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13 hours ago
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Leave it to John Stewart....
Leave it to the Daily Show's John Stewart to put a smile on my face. Here's a clip of a recent episode where he makes fun of CNN reporters in Fargo covering the flood. At the end, if you're confused, it's a clip from the movie "Fargo".
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Give to the Red Cross
Just a quick post tonight. Give to the Red Cross, especially if you haven't been able to help out the Red River Valley directly with their flood efforts (i.e. sandbagging, otherwise volunteering). Here's the site.
It's imperative to fight flooding right now, but it's even more important (in my opinion) to continue to support efforts AFTER the water recedes. Some people have lost EVERYTHING and the Red Cross relies on your donations to keep on helping people through the entire disaster. From providing food to having volunteer mental health professionals, this organization is a life saver.
Also, if you are so inclined, think about cleaning out some closets, de-cluttering your home, and parting with some of the things you don't really need. While monetary donations are very much needed, "things" such as clothes, toys for the little ones, and even furniture can be a helpful gesture as well. When you lose everything in a natural disaster, the stress of losing basic things like clothes and your bed can creep up on a person and put an extra layer of loss. Check donation sites, places like the Salvation Army, and others for information on what "things" might be needed to assist in people's healing and their spirit to move on.
I think we've seen what a community can do when a crisis happens -it has been phenomenal. I'd like to think EVERYONE is like this...that it's not just the Minnesota/North Dakota people who step up without a second thought. But I KNOW that the area I live in gives and gives and gives -and now you are able to see that too through the heroic efforts of strangers helping those in need. That gives me hope. More hope in the future and a great sense of honor. We are courageous and we are resilient. We are interconnected and we care because we understand that "if it's gonna be, it's up to me". We are able to forget squabbles and preserve our humanity by fighting side by side to fight vigilantly for our little corner of this world. And after we've fought as hard as we can, we'll support and help each other to recover and heal -for as long as it takes. That's who we are.
Thank you very much for your support, prayers, and help.
It's imperative to fight flooding right now, but it's even more important (in my opinion) to continue to support efforts AFTER the water recedes. Some people have lost EVERYTHING and the Red Cross relies on your donations to keep on helping people through the entire disaster. From providing food to having volunteer mental health professionals, this organization is a life saver.
Also, if you are so inclined, think about cleaning out some closets, de-cluttering your home, and parting with some of the things you don't really need. While monetary donations are very much needed, "things" such as clothes, toys for the little ones, and even furniture can be a helpful gesture as well. When you lose everything in a natural disaster, the stress of losing basic things like clothes and your bed can creep up on a person and put an extra layer of loss. Check donation sites, places like the Salvation Army, and others for information on what "things" might be needed to assist in people's healing and their spirit to move on.
I think we've seen what a community can do when a crisis happens -it has been phenomenal. I'd like to think EVERYONE is like this...that it's not just the Minnesota/North Dakota people who step up without a second thought. But I KNOW that the area I live in gives and gives and gives -and now you are able to see that too through the heroic efforts of strangers helping those in need. That gives me hope. More hope in the future and a great sense of honor. We are courageous and we are resilient. We are interconnected and we care because we understand that "if it's gonna be, it's up to me". We are able to forget squabbles and preserve our humanity by fighting side by side to fight vigilantly for our little corner of this world. And after we've fought as hard as we can, we'll support and help each other to recover and heal -for as long as it takes. That's who we are.
Thank you very much for your support, prayers, and help.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Lake Agassiz Revisited
I've had to be out of town for a couple of days, but I've kept in touch with friends and family in the fargo area and was attached to my laptop monitoring the news sites. If you want up to date coverage of the flood efforts, www.in-forum.com is the way to go. You can also try the KFGO site, especially if you'd like the talk radio stream of the "Mighty Seven Ninety" (790 on the AM dial). In-forum.com has links to WDAY newscasts as well as their talk radio AM channel, 970, which you could stream as well.
The river apparently won't crest until Sunday now...it will be a VERY long week in the area. Those of us who aren't in the town actively battling the river are involved in the outskirts, taking into our schools any students who want to continue their educational progress (or rather, whose PARENTS want that!!), housing (I know my apartment building has at least FOUR two bedroom apartments completely empty), and other relief efforts. I called my brother who lives in north Moorhead, about 6 blocks or so from the river. He lives near the Moorhead police station and Clay county jail, both of whom have evacuated. Tony's house is on a relatively high place and is protected up to 43feet. HOwever, that's what the crest is estimated to be, so he's prepared to leave if necessary.
This whole area is supposed to get more precipitation next week, either in rain or snow. I wouldn't be surprised if that Red River goes beyond 43 feet and causes massive problems all the way to the Canadian border. If that swells, all it's tributaries swell, causing a flooding chain reaction up and down the valley to towns to the west and east of the red river. As stressful as this time is right now, we need to remember to take a look around and document what's happening because this truly is history in the making!
The river apparently won't crest until Sunday now...it will be a VERY long week in the area. Those of us who aren't in the town actively battling the river are involved in the outskirts, taking into our schools any students who want to continue their educational progress (or rather, whose PARENTS want that!!), housing (I know my apartment building has at least FOUR two bedroom apartments completely empty), and other relief efforts. I called my brother who lives in north Moorhead, about 6 blocks or so from the river. He lives near the Moorhead police station and Clay county jail, both of whom have evacuated. Tony's house is on a relatively high place and is protected up to 43feet. HOwever, that's what the crest is estimated to be, so he's prepared to leave if necessary.
This whole area is supposed to get more precipitation next week, either in rain or snow. I wouldn't be surprised if that Red River goes beyond 43 feet and causes massive problems all the way to the Canadian border. If that swells, all it's tributaries swell, causing a flooding chain reaction up and down the valley to towns to the west and east of the red river. As stressful as this time is right now, we need to remember to take a look around and document what's happening because this truly is history in the making!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Holy Freakin' Weather!
Yesterday I practically posted a book. This morning I'm just going to say: "Holy cow, NOW look what we've got. Overnight most places in my area received 8 inches of snow. Can you believe it????? Not only that, but it's blowing pretty good and we're in a winter storm warning until 3pm. I called into work today and am staying home due to very icy and slippery roads -I really don't feel it is worth it for me to go in when there's such a potential for dangerous travel conditions -between the snow now and the water, and of course the slippery roads, I both don't need that stress, and don't need that threat of slipping off the road into a water filled ditch/field. So, I'll work from home today.
A neat thing I found yesterday is a webcam of downtown Moorhead that points to downtown Fargo. It shows two of the bridges between the cities over the Red River (Main Avenue and Center Ave (moorhead side of river)/NP Ave (fargo side of river). There is also a railroad bridge between the two. You can see how high the river is getting and how close it is to the bridges. Apparently the NP bridge (the one on your right side) will be closed as of 9am this morning due to the rising river. 1st Ave bridge has been closed for a couple days already. That bridge would be to the right of the Center/NP Ave bridge and is out of range of the web cam.
You can find it here or on the Fargo Forum website (www.in-forum.com) -along with many pictures and info about our efforts up here regarding the flooding and weather related emergencies.
A neat thing I found yesterday is a webcam of downtown Moorhead that points to downtown Fargo. It shows two of the bridges between the cities over the Red River (Main Avenue and Center Ave (moorhead side of river)/NP Ave (fargo side of river). There is also a railroad bridge between the two. You can see how high the river is getting and how close it is to the bridges. Apparently the NP bridge (the one on your right side) will be closed as of 9am this morning due to the rising river. 1st Ave bridge has been closed for a couple days already. That bridge would be to the right of the Center/NP Ave bridge and is out of range of the web cam.
You can find it here or on the Fargo Forum website (www.in-forum.com) -along with many pictures and info about our efforts up here regarding the flooding and weather related emergencies.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Water, water everywhere!
It's becoming a real adventure trying to figure out ways to get from here to there in this area! Yesterday the highway leading east out of town was closed because of water on the road, so I had to take the north route...which turned out to be an adventure because a stretch of that highway was under water with fast rushing water over it. By the late afternoon, the east highway (hwy 200) was clear and I could get home -except I went cross country to get into town on the north side, avoiding the stretch underwater (hwy 9). The highway to the south of town (hwy 9)quickly was overcome in several spots by overland flooding and was closed after a while of just "difficult" driving conditions through water. I had to work at JCP in Fargo last night and luckily the highway leading out west (hwy 200) was clear as was hwy 75 leading into Moorhead. It started raining in Fargo around 7ish and I was pretty worried about being able to get home since I know hwy 200 to the west of Ada often fills up and overflows fast. I was able to get home fine in the rain by 10:30. Quite a scary thing driving down highways in the pitch dark, in the rain, with dark reflections of water on either side of the road as far as the eye can see!! By this morning that west route coming into town (hwy 200) was overcome with water and is still closed at this time. Hwy 9 south of town is still closed and the north route, hwy 9, is not closed by still has that running water over it. The east side is high and dry for the most part...it's all run down to the west.
In town things look a bit dryer. The city has put sandbags around strategic manholes and the creek behind my apartment is slowly falling due to a BUNCH of junk taken out at the culvert/bridge at the edge of town under hwy 9 (on the north side). Huge tree trunks, blocks of ice the size of refridgerators, and other debris are sitting on the banks of that creek. This morning I had to be up rather early (5am) so I could make it to a student's meeting about 90 mn to the northeast and both before and during my shower the power went out for a few seconds at a time. Scary stuff. And kind of stressful when you've got places to go!!
Tonight we are in a winter weather advisory because we've got a cold snap coming in with 2-5 inches of snow and lots of wind. Fun fun! On Thursday, it appears to be tapering off as far as the precipitation goes, and that's good because I have to drive down to the Austin area for my interview on Friday. After checking around with hotels in Austin, I decided to ask my sister if I could stay at her and her husband's place in Mankato Thursday night as well (I am staying there Friday night) because since my interview is in the afternoon and each hotel have early "late checkouts" (in my opinion), I didn't want to wait around town a couple hours. So I know I'll get a comfortable rest at Anna's Thursday night and will be able to drive about an hour and a half early Friday afternoon to get to Austin.
Then it's to Perham for the rest of the weekend for my sister's confirmation on Sunday. I hope when I finally get back home that I will be able to get into town and the water does not overtake the town or surrounding areas. Fargo-Moorhead has been in crisis mode and today the towns to the west of me (Hendrum and Halstad) are in sandbagging mode. Crookston, to the north of me is inundated with water as well because of ice jams in the windy Red Lake River there. Here are some links to some news on the flood fight in this area: The Fargo Forum website, KFGO a major AM station in the Fargo Moorhead area the covers a wide range of communities up and down the Red River Valley, WDAY station where you can watch newscasts and see the sandbagging and dike/levy efforts (especially see March 22-now newscasts), my local radio station KRJB with announcements/information for my town and surrounding area, and KVLY another Fargo-Moorhead TV station with newscasts and news articles.
WDAY, The Fargo Forum, KVLY, and KFGO all have pages of pictures or videos of the flood battle. The Fargo Forum website also has a blog entitled Forum Flood Blog (located in a link in a black box on the top of the webpage). Lots of stuff to look at. The communities to the south of Fargo-Moorhead got hit hard already and it's heartbreaking to see that devastation. It certainly is not over -and it will likely get worse before it gets better -especially as you go north from Fargo-Moorhead.
In fact, all three major universities in Fargo-Moorhead have cancelled classes Monday, Tuesday, and again on Wednesday so that students are encouraged to get out and help the sandbagging effort. The estimate that Fargo-Moorhead ALONE needs approximately 2 MILLION sandbags to feel comfortable the river will be contained. Yesterday apparently with all the volunteer help, 480,000 sandbags were filled! That's awesome and I hope the weather helps the process of putting them out where they're intended to go...not hinders the effort. Most small schools in the areas have cancelled school or are only picking up the kids they can safely get at. Most high schools are excusing kids with parents' permission to go sandbag and help build dikes. The national guard is also in full effect in this area. A unit is expected to come to Ada tonight or tomorrow to assist this county. After the rivers crest (and before too, I guess), the dikes need to be constantly monitored by "dike walkers" 24/7 to ensure there are no leaks, breeches, or any other kind of problem that would cause overflow.
I've taken some pictures, but not a lot and I'll post the ones I have at some time. I'd like to have more, but it hasn't been safe to pull over on a highway to capture the vastness of water sitting and running all over the place. I also don't want to be near closed roads and barricades just to take pictures because law enforcement really does not like that! :-) That's fine with me. I have a healthy regard for dangerous situations!
So there's my flood update of the day. If you want a good idea, check out the Fargo Forum site and browse through articles, the blog, and pictures. It's amazing at how people come together and become neighborly during times like this.
In town things look a bit dryer. The city has put sandbags around strategic manholes and the creek behind my apartment is slowly falling due to a BUNCH of junk taken out at the culvert/bridge at the edge of town under hwy 9 (on the north side). Huge tree trunks, blocks of ice the size of refridgerators, and other debris are sitting on the banks of that creek. This morning I had to be up rather early (5am) so I could make it to a student's meeting about 90 mn to the northeast and both before and during my shower the power went out for a few seconds at a time. Scary stuff. And kind of stressful when you've got places to go!!
Tonight we are in a winter weather advisory because we've got a cold snap coming in with 2-5 inches of snow and lots of wind. Fun fun! On Thursday, it appears to be tapering off as far as the precipitation goes, and that's good because I have to drive down to the Austin area for my interview on Friday. After checking around with hotels in Austin, I decided to ask my sister if I could stay at her and her husband's place in Mankato Thursday night as well (I am staying there Friday night) because since my interview is in the afternoon and each hotel have early "late checkouts" (in my opinion), I didn't want to wait around town a couple hours. So I know I'll get a comfortable rest at Anna's Thursday night and will be able to drive about an hour and a half early Friday afternoon to get to Austin.
Then it's to Perham for the rest of the weekend for my sister's confirmation on Sunday. I hope when I finally get back home that I will be able to get into town and the water does not overtake the town or surrounding areas. Fargo-Moorhead has been in crisis mode and today the towns to the west of me (Hendrum and Halstad) are in sandbagging mode. Crookston, to the north of me is inundated with water as well because of ice jams in the windy Red Lake River there. Here are some links to some news on the flood fight in this area: The Fargo Forum website, KFGO a major AM station in the Fargo Moorhead area the covers a wide range of communities up and down the Red River Valley, WDAY station where you can watch newscasts and see the sandbagging and dike/levy efforts (especially see March 22-now newscasts), my local radio station KRJB with announcements/information for my town and surrounding area, and KVLY another Fargo-Moorhead TV station with newscasts and news articles.
WDAY, The Fargo Forum, KVLY, and KFGO all have pages of pictures or videos of the flood battle. The Fargo Forum website also has a blog entitled Forum Flood Blog (located in a link in a black box on the top of the webpage). Lots of stuff to look at. The communities to the south of Fargo-Moorhead got hit hard already and it's heartbreaking to see that devastation. It certainly is not over -and it will likely get worse before it gets better -especially as you go north from Fargo-Moorhead.
In fact, all three major universities in Fargo-Moorhead have cancelled classes Monday, Tuesday, and again on Wednesday so that students are encouraged to get out and help the sandbagging effort. The estimate that Fargo-Moorhead ALONE needs approximately 2 MILLION sandbags to feel comfortable the river will be contained. Yesterday apparently with all the volunteer help, 480,000 sandbags were filled! That's awesome and I hope the weather helps the process of putting them out where they're intended to go...not hinders the effort. Most small schools in the areas have cancelled school or are only picking up the kids they can safely get at. Most high schools are excusing kids with parents' permission to go sandbag and help build dikes. The national guard is also in full effect in this area. A unit is expected to come to Ada tonight or tomorrow to assist this county. After the rivers crest (and before too, I guess), the dikes need to be constantly monitored by "dike walkers" 24/7 to ensure there are no leaks, breeches, or any other kind of problem that would cause overflow.
I've taken some pictures, but not a lot and I'll post the ones I have at some time. I'd like to have more, but it hasn't been safe to pull over on a highway to capture the vastness of water sitting and running all over the place. I also don't want to be near closed roads and barricades just to take pictures because law enforcement really does not like that! :-) That's fine with me. I have a healthy regard for dangerous situations!
So there's my flood update of the day. If you want a good idea, check out the Fargo Forum site and browse through articles, the blog, and pictures. It's amazing at how people come together and become neighborly during times like this.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Ahhhhhhhhhh, relaxation
Tonight I decided to "forget" my study and just be "normal". So, I did dishes, cleaned up my kitchen, cleaned my bathroom and cleaned a bit around the house. Then I am watching some TV and will end the evening reading a book. It will be awesome and so needed I think!!!
SPRING! Hooray!!!
Ok, so this is a day ahead, but spring is finally here!! That is, it will be on the 20th, which is tomorrow, but I say close enough!!!
Not much new here....working like crazy to get the field study wrapped up and written. I'm still waiting on two members of my data analysis team and it will be difficult to move on without that input. So I think I should take advantage of this lag and do some house cleaning and relaxing!
Next week is rather busy for me, I work two evenings at JCP and have to go out of town for an interview in Austin, MN at the end of the week. Then on the weekend, I think I'll take my time getting back up to this area and will stop in Mankato to visit Anna & Ben for a bit. Then it's to stop in Perham for the rest of the weekend because Audrey gets confirmed on Sunday, so I'll just stick around there for that. Then it's home again! The last week of March/first part of April should be fairly "normal" until the week after Easter...then stuff starts getting frantic again. Well...it keeps me out of trouble, right? :-)
In other news: the flood's a-coming!!!
Not much new here....working like crazy to get the field study wrapped up and written. I'm still waiting on two members of my data analysis team and it will be difficult to move on without that input. So I think I should take advantage of this lag and do some house cleaning and relaxing!
Next week is rather busy for me, I work two evenings at JCP and have to go out of town for an interview in Austin, MN at the end of the week. Then on the weekend, I think I'll take my time getting back up to this area and will stop in Mankato to visit Anna & Ben for a bit. Then it's to stop in Perham for the rest of the weekend because Audrey gets confirmed on Sunday, so I'll just stick around there for that. Then it's home again! The last week of March/first part of April should be fairly "normal" until the week after Easter...then stuff starts getting frantic again. Well...it keeps me out of trouble, right? :-)
In other news: the flood's a-coming!!!
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Big Flood...
There is considerable talk about a major flooding event in this area. I'm not surprised and feel its quite omnimous. My cousin Eric IM'd me on Facebook last night letting me know the water is "coming my way". LOL. He and his wife and kids live between New York Mills and Ottertail south of Rush lake and reported they've got water over the roads there already. All water flows to this area eventually it seems, going up the "Red River of the North". Now I think it's more or less a wait and see game while communities gear up for likely flooding problems. With the amount of snow we've gotten this year (one of the highest on record), it's inevitable. Living in Ada, MN means I'm in the flood basin where high flooding years seems to want to refill the ice age Lake Agassiz lake basin. Overland flooding is a huge concern and it darn near devastated this town in the spring of 1997. I'm used to roads being closed because of flooding and often during the highest flood moments, there is not way in or out of town without going through some water covered highways.
My field study is coming along. I'm waiting for my data analysis committee to get back to me with their contributions. Then it will be my task to analyze that and finish up the thing. I will be extremely happy when it is done. I am so busy and every waking hour that I don't have to be doing something else has been concentrated on getting it done.
My apartment is a MESS and I don't forsee that changing for at least another month until I'm finished with the graduate school stuff and all the stuff I have going on at school. I'm working with the state department and PACER (parent advocasy group for persons with disabilities) on some transition issues and programs, and that starts next week. It will be a great experience, but likely a time consuming one...maybe not time, but surely mental energy will be mostly needed. Nevertheless, this spring is a great testiment to my ability to juggle many balls and compartmentalize stuff -a great skill to have in my desired line of work. And if my apartment stays messy, I guess that's not that big of a deal at the end of the day.
I took a sick day today because I'm feeling run down and like I'm starting to relapse after getting over my sinus/upper respiratory infection a couple weeks ago. It has helped me very much. I've got enough sick days accumulated to be sick until the end of the year, so I might be more apt to take these sick days now and then this spring instead of being a martyr and showing up for work even when I should be at home. The last thing I need is to get very sick and have to take off more than one day in a row, especially with the transition work coming up, 4 out of 5 of my students trying to graduate this year (I feel I need to be there to keep them on track and encourage them to take advantage of opportunities to pass their classes), and my program possibly being discontinued. There is much to do at the transition school to "close it up" if that should happen to be decided by the board this month.
My field study is coming along. I'm waiting for my data analysis committee to get back to me with their contributions. Then it will be my task to analyze that and finish up the thing. I will be extremely happy when it is done. I am so busy and every waking hour that I don't have to be doing something else has been concentrated on getting it done.
My apartment is a MESS and I don't forsee that changing for at least another month until I'm finished with the graduate school stuff and all the stuff I have going on at school. I'm working with the state department and PACER (parent advocasy group for persons with disabilities) on some transition issues and programs, and that starts next week. It will be a great experience, but likely a time consuming one...maybe not time, but surely mental energy will be mostly needed. Nevertheless, this spring is a great testiment to my ability to juggle many balls and compartmentalize stuff -a great skill to have in my desired line of work. And if my apartment stays messy, I guess that's not that big of a deal at the end of the day.
I took a sick day today because I'm feeling run down and like I'm starting to relapse after getting over my sinus/upper respiratory infection a couple weeks ago. It has helped me very much. I've got enough sick days accumulated to be sick until the end of the year, so I might be more apt to take these sick days now and then this spring instead of being a martyr and showing up for work even when I should be at home. The last thing I need is to get very sick and have to take off more than one day in a row, especially with the transition work coming up, 4 out of 5 of my students trying to graduate this year (I feel I need to be there to keep them on track and encourage them to take advantage of opportunities to pass their classes), and my program possibly being discontinued. There is much to do at the transition school to "close it up" if that should happen to be decided by the board this month.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Blizzards Bring Out the Stupid in People...
Today is cleanup day after the big blizzard. I just got back from a leisurely drive around town, which is mostly plowed out. The northeast side is pretty clear, but the northwest side still has some work to be done. Sorry, no pictures...my camera is on the fritz. I'd love to show you a picture of the Ada-Borup elementary school with a drift that's as high as the one story building...but the cellphone picture just didn't do it justice!
I was listening to my scanner last night and listened to this stupid event unfold. Hats off to all of the law enforcement crew and county & state snow plow crews for all of their hard work these last couple days! Holy cow, do they deserve our respect...especially after you read this:
From In-Forum.com
Clay deputies rescue stranded motorists who went to get milk
HAWLEY, Minn. – Clay County sheriff's deputies and a snowplow operator had to rescue four people who got stuck on a county road during a trip to buy milk in Tuesday's blizzard.
By: Mike Tanner, WDAY Radio, INFORUM
HAWLEY, Minn. – Clay County sheriff's deputies and a snowplow operator had to rescue four people who got stuck on a county road during a trip to buy milk in Tuesday's blizzard.
Authorities received a call at 9:10 p.m. that four adults were stranded in a van stuck in a 4-foot-deep snowdrift on County Road 26 about three miles east of Hitterdal.
The four had gone to Detroit Lakes to get some milk, Clay County Lt. Steve Todd said. They were on their way home to Hawley and had to take some back roads because Highway 10 was closed.
“In talking to the driver, I found that they only had about an eighth to a quarter tank of gas left in their vehicle,” Todd told WDAY Radio.
“They did not have any winter survival clothes – no snow pants, no boots, no hats, no gloves. They didn’t have any food to hold them over for any period of time,” he said. “And their cell phones were all dying on batteries, so it became fairly important for us to try to get over to them.’
A Clay County plow operator escorted deputies from Ulen to the stalled vehicle. Todd said it took crews nearly 2½ hours to complete the rescue.
“They were a little bit shaken up,” he said. “They were concerned whether or not we were going to get to them. In the meantime, while they were waiting for us they had called a tow truck, which would never have even gotten close.”
Todd called it a “pretty serious situation.”
“(It’s) fairly disturbing that people would go out after you folks in the media had put out so many advisories not to travel, and the conditions were just very dangerous out and they went out totally unprepared with little justification,” he said.
Todd said the driver of the vehicle wasn’t cited but could be getting a bill in the mail. Clay County has an ordinance that allows the county to recuperate costs involved in rescues when no travel advisories have been issued.
The county is looking at recouping the costs for several hours of labor for three deputies, one highway department worker and the cost of operating the plow, he said.
Todd said there’s an ironic twist to the story: The milk they went to pick up in Detroit Lakes was also available a few blocks away from their Hawley residence at a convenience store that remained open during the storm.
************************************************
Wow....that's all I can say. Here's another example of stupidity...or cosmic fortune...depending on how you look at it!
Police say meth ingredients, equipment found in car of man driving under suspension
FARGO – Police arrested a Fargo man on suspicion of manufacturing meth after pulling him over early this morning for driving under suspension, Sgt. Ross Renner said.
By: Forum staff reports, INFORUM
FARGO – Police arrested a Fargo man on suspicion of manufacturing meth after pulling him over early this morning for driving under suspension, Sgt. Ross Renner said.
After Tuesday’s blizzard, there weren’t many vehicles out on the road when David John Sether, 34, was pulled over at 2:55 a.m. in the 2400 block of 18th Street South, Renner said.
Officers searched his vehicle and found ingredients and equipment used for making meth, Renner said.
Sether was arrested on suspicion of manufacturing meth, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under suspension. He was booked into the Cass County Jail.
***********************************************
Geez! Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb!!
I was listening to my scanner last night and listened to this stupid event unfold. Hats off to all of the law enforcement crew and county & state snow plow crews for all of their hard work these last couple days! Holy cow, do they deserve our respect...especially after you read this:
From In-Forum.com
Clay deputies rescue stranded motorists who went to get milk
HAWLEY, Minn. – Clay County sheriff's deputies and a snowplow operator had to rescue four people who got stuck on a county road during a trip to buy milk in Tuesday's blizzard.
By: Mike Tanner, WDAY Radio, INFORUM
HAWLEY, Minn. – Clay County sheriff's deputies and a snowplow operator had to rescue four people who got stuck on a county road during a trip to buy milk in Tuesday's blizzard.
Authorities received a call at 9:10 p.m. that four adults were stranded in a van stuck in a 4-foot-deep snowdrift on County Road 26 about three miles east of Hitterdal.
The four had gone to Detroit Lakes to get some milk, Clay County Lt. Steve Todd said. They were on their way home to Hawley and had to take some back roads because Highway 10 was closed.
“In talking to the driver, I found that they only had about an eighth to a quarter tank of gas left in their vehicle,” Todd told WDAY Radio.
“They did not have any winter survival clothes – no snow pants, no boots, no hats, no gloves. They didn’t have any food to hold them over for any period of time,” he said. “And their cell phones were all dying on batteries, so it became fairly important for us to try to get over to them.’
A Clay County plow operator escorted deputies from Ulen to the stalled vehicle. Todd said it took crews nearly 2½ hours to complete the rescue.
“They were a little bit shaken up,” he said. “They were concerned whether or not we were going to get to them. In the meantime, while they were waiting for us they had called a tow truck, which would never have even gotten close.”
Todd called it a “pretty serious situation.”
“(It’s) fairly disturbing that people would go out after you folks in the media had put out so many advisories not to travel, and the conditions were just very dangerous out and they went out totally unprepared with little justification,” he said.
Todd said the driver of the vehicle wasn’t cited but could be getting a bill in the mail. Clay County has an ordinance that allows the county to recuperate costs involved in rescues when no travel advisories have been issued.
The county is looking at recouping the costs for several hours of labor for three deputies, one highway department worker and the cost of operating the plow, he said.
Todd said there’s an ironic twist to the story: The milk they went to pick up in Detroit Lakes was also available a few blocks away from their Hawley residence at a convenience store that remained open during the storm.
************************************************
Wow....that's all I can say. Here's another example of stupidity...or cosmic fortune...depending on how you look at it!
Police say meth ingredients, equipment found in car of man driving under suspension
FARGO – Police arrested a Fargo man on suspicion of manufacturing meth after pulling him over early this morning for driving under suspension, Sgt. Ross Renner said.
By: Forum staff reports, INFORUM
FARGO – Police arrested a Fargo man on suspicion of manufacturing meth after pulling him over early this morning for driving under suspension, Sgt. Ross Renner said.
After Tuesday’s blizzard, there weren’t many vehicles out on the road when David John Sether, 34, was pulled over at 2:55 a.m. in the 2400 block of 18th Street South, Renner said.
Officers searched his vehicle and found ingredients and equipment used for making meth, Renner said.
Sether was arrested on suspicion of manufacturing meth, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under suspension. He was booked into the Cass County Jail.
***********************************************
Geez! Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb!!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Here Goes My Opinion Problem Again...
I've been watching the news today and reading the news online. Obama spoke on his views on education. No surprise to what he's said. There are good things about NCLB -primarily the accountability factor- and I'm glad he's keeping that pretty much as a scaffold for the rest of his policy ideas. His thoughts on early intervention (head start, early childhood education and nursing info programs for first time parents) are right on target and wise. I also like how he reiterates all the time when he speaks about education that we all are FIRST in responsibility; parents need to be the first educators of their children, we need to not only encourage our children take learning seriously, but we must keep learning as well. To me, a 35yr old professional single female with no kids, that is a no brainer. Personal responsibility should be the forefront of all of our actions. -and it's not just parents that shoulder the responsibility for educating ourselves, it's all of us, anyone who calls themselves an American whether you've got kids or not.
Ok, so the part of Obama's speech today that I really, really dig are his comments on effective teaching. I like merit pay. I always have, and I think the competitiveness would be very healthy for this industry. I don't know how it would make sense or how to do it so that it's fair...but I agree poor performing teachers need to go -when remediation and extensive staff development and supervision becomes akin to flogging a dead horse, they need to go. What other industry gives automatic raises each year regardless of performance, pays it's employees a middle class wage for 3/4 of a year's amount of work, and has a union so strong that even people who wish to NOT be part of the union still, by law, must pay about 75% of the annual dues that full members pay?? I'm not sure about other states, but in Minnesota, even if you oppose the union and wish NOT to be a member, you've still got to fork over around 75% of the annual dues by law -it's called "fair share" and it's never seemed that "fair" to me. I like to believe that the teachers' union is good for student achievement and enables us to create contributing members of society -and I think that for the most part, it does provide leadership that advocates for that. However, the dark spots on the union are the antiquated "muscle" that, in all fairness, was probably needed back in the day when school administration practiced a management style that differs from today's leadership style that most districts operate under. There are more federal laws and civil rights initiatives that protect everyone now than there were at the conception of the teachers union as well. It's very difficult to fire a low performing teacher. How would you feel as a parent if your child's teacher was poor (ineffective), was putting in their time, or-God forbid...and it DOES happen a lot- the teacher doesn't even like working with kids?? You'd want them out too. Easier said than done. And if a school district fires a teacher, they have to be sooo careful or else face the union's lawyers. What a waste of resources and time. While the union is busy rewarding failure, the good teachers are getting burnt out and our children aren't achieving as well as they could if all the resources and attention were on THEM...the reason we have teachers in the first place.
And one more thing: Obama mentioned his endorsement of a longer school day and/or school year. I have always liked that idea too. Always. Yes, I like my summer vacations, but if you know me, you know that most of the time, I am not on vacation, I'm working another job or going to grad school -and a lot of the reason is because I feel guilty because I've got all this time off --I did not go into education because of the saying "the three best reasons for being a teacher is June July & August". I know that we can see far more achievement and progress in our children if we extend seat-time...that's a no-brainer too. I'd like to see some pilot programs of extended time in various parts of the country (not just in urban/suburban areas either!!). I think it's funny that some parents oppose more classroom time (extended day/extended year) because "kids need to be kids" and not have to be in school so much cuz it's so much work for the poor kids and they don't even have time to relax or play...blah blah blah, but then are first to complain about "all the workshop days" and vacation days districts have -that thought process does not make sense.
One thing is certain, our culture on education must change. We need to stop pointing fingers, stop whining about how "hard" it is, stop attacking schools when their kids are disciplined or get bad grades, and start biting the bullet and exercising some personal responsibility doing unpopular things like merit pay and extended time. My mom always said that just because something is popular, that doesn't make it right. I believe that. I'll flip that around and say that it's likely that if it's the unpopular thing to do, it is probably the right thing to do. Nothing worth doing was ever easy. I think it's honorable to do the right thing even though it is difficult and unpopular -especially when it's difficult and unpopular. I think we've lost some of that conviction in this "disposable" society, and we're going to have to find our way back so we don't become an entire nation left behind.
Ok, so the part of Obama's speech today that I really, really dig are his comments on effective teaching. I like merit pay. I always have, and I think the competitiveness would be very healthy for this industry. I don't know how it would make sense or how to do it so that it's fair...but I agree poor performing teachers need to go -when remediation and extensive staff development and supervision becomes akin to flogging a dead horse, they need to go. What other industry gives automatic raises each year regardless of performance, pays it's employees a middle class wage for 3/4 of a year's amount of work, and has a union so strong that even people who wish to NOT be part of the union still, by law, must pay about 75% of the annual dues that full members pay?? I'm not sure about other states, but in Minnesota, even if you oppose the union and wish NOT to be a member, you've still got to fork over around 75% of the annual dues by law -it's called "fair share" and it's never seemed that "fair" to me. I like to believe that the teachers' union is good for student achievement and enables us to create contributing members of society -and I think that for the most part, it does provide leadership that advocates for that. However, the dark spots on the union are the antiquated "muscle" that, in all fairness, was probably needed back in the day when school administration practiced a management style that differs from today's leadership style that most districts operate under. There are more federal laws and civil rights initiatives that protect everyone now than there were at the conception of the teachers union as well. It's very difficult to fire a low performing teacher. How would you feel as a parent if your child's teacher was poor (ineffective), was putting in their time, or-God forbid...and it DOES happen a lot- the teacher doesn't even like working with kids?? You'd want them out too. Easier said than done. And if a school district fires a teacher, they have to be sooo careful or else face the union's lawyers. What a waste of resources and time. While the union is busy rewarding failure, the good teachers are getting burnt out and our children aren't achieving as well as they could if all the resources and attention were on THEM...the reason we have teachers in the first place.
And one more thing: Obama mentioned his endorsement of a longer school day and/or school year. I have always liked that idea too. Always. Yes, I like my summer vacations, but if you know me, you know that most of the time, I am not on vacation, I'm working another job or going to grad school -and a lot of the reason is because I feel guilty because I've got all this time off --I did not go into education because of the saying "the three best reasons for being a teacher is June July & August". I know that we can see far more achievement and progress in our children if we extend seat-time...that's a no-brainer too. I'd like to see some pilot programs of extended time in various parts of the country (not just in urban/suburban areas either!!). I think it's funny that some parents oppose more classroom time (extended day/extended year) because "kids need to be kids" and not have to be in school so much cuz it's so much work for the poor kids and they don't even have time to relax or play...blah blah blah, but then are first to complain about "all the workshop days" and vacation days districts have -that thought process does not make sense.
One thing is certain, our culture on education must change. We need to stop pointing fingers, stop whining about how "hard" it is, stop attacking schools when their kids are disciplined or get bad grades, and start biting the bullet and exercising some personal responsibility doing unpopular things like merit pay and extended time. My mom always said that just because something is popular, that doesn't make it right. I believe that. I'll flip that around and say that it's likely that if it's the unpopular thing to do, it is probably the right thing to do. Nothing worth doing was ever easy. I think it's honorable to do the right thing even though it is difficult and unpopular -especially when it's difficult and unpopular. I think we've lost some of that conviction in this "disposable" society, and we're going to have to find our way back so we don't become an entire nation left behind.
Large Size Blizzard, Please.
Hopefully this will be the last big snow event of the month/spring. I'm not complaining too much because I actually really appreciate the time off right now. But really....6-12 inches of more snow??? Are you kidding? I mean, really??!! Well, at least you could say that Minnesota (particularly in this area of the state) is living up to its reputation.
My poor car needs it to NOT be winter! He wants to drive free without regard to icy roads. He wants to stay clean for more than 3 hours after he's washed. He wants his sunroof open!! He wants to see sunshine and green grass!!
My poor car needs it to NOT be winter! He wants to drive free without regard to icy roads. He wants to stay clean for more than 3 hours after he's washed. He wants his sunroof open!! He wants to see sunshine and green grass!!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Truckin Along...
Wow, I've had a very productive weekend. I revised my whole study and decided to take my time with the lit review revisions because I found a lot of mistakes and stupid things in it that I want to fix with more deliberate attention. But, I am half finished with one section of it and will email it off tonight after I complete the section only to get massacred again tomorrow. That's good, though, because then I'm more confident in it as a whole and will be more prepared when I go in front of committee to defend it. It would really suck if I didn't "pass" because I'd really like to graduate in May.
I hear that it's supposed to storm on Tuesday. We're in a blizzard watch. I'm not sure it will actually be bad, but if it is, I hope that I can get out of school because then I'll have even more time to work on my lit review revisions! Happy day!! I do have a slow week, with 3 whole evenings to myself. That's good because I can get the lit review done tuesday and wednesday and then take a trip to Perham to visit my dog Friday night before he goes to live with someone else. Or maybe I'll go Saturday morning. I don't work until 3pm on Saturday, so I'll have to see both what the weather will be like AND how much work I have to do on the study. I may have to wait until next week to make the trip.
So, I'm anxiously awaiting the 10:00 news so I can watch the weather. But first -back to my revisions.
I hear that it's supposed to storm on Tuesday. We're in a blizzard watch. I'm not sure it will actually be bad, but if it is, I hope that I can get out of school because then I'll have even more time to work on my lit review revisions! Happy day!! I do have a slow week, with 3 whole evenings to myself. That's good because I can get the lit review done tuesday and wednesday and then take a trip to Perham to visit my dog Friday night before he goes to live with someone else. Or maybe I'll go Saturday morning. I don't work until 3pm on Saturday, so I'll have to see both what the weather will be like AND how much work I have to do on the study. I may have to wait until next week to make the trip.
So, I'm anxiously awaiting the 10:00 news so I can watch the weather. But first -back to my revisions.
Friday, March 6, 2009
I'm getting ready for a long weekend of revising my study. This week has been so incredibly busy I've not had a chance to do much of anything yet. I'm really looking forward to streamlining everything and improving the literature review. Hopefully I can be finished with that portion soon.
My mom told me today that they are going to get rid of my dog. Well, he's not MY dog, but I bought him for my dad, so I call him my dog. He's a seven year old Jack Russel Terrier who LOVES squirrels. He's getting older, very fat and he's pretty unhealthy lately -not to mention his extreme allergies that seem to be getting worse and longer every year (they usually happen only in the summer). Mom and dad can't provide the right kind of environment for him so they're looking for a new home for him. If they cannot find a good home or a shelter of some sort, they will be putting him to sleep. That makes me so sad, but I agree with them -because his quality of life living there has just not been enough for him the past few years. So if anyone knows of a good home for Buddy, please let us know. I'd rather see him live happily in an environment more suitable for him (a farm would be EXCELLENT because then he could run around and poke his nose into everything without getting picked up by the cops...which is what happens where he is now!!). He's AWESOME with kids and so sweet. He likes his rawhide bone every night and usually has a few half eaten ones stashed in various areas of the house. He does shed incessently though, and is such a sociable animal that he will drive you nuts if you aren't paying attention to him (another reason mom and dad's lifestyle isn't working out for him...they aren't home that much sometimes and he gets bored, sad, and starts chewing on his forearms). He's seven years old this April and has been a very good part of our family for such a long time. I will miss him so much!!! It makes me cry each time I think about it!
On a different note, I have to work at JCP tomorrow virtually all day and then in the evening it's field study time. Sunday is field study day as well. I guess nothing more is new. Another job opened up and I'll be applying for that this week (gotta get the study revisions done first!!). I've been watching the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon this week...and I'm not sure that I like it. It's boring to me and seems like it's either trying too hard or it's been haphazardly put together. I'll stick with Craig Ferguson I think!! :-)
My mom told me today that they are going to get rid of my dog. Well, he's not MY dog, but I bought him for my dad, so I call him my dog. He's a seven year old Jack Russel Terrier who LOVES squirrels. He's getting older, very fat and he's pretty unhealthy lately -not to mention his extreme allergies that seem to be getting worse and longer every year (they usually happen only in the summer). Mom and dad can't provide the right kind of environment for him so they're looking for a new home for him. If they cannot find a good home or a shelter of some sort, they will be putting him to sleep. That makes me so sad, but I agree with them -because his quality of life living there has just not been enough for him the past few years. So if anyone knows of a good home for Buddy, please let us know. I'd rather see him live happily in an environment more suitable for him (a farm would be EXCELLENT because then he could run around and poke his nose into everything without getting picked up by the cops...which is what happens where he is now!!). He's AWESOME with kids and so sweet. He likes his rawhide bone every night and usually has a few half eaten ones stashed in various areas of the house. He does shed incessently though, and is such a sociable animal that he will drive you nuts if you aren't paying attention to him (another reason mom and dad's lifestyle isn't working out for him...they aren't home that much sometimes and he gets bored, sad, and starts chewing on his forearms). He's seven years old this April and has been a very good part of our family for such a long time. I will miss him so much!!! It makes me cry each time I think about it!
On a different note, I have to work at JCP tomorrow virtually all day and then in the evening it's field study time. Sunday is field study day as well. I guess nothing more is new. Another job opened up and I'll be applying for that this week (gotta get the study revisions done first!!). I've been watching the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon this week...and I'm not sure that I like it. It's boring to me and seems like it's either trying too hard or it's been haphazardly put together. I'll stick with Craig Ferguson I think!! :-)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Well Hello Again
Hi! It seems like March has started out VERY busy. It sure didn't help that I was sick just before the month started. Oh well! I have to do a BUNCH of revisions to my study and expand my lit review (a lot), but lo and behold, I took a look at all the resources I had gathered this year and found 20 I havne't even remembered I had!!! So, that will help quite a bit. I have a good start, I've just got to get another revision done by Monday. Hopefully after that it will just be more tweaking and then putting in my data & results and be ready to defend it. Then I'll be DONE!!!!
Otherwise, it seems like everything is rather normal. Work has begun to get VERY busy and the kids are super crazy. I'm not sure what it is, but everyone's soooo squirrely. They are like herding cats. seriously. a BUNCH of cats. And there's only five of them!!! One only comes 3 days a week and another only comes 2 hours a day! Holy cow, I'm earning my money for sure lately!
I wanted to take a trip to Perham to visit family this weekend, but I'm afraid I'll be stuck here doing my revisions to my study. If I'm lucky (VERY lucky), I can get the other resources read, mapped out and put into my lit review and streamline the rest of it so it flows better, I can go on Sunday....but I'm not going to plan on it. I'm going to plan on spending that time to do my revisions.
Otherwise, it seems like everything is rather normal. Work has begun to get VERY busy and the kids are super crazy. I'm not sure what it is, but everyone's soooo squirrely. They are like herding cats. seriously. a BUNCH of cats. And there's only five of them!!! One only comes 3 days a week and another only comes 2 hours a day! Holy cow, I'm earning my money for sure lately!
I wanted to take a trip to Perham to visit family this weekend, but I'm afraid I'll be stuck here doing my revisions to my study. If I'm lucky (VERY lucky), I can get the other resources read, mapped out and put into my lit review and streamline the rest of it so it flows better, I can go on Sunday....but I'm not going to plan on it. I'm going to plan on spending that time to do my revisions.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
I Feel Almost Normal
I have to say, a combination of mucinex, antibiotics, netipot therapy, tons of water, tons of hot tea, and sleep has done the trick!!!! I feel halfway normal again! I still have lingering stuffy/runny nose and still cough up a lung here and there, but I sleep good and don't feel like I've been hit by a bus. I must have slept good last night because I had some wicked-awesome dreams. Wow, like at least 4 separate ones that were really vivid and crazy!! Now only if my chapped nose will get better from all the snot coming out of it! :-).
The shower went really well yesterday for my friend Jami. Of course, I forgot my camera so i don't have pictures until someone gets them for me, but I'll post a couple. It was really neat, we decorated really nice and got a lot of compliments on it. I'm glad that's over though!
Gosh my apartment is messy!!!!!!!!!! No time to clean today though...I have to make sure my field study stuff is ready to go to my advisor. Deadlines suck, but without them, I don't think I would have gotten anything done. I'm far too lenient on myself without outside deadlines!!!
The shower went really well yesterday for my friend Jami. Of course, I forgot my camera so i don't have pictures until someone gets them for me, but I'll post a couple. It was really neat, we decorated really nice and got a lot of compliments on it. I'm glad that's over though!
Gosh my apartment is messy!!!!!!!!!! No time to clean today though...I have to make sure my field study stuff is ready to go to my advisor. Deadlines suck, but without them, I don't think I would have gotten anything done. I'm far too lenient on myself without outside deadlines!!!