Sletten Construction tore down the old Yellowstone Bridge in January. The old bridge was unsafe and too narrow. There were five sections to the bridge; each section was dropped into the water one at a time.

A pipeline 22 miles northwest of Sidney, owned by Koch Gathering System, burst on Feb. 10, spilling more than 46,000 gallons of sweet crude oil. The spill was caught early, which prevented major damage to the area.

Mitchell's Oil Field Service, Inc. was awarded recognition for exemplary safety performance for 1994 by Liberty Northwest Workman's Compensation. The Trotters, N.D., post office closed on March 3. Trotter Postmaster Leonard Hall, 75, served the area for 40 years; the office had been in operation in the same building since 1910. The Beach post office now serves the area.

The Sidney Herald's fourth annual Home and Garden Show was held in April.

Daylight Savings Time happened on April 2.

The city council approved the 11.1 percent increase in Sidney's water rates, which brought an additional $25,000 per year. The money would be used to pay for 1,000 meters that needed replacing.

At the end of May, Anton Barone and John Ratiff retired from teaching after 31 and 30 years in the Sidney school system.

B & B Builders bought the former Tractor & Equipment Building at 201 N. Central Ave. in Sidney during the fall. They started a $350,000 renovation on the 10,500 square foot facility converting the facility into retail and office space. Owners Roger and Don Byer purchased the building from the Mayo family, Cavalier, N.D., and called it the B&B Building.

The Holly Sugar planet broke ground on the $5.3 million construction of 10 new storage silos in June.

After serving in Sidney for eight years, Superintendent of Schools Phil Waber left for a position in Oregon.

Fairview High School football field was dedicated Starr Field on July 15 in Sharbono Memorial Park during the Old Timers Reunion and Summer Festival. James M. and Henrietta (Schulenberg) Starr were dedicated to the youth of Fairview for many years.

Six Special Olympics athletes from Sidney came home with medals from the Special Olympics World Games held in New Haven, Conn. The team included Stephanie Sturgis, Shella Walby, Erika Klodt, Eddy Schwartzenberger, Steven Sturgis and Richy Tobieson.

The new county landfill opened Aug. 1. The first cell on the site, located just off Highway 16, was expected to last six to seven years. The entire landfill was hoped to last 150 years.

The Richland County Patriots were anything but favorites to win the state title. But the Patriots went through the tournament undefeated to earn the state championship, the first since 1981.

A tornado hit Richey on Aug. 26 severely damaging the town's rodeo arena along with several individuals' property.

Members of the Lower Yellowstone Post #4099 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars celebrated its 50th anniversary in September.

Members of the hockey club looked into building a community center-hockey building. It was felt that hockey would use the building six months of the year and the rest of the time could be used for conventions and other gatherings. The proposed building would be located behind the REA building and would cost $600,000-plus.

Johnson Hardware & Furniture celebrated its 80th anniversary in October. It started out as a Marshall-Wells hardware store in 1915, founded by George and Gil Johnson. In 1924, Carl B. Johnson joined the firm and bought out Gil's interests.

Sidney's Trisha Harper became the school's all-time point scorer in girls basketball by going over 1,000 points in her four-year career. The two-time All-State performer scored 104 as a freshman, 338 as a sophomore and 351 as a junior.

The Richland Youth Hockey Association held its first Black Tie to Blue Jeans dinner/dance at the Elks Lodge on Nov. 18. The evening included two cocktails, meal, a bottle of wine, dancing to a live band, door prizes and an auction of an original drawing by Rhonda Whited.

Whooping cough hospitalized Fairview coach Don Burman and prevented the girls basketball team from playing in the District 2-B tournament in Wolf Point. Worry over further infection closed the Fairview School for a week.

On Dec. 1, MDU consolidated its Sidney operation with its Glendive office reducing operating expense and investing in communication and computer technology to serve the public more efficiently. The building was sold to Craig Averett of Big Sky Siding & Windows.

Congressional cuts in the Essential Air Service program caused fewer flights and less work hours for ground crew and pilots at the Big Sky station located at the Sidney Airport.

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.