Gallatin Media Center

For immediate release: Oct. 23, 2023 

Media contact:
Audrey Cromwell, Gallatin County Attorney
406-582-3758
audrey.cromwell@gallatin.mt.gov 

 

Gallatin County Attorney’s Office Holding Coroner’s Inquest on Oct. 30 

The Gallatin County Attorney’s Office is holding a coroner’s inquest into an officer-involved shooting in Bozeman in April. 

The inquest will review the circumstances surrounding the death of 39-year-old Michael Rogel, who died in an officer-involved shooting with the Bozeman Police Department on Greenmore Court in Bozeman on April 3, 2023. 

The inquest will be held on Monday, Oct. 30 starting at 9 AM in courtroom 201 at the Law and Justice Center, located at 615 S. 16th Ave. in Bozeman. It is anticipated the hearing will take the full day. 

A coroner’s inquest is a formal inquiry into the causes and circumstances surrounding the death of a person caused by a peace officer. After hearing all the evidence, jurors will then render a verdict, which must be a majority vote, that will determine: 

• who the deceased person is 
• when, where and how the deceased died 
• if the deceased died by criminal means 
• if it was criminal means then who committed the act, if known 

Park County Coroner Al Jenkins will preside over the inquest. Nine random jurors will be selected to listen to testimony and see evidence presented by the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office.  

Witnesses will include involved officers, other eyewitnesses, a pathologist, and investigator from the Montana Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation. 

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On October 19, 2023, at 6:47pm, Gallatin County 911 received a call for a hang-gliding accident near the Rockhaven Camp and Retreat Center in the Gallatin Canyon. It was later discovered the incident was actually a BASE jumping accident and the patient had suffered a possible neck injury. The BASE jumper had fallen along the cliff face after deploying their parachute and landed on top of a steep rocky incline. 

The Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue Valley Section and Heli Team, American Medical Response (AMR), Gallatin Gateway Fire Department, and Billings Clinic MedFlight all responded to the area. Valley members with an alpine endorsement deployed to the patient where they used low angle technical rope rescue techniques to get them to the awaiting ground crews.  Once down, ground crews transported the patient via one wheeled litter to the staging area. Ultimately the patient was flown by air ambulance to Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center for further evaluation.

Sheriff Dan Springer would like to thank the bystanders who recognized the emergency and called dispatch to activate the Search and Rescue call. This event happened in an area without cell service and without someone promptly leaving to call 911, the initiation of a rescue could have been significantly delayed.

Photo courtesy of the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office.

For immediate release: Oct. 19, 2023 

Media contact:
Eric Semerad, Gallatin County Clerk & Recorder & Election Administrator
406-582-3054
eric.semerad@gallatin.mt.gov 

 Ballots for Nov. 7 Municipal Elections to be Mailed Oct. 20 

**For media who want footage or photos to accompany stories, elections staff will be loading boxes of ballots into the mail service truck starting at 7:45 AM on Friday behind the Gallatin County Courthouse, located at 311 W. Main St. in downtown Bozeman.** 

On Friday, Oct. 20, ballots for the 2023 municipal election on Nov. 7 in Gallatin County will be mailed to active registered voters in municipalities that are holding elections.  

This election is a mail ballot election meaning there will be no polling places open on Election Day. 

Elections are taking place in Bozeman, Belgrade, Manhattan, West Yellowstone, and the Central Valley Fire District. 

In total, about 48,500 ballots will be mailed to active registered voters. Ballots should start arriving this weekend or early next week. Sample ballots can be found here. 

As with all mail ballot elections, there is always an option to vote in-person at the Gallatin County Elections office, located in the Gallatin County Courthouse at 311 W. Main St., room 210 in Bozeman. 

Ballots must be received at the Gallatin County Elections office or a designated place of deposit by 8 PM on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7. Ballots may be returned by mail or in-person. If you’re mailing your ballot, mail it no later than Monday, Oct. 30 to ensure it arrives at our office in time. Ballots postmarked on or before Election Day but received after Election Day cannot be accepted.  

Places of deposit for this election are: 

• Gallatin County Elections Office – 311 W. Main St., room 210 in Bozeman 
• Belgrade City Hall – 91 E. Central Ave. 
• Manhattan Town Hall – 207 S. 6th St.  
• West Yellowstone Town Hall – 440 Yellowstone Ave.  

Voters in any municipality can drop their ballots off at those locations. All locations are open during regular business hours Monday through Friday until Nov. 6, and then from 7 AM to 8 PM on Election Day on Nov. 7.  

Voter Registration 

Gallatin County is currently in the late registration period for the Nov. 7 election. To register to vote or update your registration (like if you’ve moved or changed your name since the last election), you must appear in-person at the Gallatin County Elections office.  

You can do so now through Election Day. Please note there is one short registration closure from noon on Monday, Nov. 6 until 7 AM on Election Day. It is then available from 7 AM to 8 PM on Election Day.  

You can check your registration status at www.MyVoterPageMT.com.  

If you have questions, please contact our office at gallatin.elections@gallatin.mt.gov or 406-582-3060. For more information, you can also visit www.GallatinVotes.com.  

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For immediate release: Oct. 17, 2023 

Media contact:
Patty Howard, Outreach Educator – Gallatin Solid Waste Management District
406-582-2492
patty.howard@gallatin.mt.gov 

 

Annual Fix-It Repair Clinic Slated for Oct. 20 at Belgrade Community Library 

Do you have small items that need to be fixed? A lamp on the fritz? A sleeping bag with a hole? Your kid’s favorite toy with some broken pieces? Then the Fix-It Repair Clinic is the place for you! 

The Gallatin Solid Waste Management District is partnering with the Belgrade Community Library to bring you this annual community event to help give new life to your stuff! 

This free clinic will be held Friday, Oct. 20 from 2-6 PM at the Belgrade Community Library, located at 106 N. Broadway. 

Volunteers will be on hand to fix small items such as toys, clothing, small appliances, lamps, jewelry, and more. This will save their owners money and keep the items from ending up in the landfill. Past clinics have helped keep over 2,000 pounds from going into the Logan Landfill! 

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Photo courtesy of the Gallatin Solid Waste Management District.

 

For immediate release: Oct. 16, 2023 

Media contact:
Maureen Horton, Gallatin County Treasurer
treasurer@gallatin.mt.gov
406-582-3033 

Temporary Closure of Belgrade Motor Vehicle Office on Oct. 20 

The Gallatin County Motor Vehicle Department’s Belgrade office will temporarily close for the day on Friday, Oct. 20.  

The Belgrade office is getting new furniture and doing some reconfiguring of the space to improve the experience for both customers and staff in that space. It will reopen for its regular temporary hours (7:30 AM to 2:30 PM) on Monday, Oct. 23. 

To accommodate during the closure, our Bozeman Motor Vehicle Office, located at the Gallatin County Courthouse in downtown Bozeman, will be open Oct. 20 from 8 AM to 5 PM 

There is also online titling and registration services available for dealership purchases to save customers a trip to either office. Those services can be found on our website. 

We appreciate the public’s patience during this temporary closure.  

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For immediate release: Oct. 10, 2023

Media contact:
Whitney Bermes, Gallatin County Communications Coordinator
406-595-8963
whitney.bermes@gallatin.mt.gov

Gallatin Behavioral Health Coalition Shares Progress

Oct. 10 is World Mental Health Day and is the perfect opportunity to share progress the Gallatin Behavioral Health Coalition and its members have made in enhancing the behavioral health system in our region.

The Gallatin Behavioral Health Coalition is a group committed to enhancing the behavioral health system of care in the region to be complete and responsive across the continuum, including health promotion, prevention, intervention, and recovery. The coalition is funded by the Montana Healthcare Foundation and the State Diversion Grant. 

The coalition includes representatives from Gallatin County, the City of Bozeman, Bozeman Health, Community Health Partners, the Help Center, Montana State University, Connections Health Solutions, HRDC, Greater Gallatin United Way, Gallatin City-County Health Department, Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, Bozeman Police Department, Gallatin County Attorney’s Office, Gallatin County school districts, Intermountain, Youth Dynamics, Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, AWARE, Montana Healthcare Foundation, and Yellowstone Club Community Foundation.

In the last year, the coalition has made great progress in its mission to implement an appropriate system of prevention, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation for community members so every person receives the right services in the right place, every time.

“It takes a team to serve our community’s behavioral health needs; no one provider can do it all. We have made great progress in implementing crisis services, and are working on implementing a lot of other great ideas to better serve youth and adult needs across the behavioral health continuum. I am grateful and excited for the collaborative spirit of our coalition making this work possible,” said Kirsten Smith, Gallatin Behavioral Health Coalition Coordinator.

The coalition is working to implement the Crisis Now model of care, which has key elements of providing someone to call, someone to respond, and somewhere to go. Below are highlights in each of those areas from our coalition members. Read the Gallatin Behavioral Health Coalition’s full summary report here. 

Someone to Call:

The Help Center, our local 988/crisis line provider, gives real-time access to a live person every moment of every day for anyone who is in crisis, having suicidal thoughts, in emotional distress, or concerned about someone. 

They answer an average of 300 behavioral health calls a month. They are able to stabilize and de-escalate 75% of those who call them. Using the caller’s own strengths, support systems, the robust 211 and mental health database, and the Help Center’s crisis follow-up services –their work reduces demand on other community services. For the other 25%, callers are referred to community and medical services. 

For 24/7 help, you can reach the Help Center at 988 or 406-586-3333.

“We have been serving Gallatin County since 1971 and are proud to work alongside our coalition colleagues to address the needs of our growing community and help our community members access the services they need, 24/7,” said Mandy St. Aubyn, Development & Communications Coordinator, Help Center, Inc.

Someone to Respond: 

Gallatin Mobile Crisis, established in July 2022 and staffed by Connections Health Solutions, is an emergency behavioral health response program for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. The team is composed of local behavioral health professionals who provide on-scene evaluations, treatment, and crisis intervention. The team currently operates 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

Since January, 84% of people have been successfully supported in the community and did not require a higher level of care. This service is keeping these folks safe at home and in our community, and out of our emergency department and jail.

“It has been our privilege to serve the community as the mobile crisis response provider and gain the trust of so many who have allowed us to be there during an extremely difficult time,” said Paige Bichler, MSN, RN, vice president of clinical operations for Connections Health Solutions. “We are proud of the work we’ve done to date alongside members of the coalition and are grateful for the continued support of the community. We look forward to continuing to provide those in need with the highest quality of care, right when they need it.”

Somewhere to Go:

Bozeman Health provides Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) adjacent to the emergency department at Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center and is open 24/7/365. The PES area is designed to deliver an enhanced level of care that provides a calming and therapeutic environment for patients experiencing acute behavioral health needs in our community. 

This year, the PES unit’s crisis interventionists conducted an average of 144 therapeutic encounters monthly between January and July. This service means more people are able to access behavioral healthcare for their crisis needs close to home. 

“Bozeman Health is proud to deliver this vital, therapeutic care environment for our community, said Dr. Kathryn Bertany, Bozeman Health CEO. “The health system continues its commitment to providing large portions of the behavioral health continuum, including integrated behavioral health in our clinics, outpatient psychiatry, crisis stabilization in our PES area, and inpatient psychiatry and hospitalization.”   

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PRESS RELEASE

GOOSE CREEK TRAIL RESCUE

On October 6, 2023, at 7:45pm, Gallatin County Dispatch received a 911 call from a hiker near Goose Creek Trail who had become lost. With darkness and cold weather setting in, the hiker requested assistance finding the correct trail to lead them back to their vehicle.

Volunteers from Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue (GCSSAR) responded to the area with all-terrain vehicles. With help from the Forrest Service, GCSSAR members were able to gain access to the hiker relatively close to where the hiker’s 911 call placed them, making for a quick and safe rescue.

The hiker was assessed by rescue personnel on scene, and was provided a ride back to their vehicle.

Sheriff Springer would like to remind backcountry enthusiasts that darkness and cold weather are beginning to set earlier each day. Packing extra supplies to be prepared for changing conditions is best practice to ensure a safe trip to the mountains.

For Immediate Release: October 4, 2023

A significant uptick in COVID-19 cases as well as reported flu cases have already been detected in Gallatin County. It is important to take proper steps to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses, including flu and COVID-19, in order to minimize the strain on the healthcare system this fall and winter.

Read the complete press release here.

The best place to find the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, flu, and other communicable diseases is on our website, www.healthygallatin.org.

For immediate release: Oct. 2, 2023

Media contacts:

Takami Clark
City of Bozeman
406-582-2322
tclark@bozeman.net 

Whitney Bermes
Gallatin County
406-595-8963
whitney.bermes@gallatin.mt.gov 

 

Gallatin Valley Sensitive Land Draft Plan Release and Debut Party 
The public is invited to learn about the Draft Plan and how to comment.  

BOZEMAN, Montana – From the Gallatin Valley Sensitive Land Protection Working Group comes the thrilling release of the Public Draft Plan, and the public is invited to the debut party! The Draft Plan will be released on Oct. 16, 2023 through online channels at gallatinvalleyplan.bozeman.net. Immediately following the premiere, the Working Group and Project Team will host a public meeting to explore the Draft Plan highlights and discuss how comments can be provided on the Draft Plan. All are invited to join:  

• Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. at Monforton School (6001 Monforton School Rd, Bozeman) 
• A presentation will kick off the event. 
• Light refreshments will be provided. 

As a representative of the Working Group, Gallatin County Commissioner Jennifer Boyer, expressed, “Sensitive lands are foundational to our quality of life and why our area is unique and loved by residents and visitors. We want to ensure the variety of implementation strategies – voluntary, incentives, or regulatory – provide a balanced approach and offer landowners and partners options and support.” 

The Draft Plan features vibrant summaries of our community’s vision and values, creative sensitive land models based on authoritative data sources, and honest reflection of recommendations that can be implemented throughout the Valley. The Draft Plan process was an opportunity to debut a dialogue between city, county, agency, constituents, landowners, and native voices.  

Those who are not able to attend the Debut Party can review the Draft Plan and online at gallatinvalleyplan.bozeman.net starting Oct. 16. The comment period will run through Nov. 5.  

More information on the Plan can be found at gallatinvalleyplan.bozeman.net. 

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For Immediate Release: September 29, 2023

Nearly 25 percent of Gallatin County high school students vape. According to a study done by the Montana Office of Public Instruction, this is 70 percent higher than the national average of 14.1 percent.

Read the complete press release here.

The statistics are concerning. Come learn why, what the county is doing to address this public health crisis, and how you can support the youth in your life. The Gallatin City-County Health Department is holding a community learning session on Wednesday, October 11 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Bozeman Library.