1
BY SUSAN MINICHIELLO SIDNEY HERALD The ESGR, or Employer Support of the National Guard and Reserve, had 50 MonDak employers ride in their military helicopters Saturday afternoon for a “boss lift” event at the Sidney-Richland Airport. The two military helicop- ters were a Boeing CH-47 Chinook and a Sikorsky Blackhawk UH-60. “We’re excited to come up and just give back to the community,” Matt Thomp- son, Army National Guard, said. The ESGR works to facili- tate a bond between civilian employers and any em- ployees they may have who serve in the National Guard and Reserve. During a pre-flight presen- tation, Greg Strizich, ESGR charter Helena, explained the ESGR’s vision is to “de- velop and promote a culture in which all American em- ployers support and value the military service of their employees.” Strizich’s presentation also included informa- tion about the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), a federal law that states employers must provide service member employees with the right to a military leave of absence with prompt job reinstate- ment upon return. Of the two military helicopters available for the boss lift, the Blackhawk was the smaller one, fitting eight to nine people. The Chinook has the ability to fit three times as many people. Thompson mentioned previ- ously fitting an SUV in the Chinook. BY SUSAN MINICHIELLO SIDNEY HERALD Montana Gov. Steve Bull- ock made a surprise visit Friday to the 40th annual Montana History Confer- ence, which was hosted in Sidney this year for the first time ever. Montana History Society director Bruce Whittenberg announced to conference attendees during the lun- cheon Friday that the gov- ernor would come by later that day, at 2:30 p.m., which would change the confer- ence schedule of sessions. The surprised gasps from the attendees following the announcement indi- cated excitement. “This is the first time a Montana governor has ever come to a Montana History Confer- ence,” Whittenberg said. Sidney Herald publisher Robert Arrowsmith served as a catalyst for the change in schedule. When Arrow- smith found out Bullock was going to be in Sidney for his “back to school” tour at the same time as the history conference, he called Bullock’s press secre- tary Thursday. “I thought it was a good idea for him, while in Sid- ney, to speak at the confer- ence,” Arrowsmith said. “I just thought the timing was right.” Bullock was greeted with a standing ovation from around 150 history con- ference attendees, a mix of educators and history lovers. The theme of the conference this year was “Boom and Bust.” During his speech, which was not pre-written, Bull- ock mentioned that Sidney had “both great opportuni- ties and great challenges for the state.” He also em- phasized the importance of history and education. “Really, when you look at where Montana can go…the real hope is fulfilling the po- tential of our students, and that’s where our economy changes,” Bullock said. He mentioned the second largest industry in Mon- tana is tourism. “The Historical Society — wonderful to have all of you gathered here in Sidney, and hopefully we recognize that the work of the Histori- cal Society isn’t limited to a building on Sixth Avenue in Helena,” Bullock said. “A lot of what makes us rich and wealthy is our appreciation of even what tomorrow can be and will be is what we’ve been in the past.” The Montana History Conference alternates host locations within the state and every other year it is hosted in Helena, where the Montana Historical Society is based. A few regular conference attendees found it funny that the conference often takes place in the state capital, but the first time a governor stopped by was when it took place across the state in Sidney. “I certainly appreciate getting to be maybe the first governor in 40 years to actually come to one of the historical…conferences,” Bullock said in his closing statement. “I’m glad we were able to work it out and that he was able to make that stop,” Ar- rowsmith added. Bullock also met with Sidney Mayor Bret Smelser and school officials Friday before heading to the his- tory conference. [email protected] Saturday, September 28th from 10am – 4pm Williston State College. The Williston Herald is hosting a literacy event! This is an all age event, we will be raising funds for our local libraries. There will be multiple Activities going on at different areas within the college, including: spelling bee, writing workshops, Book signings by local authors and more. We invite you to participate in this event to promote your group/organization. Contact Meredith McClain, Circulation Sales at 701-572-2165 for more information and booth rentals. XNLV102075 WEDNESDAY SEPT. 25, 2013 105th year, No. 77 Sidney, Montana www.sidneyherald.com 75 CENTS Eagles prepare for Laurel. Page 3B. SERVING RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE SURROUNDING AREA FOR 105 YEARS Bulletin Board Welcome home troops A welcome home dinner for the local National Guard is 6 p.m. Oct. 5 at the VFW Post. Parade of Homes The second annual Parade of Homes is sure to appeal to a wide variety of area residents Sunday. Properties to be show- cased include Lee and Kelly Alvstad’s home at 118 15th Ave. S.W., Conrad and Linda Conradsen’s home at 10761 County Road 344 in Savage, Justin and Tammy Jones’ home at 303 Second Ave. S.W., Dennis and Brenda Marker’s home at 1576 11th Ave. S.W., Brady and Nicki Reuter’s home at 11151 County Road 345 in Savage and Shawn and Tanya Rost’s home at 136 Washington St. in Crane. Tickets cost $15 and are available at Creative Solu- tions, the Sidney Herald, Trifecta Home Center and the Boys and Girls Club. Tickets can be purchased at Creative Solutions the day of the event. Tailgate party Stockman Bank will hold a tailgate party starting at 5 p.m. Friday for Fairview’s homecoming football game. Food will include BBQ pork sandwiches, potato salad and chips for $5. Proceeds go to the Fairview Booster Club. Happy birthday The Sidney Herald wishes happy birthday this week to friends Chantel Schmitt, Ryder Rice, Mary Norgard, Jonathon Biddle, Micale Morehouse, Taunya Rau, Ashley Volkman, Jason Jacobson, Dustin Benson, Kyla Jo Berger, Todd Mc- Manus, Dee Lorenz, Marci Albin, Christi Amundson, Heather Burke, Chase Cvan- cara, Jason Barkley, Jordan Stevens, Tara Mathern, Lexi Haggerty, Amy Hayden, Riley Chatterton, David Emly, Tracey Paulsen, Anna Mathieu, Viviana Larson, Caryn Linster-Wold, Chase Hagler, Tanner Hagler, Derek Nentwig, Chris Gurney, Tena Kuylen, Michael Fink and Kelsey Jo Hurley. Kids carnival The Kids 1st! Carnival is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Richland County Fair Event Center. Entrance fee is $1. Tickets will be sold at the event for 25 cents each. All proceeds benefit commu- nity organizations running booths. Vendors are needed. Call Elaine Stedman, 480- 5719, for more information. Deaths Mae Eldridge, 90 Diane Kilsdonk, 66 Dorothy E. LeRoy, 90 Duane Martin, 64 Kelly Mason, 61 Page 3A Inside Around Town ..... 2A Classifieds .......4-7B Deaths ............... 3A Dial an Expert . .8B NIE. ................... 9A Oil report ......... 11A Opinion ............ 10A Sports . . ..... . .1-3B BY BILL VANDER WEELE SIDNEY HERALD When Gov. Steve Bullock came to Sidney as part of his statewide “back to school” tour Friday, he did a lot of listening while hear- ing a good deal about the school district’s challenges due to oil impacts. Sidney Superintendent of Schools Daniel Farr explained the school district has experienced a 16 percent enrollment increase during the last two years. There is a 20.9 percent increase in the special education area this year. Of the 93 new families, 66 are from outside of Mon- tana. According to federal standards, Farr said 37 of the students are “technical- ly homeless” and qualify for additional services — aca- demic and free and reduced lunch at the school. Although there are 134 new students to Sidney this school year, the school dis- trict lost 118 students since last spring. “That’s been pretty much the standard,” Farr said. “People moving in and moving out.” Because most of the in- coming students are two or three years behind Sidney students, the school district has started projects such as a math recovering program in the summer and other individual programs. Farr said of the 32 impact statements from engineer- ing firms that he has seen during the last two years, only one is for sure not going to happen. If the six largest proposed develop- ments occur, Sidney will see an enrollment increase between 1,300-1,700. “It’s such a guess to determine how quick of an impact that will be for the district,” the superintendent said. Farr expressed his concerns about keeping employees in such areas as custodial and kitchen help. “Housing affordability and economics are the reasons that disallow businesses from hanging on to people.” As far as the school dis- trict’s teaching staff, Farr is worried that 33 percent are retirement eligible and that some residents have been selling their houses at a profit and moving away. On the other side of the spectrum, younger teachers want to start a family where housing is more affordable. “It’s a double-edged sword for us,” Farr noted. To emphasize the point, trustee Dexter Thiel said that as a business owner he needs to pay 50 percent higher for an entry level position than a similar busi- ness does in Billings. “And I still can’t find anybody.” School officials thanked Bullock for his support of Senate Bill 175, which was approved during the past session. For Sidney, one of the best features of Senate Bill 175 is that when the high school district reaches BILL VANDER WEELE | SIDNEY HERALD Gov. Steve Bullock, left, listens to statements from Sidney Superintendent of Schools Daniel Farr. Governor hears about challenges of Sidney’s schools ‘Housing affordability and economics are the reasons that disallow businesses from hanging on to people.’ Daniel Farr Sidney superintendent of schools SUSAN MINICHIELLO | SIDNEY HERALD Area employers and Army National Guard members board a Boeing CH-47 Chinook Saturday. Governor makes stops in Sidney SEE BULLOCK, PAGE 12A Guard support National Guard conducts ‘boss lift’ at local airport SUSAN MINICHIELLO | SIDNEY HERALD A view of eastern Montana from a Boeing CH-47 Chinook. SEE GUARD, PAGE 12A SUSAN MINICHIELLO | SIDNEY HERALD Gov. Bullock speak during his visit at the conference.
