Year in Review....

November 7: The 3rd annual Red Lake County Festival of Tables was held in Brooks at the Community Hall on Saturday, October 27th. This event raises money for the American Cancer Society and once again Red Lake County can be proud of the support for ACS as a total of $3,343.00 was tallied in this fundraiser!

RLCC students have lots of fun on RLCC Day of Caring. They help many older people with their yard work and took a few minutes of playing in a pile of leaves while volunteering their time and efforts around Brooks.

Red Lake County Rebels were able to advance into the Section 8A Semifinals after a 44-0 win over the Red Lake Warriors on Tuesday, October 23.

November already? The year is going fast. Today started with a promise of some sun but it has turned funky again. Oh well. Daylight savings time  has come and gone and it will take a few days to get used to regular time again. I read that turning the clocks back and forth is bad for your health.

November 14: America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education called on local farmers to nominate rural schools to receive nearly $2.3 million in grants to enhance their science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs. Local farmers answered the call, and the Grow Rural Education program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, a philanthropic arm of Bayer, has  recognized Red Lake County Central High School (RLCC) in Red Lake County, Minnesota with a $10,000 grant.

The American Legion Auxiliary Unit #159 were offering great treats to the everyone attending Oklee’s Halloween Party. The Halloween Party in Oklee was a successful evening for all.

The Oklee Preschool class would like to sent a big thanks to Doug Cote and the Oklee Fire Department for visiting their classroom. During Fire Safety Week at school, firefighter Cote came to the classroom to talk to the students about fire safety. They also provided each child with a fun fire safety packet at the end of the presentation. The preschool classes used their imaginations all week of pretending to be firefighters. 

Red Lake County Central Theater is gearing up for this year’s one act play. The director is Tyrell Hamrum and he has chosen the play “The Complaint Department and Lemonade.”

It is cold for this time of November. Our highs are at the usual low averages. It is not too much fun being outside. Our snow seems to be accumulating more each day with the constant light flurries being emptied out of the heavens. It will be a white Christmas from the looks of it.

November 21: At the Veterans Day Program held in Oklee on Monday, November 12, the speaker was Paula Lundgren. Lundgren was inducted into the Air Force on December 15, 1976. Lundgren has earned a total of eight medals and five ribbons. She also earned the Air Force Longevity award and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.

The Ecumenical Service was held on Sunday, November 18th at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. This is an annual event that is sponsored by both St. Francis and Oklee Lutheran Parish. The choir was directed by Patty Mickelson. Singing this year were:  Karena Melby, Mary Lynn Bachand, Heath Mickelson, Nick Mickelson, Eric Mickelson, Phyllis Rystad, Liz Follmann, Lori Melby, Sydney Melby, Kaye Munt and Ann Hammer.

Michael Lowell from Red Lake County Central High School in Oklee, MN was selected to have a piece of poetry published in No, That’s not the End, a publication featuring the best student writing from COMPAS’ Creative Classroom programs. 

November 28: Santa is coming to visit with all the children in Oklee, Brooks and Plummer in the next couple of weeks.

East Central Minnesota Educational Cable Cooperative along with its partners at the Southwest West Central Service Cooperative and three school districts (Red Lake County Central, Red Lake Falls and Herman Norcross) in the Northwest Links (NWLinks) region are pleased to announced they have been awarded $249,027 in the “Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program” administered by the USDA and the Rural Utilities Service.

Seniors Adrien Verbout and Marie Johnson were featured as soloists during the “Taming of the West” number at RLCC’s Fall Music Concert. Seventh grader Kya Morinville played the guitar while the RLCC Junior High Choir sang “Lonesome Road.”

The weather got milder for the Thanksgiving holiday and now it is getting colder. Traveling was pretty good and the big storm tracked further south. Just another thing to be Thankful for.

Watch for more Year in Review next week...