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Congratulations graduates

The annual ritual of high school graduation is upon us. On Sunday, several area schools, including Fort Dodge Senior High, St. Edmond Catholic School, Manson Northwest Webster High School and others, will hold their commencement exercises. Each ceremony is a familiar ritual. Excited graduates in caps and gowns will arrive to the accompaniment of ”Pomp and Circumstance.” Friends and relatives sitting in the stands will nudge each other and say ”Look, there she is.” Hundreds of photos will be snapped. There will be speeches, and it’s a pretty safe bet that someone will read ...

It’s a good time to enjoy our parks

Saturday is National Kids to Parks Day. This is a countrywide celebration organized annually by the National Park Trust “to connect kids and families with their local, state and national parks and public lands.” It has helped popularize these wonderful outdoor recreational venues since 2011. In conjunction with the national festivities, this weekend the Fort Dodge Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department and Webster County Conservation are putting on a scavenger hunt throughout six area parks — both well-known ones and some not visited as often. Details about how to ...

Tough-looking bikers are key support for abused kids

The members of BACA may look like an intimidating bunch. They ride big motorcycles and favor leather biker style vests. But that is where the group’s resemblance to some kind of motorcycle gang ends. Far from being a motorcycle gang, BACA is one of the most unique organizations working to help abused children. BACA is the acronym for Bikers Against Child Abuse. The organization was started in 1995 by a licensed social worker and all of its members have had to pass background checks to join. The group started in Utah and grew throughout the United States and the world. There are ...

Dodger Hero saves choking child

A young local child is alive today because of quick action by a school district food service worker. Chelsea Strait, assistant food service director for the Fort Dodge Community School District, used a recently acquired device called a LifeVac to save the life of the child, who was choking at the Early Childhood Center. The incident happened in late April. The district’s Board of Education recognized Strait as a Dodger Hero on May 9. Strait saw a student choking in the lunchroom on that scary day in April. She alerted the school principal, Carmen Banwart, and ran out to her ...

Celebrating transportation

We are now in the midst of National Transportation Week, an annual celebration of all the things that keep people and goods moving in this country. By proclamation of President Joe Biden, the week began Sunday and will conclude Saturday. This celebration of the transportation industry has taken place each May since it became a permanent event in 1962. An annual observance taking note of this vital industry’s importance to the nation dates back to the 1950s. That makes this an appropriate time to remind readers of the importance of a first-class transportation system to the ...

It’s time to honor emergency medical service providers

In Webster County and all across America, teams of dedicated professionals stand ready to render medical assistance in emergencies. For some this is their career. For many others, it is a volunteer undertaking that is performed in addition to their normal employment. It’s impossible to overstate how important emergency medical service (EMS) personnel can be to just about any of us in a moment when knowledgeable help is needed fast. Honoring the men and women who handle this vital work is appropriate at all times, but especially so just now. That’s because National EMS Week began ...