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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Wyoming’s driver licenses and identification cards will now be more secure and harder to counterfeit. The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) recently started issuing new state driver licenses and ID cards that have extra security features. Those whose cards are expiring will receive a new driver license or identification card, which look different from the current licenses and ID cards. WYDOT started issuing the new licenses and ID cards in December. “The new cards are made up of a p...
Veterans and Military Day at the Legislature is Feb. 26. All military personnel, veterans and their families are invited to participate. The group will meet at the State Capitol and visit the Senate and House galleries at 10 a.m. The Wyoming Veterans Commission will hold its quarterly meeting Feb. 27, at 9 a.m., at the Wyoming Veterans Commission Conference Room, located at the Joint Forces Readiness Center, 5800 Central Ave, Cheyenne. Veterans from around the state, especially Southeast Wyoming, are invited to attend. Please plan to bring a...
Yellowstone visitation down in 2019 CODY (WNE) — While visitation to Yellowstone National Park still exceeded 4 million in 2019 that was the lowest number of attendees since 2014. The final total for last year was 4,020,287 compared to 2018’s 4,114,999. That was a 2.3 percent decline. In 2014, attendance was 3,513,486, then there was a huge jump in 2015 when the total surpassed four million for the first time. That year’s record was 4,097,710 and visitation has not dipped below four million since. The one-year record of 4,257,177 was estab...
DA plans charges against woman who had 61 animals CASPER (WNE) — The Natrona County District Attorney’s office is planning to file charges against a Casper woman who had 61 animals removed from her home last week. “We’re looking into the appropriate charges,” county District Attorney Dan Itzen said Monday. He declined to comment on the specific charges the office would be pursuing, citing the pending investigation, but said the charges would be in the realm of animal cruelty. Animal protection officers, also referred to as animal control o...
Riverton man extradited in 36-year-old murder RIVERTON (WNE) — A Riverton man indicted Sept. 23 on first-degree murder charges has been extradited to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he pleaded “not guilty” Dec. 12. The murder case is 36 years old. Willie C. Moore, 61, was arrested by the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office Sept. 20 after three years’ contact between the local law enforcement entity and a cold-case detective team from Tulsa. At his initial appearance in Lander Circuit Court, Moore denied having committed murder. He told Judge Robert B....
CHEYENNE — A quarterly economic report released this week shows Wyoming saw an increase in overall sales this year, while Laramie County continued to see stable growth in its economy. Yet the report also provided an indication of the struggles Wyoming will face as its revenue from mineral taxes dwindles. The report, published by the state’s Economic Analysis Division, indicates the state has continued to rebound from the economic downturn of 2015 and 2016, Wyoming Chief Economist Wenlin Liu said. “During the downturn, the state lost almos...
POWELL — Hoping it can help boost enrollment efforts, Northwest College is looking at starting up an esports program. Once seen as only a pastime, online video gaming has become a huge revenue generator. There are professional leagues, corporate sponsors and enormous audiences that rival those of traditional sporting events. Esports also have national organizations dedicated to competitions at a collegiate level. NWC athletic director Brian Erickson gave a brief presentation to the board of trustees at their December meeting about the c...
Fatal house fire caused by overheated dryer RIVERTON (WNE) — The fatal fire that took the lives of father and daughter Todd and Cambrie Pepper north of Riverton last Thursday has been determined to have been accidental. The father, Todd Pepper, was 49, and Cambrie was 11. She was a student at Riverton Middle School. Riverton Volunteer Fire Department Chief Henri DeClercq, who was on scene Dec. 19 after the early-morning fire was reported from 36 Darnall Road, announced Monday that the cause of the fire was insufficient venting of the dryer. ...
Cheyenne police again involved in sex abuse case CASPER (WNE) — The Cheyenne Police Department is again involved in the months-long sexual abuse investigation connected to the Catholic Church, a spokesman said Friday. “There were things that needed to be followed up on, so it’s still an active investigation,” said CPD spokesman Kevin Malatesta. In August, Cheyenne police announced that they were recommending sexual abuse charges against two men with ties to the Catholic clergy. The investigation was then handed to Laramie County Distric...
GILLETTE — It was a cold December morning, and Cody Nehl stood in a lot off of Little Powder River Road, waiting for a customer. A large pile of stoker coal was stored in the back of a truck, ready to be sold. After a few minutes, another truck pulled up and drove onto a scale. Nehl powered up a conveyor belt, which transported the coal and dumped it into the bed of the truck. The coal would be used to heat someone’s house and shop north of town. That day, Nehl, operations manager for GMHR LLC in Gillette, completed his first sale of sto...
CHEYENNE – Despite objections from Gov. Mark Gordon, lawmakers on the Joint Appropriations Committee approved a bill Thursday that would raise the salaries of the governor and the other four elected state officials beginning after the 2022 general election. The bill would raise the governor’s salary from $105,000 to $150,000, while the other four officials – secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer and superintendent of public instruction – would see their salaries jump from $92,000 to $120,000. The bill’s approval, which marks the...
Man accused of stealing from ATMs faces federal charges CODY (WNE) — A Brazilian man is now facing federal criminal charges for allegedly stealing nearly $8000 from Park County ATM machines in recent weeks. Allisson Bebiano, 29, is facing three felony charges in federal courts after he was initially charged on 17 different counts in Park County. On Dec. 6, deputy Park County prosecuting attorney Larry Eichele submitted a motion to dismiss the charges without prejudice as, “it is in the best interest of justice,” Eichele wrote in the filin...
CHEYENNE — A man who claimed his Fourth Amendment right was violated during a traffic stop had a Wyoming Supreme Court opinion issued in his case last week. The Supreme Court affirmed Laramie County District Judge Steven Sharpe’s decision to deny the motion to suppress evidence that defendant Bryan Robinson said violated his Fourth Amendment right. The court ultimately decided that the Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper who pulled Robinson over in a traffic stop that resulted in ten pounds of marijuana being found in his car had reasonable sus...
CASPER — The names and salaries of every school district employee in Wyoming will be released this month after a request from a state senator, a move that’s drawn criticism from educators across the state. “There is a big gap between what I’m legally bound to do and what is the right thing to do,” said State Superintendent Jillian Balow. “And I have difficulty figuring out and reconciling how the release of names that intrudes on the privacy of citizens in our Wyoming community, that potentially puts their security, safety and other aspec...
Public Service Commission approves expansion of Corriedale wind project CHEYENNE (WNE) – The Wyoming Public Service Commission Thursday approved an expansion of the planned Corriedale Wind Energy Project to include an additional five wind turbines. The application for the wind farm, submitted by Black Hills Power and its subsidiary, Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Company (aka Black Hills Energy), was initially approved in July. With the commission’s approval Thursday, the project will expand from 16 to 21 wind turbines. The wind farm is exp...
Gillette woman pleads no contest to vehicular homicide GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette woman pleaded no contest to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide Wednesday morning. Kaycee Smelser, 34, had been charged in the death of 26-year-old Jessica Cano De Najera on Jan. 25, 2018. In December 2018, Smelser pleaded not guilty to the charge. A jury trial was scheduled to begin Monday. She pleaded no contest in a change of plea hearing in District Judge John R. Perry’s courtroom Nov. 27. Smelser was driving south on Highway 59 near Wright at abo...
CHEYENNE – A group of landowners in eastern Laramie County filed a federal lawsuit last week against Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, arguing the oil and gas company violated antitrust and monopoly regulations by creating a noncompetitive market for minerals in the area. The lawsuit, filed Nov. 25 in U.S. District Court of Wyoming, states Anadarko has developed a monopoly over oil and gas production in eastern Laramie County by obtaining an excessive number of drilling permits and raising royalty rates on mineral leases. Anadarko, which was a...
CASPER — A Wyoming tribe is looking to hemp and medical marijuana as potential ways to bolster the Wind River Reservation economy and treat illnesses, an approach more and more tribes view as potentially lucrative. In late September, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe’s General Council voted to approve a resolution to have a group examine legalizing medical marijuana and allowing hemp production as well as formulate a plan to potentially vote on. Advocates for the measures say hemp and cannabis-related businesses or cultivation could help div...
Teen charged as adult for threats against schools CHEYENNE (WNE) — A 15-year-old boy accused of making a bomb threat at Cheyenne schools had his preliminary hearing Friday afternoon in Laramie County Circuit Court. Charles Reese Karn is being charged as an adult for allegedly making terroristic threats against several schools. The crime carries up to three years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. Karn is being held in custody on a $5000 cash only bond. Circuit Judge Denise Nau bound the case over to Laramie County District Court after finding t...
Man charged with murder in discovery of body CODY (WNE) — Former Cody resident and convicted felon Joseph Underwood is now facing multiple charges, including first degree murder, in Laramie County related to a homicide investigation. In addition, Underwood is also accused of first-degree sexual assault, stalking and two counts of applying pressure on the throat or neck. His charges were filed in Laramie County last Friday. Underwood’s court file is sealed due to the sexual assault allegations, but his charges were available on circuit cou...
Man accused of setting up camera in women’s bathroom POWELL (WNE) — A Powell man is alleged to have set up a camera in the women’s bathroom at his former Powell workplace, capturing images of four of his female co-workers in states of undress. Fifty-year-old Scott G. Abraham, who lives between Lovell and Byron, was arrested on the allegations Wednesday and made bail on Friday. He’s facing six felony charges. An investigation by Powell police concluded that Abraham staged a camera in the women’s bathroom at the building where he worked on...
Body found near in Park Co., murder suspect arrested POWELL (WNE) — A hunter stumbled upon a woman’s body about halfway between Cody and Meeteetse on Saturday afternoon — and authorities say she appears to have been the victim of a homicide. A suspect was arrested in connection with the case on Saturday night, the Park County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday. However, the agency’s brief news release did not identify the man who is in custody or name the deceased. Law enforcement officials indicated that they believe the woman was killed in sou...
CASPER — State lawmakers are considering a slight tax increase on alcohol sales in Wyoming in an effort to raise nearly $2 million in funding for treatment programs across the state. The proposed tax increase – which would be the state’s first such increase since Prohibition – would essentially double minuscule taxes already imposed on beer, hard liquor and wine in Wyoming through July 1, 2024. These taxes are paid on top of the state’s existing sales taxes, an amount which, according to a 2007 issue brief from the Legislative Service O...
CHEYENNE — Medicaid expansion could be back up for debate in the Wyoming Legislature’s 2020 session, as lawmakers will consider a bill to expand the program during a Joint Revenue Interim Committee meeting in just over a week. Though initially divisive after the federal adoption of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, 36 states have either fully expanded or are in the process of expanding Medicaid to uninsured people whose incomes are at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level. Three neighboring states – Idaho, Nebraska and Utah – app...
Roundup nets 558 wild horses WORLAND (WNE) — Through Tuesday evening, 558 wild horses in the Fifteen Mile Herd Management Area had been gathered with 261 shipped to other facilities for treatment or to be prepared for adoption. The Bureau of Land Management scheduled the gather as part of the HMA’s management plan. According to a BLM press release, the gather operation is in line with the BLM’s commitment to maintaining healthy wild horses on healthy, productive public rangelands. The Fifteenmile HMA is located approximately 35 miles north...
