New Foster County Sheriff Is Sworn In: Ian Mattice

Foster County Commissioner Bill Bauer Swears in Sheriff Ian Mattice

Here's a big THANK YOU to Auditor Casey Cables for providing some photos of our new sheriff, Ian Mattice,.. being sworn in today - January 26, 2015 - at the Foster County Courthouse. 

Pictured here is Sheriff Mattice with his wife, Hazel, and son, Xavier. They will have four boys going to Carrington schools, two at the elementary level and two at a higher level. 

Several other county officials were onhand to welcome Mattice to his official capacity as Foster County Sheriff. Hopefully, someone will plan a nice community event to welcome all our new office-holders, as well as thank everyone who kept our county running smoothly during this important transition period.

Murder Is in the Air at The Old Church Theatre

Here are a few scenes from Murder Is in the Air, now showing at The Old Church Theatre in New Rockford.

Hopefully, I captured photos of the entire cast without giving away the solution to the murder mystery. The performers (Jared Killes, Jon Johnson, Erin Greiner, Jessica Dillon, Natasha Woitzel-Kolles, Joel Schock, Elliott Schwab and Kerstin Allmaras) did an excellent job of involving the audience... and the four-course meal was scrumptious. Immense applause for all involved!!!

New Faces at the Foster County Courthouse

Meet Pat Copenhaver, our new Foster County Commissioner... being brought uptodate on County business by Assistant Auditor, Heather Martin. Pat was appointed and sworn in by the Commission today, Tuesday, January 20, 2015, and will finish the remaining two-year term brought about by the resignation of ex-commissioner Les Greger.

The commissioners explained that they had interviewed several candidates for Emergency Manager and Clerk of Court and had decided on the two people they thought would be best for the jobs. They announced that Jess Earle will take the position of Emergency Manager, and Leasa Lura will be the new Clerk of Court.

Bill Bauer welcomed the new Clerk of Court for the County, Leasa Lura. Leasa was on hand taking notes for the Foster County Independent where she currently writes articles for the newspaper and where she is also very busy working with their ads and graphics.

Chairman Bauer reiterated that they were happy to appoint a replacement for ex-Sheriff Mike Tufte who resigned without giving notice to the community. Our new sheriff, Ian Mattice, comes to Foster county with an excellent background and great recommendations from Lamore where he was working as Chief of Police. Commissioner Carr said that he had talked to the Mayor of Lamore who said they hated to lose him. Mattice will start work in Foster County on January 26, 2015.

The commissioners thanked the Carrington Police Department for helping out the county while they were trying to find a new sheriff and deputy. Also, they were grateful to Eddy County which had supplied police assistance when needed. With everyone working together with Deputy Sheriff Henry Head, Bauer said that things had "gone well" so far during this important transition.

Glowing Courthouse

While driving by the Foster County Courthouse at dusk - January 15, 2015 - I noticed that it had a special "glow" due to the light from the setting sun.  I love to take pictures of the courthouse in different lights and at different angles, so I have quite a few photos of this magnificent building.  However, I've never seen it in this special light before.  I didn't have my camera with me, so I took these photos with my phone.  They don't really do justice to the real event, but for phone pictures, they're not too bad.  :)

Foster County Commission: New Year - New Beginnings

The Foster County Commissioners met on Tuesday, January 6, 2014, and addressed a long agenda of items to start off the new year.  Chairman Bill Bauer and Commissioner Jim Carr brought the community uptodate on issues concerning the vacant positions which need to be filled at the county level. They each nominated a person to fill the third seat of county commissioner to replace the recently resigned Les Greger.  Both Carr and Bauer agreed that the third commissioner should come from the eastern part of the county, since  the two of them are from the Carrington area.  However, they could not agree on the same person for the job.

Jim Carr nominated Josh Dreher for the position, stating that he felt Josh was well educated as to how the county ran, he had taken an interest in County business, had attended almost every commission meeting, had put a lot of effort into running for the office and was committed to doing a good job.  

Bill Bauer nominated Leo Gauderman, Jr. and said that after much investigation, he felt that the community wanted another farmer on the commission, that Gauderman came highly recommended by the people he interviewed from the eastern part of the county, and that Gauderman was interested in having the position.

According to the North Dakota Century code, Noreen Barton, Foster County treasurer, was brought in to break the obvious tie, and instead recommended Pat Copenhaver. She stated that he was the third biggest vote-getter in the election and she felt that he should get the appointment.  

Community member Dunn suggested that there be a special election so the community could choose the third commissioner. State's Attorney Paul Murphy was instructed to find out if a special election was feasible and to look into what it would take to have one.

In other important business, the commission announced their choice for the next Foster County sheriff, who is currently Chief of Police Mattice from Lamour. They agreed to offer him a $48,000 salary and are waiting to see if he will accept the offer.  In the meantime, Henry Head, Deputy Sheriff, is overseeing the duties of the Sheriff with help from the Carrington Police Department and from nearby Eddy County Sheriff's Department when needed.  The commission agreed to pay Head an additional $2,500 for his extra duties.

During the meeting, Commissioners Bauer and Carr reviewed the applications for two other offices, Emergency Manager and Clerk of Court.  They narrowed the selection down, and instructed Auditor Casey Cables to set up a special meeting for interviewing the candidates and notice that in the local newspaper and inform others who have asked for notification.  In the meantime, Lynelle Hoppe, County Recorder, is overseeing the Clerk's office and taking care of those responsibilities. 

Heather Martin, Assistant Auditor, reported that the Game & Fish account is over $5,500 in the red. She stated that, because of missing records,they haven't been able to pinpoint the reason for the deficit.
Chairman Bauer emphasized that good records need to be kept, and new auditor, Casey Cables, said that they are doing that now.

The commission discussed that the Water Board is short one person and that a notice will be put in The Independent for anyone who might be interested in applying for that position.

The commission emphasized that they want to add a polling place in the eastern part of Foster County so that people don't have to drive so far to Carrington. State's Attorney Murphy will look into the requirements to do that.


Note:  If you were not able to attend the meeting, you can see the televised edition on DakTel's Channel 17 at various times during the coming week.