in town for many years. With a hospital, mortuary and nursing home, the couple found their niche and flourished. Fast forward several years. The couple, with deep family ties in north central North Dakota, started wondering if it was maybe time to return home. Both have elderly parents in the area and Duane, who returned each spring for planting and
each fall for harvest, made note of the fact that there was no longer a flower shop in town for the residents of Cando and the surrounding area. The couple visited Cando and made note of a possible building for a new shop. They decided to put their shop in Edgemont on the market and see what happened. The shop sold in days and the couple was on their way to their next adventure. They quickly packed up the shop in Edgemont, hoping to make the transition to the Cando area a fast one. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans and every trip north was derailed by
snowstorms or ice. The Nelsen’s purchased the bakery building and went to work along with family members who were willing to lend a hand. They were hoping for a minor remodel, but the job became much bigger as they dug deeper. The Nelsen’s finally ended up gutting the entire front of the building, putting up new walls and ceiling as well as laying new flooring throughout the building. The front of the building is for display purposes and the back of the building will be storage, office space, and work space. Barb Nelsen is the first to admit she doesn’t feel quite ready to open her doors. She has yet to find many rolls of ribbon she knows are hiding from her, but the constant stream of phone calls tells her that she will be busy
once the doors open. With half the floor space that she used to occupy, Barb is limiting what she keeps for display at this time. She will have fresh cut flowers, green plants, silk flowers, balloons, 99 cent cards, candles and various unique planters for sale. With the prom season already nearing its end in the area, she looks to add tux rentals to her store next spring. Once she gets a feel for the community and what they would like to see, she will add to her inventory to meet the needs of the community. At this time, Barb will be the lone employee at her store. She will call on Duane’s help during busy delivery seasons, and has someone to help with arrangements should the need arise. The couple is making their home in Cando at this time.
Towner County Medical Center seeks input from area residents about community’s health needs
C
ando – In an effort to gauge the overall health needs of the community, Towner County Medical Center (TCMC) will survey area residents for several weeks beginning in late April. Results of the survey will provide guidance to TCMC on better ways to address health care needs. The survey is part of a community health needs assessment initiated by TCMC. TCMC is receiving assistance in conducting the assessment from the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. TCMC strongly encourages all area residents to participate in the survey. Residents may access an interactive, online version of the survey at www. tinyurl.com/tcmc-survey . All survey responses are anonymous, and there is no way to track responses back
to individuals. Individual survey responses are accessible only to the Center for Rural Health to help ensure anonymity. Overall results will be reported in aggregate form and anonymously. The survey will allow local providers to learn of the community’s awareness of local health care services being provided, hear suggestions and help identify any gaps in services, learn about community health and other concerns, and determine preferences for using local health care versus traveling to other facilities. In addition to specific questions, the survey also seeks general, open-ended input from residents about the community’s health needs and the delivery of local health care. Completing the survey takes about 10 to 15 minutes. The survey will be open until May 24.
“The feedback from this survey will help hospital leadership and our board of directors, understand what services are important to the community and where TCMC should focus our efforts in the future.” Ivan Mitchell, CEO of TCMC. A periodic community needs assessment is one of the new requirements of the Affordable Care Act. The new regulations require non-profit hospitals such as Towner County Medical Center to assess the community’s health needs periodically. The cost of the survey is covered by the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Grant Program, a project of the Center for Rural Health. The Flex Program is a state-based partnership that works with and assists all rural hospitals to stabilize and sustain their local health care infrastructure.
Bearcat Track Team Finds Dry Meet By Lavonne Haugen For the Record-Herald
T
he North Star track team was finally able to find a meet that allowed their athletes to compete instead of conditioning, many days in the school hallways. The Bearcats traveled to
Hazen with eight athletes on Saturday, April 27. Due to the lack of meets for all North Dakota teams, 34 teams were competing which presented stiff competition for the Bearcats. Peyton Halverson was the lone point scorer for North Star, placing 5th in the 800m run with a time of 2:37.39.
Head coach, Megan Tompkins was pleased with the performance of her team in this first meet of the season stating, “Considering our training facilities and the unforgiving weather we’ve dealt with for practicing, our athletes performed very well. Many of the events we competed in had 50 or more competitors. I was proud of all of them.”
Dalrymple Signs Bill To Strengthen Law Against Drunk Driving Bill Strengthens Penalties, Enhances Education and Court Monitoring to Reduce Recidivism
B
ISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Jack Dalrymple today signed House Bill 1302 to strengthen North Dakota law against drunk driving and enhance traffic safety across the state. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, other law enforcement officers, legislators and family members who have lost loved ones to drunk drivers attended the bill signing in support of the new law’s passage. “This legislation carries a clear message that driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a very serious offense and will not be tolerated,” Dalrymple said. “The new law includes tougher penalties and many offenders will be required to participate in an intensive program to monitor and enforce sobriety.
“This new law is enforceable, it is a stronger deterrent and it will help save lives,” Dalrymple said. Supporters of the tougher DUI legislation gathered around Dalrymple in the Capitol’s Memorial Hall to watch the governor sign the bill into law. Joining Dalrymple for the bill signing were Tom and Arlene Deutscher and Lynn and Donna Mickelson, the parents of Aaron and Allison Deutscher and the grandparents of Brielle Deutscher who were killed by a drunken driver July 6, 2012. Juan Ruiz and Sandy Hernandez who lost their two young boys, Cyris and Alaries, to a drunk driver on July 8, 2012, also attended the bill signing. Others who attended included the bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Kim
Koppelman, other legislators, North Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. James Prochniak, and state Department of Transportation Interim Director Grant Levi. “No longer will drunk drivers be able to refuse to submit to an alcohol test, as nearly one in five do, and thereby deprive the courts of crucial proof of DUI,” Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said. “If there is probable cause to believe a person is driving under the influence and they try to hide behind a refusal to submit to a test, they will be subject to the same punishment as if they were convicted of the DUI.” North Dakota’s strengthened DUI law will take effect Aug. 1. “We’ve sent a powerful message,
supported by so many,” Koppleman said. “This marks the culmination of a long, collaborative effort involving law enforcement officials, prosecutors, defense attorneys, the Governor, the Attorney General, corrections officials and the families of victims of drunk driving.” Key provisions of the new law include: · A new charge of aggravated Driving Under the Influence (DUI) for first-time offenders whose blood-alcohol content (BAC) is higher than 0.16. · Mandatory enrollment in the 24/7 Sobriety Program for anyone convicted of two or more DUI offenses. The program requires offenders submit to mandatory breath tests or the use
of remote alcohol monitors. · Significant increases in mandatory jail sentences for repeat offenders. First-time offenders with BAC higher than 0.16 must serve at least two days in jail or perform 10 hours of community service per day of jail time sentenced. First-time offenders currently do not face any mandatory sentence of jail or community service. · Creating a Class A felony offense for a driver, while in violation of the DUI law, to cause the death of another person. The charge of criminal vehicular homicide carries a mandatory three-year prison sentence and a mandatory 10-year prison sentence if the offender was previously convicted of DUI or reckless driving. The maximum prison sentence
is 20 years. Currently, the offense may be charged as a Class B felony offense under the state’s manslaughter statute or a Class C felony under the state’s negligent homicide statute, both of which carry shorter maximum sentences. · Creating a Class C felony offense for a driver who, while in violation of the DUI law, causes serious injures another person. The charge of criminal vehicular injury carries a mandatory prison sentence of one year and a mandatory two-year sentence if the offender was previously convicted of DUI or reckless driving. · Providing $360,000 to support statewide education outreach regarding the dangers involved in drinking and driving.