Tribal leaders turned over the first shovels of dirt on the Fort Berthold Justice Center project Oct. 19. The new facility will be bigger than the existing jail and will have separate cells for men, women and juveniles, a recreation area and offices for medical staff, designers said. The first phase of the 30,000-square-foot facility will be paid for with $3.9 million in federal grants and $500,000 from the tribes, said Mark Fox, chairman of the tribal judicial committee. “There’s nothing like it in the state,” said architect Randy Lindemann of the Minneapolis firm KKE Architects. “This is probably the most cutting-edge models of jail design. It’s very efficient, very safe and very secure.” Fox said a 1999 U.S. Justice Department study found that of all reservations in the nation, Fort Berthold had the greatest need for a new detention center.
? Fort Berthold Reservation police celebrated the life of a fallen, four-legged comrade Oct. 20. The department, along with police officers from other tribal police forces, held a burial ceremony for drug dog Robbie, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois killed last week in a fire at the home of his handler, Jeff White. White credited Robbie with making important drug busts in North Dakota, as well as in Indiana and Wyoming. “He was a very friendly dog and was in demand by several law enforcement agencies in his home area,” White said. “His services were also requested by all of the local schools, where he performed locker and area searches.” The department launched its K-9 unit after residents in area communities voiced concern about the threat of drugs. The service was held at the New Town Civic Center. Robbie was buried at White’s home in a handmade wooden casket.
