State Briefs

Yellowstone reopens as shutdown ends

CODY (WNE) — Visitors to Yellowstone National Park resumed paying entrance fees Sunday after 35 days of free admission during the partial shutdown of the federal government.

Other operations and services reopened Monday.

With the enactment of the continuing resolution to fund the federal government Friday, the park started resuming regular operations.

“Employees are happy to return to work serving the American people and welcoming visitors to Yellowstone,” the park announced in a release.

Sunday, visitor centers normally open at this time of year reopened by 11 a.m. They include the Albright Visitor Center, Old Faithful Visitor Education Center, Canyon Visitor Education Center lobby and the ranger-staffed desk at the West Yellowstone Visitor Information Center. With visitor centers open, the public will again be able to obtain backcountry permits.

On Monday, a majority of furloughed staff returned and opened the remaining park functions. Employees will begin to process the backlog of applications for special use permits, film permits, commercial use authorizations and research permits.

By midday the public was also able to obtain permits for the non-commercially guided snowmobile access program. The public affairs office also reopened Monday.

Cheney moves again to protect Devils Tower name

WORLAND (WNE) — Wyoming U.S. Representative Liz Cheney announced on Monday a plan to reintroduce legislation to codify the name of Devils Tower National Monument. 

The move would follow several previous attempts to set the name in stone. 

In 2014, a proposal was submitted to the Unites States Board on Geographic Names on behalf of the Lakota tribe to change the name of the monument to “Bear Lodge”, in accordance with Native American tradition. 

Prior to 1901, the unique feature was referred to as “Bear Lodge” or Mato Teepee” on contemporary maps, and only in 1875 did an Army colonel translate the name as “Bad God’s Tower,” which became “Devils Tower” when the monument was proclaimed in 1906. 

According to the United States Department of the Interior, neither the National Parks Service or the United States Board on Geographic Names have the legal ability to change the name, which can only be done by an act of Congress, or the President of the United States. 

In 2017, Sen. Mike Enzi attempted to retain the name with Senate Bill 70, and Rep. Cheney did the same with House Resolution 401. Both pieces of legislation failed, as at the time, both the Unites States Board on Geographic Names and Wyoming Board of Geographic Names restricted any name changes until January 3, 2019. 

On Monday, Cheney noted that “The name Devils Tower is over a century old and represents one of the most well-known, beloved geological features in the nation. The bill I reintroduced this Congress protects the legacy of Devils Tower by taking the first step towards codifying the name in statute.”

Large plane makes unexpected stop in Cody

CODY (WNE) — Yellowstone Regional Airport got an unexpected visitor on Friday afternoon, as weather forced one of United Airlines’ large Boeing 737s to make a pit stop in Cody. 

The United flight departed Chicago O’Hare International Airport at 10:46 a.m. Friday, bound for Jackson Hole Airport. 

However, with poor weather conditions in the Jackson area — and the plane lacking the fuel to continue circling the airport in a holding pattern — the flight was diverted to Cody to refuel. The aircraft landed around 1:23 p.m., according to data from the plane-tracking website FlightAware.

With a carrying capacity of 118 passengers, the 737 is considerably larger than the 54-seat jets that the Cody airport typically hosts this time of year. 

A passenger loading bridge was pulled up to the 737-700’s door on Friday, though it wound up not being necessary. 

“The pilots and flight attendant stepped out to communicate with the airport staff and the Skywest ground crew, but no passengers disembarked,” said Vicki Olson, a Powell resident and Skywest employee who captured photos of the unusual scene. 

The 737, its crew and passengers spent a little more than an hour on the ground in Cody. 

The refueled aircraft resumed its flight to Jackson Hole at 2:32 p.m., arriving at its intended destination a half-hour later, according to FlightAware’s data. All told, the Chicago-Jackson trip took about five hours and 15 minutes — about an hour longer than normal. 

Gillette man pleads not guilty to stealing from 84-year-old

GILLETTE (WNE) — While serving as the manager of an elderly rancher’s finances and as the executor of his trust, a 51-year-old Gillette man allegedly stole nearly $200,000, gifting the majority to his girlfriend.

In District Court on Thursday, Harvey Bruce Bethea, 51, pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult for allegedly stealing the money from Donny York, 84, between April 2016 and April 2017.

In April 2016, York was declared incompetent at the request of Bethea who, at the time, was York’s ranch manager. Bethea then assumed control over York’s finances, overseeing his bank accounts and trust.

Bethea boasted to his girlfriend that he had “millions of dollars” and bought her several items using York’s money in an attempt to “buy her affection,” according to court documents.

In October 2016, Bethea sent his girlfriend a check for $17,500 with the memo “4 Red Bulls” and told her “she could just use the money to get a new start,” court document say.

He went on to spend nearly $3,000 on a fur coat for her, about $1,600 on a laptop for her daughter and $7,500 on practice roping machines for her daughter.

York was in a nursing home in Sundance during the time Bethea was managing his finances and appeared unaware of the alleged theft.

Bethea has been charged with stealing only $173,403 because it is difficult to substantiate everything he took, said Sheriff’s investigator Kristen Antle, who has spent months working on the case.