Charles Crane

1 week ago | thepiercecountytribune.com | Charles Crane

When Vonnie Degenstein announced at a Rugby City Council meeting in August of last year her intention to retire as the director of the Pierce County Food Pantry after 34 years, the news came with the unfortunate caveat that she had been unable to find a worthy successor to fill her role. Degenstein was essentially the lone board member of the pantry, a 501c3 nonprofit, and said she hadn’t found anyone interested in taking over the reins.

1 week ago | thepiercecountytribune.com | Charles Crane

Superintendent Mike McNeff provided an update to the Rugby School Board at its regular meeting on April 8 on the education legislation landscape following crossover at the North Dakota Legislature. McNeff said he was keeping an eye on House Bill 1540 and Senate Bill 2400, which both seek to create an education savings accounts program. “I’m watching those closely. I think you know my stance on that as far as public funds going to private schools without accountability,” McNeff said.

2 weeks ago | thepiercecountytribune.com | Charles Crane

The Rugby City Council were presented with concerns from a north Rugby resident regarding trains blocking the main street intersection. The issue was not on the agenda, and brought forward near the conclusion of the meeting by Dave Bednarz, who is also a county commissioner representing District #3. Bednarz said the issue has been bothering him for around four years, and in the last week the intersection has been blocked by trains for up to 36 hours at a time.

1 month ago | thepiercecountytribune.com | Charles Crane

The Rugby City Council approved updates to its employee handbook related to performance evaluations and heard an update on legislation that would affect “Back the Blue” funding, which supported local law enforcement in previous years. The board reviewed updates to the city employee Introductory Period and Performance Evaluations, which are performed after a six month introductory period. Any employee given a score of two or lower will be placed on an employee improvement plan.

1 month ago | thepiercecountytribune.com | Charles Crane

The Pierce County Board of County Commissioners revisited past discussions on the county’s participation with a Livestock and Development Grant at its meeting on Tuesday, after hearing concerns about the potential development of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Briselda Hernandez and Erin Parker with Souris Basin Planning Council joined the meeting to discuss the board’s concern that the county would lose local control if it signed on with the grant.