Some of you may remember the historic flood from last year, some of you may not. I went through it first hand, by getting out of school to fill sandbags and by building a sandbag dike around my entire house. It was an extremely stressful time with the river exceeding its predictions everyday. We were never quite sure how bad it was going to turn out. As you all may know, it turned out bad. With all the trouble Valley City and surrounding communities went through in 2009, everyone was hoping for a better 2010.
The first flood predictions started out terrible. Many were suspecting another flood like the one we had just gone through. Luckily, Valley City was fortunate enough to go through nothing in comparison to the water we saw last year. The latest crest for the Sheyenne River, predicted by the National Weather Service, was 13.7 feet on March 25th, safely below the 15 food flood stage. This is not even comparable to the 20.58 foot crest last year. Fargo also fell short of the record that 2009 brought. The Red River crested at a historic 40.84 feet on March 28, 2009, exactly one year ago today. Today, the Red stands at 34.07 feet. It is well over an 18 foot flood stage, but easily manageable.
Sadly, other communities were not as fortunate as Valley City and Fargo were. Harwood, North Dakota is still experiencing extremely high water, a level of 891.26 on Monday. Interstate 29, near Harwood, has head to head traffic because of the overland flooding that the south bound lane closed. One of the few ways in and out of nearby Harwood is by boat. Unfortunately, a resident of Lake Shure uses her boat as the only way to get in and out of her home.
Although all of the crest predictions get many community members in a tizzy, no one could have stayed afloat without the help of the local papers, radio stations and television channels. They always had the most recent river levels, how to prepare, and what exactly to suspect. The media was and still is so very important as an information center in emergencies, like some of us experienced in 2009 and some that are experiencing it now. I was very thankful for the constant news, mostly bad news, but always informative news that the media brought us in such hard times.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Old Favorite
The month of March brings many good things to North Dakota. The warmth of the coming spring weather, fresh air, spring break, and the North Dakota Winter Show (NDWS) are just a few to mention. This was the 73rd Annual NDWS. The Winter Show is a very special time to me. I haven't missed one in my 18 years of life. Being raised on a farm, I love animals. Seeing all the pretty horses at the rodeo and all the cute creatures at the petting zoo makes the Winter Show unlike anything else.
Monday night was the kickoff to the 73rd NDWS. It started off with the Chili cook-off and the always entertaining Community Olympics. Tuesday brought the first full day of the Winter Show which included the World's Largest Crop Show and the Timberworks Lumberjack Show. Wednesday was the tractor and pickup pull day, which is always a crowd favorite. Pony pulls, antique show, and trick riding featuring the Cowgirl Chicks was the schedule for Thursday. Friday was the start to a big weekend at the NDWS. This included 4-H and FFA crop judging, helicopter rides, petting zoo and the biggest event of the week, the Emerson Drive concert. Saturday was a full day with craft show, indoor yard sale, and two rodeos. Sunday was the final day of the 73rd annual NDWS. It was started by a junior cattle show and included the third and final rodeo.
I was very pleased with the amount of media coverage the Winter Show got. It is one of the best events in Valley City, so I was glad there was a good turnout. I saw many commercials for it on the local television channels, the radio always had a lot of advertisement for the events, and they even played Emerson Drive songs to get people excited for the concert. Also, the Times-Record had many articles featured updates on the Winter Show and the events to come.
The week of the Winter Show is always a full and hectic week. It usually contains long days of walking, standing and a lot of eating. I am always sad when the week ends, but it just reminds me that the beautiful spring weather is soon to come. The North Dakota Winter Show is unlike any other event you would ever see in any other state. It is an old favorite of mine, and I wouldn't ever miss it for the world.
Monday night was the kickoff to the 73rd NDWS. It started off with the Chili cook-off and the always entertaining Community Olympics. Tuesday brought the first full day of the Winter Show which included the World's Largest Crop Show and the Timberworks Lumberjack Show. Wednesday was the tractor and pickup pull day, which is always a crowd favorite. Pony pulls, antique show, and trick riding featuring the Cowgirl Chicks was the schedule for Thursday. Friday was the start to a big weekend at the NDWS. This included 4-H and FFA crop judging, helicopter rides, petting zoo and the biggest event of the week, the Emerson Drive concert. Saturday was a full day with craft show, indoor yard sale, and two rodeos. Sunday was the final day of the 73rd annual NDWS. It was started by a junior cattle show and included the third and final rodeo.
I was very pleased with the amount of media coverage the Winter Show got. It is one of the best events in Valley City, so I was glad there was a good turnout. I saw many commercials for it on the local television channels, the radio always had a lot of advertisement for the events, and they even played Emerson Drive songs to get people excited for the concert. Also, the Times-Record had many articles featured updates on the Winter Show and the events to come.
The week of the Winter Show is always a full and hectic week. It usually contains long days of walking, standing and a lot of eating. I am always sad when the week ends, but it just reminds me that the beautiful spring weather is soon to come. The North Dakota Winter Show is unlike any other event you would ever see in any other state. It is an old favorite of mine, and I wouldn't ever miss it for the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
