PRAIRIE ROSES: To all the election night workers in the auditor's offices in Cass and Clay counties. Their diligent work allowed them to provide timely election results, a task made especially difficult in Minnesota given the hand-counting of absentee ballots that had to be done in the wake of Sen. Paul Wellstone's tragic death. And we would be remiss if we didn't once again thank all the people who worked in the polling places at the precinct level. This is how a democracy works and we marvel at its results each and every election. Thanks to each of you for doing your small part to keep our country great.
PRAIRIE ROSES: To the Fargo Shanley High School team and its head coach, Robert Littlefield, for scoring 198 out of a possible 200 points to win the 2002 North Dakota State Student Congress championship recently in Bismarck. Twenty-one high schools from across North Dakota competed in the statewide legislative speaking event sponsored by the North Dakota High School Activities Association. Littlefield also was named 2002 Student Congress Coach of the Year. Hats off also to Fargo South High School's team, which finished third with 170 points.
PRAIRIE ROSES: To veteran Fargo restaurant owner Ben Anvary, who spent nearly 30 years working hard to ensure his popular downtown eatery Mexican Village continued to be a favorite with its customers. It was no accident that Mexican Village was, and continues to be, a favorite for residents of Fargo-Moorhead. Anvary make certain the quality of the food was maintained at a high level and was usually seen moving around the restaurant talking to his customers. He made a lot of friends over the years through his personal touch and caring attitude. We wish him well in his future endeavors and wish continued success to the new owners, Steve and Karen Bush.
LEAFY SPURGE: To Winona Ryder, the 31-year-old, two-time Academy Award nominee, convicted last week of stealing more than $5,500 worth of merchandise during a shoplifting spree at a Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills last year. Ryder said after being caught that a director had told her to shoplift to prepare for a movie role. Talk about a lame excuse. She must think we're all a bunch of idiots if she thinks we're going to buy that line. The jury certainly didn't. She likely won't get any jailtime, but restitution and community service would be nice.
PRAIRIE ROSES: To employees at Scheels All Sports Store in Fargo for contacting authorities after becoming suspicious of a Fargo man who purchased nine boxes of ammunition back in January. As a result, Jared Paul Denault, 25, a man with a long criminal history, was taken into custody for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. Denault was sentenced last week to 51 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
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LEAFY SPURGE: To striking teachers and school board members in Red Wing, Minn., who are heading into their fourth week of a strike that has kept students on the sidelines. The two sides are deadlocked over unresolved differences on salaries and health insurance. They should sit down, reach a compromise and end this thing. Red Wing students are obviously not the highest priority to either side and that's too bad.
Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum
management and the newspaper's Editorial Board
PRAIRIE ROSES: To Kevin Goodno of Moorhead for standing by his decision to leave politics in favor of his wife and three youngsters. The Moorhead attorney is finishing his 12th year in the Minnesota Legislature as the representative from House District 9A. Goodno says he knows he made the right choice for this time in his life and his wife, Linda, says, "To know that he's going to be home all the time, it has just made us real happy." Goodno was a proficient lawmaker. If we're fortunate, he may return to the political arena down the road somewhere.
LEAFY SPURGE: To the Russian military and its leaders for their assertion that the use of sedating gas was the only way to end a recent hostage crisis at a Moscow theater without massive loss of life. Heavily-armed assailants calling for Russian troops to pull out of Chechnya had seized the theater and held 750 people hostage for 58 hours. We're not sure what the Russians consider massive loss of life, but more than 120 hostages were killed by the gas attack and another 150 were hospitalized. The captors were killed by the Russian troops. The narcotic gas killed many more people than the captors did. It seems to us there might have been a better way to handle the situation.
PRAIRIE ROSES: To the Fargo-Moorhead schools for once again participating in the nationwide program called Kids Voting on election day. In Moorhead, some 1,200 students cast ballots at tables set up alongside official polling sites. In Fargo, about 625 students, kindergarten through 12th grade, participated. The students go to polls with their parents and cast their ballots. It's a wonderful way to learn about the importance of voting.
Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum management and the newspaper's Editorial Board
