The city of Havre may be getting a new chief of police for Christmas.

At Monday night’s Havre City Council meeting, Mayor Tim Solomon said a candidate is being vetted, though he could provide no further information until that process is more complete.

He said he hoped to have the council meet with the candidate in the next few weeks so that, if everything goes well, the new chief could be on duty early next year.

If the hire is from outside the department, it would restore Gabe Matosich, currently serving as the interim police chief, to the assistant police chief position he held under Chief Jerry Nystrom.

Nystrom resigned in early May, after which he moved to Oklahoma with his wife Ashlie Nystrom.

“My wife and I are pursuing new careers out-of-state, ” Nystrom’s letter said. “Although I am excited in our new venture, I am deeply saddened to leave my employment with such a great agency. But, I can leave knowing that our police department is on a solid foundation and committed to serving this community with the highest standards. ”

Before they left, though, there was a situation at PJ’s Restaurant and Casino at 1:20 a. m. on May 20 involving Ashlie Nystrom and an unnamed individual, though Jerry Nystrom was also reportedly there.

The investigation was handed off to the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office who eventually handed over their findings to Blaine County Attorney Don Ranstrom to decide what charges would be filed.

Ranstrom said that he was very busy with other cases for several months. The last time he spoke to the Havre Daily News in September he said he still hadn’t decided what charges should be filed in the case with the Havre City Court.

This morning Ranstrom was unavailable as he was in an all-day trial.

Also this morning Havre City Judge Margaret Hencz said that she had not seen anything from that case. She knew that City Prosecutor Tammi Barkus had given Blaine County the case months ago, but had no idea where it is now.