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Public commenter urges action after cemetery shooting; commissioners told cemetery board debated no-discharge rule
Summary
A public commenter and cemetery minutes described a Memorial Day shooting at the county cemetery and an ongoing gopher overrun; the cemetery board's motions to ban discharge failed and deputies advised the county code may apply in limited circumstances.
A public commenter presented cemetery-board minutes that raised safety concerns after an incident in which a person fired a shot while attempting to control gophers on Memorial Day.
John Rbrand, reading minutes and correspondence, said the cemetery board debated posting "no discharge of weapons" signs and had attempted a softer notice to the public asking people to consult the board before taking pest-control actions. Board motions to place a notice in the newspaper and to adopt a no-discharge rule failed in committee votes or for lack of a second.
"I think the public has a right to feel that they're in a safe place out there," Rbrand said, recounting conversations with cemetery board members and deputies. He said he had discussed Montana code 45-8-d-111 with Deputy Rex Morgan, who advised the public-nuisance statute might apply only if a considerable number of people were endangered (for example, during a funeral) and thus likely not applicable for isolated daytime shooting incidents.
The cemetery board explored alternatives to shooting, including using a donated engine-powered muffler/gassing device to treat gopher holes and filling them in. Rbrand and others stressed the risk of ricochet near headstones and monuments and requested that the county and sheriff's office consider safety guidance or model rules used by other rural cemetery districts.
Commissioners did not adopt a countywide ban at the meeting. They asked staff and interested commissioners to research practices used by other cemetery districts and to discuss the issue further with the cemetery board and the sheriff's office.
