The Bismarck Police Department's bomb squad was called out three times in the past week, including once to take care of a piece of old ammunition found at a correctional facility.

n Monday, the squad was called to the Missouri River Correctional Center south of Bismarck, when an inmate filling sandbags struck a metal object, Sgt. Mark Buschena said. He said the squad described the item as a piece of "aerial military ordnance."

The object appears to be an old aerial bomb, Buschena said. The area where it was found was searched, but nothing else was found.

Sgt. Dwight Offerman said Dean Clarkson, the bomb squad commander, showed an official from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives a photo of the object. The official though it was possibly from the World War II era and could have been dropped during a practice exercise.

The item had been secured in a safe in the correctional center's office, though the squad warned that next time it would be safer to mark an object's location, then call them in, Buschena said.

They searched the area for more such objects but did not find any.

n On Tuesday, the bomb squad was called to Sidney, Mont., to help with a suspicious device on a vehicle. Montana bomb squads were busy with other things, including Sen. Barack Obama's visit to Billings.

They were there to assist the Sidney Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

n On Aug. 22, the bomb squad was called to a west Bismarck home by a Bismarck man who collects old ammunition. He had been given two military 40 millimeter grenades and did not want them. The bomb squad took them to the city landfill and destroyed them.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)