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Richland County Law & Justice Center new building.
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SIDNEY HERALD SUNDAY, DEC. 12, 2010 1C
LAW & JUSTICE CENTER
Congratulations!We are proud to have worked on the
Richland County Law & Justice Center.
New home for law enforcementFrom old to new: Richland County Law Enforcement Center continues to advance over timeBY LOUISA BARBERSIDNEY HERALD
The recent move to theRichland County Law &Justice Center has been inthe making for a long time,but it isn’t the first, andthose who have been part ofthe local law enforcementfor more than 20 yearsshare some of their memo-ries.
Before the Law Enforce-ment Center housed boththe city and county agen-cies, the two were in com-pletely different buildings:Sidney Police were in theSidney City Hall along withthe city judge, and the Rich-land County Sheriff ’s Of-fice was located in thecourthouse. “But the sheriffactually lived in the jail,”says Chief Deputy MarvinJohnson, who joined theSidney police force in June1968. “That was part of hiscompensation – free roomand board.”
The current city councilroom used to be the officefor police officers. Therewere five of them at thetime Johnson joined. Short-ly before 1968, Johnson re-calls the police didn’t havetwo-way radios. Instead,they were notified by a redlight. Back in the day, thepublic would call the tele-phone operator who wouldthen switch on the light se-cured at the top of an oldbank building where 1stBank now sits. The policesaw the light, and “thenyou’d go to city hall and callthe telephone operator andask her what the call was,”he said, laughing.
A long process, he said,“but how else were you go-ing to do it?” It was just theway it was done then. Alsoat that time, all calls to thesheriff after 5 p.m. went tothe police station. Callsfrom there were made tothe sheriff ’s home. “After 5p.m., there was nobody inthe sheriff ’s department.That office was shut downin the courthouse,” John-son said.
Then in 1976, the Law En-forcement Center under-went a remodeling, one of
several in its life span,which at the time was onlya jail and the sheriff ’s liv-ing quarters. The city andcounty agencies moved intothe building to worktogether, and thebuilding expandedto add the squadroom, chief of po-lice, sheriff ’s officesand the investiga-tions room. Therewas more room inthe new buildingsince there had onlybeen one room toprocess DUIs in theold facility. “The officers re-ally had no place to do bookwork,” Johnson said. “Youjust did it on a desk in thedispatch room.”
Richland County SheriffBrad Baisch recalls start-ing his law enforcement ca-reer in 1977 as a dispatcherand jailer for the county.
The remodel was finishedby then, updated with thelatest technology of the day,such as video cameras in-stalled at the entrances and
a reel-to-reel recorder.“That was pretty impres-sive back then,” the 15-yearveteran sheriff said. Therewas a monitor for each cam-
era for dispatchrather than a sin-gle screen; theequipment wasbulky. But it wasfun, he said. Therewas a camaraderieamongst the offi-cers.
In the early1980s, Baisch saidit became appar-ent they would
need another facility. Thebuilding quickly fell shortof standards; poor ventila-tion and not enough win-dows to let in natural light
were among the com-plaints. In those days, thenumber of prisoners in-creased due to the oil indus-try. Johnson remembersthere were 962 prisoners in1981, and as many as 23were held in the facility;many slept on mats.
So law enforcement can-vassed the county to peti-tion for a bond issue. “Wewere looking for a state-of-the-art facility back thenfor a whole new building,and the bond issue failed,”Baisch said.
Fast forward 20 years lat-er, law enforcement finallygot its up-to-codes law en-forcement facility with lawenforcement, jail (adult andjuvenile), city/county and
district courts and countyattorney’s office all locatedunder one roof. The facilityfeatures a “more efficient”dispatch center, additionalspace to work and an addedfeeling of security.
The facility has been de-signed to last for at least an-other 50 years, giving lawenforcement room to grow.“It’s a privilege to be a partof the process. This build-ing project has been ongo-ing for the last four years,and I’m very humbled to bea part of the decision-mak-ing for a facility that willserve Richland County wellinto the future,” Baischsaid.
ELLEN WZNICK | SIDNEY HERALDThe new Richland County Law & Justice Center.
BY LOUISA BARBERSIDNEY HERALD
In Glenda Bilbrey’s 25years as a dispatcher, she hasseen a lot of change. Fromtype writers and handwrit-ten dispatch reports to voice-mails and computers. Andnow it’s time for anotherchange.
“Even though I don’t likechange, it’s time. Definitelytime for a change,” Bilbreysays from her seat in front ofthe cramped dispatcher con-sole. The move to the Rich-land County Law & JusticeCenter has been much antic-ipated. Bilbrey remembersat the start of her careerwhen typewriters were usedto log law enforcement activ-ities. At one time, dispatch-ers hand wrote calls for as-sists; the officers would takethe note and write on theback what happened. Today,everything’s computerized.“That’s one big change,” Bil-brey said.
In 1991, the center receivedwhat law enforcement call
911, in which the dispatcherswould call a phone companythat could trace the phonenumber. Phone numbers andaddresses now show up onthe dispatcher’s screen. Thedispatchers also have a map-ping system for the ruralpart of the county that givesdirections and says whatagency to send to the scene.“That part is really helpful.We’ve had that just for a fewyears.” Soon, Bilbrey and theother dispatchers will beable to trace cell phone num-bers.
Though they’ve got accept-able equipment, the newbuilding is equipped withmuch more. No more bulky,out-dated console. The tech-nology in the dispatch roomis sleek and sophisticated.First, there are separatecomputer screens for the 911and mapping system. “It’llbe nice to be able to lookright at the screen and seewho’s calling and look overand see the map,” Bilbreysaid. “That will be verynice.”
Radio equipment is en-hanced now. Rather than en-tering in different codes foreach agency when dispatch-ing (such as the different firedepartments and ambulancecrews), Bilbrey is able totouch a computer screen toradio whoever she needs to.“Until I get over there, I don’tknow how exactly it will allwork, but it’s supposed to beso much simpler,” she said.
The dispatch room islocked and covered with bul-let-proof glass for added pro-tection. The room comeswith one bathroom, footwarmer, and a refrigeratorand microwave, since dis-patchers can’t leave their sta-tion; they’ve had to rely onjailers to heat their meals.
Finally, Bilbrey said shelooks forward to working inthe new justice center be-cause of added safety. “It’snot that the old facility is notsecure, but the new facilityis top-of-the-line security-wise,” she said.
Richland County Communication Center sees many changes through years
Open HouseDATE: Wednesday and ThursdayTIME: 2-7 p.m. with tours on the hour bothdays.
PLACE: Richland County Law & Justice Center.REFRESHMENTS: Coffee, cookies and punchwill be served in the lobby area of the facility.
LOUISA BARBER | SIDNEY HERALDGlenda Bilbrey has been a dispatcher in the Richland County Communication Center for 25 years.
BY LOUISA BARBERSIDNEY HERALD
Since their move to theRichland County Law &Justice Center, law enforce-ment is breathing a sigh ofrelief.
Why? More space, moreprivacy, more security.That’s what Sidney PoliceLt. John Dynneson andRichland County ChiefDeputy Marvin Johnsonsay they like about the facil-ity, especially their sharedinvestigations office, whichis twice the size of their of-fice in the Law EnforcementCenter.
“Everything’s prettymuch state of the art,” saysJohnson, who is also countycoroner.
He and Dynneson sit
across the office from oneanother, allowing for much-needed space. “Some of thisinformation is sensitive,”Dynneson said, adding hecan work privately.
Because the new facilitycomes with interviewrooms, interviews can bedone separately, apart fromthe public. In the old build-ing, when one was conduct-ing an interview in the of-fice (because there were noprivate rooms), the otherwaited in the hallway untilthe interview was complete.The justice center is alsomore visitor-friendly, andthe victims feel more com-fortable there, Johnsonsaid.
The city and county agen-cies continue to work sideby side, which dates back tothe 1970s when the two
moved into the same build-ing at the Law EnforcementCenter. The officers worktogether in the squad room.
Sharing information oncases has been beneficialand saves space. “Combin-ing offices only made senseto make investigations intoone,” Johnson said, “and af-ter we’d been there for a
while it was obvious it wasrather useful to share infor-mation, and it would helpout on cases involving bothagencies.”
Johnson and Dynnesonsay they are pleased withthe building and look for-ward to many years here.
“It’s going to meet ourneeds basically for today
and quite a ways into the fu-ture,” Dynneson said.“There’s things here thatare probably not what weneed right now, but in thefuture, they’re going toneed it, and they’re going toappreciate the fact that theyhave it.”
BY DENIECE SCHWABSIDNEY HERALD
From his first humblecourtroom, which was locat-ed in the Law EnforcementCenter (LEC), no biggerthan a shoebox, Greg Mohr,Justice of the Peace and Jus-tice and City Court judge,
says, things are just a bit dif-ferent today.
His courtroom at the LEChad no windows, and therewas a mattress between thedoor and the courtroom, hesaid. “It was tiny. Prisonerswere right on the other sideof the door, which we couldhear in the courtroom. Iwished I had a picture ofthat first courtroom at theLaw Enforcement Center.”
Justice/City Court and itsoffices are now located atthe newly constructed Rich-land County Law and Jus-tice Center on West Holly.
Mohr took office in 1986 asJustice of the Peace, servingalso as Justice and CityCourt judge. He went from ashoebox, to a boot box, andtoday, he says, “We have this.It is the difference betweengoing to the field with ahorse and a plow, and todaywe’re jumping into a JohnDeere and turning the key.”
When the Nutter buildingopened September 1984 afterthe new Sidney Post Officewas constructed, Mohr ap-proached the commission-ers about movingJustice/City Court to theNutter building. Since theNutter building was the postoffice, there was a little con-struction work that had tobe done.
“We had to make due, andfrom what we had before –there was plenty of room,”Mohr said. “I controlled thethermostat, and you eitherfroze or sweat to death. Itjust depended on where youwere in the building.”
Now Mohr stands in his
beautiful office located onthe second level of the newlaw & justice center wherehe can see over Sidney andits farm acreage. “We’veneeded this change (newcenter) for so long, and I forone am happy to be here atthe new building,” he said.
Keeping up with the timesalso comes with keeping upwith higher numbers incourt cases today as well. Inthe new building, if needed,there can be two felony tri-als going on at one time.“Our numbers for trials aregoing up, making us busierall the time. If I’m not usingmy courtroom, DistrictCourt could have anothertrial over here, and vice ver-sa,” Mohr said.
In both courtrooms, thejudge/witness bench-boxesare bullet proof. When youbuild a building like this,you have to go by some stan-dards, he said. There aremultiple cameras in thecourtrooms as well asthroughout the building,and all rooms and its cam-eras may be viewed on mul-tiple screens at the dispatch-er’s office located on themain level of the Law andJustice Center.
“This building was builtfor the future, and peopleneed to keep that in mind.Things are progressing, andwe are much busier than weever have been,” Mohr said.
The new courtrooms arestandardized with jury seat-
ing, courtroom seating forthose who want to sit in onopen-court cases, as well ashandicapped accessible wit-ness/judge bench, alongwith a steel entrance/exitdoor separating lock-downareas such as the jail andother holding cells. Officersnow may bring prisoners di-rectly to and from the court-room from the jail area upthrough each steel door lo-cated at each courtroom.
Back in the first oil boom,Richland County didn’t havean actual sitting judge. “TheDistrict Judge was out ofGlendive, where that judgewould travel from Sidney,Circle, Terry, Wibaux, etc.,and there had to be a court-room available,” Mohr said.
“When the seat was createdin Richland County, morethings were done here.”
Mohr sees that the newcenter will be a huge benefitfor the justice system, as inprevious days he had towalk across the street tomeet with a prisoner.There’s a light at the end ofa tunnel, the whole law en-forcement, jail, extended of-fices will be under one roof,he says. “That’s very goodfor our town, county, etc.concerning security issues.”
Yes, from his humble be-ginnings in the late 1980s,Mohr is finally keeping hiseyes open over Sidney fromthe lofts at the new RichlandCounty Law and JusticeCenter.
Law & Justice Center2C SUNDAY, DEC. 12, 2010 SIDNEY HERALD
1060 S. Central Ave. • Sidney • 482-4679www.RichlandEconomicDevelopment.com
Congrats on yournew building.
It is a great addition
to Sidney!
Judge Mohr enjoys working conditions at new justice center
DENIECE SCHWAB | SIDNEY HERALDJudge Mohr in one of the new courtrooms.
‘Things areprogressing, and we are
much busier than weever have been.’
Greg MohrJustice of the Peace
County, city detectives perform well together on cases
LOUISA BARBER | SIDNEY HERALDSidney Police Lt. John Dynneson, left, and Richland County Chief Deputy Marvin Johnson in the newfacility.
BY BILL VANDER WEELESIDNEY HERALD
A plaque is situated out-side of a courtroom in thenew Richland County Law& Justice Center in honorof Victor “Vic” Koch’s con-tribution to the legal sys-tem in Richland County.
Koch, who passed away inJuly 2009, earned his lawdegree from the Universityof Montana in 1950. Hewent on to serve as theRichland County attorneyfor 38 years.
During the eulogy atKoch’s funeral, Sidneybusinessman John Olsonsaid, “Vic Koch had thevirtues of small townAmerica; sincerity, sereni-ty, honesty, integrity, andabove all, ethical valuesand behavior.”
Olson noted Koch wasasked to consider servingas a judge and also a posi-tion on the MontanaSupreme Court. “He, ofcourse, declined. He en-
joyed the practice of law inour community, and wasvery good at it.”
Olson concluded the eu-logy by stating, “HenryKissinger once said, ‘ac-cording to an ancient tra-dition, God preserves hu-manity despite its manytransgressions because, atany one period, there ex-ists 10 just individualswho, without being awareof their role, redeemmankind.’ In my opinion,Victor G. Koch was such aman.”
Longtime Sidney busi-nessman Eldon Steffens al-
so gave praised to the com-munity leader.
“He was everybody’sfriend as far as I know,”Steffens said. “He was verylevel-headed. I don’t thinkthere’s anybody that hadmore respect than he did.”
Koch was a member ofthe Elks Lodge, VFW andPella Lutheran Church.
“He was just a great guy.There wasn’t anything hewouldn’t do for a guy,” Stef-fens added. “I don’t know ofanybody that was more ca-pable and concerned thanhe was. I always had greatrespect for him.”
Mike Weber, presentcounty attorney in Rich-land County, says thatwhen Weber was elected tothe position in 1990, heserved as deputy county at-torney for a month underKoch.
“That made for an easytransition,” Weber said.“He was very generouswith his time.”
Weber added it’s remark-able Koch served as countyattorney for more than 35years.
“It’s a long period of timeto hold such a position,”Weber said. “He represent-ed the county in significantoil and oil litigation in the1970s and successfully so.”
Peter Maltese, longtimeattorney in Sidney, agreedit’s fitting that there is aplaque honoring Koch inthe new law & justice cen-ter, which was built withthe use of the county’s oilfunding. Maltese said Kochwas instrumental in keep-ing the county’sroyalty/mineral rights.
But even beyond that,Koch was a great examplefor future attorneys to fol-low.
“In my opinion, he was afair-minded man,” Maltesesaid. “He was as fair mind-ed as a man I’ve comeacross in the law profes-sion.”
Maltese described Kochas an exceptional gentle-man.
“He was one of the oldtimers who demonstrated
fair play, decency and civil-ity,” Maltese said.
District Judge KatherineIrigion added that “Justin-ian, a Byzantine Emperor,said, ‘The precepts of thelaw are these: To live hon-orably, not to injure anoth-er, to give each his due.’ Ithink Victor G. Koch un-derstood that. During the38 years that he served asRichland County attorney,he displayed exemplary in-tegrity, civility and ethicswhile holding others civillyaccountable to the countyand criminally accountableto its citizens.”
Law & Justice CenterSIDNEY HERALD SUNDAY, DEC. 12, 2010 3C
Plaque honors longtime county attorney
BILL VANDER WEELE | SIDNEY HERALDThis plaque is located in front of one of the courtrooms at the newLaw & Justice Center.
SUBMITTEDVic Koch at a birthday celebration.
BY HARRY LIPSIEASIDNEY HERALD
Before the ground breakingof the new Richland CountyLaw & Justice Center, Rich-land County officials had thefuture in mind to get morebang for their buck. From thearchitecture and design,thought was put in to limitmaintenance and updates foryears to come.
That mindset has carriedover onto the informationtechnology (IT) side as well.“With every decision thatcame up, we had to wonder ifit would still be a good ideafive years down the road,”technology consultant BrianMcGinnis, Exdivio SolutionsInc., said. “With that in mind,I think we’ve come up withsome very innovative ideas.”
One of those ideas is thebuilding’s premise cable planthat ensures a smooth transi-tion when employees switchoffice locations. In most cableplans, there is one designatedplug-in for phone use and oth-ers for network use. The jus-tice center, however, featuresplug-ins that can be used foreither that makes switchinglocations an easy task insteadof requiring a call to outsidevendors.
“In most office buildings,you would need to call a ven-dor when moving a phone to adifferent plug-in,” McGinnissaid. “This plan will limit theamount of maintenance and
allow staff to put their timeinto other projects.”
Under a consulting agree-ment by the county, McGinnisalso worked on the Communi-ty Services Building. Withless time to work with thanthe Law & Justice Center,everyone involved learnedlessons from that buildingthat have carried over to thecurrent project.
“There were things that wetook away from that job thatreally helped when planningthe technical side of the jus-tice center,” he said.
One of the innovative ideastaken from the CommunityServices building was the in-stallation of an access controlsystem, which enables offi-cials to control access to all
rooms in the building withthe use of proximity cards.All employees have cardswith their particular code al-lowing them into particularrooms. With the help of ac-cess control no keys are usedin the building.
“We learned that keys arekind of a pain from the Com-munity Services building,”McGinnis said. “Every time aroom was re-assigned, a keywas lost, or when an employ-ee left, the locks would need tobe re-keyed. This system al-lows us to make immediatechanges and provides greatersecurity.”
To say it’s a large projectwould be an understatementas 47 miles of electrical wire,39 miles of data wire system
and 33 miles of security elec-tronics are currently laid outin the justice center.
“There’s a lot of wire, but itall has a purpose,” McGinnissaid.
So far, the transition ofmoving into the new buildinghas gone fairly well. A plumb-ing problem, however, delayedthe county dispatch and 911services from moving whenscheduled. In July, a leak froma ground-source heating sys-tem in the electronic room de-stroyed sensitive equipmentsuch as 911 and radio devices,and phone and communica-tion equipment just beforeservices were to move.
“It was a good thing it hap-pened before the move andnot after,” McGinnis said.“We decided to go ahead andmake some changes that wehad considered before. We re-moved all plumbing from therooms, changed the type ofsprinkler system to a gaseoustype and took additional pre-cautions to ensure somethinglike that cannot happen to usagain in the future. “
For McGinnis, the projecthas been an interesting onebecause of the different as-pects required for the job.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” hesaid. “This is a unique projectbecause it’s not just a jail oran office building. There areso many facets to the justicecenter, and that’s what hasmade it an enjoyable chal-lenge for me.”
Justice Center features innovative technology
HARRY LIPSIEA | SIDNEY HERALDRichland County technology consultant Brian McGinnis workshard in the justice center’s electronic room.
‘He was as fair mindedas a man I’ve comeacross in the law
profession.’
Peter MalteseAttorney
Law & Justice Center4C SUNDAY, DEC. 12, 2010 SIDNEY HERALD
EDITOR’S NOTE: Below isa timeline for the chief ofpolice and those officialselected in each year as pro-vided from city/county offi-cials.
Chief of Police1911 – Jack Carberry1911-1915 – Roy Heiner 1915-1941 – Fred Hurst 1941-1949 – Louie Whited 1949-1950 – Bud Atchison1950 – Henry Dooley1950-1953 – Chris Hanson1955 – Ollie Barnes and Earl
Mauge1955-1968 – Jim Moore 1968-1981 – John P. Schmitt1981-Present – Frank DiFonzo
1914Sheriff – G.W. ArkleCounty Attorney – Herbert H.
HoarClerk of Court – Gary L. RoodCommissioners – John H. Bawden,
C.P. Collins, William GibbsClerk & Recorder – Edmund
BronsonSuperintendent – Belle HoytTreasurer – M.J. RooneyAssessor – Marion Hoffstot
1916Sheriff – Fred D. SullivanCounty Attorney – Carl L. BrattinCommissioners – Henry A. Miller,
John H. Bawden, Frank HardyClerk & Recorder – Ross C.
Thomas (appointed in 1915)Treasurer – Delbert Dotson
1918County Attorney – CE CollettCommissioners – Frank Hardy,
Henry A. Miller, John H. BawdenClerk & Recorder – Luke TinkerSuperintendent – Emogene LectraAssessor – Chris Tubbs
1920Commissioners – Henry A. Miller,
Frank E. Hardy, Jens J. MillerClerk of Court – Gary L. RoodClerk & Recorder – ML HoffstatSheriff – Frank P. Leiper
Treasurer – Chester L. TeisingerAttorney – L.V. KetterSuperintendent – Emogene LectraAssessor – W. Fetterley
1922Commissioners – H.A. Miller,
Frank E. Hardy, Jens J. MillerClerk of Court – Gary L. RoodClerk & Recorder – ML HoffstatSheriff – Geo T. O’BrienTreasurer – DD DotsonAssessor – John J. CareyAttorney – Chas E. CollettSuperintendent – EJ McCullough
1924Attorney – R.G. WagnerCommissioners – C.L. Teisinger,
Henry A Miller, Jens J. Miller
1926Commissioners – Jens J. Miller, HA
Miller, CL TersingerClerk & Recorder – CF WoodardSheriff – Geo T. O’BrienTreasurer – EB BrownAttorney – Carl L. BrattinSuperintendent – Bess M Ralston
1928Commissioners – Ernest Bottens,
Jens J. Miller, CL TersingerClerk of Court – EJ McCulloughClerk & Recorder – WA LeoSheriff – Geo T. O’BrienTreasurer – EB BrownAssessor – John J. CareySuperintendent – Bess M Ralston
1930 Commissioners – JJ Sanderson,
Ernest Bottems, JohannesPeterson
Clerk & Recorder – WA LeoSheriff – George T. O’BrienTreasurer – O.B. PattersonAssessor – John J. CareyAttorney – John M. LexcenSuperintendent – Dan L. Kind
1932Commissioners – Ernest Bottens, JJ
Sanderson, Johannes PetersonClerk of Court – EJ McCulloughClerk & Recorder – NA Leo
Sheriff – Geo T. O’BrienTreasurer – EB BrownAssessor – John J. CareySuperintendent – Bess M. Ralston
1934Commissioners – JJ Sanderson,
Johannes Peterson, Henry A.Miller
County Attorney – Lee B. FarrSuperintendent – AG HorsleyAssessor – Ernest Poff
1950Commissioners – George EikhoffClerk & Recorder – EL KookerSheriff – SW ChildersCounty Attorney – JC CottinghamAssessor – Ernest R. PoffSuperintendent – Mildred Thorsen
1952Commissioner – Donald W. Pentz,
L. SedlacekClerk of Court – EJ McCulloughCounty Attorney – JC Cottingham
1958Commissioner – Alfred CandeeClerk & Recorder – EL KookenSheriff – SW ChildersTreasurer – Earl B. HawleyAssessor – Ernest R. PoffCounty Attorney – Victor KochSuperintendent – Mabel L. Ernster
1960Commissioner – James E SpurgeonClerk of Court – Alma MurphyCountry Attorney – Victor Koch
1962Commissioner – Melving T. BakkenClerk & Recorder – EL KookerSheriff – Wilbur CorneliaTreasurer – Marice S. HernickAssessor – Earl B. HawleyCountry Attorney – Victor G. KochSuperintendent – Mabel L. Ernster
1964Commissioner – Harold BurkeClerk of Court – Alma MurphyAssessor – Evelyn N. Sorensen
1972Commissioner – Bing PoffClerk of Court – Ilene DaweSuperintendent – Alice C. Miller
1974Commissioner – Andrew Petersen
Jr.Clerk & Recorder – Helen GierekeSheriff – Harold N. GrinoldsCountry Attorney – Victor KochTreasurer – Mary Bieber Assessor – Arthur JaegerSuperintendent – Alice M. Miller
1978Commissioner – Bing PoffSheriff – HN GrinoldsClerk of Court – Ilene DaweClerk & Recorder – Helen Gierke
1980Commissioner – Andrew PetersonSheriff – HN GrinoldsClerk of Court – Ilene DaweAssessor – Doris Baird
1981Clerk of Court – Arlene Riggs
1983Commissioners – Dave McMillen,
Robert Mullin, Bing PoffTreasurer – Gloria PaladichukSuperintendent – Joan Ritter
1987Commissioners – Robert MullinSheriff – HN GrinoldsAssessor – Doris B. Olson (?)Clerk & Recorder – Elmina CookTreasurer – Gloria Paladichuk
1989Commissioners - Gloria
Paladichuk, Dwight ThiessenSheriff – Don TiffanyTreasurer – George KrollAssessor – Gail ChristensenSuperintendent – Gail Christensen
1991Commissioner – Warren JohnsonTreasurer – Donnette Dopp Sheriff – Don TiffanyCountry Attorney – Mike WeberClerk & Recorder – Elmina CookAssessor – Gail ChristensenSuperintendent – John Ritter
1995Commissioners – Bing PoffClerk & Recorder – Elmina CookCounty Attorney – Mike WeberSuperintendent – Richard
ReidmannSheriff – Brad Baisch
1997Commissioner – Henry T. JohnsonSheriff – Brad Baisch
1998Commissioner – Mark RehbeinClerk & Recorder – Elmina CookSheriff – Brad BaischCountry Attorney – Mike WeberSuperintendent – Richard
ReidmannTreasurer – Donette Dopp
2000Commissioner – Don StepplerClerk of Court – Arlene Riggs
2002Commissioner – Henry T. JohnsonSuperintendent – Gail A.
StaffansonClerk & Recorder – Penni D LewisJustice of Peace – Gregory P MohrTreasurer /Assessor – Donette
DoppSheriff – Brad BaischCountry Attorney – Mike Weber
2004County Commissioner – Mark
RehbeinClerk of Court – Arlene Riggs
2006Commissioner – Don StepplerJustice of Peace – Gregory P.
MohrTreasurer/Assessor – Sandra L.
ChristensenClerk & Recorder – Penni D. LewisSuperintendent of Schools – Gail
A. StaffansonSheriff – Brad BaischCounty Attorney – Mike Weber
2008Commissioner – Loren YoungClerk of Court – Arlene Riggs
2010Commissioner – Shane GorderClerk & Recorder – Stephanie
VerhasseltSheriff – Brad Baisch
Superintendent of Schools – GailA Staffanson
Treasurer/Assessor – Sandra L.Christensen
Country Attorney – Mike Weber
BY BILL VANDER WEELESIDNEY HERALD
The quality of the facilityof the new Richland CountyLaw & Justice Center can becredited to many area build-ing-related experts includingKringen Construction, thecontractor for the $18 millionproject.
Richland County commis-sioners Don Steppler, MarkRehbein and Loren Youngare pleased when the jobscan stay with Richland Coun-ty businesses.
“The more it stays local,the better it is for every-body,” Rehbein said.
Although the county de-sires to stay with local com-panies, the commissionersexplain the law requiresthem to go with the lowestbidder. Through the alterna-tive delivery process, Krin-gen Construction won thebid process. It was Kringenwho then found many localsubcontractors.
Construction of the projectbegan in the fall of 2008, andcounty officials began mov-ing during May. Commission-ers say the cost of the projectwas about $500,000 below theanticipated price.
“It’s a beautiful building. Itwill be very functional,” Re-hbein said. “Everybody thatis going to work in it is
thrilled. People who werenervous about the move arenow pleased.”
Commissioners explain thebeginning for planning theproject occurred due to lia-bility issues with the jail’sstandards.
“We were not in compli-ance for a bunch of insur-ance issues,” Rehbein said.
Steppler said commission-ers also received communi-cations questioning the safe-ty of the county’s court sys-tem.
“It was a matter of takingcare of the problems we wereencountering,” Steppler
added. “We addressed a lot ofneeds.”
One need addressed not on-ly for Richland County butalso eastern Montana wasthe youth detention center.Currently, the closest suchcenter in Montana is locatedin Billings. Commissionerssay there have been inquiriesfrom other counties aboutthe youth detention center. Itwill save a good deal in trans-portation costs for RichlandCounty.
“It’s a building for genera-tions,” Rehbein said.
Area businesses do excellent job with project
SUBMITTEDKringen Construction Inc. was the contractor for the RichlandCounty Law & Justice Center.
Timeline of police chief, Richland County officials
Well done on one of the finest building in the county!
Sidney Herald
