County to get $150,000 to bolster border security

Lincoln County is one of 14 Montana counties set to receive funding this year to help combat drug trafficking and other law enforcement issues along the state’s border with Canada.

It’s the second consecutive year the county has received funding from Operation Stonegarden — funding that Montana Sen. Jon Tester, as ranking member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, helped secure earlier this year, according to a news release from his office.

Lincoln County is expected to receive $150,000 — a $45,000 increase over what it received last year.

“The money will be dispersed sometime between now and the end of the fiscal year (on Sept. 30),” Victoria Scordato, Tester’s press secretary, said last week by email.

Funding for the entire program was increased by 55 percent over last year, the news release states. The total slated for Montana is $1.5 million, compared to $1,058,250 last year.

“Nothing is more important than keeping our borders secure and our communities safe,” Tester states in the news release. “These resources will boost local law enforcement’s ability to stop dangerous drugs from coming through our ports and ensure there are no weak links along our border.”

Lincoln County Administrator Darren Coldwell said by email that the funds go to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.