Legislature protects N.D. individualism

“Know thyself,” Socrates once said. Even though I missed that particular lecture, I accept the word of those who took the notes that day. He said it because there are some benefits to knowing ourselves. For example, if we knew ourselves to be aggressive drivers, we would carry an unusual amount of accident insurance. Or if we knew we had a weakness for chocolate cake, we would stock only custard. In other words, we could protect ourselves from ourselves.
It would be helpful if we could understand ourselves as a state. We would not go through the trauma of nursing great expectations of ourselves when history teaches us that great expectations are not us. And the best places to learn about ourselves as a state is the Legislature.

Dress shopping.

I started Easter dress shopping in February. It’s an annual spring ritual observed by women of all ages. From little girls to grandmothers, we all dream of an Easter Sunday dress that shouts “Alleluia, Spring has sprung.”
Most women, by the time they reach my age, are resigned to the fact that Easter and Spring are not synonymous. In North Dakota we are just as likely to wear snow boots as sandals when the Easter Bunny hops through town.
Just like every year, I kept my eyes open for that special dress — the right color, the right pattern, the right style, the right price and machine washable. (It’s the mother in me. I still think of my kids with sticky fingers and a tendency to urp on my shoulder.)

Try this on for size.

It was what I expected of an operating room.
Bright lights, little fanfare, less chatter.
A nurse was whispering to me, but I wasn’t listening.
The surgeon was instructing an intern on what he was doing with my hand. Again, I wasn’t listening.
There were at least two other nurses assisting.
I didn’t care, I was still trying to figure out how a person is expected to put on one of those damn hospital gowns a surgical patient is expected to wear.
I had a hell of a time. Trying to tie the gown with hands behind my back, one bandaged, proved to be an adventure. This is impossible, I muttered.

Ed Laxdal entering state association softball Hall of Fame

By NEIL O. NELSON
Ed Laxdal is not often taken by surprise.
A man of few words and always aware of his immediate surroundings — again, not wanting to be taken by surprise — he approaches much in life in an orderly fashion, taking measured steps with everything in place.
A place for everything.
On Sunday, April 22, the day after the 50th anniversary of the North Dakota Softball Hall of Fame, Ed Laxdahl will have to find a place in his Hillsboro home for a plaque recognizing the veteran softball player as one of the shrine’s 218 honored members.

Winter makes return visit

Just when Hillsboro and the Red River Valley had welcomed the warming temperatures of Spring, Winter made a return visit.
Close to an April’s Fools joke, the late Winter storm in early April that arrived Tuesday (April 3) left more than 6 inches of snow on the ground in Hillsboro.
It started snowing before dawn Tuesday and never completely stopped until after 5 p.m.
The 12-hour steady snowfall slowed traffic in Hillsboro and snarled traffic in Fargo-Moorhead. The southeastern corner of the state received more snow than the heart of the valley. Reports told of more than 10 inches of snow in isolated areas south of Hillsboro.
At 5:15 p.m. Tuesday a roll-over was reported outside Hillsboro. Police, ambulance and Hillsboro’s fire truck answered the call. No injuries were reported in the one-vehicle accident.

SADD pushes ‘a penny for prevention’ plan

Hillsboro’s SADD chapter is taking a lead role in the statewide “A Penny for Prevention” initiated measure campaign.
The local group is sponsoring a public informational meeting Thursday about the measure to raise the state’s wholesale beer tax eight cents per gallon (or a penny per beer) to fund preventative efforts aimed at underage drinking, impaired driving, drug and alcohol abuse and other destructive behaviors.
The meeting is Thursday, April 12 at 7 p.m. at the Hillsboro High School. Supporters of the measure will be soliciting signatures for petitions at that time.
SADD’s petition drive aims to bring the measure to the next statewide vote. Their goal is to collect 15,000 signatures by April 17.

Pace quickens as session nears end

Much has happened in the Legislature this session. This past week has been filled with stories of pickle parties, oil tax cuts, budgetary bloating, SADD, and the “Promise” bill.
What do pickles have to do with the Legislative session? About $18,000 of ratepayers’ money was spent inappropriately by Workforce Safety Insurance (WSI), some of it, for a “Pickle” party to help motivate agency employees, according to a State Auditor’s performance audit.
The state auditor’s office reported their findings in a comprehensive audit, which indicated this expenditure of ratepayers’ money is part of a long list of problems with the agency. Dollars intended to provide incentives for companies to participate in safety programs was used for excessive raises to WSI executives.

County urged to use GF jail

By NEIL O. NELSON
Grand Forks County officials this week extended an invitation to their counterparts in Traill County.
Visit our correctional center, offered Grand Forks County commissioner Diane Knauf and Peter Welte, states attorney.
Knauf and Welte volunteered the invite to Traill’s five commissioners, auditor Becca Braaten and sheriff Mike Crocker.
Aware that Traill County would like to build a new jail, the two Grand Forks County officials in Hillsboro Tuesday explained how the neighboring county to the north could be of assistance.

No consensus

Commission divided on best plan for ND 200 reconstruction

By MICHELLE MCLEAN
Divided, we stand.
Hillsboro city commissioners could not reach a consensus Monday night after a six-month debate about the fate of ND Hwy. 200.
Hillsboro’s main north-south drag — ND 200, old Hwy. 81 or 1st Street East, whatever you call it — is scheduled for a full-scale make-over in 2008.
The lingering debate is — what sort of make-over? Same width or narrowed width; concrete or asphalt? And the nagging question is — what is the city’s fair share of the estimated $3 million bill?
The three city commissioners present at Monday’s meeting were divided on their possible recommendation to the state Department of Transportation. City leaders are scheduled to meet with NDDOT officials April 12 in Fargo to make a preliminary recommendation on the final design of the rebuilt roadway.
After 90 more minutes of debate Monday and without a formal vote on a recommendation, two commissioners plan to present the DOT with two diverse opinions.

Paving co.has city’s street work on fast track

By MICHELLE MCLEAN
Ambitious.
Hillsboro city commissioners were surprised — but pleased — to learn Monday that the paving contractor for the city-wide street improvement project wants to make short work of fixing the city’s streets.
According to project manager Roger Grimsley of Advanced Engineering, Central Specialties of Alexandria, Minn., has predicted the job will take just four weeks.
“That’s pretty intense work . . . and absolutely no rain,” Grimsley commented. He suggested a more realistic timeframe was eight weeks.