Sheriff's office hires new deputies

The Hill County Sheriff's Office has hired two new deputies, Sean Richardson, 25, and Brenton Beard, 24.

Richardson is a Havre native who has served with the Rocky Boy Police Department for five years. He received his training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico.

Richardson said he's "absolutely" excited to work for the Hill County Sheriff's Office, where he has come to "further his career."

For Richardson, the biggest difference will be transitioning from operating under federal law, as he did as a Rocky Boy police officer, to state law. Tribal laws are sometimes different from state laws, he said.

Beard is originally from Spokane, with his family on his mother's side from Havre. Beard attended college at Montana State University-Northern as a wrestler and said he has the cauliflower ears to prove it.

Beard knows some people think he looks young and joked that he had been asked if he's even old enough to walk through the bars.

He is a fresh graduate from Montana Law Enforcement Academy in Helena, the 159th class.

Beard said he's ready for the challenges of being a deputy and looks forward to doing his job.