The Borderland Press V3, N18, Friday, May 10

Page 1

Grad Tab inside congratulations,

Class of

2024

The official newspaper of Cavalier County Theborderlandpress.com

In this issue:

Friday, May 10, 2024

Volume 3, Number 18

T WO AR E A E DU CAT O R S H O N O R E D Teachers of the Year named for Cavalier, Pembina Counties By Hilary Nowatzki

Recently, the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) released the 2024 North Dakota County Teachers of the Year results. A total of 356 educators were nominated from all over the state. According to NDDPI, this year is the first on record that all 53 counties had nominations submitted. In total, there were 496 nominations for the 356 teachers. Agriculture: Goat browsing and buckthorn management webinar set Pg. A3

For Cavalier County, Lane Lindseth, music teacher and band director at Langdon Area Schools, was awarded the honor. “He's been a fantastic addition to our teaching staff and our community,” said Daren Christianson, Langdon Area Schools superintendent. “He's well loved throughout the whole county, so that's a great thing, and he does

a great job with our kids, and every honor he gets is well deserved.” Lindseth is only wrapping up his second year of teaching since graduating from college. Even at a young age, he is already making an impact on students in his classrooms. “It is such an honor to have been selected as Cavalier County Teacher of the Year,” said Lindseth. “I am so fortunate to be able to live my dream as a band director each and every day. My profound thanks to my family, friends, teachers, colleagues, and students for their endless support.” In Pembina County, Heather Lafferty, behavioral strategist with North Border School District, was awarded as Teacher of the Year.

Lane Lindseth

Heather Lafferty

“I am incredibly honored to receive this award,” said Lafferty. “To whoever nominated me, thank you. The recognition of my service is humbling. I am grateful for the students and teachers over the years who have been and are

in my life.”

The blading process is utilized to flatten out washboard roads, fill potholes, and bring gravel, which has been pushed to the edges of the road back to the center of the road.

“Frost boil is when a bunch of moisture will get down underneath the road, and then in the wintertime that freezes and it heaps. It's just a big frozen chunk of dirt under there,” Romfo said. “It starts moving your road up and down because ice expands, and then when it melts, it settles again.”

In September, a State Teacher of the Year will be chosen from the county level Teachers of the Year.

Spring showers bring blading season By Hilary Nowatzki Community: A local student discusses disability discrimination. Pg. A6

Region: Pembina County 4-H hosts Communication Arts Contest. Pg. A10

May 10

65/41

May 11

71/50

May 12

66/40

April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, as the old saying goes. However, for the Cavalier County Road Supervisor’s Office, April (and May) showers bring spring blading season for numerous gravel county roads.

blade men bring it back in and keep the road shaped up,” said Romfo. “If not, you'd end up with a big salad bowl, and it would fill up with water, and you wouldn’t have a road anymore.”

“Spring is the big blading season for the simple reason that the grass hasn't started growing yet on the sides,” said Sheldon Romfo, road foreman. “We do what we call ‘pull our shoulders in,’ so we go out there where your snow plows have probably set a lot of gravel [on the sides of the road].”

The county has seen its fair share of rain these past two weeks. According to Romfo, this is good and bad news. The excess water runoff means the roads look a bit worse after the continual downpours, since many roads have already been bladed this season, but the precipitation also lends better conditions for more blading to be done.

Although main roads and highways across the county are paved, farmers and residents alike rely on gravel roads to get to and from home or the farm. At the Cavalier County Commission Meeting on Tuesday, May 7, Romfo explained why blading is so important. “Traffic pounds the roads out, and the

“If it stays too dry, you don't do any good by blading them because you just powder up the gravel that is there. Then, you can't cut because it's too hard, and it burns up your cutting edges,” explained Romfo. “So the rain helps you do a nicer job of balding. It softens up the road a little bit, so you can cut the washboards and potholes out.”

Although gravel is “just rocks” to some, it still costs the county and taxpayers money to buy, import, and place more. If the excess from the shoulders is not pushed back to the center of the road, the gravel will inevitably end up in the ditches. “[Rain] affects them a lot. If you got low spots, it holds the water that makes the roads spongy, and next winter, you'll have frost boils,” stated Romfo. “That's why we keep the ‘crown’ on the road. The middle is higher than the sides, and the water can run off just like a roof.” “Frost boils” are another thing that blading helps combat. Romfo explained.

After the recent downpours, roads will be bladed once again. Romfo said they will start with county roads. Afterwards, he expects townships to begin calling to be put on the blading list. If residents live in an area where they feel their gravel roads could use a bit of help, Romfo encourages them to reach out to one of their three township supervisors. The supervisor will then contact the county offices to have a road or roads put on the list. “Hopefully [we can] utilize a lot of that gravel that's all out during the winter,” said Romfo.

ARBOR DAY OBSERVED BY STUDENTS; COMMUNITY MEMBER HONORED By Hilary Nowatzki

On May 3, students gathered at Langdon Area Elementary School to celebrate Arbor Day with students from St. Alphonsus joining them. The annual occasion is an opportunity to honor nature by planting a tree - a simple gesture to help and appreciate mother nature. A program was hosted at the school to learn about Arbor Day and its significance. The third grade class per-

RoxAnne Hoffarth stands with Tom Beauchamp while holding his Arbor Day award. Photo by Larry Stokke.

formed a set from “The Lorax” in front of their peers. Afterwards, a special community member was honored with a tree dedication for their dedication to the community and local parks. “I think our Arbor Day celebration went really well. Today, we had a very good turnout. I think it's always amazing,” said RoxAnne Hoffarth, an organizer of the event. “I think the whole

Students and parents gathered for the annual Arbor Day performance. Photo by Larry Stokke.

presentation went very well. Tom Beauchamp was our tree recipient, and it was very well deserved. Of the several years he has put on with the park board, he's gotten grant dollars and donations to put up the concession stands and all the things that are up in the park for the baseball board, the park board,” said Hoffarth. “And not only that, just what he does for the city of Langdon and our community working for the city. He's put in so

many years.” This is Langdon’s 39th year as a Tree City U.S.A. Hoffarth said she is proud of the achievement and for the presence and beautification of local parks through trees. She also expressed gratitude to Beauchamp for his years of dedication and service. Jessica Tull contributed to this story.

Elementary school students during their performance of The Lorax as a part of the Arbor Day ceremony. Photo by Larry Stokke.


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