VOLUME 99
ISSUE 7
TIMES
FALLON County
fctimes@midrivers.com 406-778-3344
BAKER, MONTANA 59313
$1.00
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015
Air Force expansion concerns livestock owners
Baker Spartan wrestlers earn berth to State tournament
By Lori Kesinger
Keegan Kary
Dalton Herbst
Andrew Craft
Sophomore 132 lbs.
Freshman 138 lbs.
Freshman 170 lbs.
Divisional Champion
3rd Place at Divisional
4th Place at Divisional
Baker High School graduate chosen as self-defense “Instructor of the Year” By Lori Kesinger A street-smart Israeli self-defense class flyer caught the attention of Tracie (Wheeler) Ide seven years ago. Tracie became a student of Krav Maga and eventually opened her own studio four years ago in Boise, Idaho. She was honored with the 2014 Krav Maga Alliance Instructor of the Year award for her outstanding dedication and teaching ability. “The award was flattering and humbling,” Tracie said. Tracie is the daughter of Sam and Paulette Wheeler of Lisbon, ND. She was a 1993 Baker High School graduate and attended college in Glendive, A job opportunity eventually led her to Idaho. Krav Maga was originally developed for the Israeli military and consists of a wide combination of techniques sourced from other martial arts. Its creator was Slovakian-Israeli martial artist Imi Lichtenfeld who made use of his training as a boxer and wrestler as a means of defending the Jewish quarter against fascist groups in Europe in the mid-to-late 1930s. Krav Maga focuses on self-defense for people of any age or ability. It encourages students Tracie (Wheeler) Ide is pictured with her to avoid confrontation. If this is impossible, it promotes finishing a fight as quickly as possi- award for Krav Maga Alliance 2014 Instructor of the Year. ble by neutralizing the attacker.
“I like the fighting, aggressiveness and practicality of self-defense,” Tracie said. She trains an hour every day at least five times a week. About six times a year, she furthers her training and tests under notable Krav Maga instructors by traveling to such locations as Colorado, Utah, and California. “I felt a quality program was lacking where I lived, so I thought I would start my own,” Tracie said. She has approximately 150 students from ages three and up, most of her students are adults. Once extremely shy, Krav Maga has transformed her into a very confident person. “I never thought I would become such a people person,” Tracie noted. Tracie’s husband, Michael, helps run the business aspect of her studio. He is an IT manager for Idaho Primary Care Associates. They have two children, Truman and Sadie, six year old twins, who also train a few times a week. “It is my passion,” Tracie said. “It has given me self-confidence and a high level of fitness. I will do it as long as my body allows.” To view a video of Tracie fight through pepper spray, go to YouTube and search: Tracie Ide Pepper Spray Drill or to learn more about her studio go to: www.idahokravmaga.com.
The Air Force is waiting for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to give them a thumbs up on their expansion plans for a bomber training complex which would include a vast amount of southeastern Montana. Many cattle ranchers and farmers across the region continue to oppose the expansion because the Air Force has not mitigated their concerns. The Air Force’s Powder River Training Complex (PRTC) would become an area of 28,000 square miles, triple the current size, allowing B-1 and B-52 bombers from nearby air bases in North Dakota and South Dakota to train in. Opponents argue breaking the sound barrier and low flight training will be a disruption to livestock. According to a news release from the United Stockgrowers of America, a study showed that during similar flight exercises in Nevada, breeding among cows plunged to less than 50 percent because of stress caused by training missions. “It will have a dramatic negative effect, not only on the well-being of cattle but on those taking care of them,” said Bill Lane, a rancher southwest of Baker. He has spoken to Montana Senators and met with lobbyists to voice his concerns. Lane conveyed ranchers attending an informational meeting in Miles City presented evidence that in the existing PRTC, and in other regions were military flight training is conducted - such as Nevada - ranchers experienced property damage from cattle stampeding through corrals and fences, and low conception rates attributed to the training exercises. “One thing concerns me,” Lane said. “Other ranchers and landowners are failing to take a stand or are have not learned enough about the impact.” Other major concerns to regional cattle production include the harm to livestock health from sonic booms, livestock productivity loss SEE AIR FORCE, PAGE 4
WBI Energy celebrates 30 years of operation Bismarck, ND - WBI Energy, Inc. will celebrate its 30th anniversary of operations as a business unit of MDU Resources Group, Inc., on Feb. 13. Through its long history of natural gas pipeline operations, the company now operates over 3,800 miles of regulated pipeline weaving through four states. The company actually got its start in the late 1920s as a pipeline operations department within Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., conducting business in the Baker and Glendive areas. The pipeline business became a separate entity within MDU Resources on Feb.13, 1985, by way of a regulatory order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The FERC order authorized a new company, then called Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Co., to acquire the interstate pipeline assets of Montana-Dakota Utilities, retroactive to Jan. 1, 1985. Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Co. was a subsidiary of MDU Resources and
Russell’s Clothing Baker, Montana 406-778-2427
Montana-Dakota Utilities was a division of the same corporation. “We were operating an interstate pipeline system that required federal regulatory oversight,” said Steven L. Bietz, president and CEO of WBI Energy. “At the time, however, our regulations came from four separate state commissions plus the federal agency. Creating a separate company meant that regulation would be accomplished by federal agency alone.” Through its long history, Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Co. has grown into a premier pipeline and energy services company with regulated operations spanning large sections of four states. It also added various non-regulated businesses and in 1992 changed its name to WBI Energy to better align with its diversifying operations. The regulated pipeline business was renamed WBI Energy Transmission, Inc.
WBI Energy, Inc. celebrates 30th anniversary Feb. 13. Natural gas volumes delivered through the company’s regulated pipeline system today have increased nearly eightfold since the company was launched in 1985. Much of this growth is attributable to the surge in activity
Gift Cards!
JEANS
in western North Dakota’s Bakken shale play where the company’s legacy natural gas pipeline has been operating for decades. SEE WBI ENERGY, PAGE 4
BY
Jewelry by
Blankets by
Denali® & Little Giraffe
Visit Our Website at www.FallonCountyExtra.com