I chose to write my research paper on the ongoing flooding situation in Harwood, North Dakota. As I live in West Fargo, I was untouched by the flooding because of the safety provided by the Sheyenne Diversion. However, I work for West Fargo Schools, of which Harwood is a part.
Over the last month, we have moved the students of Harwood Elementary School into the city of West Fargo twice. With all the rural road closings, our staff, students, and our buses were unable to get to the school. In the interest of continuing their education, we found alternate spaces for them at the Community Center and one of our other elementary schools, Westside.
All of the Harwood and Reiles Acres families were true champions when it came to moving the students back and forth. There were only three families that actually withdrew their children from the West Fargo school system and enrolled them where flooding was not an issue.
Beyond the school closing, the city was affected by numerous other things caused by flooding. Harwood is a very rural area, and as such, does not have lift station capacity to handle all the water that is up there. Harwood residents have been living with water restrictions for some time now.
Some residents have been completely cut off from the rest of the city. The only way to and from their home is by boat or chest-high waders. There was a picture on the front page of the Forum a few weeks back of one of our staff members wading through deep water with a laundry basket in her arms. She was on her way to work and then to a friend’s house to wash her family’s clothing.
One of the biggest challenges the small town of Harwood has faced through this whole ordeal is basically a debate on who claims them. Harwood is a city in its own right, and has a mayor and a city council. However, the city of Fargo did a lot of their flood preparations and the city of West Fargo dealt with their students. Harwood was pulled between the two larger cities, and sometimes got lost in the shuffle when it came to media attention.
I believe I will have my work cut out for me in researching the flood at Harwood, as coverage of that area was often rolled into the larger coverage of the metro area. Interviews with the mayor and the citizens of Harwood will probably be the best way for me to get the answers I seek.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Red Lake Falls Remembrances
In March 2005, tragedy struck the small town of Red Lake Falls, Minnesota. Jeffrey Weise fatally shot his grandfather, his grandfather’s girlfriend, and seven people at the school before turning the gun on himself. Seven other students were injured in Weise’s shooting spree. This incident was touted by some as being the worst school shooting since Columbine in 1999.
Upon investigation of what made Weise tick, it was discovered that he was an avid poster to a neo-Nazi website, where he referred to himself as the Angel of Death. He had been removed from the regular school setting because of a policy violation, and was placed in the homebound program. Weise was also taking Prozac to combat his depression. However, no one thought he was capable of such violent acts, and no one saw this incident coming.
But Weise was capable, and he did carry out the worst school shooting in six years. He also changed the entire Red Lake Nation with those ten fatal shots. Media descended on the reservation within hours and camped out for several days, disturbing the community that was once so quiet.
Just hours after the incident, neighboring Beltrami County offered to support the Red Lake Nation in whatever ways they could. They provided law enforcement, social service support and trauma counseling services. Minnesota US Attorney Tom Heffelfinger commended the school for having put good security measures in place and for having practiced for an event like a shooting.
Minnesota law was changed after Columbine to require such crisis management plans. The MN statute stated that every school board must adopt a district crisis management policy by July 1, 2000. The policy needed to address the process of handling potential violent and/or crisis situations arising within the district. Each school was then expected to practice the plan, so they would know how to initiate it in the event of a real crisis. Red Lake Falls hired Burnsville, Minnesota, based company MacNeil Environmental to create their crisis plan.
After the March 2005 shooting, lawsuits were filed against MacNeil Environmental. The lawsuits stated that MacNeil was supposed to help Red Lake Falls implement a five-year program starting in fall 2001 to provide a crisis management plan, train school officials and evaluate the school's security weaknesses. The lawsuits also alleged that MacNeil Environmental wasn't qualified to create an emergency plan for the Red Lake School District and that it failed to follow through on developing and implementing crisis plans. The lawsuits claimed MacNeil failed to develop a plan as recommended by the U.S. Department of Education and instead provided the school district with plans that were confusing and contained conflicting directions for staff.
It took until September 2008 for the families of victims and survivors to reach a settlement with MacNeil. The judge overseeing the civil suit was charged with dividing up the $1.5 million settlement in October 2008.
Long story short, even when you have a crisis plan in place, things can still go wrong. As unfortunate as it is to say, the worst school shooting since Columbine quickly turned into the biggest cluster EVER. Yes, people grieved for those individuals that lost their lives or were wounded, but the nation was more concerned with following the lawsuit proceedings.
Upon investigation of what made Weise tick, it was discovered that he was an avid poster to a neo-Nazi website, where he referred to himself as the Angel of Death. He had been removed from the regular school setting because of a policy violation, and was placed in the homebound program. Weise was also taking Prozac to combat his depression. However, no one thought he was capable of such violent acts, and no one saw this incident coming.
But Weise was capable, and he did carry out the worst school shooting in six years. He also changed the entire Red Lake Nation with those ten fatal shots. Media descended on the reservation within hours and camped out for several days, disturbing the community that was once so quiet.
Just hours after the incident, neighboring Beltrami County offered to support the Red Lake Nation in whatever ways they could. They provided law enforcement, social service support and trauma counseling services. Minnesota US Attorney Tom Heffelfinger commended the school for having put good security measures in place and for having practiced for an event like a shooting.
Minnesota law was changed after Columbine to require such crisis management plans. The MN statute stated that every school board must adopt a district crisis management policy by July 1, 2000. The policy needed to address the process of handling potential violent and/or crisis situations arising within the district. Each school was then expected to practice the plan, so they would know how to initiate it in the event of a real crisis. Red Lake Falls hired Burnsville, Minnesota, based company MacNeil Environmental to create their crisis plan.
After the March 2005 shooting, lawsuits were filed against MacNeil Environmental. The lawsuits stated that MacNeil was supposed to help Red Lake Falls implement a five-year program starting in fall 2001 to provide a crisis management plan, train school officials and evaluate the school's security weaknesses. The lawsuits also alleged that MacNeil Environmental wasn't qualified to create an emergency plan for the Red Lake School District and that it failed to follow through on developing and implementing crisis plans. The lawsuits claimed MacNeil failed to develop a plan as recommended by the U.S. Department of Education and instead provided the school district with plans that were confusing and contained conflicting directions for staff.
It took until September 2008 for the families of victims and survivors to reach a settlement with MacNeil. The judge overseeing the civil suit was charged with dividing up the $1.5 million settlement in October 2008.
Long story short, even when you have a crisis plan in place, things can still go wrong. As unfortunate as it is to say, the worst school shooting since Columbine quickly turned into the biggest cluster EVER. Yes, people grieved for those individuals that lost their lives or were wounded, but the nation was more concerned with following the lawsuit proceedings.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Total Confidence = Total Increase in Sales (My Opinion)
Looking back at all the blogs I’ve done this semester, I see quite a few that have to do with money or other financial issues. True to what appears to be my form, I have another financial-type article to wow (or bore) everyone with this week.
This weekend, I watched Chevrolet’s newest PR push, and boy is it a good one! They are following in the footsteps of another major car dealer (I believe it’s Hyundai) by offering an amped up finance package. As a born and bred Chevy fan, I have to say that Chevy’s Total Confidence package does exactly what the name suggests: gives the buyer absolute confidence that investing their money with Chevrolet is a wise choice.
The first two branches of this package consist of a fully backed transferable warranty with roadside assistance and a complimentary year of OnStar service. Yes, both features come standard with most new cars these days, but it is still worth mentioning. In these times of uncertainty, vehicle owners like to know that they are protected while they’re at home or on the road.
The third and fourth branches of this package are what make it truly special. The third branch is Vehicle Value Protection, where Chevy will protect your new vehicle’s retail value when you decide to trade in for your next Chevy vehicle. The final branch is Payment Protection, where Chevy will make your payments (up to $500/month) up to nine months if you lose your job.
Now tell me, how much more confident would this package make you, the car buyer feel? If I was in the market for a new vehicle, I would definitely be looking at Chevrolet first. If the unspeakable would happen and I lost my job, I would have to give back my vehicle, then how would I get a new job? By offering Payment Protection, Chevy is giving me a way to get back on my feet, which is a nice thing for a car company to do.
With the negative press that the GM Corporation received after giving fired CEO Rick Wagoner a $20 million severance package, this is exactly what is needed. They say that good news travels quickly, so hopefully news of the Total Confidence package can overtake the Wagoner scandal.
This weekend, I watched Chevrolet’s newest PR push, and boy is it a good one! They are following in the footsteps of another major car dealer (I believe it’s Hyundai) by offering an amped up finance package. As a born and bred Chevy fan, I have to say that Chevy’s Total Confidence package does exactly what the name suggests: gives the buyer absolute confidence that investing their money with Chevrolet is a wise choice.
The first two branches of this package consist of a fully backed transferable warranty with roadside assistance and a complimentary year of OnStar service. Yes, both features come standard with most new cars these days, but it is still worth mentioning. In these times of uncertainty, vehicle owners like to know that they are protected while they’re at home or on the road.
The third and fourth branches of this package are what make it truly special. The third branch is Vehicle Value Protection, where Chevy will protect your new vehicle’s retail value when you decide to trade in for your next Chevy vehicle. The final branch is Payment Protection, where Chevy will make your payments (up to $500/month) up to nine months if you lose your job.
Now tell me, how much more confident would this package make you, the car buyer feel? If I was in the market for a new vehicle, I would definitely be looking at Chevrolet first. If the unspeakable would happen and I lost my job, I would have to give back my vehicle, then how would I get a new job? By offering Payment Protection, Chevy is giving me a way to get back on my feet, which is a nice thing for a car company to do.
With the negative press that the GM Corporation received after giving fired CEO Rick Wagoner a $20 million severance package, this is exactly what is needed. They say that good news travels quickly, so hopefully news of the Total Confidence package can overtake the Wagoner scandal.
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