6/11/2008 – News

By Editor | June 11, 2008 |

Volume 125, Number 19 Wednesday, June 11th, 2008

Brinsmade native invests in state-of-the-art equipment
BY JANET HANSEN
Ransome County Gazette Lisbon, ND Brinsmade native Tom Ose, owner/manager of the Lisbon Body Shop, has received a plaque in appreciation of 25 years of continuous membership in the North Dakota Auto Body Association, Inc. Ose was one of the founding members of that organization and has served on its board of directors for all but two or three years since the organization began in 1983.
"We used to have a convention every summer," explained Ose. "They were held in large cities such as Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks or Minot. Since the attendance has been dwindling lately, we decided to go to having a convention only every other year. On the off-years, when no convention is scheduled, we hold a summer retreat instead.
The first summer retreat was held last year in Washburn. I was skeptical about how it would work out, but my wife, Lana, and I went. We really enjoyed it. There were a lot of things to see and do in the Washburn area and it was fun to get together with some of my fellow members of the association in a more relaxed setting. I got to thinking that the Lisbon area also has a lot to offer in the way of things to see and do, so I offered Lisbon as the site for the next summer retreat. The next retreat is planned for mid-June of 2009 at the Dead Colt Creek Recreation Area. We’re already planning some of the things to see and do for the weekend. I think the summer retreat idea will grow as the idea catches on with more of the members."
Ose has been in the auto body repair business for 42 years. He grew up in Brinsmade and graduated from Leeds High School in 1964. In 1966, he graduated from the ND State School of Science (now North Dakota State College of Science) with a degree in auto body repair and refinishing. He was hired by Wally Shelver to work at the Lisbon Body Shop in June of 1966 and has been with that business ever since.
In 1973, Ose formed a partnership with Tore Bratvold, with whom he purchased the business from Shelver. Ose became sole owner of the business in 1986.
In 1992 Ose moved the business from 13 Third Avenue to 101 Riverside Drive, where it remains to the present time. He added a new addition to the original building in 1998. A new warehouse was built in 2002.
A year ago in mid-April, Ose had a new state-of-the-art paint booth installed in the main shop area. The computerized paint booth is referred to by those in the auto body business as a "downdraft bake booth."
The main doors of the booth open to a large, well-lighted, sparkling clean area with a grate in the middle of a tiled floor. The tiled floor is completely covered with clear plastic, which can be removed for easy clean-up and replaced with a new layer of plastic.
Ose’s refinishing experts, Todd Ose of Lisbon and Kyle Koslofski of Fingal, paint entire vehicles, doors, bumpers or whatever auto body part needs refinishing in the center of the booth above the grate in the floor. Once the paint job is complete, they leave the dust-free room and by pushing buttons on a computer panel located beside the booth, set the appropriate time and temperature needed to correctly "bake" the finish.
A 1,500,000 btu furnace heats the outside air, which enters the bake room through filters in the ceiling. The baking process is done by raising the temperature in the room to 160 degrees for approximately 30 minutes and then going through a 20 to 30-minute cool-down process. The heated air returns through a tunnel below the grates in the floor, through which it travels back to the furnace room where it is filtered again before returning to the outdoors through a large vent.
A special pressurized room between the paint area and the furnace room serves as the mixing room. The pressurized air in the room keeps dust particles out. One complete wall of the room is filled with shelves containing a huge variety of paints. The paint in every can is mixed daily. That process is done by a simple turn of a switch which starts the mixers attached to each can. There is a full back-up can corresponding with each liter or gallon on the shelf to avoid running out of paint in the middle of a project. The paints are mixed by following precise formulas for which the ingredients are weighed carefully on a special scale that weights in grams. Todd and Kyle wear special paint suits when working in the mixing or paint rooms.
"People asked why I would want to invest in such an expensive paint booth at my age," said Tom Ose. "I considered it for quite a while, but came to the conclusion that with the rising costs of paints and the changing types of vehicle paints and finishes, our old booth really needed updating. It kind of came down to either keep up with the latest technology or get out of the business. I chose not to remove the old booth, however. We had enough room to leave it and it still comes in handy for some priming and for certain painting projects. Sometimes both booths are in operation at the same time. The new booth provides my painters with much better painting conditions. It is much better lit and the booth is much easier to keep clean than the old booth."
Tom explained that Todd and Kyle, both of whom have been schooled in auto body work, keep up on the latest in paints, finishes and painting methods by attending workshops, most of which are sponsored by auto body paint companies. "Continuing education is very important in the auto body business," states Tom.

Kyle Koslofski, left, Todd Ose, center, and Brinsmade native Tom Ose check out a refinished door in the downdraft bake booth in the Lisbon Body Shop. The door on the back wall leads to the pressurized paint mixing room. (Ransom County Gazette photo)

Benson County honored for food stamp accuracy
Food Stamp officials from the ND Department of Human Services recently presented Benson County with two performance awards. County social service employees were recognized for reviewing the highest percentage of food stamp case files in their eight-county administrative region last year and for having the most improved food stamp benefit accuracy rate among like-type counties. Benson is among those counties that have a food stamp caseload between 201 and 500 cases per month.
Department officials presented the awards during the annual Spring Showcase training and recognition event held late last month in Mandan. The awards are based on caseload size, percentage of state food stamp caseload and quality control data.
County employees who received the award included director Ed Forde, Barb Ambers, Barb Arndt, Sally Campbell, Kelli Clifton, Dawn Flemmer, Elaine Jones, Pam Kutz, Janis Lunde, Carol Reilly, Laurie Rodriguez and Margaret Toso. Linda Martinson, the regional representative for the state agency, also received a recognition certificate.
"Reviews are a proven method of detecting errors early and preventing them," said North Dakota Food Stamp Director Arlene Dura. "This award demonstrates the county’s commitment to providing accurate and timely food assistance benefits."
Other counties in the Northeast Region include Cavalier, Griggs, Nelson, Pierce, Ramsey, Rolette, and Towner.
Currently the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Stamp Program helps about 49,000 qualifying low-income North Dakotans pay for food. Almost half of the program participants are children; many others are elderly or have disabilities.
Individuals apply for the Food Stamp Program at their county social service office. If they qualify, individuals receive a special debit card, which can be used to purchase food items only.
Each month, the federally-funded program provides about $4.8 million in benefits in North Dakota that can be used to purchase food at over 400 grocers.

Left to right, front row, are Sally Campbell, Benson County Social Services employee and Linda Martinson, ND Dept. of Human Services regional representative. Back row: Arlene Dura, ND Dept. of Human Services Food Stamp director; Carol Olson, ND Dept. of Human Services executive director; Barb Arndt, Benson County Social Services employee; and Jody Cornwell, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services Regional Food Stamp Program director.

Students of quarter
Leeds High School announces its Students of the Quarter for the fourth quarter of the 2007-2008 school year. Students are selected for this honor based on their academic performance, cooperation, personal behavior, student involvement and responsibility. They are, left to right, front row: Thomas Urness, son of Kevin and Tammy Urness; Abi Brossart, daughter of Ronnie and Rita Brossart; and McKenzie Silliman, daughter of Randy and Brenda Silliman. Back row: Jason Vallier, son of Doug and Carrie Vallier; Blake Darling, son of Rick and Jana Darling; and Lindsay Anderson, daughter of Greg and Karen Anderson.

Special awards
Special awards were presented at the Lake Region State College graduation ceremony in Devils Lake. Left to right, standing, are Trent Stromme, who received the Lloyd Jones Music Award; Steve Allard, who was a member of the All North Dakota Academic Team; and Kyle Klemetsrud, who received the Richard Knoke Leadership Award. Seated are Emilie Plemel, who received the Glenn H. Larson Drama Award; and Lisa Howard of Sheyenne, who received the Writing Excellence Award.

AWM helps again
Sally Campbell, left, president of the Maddock Active Women, presents a check to Amy Simon, secretary of the Maddock Park Board, for a new chemical system at the Maddock Swimming Pool. The Active Women have provided funds for many improvements at the pool, including a water heating system and the propane to run the boiler, a custom-fit pool cover and a new high diving board.

Senior officers earn awards at FFA event
Four senior officers of the A.S. Gibbens FFA Chapter of Maddock had a memorable State FFA Convention held at NDSU in Fargo June 2-6.
Selected as the State Star Farmer was Paul Rice, son of John and Barb Rice. Paul also won a state proficiency award in grain production and was the co-chairman of the State FFA Screening Committee which nominated FFA members for the ND State 2008-2009 Officer Team.
Kimberly Randle, daughter of Wayne and Diane Randle, was selected the State Star in Agribusiness. Kimberly was also selected the State AgriScience Student Award Winner and was the state winner in the Food Science and Technology Proficiency Area. Kimberly also received a gold award for her secretary’s book.
Courtney Foss, daughter of Scott and Vicky Foss, was a finalist for the State Star in Agriscience and received a gold award for her treasurer’s book.
Michelle Olson, daughter of Daryl and Val Olson, as president of the Maddock FFA Chapter for 2007-2008, accepted the plaque for a gold award in the National Chapter Award Program. Maddock was one of eight North Dakota FFA Chapters selected to advance to national competition. Michelle was the motivator in leading the Maddock Chapter this past year in accomplishing the goals in chapter, community and leadership activities.
Paul, Kimberly, Michelle and Courtney received a gold award in the State Dairy Foods Contest and were members of a gold fifth place team. All placed in the top 25 of 162 students in the State Dairy Foods Contest. Michelle was a three year officer in the Maddock Chapter and past president. Paul was a two year officer and past vice president. Kimberly was a two year officer and past secretary and Courtney was past treasurer. All received a gold award as officers in district leadership and members of a fifth place team at the State FFA Parliamentary Procedure Contest. All four students received their state FFA degree at the 79th State FFA Convention.
According to chapter FFA advisor, Gary Wald, "These four senior FFA members have been a joy to work with during the past five years. They were very motivated and were outstanding leaders for the FFA chapter, the Maddock School and the Maddock community."

Left to right in front are Michelle Olson, Kimberly Randle, Courtney Foss and Paul Rice, who earned many awards in the course of their FFA activities. In the rear is chapter advisor Gary Wald.

Board gets funds
Brian Maddock, left, president of the Benson County Rodeo Association, presents a check to Kent Neppl, president of the Maddock Park Board. The rodeo club gave a donation to the park board after bartending for the Annual Maddock Charity Ball held in February.

Student theatre to be held at Sheyenne July 4-6
A student theatre will present "This Is a Test" as part of the Sheyenne All-School Reunion and the 125th anniversary of the city of Sheyenne. Directed by Charlotte Franks-Erickson and sponsored by Sheyenne Theatre And Recreation in the Summer (STARS), the production has a cast and crew of 12.
Have you ever had a dream where you haven’t been to class for the whole semester and there’s a test that day or you’re ready for the test but for some reason you cannot find the room in which the test is to be administered? That is similar to the test anxiety in "This Is a Test" by Stephen Gregg.
"I selected this play having seen it done as a one-act and knowing its theme tied in with Sheyenne’s All-School Reunion," said Mrs. Erickson. All but two of the students in the cast have also been in Mrs. Erickson’s kindergarten classes over the years.
The play will be performed in the air-conditioned First Lutheran Church in Sheyenne on Friday, July 4 at 2 p.m.; Saturday, July 5 at 4:30 p.m.; and Sunday, July 6 at 3 p.m. There will be an admission charge. Concessions will be available.

Cast members of the Sheyenne student theater are pictured. Left to right are Shantel Thumb, Leah Poulsen, Loren Nadeau, Collin Hanson, Shayla Thumb, Sandra Larson and Joanna Larson. Not pictured are David and Katherine Chenze, Maddie Loe, Coltin LaBrie and Brady Carr.