Ron Downey, who was elected this fall

to the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners, recently attended a

training program in Helena with other elected county officials from

across the state.

The 65 participants represented more

than half of the Montana county officials elected to office in

2010.

The Montana State University Local

Government Center partners with the Montana Association of Counties

to provide the program to elected county officials. The curriculum

includes courses on the functions of county government, local

government law, the Montana legislative process, county special

boards’ governance and human resource management.

Commissioners earn certification after

completing the 40 hours of instruction over a two-year period.

Downey will take over the District 2

seat previously held by John Konzen. He won 55.1 percent of the

vote over Darren Coldwell in the November general election.

Konzen served as a county

representative for 12 years.

Downey’s first regular meeting as an

active commissioner will be on Jan. 5 in Libby.