State Briefs

DA plans charges against woman who had 61 animals

CASPER (WNE) — The Natrona County District Attorney’s office is planning to file charges against a Casper woman who had 61 animals removed from her home last week.

“We’re looking into the appropriate charges,” county District Attorney Dan Itzen said Monday.

He declined to comment on the specific charges the office would be pursuing, citing the pending investigation, but said the charges would be in the realm of animal cruelty.

Animal protection officers, also referred to as animal control officers, removed the animals from the home on Thursday. Officers had been notified of an “animal problem” at a home in the county on Dec. 26. When officers arrived, they found dozens of animals in “extremely unsanitary conditions with obvious signs of neglect,” according to a statement issued by the Casper Police Department after the animals were removed.

Officers attempted to work with the homeowner to determine a better plan to care for the animals, according to the statement, but when those efforts failed, officers were granted a warrant to search the home and remove the animals.

Animal control officers recently concluded their investigation into the homeowner and are recommending charges on 61 individual counts of animal cruelty, according to animal protection officer Sergeant Scott Schell. Speaking before Schoell’s comments, Itzen said once the investigation was complete his office would proceed with filing charges against the homeowner.

Flu cases jump in Wyoming

CASPER (WNE) — Influenza cases in Wyoming have experienced a “significant jump” in recent weeks, according to the state Health Department, as federal officials say the dominant strain of the disease is more likely to affect younger people. 

To date, 32 children have died nationally from flu-related conditions and 4800 people have died in total in the first three months of the 2019-20 flu season. The state Department of Health typically does not release figures mid-season, though exceptions — like pediatric deaths or particularly severe seasons — sometimes prompt officials to send additional warnings. 

Kim Deti, a Health Department spokeswoman, said the agency “would refrain from predicting whether we are near the peak yet or from making an overall prediction on the season.” She added that Wyoming’s dominant iteration of the flu is a B strain, “which is unusual for this stage in the season.” 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rated Wyoming’s flu activity as moderate, while a majority of the country is rated at the highest severity level. The agency added that nationally, hospitalizations and percent of deaths remain low. They attribute the mix of deaths with overall low hospitalizations to the dominance of the B strain, which is “more likely to affect children and younger adults than the elderly.”

Fremont anti-shoplifting laws put to test

RIVERTON (WNE) — Due to the county’s strong anti-shoplifting systems, a Lander woman could spend ten years in prison if convicted of stealing $25 worth of hygiene products from Safeway. 

Now charged with burglary and trespassing, 34-year-old Danielle Marie Dighton had been cited for shoplifting prior to her arrest at Safeway in Lander on Dec. 10. 

Dighton was under a no-trespassing order to stay out of the Safeway store.

When an individual takes items from a place from which he or she has been banned, or “trespassed,” the action fits the legal description of burglary, which carries far harsher penalties than shoplifting. People can be banned from one store even if they have been cited for shoplifting elsewhere. 

“If you know somebody to be a thief or to have committed theft, even if it wasn’t your business, you can tell them not to be there,” said Fremont County Attorney Patrick LeBrun. “And then if they come into your store without authority and take an item, that can be charged as burglary.” 

The effort to curb shoplifting began last spring and has involved Riverton, Lander, the Fremont County Attorney’s Office and the Riverton and Lander police departments. 

Riverton City Councilman Mike Bailey called shoplifting a “rampant” issue in the community, and encouraged business owners to trespass offenders from their stores, saying “it gives law enforcement the tools they need to get those people off the street.” 

Trespassing may result in an arrest, Bailey explained during the 2019 meeting, while people caught shoplifting only receive citations.

F.E. Warren not the source of mystery drones

CHEYENNE (WNE) — As the regional drone mystery continues, F.E. Warren Air Force Base can be crossed off the list of possible sources.

The base released a statement Friday clarifying that neither F.E. Warren nor the U.S. Air Force, in general, has anything to do with the mystery drones, which have been spotted in northeastern Colorado and western Nebraska in recent weeks.

“F.E. Warren AFB does conduct counter-unmanned aircraft system training within the confines of the installation,” the base stated in a release. “However, any drones spotted outside of the installation are not part of our fleet.”

The drones have been spotted several times in Phillips and Yuma counties in Colorado, as well as some counties in Nebraska.

The Federal Aviation Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Army Forces Command have said they do not have information about the aircraft.

The group of at least 17 drones have estimated wingspans of six feet and fly between 7 and 10 p.m., according to the Associated Press.

In their statement, officials from F.E. Warren said they had notified the Federal Aviation Administration, the FBI and state authorities that the Air Force base is not involved with the drones. Officials also said the drones have not posed a threat to any of the base’s facilities or operations.

Meanwhile, Wyoming Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Jeremy Beck said the patrol has had no reported sightings of the mystery drones.

UW requests $12 million for law school

LARAMIE (WNE) — University of Wyoming officials visited the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee to make a last-minute request for $12 million to fund a $22 million renovation and expansion of the university’s College of Law on the eve of college’s 100th anniversary.

The project had not made it into UW’s formal budget request in mid-2019 which was vetted by the State Construction Department and Gov. Mark Gordon’s office before going to the Legislature in December.

“We were designing the facility and didn’t know the cost of the facility over the summer,” College of Law Dean Klint Alexander told JAC on Friday afternoon. “We did not want to come before you when we didn’t know what the cost was going to be, and that process played out between May and August 2019.”

The board of trustees approved the project’s exterior design in September after private fundraising began in November 2018. Since that time, Alexander said that $5 million has been pledged and that another $1 million is likely to be raised by a planned construction date of October 2020.

The project would add about 19,000 square feet and renovate about 23,000 square feet of existing space.

If the Legislature approves the request during the upcoming 2021-2022 budget session, which begins Feb. 10, UW Trustee John McKinley said his board is likely to approve funding for the rest of the project.

Gillette facilities restrict visits because of flu

GILLETTE (WNE) — Campbell County Health will begin restricting visitations to its maternal child unit and Legacy Living and Rehabilitation Center because of increased cases of flu in the community.

The visiting restrictions are in place to help protect visitors, residents and employees, according to a news release.

Campbell County Memorial Hospital’s maternal child unit will restrict visitors to a mother’s spouse or significant other and only two additional visitors at a time. Visiting the labor delivery unit is always limited to three.

Children younger than age 12 aren’t permitted to visit. A newborn’s siblings younger than 12 may visit if they are screened for symptoms of illness by maternal child nurses.

Campbell County Health is asking those who feel ill not to visit.

“Please do not come if you have a fever, cough, runny nose, muscle aches or fatigue,” a spokeswoman said.

Masks and hand sanitizer are available at each entrance in the hospital, CCH clinics and Campbell County Medical Group facilities, and all visitors are being asked to use them if they feel ill or have a cold or flu symptoms like a fever or a cough.

At the Legacy, the CCH long-term care center, all visitors are being asked to use hand sanitizer before seeing residents. Masks and hand sanitizers are located near the main entrance.

No children ages 12 or younger can visit, except family members of residents. Those children under 12 also are required to wear a mask.