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BY BILL VANDER WEELE SIDNEY HERALD The Sidney Education As- sociation honored Friends of Education and longtime staff members during its an- nual banquet Saturday. Selected for Friends of Education awards were Brenner and Averett & Co., P.C., for West Side Elemen- tary School, the MonDak Heritage Center for the Sidney Middle School and Richland County District Judge Katherine Irigion for Sidney High School. Brenner and Averett was recognized for keeping track of the funding process and serving as treasurer in West Side’s new playground campaign. The Sidney Education Association honored the MonDak Heritage Center for assisting with art classes and always supporting other programs. Irigion was selected for being a valuable asset in Sidney High School’s street law class and helping a great deal in the music depart- ment. Retiring staff members who were honored were high school teachers Rober- ta Hall and Caryn Fehilly, speech therapist Geri Willer and title instructor Myrna Paulson. Sidney Superintendent of Schools Daniel Farr noted the school district was los- ing 98 years of experience. Farr said one of his daughters was person- ally influenced by Hall’s outstanding teaching of Spanish. Hall taught in the system for 39 years. Farr noted Fehilly taught valuable lessons both on and off the court during her ca- reer at Sidney High School. The superintendent was “amazed” with Willer’s abilities as a speech thera- pist for more than 29 years. He credited Paulson with doing an excellent job of preparing students so they could go forward and excel in the classroom. Youth of the Month Connor Klodt was chosen by his peers as the April Youth of the Month at the Boys & Girls Club of Richland County. He is the son of Erika Klodt. Connor is an intelligent and inquisitive young man, who is willing to help out his friends. Connor can usu- ally be found in power hour or the games room while at the club. Connor is a second-grader in Mrs. Romo’s class at West Side Elementary School. His favorite subject is math, but he wanted to point out the best thing is always recess. Connor’s favorite things to do at the club are play with Legos and hang out with his friends. Bryan McDowell Trent Sharbono Steven Messer Your Name Here! 203 South Central Ave., Sidney 482-2113 Van pulls up, dirt pulls out! • Residential • Commercial • Industrial Carpets Area rugs Furniture Campers Temp. Housing 406-482-2113 Since 1986 Join Our Team Apply In Person WEDNESDAY MAY 16, 2012 104th year, No. 40 Sidney, Montana www.sidneyherald.com 75 CENTS Welcome to Best Western. Pages 1-3C. SERVING RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE SURROUNDING AREA FOR OVER 100 YEARS Bulletin Board Newsmaker Deaths Robert Brent Murray, 63 Katherine “Sam” Rigney, 78 Page 3A Inside Around Town . . .2A Classifieds . . . .4-8B Deaths . . . . . . . .3A Dial an Expert .6-7B Oil, gas . . . .... . .4A Opinion . . . . . .10A School page . . . .9B Sports . . . .1-2, 10B Clean-up day Sidney will have a clean-up date Saturday starting at 9 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park. New food bank hours Due to increased need, the Richland County Food Bank’s summer hours start- ing June 4 will be by appoint- ment Monday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments will be taken and made by phone, 433-8142. The change will al- low the volunteers to restock and prepare the shelves to better serve the community. Candidates forum The Girard Homemakers are hosting a candidates forum Thursday at 7 p.m. at Girard Hall, 17 miles west of Fairview on Highway 201. Come and hear what the candidates have to say and bring your questions. Happy birthday The Sidney Herald wishes happy birthday this week to friends Nicole Pope, Staci Schroeder Amundson, Jorden Cotter, Beth Miller Purcell, Calvin Iverson, Hannah Nielson, Sara Huft, Kay Johnson, Holly Garza, Stephanie Lamason-Benson, Shelby Stanford, Kiley Volesky, Brenda Jones, Milt Hovland, Michael Hammer, Jarred Sifuentes, Matt Har- ris, Abrienne DeMarrias, Nancy Cox, Troy Monsen, Kevin Goff, Briana Lassey, Ashley Sullivan, Alexis Smith, Bryar Lange, Tom Stradtman, Debbie Norby, Chantel Neubauer, Courtney Oleson, Janae Todd, Heidi Smith, Cozy Jacobson and Grace Marie Shope. BY BILL VANDER WEELE SIDNEY HERALD As part of his Call to Action in the Bakken, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced the start of the Eastern Montana Energy Workforce Development Initiative Friday. The initiative, with the Montana University System, eastern Mon- tana community colleges and tribal colleges as partners, aims to train individuals for good-paying jobs in the Bakken. “This is truly a Montana solution for Montana jobs – there’s no reason why energy companies and related industries should not be hiring workers trained and educated right here in the state. This initiative sends the message far and wide that Montana is proactively working to rewrite the cycle of boom and bust,” Baucus said in a press release. “I’m pleased to see our community colleges and our state’s higher education system working together to answer our call to action in the Bakken.” Stefani Hicswa, president of Miles Community College, explains the initiative will help eastern Montana colleges expand their reach and focus. “We’ve realized that we need to expand the service to what compa- nies are looking for,” Hicswa told the Herald. For example, more short-term training will be offered such as nights or weekends to accommodate oil field workers’ 14 days on, 14 days off, schedules. Instruction may include CDL safety training, CPR, safety train- ing, dealing with hazardous materi- als and construction training. “We know that any kind of con- struction type training would be helpful in your area,” Hicswa said. The initiative’s first project is to execute a comprehensive study and produce a catalog of available edu- cational resources at participating institutions. In the initial phase, the study will aim to identify important educational needs that are of inter- est to energy company employers but are not currently available. A total of $9,500 in funds from the 2010 Montana Economic Develop- ment Summit will be used to launch the initiative. Hicswa explains funds will edu- cate the public and companies about what offerings are available at the colleges as well as hold meetings so more information can be obtained and provided. “They know that we’re here, but not the depths of what we can do,” Hicswa said of college’s offerings. “We appreciate all that Sen. Bau- cus is doing for eastern Montana. In order for MCC to address the emerging workforce training needs in the Bakken, it is imperative that industry is aware of all that we can do to assist in matching trained workers with the job opportunities. This initiative is one more example of how Max listens to our needs and responds to eastern Montana.” Tony Preite, who Baucus recently announced as the new multi-agency rural development coordinator for energy impacted communities, said the new initiative is a crucial step forward for the region. “I highly commend the Montana higher edu- cation community for developing this project and also Senator Max Baucus for providing the funding and support.” Preite also serves as director of University Outreach and Economic Development at MSU-Northern. [email protected] Baucus’ initiative addresses workforce development in eastern Montana BILL VANDER WEELE | SIDNEY HERALD Selected Friends of Education were, from left, Terry Averett of Brenner and Averett, District Judge Katherine Irigoin and Benjamin Clark of the MonDak Heritage Center. BILL VANDER WEELE | SIDNEY HERALD Retiring staff members include, from left, Geri Willer, Caryn Fehilly and Roberta Hall. Not pictured is Myrna Paulson. SEA honors community members, retirees Editor’s note: The following is part of series exploring volunteer opportunities in the community. BY LOUISA BARBER SIDNEY HERALD Darlene Hurley has been working at The Caring Corner Hospital Gift Shop at Sidney Health Center for eight years. Ever since she lost her husband and wanted to do something with her time. She likes the setting. She previously worked at The Homestead, a former retail store in downtown Sidney, and feels the same toward The Caring Corner. “I just love it. I get around people, I get to see people, visit, talk,” Hurley said. “Lots of times I feel God has placed me here.” Hurley is among the 32 volunteers who make up the staff of Caring Corner. All work once a month, though many choose to work several times throughout. The gift shop is 100 percent volun- teer. “Volunteers work as a clerk, they run the till and provide customer service to our customers,” manager Diana Meehan said. “With- Local stores fueled by volunteers Lester Van Waters Jr. and Michael Keith Spell pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide and attempted kidnapping charges during their arraignment hearings in Seventh Judicial District Court Tuesday afternoon. During the hearing for Spell, District Judge Rich- ard Simonton asked the standard questions of if Spell was currently under the influence of alcohol or drugs and if he suffered from any emotional prob- lems. His attorney Randi Hood said there are some issues concering Spell’s competency, but she had explained to Spell what was going to happen during this proceeding. “I believe he is able to go forward with being able to enter a not guilty plea,” Hord said. Because it’s a capital punishment case, by law Spell needs to have two lawyers with capital case backgrounds. Steven Scott will serve as Spell’s second lawyer. Waters’ representation consists of Cynthia Thorn- ton and Gregory Jackson. Omnibus hearings have been scheduled for July 17 at 2 p.m. for Spell and July 17 at 2:30 p.m. for Waters. Attorneys for Waters and Spell agreed to have waivers for a speedy trial signed. Hood said she doesn’t expect the trial to end until late winter or early spring. The deliberate homicide charge pertains to causing the death of Arnold by ei- ther choking her or holding her face in mud or water until she was dead. Poten- tial sentences are death or life imprisonment or impris- onment in the state prison of not less than 10 years or more than 100 years. The attempted kidnap- ping charge alleges Waters attempted to restrain Sidney teacher Sherry Arnold by either secreting or holding her in a place of isolation and committed an act of furtherance by operating a green Ford Explorer when SEE VOLUNTEERS, PAGE 12A ‘Lots of times I feel God has placed me here.’ Darlene Hurley Volunteer Waters, Spell plead not guilty BILL VANDER WEELE | SIDNEY HERALD Michael Keith Spell pleads not guilty in Sidney Tuesday afternoon. SEE TRIALS, PAGE 12A
