Cardinals athlete breaks Larimore school record
The official newspaper of Cavalier County Theborderlandpress.com
In this issue:
Collaboration between organizations aim to entice Langdon Pool staff
After a student-friendly job fair hosted nearly three weeks ago, Kari Phillips with the Cavalier County Job Development Authority was hopeful that the event would produce applicants. However, that has not turned out to be the case. According to Shannon Duerr, also with the Cavalier County JDA, around 15 applications were picked up for the Langdon Pool at the job fair. “We had that many people pick up applications,” stated Duerr. “But no one is actually applying.”
Community: Celebrating our area’s kindergarten graduates! Pg. A8-A10
“A lot of them have taken on employment with other places because they are guaranteed a certain amount of hours and a certain rate,” said Daren Christianson, chair of community relations, at last Wednesday’s JDA Board Meeting. “And you can't blame any kid for saying when I work this many hours, I'm going to make this amount of money.” Two meetings were held last week and another at the city council meeting on Monday to discuss the issue. The outcome is good news all around, especially considering that neighboring towns, Walhalla and Cavalier, will not have their pools open this summer. The JDA proposed a $5,000 grant to aid in lifeguard recruitment and retention for 10 employees at
View from the Borderland: Munich students assist with town planters. Pg. B12
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Volume 3, Number 19
Safeguards proposed for lifeguards By Hilary Nowatzki The possibility of summer splashes were in jeopardy for Langdon; however, this past week has brought positive news. Initially, the date of May 15 had been proposed as a deadline to make a decision on whether to keep the pool open. That date was extended, and the Cavalier County JDA and Park Board have had a busy week.
News: Pembina County 4-H competition results have been announced. Pg. A2
Friday, May 17, 2024
their Wednesday meeting. The proposition was approved. “What it would look like is - you have $1,000, but they get $100 upon hire, $200 sometime in July, $200 at the end of the summer, and then an additional $500 at the end of the summer if you’ve worked 85 weekend hours,” Duerr would later state on Monday, May 13, at the City Commission meeting. On Thursday of last week, May 9, the JDA met with the Park Board at City Hall to discuss how the $5,000 JDA grant would be used. “We [JDA] approved this Wednesday and brought it to the Park Board on Thursday. They liked the idea of it so much, they matched it themselves,” stated Duerr at the City Hall meeting. The Park Board’s $5,000 match will be directed towards maintaining weekend hours. “Nobody was really biting, so they quit, but now that JDA did that [approved $5,000 grant] [the Park Board] was like, okay, well, we're going to sweeten the deal so the pool can be open on weekends,” explained Phillips. “They'll get $500, but they’ve got to work X amount of hours that are weekend hours.” In years prior, the hourly wage was set at $11 an hour for lifeguards. Although students typically still living at home would take these lower paid positions, $11 simply does not seem to be enough in a time where the entire country is plagued by inflation.
“In today's market where there's more jobs than there are people to do them, you're going to have to guarantee these kids so many hours and a competitive wage to get them to commit their time for the summer,” stated Christianson at last week’s JDA Board meeting. According to Jordan Braumberger, who serves as pool liaison for the Park Board, regular wages have now been raised to a more appealing $15 an hour. The pool is wanting to ensure swim lessons are offered for the summer, too. “We also want to put a value on teaching swimming lessons,” included Braumberger. “They'll get $17 an hour instead of $15 because we want to prioritize being able to have swimming lessons offered at the pool.” In the past, if the pool had to close due to weather or water chemical imbalances, lifeguards were not paid for hours lost. Now, they will be compensated $10 an hour for hours lost. The stipend for swimwear for lifeguards has also been raised from $60 per lifeguard to $100. Braunberger reported that several community members have approached him saying they would be happy to pay a slightly higher fee for their passes in order to keep the pool open. However, these rates have yet to be decided on. “A large part of that is because, while some community members may be able to pay an increased family pool
pass rate, we also know that some might not be able to do that, and if we are going to raise it, we're going to try to figure out a way where we can accommodate families that may not be able to afford a higher family pass,” Braunberger explained. “We're going to be working with Social Services on what we might be able to do with that.” The original deadline to decide if the pool will be open for the summer was May 15. That deadline has been extended to May 20 when the Park Board will meet to finalize all of their details. As usual, all training needed for lifeguard and swim lesson certification will be paid for by the Park Board. May 31-June 2 are training days in Langdon. Friday evening, May 31, and Saturday, June 1, is for certification/ recertification training. Sunday will host Water Safety Instructor (WSI) training for those who would like to teach swim lessons. Prospective lifeguards must be 15 years of age to be a lifeguard and 16 if they would like to teach swim lessons. Applications are available at Langdon Area High School Office and Langdon City Hall. Numerous individuals and organizations have worked hard to push these incentives to get folks working at the pool. With these new changes, residents can hope that the job title of ‘lifeguard’ can return to the coveted summer gig it once was for young people.
DRIVE YOUR TRACTOR TO SCHOOL DAY
To see more photos, turn to page A12! From L-R: Bennett Grohs, Kayden Schill, Maddux Busse, Rylan Peterson, Keaton Moline, Karter Lien, Chase Moen, James Domres, Tyler Kram, Ryan Henderson, Jayce Rime, and Karter Henderson. Photo by Janet Schill.
Walhalla Girl Scouts partner with Space Force Troop members volunteer on base to earn ‘Trash the Trash’ patches By Rebecca Davis On Saturday, May 11 Girl Scout Troop 20540 from Walhalla partnered with the Cavalier Space Force Station to help “trash the trash.” The Space Force Station held a clean up day on base and invited the Walhalla Troop to join in on the effort. Those participating broke off into separate groups after the Mother's Day Brunch put on by the 10th Space Warning Squadron UBC to cover the most ground.
the Girl Scouts to protect our environment and inspire the next set of leaders,” stated Stobie. ‘Trash the Trash’ is a patch program developed by the Girl Scouts - Dakota Horizons Council serving North Dakota, South Dakota and parts of Western Minnesota in an effort to educate why trash pollution is a problem and how to prevent it.
Commander Michael Stobie plays a special role; not only is he Commander of the 10th Space Warning Squadron, but he is a Girl Scout dad. “As the Commander of Cavalier Space Force Station, I am thrilled to see our Airmen and Guardians joining forces with
From left-right: Codie (Junior), Skylie (Junior), Amelia (Cadette), Myah (Daisy) and Commander Michael Stobie. Photo courtesy of Katie Stobie.
As part of the patch, girls were required to spend at least two hours picking up trash and recyclables,
along with properly disposing of them, expanding on the “leave no trace” principle which Girl Scouts practice wherever they go.
“Together, we’re not just cleaning up trash; we’re shaping a brighter future for space exploration and leadership,” Stobie emphasized. Troop 20540 currently engages girls from the Cavalier Space Force Station and North Border Walhalla from kindergarten to 6th grade. Girl Scouts Amelia Ripple and Codie Stobie both agreed that it was very rewarding seeing the immediate results of their clean up efforts. “I learned that even big organizations
need a helping hand sometimes,” said Ripple when asked about her experience. “I joined Girl Scouts because I was always told to try new things.” Ripple is one of the founding members of the troop, which started just two years ago. She is also the troop’s eldest member. Katie Stobie, volunteer and troop co-leader, said she enjoys spending time with the girls at meetings and watching them learn and grow. If anyone has a special skill, hobby, or service opportunity that you would like to share with the troop, the girls have asked that you reach out to see how you could partner together with them in the future.