Compiled by LAUREN DONOVAN

Bismarck Tribune

Max used to drain water properly, but with roads and highways in town, the water can't get away.

Max maintenance supervisor DuWayne Haynes said the town's problem with water that can't go anywhere is reaching a critical stage, especially with the heavy rains that fell this past month.

Haynes said sloughs and potholes are full and the water is starting to erode the roads that are holding it in.

Water used to drain to the southwest into adjoining sloughs and eventually into Lake Sakakawea. Now, roads and other obstructions keep that from happening.

The McLean County Commission, along with city and state officials, is trying to find a solution.

County State's Attorney Ladd Erickson said Max has been informed by the State Department of Transportation that the water has to be drained because it's eroding the banks of Highway 83.

Erickson said that solving Max's problem will probably create one for someone else.

"Some land is going to get wet, either upstream or downstream," Erickson said. "There is no other way of doing it."

He warned the commission that the county may face some liability issues by moving water onto other land.

Haynes said the city will proceed with caution rather than just set the water loose.

"We want to make sure it doesn't cause another problem downstream," Haynes said.

Lynn Oberg, chairman of the McLean County Water Resource Board, said it's important to keep in contact with the DOT.

"Let's hope that this is the last county commission that has to deal with (the water)," Oberg said.

- McLean County Commission

Deer get holiday

Looking ahead, Wishek school officials already see a fair number of empty desks on Friday, Nov. 9.

That's the date of deer gun season opener and a traditional day for folks to make a long weekend and get out in the field.

The school board approved the day as a holiday on the 2007-08 calendar to celebrate Veterans Day.

But then, as often happens, state law got in the way.

The Century Code says that if Veterans Day falls on Sunday, which it will, it has to be observed Monday.

To stay legal, the school board voted to change its calendar.

Board president Rod Burgad said he knows it'll be a disappointment for many of the school's students who enjoy the hunting.

"We know folks have become used to the deer opener being a school holiday, because it coincides with Veterans Day," Burgad said. "The law is the law and we have to follow it."

- The Wishek Star

Far from home

Mario Rodriguez wasn't under the delusion that, despite the name "Beach," his new home would offer anything like the blue water and sandy beaches back home.

He's from Puerto Rico and he's the newest agronomist at the Beach field office of the Natural Resources and Conservation Service.

Rodriguez attended a job fair at the University of Puerto Rico, where he'd graduated with a degree in agronomy and soils.

He went through interviews with a NRCS representative and a few months later, was offered a job in Bottineau.

He took that job and transferred to Beach earlier this year and enjoys being able to focus on the agronomy aspect of his studies.

The tropical climate of home taught him to love anything that the water offered, from surfing to fishing to diving.

He has been looking for adventure in Beach and plans to mountain bike on the Maah Daah Hey Trail through the Badlands this summer.

His first experience with snow put him in mind of a family tradition, only with a North Dakota twist.

Instead of building a sand castle, though, he attempted a snow castle, with mixed results and photographs to send home to Puerto Rico.

He said he misses his home, but finds the people of North Dakota to be warm and welcoming.

"I didn't expect that," he said. "I didn't know if people would accept me, but people have been really good to me."

- Golden Valley News