Hazelton, ND

It’s fitting that Hazelton’s newest business, Activities for Learning, Inc. (AFL) held Open House in February. It’s heart month - and the heart of the program, developed by founder Dr. Joan A. Cotter of Minnesota, comes from her heart - a desire to give youngsters the right start in education - and so it is that her RightStart Mathematics program came to be.
Dr. Cotter developed the program because a family member was having difficulty with math. Her keen interest in making learning easier led her to tutoring children with learning problems and teaching junior high math. Her research led her to developing a math program which includes the use of the ALAbacus and card games. She started a Montessori school for children ages 3-6 years old; she also studied the Suzuki method and taught violin and piano to young children. Dr. Cotter is presently developing programs for grades 5-7 which will take them through math and prepare them for algebra.
AFL publishes classroom materials for a math curriculum developed for home schooling grades K-4. Word of its success has spread and now 70% of all orders go to home schoolers; 30% goes to private, charter, and public schools either as full curriculum, a supplement, for tutoring or for Title I. The program is used in several North Dakota communities including Hazelton. A rural low income community in Texas received a grant for the RightStart program. Since it began, those students’ math scores have nearly doubled.
The program is sold worldwide and is even used at a school for the deaf in Norway.
The Hazelton AFL facility covers 5,760 square feet but phase 2, 3, and 4 are already planned for future expansion. AFL provides jobs for 10 full-time employees as well as customer service representatives. It is looking for professionals to help with sales, support, and development.
We’re excited about this new business that is producing learning tools for youngsters worldwide as well as employment opportunities for our community.

Well, if you were in Hazelton this week, you would understand “HMB GBB” means “Hazelton Moffit Braddock Girls Basketball”. So now I am adding another ‘B’ - because this team is the ”BEST”!

 The Lady Tigers, and the greater share of our local population, are in Minot at the State B Girls Basketball Tournament. 

The HMB Lady Tigers  won their first game played today against Lakota (55 to 52).  GO Tigers!

Once again our communities work together. What a grand group of people live and work here.  We are privileged to have the opportunity to promote the HMB school programs and sports activities. I will elaborate in another blog soon.  

The HMB adluts and students used their talents on Sunday, making signs, planning cheers and spirit activities. The events began by celebrating Wednesday with a Pep Rally……what a great time! These activities - encouraged EVERYONE!  And everyone - players and citizens are excited!

The HMB Girls Basketball Bus was escorted out of town Wednesday, February 27th, with all the bells, whistles, sirens and horns available.  Leading the procession were Fire Trucks, the Sheriff, and a  parade of cars. They toured the whole town before the bus left for Minot! 

As you enter Hazelton,  an unusual ’sign’ greets us at the intersection of Highway 83 & 34.  Appearing quite unexpectedly, this tall Gravity Designed Grain Bin sports a huge black and white sign reading “How bad to you want it, HMB?”  The appearance of this TALL message and all the other signs in our community boosted the HMB spirit to a monumental high! 

The answer to this question….. Everyone WANTS IT!  And itstarted today with our first win at ’state’. Tomorrow, a date hard to forget,  February 29, will be our next step and next memory.  Yes, tomorrow, Friday-February 29, at 6:30 PM HMB will play Bottineau at the MSU Dome.

The girls have attracted a numerous amount of fans, and they traveled t Minot this week. A request on a prominent sign  says it all, “Will the Last One Leaving Town, Please Turn off the Lights!”  Well, I am one of the few that stayed behind, but Saturday night - as it is said, “I”ll leave the light on for you”   :-)

Sunday, March 2nd at 6:00 PM there is a Welcome Home Reception for the team.  A Potluck Supper is being held at the HMB Cafeteria.  EVERYONE is Welcome to attend and bring a dish to share.  Let’s celebrate!   Here’s the Schedule:

Friday 29th, 6:30 PM- Game HMB vs. Bottineau: Cheer for HMB at the MSU Dome -or if you can’t attend, you can view the game on Channel 5/KFYR-TV

Saturday, March 1  @ 6:00 PM & 8:00 PM - Championship Games

Sunday, March 2 @6:00 Pot Luch Reception at HMB.

GO Lady Tigers!!!

I’ve never been a homecoming queen (I don’t recall ever wanting to be); and, no, I’ve never been on a track team (unless you can call coming in last in foot races at the County Play Day event (it seems like a hundred years ago) as being on the track team. But you might say I’m a daydream believer and I’m not too bad at jumping hurdles.
What brought that thought to mind? It came to me in between bouts of wakefulness and sleeping - in the middle of the night. And so it is that, once more, I will try to master this blogging thing because I want to tell the world (that’s www. as in world wide web) that we live in “one of” the most progressive thinking and friendliest small town communities in the ___________(county, state, country) It’s multiple choice. You fill in the blank. You notice I emphasized “one of” lest someone be offended.
Hazelton’s story is much the same as most other small towns in our area. It grew from a pioneer town to a small city of nearly 600 people in the late 1940s and early 1950s. And then the alarm went off (it seemed like overnight - it was actually 40 years later). We woke up and our population was down to 240.
What a wake up call! Hey, it does take some people a while to rub the sleep from their eyes. We began to realize that we needed to do something to save our community. We dug in our heels and put on our thinking caps. Community members rallied. And guess what? Slowly, but surely we are making strides.
Careful planning and determination to get the job done have made the following possible:
*A remodeled elementary and new high school (I might say second to none for a community our size)
*A new mall
*Several new and remodeled businesses
*Several new homes - and last, but certainly not least -
*Several wonderful new families have moved into the Hazelton community
Change doesn’t come without struggles and even setbacks but if you want to be successful, you have to look ahead - not back. If you come to a roadblock, you build another road. You may not always agree on which path to take; the important thing is you work it out together.
We have learned a lot by trial and error. We also learned a lot when we became involved in the Horizons program nearly two years ago.
So here we are! Looking ahead and looking for people interested in moving to Hazelton and owning a business in our friendly community.
Our new mall has lots of space for manufacturing and retail; the grocery store and Coffee Shop can be leased; and the welcome mat is out for any families, couples, or individuals who want to be part of a friendly hometown.
Call 701-782-4368 for more information.
And one more thing - I’m so excited! I just mastered my first blog.