Levy funds put to use

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office recently hired four patrol officers, two detention officers and purchased three vehicles with funds from last year’s $988,960 Public Safety Mill Levy.

The addition of the new deputies allows the department to have three officers on duty throughout our large county at all times. The two new hires will be resident deputies out of outlying areas such as Arlee and Swan Valley, and the other two will be patrol deputies.

The new deputies are: Ben Woods, Nate Lundeen, Ryan Funke and Matthew Gfroerer. Woods, a 27-year-old Columbus native, graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy in 2006 and worked with the Missoula Police Department just under three years before joining the sheriff’s office. The three other new hires are still in the academy in Helena and will be joining the county in the months to come.

The new deputy hires will aim to help cut back on overtime and provide better coverage of the county. According to deputy Glenn Miller, the passed levy not only helped bolster the department’s manpower, but also secured positions for three school resource officers who were at risk of being cut without the crucial funding.

The levy allotted $153,000 for the SROs and $255,000 for the four deputies and one detective, who is yet to be hired.

The Lake County Detention Center hired two new award-winning detention officers straight out of the academy. John Todd and Derek Trogden received separate awards from the academy for their professionalism and academic excellence, respectively. One will serve in Lake County as a detention officer, and the other as a transport officer.

The newly acquired vehicles are two 2009 Dodge Chargers from Ronan Dodge and one 2009 Ford Pickup from Don Aadsen Ford. According Miller, the vehicles were both the lowest bidders out of the vehicles available and were the best deal on the table from local dealers. The levy allowed for $105,000 to be used for new vehicles and alleviating overtures in maintenance and repairs.

“We got a great deal and we try to keep our bids local so we positively impact our own economy, because after all these are the people who supported us by passing the levy,” Miller said.

The Lake County 911 Dispatch Center will also have a new employee soon as the supervisor  is interviewing applicants this week. The dispatch center’s training budget also grew from literally nothing to $5,000 with the levy — implementing training that will help dispatchers respond more proficiently to emergency medical calls throughout the area.

Levy funds also allowed for the center to make one employee a position solely for IT purposes — and in this modern technology-driven dispatch environment, the role is exceptionally important.

“Having an in-house tech expert makes the process so much smoother,” 911 Dispatch Supervisor Jessica Barnette said.

The base pay for 911 operators and detention staff also received a $2 per hour raise, a much needed bump as the Detention Center saw 16 turnovers in 18 months.

A $29,000 allowance from the levy was allotted for use in training Sheriff’s Office personnel. The department has already made strides in training, co-hosting a Sergeant’s Academy with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ police from Jan. 19-23 in Pablo.

A detective, two patrol deputies, two detention supervisors and a dispatch supervisor from Lake County were sent to the co-hosted academy for management level training.

“The Sergeant’s Academy came to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office as a highly recommended training opportunity as described by several officers from around the state,” undersheriff Jay Doyle said.

“With today’s fast paced advancement in all fields of law enforcement, we owe it to the citizens of Lake County to continue improving our knowledge to develop the trust and service they deserve.”