State Briefs

Growers work to save beets after freeze

POWELL (WNE) — Even the smell in the air tells the story of freeze-damaged beets.

“You only have to drive by a beet field and the smell will tell that the damage is real,” said Ric Rodriguez, Heart Mountain grower and vice chairman the Western Sugar Cooperative board.

More than a week after the killing frost lifted on Oct 11, the area beet crop has shown signs of some healing. But these facts remain: a big percentage of the crop is still in the ground, and Western Sugar and growers must take measured steps to salvage what they can.

With the warmer temperature since the freeze, the damaged part of the beets has lightened some, which indicates healing. But the beets are still harmed.

That has forced a balancing act on Western Sugar: harvest only enough to keep the factory running.

The company’s response has been to run receiving stations to accept deliveries on a pre-determined, ton-per-acre quota basis from growers. The freeze-damaged beets are hauled to the factory in Lovell on a priority basis for immediate processing.

In the last week, most growers finished their quota deliveries on Friday; a few finished Saturday. The harvest was then shut down to get the damaged beets through the factory.

With the colder temperatures forecast for this week, another push-quota started Tuesday.

“The amount [of the quota] is yet to be determined; most likely it will be larger than the two previous quotas to get ahead of the colder temperatures in the forecast. It’s really a day by day assessment,” Rodriguez added.

Military medals stolen from Cheyenne VFW

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Military medals dating back to World War II were taken over the weekend from a trailer outside Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1881.

Cheyenne police were alerted of the theft Monday morning after a passerby found an emptied shadow box near the trailer. The passerby called Martha Albright, whose father’s medals had been stored inside the box.

“For Cheyenne, I was shocked, because I didn’t think somebody would do something like that to military members,” Albright said.

Albright, who donated the medals about two years ago for Armed Forces Day, said other items, like her father’s jacket, were intact, but the medals were gone.

The trailer sits about 50 yards from the VFW post on East Seventh Street near Nationway. Though the theft was reported Monday morning, the break-in could have happened anytime over the weekend, post manager Clayton Schoepflin said.

The shadow box included Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals, Schoepflin said.

“You can’t put a price value on something like that,” Schoepflin said. “I could tell you that a Purple Heart, let’s say if it’s manufactured, costs maybe $15. But to somebody else, there’s no value to it because it’s so important to them or their family.”

While police investigate, Schoepflin implored whoever stole the medals to return them to the VFW post.

“Do the right thing,” Schoepflin said. “Because this is such a disgrace, not only to themselves, but it’s a disgrace to the family that provided these to us and to the member who earned them.”

Two face charges after infant tests positive for opioids

EVANSTON (WNE) — Two Evanston residents are facing felony charges for allegedly distributing a controlled substance to a minor following a hospital visit in which a two-year-old child had a urine drug screen that was positive for opioids. 

Karlie T. Bradham and Miguel Echeverria have both been charged with distribution to a minor in the case involving Bradham’s child. Echeverria has also been charged with three counts of felony child abuse, while Bradham was also charged with child endangering. 

In late August, Evanston Police Department Detective Jake Williams was called to Evanston Regional Hospital regarding a case of suspected child abuse. During that visit, the child’s injuries were described as “startling and readily apparent,” including severe facial swelling and bruising. Injuries documented during that hospital visit reportedly included multiple bruises and fractures and a urine drug screen that tested presumptively positive for opioids. 

The child was transferred to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, where medical records included a diagnosis of “severe child physical abuse” and a positive opioid test that “may reflect intentional poisoning to quiet or put the child to sleep,” according to court documents. The report additionally stated, “Given the extent of injuries, (the child) is fortunate to have no traumatic brain injury at this point.”