THE PEOPLE OF MCPHERSON COUNTY – SHERIFF JERRY MONTAGNE!
By William for www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
(The People of McPherson County is SPONSORED by CROSSDOVE WRITERS)
The People of McPherson County is a continued effort to make the citizens of McPherson County more aware of who the wheeler and dealers are that make the county, the communities within the county, the school districts within the county and even many of the major businesses within the county, tick as they do. These are the people that make McPherson County tick.
Today, the People of McPherson County will introduce you to the person who has been serving as the McPherson County Sheriff since January of 2016 – Sheriff Jerry Montagne!
Getting to Know:
Jerry Montagne had worked many years for the McPherson Police Department before being elected to be the new McPherson County Sheriff and taking office on January 1, 2016.
Montagne is honored to be the highest law enforcement officer in McPherson County and continually works hard to make sure all local, state and federal laws are enforced while maintaining the full safety of all the citizens that live within McPherson County.
Getting from There to Here:
Sheriff Montagne is originally from Sioux City, Iowa and has been married to Janice for 34 years. They have a son and twin daughters, plus seven delightful grandkids.
For over 29 years, Montagne has been a resident of McPherson and has served as a member of law enforcement in some capacity for 35-plus years.
Sheriff Montagne holds an Associate Degree in Police Science Technology from Western Iowa Tech as well as a bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Administration of Justice from Bethany College.
Sheriff Montagne graduated from the United State Air Force Police Academy in 1982 and a year later, graduated from KLETC (the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center).
Prior to going to work for the McPherson Police Department, Montagne was a Senior Deputy Sheriff in Nemaha County as well as serving with the Kansas Air National Guard.
Among the awards Sheriff Montagne has earned serving in law enforcement include being selected the Police Officer of the Year by the American Legion in 2015, Police Officer of the Year from the VFW in 2009 and spent six years ranked as the Reader’s Choice of Police Officer of the Year by the McPherson Sentinel.
What does Sheriff Montagne enjoy the most about his position?
While Sheriff Montagne knows much of his time is taken making sure the County jail is maintained, civil process is taken care of for the county court system and the department gives full support to all the local police departments within the county, plus overseeing all budget spending for county law enforcement, Montagne loves interacting with the public.
Sheriff Montagne understands that a lot of the people’s view of the sheriff department comes from public relations, so he makes it a point to be involved with things like ‘Coffee with a Cop’, the ‘All Schools Day Celebration’ and upcoming game nights with area youth.
Sheriff Montagne also teaches many safety classes throughout the county while volunteering to work the Kansas State Fair McPherson booth and making appearances at each of the County DARE graduations.
What have been the memorable projects of his tenure as Sheriff?
Among the many projects that been achieved under the watch of Sheriff Montagne are the hiring of the first female deputy sheriff, acquiring two new drug detection K-9 dogs, purchasing a drone, switching to the Intox-8000 breath machine instead of blood draws, new computer software, new cameras for the deputies and patrol cars as well as a new state of the arts jail visitation system plus better safety for the jail officers, training and a new radio system.
What projects does Sheriff Montagne have ahead for the County Sheriff Department?
Sheriff Montagne says that one project he hopes to fulfill in the future is learning to have a better dealing with serious situation, especially when having to terminate any employees.
He also acknowledged that many times he feels as if he is still not doing enough for the deputies and correctional officers serving under him.
Sheriff Montagne also wants to stay involved with and encourage more of his staff to help with the Kansas Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run for which he has participated in now for 23 straight years. He is also hoping for full participation from his department in the annual Red Cross Battle of the Badges blood drive for which he has been the coordinator for the past five years.
What plans does Sheriff Montagne have for the future?
Sheriff Montagne wants to continue to serve the McPherson County citizens the best he can while continuing to educate the public in safety while ensuring his officers have the best equipment that can have.
Beyond that, Montagne will continue to balance work with play so he can continue to fulfill his love for riding his bike, boxing, martial arts (both judo and Tae Kwon Do), reading, spending time with his family and following his passion for wrestling through his grandkids.
And that is our introduction to this weeks People of McPherson County – McPherson County Sheriff Jerry Montagne – the person, the trip, the adventures and the road ahead for our local County Sheriff.
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