Down in Hettinger County, Sheriff Terry Marigny is the go-to guy for good Southern cooking.

He likes to get into kitchens at senior citizens' centers around the county and whip up some of the spicy rice-based foods he learned from childhood.

His folks are in New Orleans; at least they were before Hurricane Katrina.

Now, his entire family, except for brother in Minnesota, has been displaced. A younger brother, who was possibly sheltered in the Superdome with thousands of others, has been lost in the shuffle.

"One brother we haven't heard from since the incident," Marigny said. "He was spotted on top of a hotel and may have gone to the Superdome, but no one has spoken with him."

His New Orleans family includes his mom, four sisters and two brothers.

Other than the youngest brother, Eric, everyone is safe and accounted for.

They left homes partially or totally submerged in water. Marigny said he was watching television coverage of the hurricane's aftermath and saw that a grocery store around the corner from his mom's place was completely flooded.

A sister evacuated to shelter in Atlanta. She is an accountant, but the firm that employed her is gone.

Marigny lives with his family in Mott and churches there are collecting donations for his family. St. Vincent's Catholic Church and the Mott Evangelical Church are collecting donations and a fund has been set up at the Commercial Bank of Mott, P.O. Box 40, Mott, N.D. 58646.

- The Herald

All fueled up

If people think it hurts to fill the family minivan with gas, imagine having a whole fleet of vehicles to keep fueled up.

That's what's happening to local cities and counties that pay gas for police vehicles and road crews.

In Beulah, Auditor Linda Weidrich said the Beulah Police Department's gas budget is nearly shot already and there's still four months to go in the year.

The department budgets $14,000 for fuel and there's just $2,000 left.

Over in Hazen, Auditor Corey Leintz said the police have just about topped off this year's budget of $8,000 for fuel. He predicts overspending for that line item will approach $2,000.

Mercer County Sheriff Dean Danzeisen said patrol and response would go on as usual.

"I don't want to limit patrols because of the price of gas," the sheriff said.

Up in Divide County, the county commission is looking ahead and sees the need for more money in its future, partly to pay for higher fuel and costs that will be associated with Hurricane Katrina.

The commission is looking at a budget that's $64,000 higher than last year.

Divide County has a reserve for its road fund, but that's expected to drop from a balance of $167,000 to $20,000 by the end of 2006.

There is some oil activity in Divide County that's benefiting the local economy and putting money into the county coffers.

But it isn't exactly piling up.

Commissioner Gerald Brady figures the county is spending half the additional oil tax revenue back for fuel.

- Beulah Beacon, The Journal

City on the move

The city of Underwood put its money where its faith is.

After listening to a proposal from the Underwood Economic Development Committee, the city commission agreed to give the group $75,000 to pay for a fulltime economic development coordinator and other expenses.

Diane Cottingham represented the development committee. She said these are pulsing moments for Underwood and the region, based on plans to build an ethanol plant at the Coal Creek power plant near Underwood, followed by the possible construction of a coal-to-diesel plant there. The diesel plant would cost $750 million and be the first of its kind in the country, though completion is some six years down the road.

"It is a very exciting time," Cottingham said.

She said the committee has identified an individual willing to work at development full time and would move to Underwood from a larger community.

The commission is also considering the adoption of a home rule charter, used by many other communities to provide more flexibility in tax increases and other matters.

City Commission President Rick Olson said he knew the request was coming and said that some think the city should up the ante to $100,000.

City promoters said they think the high fuel costs will attract workers to live in Underwood, rather than commute to other towns down the road.

As an added incentive, the commission approved the idea of a tax incentive for new residential construction.

- Underwood News