Center residents will make a liquid decision Tuesday.

They'll go to the polls and decide whether to replace the town's well water with treated water from the Southwest Pipeline.

The election will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Center Civic Center.

Anyone who will be gone Tuesday can stop by city hall before 4 p.m. and fill out an absentee ballot.

The Southwest Pipeline project serves much of the area "under the Missouri River," and has authority in the state Century Code to serve 12 southwestern counties, including Oliver.

The project has now reached the western extremity out in Beach and is now in the completion stage, by moving into Mercer and Oliver counties.

Should the vote favor signing up for the pipeline, the city will decide whether to use it as a sole source of water or buy a contracted amount.

Either way, it'll likely be four to five years before the water can be delivered because of the time of construction and funding.

The cities of Beulah and Hazen are also discussing whether to utilize the treated water from Lake Sakakawea.

Center Republican

Hold on, judge

McLean County State's Attorney Ladd Erickson wants an hour of the judge's time, not 10 minutes.

Erickson said he'll need that long to lay out evidence to persuade the judge that a Garrison woman should be imprisoned for 10 years with four of them suspended.

Michelle Kallberg, 33, pleaded guilty Aug. 1 to three felony theft charges for stealing $22,400 from the Dickens Village Festival account, the Garrison Jaycees and the Garrison Fire Department. Nearly $20,000 was from the festival.

Another $2,000 was from proceeds of a fundraiser the Jaycees conducted to help Coleharbor residents recover from a wind storm last July and the other $800 came from a fire department fundraiser to buy a thermal imaging camera.

Kallberg is undergoing counseling.

Erickson said he'll ask for restitution but the Oct. 18 sentencing hearing will also be an opportunity for him to "prove up" the case and show the judge what was going on.

He said Kallberg has a history of civil and criminal convictions. He said she was convicted in 2000 for stealing cash from a Minot furniture store, where she worked as bookkeeper. She was also sentenced to a year in jail in 1999 for stealing from her son's Cub Scout pack.

One of the felonies in the Garrison case carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, while the other two have a five-year maximum.

McLean County Independent

Field of fire

Wes Doepke's mishap with a combine has him in the fight of his life at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., formerly called the Ramsey Burn Center.

Doepke's combine crew was working a wheat field in late July in an area south of St. John's Lake, when Al Kraft and Kirk Erasmus saw fire coming from the back of Doepke's combine.

They radioed out to him, hoping he could drive out of the tinder dry wheat which was fueling the fire.

Kraft thinks the fire damaged the combine's hydraulic line and drive shaft. Doepke was probably without steering, and the combine veered back into the middle of the fire.

When he tried to get off the combine, Doepke tripped on the ladder, landing face down in a crawling position. He was burned from his head down to his waist and also sustained a severe sprain to his left ankle.

He was taken to a Bismarck hospital and then to the burn center.

As of Monday, he had had three surgeries to replace the damaged skin and imbed Integra, a material used to improve circulation, until skin grafting can be done.

He remains on a ventilator until the swelling goes down. Doctors believe he won't lose any of his fingers because the bones weren't burned.

Anyone who wants to make a donation can send it to the First State Bank of Wilton, by calling 734-6316. Also, information about Doepke's progress is at the Website caringbridge.com. Click "visit" and type in "wesdoepke" to receive updates and send messages.

Farm safety tips include driving or running to the side of fire, not ahead of it in case it catches up. Another tip encourages people to stay with the vehicle until the fire goes by and then exit into the blackened burn. Water is the best extinguisher of a grass fire.

Leader-News

Let's shop, eh?

A strong Canadian dollar has businesses up along the border smiling these days.

The Canadian dollar is valued at 95 cents American, just about par, so Canadians are traveling south again to shop and recreate.

An all-time low of 62 cents American in 2002 kept them up north and businesses noticed their absence.

Garbels Furniture and Flooring of Crosby said she can tell they're back.

"We've seen a marked increase in Canadian traffic," said Kay Garbel.

Garbel and I.J. Jacobson of J.Co. Drug store said they've always had loyal Canadian customers, who shopped regardless of the exchange rate.

Garbel said Canadians like the selection at the store and with the value of their dollar, they can justify the trip across the border for shopping.

Crosby's mini boom of Canadian shopping is likely a small part of the overall increase for North Dakota.

Carol Davis of North Portal, Sask., said she shops across the border quite regularly.

"We did some renovations on the house a couple of years ago, and that was when the dollar wasn't as high as it is now," she said. "We still saved a lot by shopping in the U.S."

Davis said they'll be back.

"We're planning another trip in the next few weeks," she said.

The Journal