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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Newcastle schools locked down after report of student with gun NEWCASTLE (WNE) — Newcastle High School was in an extended lockdown on March 15 after the school was informed that a student had brought a gun to school. There have been no injuries reported as a result of the incident, but after the school’s administration confirmed that a gun had been brought to school, both Newcastle Middle School and the high school remained locked down while law enforcement investigated the situation. “It is no secret; we actually recovered a gun on schoo...
Attempted murder charge reduced, man faces up to 10 years in prison GILLETTE (WNE) — The attempted second-degree murder charge against a man accused of stabbing and swinging a knife multiple times at his daughter’s boyfriend last summer has been reduced to aggravated assault and battery. He now faces up to ten years in prison and will argue for probation at his sentencing hearing. Umar Farooq, 48, pleaded guilty Feb. 13 to aggravated assault and battery. In a plea deal with prosecutors, the charge was reduced from an original attempted sec...
Bill creates charter school authorization board GILLETTE (WNE) — The state will now have a board made up of qualified education individuals to authorize new charter schools. Previously, if a school district board did not agree on the creation of a charter school, the decision went on to the state loan and investment board. Senate File 174, sponsored by Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, passed through the Legislature and awaits the governor’s signature. Rep. Ken Clouston, R-Gillette, was part of the House Education Committee that debated the...
CASPER — In a step that could pave the way for broader changes to Wyoming’s property tax system, Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday gave his signature to a proposed constitutional amendment to make a fourth tax class exclusively for residential property. Right now, residences fall under the same tax class as commercial and industrial property. In other words, they’re all taxed at the same assessment rate of 9.5%. As climbing residential property taxes put the squeeze on Wyoming homeowners, especially those living on low and fixed incomes, there...
Man charged after $22K in fraudulent disability benefits GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette man is accused of defrauding the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services out of more than $22,000 by continuing to file temporary disability claims for about a year after returning to work. Klaus G. Paugsch, 49, waived his preliminary hearing Jan. 31 and was bound over to District Court on five felony counts of making misrepresentations or false statements in violation of the Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Act. Paugsch qualified for temporary disability ben...
Cody man charged with perjury CODY (WNE) — The Cody man charged in September for the alleged assault and battery of his pregnant girlfriend was charged Feb. 7 with one count of perjury after he allegedly asked his girlfriend to recant her statement to get the case dismissed. Travis William Rednour, 40, now faces imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of no more than $5000 or both, if convicted of perjury. That would be in addition to felony charges Rednour currently faces for aggravated assault and battery of a pregnant woman and the misdeme...
CASPER — It’s unclear whether the Senate will get to debate the “Life is a Human Right” bill, the most ambitious and sweeping anti-abortion legislation the Wyoming Legislature has seen. Over a week after clearing the House in a 46-16 vote, House Bill 152 still hasn’t been assigned to a Senate committee for its first hearing in that chamber. Senate President Ogden Driskill, who is in charge of assigning bills to committees, told the Star-Tribune on Friday morning that he’s deliberating whether or not to bring the bill out of his drawer beca...
Man arrested for drugged driving, meth possession tried to destroy evidence GILLETTE (WNE) — A 42-year-old man was arrested on a number of charges, including felony possession of meth and drugged driving, Saturday night. He was driving a white 2022 Ram and was stopped at 12th Street and Gurley Avenue after running through two stop signs. Officers could smell burnt marijuana in the truck. The man was extremely nervous and had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, said Police Sgt. Dean Welch. The man, identified as Steven Everts, stepped out and was...
Police seize 1,342 fentanyl pills BUFFALO (WNE) — Johnson County law enforcement seized more than a thousand fentanyl pills and a handful of other drugs after a report of a suspicious vehicle in the Kum & Go parking lot in early January. “We pulled over 1300 fentanyl pills, which is a big bust for Denver, let alone Buffalo,” Chief of Police Sean Bissett told the City Council after arresting two individuals. In the car were 1342 fentanyl pills, 24 grams of methamphetamine and 54 grams of marijuana, among other things, according to court docum...
Sheriff deputy shooting case moves to county attorney CODY (WNE) — The investigation into the Park County deputy who shot and killed a male suspect in Powell during a traffic stop last year has been forwarded to the county attorney, said Charla Baugher Torczon, executive assistant at the Park County Sheriff’s Office. In an email sent to the Cody Enterprise in October of last year, Torczon said the case would be submitted to the county attorney once it was completed by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. According to that same ema...
CHEYENNE — Two bills that would restrict foreign businesses, governments and individuals from owning land in Wyoming came out of the House Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Committee on Thursday. Members of the committee passed the bills after debating, amending and working through them for nearly three hours. Despite conversations of unconstitutionality, infringing upon property rights and risk of estranging foreign investors, the bills will head to the House floor. A bill prohibiting ownership of land in the state by certain c...
AARP COVID dashboard shows improvement In Wyoming’s nursing homes SHERIDAN (WNE) —The latest edition of the AARP COVID-19 dashboard showed substantial improvement in staff and resident cases of COVID-19 inside the state’s nursing homes over the four-week period ending Dec. 18, 2022. Wyoming’s nursing home COVID-19 resident ratio for that period was 7.27 cases per 100 residents, which is the eighth highest in the nation and up from November’s rate of 6.7 cases per 100 residents. Wyoming’s nursing home staff case rate was just over the national a...
The flow of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids into Wyoming continues to swell, according to data presented to state lawmakers last week. From 2017 to 2021, Wyoming lost 410 people to drug overdoses with a growing share of deaths due to fentanyl. Between 2018 and 2021, the number of deaths caused by man-made opioids like fentanyl increased from 10 to 42 in Wyoming, according to the Wyoming Vital Statistics Service. While final death counts from 2022 are still being tallied, the amount of fentanyl seized by law enforcement continues to soar....
Two arrested after police find 121 fentanyl pills in car GILLETTE (WNE) — A man and a woman were arrested on numerous drug possession charges Friday evening after police officers found meth and 121 fentanyl pills in a car. Police received a report of a man smoking fentanyl in a white Ford Escape that was parked at the Ramada Inn. When they arrived, there was no one in the car, but officers could see three fentanyl pills inside the vehicle, said Police Sgt. Steve Dillard. As officers were looking inside the car, a 33-year-old man, Andrew R...
Mounting pressures have made it nearly impossible for rural EMS agencies to balance their budgets, resulting in a spate of EMS office closures across Wyoming and increasing uncertainty about providing ambulance and emergency care to state residents. One proposed bill at the Legislature aims to create a new funding source. Sen. Cale Case (R-Lander) is sponsoring Senate File 43 – EMS districts, which would allow counties to form — and local voters to adopt and fund — EMS districts. “We’re hoping to get sustainable funding, hold the level of...
Man who burglarized Old Trail Town is sentenced CODY (WNE) — The man charged with burglarizing five buildings at Old Trail Town in August of 2021 pleaded guilty Nov. 28 to aggravated burglary, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent. Initially, Zakary Asher Diller, 25, faced six separate charges, but two counts of theft and one count of property destruction and defacement were dropped as part of a plea agreement. After pleading guilty to three felonies, Diller was sentenced to state p...
Cheyenne woman arrested following shots fired CHEYENNE (WNE) —A woman has been arrested following reports of shots being fired Thursday morning at a residence east of Holliday Park. At approximately 10:55 a.m., Cheyenne Police officers responded to the 1400 block of Rollins Avenue. The preliminary investigation shows the property owner, Peggy Zdenek, 60, of Cheyenne, attempted to conduct an inspection of a tenant’s room but was refused entry. It is alleged that the two had been involved in an ongoing verbal altercation prior to the inc...
CASPER — For the first time in at least a century, Wyoming recorded more deaths than births over a year-long period, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The state reported 6679 deaths between July 2021 and July 2022 compared to 6,189 births. In a census data table dating back to 1922 compiled by the Wyoming Department of Health, it’s the only year where deaths overtook births. According to a report published by the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division, 23 other states also recorded more deaths than births from July 2021 to Jul...
GILLETTE —Campbell County Commission Chairman Del Shelstad claimed that a fellow commissioner and a county resident are conspiring to take him down. “Cancel culture has infiltrated this board, and that’s sad,” he said. “I’ve seen it in the last four and five years.” Earlier this month, Commissioner Rusty Bell sent out an email with screenshots showing Shelstad and Commissioner Colleen Faber, along with two library board members, as members of the Wyoming MassResistance Facebook group. Shelstad claimed he received threatening text messages from...
WyDOT cautions drivers about winter conditions SHERIDAN (WNE) — The Sheridan Police Department reported 38 motor vehicle accidents on city streets, not including hit and run accidents, between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15. Data for Dec. 8 was not available, so the number could be even higher. “One of our biggest safety issues is the number of people that drive without their headlights on, especially in windy, foggy or snowy conditions in the middle of the day,” said Wyoming Department of Transportation District 4 Public Involvement Specialist Laura...
CASPER — In the upcoming legislative session, state lawmakers will again take up a slate of bills that aim to reform Wyoming’s elections and campaigns. Some of the bills will be reruns of legislation that popped up in the past. Others, like one that would hone regulations around federal PACs, have come about as the result of new information that emerged in this year’s midterm elections. Another would put into state statute security measures around election equipment that Wyoming already undertakes voluntarily. Lawmakers on the corpo...
Committeewoman cited over errant shots fired during hunt POWELL (WNE) — Nina Webber, the Wyoming Republican National Committeewoman and a two-time candidate for House District 24, has been charged with reckless endangerment stemming from a morning elk hunt Nov. 30 near Wapiti. Ranch manager Cory Williams at Trout Creek said he and his wife were forced to seek cover as bullets from a group of hunters buzzed over their heads while they were outside their home preparing for work. He said he heard roughly two dozen shots being fired as elk s...
Governors Mark Gordon (WY) and Kristi Noem (SD) have penned a joint letter to Black Hills National Forest Supervisor Jeff Tomac requesting a rethink of the revision assessments being used to draft an updated version of the Black Hills National Forest (BHNF) Land Management Plan. The two governors also expressed concern over the potential impact of the plan on the timber industry within the Black Hills The plan has already caused concern at the county level, with Crook County penning a letter of comment that also expressed “significant c...
CHEYENNE — Members of the Wyoming Senate and House of Representatives selected their respective leaders and finalized committee assignments for the 67th Wyoming Legislature following party caucuses Nov. 19 and 20. Members of leadership will be formally confirmed, and newly elected legislators will be sworn in on Jan. 10, beginning at noon, as provided by the Wyoming Constitution. That is the day the scheduled 37-day general session begins. In the Senate, Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, was nominated for president of the Senate; Sen. Larry...
CASPER – The Legislature’s Management Council advanced a bill Thursday that would allow lawmakers and their dependents to enroll in the state employees’ group health insurance plan. The council also moved along a bill to create an independent commission that would review compensation for lawmakers, but it killed legislation that would have boosted lawmaker salaries. The proposed bills come amid increasing workloads for lawmakers and concern that inadequate compensation bars people from serving in the Legislature. Some lawmakers consider the h...
