fellowshipBrad M.

Faulhaber, a teacher at Sidney High School, has been awarded a James Madison Fel-lowship by the

James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation of Washington, D.C., in its 21st annual fellowship competi-tion.

James Madison Fel-lowships support further study of American history by college graduates who aspire to become teach-ers of American history, American government, and social studies in the nation’s secondary schools, as well as by experienced secondary school teachers of the same subject.

The fellowship will fund up to $24,000 of Faulhaber’s course of study toward a master’s degree. That pro-gram must include a con-centration of courses on the history and principles of the United States Constitution.

WEDNESDAYJUNE 27, 2012104th year, No. 52Sidney, Montanawww.sidneyherald.com75 CENTS

Author’s book may become fi lm. Page 10A.

seRVInG RICHLand COunty and tHe suRROundInG aRea FOR OVeR 100 yeaRs

Bulletin board

Happy birthdayThe Sidney Herald wishes

happy birthday this week to friends Cody Mavity, Julie Terry, Phyllis Iverson, Zach Johnson, Steven Larsen, Peggy Sorensen, Darby Frey, Matt Trzinski, Sara Jensen Langley, Tiffany Bright, Sandy Yonts Wirth, Logan Kjos, Dustin Schulz, Carol Olsen, Kris Ashcraft, Marla Murray, Kimberlee Vaira, Danny Raprager, Bobbi Jo Propp-McMurry, Carlotta Hill, Vicki Schwenke Shook, Monica Cayko, Nancy Ma-thieu Ross, Chris Hartsoch, Brant Pewonka, MaKenzie Johnson, Michelle Barbula, Vernoica Elder, Sara Miller DiFonzo, Laura Neu, Ken Callahan, Brett Norby, Bryan Prevost and Chloe Reidle.

registration Sidney Public Schools

has registration for new students in all grade levels throughout the summer. Register at Central School from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Hamburgers in the parkThe MonDak Relay for

Life teams – Sharp Shooters and Love Birds – are joining forces by serving Hamburg-ers in the Park at Sharbono Park in Fairview.

The event takes place every Friday through July 20 from 5-7 p.m.

Cost is $6 for a hamburger, chips, and drinks or $5 for a hot dog, chips and drink.

Newsmaker

Deathsethelyn Stradtman, 81

Page 3A

Inside Around Town .....2AClassifi eds .......3-7BDeaths ...............3ADial an Expert. 4-5B

NIE. ...................8BOil report ...........3AOpinion ..............6ASports . . . . ........1B

bILL VandeR WeeLe | sIdney HeRaLd

parade teamTim Larson and his daughter Landry ride in Saturday’s Town & Country Festival parade in Sidney. See more photos, page 5A.

By louiSa BarBersIdney HeRaLd

Many hours and many miles away, one of Sidney’s own will minister to a com-munity far different from what she’s known.

Darian Rauschendor-fer, 23, a 2006 graduate of Sidney High School, heads to Ethiopia for 15 days in August. The daughter of Robert Rauschendorfer and Carolyn DeMeyer will join other members of Boze-man’s Journey Church to run a summer school for orphans in grades fi rst through eighth. “As far as I know, they’re mainly on their own a lot,” Rauschen-dorfer said.

She and others will use the government funded Bright Hope School to put on activities, play games and encourage the young-sters that life in the slums isn’t what they should look forward to. They can strive to want and pursue more, “and really show them there’s people in the world that really love them,” Rauschendorfer said.

Journey Church, an ex-tension of Harvest Church in Billings, has taken

volunteers to Ethiopia regularly since 2009. Its leaders actively pur-sue getting involved, getting to know the locals and

digging roots into the local community. The oft-war torn East African country is surrounded by nations with long histories of corrup-tion, war and human rights violations.

But Rauschendorfer says she isn’t as concerned with that as she is the locals she’ll serve. “I honestly believe that what I can do is change someone’s life,” she said. Can her and others’ actions change the world? “I don’t know if it will or not, but I hope to think that what I do will cheer them up and make a difference in the world.”

This is Rauschendorfer’s fi rst mission trip, but it isn’t her fi rst trip overseas. Two years ago, the Sidney na-tive joined her peers in the Montana State University School of Architecture’s travels to Morocco where

they helped a town restore old buildings. “That kind of started my wanting to help overseas and help different communities that are less fortunate,” she said.

Her trips to Spain and Italy have also exposed her to different cultures. “After my last trip it’s re-ally eye-opening to see the differences in cultures and what’s important to people,” she said. “People value so many more different things than we do in the U.S.” Particularly startling? Time is not so important in other cultures as it is to Ameri-cans. “We just rush time so much,” Rauschendorfer said. In her travels to Rome and Madrid, she found it surpring that business own-ers close their stores in the middle of the day to take two-hour naps.

Rauschendorfer loves to travel and learn about other cultures, something she looks forward to in a couple months. But she can’t make it without support. She must raise $3,000 by July 10, money that will go toward room and board, transporta-tion and safety measures. Those who want to donate can send a check to Journey

Church 1794 Baxter Lane E., Bozeman, MT 59718.

And while fi nancial dona-tions help, Rauschendorfer says prayer is what she really needs. “Prayer is the fuel that will allow us to be successful as we follow God’s leading in ministry in this country,” she said. “Without prayer, nothing will happen.”

Rauschendorfer, who recently graduated with a master’s degree in archi-tecture from MSU, plans to pursue potential job leads in

Salt Lake City, Utah, Seattle, Wash., or maybe even North Dakota. For now, it’s all about her upcoming mis-sion trip she jumped at the chance to attend, not only to share her faith but to strive to get closer to God.

“I am really excited to share the love of God with others and to be able to love on these children. Also, I’m excited about what God is going to do in my life and in other people’s lives through this ministry,” she said.

Sidney native prepares for mission trip to ethiopia

rauschendorfer

submItted

Darian Rauschendorfer, center, seen here with translators, on her trip to Morocco in 2010.

One of the men charged with kidnapping and murdering Sidney teacher Sherry Arnold has a new defense team.

On Thursday, the order for appointing council was made. Previously, defen-dant Michael Keith Spell’s lawyers were Randi Hood and Steven Scott. His new representation includes Alfred Arignone, Bozeman, Lisa Banick, Bozeman, and Eric Brewer, Bozeman.

On May 15, Spell, 22, as well as Lester Van Waters Jr., 47, pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide and at-tempted kidnapping charges during their arraignment hearings in the Seventh Judicial District Court.

Omnibus hearings were scheduled for July 17 by Dis-trict Judge Richard Simon-ton. The change of represen-tation, however, may put the date for the omnibus hearing for Spell in jeopardy.

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 died.

Spellchangeslawyers

By louiSa BarBersIdney HeRaLd

The decade-long project aimed at perking up downtown Sidney may be on next year’s to-do list, even though participants have dropped out and costs are on the rise.

In a stakeholders’ meeting Thurs-day, those who had already pledged funds to spruce up West Main, Second Avenue N.W. and Third Avenue N.W., learned the price for construction has risen again. 1st Bank, Stockman Bank, CHMS, Johnson Hardware and Furniture, Wells Fargo and The Masonic Lodge portion will rise from $330,000 to $390,000. Yellowstone Marketplace and Tami Maltese (with respect to the sidewalk) backed out.

The county’s share of $556,000 could potentially increase to $690,000. Overall, the project will

increase from $886,000 to just over $1 million due to infl ation and select changes to the project.

The city says it will pick up the tab for Yellowstone Marketplace of $25,000, which had dropped out because the cost was too high. The hollow sidewalk along the building needs to be fi lled in underneath. The city will also pay to redo the sidewalk in front the Maltese build-ing, about $8,000. Johnson Hardware will reportedly pay installments over the next six to eight years, so the city would need to pay that up front. That comes to about an extra $60,000 that the city will shoulder, in addition to its $86,600 portion.

“You guys have already come in at a number,” Sidney Mayor Bret Smelser told three stakeholders (Brad Franklin of 1st Bank, Ken Volk of CHMS and Pam Burman of Wells Fargo) at Thursday’s meeting,

“and if you’re going to accept the in-crease, then that’s more than fair.”

This latest round of increases comes in the face of multi-million dollar sewer lagoon upgrades that the city of Sidney must eventu-ally pay. City leaders could see the expense rise to upwards of $15 mil-lion in order to bring the 50-year-old system up to state standards. Money the city doesn’t have.

Smelser told the Herald that to take on the extra costs, other proj-ects may have to be put on hold an extra year, such as letting a garbage vehicle go, using a piece of equip-ment a year longer or perhaps hold-ing off on a capital improvement project. Downtown enhancement remains a priority, Smelser said.

Included in the plan for the renew-al are diagonal parking on Second Avenue N.W., parallel parking on West Main Street and diagonal park-

ing on Third Avenue N.W. to make up for space lost on Main in front of the courthouse and additional park-ing behind the Nutter Building. The project also includes new sidewalks and rounded curbs at intersections.

The intersection of Second and Main will be fi lled with decorative concrete stamped with the county’s logo alongside proposed city of Sidney logo and the other towns of Richland County. Decorative light-ing and a gazebo area in front of the courthouse are still in the mix as well.

In front of CHMS will be a patio area and gathering spot for the Town & Country Festival. “Part of the deal is we’re going to spruce it up with benches,” Interstate Engineering president Brian Milne said, “and we’ll make it kind of like

Costs infl ate for downtown renewal

See doWnToWn, PaGe 10a