The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
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Moorcroft resident Jeffrey Oliver has been given a suspended sentence and fine on charges related to an incident in November, 2018 in which police responded to a report of credit card fraud and discovered marijuana and methamphetamine at a residence. Moorcroft Police Department responded to a local address in the early evening of November 7 to follow up on an alert of credit card fraud that allegedly took place at Coffee Cup Fuel Stop. The officer reported a strong odor of burnt marijuana at the residence. When told that the officer had probabl...
Supported by a group of community members, Jess and Doug Donnell addressed the school board on Monday evening to encourage more communication about the issue of teen suicide and a rethink on the district’s new policy regarding suicide prevention. The Donnells, who lost their son, Josh, to suicide earlier this summer, feel the policy is discriminatory against children with mental health issues. Specifically, the couple takes issue with statements included in the policy that “students who experience serious depression are unable to benefit ful...
Since 2013, the Ron Materi Memorial 5K has been an opportunity to support a local cause and honor the memory of a beloved member of the community while enjoying the fall outdoors. All proceeds go to the Ron Materi Road Trip Fund, which was established to help families travel to reach treatment for life-threatening illnesses. The fund was established in honor of Ron Materi by his wife, Carla, and children. Materi worked at Black Thunder Mine until his retirement in 2011 and was known for his generosity and kindness. Using his memorial money, the...
From tragedy, hope can often spring. The story of one young girl has impacted the lives of millions of students across America since she lost her life 20 years ago as the first person killed in the Columbine High School shooting, and her legacy of positive change will be coming to Crook County next week. “The school district is bringing Rachel’s Challenge to every building and each attendance center,” says Superintendent Mark Broderson. “I would like to make sure the communities are well aware of the opportunity to attend the seminar...
The first human case of West Nile virus in a number of years has been reported in Crook County. The presence of the disease is thought to be a result of the wet spring and summer, which has created a perfect breeding environment for local mosquitoes. "This is the first time since I've been here, in seven years, that we've had a human case in Crook County," says Public Health Director Becky Tinsley. "There was one other human case reported a few weeks ago and that was in Campbell County, so it's...
Moorcroft man Dewey Schoenewald has been found guilty of theft after a search of his residence uncovered numerous items that had been taken from another person’s property. On December 28, 2018, Crook County Dispatch received a complaint of a theft that had occurred east of Moorcroft. While on routine patrol, according to the affidavit of probable cause, a Sheriff’s Office Sergeant observed in plain sight on Schoenewald’s property a piece of building material that matched the ones reported to have been stolen. On January 8, a search warra...
Ryan Petersen of Moorcroft has received a suspended sentence for a sixth offense of driving while under the influence of alcohol after law enforcement allegedly observed him driving erratically. On December 8 at around 11:12 p.m., a Highway Patrol trooper was patrolling on U.S. 16 when he saw a vehicle travel across the center line and into the opposing lane of travel for a “significant distance”. It then allegedly crossed onto the opposing fog line before the driver corrected their behavior. The trooper initiated a stop and immediately noticed...
Jason Arnhold of Gillette has been sentenced to jail for possession of methamphetamine after allegedly leading a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper on a late-night chase along both the interstate and a graveled county road, at one point driving directly towards the trooper’s vehicle. On March 20 at around 11:46 p.m., a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper left the interstate at the Beaver Creek Road off ramp. His headlights illuminated a pickup parked under the overpass with its lights off. The trooper reports noticing the headlights and tail lights b...
A disappearing shave kit and an unusual excuse for using meth has led to a suspended sentence for Gary Otto of Gillette on a felony charge of possession, third or subsequent offense. On September 1, 2018, the trooper was parked near milepost 152 on I-90 when a vehicle passed him without a light to illuminate the license plate and with a cracked tail light. On conducting a traffic stop, the trooper allegedly saw a shave bag on the front seat. According to court reports, Otto claimed to be traveling from Sundance, where he had intended to visit a...
A tornado touched down last Tuesday evening during a heavy storm west of Moorcroft. Located outside populated areas, it did little damage and no injuries have been reported. According to Corporal Ed Robinson, Crook County Sheriff’s Office, the initial report was received by dispatch at 7:25 p.m., when Dan Grace of the Moorcroft Fire Department called in that a funnel cloud had been sighted. “At about this same time, there were numerous other social media reports going out from people who cou...
Fair Week kicked off on Sunday with the horse show at the arena, as kids spent two days displaying their prowess with horsemanship, reining, ranch riding and much more. The fair officially kicked off the next day with an ice cream social in the shade structure, shortly before the ranch horse competition. Events still to come include the dairy cattle and goat show on Thursday at 8 a.m., followed by the goat and sheep show at 9 a.m. and the cat show at 3 p.m. Thursday evening will be marked by the...
A project to improve accessibility at Devils Tower National Monument is on the near horizon, says Superintendent Amnesty Kochanowski. The work will aim to make the popular site more accessible and safer for visitors and will concentrate on the main areas of visitor use within the park. The project is just about to go out to bid, Kochanowski says, and the intention is to break ground in September. The work will include renovation of both parking lots to add more handicap-accessible parking lots and improve the sidewalks to make access to the...
District Ranger Mike Gosse provided an update on current Forest Service activities to the county commissioners last week, beginning with the Cook Lake dam project that began on Monday. The new concrete dam that is to be installed will withstand a 200-year flood event, he said, which is a definite improvement on the old, failing dam that has been in place for 60 years. When questioned as to the stability of the site – bearing in mind that one of the largest landslides in the county is hanging over the lake – Gosse nodded that the west side of...
A Colorado man faces felony charges after allegedly trying to sell marijuana to a pair of Moorcroft homeowners – and then to a police officer. On May 27 at around 11 p.m., a Moorcroft Police Officer was alerted to the presence of a male subject on East Converse St. who was attempting to sell marijuana to the residents of a home. The officer was told that the male subject was walking towards the Coffee Cup Fuel Stop. He was unable to locate the suspect, but spoke with the two residents who had reported him. According to the witnesses, Robert M...
Crook County Mental Health welcomes a new therapist to the team: Kim Kaper, who hails from Lander and has followed a career in counseling that began with 18 years in Nebraska with her then-husband and two daughters. "I worked in the prison systems there as a counselor and did a little bit of private practice afterwards in the community. Then we moved back to Gillette in 2015," Kaper says. In Gillette, Kaper worked within the hospital system, with both in- and out-patients. A few weeks ago, she...
Dustin Regan of Moorcroft has received a deferred sentence on charges of strangulation of a household member after an incident in 2018 during which police were alerted of his presence in a local bar showing signs of having been assaulted. On October 1, Moorcroft Police Department responded to a call from dispatch that a person who appeared to have been assaulted was present at Deere Haven bar. The subject was identified as Regan. The officer visited Regan at his residence and observed he had visible injuries to his face and was bleeding. He...
Local medical staff have been training alongside Black Hills Life Flight to improve transport protocols when a patient needs to be airlifted to another facility. "We're doing more regular training with them to streamline hand-off with the ER providers and the Black Hills Life Flight crew and improve patient care and the timeframe for transports," says EMS Division Chief Jay Kenealy, Crook County Medical Services District. The training includes all aspects of the hand-off procedure, he says,...
Patrick LeFave of Moorcroft faces felony charges of strangulation and assault following an alleged incident in which he physically attacked a female victim who then locked herself in a room to contact law enforcement. A Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to a residence in Moorcroft on March 27 at around 10:51 a.m. to respond to a report of a domestic issue. The call to 911 had been placed by a female who claimed she had been physically assaulted by LeFave. The caller allegedly stated that LeFave had grabbed her by the neck and pushed her ba...
he ball is now rolling on a water study that will investigate whether or not it is feasible to form a water district on the west side of Crook County with the ultimate goal of hooking on to Gillette’s Madison water system. The county commissioners applied for the study in September, hoping to discover how many residents in and around the Carlile area could feasibly be served by the Madison water system infrastructure. The study was prompted by a suggestion from Harry Labonde, Director of Wyoming Water Development, as part of the push to help l...
The window to secure federal funding that could be used to improve access to high-speed broadband across Crook County won’t be open for very long, said Russ Elliott of the Wyoming Broadband Advisory Committee (WBAC) last week. Elliott urged the county commission to work quickly to gather data about service levels across the county and determine where help might most be needed. Elliott explained that a federal “Connect Fund” has been established specifically for rural areas in America. Around $600 million has been made available to encou...
The Crook County Medical Services District Board of Trustees invites the community to attend an open house at the hospital in Sundance on March 2. The open house is an opportunity to see the renovations and additions at the county hospital. "This is what you have helped us buy for you," says Trustee Sandy Neiman. The board would like the community to see such upgrades as the new CT scanner, new flooring and the upgraded ER area. Information will also be available about the planned upgrades to...
Luerie Williams of Osage has been given a suspended sentence in connection with the theft of a generator from Glenn Construction in Moorcroft. Believed to be the female accomplice seen in video surveillance footage driving the vehicle as the theft occurred, Williams was charged with one felony count of accessory before the fact. According to an affidavit from Moorcroft Police Department, the generator was taken from Glenn Construction on November 9, 2016. John Miller of Gillette was arrested shortly after the incident on felony charges of...
Ashley Beld of Newell, SD, has been sentenced for possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanor DUI charge after his vehicle allegedly ran out of fuel on the off ramp near Moorcroft. According to court reports, a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper responded to mile marker 153 on I-90 just after 5 p.m. on April 13 following reports of a broken down vehicle bearing South Dakota plates on the off ramp. The driver allegedly informed the officer that he had run out of fuel and provided a North Dakota driver’s license for the trooper, which h...
A Sioux Falls man has been found guilty of a fourth count of driving while under the influence within the last ten years after being pulled over in Crook County and allegedly asking to be taken to jail. On August 4, a Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputy initiated a traffic stop on Hwy 16 and Buffalo Creek Road. The driver, identified as Michael Popkes, allegedly exited his vehicle and said, “Take me to jail”. The deputy was advised by Dispatch that the vehicle had been stolen in Minnesota. He also allegedly detected the odor of alcohol and,...
Rare lunar phenomena often come with long and detailed nomenclature, and Sunday night's super blood wolf moon certainly fell into that category. Appearing in the skies over Crook County in the late evening, the extremely rare event turned the familiar sight of the moon passing overhead into something more dramatic. The super blood wolf moon was a total lunar eclipse, named a "blood" moon thanks to the way in which sunlight passed through the atmosphere of the Earth. Though the eclipse blocked...
