Hazelton, ND

A day filled with food fun and fellowship  was held on June 9 for the community.

The Hazelton Seniors provided the food and the fun.. We had rolls, coffee  & juice in the morning, soup ,sandwich,dessert and coffee at noon and pie and coffee, We had a free will offering basket In the afternoon we had  card making (rubber stamp-in/ punch card) and card playing. The seniors are pleased with the more than expected turn out and may possibly have another day, due to the support of the community.

The 45th Annual Hazelton Community Day is being held Saturday, June 21st. Yearly sponsored by the Hazelton Lions Club, this day is a favorite for all. 

Here is the schedule for the day. And also, below you will find the additional info regarding the Lawn Mower Poker Run on this day. 

Ya’All Come!  We’d love to see you and show you a good time.

10:00 AM - Parade   Entries Contact Pat Shea 782-4160  -or- Dave Kalberer 782-4384

 Kiddy Races - Main Street - Following the Parade          

11:30 AM ~ Lions Club Meal - served at the park by Hazelton Lions Club (small charge)          

11:30 AM ~ Hot Dogs/Root Beer Floats to fund HMB Student National Close Up Trip to Washington DC in Spring 2009 and also,

HMB’s Famous POP CORN BALLS - sold by HMB Dance Team all day or until gone.

 1:00 PM ~ Horseshoe Tournament Contact Irene Brindle 782-6853 - or- Dennis Kalberer  782-6237 to participate.  

2:00 PM Lawn Mower Poker Run Sponsored by HMB Dollars for Scholars. Starts at the Park Walk, push, run, ride - your choice of mobility.(legs, strollers, scooters, bikes, mowers, etc) Sign up ahead. Entry fee & cash prises. Contact: Lisa Weiser 782-4152 or Gale Nicholson 387-4320 

4:00 PM ~ Trap Shoot - Gun Range Contact: Tim Renz 782-4210              

 9:00 PM ~ Dance - Main Street Music by E-Z Street

It is an all day afair, and loads of fun! A great Family Experience.  See you in Hazelton.    

  From Interstate 94, exit at Sterling ND and proceed sounth on Hwy 83.   A nice drive for a nice family day. Don’t know how to find us?  Check the mapquest below and zoom in or out as needed. 

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/Hazelton+Park:%5B400-498%5D+Cottage+St+Hazelton+ND+58544/#a/search/l::[400-498]+Cottage+St:Hazelton:ND:58544:US:46.48275:-100.27585:street:/m::15:46.48275:-100.27585:0::/so:Hazelton+Park:::d::25:::::/e

Yep, today is a sunny day! The grass is stretching and growing after the past few days of wonderful rain. I first looked up to see if there were more rain clouds approaching, but only the friendly kind were in view.

Yep! North Dakota is one of the best places to view the wonders of nature.  Some sights are at your feet, on the horizon or skyward. 

On my way home from Bismarck yesterday, about 7:00 PM, there IT was - a rainbow!  And one of the most beautiful I had seen for awhile.  It was vibrant, sharp and complete. 

 Did you know that rainbows on the North Dakota prairie can be seen in their entirety?  Not often hidden by trees, and definitely not by mountains.  And some rainbows come in doubles!  North Dakota prairie rainbows are often seen in full arch, end to end. 

Yesterday’s rainbow was exceptionally wide and vibrant.  I could see distinctly the red, yellow, green and blue/violet. The violet was very distinguishable. I did not recognize the exact northern beginning of this rainbow, but I know where the south side of the arch ended!  Yes, it ended just beyond the Braddock turnoff and on top of the Schiermeister hill.  And it was wondrous. This rainbow was not just ‘another rainbow’.  It was a reminder of  God’s covenant. 

Did you know that God keeps his promises/covenants?  He created the rainbow to remind us of His kept promises.  The first rainbow as recorded the Bible.  After the Noah’s Ark landed on dry ground, as recorded in Genesis 9: 8-18. 

Those of you that have not studied the Bible should understand this book is a very interesting, educational record known as ’the Word of God’.  When you begin reading, if you will find it somewhat difficult, find a version that you can more easily understand. The Bible has been translated from the King James Version to verious languages and versions, making it easier to read.  You can find the Bible on the internet, and various versions available to help you.  Check out this web page for assistance. www.christiananswers.net/bible

Reference to world history or backgrounds of the different cultural aspects of the mid-east, will help you understand the Bible better. Or join a Bible Study group or church to help.  Those that read it with an open mind and with an open heart will miraculously find the revealed plan of God for mankind in it’s words.

 One of the Bible’s accounts is of Noah and the Ark - which ends with the covenant of promise given with the sign and creation of the rainbow.  Check it out Genesis 9 at:  http://christiananswers.net/bible/gen9

Even today, there is a continued fascination of Noah’s Ark.  Yes, there was an ark, and it has been sighted in the past years.  The internet will help you find its mysteries.  But be very careful, if you explore the existence of Noah’s Ark and the rainbow, you might have a mind and life altering experience.  Check out the many web pages regarding “Noah’s Ark & Expeditions”.  Start with this one, for some background reading. http://www.parentcompany.com/search_for_noahs_ark/sfna1.htm

 In the meantime,  Look up and Go to Church! You will find a local church VERY close to you. Did you know that Hazelton ND has a church waiting for you to attend. Check out this page for further information on our community and our churches. http://www.hazeltonnorthdakota.com/default.asp

Also, check out the beauties of North Dakota by visiting and exploring our state.  Hopefully you will see a glorious rainbow or even a double rainbow! 

Oh, Give thanks unto the Lord
For He is GOOD!!!
And His mercy endures - FOREVER!!!!

To paraphrase - I got up this morning and what did I see…
Oh, YES! The sidewalk is wet. The ground is wet. The leaves on the trees are wet. Not with dew but with beautiful, beautiful rain.

Isn’t that wonderful??? We’ve heard it before this spring. The sounds of thunder in the night. We even see a few raindrops coming down, all a promise that we are not forgotten. But it always seemed as though it was just a reminder that, yes, it still can rain.

My husband came running in with the rain gauge this morning. Look at this, he said. What does it show? Oh, YES, YES, YES…1.30 inches of the beautiful wet stuff.

Our concerns are about the many different forms of poverty within our community and being leaders and doing something about it. Have we acquired the knowledge and awareness to do something about it? Do we have the skills to mobilize and do something? Are we taking action and making changes? All in good time, we think.
But one thing we can’t do is control the weather and the effects it has on us as individuals, families, communities. Only One Person can do that.

Praise the Lord. He always remembers us. Do we always remember Him!!??

LAWN MOWER POKER RUN

Date: 6/21/2008
Location: HAZELTON

HMB Area Dollars for Scholars will host a Lawn Mower Poker Run at Hazelton Community Days on Saturday, June 21st. This “Poker Run” will not be limited to lawn mowers. Check back for more details.

The Horizons program has forced us to take steps we probably would not have taken. We had to come up with a strategy to improve our community. Will it work? Yes! Will it work as we had first anticipated? Probably not, but we are open to a change in strategy. If we were not, we would be doomed to failure.
Our slogan is this: Our Past is, of course, behind us. Our Present demonstrates that we have a Vision for our Future.
After going through the original Horizons program and then the LeadershipPlenty program, the following needs for Hazelton were assessed: We needed to work on
economic development, population growth, more housing, create a housing restoration project, create jobs, promote recreational economic development, concentrate on youth and the city park, and distribute welcome baskets to new members in the community on a timely basis.
Hazelton Development Corporation members were involved in the Horizons program. Horizons emphasized to them that they must follow up on what they already knew - there was much to be done.
One of the first steps towards economic development is to find clients occupy the new Prairie Mall. Tammy’s Beauty Salon and a brand new business, Shear Brilliance Salon and Day Spa, occupy one area of the mall. The following spaces are still available: grocery store-4,000 sq. ft.; manufacturing or retail-6600 sq. ft.; coffee shop-1,047 sq. ft. Yearly rent is $4.50 sq. ft. Call 782-4368 for details.
As fuel prices skyrocket, the need for a local grocery store becomes greater. HDC is contacting possible tenants for the grocery and for the remainder of the mall and is hopeful of finding an occupant soon.
The HDC, businesses, and the newspaper are encouraging residents to patronize local businesses while businesses are encouraged to advertise in their local paper so all may know what they have to offer.
We are encouraging new businesses to locate in Hazelton by advertising through the media and on billboards.
Recruiting new families to the city and area, as well as students to our school is done by promoting our school’s many assets and our small town family environment. The school board, city commission, HDC, parents, students, and other community members are all involved. To date, HMB has been fortunate to be able to maintain enrollment while many neighboring schools find their enrollment decreasing.
We are in the process of conducting a housing survey. The need for new housing is great and we hope to find a developer to build more homes. There is a definite need. Housing restoration is also in progress. An older home, which was moved into Hazelton, is being restored, and will be available soon, already has an inviting look about it. It seems to be saying ‘come, sit for a spell on my front porch and watch the world go by.’
Our younger families have expressed an interest in rebuilding the tennis court in the park and looking into the possibility of Frisbee Golf. Funds are being raised to start that process.
We delivered Welcome Baskets to 12 new families this past year. Two more baskets will be delivered soon.
It is frustrating when the wheels move so slowly but what a joy it is to see them moving forward instead of backward.
WE HAVE A VISION! WE WILL SURVIVE!

“To be or not to be; that was the question.”
The Hazelton ‘Young At Hearters,’ (Hey, that’s Senior Citizens to you young whipper-snappers) came to a crossroads. Which path to take? Dissolve the organization - or make some drastic changes?
The answer? You guessed right! You have to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.
And that’s what they did. Elections were supposed to be held in December. No one wanted the ‘job’ and besides, there were never enough present to hold an election. But when push comes to shove, someone steps up. It was time for a change. Time for action. A letter went out stating that, like Emeril, the Hazelton Seniors Organization had decided to ‘Kick it up a Notch.’
The message was “We hope to bring new life - and ideas - back into our organization by inviting new members and bringing back and/or adding new activities.” The recipients were invited to join in and bring their friends.
Age is not a requirement, they were told.
So what happened? New people showed up at the May meeting. Elections were held. There was a speaker and plans were made for future activities.
The first big event will be held Monday, June 9. The public is invited to the Coffee Shop in the mall. The coffee pot will be on at 9:00 a.m. Soup, sandwiches and dessert will be served over the lunch hour. There will be cards and other games in the afternoon. A craft class by an excellent craftsperson will be held for anyone interested.
This promises to be the beginning of some fun activities for the Young and the Young at Heart. Everyone is invited.
The regular meeting for the group is the first Friday of each month at 2 p.m. Presently they are meeting at Big Joe’s Restaurant and Lounge.

A bit of history and looking ahead:
The past: We (actually meaning our school district) started as one. If memory serves correctly, Hazelton school district was once identified as Williamsport School District #6. When our neighboring Moffit School closed due to declining enrollment, the Hazelton-Moffit School District was formed. Later, the Braddock School also closed. A portion of that district was added to H-M School District and it became Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock - or as we prefer to call it - H-M-B.
With the end of any era -in this case, the Moffit and Braddock school districts - is a deep feeling of loss and a great deal of sadness. Those feelings all have to be worked through. Not always easy but always necessary.
Jump ahead to the present. Our individual communities are still here. We take pride in what we have. We all keep working to make each of our communities better but something has happened through the years. Where once we were three separate communities - now we are one in many ways, all because of reorganizing school districts.
What brings all this to mind? Our June issue of the Hazelton Newsletter (our own monthly “newspaper” which had its beginning in 1991) was mailed out this week. The paper is mailed free of charge to all H-M-B postal patrons. This month we put out a special edition and also mailed it to postal patrons in Sterling/Mckenzie, Driscoll and Menoken. The purpose of the paper from the beginning was to promote not only the Hazelton community and businesses but also those of Moffit and Braddock - what we prefer to call our tri-community.
Let me explain why we have this special feeling about H-M-B (the communities, not just the school). We have expanded our horizons by getting to know the people better - yes, because of the school - and as we have become better acquainted, there is a closer bond. Now we don’t all go our separate ways. We celebrated each town’s Centennials. We’re excited about Braddock’s 125th celebration in 2009; we’re excited about Moffit’s plans to upgrade their Community Center and renovate their ball diamond; we’re excited about the possibility of reopening the Hazelton grocery store and finding occupants for our Prairie Mall.
We have become more aware of what it takes to keep our tri-communities alive by incorporating what we have; and we are learning that we must take action to make changes that will improve all of our lives.
If we sit back and wait for something to happen, it definitely will. It already has. I don’t know the population of Moffit and Braddock in their heyday. Hazelton once had a population of close to 600 back in the 1950s. For some reason we didn’t hear the alarm go off until we had dropped to 240.
What a wakeup call! How thankful we should be (and are) that the great majority of those living in the community support efforts to rebuild the town instead of having a ‘this is a dying town’ attitude. A lot of people have put in a lot of effort since 1991, always searching for new ways to help revitalize the town. For that we are grateful. They have a vision of what can be - not what could be. Most recently, the Horizons program gave us a boost by reminding us that together we can.
So, back to our tri-community. What I am trying to say in my own fumbling way (hey, that rhymes!) is that “three is better than one, but only because we are now three-in-one.”

How would you like to voice your opinions? Bismarck Tribune editor John Irby will be at the Hazelton Coffee Shop on Friday, June 13, from 9-11 a.m. John says everyone is invited to come in, ask questions, make suggestions. Talk about whatever your heart desires - well, up to a point!!! Ahem!
For those of you from out of town, here’s a bit of info about the coffee shop. Mel’s Diner in Hazelton’s Prairie Mall closed about a month ago so the owner could pursue other interests. That left Main Street without a place to stop for coffee and some chit-chat. So what do we do now? The space (about 1,047 sq. ft.) is available for rent. Since the Diner closed, volunteers set up a couple tables and some chairs. They bring in cookies and other baked goods and put on the coffee pot from 9-11 a.m., Monday through Friday. (As was stated in the Newsletter:”Let’s say that, with most of the tables removed, there’s more room for some of the ‘hot air’ that floats around at coffee time”). A free will donation helps pay for heat and lights.
A special thank you to all those who have brought in baked goods. Ellen Fransen and Arlene Davis also deserve thanks for taking on the responsibility of opening the coffee shop each day.
Repeat: Come to the Hazelton Coffee Shop on Friday, the 13th, for some good conversation.

We are still searching for a grocer to occupy the new mall in Hazelton.

YES - I said, “We are STILL SEARCHING for a GROCER to occupy the NEW MALL in Hazelton!”

We are still searching for a manufacturer to occupy the new mall in Hazelton.

YES - I said, “ We are STILL SEARCHING for a MANUFACTURER for the NEW MALL in Hazelton!”

There are many anxious people in our community waiting, and hoping for a grocer and occupants for the new mall. We need to hear from someone soon.  So if you are a citizen of our area, our state, or out of state you must take time and investigate this opportunity.  Spread the word to your friends as well. 

IF you want to see the new mall, contact Hazelton Development Committee President, Kent @ 701-782-4257 and/or visit the web page below. 

http://www.hazeltonnorthdakota.com/default.asp 

Those of you that want to invest in this progressive small town - you are invited to become part of the LLC being formed for the purpose of promoting and assisting new ventures in Hazelton.  Call the Hazelton Development Committee President, Kent @ 701-782-4257.

Also, check out HMB School at  http://www.hazeltonnorthdakota.com/school/ 

OPPORTUNITY AWAITS YOU!