Napoleon, ND

I have a friend who tries never to eat food that has traveled great distances before making its way to her plate.  She’s made a conscious choice to “eat local.”  At this time of year it may be easier in North Dakota than almost anywhere else in the country to eat local.  Grass fed beef, pork and free range chickens on our plates next to fresh cobs of corn, green beans, and lettuce salads.  Tall glasses of cold milk.  For dessert how about raspberry sauce over home made ice cream?  Am I making you hungry?

We don’t have corn in our garden this year so John has stopped to purchase corn from local growers, Donna and Willie, a couple of times. The first night we had corn, I ate four cobs!  So sweet and delicious, I was consumed with corn exuberance.  Now this is food!

If the idea of creating a quilted piece interests you, consider signing up for a fall quilting class to make a table runner being offered through the Extension office.  If you have ever looked at a quilted piece and wished that you could make something like it, this class is for you.  If you can sew a straight stitch, you can learn to quilt.  It’s easy.  If you already quilt some, but find it hard to make time for it, attend the class and over the course of five weeks, each Wednesday night from 6 to 9 PM, and take home a finished product.  The class will begin the last Wednesday in September.   Come and quilt for your health!

Quilt a table topper, beginning Wednesday, September 29, 2010 for five Wednesdays through October 27 from 6 to 9 PM Courthouse, Napoleon, 2^nd floor, Commissioner Meeting Room $35.00 fee + you bring fabric, sewing machine and supplies Call 754-2504 to register and for supply list.    

Tri-County Chronic Disease Management for people in Stutsman, Logan and Barnes.  To qualify one needs to be 50 yrs or older, reside in one of the above mentioned counties, willing to participate fully in this project, those with or without health insurance, and have a chronic medical condition: Heart failure, Diabetes Type II, Asthma, COPD, or Hypertension.  Services available include nurse visits, health journal, transportation and nutrition assistance, coordination with providers, and more. 

For more information , contact Central Valley Health at 701-252-8130.

The Logan County Social Services food pantry recently received a grant from Great Plains Food Bank in Fargo, ND.  The granted funds supplied the local food pantry with a much needed refrigerator for storage of cheese items and other products requiring refrigeration; a scale to weigh pounds of food given each month; and a utility cart to aid agency with packing bags and for participants to load bags and carry to their vehicles.   Food pantry is disseminated once a month to those in need by stopping at the agency.  Our local food pantry relies on food donations from the community and from Great Plains Food Bank and Community Action.  Because of our local community support and these other donating agencies, we are able to provide individuals/families with needed food items. 

If you or anyone you know is in need of food pantry or if you have further questions about the food pantry, please contact the Logan County Social Services at 701-754-2283.

Roxy Sayler Henke was in my grade in a very small school.  Our graduating class was just under 50 students.  We walked down the isle together at graduation since our last names were “R” and “S”, and thought about the possibilities of walking out into the world, and leaving our small town behind.

Fast forward many years to today.  Roxy is now the author of eight novels, and I write a weekly news column.  Roxy is waiting for the arrival of her first grandchild and I am a proud new grandma as of April.  Roxy has what she describes as an annoyingly friendly English cocker spaniel, I have a happy-go-lucky Shih-Tzu.  Our husbands defy brief description.

Yes, we are alike in many ways.  Roxy often writes about her love of her little town, her rural roots.  She delights in the index finger wave greeting, the fact that she can order a coffee at her local restaurant without first standing in line behind 10 people who are ordering a mocha/whipped/latte-something.  The person behind the counter knows what she wants and doesn’t need to ask if she needs cream or sugar; she knows the answer.

In all the world, rural North Dakota is our kind of place – home.

Roxy writes:

All across the state, we’ve got hundreds of big-city hunters buying houses in our rural towns.  They long to spend weekends where we get to live year-round.  Sometimes it’s hard to recognize God’s country when you live in the middle of it.

I love my little town.

I hope you love yours.

God’s country indeed!

Well said, Roxy.  I feel like I’m walking right next to you again and the direction we’re headed in is just right.

A series of meetings will be held July 6-15 to solicit input about the coordination of transit services in south central and west central North Dakota.  The meeting for Napoleon will be on Friday, July 9, 2010 at 1pm at Reuben’s Restaurant, 305 main street. 

The public meetings will provide an opportunity to learn more about transit services in each region and to provide input on how these services might be better coordinated to meet the mobility needs of residents.  The meetings are being hosted by the North Dakota DOT and the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center, which is part of the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at North Dakota State University.

These efforts to enhance the coordination of transit services were mandated by the 2009 ND Legislature. The public input meetings will present information concerning services that are currently available, existing funding sources, demographic trends, and coordination efforts that have been undertaken in other states.
 

The American Cancer Society has $100 gas cards available for prostate cancer patients and breast cancer patients to assist with transportation costs to and from treatment.Patients must reside in North Dakota and be driving 300+ miles per month to a treatment facility in North Dakota. For more information or to apply for a gas card, contact Sandy Stephenson at the American Cancer Society, 701-433-7587

A BBQ Bootcamp will be held at 5:30 PM July 14 at the Tri-County Fairgrounds in Wishek.  This bootcamp is open to anyone who wants to learn more about grilling, food safety and topics in the beef, port and lamb industries.

 For more information call the NDSU Extension Services in Logan 754-2504, or Emmons 254-4811 or McIntosh 288-3465.

The Imperial Farmers Market will be held Mondays and Thursday this summer on the Logan County Courthouse grounds in Napoleon.

For vendor information or other specifics, call Dawn Becker at 754-2646 or Kelli Sperle at 754-2350.

BECEP/Head Start is accepting application for children ages 3 to 4.  This is a preschool program for eligible families and for children with disabilities.  Head Start serves Burleigh, Kidder, Logan, McIntosh and Emmons counties.  For more information, call 323-4400.