Compiled by LAUREN DONOVAN

Bismarck Tribune

A former Standing Rock tribal council representative was sentenced in mid-December to 33 months in custody and three years of supervised release for embezzling and stealing tribal money.

Allen Flying By, 50, of Little Eagle, S.D., was indicted in February for taking money from the Running Antelope District of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The source of the money was a trust established by the federal government to compensate the tribe for land lost for the construction of Lake Oahe.

The tribe allocated $1 million to the Running Antelope District in 2002 as its share of JTAC trust fund interest.

Flying By and other Running Antelope District officers were charged with taking the trust money for unauthorized travel, consulting fees, loans and other payments.

Leslie Bobtail Bear, district chairman, Virgil Standing Crow, district vice chairman, Gayle Henry, secretary, Susie Long Elk, treasurer, and planning commissioners Ralph Taken Alive, Jennifer White Eyes, Leroy White, Dale Weasel and Alvina Howard were sentenced earlier.

Flying By was found guilty in August of three felony and one misdemeanor counts.

- News-Messenger

Not 'bleached' up

Ahhh … finally, a nice place to sit down.

A bleacher replacement project at Wishek High School provides state-of-the-art seating for sports and other school activities.

And financing the project was pretty painless.

Superintendent Terry Erholtz said school patrons can take comfort in both the seating and the price tag.

The total cost was $97,000, far less than expected, and area residents and school alumni chipped in more than $71,000, with the remainder from the school's general fund.

A sizeable donation came from the estate of the late Rosina Herr.

"The support we had for this project was simply incredible," said Erholtz. "Our patrons, alums and community take great pride in the school, and they came through for us once again."

Erholtz said people realize that a modern facility is an asset for the school and for everyone in the district.

The old bleacher system installed in 1972 was not handicap accessible, lacked aisle railings and were narrow for seating.

The new plastic system has seating modules and room for wheelchairs, plus aisles, causing a net loss of only 40 seats from the old system.

Some extra money will be used for maintenance and other improvements.

- Wishek Star

Courthouse goes bare

A person can't see the forest for the stumps in Ashley.

The formerly lush McIntosh County Courthouse grounds in Ashley were denuded of beautiful old American elm and evergreen trees. Suddenly, the domed courthouse is painfully apparent from the street out front, though beautiful in its own right even without the softening effect of tree boughs.

What happened at the courthouse is what's been happening throughout the community.

Dutch elm disease is killing and weakening old trees, and causing their removal.

The decision to have the courthouse trees removed was not taken lightly by the McIntosh County Commission, which has been talking about the topic for quite some time.

McIntosh County agent Bill Klein said the problem at the courthouse was that if trees were removed sporadically, as they diseased and died, it would be some time before a large enough area would be open for tree replanting. That's different from a typical household yard in Ashley, where a diseased tree or two can easily be replaced.

He said it made sense at the courthouse to move quickly with removal so a uniform replanting of trees and shrubs could get started just as quickly come spring.

He said people say they won't live long enough to enjoy the shade of a tree they plant now.

He begged to differ.

"It really hasn't been all that long since the trees were planted in Centennial Park, and we can all certainly enjoy them today," Klein said.

- Ashley Tribune

Ambulance wrecks

An ambulance transport to Minot's Trinity Hospital over compact snow and ice went just fine on the first leg of the trip.

The return to New Town didn't go quite as well.

The ambulance personnel, David Wilson, of New Town, and Joseph Bursch, of Williston, ended up making a return trip to Trinity Hospital in Minot as patients the second go around.

The ambulance was just west of Parshall on Highway 23, drawing near home base, when it collided head-on with a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe that began fishtailing and struck the 2003 Ford ambulance.

Passengers in the Hyundai and the New Town ambulance had to be transported by the Parshall Ambulance squad to Minot.

The New Town ambulance personnel were buckled up and were treated for minor bumps and bruises. The Hyundai driver reported no injuries, while the two children in the vehicle were both treated at Trinity Hospital.

Damages were estimated at $10,000 for the Hyundai and at $8,000 for the ambulance. The incident remains under investigation.

- New Town News