After nearly two months, organizers of a petition drive to recall Morton County Sheriff Bob Erhardt are still gathering signatures.

Colleen Schantz, owner of Beers 'n Gears bar in Glen Ullin, said it will take more work to get the required 2,319 signatures, but the committee working to remove the sheriff has not given up.

Some Glen Ullin residents say they want Erhardt out of office for letting a bad situation with a deputy continue even after numerous complaints.

Erhardt has since reassigned Deputy David Psyck to work at the county jail. A new deputy, Terry Myron, is fulfilling the county's police contract with the town.

Myron had filled the Morton County police contract at Hebron, left the department and was rehired to work at Glen Ullin, Erhardt said.

Schantz said the new deputy has backed off compared to Psyck, who some said harassed bar owners, their customers and the town's teenagers during the year he was stationed in Glen Ullin.

Erhardt was elected in 2002. He said he did meet with townspeople to hear their complaints, but he said he wasn't sure some of them really wanted law enforcement in town.

The situation led to a meeting attended by the Morton County Commission this summer, at which there was general agreement that Psyck and Glen Ullin weren't a good match.

Erhardt said people with complaints attended the meeting and that a broader cross-section would have provided a better perspective.

Schantz and others in Glen Ullin started a recall petition in August and have yet to collect the required signatures to force an election.

"We're hoping to get it wrapped up this month," Schantz said. "The issue hasn't died out. People are still interested."

She said she didn't know how many signatures already have been collected.

Erhardt said he hasn't heard much, if anything, on the petition since it went into circulation.

"All I can do is wait and see what comes out of it," he said.

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511 or lauren@westriv.com.)