The Kiwanis Club named Mayor Harold Mercer Citizen of the Year for 1995 in January. Mercer was elected mayor in 1957 to 1965 and again in 1985.

The federal speed limit was repealed late in 1995; Montana automatically reverted back to the laws that were in place before federal limits. Those laws included no daytime speed limits for cars and light trucks. They also included "basic rule" violation fines of $70 and points on the driving record of persons caught failing to drive in a "reasonable and prudent manner." Insurance companies expected auto insurance rates of some drivers to increase.

Five eastern Montana counties and three cities applied for a federal grant in February to form the Big Muddy River Drug Task Force. It was felt that northeastern Montana is an easy place for drug traffickers and dealers to slip past authorities, which could change by forming the task force. Complicated leasing slowed the new horizontal drilling method in the Sidney area. It was expected that an oil "boomlet" was going to happen soon as the bugs of the new method of drilling were worked out and should make a major difference in local oil production.

The Lambert Lions celebrated their fifth-straight District 2-C boys basketball championship. The Lions edged Culbertson, 58-56, in the title game.

Tom Wick was accidentally run over by his own tractor in March. Wick was feeding cows when his tractor started quitting on him. He found the problem and started to repair it when it started up. The throttle was wide open, taking off, running him over in the process. His pickup was close, and he figured he could get to town about as fast as rescue crews could get 18 miles out of town. With his left pelvis fractured and right hip broken, he managed to stay clearheaded enough to drive himself as far as the Sidney Pocket.

Richland Development asked the Sidney City Council for a commitment of $5,000 per year for three years for economic development in Richland County. The plan was to hire a secretary for the organization and then raise money to hire an executive director.

After a wind and rain storm, the Richland Youth Hockey was left homeless when its hockey dome ripped and was demolished.

Three men with ties to the Freeman movement were arrested. FBI and local law enforcement agencies from around the region were brought in to bring in the rest of the Freeman group, located on a 960-acre farm near Jordan.

To simplify operations, the directors of Community Memorial Hospital and Richland Homes agreed to merge into one unit by July.

The city library went on line in April. It provided the first publicly located Internet computer in the community.

The problems with the Freeman of Jordan continue in May as Judge Greg Mohr reviewed documents issued by the Freeman including numerous liens against him. Each document had to be read carefully in case there was a legitimate grievance buried in the document. Mohr was one of several officials who received piles of bogus documents from the Freeman over the years.

Sidney Health Center was the name chosen for the merged Community Memorial Hospital and Richland Home facility in June.

Agricultural Research Service employees in Bozeman received letters of transfer, the ag research unit moved to Sidney. Construction was under way in June to make room for the move.

Fairview residents celebrated their 50th annual Old Timers Reunion and Summer Festival in July. The festival button was designed by Bill Clark honoring Fairview's wheat and sugar beet crops and the fact that Montana and North Dakota joined at Fairview. Couples that celebrated 50 and 60 years of marriage were recognized during the celebration.

The Sidney City Council approved leasing city property for the construction of a new hockey building. The 30-year lease called for the group to pay $1 a year in rent for the property. Two renewable 10-year lease periods were included bringing the lease period to 50 years.

Construction of the hockey building started in August. The club raised $284,000 of the needed $425,000 by the start of construction.

Gov. Marc Racicot was named honorary fundraising chairman of the new hockey building in September.

The Sidney Restorx firm helped North Carolina victims of Hurricane Fran cleanup. Ben McDowell's team joined the cleanup because of its extensive work after Hurricane Andrew and the Iowa and Chicago floods.

Members of the Holly Sugar union ratified a three-year contract, averting a strike planned for October, as the beet-processing season got under way.

Nearly 40 years of community service by Dolph Harris, Sidney, was recognized in November by the Kiwanis Club naming him as Citizen of the Year for 1996.

The MonDak Heritage Center's 11th annual Ethnic Christmas featured "Christmas in Norway" in December.

Footnote: Information provided by the MonDak Heritage Center's archives. Previous years can be found on the Herald Web site at www.sidneyherald.com/herald_facts.