Welcome to Chouteau County 911
The heart of the Chouteau County Sheriff's Office is located in the Communications Center. The 911 Center pledges to put citizens first by exhibiting professionalism, ethics, honesty and dedication in the completion of their duties. Dispatching is about serving the public.
The dispatcher is the umbilical cord between life and death. Without the dispatcher's professional demeanor, calls that the deputies and Fort Benton City PD responds to could result in serious injury or death. The Public Safety Communicator maintains that link in life for the public as well as the law enforcement officer. We at Chouteau County Communications are the lifeline for public safety. We constantly strive for excellence in service and quality of life for responders and citizens which we serve. We will accomplish these goals by working at the highest levels by embracing change, technology, and standards in the industry. We will support each other in this endeavor and work as a team to accomplish our professional goals by always looking towards the future and asking “what is the most excellent thing I can do today?”
The dispatcher is the umbilical cord between life and death. Without the dispatcher's professional demeanor, calls that the deputies and Fort Benton City PD responds to could result in serious injury or death. The Public Safety Communicator maintains that link in life for the public as well as the law enforcement officer. We at Chouteau County Communications are the lifeline for public safety. We constantly strive for excellence in service and quality of life for responders and citizens which we serve. We will accomplish these goals by working at the highest levels by embracing change, technology, and standards in the industry. We will support each other in this endeavor and work as a team to accomplish our professional goals by always looking towards the future and asking “what is the most excellent thing I can do today?”
About
Chouteau County Sheriff's Office 911 facility was built in 1986. This modern, up-to-date facility houses the Sheriff's Office, Detention facility, and the 911 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). Chouteau County Sheriff's Office 911 covers the towns of Big Sandy, Carter, Fort Benton, Geraldine, Highwood, Loma, Square Butte, and all rural areas within Chouteau County. Dispatchers are responsible for the alerting and support of the county's nine fire departments, three ambulance services, quick response units, Search and Rescue, Disaster and Emergency Services, and local government; as well as interfacing with other public safety agencies from the State and Federal government. Chouteau County Dispatch center is manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The PSAP’s six dispatchers who work in shifts of 8 and 10-hour shifts are often the only dispatcher on shift. Chouteau County Sheriff’s Office 911 telecommunicators go through a rigorous training period of 480 hours to meet the demands of this critical work with CTO’s. All Chouteau County Sheriff’s Office telecommunicator's are EMD, and CPR certified.
Chouteau County Communications Officers- The dedicated women of Chouteau County 911 Center
There are many resources for use in the 911 center. These tools include some cutting-edge technology in equipment as well as policies and procedures that address almost every circumstance. However, our most important resource, our assets would be our team members. These dedicated women have made a commitment to the citizens and responders of Chouteau County that cannot be matched.
Kimberly Burdick- RPL Communications Director, is the senior-most civilian Chouteau County employee and began her career with the Chouteau County 911 Center in 1989. Kimberly is the Communications Director for the Chouteau County Sheriff's Office. She has been a member of APCO since 1997 and was appointed as the National Executive Council Representative for Montana in 2004, being re-elected in 2009. She has been passionate about Public Safety devoting her time and career serving the Montana APCO Chapter and National APCO. She's served on the Member and Chapter Services Committee since 2003, Call Center Standards Committee since 2006 and is also on Pro-CHRT, NJTI, TERT State Coordinator, and was recently elected to the Finance and Budget Committee.
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Celeste Maxwell- 911 PST, CTO, Dispatch Supervisor, moved to the Highwood area of Chouteau County in 2007 with her family, Celeste is a Certified Training Officer (CTO), Crises Negotiator, and tactical dispatcher. Celeste was recently awarded a scholarship for the APCO Registered Public Leader course and will be starting the one-year course in January 2021. Celeste has been serving with the Chouteau County 911 Center since 2009. Celeste feels we get to honor and recognize ourselves and others for our service and commitment to our loved ones, family, friends, public, and community members.
Jessica Graham- 911 PST, CTO lives in the Fort Benton area in Chouteau County with her family. Jessica is a United States Navy Veteran and graduated from Montana Law Enforcement Academy (MLEA) Public Safety Communicator Basic October 30, 2020, and is now P.O.S.T certified. Jessica is a Certified Training Officer (CTO), and has been serving with the Chouteau County 911 Center since 2019. Jessica feels it is an honor to serve her community, and give back. Dispatch is an unselfish, and unseen gift to give back to her community. This career choice is about always doing better than yesterday and striving to be better.
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Lecia Kelly- 911 PST, CTO, RPL, Training Coordinator, born and raised in the Carter area of Chouteau County. Lecia is a Certified Training Officer (CTO), Registered Public Safety Leader (RPL), Crises Negotiator, and a tactical dispatcher. In 2007 she was honored with the Montana APCO Telecommunicator of the Year. In 2019 Lecia was honored with the APCO 2019 Trainer of the year award. Lecia has been serving with the Chouteau County 911 Center since 2002. Lecia also serves on the Chouteau County Volunteer SAR (Search and Rescue). She enjoys being a PST because she knows being a dispatcher makes a difference in the lives of our community.
Kyra Vanisko- 911 PST, lives in the Great Falls area and commutes to Chouteau County. Kyra has been a Volunteer Fire Fighter with the Black Eagle Rural Fire Department in Cascade County since 2013. Kyra has been serving with the Chouteau County 911 Center since 2018, Kyra graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy (MLEA) Public Safety Communicator in 2018. She feels dispatchers are responsible for the safety of the crews on the scene and digging up as much information as possible to help ensure the best possible outcome.
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Janet Sanders- 911 PST, CTO was raised in the Highwood area of Chouteau County. Janet is a Certified Training Officer (CTO), and the Chouteau County 911 Center Employee Recognition Coordinator (ERC). Janet graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy (MLEA) Public Safety Communicator in 2017. Janet has been serving with the Chouteau County 911 Center since 2017. Janet loves her job and helping people in our community
Hannon Stevens- 911 PST, raised in the Shelby area and living in the Fort Benton area in Chouteau County, Hannon is the youngest of the dispatchers. , and is now P.O.S.T certified. Hannon began serving with the Chouteau County 911 in 2020. She is the coordinator for our Chouteau County 911 Kids program. Hannon enjoys working in 911 because she feels she is giving back to her community, and helping those in need.
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DISPATCH COMMUNICATION ROOM 1989
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Great Falls Tribune Aug 12, 1990
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If you are ever in doubt of whether a situation is an emergency you should call 911. If you would like to learn more about your local 9-1-1 Dispatch Center please contact us at (406) 622-5451
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