News Releases for March 2007
March 29, 2007
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Hoeven Joined By Legislators, Williston Students To Sign Bill Establishing Chokecherry As State Fruit
BISMARCK, N.D. - Governor John Hoeven today was joined by legislators, educators, and Mrs. Nancy Selby's sixth grade class from Rickard Elementary School at the State Capitol to sign Senate Bill 2145, legislation making the native chokecherry (prunus virginiana) North Dakota's official state fruit.
In addition to Mrs. Selby and her class, joining Hoeven for the signing at the State Capitol were Sen. Stan Lyson; Sen. Nick Hacker; Sen. JoNell Bakke; Sen. Joan Heckaman; Rep. Patrick Hatlestad; Rep. Gary Sukut; Rep. Dorvan Solberg; and Williston Schools Superintendent Warren Larson. Students included Lexie Enget, Ali Wells, Hailey Horob, Cassidy Owens, Josten Bratcher, Amanda Suess, Londen Peterson, Gabe Bjerke, Derek Woodhams, Jake Germundson, Courtney Wrolson and Ali Brurud.
"We often talk about how bright and talented North Dakota's young people are, and here we have an outstanding example of their initiative, intelligence and civic spirit," Hoeven said. "When they wrote to me last year I advised them to work through the legislative process, which they've done with a genuine appreciation for the democratic process. The rest, as they say, is history."
Now seventh graders at Williston Middle School, the class wrote individually to Hoeven last year to petition for the chokecherry as North Dakota's official fruit. The Governor told them it would require an act of the Legislature to establish that and he encouraged them to work with their local representatives. The students then contacted Sen. Stan Lyson of Williston, who sent them off with a homework assignment: "Is the chokecherry native to North Dakota? Is it really a fruit? How does it relate to North Dakota? Do your research and make the case for the chokecherry as the official state fruit."
The students were not all in agreement about which fruit should be nominated. A group researched the buffalo berry, another the june berry and a third was the chokecherry. After presenting all the information to the class, they decided the chokecherry was the best choice, with its long history documented in the Lewis and Clark Journals, according to Selby.
By early January of 2007, Lyson and other legislators had a bill draft. Students testified for the measure in both House and Senate Committee hearings, citing Lewis and Clark's journal, as well as experts in history, biology, conservation, wildlife, and food science, establishing the chokecherry as a plant native to North Dakota, and an important part of the state's history and heritage originating in Native American culture.
"Never did I imagine that a group of sixth graders would take an assignment to the level necessary for legislative action," said Selby. "Talk about commitment. They thoroughly researched and testified that the chokecherry should become the official fruit of North Dakota. I have marveled as I watched legislators affirm the student's research and vote in favor of their idea."
Chokecherries were used by the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara people for pemmican, tea and cakes, as well as for medicinal purposes. Today, the fruit is used for jelly, wine and syrup, as well as for shelterbelts and ornamental shrubs. On Monday, the North Dakota House approved the measure, sending it to the Governor for his signature.
"The real story here is about a group of youngsters who, under the guidance of a gifted teacher, not only learned, but applied the legislative process to really get something done," Lyson said. "Every one of them is a tremendous student, and Mrs. Selby really kept them motivated."
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