1
BY LOUISA BARBER SIDNEY HERALD Sidney-born Rick Norby is deter- mined to make a difference in his hometown when he inherits the city’s top leadership spot at the end of the year. It’s a position he’s been thinking about taking for over a year. Now, having secured it in an unopposed race, Sidney’s next mayor sat down with Herald staff on Friday to talk finances, future growth, policies and what he wants to see at the end of his first term. ‘OWED IT TO MY COMMUNITY’ Norby, a Sidney City Council mem- ber from Ward III, first ran for his position in 2007, beating out incum- bent Wayne Swigart and serves on the Board of Adjustments (zoning), Water and Sewer Committee and Police and Fire Committee while chairing the Parks and Recreation Committee. “I felt I owed it back to the commu- nity,” Norby said, who’d been drawn into local politics by watching city council meetings and saw a need for change. “I just felt I owed it to my com- munity because it’s always taken care of me.” The fu- ture mayor says it’s that same mental- ity which drove him to run for mayor, and he’s determined to imple- ment changes, starting from the top, down. “When I’m mayor, I want everybody’s opinion,” said Norby, who also wants the council to com- municate more during meet- ings. “I will hold everybody accountable for their ward.” He promises to not let issues die in commit- tee, something that’s happened during his time as council- man, requiring answers from council mem- bers. And that communication includes taking input on the annual budget, which he says should be more open to the council. “I want input from everybody on what they need out of their groups,” he said. PRIORITIES Norby’s first priority is the sewer lagoon, trying to find the funds to pay for it and keep it as “cheap” as possible to avoid bonding because it “just gives me a bad taste in my mouth.” That, he adds, is a last op- tion, preferring instead to work with county commissioners to work out a plan. “I’m hoping we can get together with the commissioners to try to get something worked out,” Norby said. “If they’re not willing to kick any- thing in, at least maybe we can bor- row from them and get it started.” Bitter about the end result of the 2013 legislative session, the council- man urged local leadership to work together to get through upcoming challenges, vowing to travel to Hel- ena when the Legislature convenes to argue on behalf of Sidney’s needs. But he fears that when the state fi- nally gets on board to realize eastern Montana needs help, it may be too late. “I still feel, when everything Tri Fecta Home Center NOW OPEN Tile, Furniture, Lighting & more Open Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. • Sun. 1-5 p.m. • 1051 S. Central Ave XNLV98334 WEDNESDAY JULY 10, 2013 105th year, No. 55 Sidney, Montana www.sidneyherald.com 75 CENTS Sunrise Festival of the Arts. Pages 2-4B. SERVING RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE SURROUNDING AREA FOR 105 YEARS Bulletin Board Pie social The Sidney Kiwanis Club will have its pie social from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Veterans Memorial Park. Menu includes brats, hot dogs, beans, chips, bever- ages, ice cream and pie. Field Day The MSU Eastern Agricul- tural Research Center will have its Field Day starting at 8:30 a.m. July 18. Injury prevention Richland County Injury Prevention Team and DUI Task Force will hold its quarterly meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (today) at the Community Services Building – upstairs confer- ence rooms. Come view the year end reports, this year’s work plan and compiled statistics. Car show A car show is being planned during Fairview’s Old Timers Festival from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 20. For more information, call Gene Trudell, 480-1202. New students Students new to Sidney Public Schools for the 2013- 2014 school year are asked to register as soon as possible at Central School, 200 Third Ave. S.E., between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Hamburgers in the Park The Sharp Shooters relay team will have Hamburgers in the Park in Fairview at Sharbono Park Thursdays starting at 5:30 p.m. Happy birthday The Sidney Herald wishes happy birthday this week to friends John Hoffpauir, Ellen Robinson, Lawrence Woods, Roxie Britton, Mick- ey Wick, Brandon Scheetz, Mikayla Verhasselt, Brian Heck, Jerry Wipf, Mcken-z Ramus, Chad Zueger, Neissa Jensen, Rebecca Pratt, Paul Steinbeisser, Melody Hurst, Jeremy Evenson, Pat Reynolds, Ashlee Shaw, Bryan Knaff, Melissa As- beck, Torrey Powers, Kaye Nelson, Margie Webster, Sheila Dazell, Janelle Carl- son Stoneking, Lyle Goss, Todd Schwartz, Paula Hahn, Amy Conlin, Yvette Welty, Bill Triplett, Lisa Johnson, Tammy Steinbeisser, Austin Clock, Lacy Laroque, Kristi Wells, Heather Torrence Mattson, Jessica Ralph, Shirley Hickok, Tami Smith, Joshua Morasko, Case Bubka, Ryan Baumgartner, Janice Oland and Kayla Sherman. Deaths Dorothy Ullman Collins, 94 Barbara Daleske, 88 Page 3A Inside Around Town ..... 2A Classifieds .......3-4B Deaths ............... 3A Dial an Expert . .5B NIE. ................... 6A Oil report ........... 6B Opinion ............ 10A Sports . . . . .1-2, 6B The Richland County Fair announces something new for this year’s fair: national anthem tryouts to sing at the flag-raising ceremony, prior to the main concert and before the two rodeos. Fair manager Jamie Larson said there will be four total winners who will be selected by the fair board. Deadline for entry is July 22. People can submit their video entries by uploading them at the Richland Coun- ty Fair’s Facebook page, emailing jlarson@richland. org or mailing it to the fair office at P.O. Box 1026 Sidney, MT 59270. Next in line Future mayor makes lagoon priority, sets vision for Sidney’s future LOUISA BARBER | SIDNEY HERALD Rick Norby says he wants to give back to his hometown as he vows to work to solve Sidney’s infrastructure issues. LOUISA BARBER | SIDNEY HERALD Upon St. Crispin’s Day! The young King Henry V, portrayed by Sean Driscoll, leads his men into battle against the French with an impassioned speech, securing his place as England’s couragous majesty. Now in its 41st season, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks presented “Henry V” to an enthusiastic crowd Saturday evening at Veterans Memorial Park in Sidney. SEE NORBY, PAGE 12A Daines: Republicans could split $940 billion Farm Bill BY LOUISA BARBER SIDNEY HERALD When the U.S. House version of the massive Farm Bill failed to pass, Republican leaders were shocked, but so were many others, including Montana Congressman Steve Daines, who on the night of the vote, searched the Internet for early reports on what hap- pened. “There was plenty of finger-pointing going both ways on it,” Daines said Tuesday, during his visit to Sidney. “We were excited because this thing was actu- ally going to get through, going to see the conference get it done.” He spoke with lo- cal agriculture producers who worry about the decline in their industry, the impacts from the Farm Bill and about the direction the country’s heading. In all, 62 House Repub- licans voted against the $940 billion legisla- tion, funding mostly the Supplemental Nutrition As- sistance Program (or SNAP) and food stamps. Daines, who voted for the bill, said he spoke with several col- leagues to figure out what it would take for them to vote for it. “What’s happened is the food stamps part has just exploded in costs,” he said, “and primarily since President Obama’s gotten into office where the Farm Bill is just a little compo- nent now of the overall food stamp farm bill.” Indeed, of the $940 billion, some $750 billion go to SNAP with the remainder directed to agri- culture. Half a century ago, funding was split even. So now there’s talk that the Farm Bill could be split, which could likely convince fiscal conservatives to vote for it. “I think dividing the two up gets us some mem- bers to say yes right away based on the principle belief that the Farm Bill should not be attached to this great big nutrition bill,” he said. “The American people want to see transparency. Let them see what we vote for for ag and what we vote for for food stamps.” The Senate’s version of the bill cut $4 billion to SNAP, while the House proposed $20 billion in cuts, and while some Republicans say they can’t support the Farm Bill because the nutri- tion program has become so large, Daines warned that by not voting to fund the agriculture industry, it “leaves the ag community with a lot of uncertainty.” The deadline to pass a farm bill is Sept. 30; the ses- sion does not resume until Sept. 8, which leaves 22 days to get a vote in. “We need to get another vote in July,” Daines said. “That’s what we’re push- ing for.” The congressman said he’ll help House leadership find 25-30 Republican votes, sensing that getting the bill on the floor is a high priority since “there’s enough of us back there fighting for it, truly.” And the consequences to not pass a farm bill will be severe, such as $8- or $9-a- gallon milk. “It would be ab- solute chaos,” Daines said. At the end of the discus- sion, however, the lone congressman from Montana talked of the trillion-dollar debt, which he says can be solved by trillion-dollar solu- tions. And one of them is through natural resources. “The opportunities we have to be self-sufficient, energy- independent in the next 10 years, that’s no longer political pie in the sky. That ‘The American people want to see transparency. Let them see what we vote for for ag and what we vote for for food stamps.’ Steve Daines Montana Congressman SEE DAINES, PAGE 12A County fair to hold national anthem contest
