21° -20°
Partly Cloudy CHANCE OF RAIN: 20% Wind: WSW at 15 mph
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Cando, North Dakota 58324-0519
36° 6°
Partly Cloudy CHANCE OF RAIN: 10% Wind: WNW at 19 mph
33° 14°
Mostly Cloudy CHANCE OF RAIN: 20% Wind: WSW at 21 mph
Volume 126, Issue 18
Towner County Medical Center installs a CT scanner
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owner County Medical Center now has a CT scanner. Computed Tomography, or CT,(also called Computed Axial Tomography-CAT) is an X-ray technique that produces 3D images of internal organs. CT scans use an x-ray generating device that rotates around the body to create cross-sectional images. A CT scan has many uses. It is a standard procedure when dealing with any traumatic injury. It is used for those experiencing chest, abdominal, and pelvic pain. A CT scan may also be used as a screening procedure for lung cancer on patients who have a history of smoking. TCMC selected to install a Philips MX evo 16 slice CT scanner. It utilizes technology that adjusts the amount of radiation to the size of the patient, allowing the best possible scan. For those with health insurance, cost of the procedure is dictated by the insurance company. For those who are uninsured
and pay for the cost of their care out of pocket, TCMC has set their rates lower than the surrounding facilities. Prior to installing this permanent CT scanner, TCMC contracted with a company to provide mobile
CT services once a week. A cost analysis was performed to evaluate how many scans were performed weekly, and how many patients were being transferred to surrounding facilities for this service. After a thorough evaluation, it was very clear that CT needed to be a service Towner County Medical Center offers to our residents. In comparison, Devils Lake, Rugby, Rolla, Langdon, and Carrington have fixed site CT scanners. Even facilities with substantially lower patient volume such as Park River, Bottineau, and Elgin have found a permanent CT scanner to be a profitable service to offer the community. According to Towner County Medical Center’s CEO, Ivan Mitchell: “I’ve heard numerous stories about patients who have come to the emergency room and had
Cando Township addresses City Council concerns By Lavonne Haugen For the Record-Herald
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regular meeting of the Cando City Council was held Monday, December 30 at City Hall. Representatives of the Cando Township Board were present to discuss the pot-hole ridden road that runs east from city limits, past the campground to the golf course entrance road. Mike Johnston spoke for the group and presented options to the city council. The least expensive option is to disc the current road, add 5 or 6 inches of pit run base and two inches of gravel. The city council was not able to obtain a bid to grind and repave
the road, but Reed Westlind was informed that Knife River will be in the area during the summer of 2014 paving Highway 281. He will attempt to contact the group to determine the cost to repave the road. The council reviewed a four phase schedule to meet ADA compliance in the city. The schedule was developed by Byron Glenn of Moore Engineering. Estimated costs were questioned and it was decided a council person will attend the meeting with Mr. Glenn when he meets with compliance personnel in Bismarck on January 7. The second readings of three ordinances regarding pets in city limits were held. The first reading was held regarding the amend-
ment creating the Community Development Board. The amendment states that the board will consist of two city council members, four citizens of the city and one member at large. The member at large is the modification being made to the ordinance. In general committee reports, verification was received regarding requirements for a bar being open for Super Bowl Sunday. Questions by Robert Timms were fielded regarding the effectiveness of electronic leashes. The council briefly discussed the new state fireworks laws allowing fireworks to be sold for new year celebrations. The council decided no changes would be made to the ordinance to allow for the sale of the fireworks during the winter.
to deal with the inconvenience of being transferred to another hospital for a basic CT scan. This also happens with nursing home residents and hospital inpatients. TCMC is focused on cost-effective services that will improve convenience for the residents of Cando and the surrounding communities. This is a service, similar to chemotherapy, which will not only improve patient care and convenience, it will also improve the bottom line for our hospital. This will provide better service for our current patients. We also hope that those who live in or near Can-
do, and may have previously used another facility for their healthcare will give TCMC another opportunity to exceed their expectations.” There will be an open house for the public on Monday, January 27th, from 5-7pm. This open house will also showcase our new fitness center, therapy department, bone density scanner, and cardiac stress testing suite. Those who attend will have the opportunity to meet our local providers, tour the facility, receive education on new services offered, and enjoy a free light supper.
Variety Show – “I’LL FLY AWAY”Comes to Audi Stage
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show the entire family will enjoy and a sure diversion for cold weather, “I’ll Fly Away,” a variety show, will entertain on January 19 at 3 pm in the Cando Audi Theater. This show, written and produced by Joni Haglin, of Munich features players from throughout the area: Hampden, Edmore, Starkweather, and Munich, as well as Cando. It combines comedy and acrobatics
with music (vocal & instrumental). A free will offering will be accepted at the door to defray expenses. “I’ll Fly Away” has been performed throughout the area in the last year. One area program attendee who has enjoyed the show says, “They do a wonderful job of enlisting many people in this endeavor-all done in a most professional manner. It is re-
freshing in many ways, and the audience leaves the theater feeling good about humanity!” The Cando Arts Council is pleased to help bring the Variety Show to the Audi stage. “I’LL FLY AWAY” is supported by the North Dakota Council on Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature, the National Endowment for Arts, and Cando Arts Council. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Nonresident Any-Deer Bow Licenses
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he North Dakota Game and Fish Department will have 172 any-deer bow licenses available to nonresidents in 2014. The deadline for applying is March 1. A lottery will be held if more applications are received than licenses available. Any re-
maining licenses after March 1 will be issued on a first-come, firstserved basis. Applicants can apply together as a party. A separate check is required for each application. The nonresident any-deer bow application is available at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov. The application must
be printed and sent in to the department. The number of nonresident any-deer bow licenses available is 15 percent of the previous year’s mule deer gun license allocation. The Game and Fish Department issued 1,150 antlered mule deer licenses in the 2013 deer gun lottery.
The Oil Industry Is Getting Off Cheap E
By Lloyd Omdahl
conomists at North Dakota State University have calculated the annual economic impact of the Bakken Field development and came up with $13 billion for 2009 – and a lot of growth has occurred since then. For a people used to dealing in thousands, and sometimes millions, talk about billions is impressive. But our euphoric daze should not blind us to the reality of oil development. The oil industry is not in North Dakota because it saw a state in need of an economic boost. Neither is it here because our tax
revenue has always been short. And it is not here to provide new jobs and more population for a sparsely-populated semi-arid west. The oil industry is here because it can make billions of dollars mining our resources. And let us not forget that while North Dakota is prospering from the oil development, the oil industry is profiting even more. When oil exploration and production ceases to be profitable, the oil industry will pack up and leave us with the consequences, whatever they may be. Even though the industry is raking in billions, some oil executives are looking for a reduction in taxes. A spokesperson for the oil in-
dustry has suggested that state taxes on oil should be cut in half. He alleged that our present tax could drive the industry to other states, e.g. Colorado or Texas, with lower taxes. One oil executive pointed to Alaska. “They have a very, very high tax rate that they imposed that basically stopped exploration up there,” he alleged. Alaska did cut its taxes on the promise that it would stimulate production and result in new revenue for the state. But even in the face of this tax windfall, a BP executive conceded that they were “producing a diminishing resource.” The suggestion to cut taxes is
groundless as long as the industry continues to make billions in North Dakota. The per barrel profit in Alaska was estimated at $28 per barrel, a rosy return when compared compared to only $2 in Iraq. The truth is that the 11.5 percent tax is reasonable. It can only look unreasonable as long as we overlook the tremendous cost brought by the industry. As enumerated last week, because of the industry the state government has had to build and repair highways, beef up state services, and provide financial support to communities crushed by the costs of medical services, law enforcement, social services, fire protection, pollution, schools, wa-
ter supply and a multitude of others. When the first severance tax of five per cent appeared in the 1950s, it was deemed as “in lieu of property taxes.” Because there was no way to assess the value of the oil underground, we had to wait until it came to the surface to assess it. The annual tax on commercial property in the state is around one percent of market value. The 11.5 percent oil tax represents eleven years of property taxes. Then that property base is gone forever. Look at the Burlington-Northern Railroad. The Company pays property taxes year-after-year without incurring billions of dollars in public costs. That is also
true about other commercial properties in North Dakota. Meanwhile, the oil industry is paying a one-time assessment, much of which is offset by the public costs suffered by the state and its local governments. Burlington-Northern will keep paying and paying without incurring public costs. If the oil industry is going to carry its share of the tax load, it should be assessed for all of the extra public costs it is requiring. The costs have been gobbling up about one-fourth of our oil income so our take-home money is a lot less than we think. Compared to other properties in North Dakota, the oil industry is getting off cheap.