I first met Al Rierson - a former Flathead County Sheriff and Montana Highway Patrolman who recently passed away - in the late 1960s when he was an MHP supervisor within this patrol district.

The community of policemen was relatively small, and all had a radio call and car number that became interchangeable with their name. It was easy to listen to the radio traffic and know instantly who was working and where. Sometimes the "dead air" would extend for several minutes when nothing was happening anywhere in the county.

Al was always quick with a story about his farming days in northeastern Montana and offered political comment about a number of timely subjects.

Lawman Rierson was a part of this county's history that too many people either don't know or will never appreciate. Times and Flathead County have changed — MHP 113 is 10-10, forever.

City Judge Bradley Johnson

Whitefish