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Theborderlandpress.com
In this Issue:
Cavalier County Emergency Food Pantry distributes Christmas baskets Page A2 HiWay Laundry in Langdon sustains smoke, fire damage Page A2 Burgum says North Dakota is behind in animal ag Page A3 The Morning Run: A year at the press Page A4 Musings from Munich: Three for me Page A4 Katie Henry: Emotional intelligence Page A5 Daren Christianson: Schools, information, and the law Page A5 Choice Bank Junior Bank Board donates to Cancer Crusaders Page A5 St. Alphonsus School holds Grinch Day Page A6 Jake’s Take on Sports Page A7 Lexi Olson is a National Champion Page 7 Blades girls get a game in after the storm Page A7 Fourth time is the charm for Cards boys to get in first game of the year Page A8 Lady Cards pick up third win in a row Page A9 Reindeer Ranch stimulates agrotourism Page A11 From the Pastor’s Desk by Jonathon Waterbury Page A12 Views from the Borderland Page A14 Santa Letters Pages B3-B9
Index:
News Page A2 Agriculture Page A3 Opinion Page A4 Community Pages A5-6 Sports Pages A7-A9 Public Notices Page A10 Region Page A11 Church & Obituaries Page A12 Classifieds Page A13
Friday, December 23, 2022
Cavalier County Sheriff’s office wants to add school resource officer to county schools By Sarah Hinnenkamp
On Monday, the Langdon Area School Board decided to move forward in exploring the addition of a school resource officer to the district. “We’ve had a few incidents at the school that I think now is the right time to approach you with this to see if you’re interested in this,” said Shane Gallagher, chief deputy sheriff in Cavalier County, as he explained a proposal about the position to board members. Gallagher said after the county jail closed in February, the county added an additional full-time deputy to handle prisoner transports and assist in other areas as needed. He thinks the department can make it work where they’ll have that officer available to serve as a school resource officer. Gallagher believes all the schools in the county could benefit from this position, but the department foresees that the majority of the school resource officer’s time would be spent at Langdon Area High School and Elementary due to student population. In his presentation to the school board, Gallagher explained that a school resource officer can respond to crime at the school and help promote a positive atmosphere. He noted that his former jurisdiction of a similar size area saw benefits to having a school resource officer and noticed a difference when that person was taken out of the school. “First and foremost, this is about the safety of the students,” Gallagher said. “Unfortunately in this day and age, stuff can happen anywhere so just having that visual presence there will help and will allow us to have a faster response time.” Gallagher said having this officer in the schools will help build relationships with the students, and hopefully the officer will be alerted if something is going on in the school that law enforcement would need to know about.
Volume 1, Number 50
SCHOOL DAYS VS. STORM DAYS By Sarah Hinnenkamp
“We don’t want to just be seen when something bad happens, and we show up with a gun,” Gallagher said. The Sheriff’s office would fund the position, which would provide oversight of the position and give the Sheriff’s office the ability to use the position in other areas as needed, such as filing in during short staffing time and prisoner transport. Gallagher anticipated that the same person would work on the juvenile cases for the department and work closely with social services. Gallagher requested that the school district provide office space, either at the high school or the elementary school, which would give the officer more of a base to spend more time in the schools and be more consistently available to students and staff. He said this position would begin on a trial basis, and both entities can work together to see how things work. “I think it’s a fantastic idea,” said Dave Hart, Langdon Area School Board president. “Let’s move forward.” “I think it’s important that we’ll communicate to the public that there have been concerns, and this will foster communication,” said Abby Borchardt, Langdon Area School Board member. “It’s good that kids will be seeing law enforcement in a positive manner.” Superintendent Daren Christianson plans to work on a joint powers agreement between the school district and the sheriff’s office. Gallagher ended the presentation by saying the school resource officer will attend nationally recognized school resource officer training. The next steps will be discussed at the next school board meeting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18 in the school board meeting room at Langdon Area High School.
Buses line up after school at Langdon Area Elementary on a snowy and cold Monday afternoon. Borderland Press photo.
With five schools in the Borderland and some located an hour apart, the school closure policies and behind the scenes procedures vary from district to district. All administrators agreed that the decisions they make are motivated by keeping students and staff as safe as possible, keeping in mind that they have both who live outside of city limits. Last week’s storm was particularly challenging due to the unique nature of the storm coming out of the east when usually storms here come from the west or north. The length of the storm was also challenging for school districts. Langdon Area Schools “For me, it was harder to trust the forecasts,” said Daren Christianson, superintendent for Langdon Area Schools. “It’s hard. You don’t want to put anyone in harm’s way. We want to educate kids, and you’re paying teachers to teach.” Christianson said area superintendents are on a group text and maintain close communication. On Friday, Christianson said he talked to Cava-
lier County Sheriff Greg Fetsch, which he often does during storm days; took the travel advisory into consideration; and then the two of them drove the county roads in different directions and compared notes. Ultimately, the call for district storm days is Christianson’s responsibility. When Christianson became superintendent six years ago, if the buses weren’t running, school would be canceled. On Friday, Dec. 16, Christianson tried something new - open the schools and keep the buses parked. The district sent a message to students and staff saying no buses would be running, and students should only come to school if they could do so safely. He and other administrators were pleasantly surprised seeing 68% attendance at the high school and 78% at the elementary school, though some teachers weren’t able to make it to town. “We actually got better attendance cont’d. on page A14
Borderland dives into deep freeze ahead of Christmas holiday apartment attached to J-Mart. All of the siblings have worked in the store at one point or another, and some still help, especially during the busy holiday season. The building is more than a business to them, it’s home.
Shoppers peruse through a wide array of sweets. Photo by Larry Stoke.
Tucked away in the tiny town of Pisek, N.D. is a treasure trove of Christmas goodies - over 10,000 pounds of goodies, to be exact. Throughout the year, J-Mart serves as Pisek’s local hometown shopping center with groceries, hygiene products, and home goods along with an attached flooring store. However, around mid-October every year, the store makes room in the middle of the shopping center for a tradition they are known all across the state of N.D. for - old-fashioned Christmas candy.
After last week’s storms, some bringing heavy wet snow with temps hovering near the freezing mark, the Borderland plunged into the deep freeze. High temperatures forecasted for the entire week were below zero through Saturday. Photo taken in Pembina County by Jeremy Ratliff.
Francis Jelinek and his brother, Dominic, are the owners of J-Mart, and Teresa, their sister, along with Bonnie, Francis’ wife, work at the store throughout the week. Originally constructed in 1904, J-Mart was bought by their parents in 1946 after the end of World War II and is still running strong as a family endeavor. With 11 brothers and sisters, Francis, Dominic, and Teresa grew up in the
When Francis was asked why the store hosts such an elaborate spread every year, his response had nothing to do with notoriety or money. Instead, he simply responded, “it’s tradition.” In 1946, the same year Francis’ parents bought the store, they also ordered 500 pounds of candy that Christmas. Since then, the order has grown 30 times its original size to 10,500 pounds this year and was up to 12,000 pounds in 2017. Francis stated that they had over 80 varieties of delicacies for customers to choose from this year. Covid impacted the amount of candy Francis and Dominic ordered in 2019, 2020, and 2021, but now they are back to growing their order. They would have had 11,000 pounds this year, but 500 pounds of their order fell through due to supply chain struggles. Since covid stuck, the candy now comes in little quarter pound baggies rather than being scooped out of their massive containers. They portioned out at least 19,000 bags this year, but a lot of people like the precaution for sanitary reasons, Francis reported. Regardless of the pounds, the store almost always sells out before Christmas, and if not by Christmas, the goodies are gone right after the New Year rolls in. Parents and grandparents love bringing the little ones to visit the store, and over the course of 76 years, those once little children have started bringing their own children for a visit, carrying on the tradition with their own families.
Whether folks are visiting to buy some old-fashioned candy that reminds them of their childhood for themselves or if they are purchasing some as the perfect stocking stuffer, J-Mart has created a generational tradition that is known throughout the state. Every year Francis reports that folks stop by the store from far and wide; he’s even had visitors from various states, and even Australia, who have stopped by while traveling to visit family for the holidays. Along with candy, the store also offers a variety of fresh cut specialty meats, cheeses, and pickled herring which are offered year round but are especially popular during this season. Chocolate covered cream drops, peanuts, raisins, and pretzels along with sponge candy, hard candies, brittle bars, and pecan clusters are just a few of the traditional favorites that have been ordered by the store and enjoyed by customers throughout the years - and hopefully for decades to come!
Pisek’s wide variety of old-fashioned candy. Photo by Larry Stokke.