The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
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Almost a hundred seventh graders from across the county convened in Sundance last week for a day of learning about civics. Elected officials were on hand to introduce the students to the functions of local government and the impact each office will have on their adult lives. Arranged by Sara Fleenor, 4-H Educator, and educators from each of the three schools, the field trip included visits to each of the county offices, as well as the museum. The visit began with a welcome speech from Sundance...
Once upon a time, the word “zoning” was akin to a curse in this part of the world – but that doesn’t seem to be the case any more. To make sure this is more than an illusion, the county commissioners will include public forums in the process of researching possible new zoning rules. Last month, the commission kicked off the process of developing a possible zoning plan for the county by inviting a community planning and zoning consultant to do the necessary groundwork of figuring out exactly what the county wants and needs. As Jayna Watson...
The county commission will be hosting a public hearing on December 5 at 2 p.m. regarding some updates and amendments to its minor subdivision rules and the bylaws that apply to its planning and zoning commission. Should the updates to the subdivision rules be approved, the Crook County Commissioners will now have the authority to approve the covenants drafted for new subdivisions. The minimum size of an allowable lot, tract or parcel has been reduced from five acres to 2.5 acres. The updated rules would increase the size of a cul-de-sac at the...
A joint powers board formed in 2016 to investigated options for a countywide solid waste district will likely soon be revived. The board, which included representatives from the county and each municipality, met regularly but ultimately disbanded without reaching a resolution. Last week, after a discussion that involved numerous elected officials from across the county, the county commissioners determined that resurrecting the board was the most reasonable next step in answering the lingering question of whether it’s worth constructing a l...
Crook County Sheriff’s Office is offering Critical Incident Response Training to any interested member of the public and is hosting sessions in each of the four municipalities. The dates for Pine Haven’s event have now been announced. Training will take place on October 27, beginning at 4 p.m. in the Pine Haven Community Center. The class is expected to last for between three and four hours. Even if you’ve taken ALICE training with the Sheriff’s Office before, Sheriff Jeff Hodge encourages you to consider attending. Aside from the new aspects...
Crook County School District (CCSD) continues to fare well in meeting the state's performance expectations, including across-the-board proficiency results assessment that are higher than the average for the state in this year's WY-TOPP assessments. At the elementary and middle school level, Sundance Elementary and Moorcroft Elementary are both exceeding expectations this year, according to the latest Wyoming Department of Education data. Hulett School is meeting expectations. All three schools...
With the resignation of Trustee Ed Ray, the Board of Trustees for Crook County Medical Services District is seeking an appointee to fill out his term representing the Moorcroft area. “It is with great sadness that I hereby resign from my position as a member of the Board of Trustees,” wrote Ray in his resignation letter. “I am grateful for the time I served the residents of Crook County and enjoyed my time serving with my fellow trustees.” Candidates to fulfill Ray’s term are asked to contact the board. The trustee position represent...
Active shooter training isn’t just about school safety. It’s for anyone and everyone who would like to know more about how to protect themselves in a dangerous situation. For this reason, Crook County Sheriff’s Office offers its Critical Incident Response Training to any interested member of the public and is hosting sessions in each of the four municipalities. The events are open to anyone and Moorcroft’s will take place on October 24, beginning at 4 p.m. in the old school library room of the Moorcroft Town Center. The class is expecte...
Crook County is one of the focus areas for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing this year and hunters are asked for their help to collect lymph node samples. "Game and Fish is requesting samples from herds we've not addressed in a while, where we are trying to get a significant sample size so we can accurately determine what the CWD prevalence is in these herds," says Jessica Jennings-Gaines, Game and Fish Wildlife Health Laboratory supervisor. Deer hunt areas 1 through 6, all located in this...
A partial burn ban went into effect across the county on August 1, imposing caution on county residents as the summer weather finally settles in and the danger of wildfire increases. With the risk of fire set to increase as the rains clear up and the land dries out, creating a heavy fuel load and dry summer conditions the restrictions were approved by the county commissioners on Tuesday and aim to offset situations that could over-extend the county’s firefighting capabilities. The county will be imposing open burn restrictions that prohibit the...
Fair week is officially underway, this year to the theme of "A Brand of Its Own". Events began with entertainment including the youth and ranch rodeo, the ice cream social and animal shows including horses and 4-H dogs. As the week continues, head down to the fairgrounds this Thursday evening for the Muley Fanatics Family Fun Night or the youth rough stock rodeo, both at 5:30 p.m. These follow the day's animal shows, which include sheep, poultry and rabbits, cats and pocket pets, as well as the...
Benito Juarez of Moorcroft faces a felony charge of possession after he was pulled over for a badly damaged windshield. On June 22, a Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputy was stopped on Juniper Hills Road at around 7:05 p.m. when he observed a vehicle with a badly broken windshield and effected a traffic stop. The occupant was Juarez, who the deputy reports knowing from prior contacts. Juarez allegedly stated he had just purchased the vehicle and produced a title indicating he had done so two days earlier for $50. He also allegedly stated he h...
Crook County Weed & Pest invites the public to find out more about an invasive grass that has been found growing within county borders and is known to be capable of negatively impacting pasture and rangelands. A ventenata field tour will take place on July 18 near Rozet and the district is hoping to attract as many participants as possible to learn more about the grass and how to combat its spread. “This would be a great time to ask specialist questions,” says Alycia Conroy-Davis, District Supervisor. Ventenata is not native to North Ame...
The comment period for the process to update Wyoming's sage-grouse map has been extended through most of July in response to significant interest from the public. The current proposed revisions to the Sage-grouse Core Area Map would introduce a small new management area for sage-grouse on the southern border of Crook County, abutting and linked to an already-established large management area that stretches down into Weston County. Crook County also hosts a connectivity area to the northwest....
Increased vigilance for invasive mussels has already resulted in five thwarted attempts to cross the Wyoming border this summer. Two of the five infested watercraft traveled through the check station in Beulah. Wyoming Game & Fish stepped up its efforts to stop zebra and quagga mussels from reaching waters in this state after an infestation of the invasive creatures was reported at Pactola Reservoir around this time last year, just 30 miles from the Wyoming border. This was the closest location...
A man currently serving up to ten years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary after pleading guilty to burglary and theft in Weston County is now facing similar charges in Crook County. According to court documents, Donald Jenerou stole items in both Hulett and Moorcroft in October, 2021. On October 14, 2021, an officer of Moorcroft Police Department took a report of a burglary at the Converse Carwash and Laundromat in which $4500 in cash, computer hard drives (including from a security system), keys and cameras were taken. The officer contacted... Full story
Five kids are representing Crook County in rodeo this summer, with three of them set to compete during the seven days of the 75th National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) in Gillette. Two meanwhile headed for the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, GA this weekend for the week-long National Junior High Finals Rodeo (NJHFR). High School Standings for the NHSFR are calculated using the points accumulated during each competitor’s top 12 rodeos throughout the season. In individual events, the top four qualify for the national finals. This y...
A theft case involving a man who allegedly admitting to driving a vehicle that he knew had been stolen and leaving it parked outside a grocery store has been remanded to Circuit Court. Jose Alejandro Riquelme Castaneda has entered into an agreement in which he has agreed to plead guilty to an amended misdemeanor charge. On February 27, a Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked at Paradise Foods in Pine Haven. The deputy reports running the VIN and was advised that the vehicle had been stolen f...
Julie Cox of Pine Haven has been sentenced in District Court on two sets of charges: possession of marijuana following her arrest in September, 2022; and violating the terms of her probation associated with possession charges in 2018, for which she was given a suspended sentence. In the 2018 case, Cox was pulled over for failure to observe a stop sign with marijuana present in her vehicle. She was found guilty on one count of possession, third or subsequent offense, and sentenced to between two years and 60 months in jail. The sentence was...
Black Thunder Oil, the new owners of assets that once belonged to BW Oil, approached the Crook County Commissioners last week to request assistance with penalties on tax payments that the company didn’t know were owed. Jeff Waliezer of Black Thunder explained that the company had not received any notice of these taxes until a bill arrived with a ‘past due’ penalty. Black Thunder acquired the assets after BW Oil defaulted on three years of tax payments totaling over $300,000 in 2016, leading the Crook County Treasurer’s Office to launch the pro... Full story
As boating enthusiasts gear up for the summer, so too do the Wyoming Game & Fish Department’s ongoing efforts to make sure that zebra mussels do not find their way into Wyoming waters. Game & Fish is now offering training for the public on how to perform inspections for these and other aquatic invasive species (AIS), offering the necessary skills to inspect your own and other watercraft. “Aquatic invasive species can have far-reaching impacts on Wyoming water resources for agriculture, municipalities and wildlife. Many of these invasive spe...
A Moorcroft man has been given a split sentence after pleading guilty to child abuse. Dustin Regan allegedly used his hand and a fly swatter to hit two children during a domestic incident. On July 2, 2022, at around 12:36 a.m., a Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to a Pine Haven residence for a reported domestic. The reporting party stated that Regan had entered their residence and attacked the children. When the deputy arrived on scene, the reporting party and children had relocated to a neighbor’s house. He was told tha...
How many eggs can you fit in a basket? It's time to find out again as Easter draws near and the towns of Moorcroft and Pine Haven make plans for their annual hunts. Pine Haven will be hosting its annual hunt on April 1 at 11 a.m. at the community center. Hunters will be split into four age groups and will be seeking out a grand total of 1500 eggs. In Moorcroft, the hunt begins at 10 a.m. on April 8 at the baseball field. This hunt is split into two age groups: zero to four years old and five to...
This year’s supplemental budget places more than $1 billion into savings – a move that Governor Mark Gordon said would allow the state to keep taxes low and generate higher investment returns. For every dollar of state revenue spent in the bill, he said, $3.50 is saved. The budget also makes “strategic investments” in Wyoming, Gordon said, including more funding for the Property Tax Refund Program, support for the state’s energy industries and a market adjustment for state employees and teachers to offset the impacts of inflation. “I congra...
Spring may seem a long way away from underneath February's snowdrifts, but the Wyoming Game & Fish Department will be prepared when it arrives to protect Keyhole Reservoir from an infestation of zebra mussels. Game & Fish has been concerned about this possibility since an infestation of the invasive creatures was reported at Pactola Reservoir, just 30 miles from the Wyoming border. This was the closest location where the species has yet been found, which the department concluded was a...