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National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day is May 9 |
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
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This was graduation night of the Valley City Police Department's Citizen's Academy, which is designed to increase understanding between citizens and the police through hands on training. (Submitted Photo)
By Jean Schlegel
Valley City Times-Record
National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day on May 9 is a chance for community members to recognize and honor the hard work, dedication, selflessness, and courage it takes to become and serve as a law enforcement officer.
“Law enforcement officers risk their lives for us, sometimes on a daily basis,” says Sheyenne Valley Communities Coordinator Kasey Skalicky.
The Sheyenne Valley Safe Communities Coalition will be honoring Barnes County law enforcement, fire and rescue, and first responders at an Emergency Services Appreciation Breakfast later this month.
“Anyone wishing to show their appreciation to law enforcement for the many services they provide to our communities every day is encouraged to send a card or letter to their city police department, county sheriff’s office, or highway patrol office,” Skalicky said.
Skalicky offers some information about police officers below:
Did you know:
One hundred and sixty-five officers die in the line of duty annually; one officer is killed every 54 hours; 61,000 officers are assaulted annually; 189 officers are assaulted every day, and 19,000 officers are injured in those assaults; two officers are shot every day; and 83 officers were killed in traffic-related incidents last year.
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Luverne woman committed to reading, kids |
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Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
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Ann Haugaard, herself a teacher for many years, enjoys going to Jefferson Elementary in Valley City about every two weeks and reading to Mary Halvorson’s second-graders. Halvorson, right, said she, too, loves listening to Haugaard’s personal stories about growing up on a farm near Luverne. (Jean Schlegel/VCTR)
By Jean Schlegel
Valley City Times-Record
About every two weeks, Ann Haugaard of Valley City drives to Jefferson Elementary to read stories to Mary Halvorson’s second-graders. Haugaard has been doing this for eight or nine years, she says.
Haugaard, 94, was a teacher herself for many years, starting out in rural schools, and then taught library science for 15 years at Valley City State University.
Why does she do it? Haugaard says she just loves reading to little kids. She’s always loved learning herself, and then teaching it to others.
She was brought up on a farm near Luverne. Her mother died when Haugaard was born in August of 1914.
“I was always blamed for starting the war in 1914,” she joked.
She says when she started school, she couldn’t speak a word of English. She only spoke Danish, but she soon learned she had to speak English in school, which she did quite easily.
“The teachers were so good to me, and made me feel important,” she said.
One of the stories Haugaard told the Jefferson second-graders that Halvorson just loved was about the farm animals on Haugaard’s farm. It was one of her jobs to milk the cows, and she couldn’t figure out why one cow wasn’t giving any milk. She figured it out one day when she saw a pig nursing from the milk cow. It was an oddity, but true.
It’s little personal stories like this that really draw the second-graders in, plus Haugaard often brings treats for them. She comes well-stocked with interesting books from the local library to read to the youngsters.
Halvorson said every spring her students go on a field trip to the local library and they enjoy seeing the books there that Haugaard has already read to them.
For full story, see Thursday's edition of the Valley City Times-Record. |
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