EDITOR’S NOTE: The fol-lowing features the candi-dates for House District 37 at Thursday’s candidates forum. An article regarding candidates for other offices will appear in Wednesday’s Herald.

BY LOUISA BARBERSIDNEY HERALD

The two candidates vy-ing to represent House District 37 duked it out Thursday evening in front of a 70-member audience a month before the June 5 primary elections.

Republican candidates David Halvorson and Tami Christensen, discussing personal and professional life, oil issues, agriculture and social issues, laid down their platforms to sway votes during the Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture and Richland County Farm Bureau candi-dates forum at the Richland County Extension office.

BACKGROUNDA former radio broadcast-

er, Halvorson went to work for the Montana Legislature in 1995 as a bill reader for the next several years. It was there he says he gained “unique experience that will serve this district well” because he’s collaborated with legislators to push bills through the legislative process and in doing so has developed friendships and acquaintances he says will be useful when working to pass legislation in eastern Montana’s favor.

Halvorson said he believes term limits are destructive, and it was for that reason he was convinced he should run. “It is my view that it would be better with the leg-islative memory that I have was in the membership of the house, not in the staff,” he said.

Calling herself the “voice of reason” in the Montana Legislature, Christensen promised to follow her fa-ther Rep. Walt McNutt’s and in Sen. Don Steinbeisser’s footsteps. She co-owns Tri-County Implement with her husband, Larry, as well as the Yellowstone Court. The couple has lived in Sidney for 24 years, arriving when unemployment was high

and business opportunities almost nill.

Christensen serves as board chairman for Rich-land Economic Develop-ment, Sidney Cemetery and Montana Chamber of Commerce and participates in a number of community organizations. “I’ve always believed that you have to be an active member in your community and in your state to make it a better place to live,” she said.

Christensen is a member of the Montana Taxpayers Association and Montana Equipment Dealers, which she says allows her to stay informed on business issues crucial to Montana.

“I will be a strong pro-

business voice in our Legis-lature,” she said, stressing her belief in responsible resource development, while continuing to lower the business equipment tax and workman’s compensation to make the state more compet-itive with its neighbors.

AGRICULTUREQuestioned by Sen. Stein-

beisser about protecting the importance of agriculture in the state, each candidate said they fully support ag and future opportunities in the industry to preserve its future, which was widely viewed as vital to the rest of the country.

“I think agriculture re-search belongs in the public sector,” Halvorson said, believing that it’s the qual-ity research that offers the quickest way for economic development and grows the local economy. “Understand that this has been on my ra-dar before this evening, and I want to be able to advocate for a number of reasons for ag research if I’m your representative for House District 37,” he said.

Christensen, meanwhile, maintained that agriculture is “our life blood” since it is the core of her imple-ment dealership business. “For me, agriculture is a top priority, and when I talk about resource development I include ag in that, and I definitely would fight for any agriculture needs we have in this state,” she said.

Each called for attention

BY LOUISA BARBERSIDNEY HERALD

About 100 Montana Army National Guard soldiers take off on the first leg of a year-long tour of Afghani-stan this weekend.

Soldiers from the 260th Engineer Support Company, (headquartered in Miles City with detachments in Sidney and Culbertson) along with their families, will say goodbye Sunday (today) in Billings before heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, for training ahead of their deployment to the war-torn country to join in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Though initially working construction by building roads and moving dirt for military operations, these soldiers are deploying as combat engineers who will clear obstacles for other military branches, thereby saving lives.

“If you’re not a little bit nervous, then you’re prob-ably not preparing yourself enough for it, but…the over-all consensus, I think, is ex-citement. They’re getting to be part of the big picture,” Staff Sgt. Todd Verhasselt, detachment readiness NCO, said last week during prepa-rations.

The 29-year-old Savage native and 2001 graduate of Savage High School will leave behind his wife, Jill, and two daughters, Matilda, 2, and Finley, 11 months, to join others from north-east Montana, Billings and western Montana on a much anticipated mission.

Verhasselt, son of Richard and Signe Verhasselt, joined the National Guard when he was 17 for reasons he can’t fully explain. “I ask myself that question all the time. I don’t know if I can even answer that. Since I was a little kid I always liked the

idea of being a soldier,” he said. He joined in 2000 with patriotism in his heart and the belief that serving in the military is something everyone should do at some point.

“But for me, it was some-thing I wanted to experi-ence, and then as we got into September 11, then it became more. I wanted to contribute to the effort, and I haven’t really gotten it yet, so with this deployment it’s kind of an opportunity to fill that void that I haven’t been

able to yet.” The 260th unit has some

experience already; Verhas-selt was mobilized a few years back on a mission to provide military police security at various bases. He was sent to Fort Bliss for almost a year and half. That was before marriage and children.

Verhasselt was notified of the deployment while working as an accountant in Billings. He wasn’t surprised. “It was around the timeframe that most

of us expected we would be resourced,” he said. “It was so far out it wasn’t an immediate concern. I mean, we’ve known for a year and a half we’d be deploying. It was one of those things you knew you needed to start thinking about how you were going to prepare yourself, just so you could start making arrangements.”

And so he did by applying for a full-time position at the Sidney unit to dedicate his time to focus solely on military preparation.

“I’m OK with it,” he said. “I feel a little bit guilty about leaving the kids especially, and especially your wife,

and the rest of your family has to really pull a lot more weight at home because you’re not there. So it’s not

just me leav-ing that has the hardship. It’s the hard-ship for all the family as well.”

His mother, Signe, said Thursday the family wasn’t thinking too far ahead. “I think we’re standing

back waiting to see what’s going to happen. We know it’s a dangerous job he’ll be doing,” she said. Everyone is proud, though nervous, for the youngest in the family. They expect there will be lots of prayers in their com-munity.

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Bulletin Board

Flags of honorThe Flags of Honor Com-

mittee is requesting that anyone with a casket flag to be donated to the Flags of Honor program should take the flag to Sidney City Hall no later than Tuesday.

Information with the flag should include the veteran’s name, branch of service, the war served (if any), the date of death and the donor. Flags received after that date may not be ready in time for Memorial Day 2012. Any questions can be directed to Violet Tharp, 488-1173.

Afternoon of jazz

Sidney High School yearbook staff will host an Afternoon of Jazz dinner on May 6 at 1 p.m. in the high school gym. The meal will feature chicken cordon bleu, baked potatoes, salad, rolls, and cheesecake, and enter-tainment will feature the Sunrise Brass group. Tickets are $10 each and are avail-able from any publications student or by contacting Elaine Stedman at the high school at 433-2330.

Free oil changesFree oil change for single

mothers and widows are available Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Sidney Assembly of God Church.

Sacred music concertThe Praisemen, a musi-

cal group from Marantha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, Wis., will perfom a sacred music concert on Sunday (today) at 6:30 p.m. at Bible Baptist Church.

Lions Club breakfastSidney Lions Club scholar-

ship breakfast from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 6 at the VFW Hall. Breakfast menu is french toast, sausage, eggs and beverage. A free-will offering will be accepted with proceeds to benefit the Sidney High School scholar-ship program.

DeathsMary B. Berry, 87

Dennis Demperwolf, 59Henry M. “Hank” Gabel, 67

Joyce Johnson, 81Page 3A

InsideAgriculture . . . . .5AAround Town . . .2AClassifieds . . . .5-9BDeaths . . . . . . . .3A

Learning ........ . .4ASports . . . ..... .1-3BTV guide. . . . . . .6A

Drilling rig count

Source: Rocky Mountain Oil Journalsponsored by

Montana 17year ago 10

N.D. 195year ago 161

Area soldiers being deployed

MONTANA NATIONAL GUARD PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE

Members of the 260th Engineers in action during a March three-week training period near Helena to prepare for the deployment.

LOUISA BARBER | SIDNEY HERALD

Staff Sgt. Todd Verhasselt, a Savage native, will be gone for a year to Afghanistan.

SEE SOLDIERS, PAGE 12A

‘If you’re not a little bit

nervous, then you’re

probably not preparing

yourself enough for it.’

Todd VerhasseltSavage native

For the eighth yearthe Sidney Herald’s

“Tappin’ the Bakken” is the most informative and longest running oil section in the MonDak area.

The 15th biannual issueSunday, April 29, 2012

Special Supplement to the

310 2nd Ave. NE, Sidney, Montana 433-2403 • www.sidneyherald.com

Tappin’ the Bakken

Spring 2012 edition

Photos by Louisa Barber

House candidates debate issues during forum

BILL VANDER WEELE | SIDNEY HERALD

House candidates David Halvorson and Tami Christensen at the two-hour candidates forum in Sidney.

SEE FORUM, PAGE 12A

Richland County Attorney Mike Weber has increased the charges facing Lester Vann Waters Jr. and Michael Spell.

The two men, alleged to have kidnapped and killed Sidney teacher Sherry Ar-nold, were facing aggravated kidnapping charges.

On Friday, the felony charges on Waters and Spell became deliberate homicide and attempted kidnapping.

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. Potential sentences are death or life imprisonment or imprison-ment 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 Arnold by either secreting or hold-ing her in a place of isola-tion and committed an act of furtherance by operating a green Ford Explorer when Spell grabbed Arnold and forced her into the vehicle. Sentences can be a term of not less than two years or more than 10 years and a fine

Waters,Spell facehomicidecharges

SEE CHARGES, PAGE 12A