Montana
Montana State Prison guard says superiors kept him locked in at shift end
DEER LODGE — A Montana State Jail correctional officer desires prices introduced in opposition to two of his superiors after he stated they saved him locked in a guard cage for about 20-Half-hour after his shift ended.
Anthony Cotton advised the Powell County Sheriff’s Workplace in a report filed July 28, {that a} member of command workers on the Montana State Jail advised a unit sergeant to not let Cotton out of a management cage when his shift was completed.
“He stated they advised him to not ship anybody down,” Cotton stated. “I stated ‘They’ll’t try this.’ And that I would really like him to ship any individual down now as a result of I’m not staying.”
In response to Cotton’s report, the incident occurred on July 25, about 5 days earlier than the Montana State Jail switched to 12-hour shifts. The altering of shift schedules ended holdover shifts, stated Alexandria Klapmeier, a Montana Division of Corrections spokesperson. The rejiggering of the schedule was one among a number of options DOC management proposed because it tries to handle underneath staffing on the jail. Nonetheless, some correctional officers stated the 12-hour shift is problematic and administration is just not doing sufficient to assist workers throughout a tough time.
In an e mail to MTN Information Thursday, Klapmeier didn’t deal with the report filed by Cotton, however stated, “if a workers member refuses to remain for a shift, they’re free to go away.”
Somebody did relieve Cotton, he stated. However after he left the jail he despatched a coworker a textual content and stated he was “Significantly at a psychological break down,” due to jail administration. The day earlier than, Cotton stated jail command workers had additionally tried to drive him to remain for an additional shift.
“I used to be very offended,” Cotton stated. “And mentally I used to be just about completed with them.”
Cotton is about two and a half years from having the ability to stop his jail job and maintain his retirement advantages, he stated. He was nervous about what submitting prices in opposition to his bosses would possibly imply for his future on the jail, he stated. However the night time his superiors tried to maintain him hostage on the jail, he stated he’d lastly had sufficient.
As of Thursday, the Powell County Sheriff’s Workplace had Cotton’s case open, however no prices had been filed.
Each DOC Director Brian Gootkin and Public Security Chief Jim Anderson have testified earlier than interim legislative committees concerning the division’s wrestle to rent correctional officers. At a jail board assembly in June, Montana State Ladies’s Jail additionally reported problem hiring workers, and stated the ladies’s jail was down 15 correctional officers on the time.
Crossroads Correctional Heart, which is a personal jail that DOC contracts with, additionally reported hiring points and stated it was bringing in correctional officers from out-of-state. When Crossroads has a vacant place for greater than 90 days, DOC can penalize the corporate by withholding contract funds. As of Aug. 2, the DOC had withheld about $390,000 in fiscal yr 2022.
Individuals proceed to go away their jail jobs, stated Cathy Clark, president of the Montana State Jail worker union. At a union assembly Tuesday, Clark stated three individuals put of their two weeks discover earlier that day.
“The final time I calculated it was 158 (correctional officers), final yr it was 296,” Clark stated. “That ought to let you know how outnumbered they’re.”
Clark started working for the Montana State Jail within the mail room about 14 years in the past. Worker morale is at an all-time low, she stated.
Through the union assembly, workers joked about how the 12-hour shift was supposed to unravel all the pieces. Many had points with how the shift change was applied, highlighting how nobody was given extra trip hours, regardless of now having to take 12 hours of trip to cowl a shift the place they used to take simply eight hours. If an worker had 32 hours of trip, they’re paid go away goes from 4 days to about two and a half, Klapmeier acknowledged.
Nonetheless, Klapmeier identified the adjustments to the shift schedule means workers go from working 10 days out of every pay interval to working seven days.
Staff additionally stated they’ve struggled to get breaks throughout their shifts, which may be much more irritating when a shift is 12 hours lengthy. On Aug. 9, a correctional officer filed an incident report after they stated they’d completed an 11-hour shift with no break.
“The DOC supplies workers with breaks all through the day,” Klapmeier stated. “Apart from throughout a facility emergency.”
The DOC doesn’t touch upon staffing numbers, Klapmeier stated. Nonetheless, they’ve acknowledged the staffing points on the jail and are working to handle the difficulty with present workers and expanded recruitment work, she stated. The security and safety of the general public, workers and the individuals serving sentences on the jail is the “high precedence of the DOC,” Klapmeier stated.
Nonetheless, Clark stated administration is just not listening to workers issues and the state of affairs is harmful. Staff are pissed off, however so are the incarcerated individuals contained in the jail, Clark stated.
“They’re not getting yard, they’re not getting psychological well being companies like they’re purported to,” Clark stated. “So, it’s a stress cooker.”
Montana
15-year-old girl killed in crash near Jordan
JORDAN – A 15-year-old girl was killed and a 16-year-old boy was injured in a one-vehicle crash near Jordan.
The Montana Highway Patrol reports the crash happened Wednesday shortly before 7 p.m. on Highway 200 at mile marker 178.
The patrol said the girl was driving a Chevrolet Suburban westbound on the highway when the vehicle went off the right side of the road and overturned. The patrol said the girl was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected. She died at the scene.
The extent of the boy’s injuries was not released, but he was taken to an area medical facility. Both teens are from Sand Springs.
Montana
I'm Jon Tester. This is why I want Montana's vote for Senate.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
I’m Jon Tester. I’ve lived down a long dirt road outside of Big Sandy all my life, where I still farm the same land my grandparents homesteaded more than 100 years ago. For me Montana always comes first — and I’ll work with anyone, including Republicans, to defend our state.
Out here, your word is your bond, and you look out for your neighbors. A handshake still means something. And that’s why Montana is the greatest state in the greatest country on earth.
But that Montana that we know and love is changing, and the Last Best Place is at risk of being lost forever. I want to make sure Montana remains the place that we grew up in or made you want to move here, where you don’t need to be a millionaire to hunt, fish, or afford to live here. That’s why after talking with my wife Sharla, I decided to run for reelection — because the state we love is worth defending.
This is our last shot to protect Montana for all of us, not just multimillionaires, hedge funds, and big corporations. Wealthy outsiders are coming into our state, jacking up prices and trying to change our way of life. I won’t let them.
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My opponent Tim Sheehy is one of them. Here is a guy that moved here recently from the big city suburbs, bought up a bunch of properties across Montana, and then started charging folks $12,500 to hunt on his land. Sheehy is part of the problem, not the solution.
If anyone thinks Tim Sheehy will stand up to the out-of-state interests buying up our housing, I’ve got beachfront property in North Central Montana to sell them. If anyone thinks Tim Sheehy is going to protect our public lands, I’ve got an audio tape of him pledging to transfer them off so wealthy outsiders can buy them up for themselves. If anyone thinks Tim Sheehy would send the government packing when they try to interfere in our personal lives, just look at how he wants politicians to make health care decisions for Montana women, robbing them of their freedoms.
Those aren’t the Montana values we grew up with.
Here, we work hard for what we’ve got. We know that nothing is given, and everything is earned.
MONTANA SENATE RACE SHATTERS SPENDING RECORDS AT $309 PER REGISTERED VOTER
So every day, I wake up and go to bat to keep Montana the Last Best Place. And I’ll work with Republicans, Democrats, and Independents to do it. That’s why former President Trump signed more than 20 of my bills into law to help veterans, crack down on government waste and abuse, and support our first-responders. That’s why I have repeatedly called out President Biden’s failed border policies, and am working to hire more Border Patrol agents to secure the southern border and shut off the deadly flow of fentanyl. It’s why I’ve stood tough against the Chinese Communist Party, holding them accountable for flying a spy balloon over my state and working to stop them from getting a foothold on American soil by banning them from buying up our farmland. It’s why I’m working hard to lower costs like housing, keep our public lands in public hands, and push back against one-size-fits all regulations from the Biden administration that just don’t make sense for rural America – like when they tried to strip funding from Montana schools over made-up D.C. hiring practices, or tried to undermine our Second Amendment rights and stop our schools from teaching hunter safety courses.
The truth is that Montana’s way of life is on the line, and we have a choice. We can fight to protect our state and hold on to the freedoms that make it great, or we can let Tim Sheehy and his out-of-state, special interest backers turn it into a playground for the rich.
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If you want Montana to stay a place where you can afford to raise your family, where you don’t have to be a millionaire to hunt or fish or buy a home, and where our freedoms are protected, then this election is your last best chance to choose someone who will defend that Montana way of life.
For me, this has always been about Montana – and always will be.
Montana
Montana deputies have suspect after man found dead in what at first appeared to be a bear attack – East Idaho News
The following is a news release from the Gallatin County, Montana, Sheriff’s Office, which concerns the investigation into the death of 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem. Kjersem’s friend found his bloodied body in a tent and thought Kjersem was the victim of a bear attack. Authorities are now saying Kjersem was murdered. Click here for more background on this story. We will post more details on this investigation as they become available.
The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office has identified a suspect in the Moose Creek homicide. The suspect is currently in custody on unrelated charges. The suspect is cooperating with our detectives and has led us to the evidence we have identified in prior press releases.
The investigation into this homicide continues. It is believed the suspect acted alone and there is no longer a threat to the community. Further details and charges are forthcoming, but it is important for this community to know they are safe to resume their outdoor activities. The Sheriff’s Office will have no further comment in regard to this investigation until charges are filed.
RELATEd | A 911 caller found his friend’s body in Montana and thought he was the victim of a bear attack. Police now say it was a homicide.
I want to thank the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office Detectives for their unrelenting pursuit of justice on this case. They have worked day and night for nearly three weeks with limited sleep, limited time with their families and limited time to themselves. They have prioritized the safety of this community and the need to locate Dustin Kjersem’s killer above all else. It is this type of dedication that makes the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office and all law enforcement officers special. This community should be proud of the men and women who have chosen a life of service to keep you, your families, and your friends safe.
I would also like to thank the multiple other agencies who have dedicated their time and energy into this case. The Montana Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI), the Montana State Crime lab, the Montana Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole, the Medical Examiner’s office, the Montana Highway Patrol, the Missouri River Drug Task Force, Jefferson County Montana Sheriff’s Office, Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement Department, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Custer Gallatin National Forest and Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue.
Our thoughts and prayers continue for the family of Dustin Kjersem. We hope, by some small measure, our efforts can bring them a bit of peace during this horrific time. Our entire community mourns with you.
– Sheriff Dan Springer
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