April 16, 2009 - Thursday

CONGRATULATIONS: Scott Robideaux. On April 9th Scott reached a Tae
Kwon Do milestone and received his fifth degree black belt at the
Grafton Armory.
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The current temperature is 50 degrees.
We have received .42 inches of rain since last Sunday, according to the
Gazette's unofficial rain gauge. Although rain is in the forecast it is
not expected to have a significant effect on our flood conditions.
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"Profanity makes ignorance audible."
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L O C A L news & stuff,.. mostly stuff.
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The latest word from Grafton Mayor Todd Burianek. >>>>
Subject: Flood Update 4/15/09
Currently the river is at 15.66 feet as of 9:30 pm with a new projected
crest of 16 feet at 1:00 am tomorrow, April 16th.
The water just keeps coming and now I hear a forecast for some rain
so let's pray the dikes hold.
Last night, City Crews along with Gowan Construction and Kilmer
Excavating sealed a spot where we had sandbagged a culvert west of Fair
Oaks behind Jack Mihelich's place. The water forced the sandbags out of
the culvert and workers secured it by adding clay to the area. Last time
I checked at about 3:00 they were still working on it.
Otherwise, we are VERY thankful for the dike walkers who have
agreed to do the good work for our community. That leak was discovered
by dike walkers and they will be vital as we crest tonight with the
water expected to be at these very high levels for the next 24 hours.
Just a reminder that the record for the Park River at Grafton is 16.5
feet in 1950 with the river hitting 16 feet in 1979 and 2004. We look to
be heading into that territory once again.
I also note that the NWS (National Weather Service) deserves LOTS
OF CREDIT for their prognosticating skills. Frankly, they were right in
the ballpark when they set the crest at 15.5-16 feet last week.
Thankfully, we took them seriously and have built our dikes to record
levels. Hopefully they will hold, the water will get out of here fast
and we can return to normal soon.
Todd Burianek <<<<<
Thanks a million for caring and sharing Todd. Grafton residents should
be reminded that our Mayor and his management team must make many of the
same kinds of difficult decisions that the Mayors of major cities
make........ for a mere fraction of the salary.
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The thought of neighborhood grocery stores are still jogging memories.
Sandy wrote. >>> I enjoyed reading about the neighborhood grocery
stores. The East Side Grocery was a favorite hangout for all of us east
side kids. We bought hundreds of popsicles from Al and Lux Johnson
throughout the years. Lux was a fixture in that store and we all loved
her. I thank the Johnsons for those wonderful memories... Sandy Stark
Wallner, Bismarck............... <<<< Thanks a million for caring and
sharing Sandy. I remember Lux displaying her frustration's with us as we
would dump a bag of Planters salted peanuts into a bottle of Pepsi.
Sometimes, not much would happen. Unfortunately, sometimes, the Pepsi
would foam up and go all over the grocery store floor.
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Speaking of neighborhood grocery stores. Chris shared the following
thoughts on Simonsons Neighborhood Store. >>>>
Hi Gary:
Just wanted to mention how fine of a job Simonson's gas station is
doing remodelling the old Jet Station into our new Subway. From the
ground up it is a top notch job as far as I can see. It seems to me
there are some around who don't think the way I do, but to me it says a
lot about the owners of Simonson's to be making such a hefty investment
in our little town without asking for any economic development money
from the city, It seems to strike my memory that the last person who
came to town with big plans and ideas (Al Taylor) and didn't ask for any
taxpayer, economic development money was touted as a hero, could walk on
water, could do no wrong in some peoples eyes. But in the end it was all
a lot of fertilizer and a flash in the pan. So I think the same courtesy
should be extended to Archie Simonson, for he is an existing Grafton
businessman and in my view he is betting a lot of his chips on the
support of Grafton. Can't wait to have a meatball foot long from our new
Subway.
Chris Thompson <<<<
Thanks a million for caring and sharing Chris. I have often commented,
in the Gazette, how wonderful that corner will look when completed. I
believe I have also stated my personal appreciation for the significant
investment Simonsons are making in that property and in the Grafton
community.
However, I must take issue with Simonsons not getting anything from the
city. Remember, they were "given" the alley right of way between two of
the most valuable pieces of business real estate in town. And, I would
be somewhat remiss if I didn't mention their apparent significant lack
of the use of local contractors and materials.
With regard to the Allen Taylor debacle. Although it is true that the
Taylor era will go down as one of Graftons more colorful events. It is
also true that his organization spent a substantial amount of money at
various business establishments in town on such things as material,
equipment and labor. It could also be said, that for good bad or
indifferent the Taylor fiasco left much of the property they "diddled"
with in much better condition than they found it.
At any rate, I am very pleased with our new Simonsons Neighborhood
Store. I believe most folks are. I wish them the very best in their new
Grafton venture, I believe most folks do.
BECAUSE, if they are successful, our entire community will be
successful. There will be new people driving down Grafton streets doing
business in Grafton stores that would not have happened without
Simonson's. Or so it seems to me.
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Please consider buying a May Calendar Draw Legion Baseball ticket. The
tickets are only $20 each. ~ Vic & Dorothy, Ben, Wally, Susan,
Dianne, Jerry and Bill's tickets will all be going into the barrel for
the May 2009 Calendar Drawing. ~ If you have already purchased a
ticket. Thank you very much. If you haven't, let me know and I will set
one aside for you. Thank you for your support.
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GOTTA GO WORK ON MY DASH
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"Life is to short for long answers."