Powder River Examiner -

We sent a series of questions to the candidates running for local office in the upcoming primary, which is a mail-in only format this year, statewide. The questions and responses are printed below. We've done minimal editing of the responses, only correcting a few minor punctuation and grammatical errors, in order to present the gist of the candidate's thoughts as written.

Running for office in the primary are County Commissioner District 1 candidates Rod Schaffer, Incumbent, and Ted Amsden, Challenger. Both candidates are running as Republicans.

Candidates for District Clerk of Court are Vanna Byrd, Incumbent, and Tricia Robinson, Challenger. Both Clerk of Court candidates are also running as Republicans.

Please provide a brief description of your personal history, including dates and positions of any public service.

I was born in Baker, MT. My family then moved to Broadus. I have primarily lived in Powder River County most of my life. After I graduated from high school, I worked on a ranch and then moved on to where I went to work for a construction company building roads. I got married in 1979 and moved to Glasgow to manage a feedlot. After that, I moved back to Broadus and worked for my father's pipeline business. In 1988, I went to work for UPS and was there until retiring. At that time, I went to work for the county road department until elected commissioner.

What assets will you bring to this position?

I have six years of experience in county government. In doing that, I have learned a lot about how county government works. During my term, I and other commissioners have remodeled the nursing home and added on a physical therapy department. We have also remodeled most of the county buildings. All of the county employees have received a step raise and a cost of living raise each year. We have upgraded most of the equipment at the road department. We have a plan to bring an outside crusher in to stockpile 100,000 yards of gravel. When I first came to the office, we had one permanent pit, now we have applications in for five. We have paid off all long term debt and have not raised taxes.

What are three primary goals or concerns you would like to address if elected?

I would continue working on our county roads, we have a five year plan that we would like to follow. We are currently working on getting a critical access hospital (CAH) for our community. Health care is an important function. With all the things that have happened recently, I think in the next coming years our budget is going to be a concern.

What are your thoughts on full-time vs. part-time pay for the commissioners?

This job is fulltime. We may be in the office certain days but we are continually working on county business. I receive calls many times during the week about something for the county. I answer all calls and follow the concern up.