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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Woman sentenced to probation in embezzlement from county GILLETTE (WNE) — The former employee who stole almost $40,000 in taxpayer money from the Campbell County Treasurer’s Office is serving a 30-day split sentence in county jail before being released on three years of supervised probation. Marcella Racel Hall, 35, had pleaded guilty to felony theft after admitting that she altered 39 receipts of people who paid their vehicle taxes and kept the money, which amounted to $39,585. Campbell County Attorney Ronald Wirthwein had negotiated a ple...
LUSK – Todd Hoelmer’s spot on Main Street is not a visible one. The white structure looks like an abandoned garage at first glance. Step inside, and it still looks that way, thanks to remnants of a 2015 flood Hoelmer said he is still dealing with. Past empty rooms with concrete floors is The Skeleton Closet, as indicated by his business card. The work area, illuminated by dim lights and filled with fossils of early mammals and dinosaurs alike, is where he restores and preserves these anc...
Yellowstone guide, blogger charged with 17 counts JACKSON (WNE) — A Yellowstone National Park law enforcement ranger has thrown the book at a blogger, guide and social media personality for alleged offenses ranging from disturbing a black bear to guiding without a license. The accused is seasonal West Yellowstone, Montana, resident Theodore “Teddy” Garland, author of the “Explore Yellowstone Like a Local” guidebook. Reached Friday, Garland told the Jackson Hole Daily that every last one of the 17 charges against him is “absolute...
GILLETTE — When he got the call Thursday, Aaron McAllister was hopeful he’d be going back to work nearly three months after being furloughed from the Antelope coal mine. Instead, he got his severance package with the news that furloughs for himself and 79 other coal mine workers are now permanent layoffs. “I had hopes we were actually going to go back to work today,” McAllister said Friday. “We were hopeful, because there’s nothing to lose, so you might as well be [optimistic].” He and his girlfriend both worked at the mine located south...
CHEYENNE — Lawmakers advanced legislation Friday aiming to boost the state’s meat processing facilities and provide more financial relief to agriculture industries. But the ultimate call on whether to stand up such programs will be left to Gov. Mark Gordon. The bills approved Friday by the Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee would appropriate $80 million of the state’s federal stimulus money – which must be spent by the end of the year – specifically for farming and ranching businesses across the state. Th...
Barnum gets nine to 13 years in prison for construction project cons GILLETTE (WNE) — The man who conned people out of money for construction projects that he never completed faces a lengthy probationary period after he gets out of prison. Jason R. Barnum, 43, was sentenced in March to nine to 13 years in prison for defrauding the Boy Scouts and a 76-year-old woman of more than $150,000. District Judge Thomas W. Rumpke added to that sentence after Barnum pleaded guilty to another felony count of obtaining goods by false pretenses as well m...
Cheyenne travel agent sentenced to prison for stealing thousands CHEYENNE (WNE) – A former local travel agent who stole thousands of dollars from people through his business was sentenced Monday morning in Laramie County District Court. Brian Box received a variety of concurrent sentences across his numerous case files, but will ultimately serve two to four years in prison and 20 years of probation upon release, which slightly deviated from the plea agreement. He was also ordered to pay more than $100,000 in restitution to numerous victims. B...
Wyoming launches app for coronavirus exposure SHERIDAN (WNE) — Gov. Mark Gordon recently announced that Wyoming has launched Care19 Alert, an exposure notification app that will alert users if they have been in close contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19. Wyoming is one of the first states in the country to launch a COVID-19 app using Bluetooth Low Energy technology developed by Apple and Google, which does not rely on personal information or location data. Users opt-in to download and utilize the free app. “The Care19...
Wyoming unemployment call center sometimes strained as claim levels remain high CHEYENNE (WNE) – Despite Wyoming’s unemployment rate ticking down slightly in recent months, ongoing steep demand for assistance has kept the phone lines busy – and sometimes unreachable – at the state’s Department of Workforce Services. “We’re getting a lot of calls,” DWS Communications Manager Ty Stockton said Friday. “Quite a few of those are people wanting to make a claim over the phone, and those do take some time. …But quite a few are people who have an...
GILLETTE — Multiple Campbell County Republican legislators and primary candidates are bucking against an outspoken pro-Second Amendment group after a bevy of political attacks targeting incumbents and other candidates ahead of this month’s election. State Sens. Michael Von Flatern and Ogden Driskill, former Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives Tom Lubnau and others are rebuking the claims and question the motivations of Wyoming Gun Owners following a steady flurry of social media posts targeting them and other politicians. The cam...
War Memorial Stadium seating will be limited CASPER (WNE) — The University of Wyoming’s War Memorial Stadium will likely be kept at roughly a quarter of its capacity in the coming season and student capacity may be slashed by as much as two-thirds, the school’s athletic director told faculty Monday night. “There is no way we’re going to put 30,000 people in there for any event this year,” Tom Burman said during a town hall. Though exact details are still being worked out with health officials, Burman said that the stadium’s capacity will...
Cheyenne man sentenced for hitting women outside bar CHEYENNE (WNE) – A man facing charges for hitting two people outside a local bar was sentenced Monday afternoon in Laramie County District Court to two to four years in prison. Anthony Lane, 34, had been previously charged with aggravated assault and battery with a bodily injury with a deadly weapon following an encounter at DT’s Bar on East Lincolnway on Dec. 29, 2018. That night, Lane punched one woman and struck another in the back of her head with a gun before firing two shots into the...
Cheyenne woman sentenced for throwing two-month-old daughter CHEYENNE (WNE) — A woman who pleaded guilty to throwing her two-month-old daughter in a ditch was sentenced Monday to seven to ten years in prison, suspended for five years probation, by Laramie County District Judge Steven Sharpe. Lillian Jeffrey was charged with one count of aggravated child abuse in connection with the incident in December 2017. She was also ordered to pay $17,260 and given credit for 538 days of jail time. On Dec. 9, 2017, Jeffery is accused of throwing her b...
Protesters arrested for blocking traffic reject plea deal LARAMIE (WNE) — The ten protesters cited by police last month for blocking traffic on Grand Avenue turned down a plea offer and pleaded not guilty in Laramie Municipal Court on Thursday morning. They will seek to have the charges thrown out before trial, said Charles Pelkey, a local lawyer who represented all of the protesters at the hearing. There is an exception for “constitutionally-protected activity” in the disorderly conduct ordinance that the protesters have been charged with...
Wyoming gas prices increase slightly GILLETTE (WNE) — Gasoline prices could stall during the second half of summer after nine straight weeks of increases, according to a surveying company. But in the short term, Wyoming customers are paying more at the pump. Prices have risen 1.5 cents a gallon in the past week, averaging $2.09 a gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 494 stations. Gas prices in Wyoming are 10.9 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 62.1 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. Prices in Campbell Cou...
Armed man arrested after crashing into sheriff’s vehicle EVANSTON (WNE) — A tense and dangerous situation was resolved by Uinta County law enforcement without serious injury on Sunday, June 28, when an alleged intoxicated driver ran head-on into the vehicle of a Uinta County Sheriff’s Office deputy. According to a press release from the sheriff’s office, at about 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night, dispatch received a report of a wrong-way driver on I-80 at about milepost 35, traveling west in the eastbound lane. The press release states that a deput...
Former Gillette man sentenced on game violations dating to 2003 GILLETTE (WNE) — A former Gillette resident must serve two months in jail and pay more than $50,000 in fines and restitution for big game violations dating back to 2003. Robert Underwood, 76, pleaded no contest to seven gaming violations in Circuit Court on Friday morning. He had been charged with 35. Underwood, who now lives in Jones, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 60 days in jail and had his hunting and fishing privileges suspended for life. He also must pay $52,540 in fines and r...
CASPER — Since peaking in 2008, coal production nationwide has been on a precipitous decline. Last year, U.S. production volumes reached their lowest since 1975, according to an analysis released Thursday by the Energy Information Administration. A decade ago, in the heydays of the Powder River Basin, Wyoming’s coal epicenter produced over 400 million tons of the commodity. Last year, the basin’s mines pumped out much less, just 267 million tons. Most Wyoming lawmakers and industry leaders have come around to admitting there’s a problem...
No death penalty in Riverton shooting deathz RIVERTON (WNE) — The state will not seek the death penalty against Mario M. Mills, the Riverton man accused of killing his best friend with a gunshot to the head on March 26. Fremont County Attorney Patrick LeBrun announced during Mills’s arraignment Thursday afternoon that he would not pursue the fatal sentence. The possibility of life in prison still lingers, as Mills, 37, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Trevor Bartlett, who also was 37. “I appreciate Mr. LeBrun removin...
Woman pleads guilty to using Sweetwater dispatch funds for own use ROCK SPRINGS — Laura Etienne pleaded guilty Thursday morning to using funds from the Sweetwater County Combined Communications Dispatch Center to buy nearly $3,000 worth of personal items between 2016 and 2018. She and her husband Robin Etienne, former director of the Combined Communications Dispatch Center, were both arrested in January 2020 and charged with felony and misdemeanor counts related to misusing an Amazon Prime account set up for the center and making nearly $...
Casper College implements buyout plan for longtime employees CASPER (WNE) – Casper College is offering thousands of dollars to entice its longtime staff members to retire as part of an effort to brace for looming budget cuts brought on by the state’s plummeting economic outlook. “As you already know, the fiscal picture for Wyoming has been altered dramatically over the past several months due to various pressures on the energy industry,” college president Darren Divine wrote to faculty in a letter obtained by the Star-Tribune. “These changes a...
Yellowstone officials say park is pretty quiet JACKSON (WNE) — Famous grizzly bears and geysers are certainly concentrating crowds, but entrance gate data indicates relatively open roads and a dearth of people in the first few opening days for northwest Wyoming’s national parks. In Yellowstone National Park, only two of five gates were open during the first three days the public was admitted to the park. “It is estimated over the past three days, there is less than 20% of the normal traffic volume in the park compared to when all five entra...
Two-year probe leads to felony drug charges in Fremont County RIVERTON (WNE) — After two years of data-gathering, law enforcement agents are airing the conversations of a presumed local drug network in court. The conversations of Marshall Osterkorn, Marcella Knowles, and “another known distributor of prescription medication,” Shyanne Cross-Dailey are written in court documents that accuse 24-year-old Samuel J. Plush of selling oxycodone. Plush has been transferred to the felony-level Fremont County District Court, due to the audio recor...
Cheyenne City Council votes to cut own stipends to benefit those affected by COVID-19 CHEYENNE (WNE) – The coronavirus’ impact on the economy has hit the city hard, forcing Cheyenne leaders to lay off employees and severely cut expenditures. To stand in solidarity with city employees, the Cheyenne City Council voted Monday to allow councilmen to take voluntary 13% cuts to their monthly stipends, which is the aggregate amount of budget cuts across all city departments. “That’s the message we want to send to the people of Cheyenne – we’re wit...
Former Laramie dealership, Nissan settle lawsuit LARAMIE (WNE) – A former car dealership in Laramie, Snowy Range Dodge, has settled a lawsuit with Nissan, which went to federal court last year in an attempt to seek upwards of $6.8 million owed by the local dealership. In October 2019, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against the local dealership’s owner, Josh Griffin, barring him from moving certain account funds that Nissan had a claim to. Since then, those account funds have been transferred to Nissan, according to cou...
