Wyoming News Briefs

2022 busiest year on record for Teton County Search and Rescue

JACKSON (WNE) — This year marked the busiest year on record for Teton County Search and Rescue.

“Through November, we have had 123 calls for service,” the report issued by the group states. “Our previous record for the whole calendar year was 105, in 2021.”

A Dec. 21 press release sent by Matt Hansen, the communications director for the Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation, detailed the findings of 2022.

“This past summer we responded to bike wrecks, horse wrecks, injured or tired hikers, backpackers and runners, swift-water emergencies, lost folks, a tragic lightning strike and various other backcountry emergencies,” he wrote.

In 2022, TCSAR volunteers collectively put in more than 10,760 hours on SAR-related activities, the report states. 

“Not only have we had a large call volume, but the severity of the injuries seems to be more intense and life-threatening,” it says.

Hiking was the highest rescue category this summer with 31% of the rescues. Mountain biking logged 27% and horseback riding claimed third place at 19%.

This past year also saw the volunteers and TCSAR Foundation take on the ambitious campaign of purchasing a year-round, SAR-dedicated helicopter. The goal is to provide the community with a reliable rescue helicopter all year long.

The campaign, called Mission Critical, calls on the TCSAR Foundation to raise $7.2 million in order to purchase an Airbus H125 helicopter and then hand it over to Teton County by fall 2023.

Woman involved in motorcycle accident pleads not guilty to vehicular homicide 

CODY (WNE) — The Minnesota woman who was charged with homicide by vehicle stemming from an Aug. 2 accident on Greybull Highway pleaded not guilty to the charge Dec. 8.

Shobhana Raghavendra Rao, 63, was charged in the death of Cody resident Dominic Gibson, who was riding his motorcycle east on the Greybull Highway as Rao pulled up to the stop sign to turn left from the Meeteetse Highway onto the Greybull Highway.

When she began to turn left, Gibson collided with the front end of the driver’s side, the affidavit said.

Rao was driving a 2022 Chrysler Pacifica, while Gibson was riding a 1984 Honda Acro 125 motorcycle, the affidavit said.

“Rao stated she waited, looked both directions and began pulling out into the intersection, making a left turn towards Cody,” Wyoming State Trooper Brett Tillery wrote in the affidavit. “Rao stated she didn’t notice anybody coming towards her when she began to conduct her left hand turn. She added that out of nowhere the motorcycle was coming towards her and that it was coming at her extremely fast.”

Gibson was transported by Guardian Air from the Cody Regional Hospital to Billings Clinic Hospital after the accident, and he succumbed to his injuries on Aug. 3.

If convicted, Rao faces misdemeanor charges, which include imprisonment for no more than one year, a fine of no more than $2000 or both.

Rao submitted her plea of not guilty through a written statement to Park County Circuit Court. On Dec. 13, she waived her right to a jury trial, which means her case could be tried in front of the judge alone, but as of Dec. 19, Rao was still scheduled for a jury trial in May.

Short-term replacement chosen for House District 32

GILLETTE (WNE) — Thursday afternoon, Campbell County Commissioners appointed a temporary replacement to serve House District 32.

The temporary term will expire Jan. 13 when Ken Clouston, who was elected to that House seat in the August Primary Election and ran unopposed in the General Election, will be officially sworn in.

Sam Clikeman was the lone candidate given to commissioners by the local Republican Party and was appointed Thursday.

An unusual timing issue would have left House District 32 without a representative for close to a month.

Rep. Timothy Hallinan resigned from House District 32 on Dec. 5. The Campbell County GOP put out a call for someone to fill the remainder of his term, which ends Jan. 2, 2023.

On Dec. 14, the local GOP had only received one name, which it put forward to the commissioners.

Under state law, the commission had 20 days from Dec. 15 to appoint someone to the vacant House seat. Initially, commissioners thought that Jan. 2 was the day the county would have had to make the appointment.

Earlier this week, commissioners had thought that Clouston would be sworn in on Jan. 2, not on Jan. 3 as was previously thought. Now he will apparently be sworn in Jan. 13, which is when Clikeman’s term is set to expire, said Commission Chairman Del Shelstad.

Rock Springs man arrested in toddler son’s overdose death

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — A Rock Springs man was arrested this morning after his child died from an accidental drug overdose in October. 

Daniel Scott James, 35, of Rock Springs, was arrested earlier today at his residence without incident. James is accused of involuntary manslaughter in his son’s death. 

On the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 21, deputies responded to a home north of Rock Springs for a two-year-old boy who was unconscious, unresponsive and not breathing, according to sheriff’s office spokesperson Jason Mower.

“When they arrived, they found the boy’s father administering CPR. The child’s body was stiff and cold to the touch; he was obviously deceased,” Mower said. 

Through the course of investigation, detectives learned James was taking a number of prescribed and illicit medications, including Buprenorphine, commonly branded as Suboxone and prescribed to treat opioid withdrawal. 

At the time of death, James said he kept his medications in a pill organizer on the microwave. 

The night before the boy died, James told investigators he noticed his Buprenorphine was missing from the pill organizer. The child’s mother also reported that her toddler son vomited several times before bed that night. 

While no obvious signs of trauma were discovered during autopsy, toxicology results revealed Buprenorphine in the child’s system. While forensic experts would not specify the exact number of pills the boy may have ingested, they said less than one pill was enough to prove lethal. 

In Wyoming, involuntary manslaughter is defined as unlawfully killing any human being without malice, involuntarily, but recklessly, and is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

New philanthropic organization launches to support coal communities

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Ramaco Resources, Inc. formed the Ramaco Foundation, a philanthropic organization that will invest in the regions where its employees work in West Virginia, Virginia, and Wyoming through grant-making and partnerships with local nonprofit organizations.

As part of its launch, the foundation has awarded grants worth $100,000 to organizations fighting childhood hunger in Wyoming and supporting education and workforce development in West Virginia.

“The regions where our staff and their families live are the backbone of this country and deserve far, far more investment and attention than they receive,” said Randall Atkins, chair and CEO of Ramaco, who also serves as the chair of the foundation’s board of directors. “We are proud to be a member of these communities and for this opportunity to give back and support their success.”

The foundation’s activities will be focused on southern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia, and Sheridan County, where the company has operations.

In addition to Atkins and Jenkins, the foundation’s board of directors includes Debra Wendtland, a prominent Sheridan-based attorney and one of the nation’s leading adoption specialists, according to a press release.

The foundation is organized as a public benefit corporation under the Wyoming Nonprofit Corporation Act and is classified as a 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code.

Intoxicated Cody man arrested for interfering with an officer

CODY (WNE) — A Cody man was charged Dec. 2 with allegedly interfering with a peace officer after being so intoxicated that he repeatedly told officers his name was “Dan” rather than “Joshua.”

Cody Police Officers initially made contact with Joshua Wayne Grisham, 45, at The Colonel Venue and Lounge around 11 p.m. following a citizen’s report that Grisham was at the bar drinking and had an active warrant out for his arrest.

Officer Jeremy Traverse found Grisham had already been arrested for that specific warrant and had been released on Nov. 30 but was still on probation for a DUI offense.

“I was also informed that his probation restrictions prohibited him from consuming alcohol, being where alcohol was sold, served or available,” Traverse wrote in the affidavit.

When Traverse and officer Tyler Eubanks responded to The Colonel, they found Grisham at the bar.

“I observed a man I recognized from previous contacts as Joshua Grisham,” Traverse wrote in the affidavit. “I addressed him as ‘Josh’ and asked him to step outside with Officer Eubanks and me. [Grisham] advised his name was not Joshua. I asked him his name, and he advised me it was ‘Dan.’

“By giving me a false name and denying that he was who he was, [Grisham] was obstructing or impeding me from performing my lawful duties as a police officer,” Traverse wrote in the affidavit.

Grisham refused to show officers his ID or exit the bar with them when requested, so he was escorted out of the building by the officers. He was transported to the Park County Detention Center and charged with probation violation and interference with a peace officer.

Grisham pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released after posting the $5,000 bond. His jury trial is scheduled for May.