Froid Council Incumbents Face Challengers In Election

An all-mail election for two open seats on the Froid Town Council is currently under way. This newspaper asked the four candidates to respond to questions about their backgrounds and goals.

1. How long have you lived in Froid and what is your profession?

Challenger Penny Ryder: “I have been a Froid resident my entire life. I graduated from Froid High School. I am a fourth generation Froid farmer and property owner. My family has been Froid residents for six generations. I own and manage property rentals in Froid.

Candidate Russell Corbell: “I have lived in Froid since 2020 and I am a Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Deputy.”

Incumbent Tyler Harris: “I grew up in Froid and graduated from Froid High School (2005). I left for college in Billings and got my teaching degree. I came back to teach in Froid for a few years, left for four years, spent two in Kalispell and two in Sidney, and have been back in Froid since.”

Incumbent Laurie Young: “I have lived in Froid for almost 18 years. I am the operations manager at Ag Partners LLC in Froid.”

2. Why did you want to run for council?

Ryder: “I am running for town council as I am very informed about

the town and its needs. I have attended every town council meeting except three meetings since 2009. There are numerous issues I would like to address that need changes or repairs done in town.”

Corbell: “I am running for council because I love the community and I want to do all I can to strengthen and protect it.”

Harris: “It never really occurred to me to run for town council but (Mayor) Sheri Crain convinced me to do it four years ago and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. I think everyone has a civic duty to make the world work. This just happens to be an avenue that works well for me to give back.”

Young: “I wanted to run for town council because I love our small town and those that make it a great place to live and grow. I don’t just want to see our town get by, I want to see it thriving. I want Froid to be a town every citizen is proud to call home. Every person in this town is important and we accomplish great things when we work together.”

3. What would you like voters to know about you?

Ryder: “There is need for improvements and I would like to help make the changes. I have served my community as a Sunday school teacher and Bible school teacher for decades. I help Froid Big Sky church with “Kids Club” a youth group held on Wednesday for kids, kindergarten through sixth grade. We serve the kids snacks, play games, sing songs, do crafts and have Bible lessons. The kids have learned valuable life lessons to always be honest and help people. I was active with Froid Medicine Lake Culbertson Bainville Troop #291 Boy Scouts for years. I have seen over the years how scouting improved those young boys lives and watched them grow into productive young men. I keep in touch with them and proud of every one of them. We taught them survival skills and life lessons, which they have applied to their everyday lives as adults. I was a Brownie and Girl Scout leader for numerous years. The other leaders and I taught the girls skills such as cooking, camping, crafting, survival and to be honest. I am a supporter of Froid Volunteer Fire Department and help as much as possible with their fundraisers.”

Corbell: “I would like the voters to know that I have a history of sound decision- making, born out of a lifetime of commitment to public service and involvement in local government and university education in criminal justice, political science and history.”

Harris: “I think most voters know me fairly well as I have spent most of my life here. Some voters still think of me as a young child while others know me as their children’s teacher. Something people may not know about me is that I love numbers. The budget aspect of the job is one of my favorites.”

Young: “I’m very big on family and making connections. I have been married to my husband Ryan for 17 years and we share seven children and four grandchildren. To be involved in making connections in my community, I have put on the Easter egg hunt and Halloween hot chocolate for many years. I am a member of a few clubs and organizations. I am also proud to be the cheerleading coach helping our schools cheer on our student-athletes. Go Redhawks!”

4. What issues, improvements or changes would you like to see tackled in Froid?

Ryder: “There are major issues with sewer lines that run from the sewer lift station located (east of the railroad tracks by the grain elevators) to under the railroad tracks and under Highway 16 west to the town lagoon. “Pace Infrastructure Systems” from Billings Montana made videos of every sewer line in Froid in November 2023. The videos showed major damage and collapsing sewer lines. Should these sewer lines totally collapse, we fear this could possibly shut down the school, businesses and homes. I feel a need to be looking for grants and federal funding dollars to resolve the sewer line issues as soon as possible. The Fire Department is in need of a larger addition to the Firehall to be able to store all firetrucks inside.”

Corbell:. “I would like to confront the road conditions and beautification of Froid. (through grant funding whenever possible, at no cost to our taxpayers). I would also like to find solutions to keep community members’ water bills paid and current.”

Harris: “Froid’s water infrastructure and streets are showing their age. While our small budget usually constrains us from tackling any large scale projects, I would like to start with areas most in need.”

Young: “The biggest issue we face in Froid is our sewer lines. We do run on a tight budget, so a big project may not be feasible, but I’d like to see us tackle as many of the lines as we can each year until we have repaired the targeted areas. We will likely need to do street repairs alongside the sewer too. We seem to never be short of potholes needing repaired. I would also like to see vacant properties cleaned up.”