GRAND FORKS(AP) - A misdemeanor charge against the director of the University of North Dakota's Energy and Environmental Research Center has been deferred, meaning the charge will be erased from his record if he stays out of trouble for a year.

Gerald Groenewold was charged with disorderly conduct in an alleged confrontation with Manvel firefighters who were trying to put out a controlled grass fire on his property north of Grand Forks in April.

The criminal complaint said Groenewold used threatening language and shook a rake at one of the firefighters.

Groenewold denied a confrontation occurred and said firefighters trespassed on his property.

Groenewold must pay a $1,000 bond, but will get the money back if he has no contact with the firefighter he was accused of threatening, and he must pay the fire department mileage for coming to his property, attorney Steve Simonson said.

Simonson, of Lakota, was named to prosecute the case as a special assistant state's attorney.