Wyoming News Briefs

Bill creates charter school authorization board

GILLETTE (WNE) — The state will now have a board made up of qualified education individuals to authorize new charter schools. Previously, if a school district board did not agree on the creation of a charter school, the decision went on to the state loan and investment board.

Senate File 174, sponsored by Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, passed through the Legislature and awaits the governor’s signature.

Rep. Ken Clouston, R-Gillette, was part of the House Education Committee that debated the bill for more than a few hours during the session. Clouston said heavy amendments to the bill made it “more reasonable, regulated, and palatable.”

Eight individuals will make up the board: three members appointed by the superintendent of public instruction who have a minimum of five years’ experience in Wyoming education; the chairman of the state board of education or the chairman’s designee; three members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate; and the dean of the University of Wyoming’s College of Education, or his designee.

Within the supplemental budget, $280,000 was earmarked to pay the salary and benefits of one full-time department of education employee and cover the costs associated with approving new charter schools. 

The Legislature asked that the same amount be included in the department’s standard budget in the next budget cycle.

Along with the creation of the board, Clouston said the bill limits the number of charter schools created in Wyoming to a maximum of four new schools within the next four years. Currently, there are eight charter schools in the state.

The bill also was amended to make charter schools follow the same standards as public schools including the certification of teachers. 

Gillette sees flooding from storm drains frozen over

GILLETTE (WNE) — The city of Gillette has been dealing with flooding and water pooling up due to storm drains getting frozen over.

Public Works Director Sawley Wilde said it’s been going on in “all areas of town.”

“Where we see it the most is subdivisions where it’s flat,” he said. “Anywhere we don’t have a lot of hills. It pools up and at night it ices over.”

In some areas, the city streets division can go in and break up the ice with hand tools, but other areas take quite a bit more work.

It’s been a slow process, and it’s something the city deals with every year after a large snowstorm, but “the sheer amount of snow we’ve had this winter has exacerbated that,” Wilde said.

“This one seems a little worse because of the large amount of snow we have on the ground, melting on top, melting underneath,” he added.

Gordon proclaims Wyoming Hidden Heroes state

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Gov. Mark Gordon signed a proclamation declaring Wyoming a Hidden Heroes State, which recognizes the caregivers of veterans across Wyoming, while highlighting some of the available resources for military caregivers.

The Hidden Heroes campaign is a collaboration between AARP and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation to bring attention to the untold stories of military caregivers and seeks solutions for the challenges and long term needs they face. 

The Hidden Heroes effort also attempts to inspire individuals, businesses and others to take action on supporting military caregivers in their communities and establish a national registry, encouraging military caregivers to register at hiddenheroes.org to better connect with helpful resources and support. 

AARP has more than three million veterans in its membership and has made issues facing veterans, military members, and their families a priority. To that end, the organization has produced a free military caregiving handbook that offers helpful resources and caregiving checklists, facts about veteran and military caregivers, and five key issues to address in caregiving.

AARP also offers the free Watchdog Alert Veterans Addition guide, which is available online. The guide states that one out of every three current or former military members has been targeted by disability or benefit scams and advises how veterans and military families can avoid being scammed.

For more resources for veterans, see aarp.org/home-family/voices/veterans.

Man has three run-ins with police in 24-hour span

GILLETTE (WNE) — Within a 24-hour span, a 23-year-old man had three run-ins with law enforcement, including an intoxication arrest and a couple of shoplifting citations.

At about 6 p.m. Friday, a Walmart employee told police he suspected two men, 23 and 33, of shoplifting from the store. A shopper saw the men concealing something in a backpack.

Police contacted the two men and learned they were hiding a bottle of vodka in the backpack. Police confiscated the alcohol, and the 33-year-old was ticketed for open container. Officers warned the two men about being drunk in public and let them go, Welch said.

At about 9 p.m. Friday, police were called out to Walmart after an employee reported the younger man had returned to the store after being asked to leave. The employee said the man was catcalling employees and female customers.

Police found the man was much more drunk than he had been earlier in the night. He was arrested for intoxication, Welch said, and verbally trespassed from the store. This is the man’s fifth intoxication arrest.

At 5:50 p.m. Saturday, Walmart staff called police to report the man had tried to steal a coat and sunglasses, worth $72.63. The man admitted to doing this. He did not remember the verbal trespass warning from the night before due to his “extreme intoxication level” at the time, Welch said.

The man was ticketed for shoplifting and once again was trespassed, this time verbally and in writing, from the store.

During the investigation, police learned that the man had left the store Friday with a blanket he did not pay for. He was ticketed again for shoplifting, Welch said.

Bill to block mandatory microchips fails

POWELL (WNE) — As lawmakers debated a bill that would bar employers from forcing their workers to be microchipped, a certain skepticism hung over the idea. And those doubts — about whether a ban was premature, unnecessary or just a bit out there — prompted the House to narrowly reject the legislation last week. 

Senate File 72 sponsored by Sen. Dan Laursen (R-Powell) failed on a 32-28 vote, despite some at-times dire warnings from proponents. 

As the bill made its way through the Senate — where it passed 19-12 — and into the House, Laursen said he repeatedly heard the objection that “it’s not here in Wyoming yet. Why do we worry?” 

But the senator argued it was better to be proactive against microchips, which have been growing in popularity and in use cases. 

“We went through some mandates with Covid and we all said at that time, ‘You’re not going to have to have a mask; you’re not going to have to be injected,’” Laursen said at a House labor committee meeting last month. “So let’s get out in front of it [microchipping].” 

However, a majority of the House members were unconvinced of the need to act. 

Rep. Dave Zwonitzer (R-Cheyenne) said he agreed with blocking businesses from mandatory implantations of always present, data-collecting chips. However, given that such a situation has yet to arise in the United States, the lawmaker said there are too many “what ifs.”

“...There isn’t [mandatory] implementation of microchips; that doesn’t happen anywhere in the country,” Rep. Mike Yin (D-Jackson) said. “So I’m not sure why we would solve the problem that doesn’t exist instead of solving the problem that does exist — which is, there is mandatory tracking by both government and employers.” 

Certificate of completion bill signed into law

GILLETTE (WNE) — Students with disabilities who complete all of their coursework will now receive a certificate of completion at graduation.

Senate File 98, sponsored by Sen. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, and co-sponsored by Rep. Ken Clouston, R-Gillette, was signed by the governor Monday. Now, students on an individual education program, or IEP, are counted as drop outs, do not count toward graduation numbers and receive no diploma or certificate for their work.

Clouston said that although the federal rule constituting the students as drop outs remains, the state can now keep track of the students receiving certificates of completion each year, as well as giving those students and families recognition for what they’ve accomplished.

“There’s an end game here,” Clouston said. “[The certificate] shows that there’s value in meeting those IEP goals for students and the work of teachers and families but hopefully it may also lead to alternative types of diplomas.”

Clouston said some states offer alternative diplomas so students with disabilities do not count as drop outs. If something like that were to come to Wyoming, he said that by adopting alternative diplomas, the state and federal governments could then look at only the students who truly drop out of school, not students who are working hard to complete their coursework everyday.

The proposal for the certificate of completion passed unanimously through the House and Senate and was signed by the governor Feb. 27.

Alcohol-involved arrests dominate statistics locally, statewide

SHERIDAN (WNE) — The Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police reports 68% of arrests in Sheridan County involved alcohol in 2021. While data for 2022 is not yet available, Sheridan Police Department Capt. Tom Ringley said this number is historically consistent for the county.

As reported by WASCOP, 344 of 503 total offenses in Sheridan County involved alcohol. Seventeen of 20 vehicle crashes in Sheridan County were reported to involve alcohol. Compared across counties, Sheridan was listed third, behind Teton County and Fremont County, as a county with significantly higher rates of alcohol-involved offenses than the state average of 57%.

In 2021, nine of 11 assaults and 23 of 42 domestic violence offenses involved alcohol. Sheridan County Sheriff Levi Dominguez said the lowered inhibition that comes with alcohol consumption can compound with underlying issues, potentially resulting in violent offenses.

“While last year we didn’t have any reports of assault on a peace officer, at least listed in the [WASCOP] report, historically 100% of all interference and resisting arrest have involved alcohol,” Ringley said.

As stated in the WASCOP report, the number of alcohol-involved arrests has declined statewide in recent years but alcohol remains the drug with the biggest impact on crime statewide. 

WASCOP reports incidents of assault, disturbance, child abuse and domestic violence are all heavily influenced by alcohol and, in the past ten years, statistics show the two crimes that account for the greatest number of arrests in Wyoming are driving under the influence and public intoxication. Together, these two crimes have accounted for an average of 45% of all custodial arrests over the past decade.

Dominguez said the key to lowering the number of alcohol-involved crimes could lie in addressing the roots of the problem, one being the lack of adequate mental health resources locally and statewide.

Judge rules Aune to remain in jail until April trial

CODY (WNE) — Cody resident Carolyn Aune, one of the two defendants charged in the murder of two-year-old Paisleigh Williams, will have to remain in jail until her April trial despite her request to live with a sponsor.

During a March 1 hearing, Park County District Court Judge Bobbi Overfield denied a motion filed by Aune’s counsel, Elisabeth Trefonas, which requested Aune’s bond be reduced, allowing her to be released and live with a sponsor until her trial date.

Trefonas said during the hearing that Aune was not a flight risk and had obtained housing with a person currently living in Cody. She further argued that Aune had made arrangements to obtain an ankle monitor and that she is currently in therapy.

Trefonas also noted that Aune had no prior criminal history other than the current charges, and that the Park County Detention Center, where Aune has been in custody for two years, was never meant to be a long-term facility.

Trefonas asked Overfield to release Aune on an unsecured or signature bond in an amount decided by the court.

“Ms. Aune is very dangerous and she needs to remain in custody,” said Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Hatfield. “The state will present evidence of multiple instances of abuse to the victim in this case.”

Hatfield added that Aune currently faces two felony counts of interference with peace officers.

“She can’t even behave herself while she’s in jail,” he said. “She’s battering detention deputies. Can she be trusted out on the street? The state would say emphatically, ‘No.’”

Hatfield disagreed with releasing Aune to a person whom the state doesn’t know, and said ankle monitors “do not protect society.” 

Overfield agreed with Hatfield and did not change the trial date of April 17.