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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Goshen County School District considers drug-testing policy for students TORRINGTON (WNE) — The Goshen County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees discussed at its regular meeting July 9 the merits and drawbacks of mandatory drug testing for seventh-grade through senior students involved in extracurricular activities. On one hand, Trustees said, GCSD budgets $20,000 annually for student drug testing, and in the face of increased budget constraints, suspending the program would save the district money. “I am of the opinion that it’s spend...
Energy companies eyeing Goshen County for oil and gas wells TORRINGTON – Several energy companies are eyeing oil well locations in Goshen County, and while it’s too early to say that Goshen County will be the next location for an energy boom, local officials are optimistic about the trend. Goshen County Engineer Bob Taylor told the Goshen County Commission on June 18 that two companies have come close to completing the lengthy permitting process for drilling in Goshen County, while several others have begun the process. MCM Operations and Oss...
Haylee Bertalot, 9, of Cody tries the machine gun simulation Saturday at the grand reopening of the Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Haylee was one of several hundred people to visit the museum during its grand opening following a $12 million renovation project. The museum holds more than 30,000 items and more than 10,000 of those were on display for the reopening ceremonies Saturday. The Firearms Museum was closed in August of 2018 to allow the work to take...
Jackson man confirmed to Interior slot JACKSON (WNE) — A Jackson Hole man breezed through his U.S Senate confirmation on Thursday to fill a high post in Washington, D.C., overseeing the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Rob Wallace was confirmed unanimously as the next U.S. Department of Interior’s assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, becoming the first Senate-confirmed nominee in that job in eight years. He’ll answer to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who lauded the Senate’s approval. “I look forward t...
LARAMIE — The remains of Machinist’s Mate First Class George Hanson, killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, will be escorted by motorcade from Denver International Airport to Laramie on Wednesday for burial on Saturday. Hanson’s remains are expected to arrive at the Delta Airlines terminal of Denver International Airport at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. Hanson will be buried in Greenhill Cemetery at 11 a.m. Saturday. Born in Pennsylvania in 1909, Hanson moved to Laramie with his mother in 1916. He stayed in Laramie throughout his teen years but...
Federal charges filed in case of meth found in dishwasher GILLETTE (WNE) — Local charges have been dismissed against a man who faced drug charges after a pound of meth allegedly was found in his dishwasher in January. He has been indicted federally in the case. Jeffrey Powell, 55, had pleaded not guilty in District Court to an enhanced charge of possession with intent to deliver meth, one with a longer sentence possible, because it was his second offense. He had been convicted in 1999 of a similar crime in Washington state, according to c...
Juror faces jail over refusal to serve LARAMIE (WNE) — Albany County District Court Judge Tori Kricken ruled this week that a juror in a Laramie civil case will be jailed indefinitely starting June 28 unless she completes 20 hours of community service and writes an essay about the “importance of the American judicial system.” Lindsey Salisbury, a mental health counselor at Pathfinder Mental Health Professionals, was held in contempt of court after refusing to serve on a jury she was selected for last week. After a contempt hearing Tuesd...
Suspended sentence in bust involving 83 pounds of pot SUNDANCE (WNE) — Sheng Chang of Wisconsin has received a suspended sentence for a felony charge of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. Chang was one of two people arrested on U.S. 212 in March, 2018; she was allegedly driving the lead vehicle containing contraband while a “decoy vehicle” followed behind her. Chang and the decoy vehicle were observed by several Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers, all of whom noted they appeared to be traveling in tandem and contained only one passeng...
Casper man arrested after standoff CASPER (WNE) — A Natrona County special response team responded to a domestic assault call northwest of Casper on Sunday, arresting a 51-year-old man after a two-and-a-half-hour standoff. The Natrona County Sheriff’s Office released details of the incident Monday morning. Spokesman Taylor Courtney told media that when sheriff’s deputies responded to the call at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, they knew the male suspect was inside the home but was not answering the door. The man had a “criminal history” that included...
A Gillette man was arrested on multiple charges after about a 25-mile high-speed chase Saturday morning. The pursuit involved the Wyoming Highway Patrol and several other law enforcement agencies who tried to stop a gold Chevy Astro van after its driver was pulled over at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Robert Detloff, 37, was pulled over near Rozet on Interstate 90 for a traffic violation. Wyoming Highway Patrol Lt. Colt Lenz said the patrolman took Detloff to his patrol car to look him up. While Detloff was in the passenger seat of the patrol...
TORRINGTON – The announcement last week of Japan lifting its years-long ban on imports of beef from the United States is good news for Wyo-Braska producers, but it may not be the overarching panacea some in Washington, D.C., might want people to think. “I’m very cautiously optimistic,” said Ivan Rush, retired University of Nebraska Extension beef specialist and a board member of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, a market group supporting U.S. producers on the world market. “I am optimistic, I am thrilled,” Rush said. “We’re making some pro...
JACKSON — After first being sentenced to life in prison for beating his ex-girlfriend, Wyoming inmate Josh Black could be released from prison in less than a year. Following Black’s countless appeals and the Wyoming Supreme Court overturning his conviction, Black could be paroled as soon as March 2020. “Myself and my family and friends who support me were shocked and disappointed with how the case ended up being handled,” victim Kelli Windsor said. Windsor suffered a brain bleed and broken bones during the 2014 assault. “He came so close to...
Gillette man sentenced in poaching case GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette man must pay $4,000 in restitution and has had his hunting privileges suspended for two years because he killed a buck mule deer with a rifle during an archery-only season last fall. Eric S. Sorensen, 42, was caught after a ranch manager called North Gillette Game Warden Kristen DaVanon on Sept. 16 after hunters on his land heard gunshots on nearby public land and later saw Sorensen with a buck mule deer, according to a Wyoming Game and Fish press release. The ranch manager t...
A simple choice to buckle up when driving or riding in a vehicle could mean the difference between life or death. The Wyoming Department of Transportation and the Wyoming Highway Patrol are urging motorists and passengers to always wear their seat belts to help keep them safe while traveling. Wyoming has had 64 fatalities so far in 2019, which can be attributed to distracted driving, lack of seat belts, alcohol and several other factors. So far, 43 percent were not wearing their seat belts. “Safety belt usage in Wyoming is lower than that of t...
Man charged with murder in mother’s death CHEYENNE (WNE) — A Cheyenne man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his 80-year-old mother. If convicted, James Wallace, 48, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison or the death penalty. His mother, Carol Wallace, was found dead last week in the home the two shared. According to court documents: Laramie County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 1100 block of Green Mountain Road, northwest of Cheyenne, for a possible weapons assault at 7:30 a.m. May 10. Gle...
Teenage girl identified as instigator of ‘threat’ RIVERTON (WNE) — After a Riverton Police Department release alerted the community to the threat of gun-related violence at Riverton High School, instigator of the supposed threat was identified late Friday afternoon as a 14-year-old girl. RPD chief Eric Murphy issued an announcement on Friday morning, acknowledging that the threat was “vague at best, but we are taking it very seriously and investigating the threat in an effort to locate a suspect and keep the kids and staff safe.” The comment th...
CASPER — A pair of failed bills from the 2019 general session intended to improve the “integrity” of Wyoming elections will be getting a second look from state lawmakers this interim. The two bills – one to require photo identification at the polls, the other to limit the practice of “crossover voting” in the state’s primary elections – will be reworked by the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Committee on Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions and, potentially, introduced during the 2020 budget session, committee members decided at its M...
GILLETTE — Cloud Peak Energy’s bankruptcy filing Friday afternoon may be the beginning of the end for the Gillette-based coal producer. Unlike previous Powder River Basin coal bankruptcies, Cloud Peak seems to be looking to shed debt and sell its assets rather than emerge as an ongoing company. The company said it will continue to attempt to sell “all of its assets” and that the company expects its three PRB mines “will continue normal operations throughout the process.” The filing ends months of speculation about Cloud Peak’s shaky financi...
No public defense for Campbell Co. misdemeanors GILLETTE (WNE) — The Wyoming Public Defenders Office notified Circuit Court judges Wednesday that its attorneys will no longer represent people charged with misdemeanors in Campbell County until more attorneys are hired. The action was effective Wednesday even before a letter of notification was delivered to judges at the end of the business day. Public defenders represent people who can’t otherwise afford an attorney to represent them in court. State Public Defender Diane M. Lozano said pub...
CASPER — Gov. Mark Gordon said he was “deeply concerned” Friday by Rocky Mountain Power’s serious consideration of shuttering some coal-fired power plant units in Wyoming within four years. The utility — part of PacifiCorp — released a presentation earlier this week confirming that closing nine coal-fired units in Colorado and Wyoming, including Jim Bridger, Naughton and Dave Johnston, by 2023 would save the company and its customers $12 million. Gordon was critical of the company’s direction in a statement Friday, noting the trickle-down...
Wyoming prison population third-fastest growing in country CASPER (WNE) — Wyoming’s prison population was the third-fastest growing in the country at the end of 2017, according to a government report released last week. The report, which was authored by two U.S. Department of Justice statisticians and released Thursday, states that Wyoming’s prison population grew by 4.2 percent between the year-ends of 2016 and 2017. The Cowboy State was outpaced only by Utah, where the incarceration rate grew by 4.3 percent, and Idaho, where the rate grew...
Dusty McClintock mixes the first batch of crawfish on Friday for the 36th annual Petroleum Engineers Crawfish Boil at Gillette's Cam-Plex. Volunteers cooked and served more than 14,000 pounds of crawfish, 850 pounds of potatoes, 800 pounds of onions, 3000 ears of sweet corn and 850 bratwurst and hot dogs for the event. Proceeds from the event are used to benefit Gillette charitable medical funds....
GILLETTE — For the last five years, Bill Fortner and Frank Latta have tried to convince Wyoming that “hemp” isn’t a bad four-letter word. Latta, the director of the Wyoming chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said hemp “is the best possibility for diversity” for the state. “We were trying to get the powers that be interested, to have a little vision that there might be something different to look at other than energy,” he said. “That’s been a very hard sell.” But recent legislation at the fe...
Prosecutors seek Powell treatment center facilities POWELL (WNE) — Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to turn a Powell drug treatment center’s facilities over to the state for implication in insurance fraud, according to court documents. The facility — Northwest Wyoming Treatment Center — was founded by a Powell psychologist, Gibson Condie, who in 2018 pleaded guilty to health care fraud. The same year, a federal judge sentenced him to three years in prison. A spokesman for the Wyoming branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office said by phone Fri...
Kidnapping suspect faces three felony charges in Cheyenne CHEYENNE (WNE) — The man accused of kidnapping a 1-year-old child and assaulting the child’s pregnant mother Thursday is facing several felony charges in Cheyenne, along with new charges from his arrest in Colorado. Mijito Johnson, 26, was charged Friday with two felony counts of aggravated assault against a pregnant woman and a charge of interference with custody of a child. Johnson currently is in custody in Aurora, Colorado, where he also faces misdemeanor charges of interference with...
