Gallatin Media Center

CORRECTION: The previous version of the below press release had the incorrect address of the incident. It has been corrected in the version below (see bolded red text below). We apologize for the error.

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For immediate release: Oct. 19, 2022

At approximately 6:45 PM on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of gunshots at 20 Cliff Manor Ln., approximately 10 miles south of Gallatin Gateway in Gallatin Canyon. A witness reported a female had shot a male and fled the scene. When responders arrived, they found a male, identified as 53-year-old Jason Jones, deceased. Preliminary findings showed Jason died from multiple gunshot wounds. Investigation indicated the suspect to be 50-year-old Kimberli Jones, Jason’s spouse. Kimberli was later found near the Hyalite reservoir deceased due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The incident is still under investigation at this time.

Sheriff Springer wishes to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jason and Kimberli Jones during this time.

For immediate release: Oct. 19, 2022

At approximately 6:45 PM on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of gunshots at 50 Cliff Manor Ln., approximately 10 miles south of Gallatin Gateway in Gallatin Canyon. A witness reported a female had shot a male and fled the scene. When responders arrived, they found a male, identified as 53-year-old Jason Jones, deceased. Preliminary findings showed Jason died from multiple gunshot wounds. Investigation indicated the suspect to be 50-year-old Kimberli Jones, Jason’s spouse. Kimberli was later found near the Hyalite reservoir deceased due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The incident is still under investigation at this time.

Sheriff Springer wishes to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jason and Kimberli Jones during this time.

Sheriff Springer will be available for press inquiries at 12:00 today at the Gallatin County Detention Center, Conference Room.

For immediate release: Oct. 13, 2022

Media contact:
Eric Semerad, Gallatin County Elections Administrator
406-582-3060
eric.semerad@gallatin.mt.gov

 

Gallatin County Elections Office Mailing Over 62,000 Absentee Ballots on Friday, Oct. 14

On the morning Friday, Oct. 14, the Gallatin County Elections Office is mailing out over 62,000 absentee ballots for the 2022 federal general election on Nov. 8.

Voters who are registered to receive their ballots absentee should start seeing them arrive in their mailboxes in the coming days.

Sample ballots can be found here.

Absentee ballots must be returned no later than 8 PM on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, in order to be counted. Ballots postmarked on or before Election Day but received after Election Day cannot be accepted.

Absentee ballots may be returned by mail. The Elections Office advises mailing them no later than Tuesday, Nov. 1 to ensure they arrive on time. They can also be dropped off at the Elections Office leading up to and including Election Day.

On Election Day, ballots can be dropped at any polling place in Gallatin County, and there will also be a drive-up box at the front of the Gallatin County Courthouse in downtown Bozeman.

Polling places will be open for in-person voting on Election Day at the following locations:

• Bridger Canyon Fire Station – 8081 Bridger Canyon Rd.
• Gallatin County Fairgrounds – 901 N. Black Ave. in Bozeman
• Hope Lutheran Church – 5152 W. Graf St. in Bozeman
• Povah Community Center – 10 Geyser St. in West Yellowstone
• Big Sky Water & Sewer District Office – 561 Little Coyote Rd. in Big Sky
• Gallatin Gateway Community Center – 145 Mill St. in Gallatin Gateway
• Belgrade Special Events Center – 220 Spooner Rd. in Belgrade
• River Rock Community Center – 101 River Rock Rd. in Belgrade
• Three Forks High School – 212 E. Neal St. in Three Forks
• Manhattan Christian School – 8000 Churchill Rd. in Churchill
• Manhattan High School – 200 W. Fulton Ave. in Manhattan

Polling places will be open 7 AM to 8 PM on Election Day, with the exception of Bridger Canyon Fire Station, which will be open noon to 8 PM.

If you are voting in-person, please check your voter registration to make sure you vote at the correct polling place location.

Visit www.MyVoterPageMT.com to check your voter registration status and your information on file.

If you still need to register to vote or update your registration in order to vote in November’s election, you must appear in person at the Gallatin County Elections Office. Voters can register now until noon on Monday, Nov. 7 (the day before Election Day), and from 7 AM to 8 PM on Election Day.

The Elections Office is located in room 210 of the Gallatin County Courthouse at 311 W. Main St. in downtown Bozeman.

For questions or more information, call us at 406-582-3060, email us at gallatin.elections@gallatin.mt.gov, or visit our website at gallatinvotes.com.

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For immediate release: October 12, 2022

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

 

Fix-It Repair Clinic Slated for Oct. 15 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 community event to help give new life to your stuff!

This free clinic will be held Saturday, Oct. 15 from 10 AM to 1 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!

For more information, please call 406-582-2493 or visit www.gallatinsolidwaste.org.

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Sheriff/Coroner Dan Springer releases name of Vehicle vs. Bicyclist Victim

 

On Sunday, October 9, 2022, the Gallatin County Coroner’s Office investigated a fatality involving a vehicle and bicyclist. The accident occurred on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, near the intersection of W Oak St. and N 15^th Ave. in Bozeman. The victim was identified as 40-year-old Kelly Fulton, a high school teacher in Bozeman. Fulton was transported to a Billings hospital where he ultimately died of his injuries. Cause of death was determined to be subdural hematoma due to blunt force injuries of the head. The manner was ruled an accident.

 

Sheriff Springer wishes to express our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and students of Kelly Fulton during this time.

For Immediate Release: October 7, 2022

Gallatin City-County Health Department will hold two walk-in flu clinics in October. The first clinic, held on October 12, will also have an option for individuals 12 years or older to get their COVID-19 bivalent booster dose.

Click here to read the press release.

For details on vaccines, please visit our website at healthygallatin.org.

Contact:  Patrick Lonergan, (406) 548-0116
Release:  221006-01

22 Agencies Participate in Rescue Task Force Training

Bozeman, MT – 22 local, state and federal agencies jointly participated in training Wednesday afternoon on utilization of Rescue Task Force’s during an active killer incident.  Emergency Responders conducted a 6 hour training session, utilizing a system known as Rescue Task Forces, on the quick insertion of medically trained personnel into unsecured situations to rapidly treat and extract injured people.  Agencies in Gallatin County began implementing this program several years ago and are committed to not only stopping an aggressor during an active killer incident, but also rapidly caring for those who have been injured.  This training session greatly solidified and enhanced our community’s joint response capacity to these situations across all agencies and disciplines.

Participating Agencies:

• Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office
• Bozeman Police Department
• Montana State University Police Department
• Belgrade Police Department
• Bozeman Yellowstone Airport Authority Police
• Montana Highway Patrol
• Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Game Wardens
• US Marshal’s Service
• US Forest Service Law Enforcement
• Gallatin County Emergency Management
• Bozeman Fire Department
• Central Valley Fire District
• Hyalite Fire Department
• Gallatin Gateway Fire District
• Bridger Canyon Fire District
• Fort Ellis Fire Service Area
• Amsterdam Fire District
• Big Sky Fire Department
• Hebgen Basin Fire District
• Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital
• American Medical Response
• Gallatin County 911

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In the early morning hours of October 5^th, 2022, Gallatin County Coroner’s Office was notified that an overdue hunter was found deceased in the area of Truman Gulch. The hunter was identified as Joseph Raymond Balyeat, 65 years of age and a resident of Bozeman MT.  The death has been determined to be of natural cause.

PRESS RELEASE

Truman Gulch Missing Hunter

On October 4, 2022, at 10:51pm, Gallatin County Dispatch received a call for an overdue hunter. The reporting party drove to the area where the individual was hunting, which was near the Truman Gulch trailhead, and found the hunters vehicle still there. Due to the hunter being several hours overdue with a known medical history, a search was initiated.

Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue volunteers from the Valley Section, the SAR Drone Team, and the SAR Dog Team responded to the area to search for the hunter. LifeFlight Network also assisted by searching the area utilizing night vision. The reporting party was able to give an approximate area of where the individual was hunting and family members directed Search and Rescue teams to the hunters tree stand.

A Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue dog team located the hunter, deceased, in the early hours of the morning of October 5, 2022. The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office Coroner was dispatched and will release more details pending family notification.

Sheriff Springer would like to pass on his condolences to the family and friends during this difficult time.

For immediate release: Oct. 5, 2022

Media contacts:
Miranda Johnson, Clerk of Justice Court
406-582-2192
miranda.johnson@gallatin.mt.gov

Tim Martindale, Director of Gallatin County 911
406-582-2092
tim.martindatel@gallatin.mt.gov

 

Gallatin County Justice Court and 911 Records Temporarily Reducing Public Office Hours

Due to staffing shortages, two Gallatin County offices will be temporarily reducing public office hours.

Starting Tuesday, Oct. 11, Gallatin County Justice Court and 911 Records (both located at the Law and Justice Center), will be open to the public from 8 AM to 3 PM. Staff in both offices will remain working from 3 to 5 PM each day; however, that will be uninterrupted time for employees to process accumulated filings and records requests.

Like many employers across the county, state, and nation, Justice Court and 911 Records are short staffed.

Both Justice Court and 911 Records offices have a total of 10 positions each, and each office is down three people due to open positions and retirement.

The reduced public office hours in both offices will remain in place until more staff are hired. We will keep the public updated.

Last month, the Clerk of District Court’s Office also reduced its public office hours to 8 AM to 3 PM. Those hours remain in place.

Gallatin County Justice Court

Justice Court handles misdemeanor citations from the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Montana Highway Patrol, Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, Montana Department of Transportation and processes most of the felony cases during the daily in-custody appearances.

Justice Court also handles civil cases, which includes restraining orders, landlord-tenant and Small Claims.

Justice Court will use its afternoon hours to enable staff to process backlogged filings. The court will continue to receive and process electronic and hand-delivered filings under the court’s window during the hours of 3 to 5 PM.

For questions, please contact Justice Court at 406-582-2191 or justice@gallatin.mt.gov.

Gallatin County 911 Records

Records is the second division to the 911 Communications Department, located behind the window at the main entrance of the Law and Justice Center. The department maintains the records from the Bozeman Police Department, Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Gallatin County Detention Center.

Records requests can still be made online by emailing supportservices@gallatin.mt.gov. A new website for online records requests is coming soon – we will provide updates as soon as that service becomes available!

For any questions, please call the office at 406-582-2005.

For information on job openings in Justice Court, 911 Records, and all other county departments, please visit www.governmentjobs.com/careers/gallatinmt.

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