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Kindergartners Edward Bergin, left, and Julius Escobedo took part in St. Matthew's Catholic Church Christmas program.
The plans for purchasing property south of town for a new landfill came under some controversy in January. Surrounding landowners were unhappy with the location that the county planned on purchasing for the new landfill. The landowners, mostly from the Rau School District, organized the "Keep it Clean" Committee to fight the purchase. Eventually negotiations between the landowner Steve Shelly and the county broke down and the land was sold to Sidney radiologist Dr. Greg Faul.
The hearts of many Richland County residents were halfway across the world in the Persian Gulf as several Richland County residents were sent to the region as part of the United States' Operation Desert Shield.
February turned Operation Desert Shield into Operation Desert Storm when the United Nations Forces attacked Iraq. The Herald ran a series of stories on the soldiers who served during the war and their families at home.
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District Court Judge Dale Cox ruled in March that James F. Allen was competent to stand trial for the shooting death of Orville Sharbono.
The Sidney School District announced it had no alternative but to ask voters to approve a 4 percent increase in its mill levy because of a new Montana law that limits all increases to 4 percent.
The Atmospheric Resource Board in North Dakota sought to have its cloud seeding permit reinstated so it could seed clouds in Montana. Montana's State Department of Natural Resources Board amid concerns from local farmers and ranchers rejected North Dakota's request in 1990.
In the April school election, votes defeated Sidney and Rau's 4 percent mill levy increase request. Incumbent Diane Savage and newcomer John Tometich won seats on the Sidney School Board, while Gary Dardis and Harlan Conradson were elected in Savage and Floyd Candee and Shari Whitney were elected in Lambert.
The Sidney School District announced the names of 36 employees affected by the defeat of the mill levy request. Either their contract would not be renewed or positions would be reduced.
The Montana Board of Natural Resources once again denied the request of the North Dakota Atmospheric Resource Board to seed clouds in Montana.
Sidney School District officials breathed a sigh of relief after voters approved mill levies in May.
Lambert residents were driven from their homes when a Koch Hydrocarbons pipeline ruptured. The Herald learned that Koch didn't notify local disaster officials about the gas leak emergency. A spokesperson of Koch announced that internal corrosion in the pipeline caused the accident. He further explained that employees at the scene should have know to contact local officials in accordance to EPA guidelines, but the employees were concentrated on getting the leak under control.
The James F. Allen homicide trial started in Sidney with jury selection June 5. Jurors took five hours of deliberation before handing Allen a deliberate homicide verdict in the shooting death of Fairview Police Chief Orville Sharbono. Four days later it was learned that a court file, which was never introduced into evidence, was taken into the jury room during deliberations which may have prejudiced the jury. District Court Judge Dale Cox would make a judgment on the case at a later date.
Koch Hydrocarbons faced a fine of up to $125,000 from the Lambert hydrogen sulfide leak.
In economic development news, the county rode a rollercoaster July 16 by first receiving a welcome surprise when Sidney was selected as the location for the 16-county Eastern Plains Resource, Conservation and Development Office. The same day, Sidney was eliminated from contention for the $10 million women's prison facility.
Insurance companies were busy after a 10-minute hailstorm on Aug. 8 caused considerable property damage throughout the area.
District Court Judge Dale Cox ordered a new trial in September for James Allen.
The county was notified in October that it would receive approximately $200,000 in state aid to help reconstruct roads and bridges damaged or destroyed by storm flooding during the summer.
Bret Smelser, Sidney and Carolyn Babcock, Fairview, became newcomers to their prospective city councils as they defeated incumbents in the November general election.
Sidney business people, school officials and the Sidney Chamber chartered Montana's first "Dollars for Scholars" program.
James Allen was once again convicted of deliberate homicide. A Glendive jury took two hours of deliberation before the verdict was announced 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.
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