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I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since the last national census.  I filled one of the temporary positions with the 2000 census and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was an office clerk who entered payroll and overlapped by entering data from the applications into the computer.  I hope I can once again fill a position with this current census, wherever they feel I would do the most good.   

There will be two local offices in North Dakota, one here in Fargo, the other in Bismarck.  In Minnesota there will be eight local offices across the state (none in Moorhead).  The locations in Minnesota are Bemidji, Coon Rapids, Edina, Shakopee, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth, and Rochester.    

In Fargo, the census taker position will pay $14.00 an hour.  Other jobs include office clerk, assistant crew leader, and group supervisor.  If you are in the field, you will receive mileage reimbursement, as well.  

For me it turned out to be a great part-time job; it payed well, was an easy-going environment, and I worked with a great group of people.   

There is a 2010 Census website where you can get more detail.  Specifically the Fargo field office number is (701) 552-9400.  Most hiring will occur in the spring of 2010.

 I don’t think there is anyone reading this who has not been affected by cancer, be it yourself, a family member, a friend….someone along the way, that each of us knows, who has struggled with this disease.  My mom and dad ,and my two sisters, all battled this disease and survived!  How blessed we have been!  But there are so many who have not been as fortunate.  It is for all of them, that I write this article.

 I first heard of SU2C when my local network channels aired this special (click here to watch), last September 5^th .  If you missed it, I strongly encourage you to watch it now so that you can feel the excitement in this initiative.  The opening remarks are:        

We used to have such wild dreams.  The kind that brought us together, made us a movement.  We dreamed we’d split the atom, walk on the moon, unlock our very genetic code.  To those who said “impossible”, “can’t happen”, “won’t happen”….we didn’t hear a word.  We stood up and we changed the world.  Stand up.  Stand up for everyone who can’t rise anymore.  One person every minute, one life in a moment, one life is taken by a disease that we can actually cure.  We can actually cure.  And in the time it’s taken to say these words, one more American has died.  Unforgiveable.  This is where the end of cancer begins…..when together we rise as one.  When we STAND UP TO CANCER!

 There are a couple of notable quotes in this video.  One is  when a scientist says “We as scientists, know that it’s no longer a matter of IF we can cure cancer, it’s a matter of WHEN.”   Another scientist says “It’s that feeling you get on a day when you know it’s going to rain…right before it rains, and you can feel it.  We can feel that in the field of Oncology; it’s about to rain.” 

 The whole idea behind this is that instead of having all of these scientists working on the cure for cancer at their own clinics, etc., and all vying for the same grant money, this foundation wants to create their own “dream teams” and put these brilliant people together to find the cure now.   There is such hope out there right now, that a cure can be found in our lifetime, and I for one, want to be a part of that.

 SU2C is launching a drive to collect 10,000 five dollar ($5.00) donations in four weeks, getting them $50,000 closer to ending cancer.  They have asked for help in spreading the word so that they can reach their goal. 

 Food for thought:  In 1938, an entertainer named Eddie Cantor, got on the radio and asked every citizen to send 10 cents to a new charity, devoted to curing polio.   So began the March of Dimes.   Nobody knows whose dime put the effort over the top and made the vaccine to stop polio possible but somebody did. 

 YOU can be a part of finding the cure for cancer by simply giving up on one latte, one movie, a magazine, a video game.  Your $5 could be the crucial donation that finally makes it possible to end cancer!  It’s as easy as clicking here   or for those of you who like to text, it’s as easy as texting the word STAND to 40202 and $5 will be added to your cell phone bill.  Be sure to “confirm”. 

 So, please, stand up with me, and be a part of finding the cure to cancer!  What a legacy we can leave!

This law will replace a more than 20-year-old secondary seat belt law that allows officers to ticket someone for not wearing a seat belt only if they first witness a moving violation.  The previous law also only required that the driver, a front-seat passenger and a passenger in any seat between three and 11 years old wear a seat belt. The new law requires all passengers – regardless of age or seating position – to wear a seat belt. Violators will face a $25 fine.

I’m sure you’re all aware that this for the safety of each of us!  I’ve heard plenty of stories of people who have died after being thrown from a vehicle or people who have had life altering injuries after being injured in an accident where they did not have their seat belt on!   Even though there will always be the argument where someone lived, only because they did not have their seat belt on, I think you’ll agree that those cases are far and few between.

I think the thing that people don’t realize is that for every person who dies in a car accident, or is badly injured, there are family members who are dramatically affected.  Imagine the little kids who have to be told that their dad isn’t coming home again because he chose not to buckle his seat belt.  Or the mother and father who have to bury their teenager for the same reason.  It really is a simple thing to do to protect yourself while driving inside of a 1000 pounds of steel.

Remember,  YOU are the role model for the child who is watching YOU each time you get in a car.  A child who is raised watching an adult always buckle up, doesn’t know any different.  They will grow up learning to always buckle up because they have learned from you.  Now that’s something to be proud of!

I feel that Minnesota has made the right decision in putting this bill in to effect.  Do you?

If you are interested in local information for the Fargo-Moorhead area, click on www.directoryoffargomoorhead.com.

Dean was 97 and she died where she had lived, in Southampton, the English port city her family had tried to leave behind when it took the ship’s ill-fated maiden voyage, bound for America.

Dean’s family were setting out for a new life in the United States.  Her father had sold his pub and hoped to open a tobacconists’ shop in Kansas City, MO.  Initially scheduled to travel on another ship, the family was transferred to the Titanic because of a coal strike. 

Dean said her father’s quick actions saved his family. Bertram Dean, 27, felt the ship scrape the iceberg and hustled the family out of its third-class quarters and toward the lifeboat that would take them to safety. “That’s partly what saved us – because he was so quick. Some people thought the ship was unsinkable,” Dean said in 1998.  Wrapped in a sack, Dean was lowered into a lifeboat.  Her brother Berram, 2, and her mother, Georgette, 32, also survived. 

The family was taken to New York, then returned to England.  Dean did not know she had been aboard the Titanic until she was 8, when her mother, about to remarry, told her about her father’s death. 

Born in London on February 2, 1912, Elizabeth Gladys “Millvina” Dean spent most of her life in Southampton, the Titanic’s home port.  She never married and worked as a secretary, retiring in 1972.

If you are interested in local information for the Fargo-Moorhead area, you can click on http://www.directoryoffargomoorhead.com/.

Is there anyone that has the answer to why I can’t overnight something that I bring into the post office first thing in the morning to 2 states away?  No matter what the destination, isn’t it possible to get it there the next day if you are willing to pay for it?  Answering my own question, it actually can be done but I had to go to UPS to get it done.

Now I’m sure that there are many other places too that overnight stuff but UPS was the most familiar to me so I went there and sure enough there was no problem doing what I needed done.  I don’t get it.

The guy back at the post office was mumbling something about the area it was going to and that he could put down overnight but there was no guarantee it would get there the next day.  That wasn’t what I was looking for – if I’m sending it overnight then it needs to get there overnight!  Needless to say I am a little confused by it all.  If anyone can shed some light on that one, please do.

I have always tried to stay with the post office to send things because for some reason I feel we should be loyal to them instead of the other companies out there.  After a few of these “mishaps” I’ve decided I need to go to the best-priced and best-service places I can get.