2024 Rewind

In addition to setting new resolutions and looking forward to the next 365 days, the new year is also a great time to look back on the previous year and the events and happenings that defined it.

And as it happens, there is plenty to look back on in Eddy County from 2024.

Over the next three weeks, the Transcript will review a number of the most interesting articles published last year, beginning with articles published from January through April.

Petition audit approved by state auditor – published Jan. 15

A petition audit that was circulating in the summer of 2023, targeting the New Rockford-Sheyenne School District, was officially approved by the North Dakota Auditor's Office.

Petitioners were soliciting signatures as recently as August 2023, and the Communications Director for the Office of the State Auditor, Emily Dalzell, said the petition was officially approved on December 20, 2023.

The approval followed a months-long process of information gathering and verifying signatures listed on the petition. Of 128 total signatures, Dalzell said 82 of them were verified and approved.

Wick pleads guilty to murder, child abuse – published Jan. 22

On Friday, Jan. 12, Patricia Wick was at the Foster County Courthouse in Carrington for a sudden change of plea hearing, just weeks before her murder trial was due to begin.

Wick, a former Carrington daycare owner accused of killing a 5-month-old boy in her care, amended her plea to guilty on all charges.

Originally, she had pleaded not guilty to a Class AA felony murder charge, after the infant was found unresponsive in her home and later declared dead at a hospital in Fargo in September of 2022.

Local auditors swap offices – published Jan. 29

The City of New Rockford and Eddy County essentially swapped auditors at the beginning of 2024.

Patty Williams, the former Eddy County auditor who resigned at the end of 2023, has been hired as the auditor assistant for the City of New Rockford.

Meanwhile, Schumacher transitioned from city hall to the county courthouse, taking the auditor position for Eddy County left vacant by Williams, thus completing the circle.

End of an era for Mick's – published Feb. 12

The fuel pumps at Mick's 281 Service in New Rockford were officially retired in February last year.

The local business had been filling gas and diesel tanks in the community for decades, but on Monday, Feb. 7, owner Ken Thompson was notified that his gas pumps and tanks were no longer in compliance with state regulations, and must be shut down

Poitra pleads guilty to murder, terrorizing

Last February, Nicholas Poitra pleaded guilty to murdering 30-year-old Troyal Thumb, just weeks before his murder trial was scheduled to begin.

Appearing in person at the Eddy County Courthouse on Friday, Feb. 9, Poitra formally amended his pleas on all 10 charges against him to guilty, nearly bringing an end to one of the biggest stories to come out of Eddy County in recent memory.

A year earlier, on the evening of February 19, 2023, court documents say Poitra walked into Rindy's Bar in Sheyenne shortly before 7 p.m. and killed Thumb, a father of four children, less than 10 minutes later with a sawed-off shotgun.

Matted and Malnourished – published March 4

A grim discovery was made in rural Eddy County.

After being contacted by a concerned family member, volunteers from Prairie Paws Rescue of Jamestown traveled to a residence in Eddy County on Friday, Feb. 23, about 10 miles northeast of New Rockford.

What they discovered were more than two dozen neglected and malnourished dogs and puppies, along with several deceased animals.

Thankfully, most of the dogs were rescued and eventually found new homes.

Louters tenders resignation – published March 18

In March last year, New Rockford-Sheyenne Superintendent Jill Louters tendered her resignation after 12 years with the district.

In a resignation letter addressed to NR-S School Board President Todd Allmaras, Louters said she would be resigning from her position as superintendent effective June 30, 2024.

"It has been a distinct honor to serve the students, staff and stakeholders of the district," wrote Louters.

Wobbema to lead park district – published April 15

The New Rockford Park District got a new director in April, just in time to get summer activities rolling in 2024.

The position had been vacant for several months, since Dennis Nybo resigned from the position the previous October.

But Nybo's former assistant pool manager, Macey Wobbema, officially took up the position.

Wick sentenced in murder case – published April 15

"You took away my sweet baby. We now have to sit here in constant pain, seeing other kids his age do everything for the first time, as tears run down my face wondering who our sweet son would be today."

Those were the gut-wrenching words of Brittany Nelson, as she fought back tears to deliver an intense victim-impact statement in front of a packed Foster County Courthouse on Tuesday, April 9.

Listening was Patricia Ann Wick, the former Carrington daycare owner accused of murdering Nelson's 5-month-old boy in September of 2022.

Wick was ultimately sentenced to a little under 19 years in prison.