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by Janet Hansen
Todd Anderson, Lisbon, came before the Ransom County Commissioners at their Tuesday, January 20, meeting with some concerns over the procedure being following in appointing a sheriff to replace Jim Klinicke, who resigned the position in November. Anderson stated that it had come to his attention that the committee meetings at which candidates were interviewed and those interviews reviewed had been opened to the public and that a couple members of the public had been in attendance. He stated that he was concerned that public input might skew or have an effect on the committee’s decision. He added that he believed it was the board of commissioners’ job to appoint a new sheriff and they should do so without any input from the public.
It was explained that the board had appointed a screening committee to narrow the list of candidates down. Since the board was delegating decision-making authority to the committee, State’s Attorney Fallon Kelly had researched state law on the subject. He found an attorney general’s opinion on a similar case, which stated that if a board delegates decision-making power to a committee of members not constituting a quorum, the committee meetings must be open to the public. Therefore, Kelly’s opinion was that the sheriff search committee meetings should be made public. Read the rest of this entry »
by Janet Hansen
The committee which had been delegated the duty of narrowing down a slate of candidates for the position of Ransom County Sheriff reported to the board of commissioners at their January 20 meeting that they have narrowed the list to three. Following the resignation of Ransom County Sheriff Jim Klinicke on November 26, the board was faced with a decision on how to fill the vacant position until the next general election. North Dakota law indicates that the position is to be filled by appointment, but no timeline is given. Since the department is short-staffed by both the resignation of Klinicke as well as the fact that Deputy Tracy Jund is still incapacitated due to injuries suffered in a vehicle accident, it appeared to the board that they needed to get the appointment process started as quickly as possible.
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by Terri Kelly Barta
Former Ransom County Sheriff Jim Klinicke has been charged with Misapplication of Entrusted Property, and Public Servant Refusing to Perform Duty, according to Kimberly Radermacher, special assistant Ransom County State’s Attorney. Each charge is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. The charges were filed on Wednesday, January 21 in District Court, Ransom County.
(On the second charge) “ I took what I thougnt were the most important facts and made one charge of Public Servant Refusing to Perform Duty,” said Radermacher. “I intend to use the other facts gathered to prove the case.”
The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) began an investigation after receiving complaints from within the sheriff’s department, according to Radermacher. Read the rest of this entry »
The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) is requesting comments on the inclusion of Lisbon’s walking bridge replacement project in the state’s Transportation Improvement Program’s list of projects for 2009.
The Lisbon Walking Bridge, which connected 8th Avenue West with 8th Avenue East, snapped a cable and collapsed on September 24, 2008. The bridge, which had been built in August of 1975 by the Army Reserves, provided access for many area youngsters from the city’s east side to get to school on the other side of the river. It also served as a route for residents on the east side of the Sheyenne River to get uptown.
Tracy Eslinger, Moore Engineering, working on behalf of the City of Lisbon, contacted the state for help in replacing the bridge.
Governor John Hoeven notified Mayor Ross Cole and the City of Lisbon in mid-November that the NDDOT had granted Lisbon a total of $205,000 for the new walking bridge. According to Governor Hoeven’s letter, the project meets federal aid eligibility criteria for a Transportation Enhancement grant, which was approved at $140,000 and the Safe Routes to Schools program, which awarded a grant of $65,000. The two grants total $205,000.
The public is invited to view the state’s current Transportation Improvement Program by going to the NDDOT website at www.dot.nd.gov and clicking on “more public” and then “Future Road Projects – 2009-2012 Final Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.”
Comments should be sent no later than February 20, 2009 to the following address: Dave Leftwich at NDDOT, 608 E. Boulevard Ave., Bismarck, ND 58505-0700. Comments may also be send via e-mail to dleftwich@nd.gov with “Lisbon-Sheyenne River Pedestrian Bridge” in the subject line.
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by Joe Howell
The rest of the state finally took notice of this year’s Bronco basketball team. Lisbon not only won their ninth straight game to begin the season but also cracked the AP sportswriters and sportscasters poll for the first time this season. The latest poll had the Broncos rated seventh in the state.
The Broncos absolutely destroyed Oakes as Coach Kim Mark’s team appeared to have started guarding the Tornadoes after they left their team bus and never gave OHS any room to breath. Lisbon blitzed Oakes by a score of 82-28.
Oakes had actually scored almost half of their points by the end of the first quarter and trailed at 24-12. For the next 24 minutes, the Bronco defense limited Oakes to just 16 points in 24 minutes of play. Read the rest of this entry »
by Joe Howell
The Lisbon girls played on back to back nights in the Bronco gym on January 15 and 16 with far different results. The Broncos throttled Oakes with a great second half effort and lost to Kindred behind a bundle (35) of turnovers.
Coach Brad Bittner’s crew won the most important game of the two with their District 1 victory over Oakes.
The Broncos trailed by three at halftime and had a hard time in containing Katie Brademeyer of Oaks. Brademeyer, from Verona, led OHS in scoring with 22 points but the Broncos clogged the lane and controlled both penetration and rebounding in the second half to post their second district win of the season. Lisbon outscored Oakes 26-15 in the second half. Read the rest of this entry »
by Joe Howell
Coach Joe Kern and his merry men of the Bronco wrestling team ended a busy five days of competition on the mat. Lisbon wrestled duals with Central Cass, Hillsboro, LaMoure and Ellendale-Edgeley in that time span.
The schedule did not let up as the Broncos competed at Valley City on Thursday, January 22 before hosting the two day Storhaug Invitational on January 23 and 24.
The journey began in Casselton, moved to Enderlin, and finished in Edgeley.
In the latest state wrestling poll, Lisbon was ranked second and Central Cass fifth. The Broncos flattened the Squirrels at Central Cass on Thursday, January 15 with an awesome display of team balance. Read the rest of this entry »
by Joe Howell
One of the proposed bills in the North Dakota legislature is to force UND and NDSU to play each other in all sports.
Does this belong in the legislature? Probably not BUT the only thing separating the two largest schools from competing against each other is NOT the 75 miles but massive egos.
The Bison and Sioux could have played this year in football as each had the same week open until late in the scheduling process.
This past week Southern Utah flew into Fargo to play on Tuesday, January 20 while the Sioux men were off. Southern Utah is moving from the junior college ranks to Division I. Please do not use that well warn excuse that it will hurt us for the play-offs.
What’s not to like? Let’s see short distance between schools, rabid fan base, big gate?
It is TIME and the TIME is NOW not next year or the following or in 2012. Let the powers that be hammer out the schedule but do not let them out of the room until the schedule of all of the sports sponsored by the two schools are in competition with each other.
Students pursuing a graduate degree, high school students preparing for college and undergraduates majoring in agriculture should consider applying for North Dakota Farm Bureau Promotion and Education (P&E) Committee scholarships.
“We have five scholarships available,” said NDFB Director of Special Programs Gail Scherweit. “We hope that the range of scholarships will help people in various stages of their lives to get a better education.”
The scholarships include one for graduate students, one for students pursuing an agriculture major, another for students who have attended the organization’s leadership and personal growth event, a Farm Bureau family scholarship and the Becki Palmer Scholarship.
“The Becki Palmer Scholarship is for high school seniors graduating this calendar year. The scholarship was started to honor Farm Bureau employee Becki Palmer, who died of cancer,” Scherweit said. “She really helped improve our scholarship program and believed whole-heartedly in educating people about the importance of agriculture and safety to children throughout the state.”
The scholarships are made possible through generous contributions made to the NDFB Foundation.
To donate to the scholarship fund, please send your tax-deductible contribution to the NDFB Foundation, PO Box 2064, Fargo, ND 58107. Please indicate you would like your gift to go to the scholarship fund.
Scholarship applications are available on the North Dakota Farm Bureau Web site at http://www.ndfb.org/promotion/default.asp?ID=393. The applications are due in the NDFB office in Fargo no later than March 15, 2009.
For more information, contact Gail Scherweit at 701-298-2219 or gails@ndfb.org.
North Dakota Farm Bureau is the most effective general farm and ranch organization in the state of North Dakota, with more than 26,000 members and 50 organized county Farm Bureaus.
Super Bowl Sunday is one of America’s biggest and most entertaining national sporting events as friends and families gather to socialize and watch the big game. Yet, it is also one of the Nation’s most dangerous days on the roadways due to impaired driving.
In 2007, fatalities in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes accounted for 32 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities. On Super Bowl Sunday (12:01 a.m. Sunday to 5:59 a.m. Monday), 48 percent of the fatalities occurred in crashes where a driver or motorcycle rider had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .08 and higher.
“We want to pass our safety message to everyone who will be drinking this weekend, real Fans don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk,” said Chief Jeanette Persons. “Please call the right play for the big game and pass your keys to a designated driver before the Super Bowl party begins. Getting caught driving while impaired will result in a costly penalty from local law enforcement and may even result in a turnover of your driving privileges.”
Impaired-driving crashes—and fatalities—can be prevented. Designating a sober driver should be on the top of everyone’s super Bowl party list, but there are other ways you can help save lives, too.
If you are hosting a Super Bowl party:
• Remember, you can be held liable and prosecuted if someone you served alcohol to ends up in an impaired-driving crash.
• Make sure all of your guests designate their sober drivers in advance, or help arrange ride-sharing with other sober drivers.
• Serve lots of food— and include lots of non-alcoholic beverages at the party.
• Stop serving alcohol at the end of the third quarter of the game and begin serving coffee and dessert.
• Take the keys away from anyone who is thinking of driving while impaired.
If you are attending a Super Bowl party or watching at a sports bar or restaurant:
• Avoid drinking too much alcohol too fast. Pace yourself—eat enough food, take breaks, and alternate with non-alcoholic drinks.
• Designate your sober driver before the party begins and give that person your car keys.
• If you don’t have a designated driver, ask a sober friend for a ride home; call a cab, friend, or family member to come get you; or stay where you are and sleep it off until you are sober.
• Never let a friend leave your sight if you think they are about to drive while impaired. Remember, Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk.
• Always buckle up—it’s still your best defense against other impaired drivers.
Impaired driving is no accident nor is it a victimless crime. In 2007, nearly 13,000 people died in highway crashes involving an impaired driver or motorcycle rider with an illegal BAC level of .08 or higher.
Driving impaired or riding with someone who is impaired is simply not worth the risk because the consequences are serious and real. Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving can be significant.
Please act responsibly. Pass your keys to a sober driver before the big game begins. And remember, real Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk.
Jeanette C. Persons
Chief of Police
Lisbon Police Department
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