State Briefs

Gillette man sentenced to prison in string of attacks

GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette man was sentenced Thursday to more than 10 years in prison for assaults on a puppy, his girlfriend and a fellow jail inmate.

“This is a horrific series of events,” said District Judge Thomas Rumpke. “It’s bad enough that you tortured the animal. … Then on probation you beat up a household member, and if that’s not enough, while in jail, you decided to — pardon the language, but there’s no other way to say it — beat the crap out of somebody.”

In 2016, Santos pleaded no contest to aggravated animal cruelty, a felony, after his 14-week-old pit bull puppy died of injuries caused by blunt force trauma, according to court documents.

He was sentenced to 14 to 20 months in prison, which was suspended in favor of 320 days in jail and two years of probation. Because he failed to comply with conditions of his probation, Rumpke reimposed the prison sentence at Thursday’s hearing.

While on probation in July, Santos attacked his girlfriend after she admitted to going through his phone while he was sleeping because she suspected he was speaking to other women, according to court documents.

When she confronted him about the other women, he became angry, pulling her hair, hitting her and strangling her for long enough that she felt she was “going to die.”

On Thursday, Rumpke sentenced Santos to five to seven years in prison for strangulation and six months in jail for domestic battery.

While in jail in November, Santos attacked another inmate, kicking him in the head several times and possibly fracturing his eye socket, according to court documents. 

Rumpke sentenced him on Thursday to three to five years in prison, which will run consecutively to his other sentences.

Albany County to open new one-student school

LARAMIE (WNE) — Albany County School District No. 1 will open another rural elementary school this fall for a single child who’s set to begin kindergarten. The child’s younger sibling is also set to attend the school in two years.

The “new” school is actually a re-opening of Cozy Hollow School off Tunnel Road — northeast of the Wheatland Reservoirs.

That school, which has previously served the same family, was closed about a decade ago.

Reopening Cozy Hollow School is necessary now “that the generations have come around, so to speak,” ACSD No. 1 business manager Ed Goetz told the school board on Wednesday.

Wyoming statutes require school districts to provide on-site schools for isolated students when transportation to other schools in not possible.

Cozy Hollow has operated off-and-on for much of the last century, and the district still owns a modular on the site.

“That’s in pretty good condition,” Goetz said. “It will need some work. We’ll need to get some furniture up there.”

ACSD No. 1 operates a second one-student school, Notch Peak Elementary, in a nearby area.

However, the district considers it impractical to transport Cozy Hollow’s students to Notch Peak since the roads connecting the two are impassible for much of the winter.

Superintendent Jubal Yennie said the district would likely need to hire a new teacher for the school.

Between Notch Peak and Cozy Hollow, the district will need to spend about $150,000 teaching just two students next year.

Campbell County to help Wright with man camp

GILLETTE (WNE) — Campbell County will assist the town of Wright to prepare for the arrival of a proposed man camp to house workers in the oil and gas industry.

County Planner and Zoning Administrator Megan Nelms said a trucking company called her in December, asking if it could set up a man camp in Wright to house at least 100 workers.

Wright Mayor Ralph Kingan said he wanted to bring the county on board because Wright has a limited staff. Nelms will work for Wright to help the town plan for the proposed camp.

“That’s where I thought it’d be better if we had the county involved, to make sure everything is done and they’re not just bringing in a bunch of junk,” Kingan said.

While a man camp can be little more than an RV park, this one is much more than that, Nelms said. It’s a one-level structure that contains a movie theater, a cafeteria and a recreational area and is being dismantled in Louisiana. The company wants to reassemble it in Wright as soon as possible, she said.

“They were very upfront and interested in working with us,” she said. “They’re not a fly-by-night company that will ravage the town.”

“I have no issue with you helping them, this is going to be as big of a county issue as a town issue,” said Commissioner Mark Christensen. “But I would like to see some regulations or contractual obligations for security.”

The county’s zoning regulations have got that covered, Nelms said. There is a section specifically for construction camps. It was added in 2011, but Nelms said this is the first time anyone has called asking about the rules.