Wyoming News Briefs

Applications open for internship program for new farmers, ranchers

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The GrowinG Internship Program is now accepting applications for 2024, according to a news release from University of Wyoming Extension.

“The goal of this program is to provide interns with a hands-on internship at a working farm or ranch in Wyoming, in cooperation with state producer organizations and educational institutions,” said Kendra Faucett, program coordinator, in the release.

The program provides a $5000 stipend for a 10-week work experience, which is made possible by funding through the USDA Beginning Farmers and Ranchers grant. Eligible applicants are 18 or older and ready to begin farming or ranching. They must have been involved in managing their own farm or ranch enterprise for fewer than 10 years.

Selected interns will spend 10 weeks on a host farm or ranch, learning and assisting with daily activities. 

During their internship, interns will also take part in at least one agricultural educational event such as a Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station field day.

Selected hosts provide room and board while working with the intern to provide safe and educational learning experiences, keeping in mind their learning objectives.

Interns who participate in the GrowinG Internship Program can receive academic credit toward a degree.

Online application forms for 2024 hosts and interns are available at GrowinG-WY. org. 

For more information, contact the GrowinG Internship Program at coordinator@ growing-wy.org or visit GrowinG-WY. Org.

More film projects may come to Park County

CODY (WNE) — The Park County Travel Council’s bid to bring more film projects to Park County crossed another threshold during the most recent County Commissioners meeting.

“Things are happening,” said Ryan Hauck, executive director for Park County Travel Council. “We’re already operating as a film commission, we just want to make it official.”

Within the last few months, the Park County Travel Council has been trying to bring more film projects to Park County and the Cody area. From television shows to commercials and movies, the travel council hopes to create a dedicated office for the county.

The cities of Meeteetse, Powell and Cody have already signed agreements with Cody Yellowstone, and Hauck said an expansion to the county would be helpful for tourism during the winter.

“We view it as a great opportunity to put more heads in beds, and get more money spent in our county,” he said.

Hauck explained to the Park County commissioner board that with only a “well built out webpage” he’s already received multiple requests to film in the county without any effort.

If an official resolution is signed, he also said it would allow the travel council to submit their films to the Association of Film Commissioners.

The AFCI “enables film commissions and industry partners to bring successful productions,” according to the AFCI website.

Hauck also shared more of the potential business of Cody Yellowstone. The Hallmark Channel recently asked to film in Park County, and he also received an email request for a movie to be filmed here beginning in January. 

“At one point in time this summer I had about five to seven different projects on my plate that were interested in filming here,” said Hauck. “In June Guy Fieri was here. There’s been a lot of interest.”

Park County Commissioners granted a contingency approval of Cody Yellowstone but wanted their city attorney to look over the resolution before moving forward.

City of Rawlins addresses cyber breach on computer servers

RAWLINS (WNE) — The City of Rawlins was recently notified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of a potential cyber breach of the city’s computer servers.

The notification came from the Homeland Security Investigations, the primary branch of the DHS that investigates potential cybercrime.

At the time of the notification, Nov. 8, the extent of the possible breach was unknown. A coordinated response including federal, state, and local agencies began that evening.

Carbon County Emergency Manager Lenny Layman coordinated the assistance of agencies representing the various levels of government.

The DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency connected the city with the Multi-State Information and Analysis Center, a non-governmental organization which receives federal funding and provides cyber analysis for victims of cyber-attacks.

The analysis detected no indications of malicious or suspicious activity. The city’s information technology contractor worked with state and county IT staff to secure the city’s systems.

It was been determined that an unknown malicious actor breached the city’s servers but did not cause any further damage. No city services were disrupted, and it is believed that no sensitive data was stolen.

Secretary of State to hear public comments on voter ID changes

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The Office of the Secretary of State will hold a public comment hearing on its Notice of Intent to amend Chapter 2 of its Election Procedures with the Wyoming Administrative Rules System.

The amendment is to require acceptable identification for proof of identity and proof of residency when registering to vote in Wyoming, as well as to provide uniformity and clarity concerning providing evidence of citizenship when registering to vote, according to a news release.

Copies of the proposed rules may be obtained on the Wyoming Administrative Rules System at rules.wyo.gov by using the advanced search for proposed rules, or by contacting the Secretary of State’s Office, 122 W. 25th St, Suite 100, Cheyenne, WY 82002, 307777-7378.

A public hearing on the proposed rules has been scheduled for 1 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Capitol Extension Conference Center Auditorium in Cheyenne.

Public comments regarding the rules may also be submitted by email via the Rules System at rules.wyo.gov by using advanced search for proposed rules and the “Provide Public Comment” link, or by emailing comments directly to [email protected]. The last day of the public comment period is Jan. 26.

Three bomb threats made in Natrona County

CASPER (WNE) — There was an unsubstantiated bomb threat Tuesday morning at the Eastridge Mall in Casper, which was one of three threats this week in Natrona County. 

The other two incidents “included an earlier threat in Natrona County and another reported threat in Evansville,” the Casper Police Department announced in a statement Wednesday. 

All three threats initiated full responses from law enforcement agencies. 

The Eastridge Mall bomb threat appears to be related to multiple threats made this week across the United States, and it is unclear whether the other two threats were also related, the statement said. Dispatchers received a call at about 10:37 a.m. Tuesday reporting an online bomb threat to the Eastridge Mall. Casper police responded to the mall and quickly secured a perimeter while patrons and employees evacuated the building. 

The threat was ultimately unsubstantiated, the statement said. 

Police encouraged members of the public and businesses to “be prepared for this and other critical incidents by having an emergency action plan in place.” 

Plea agreements reached in Campbell, Johnson County poaching cases

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Plea agreements between Florida resident Jeb Rou and county attorneys in Campbell and Johnson counties were approved in November 2023, ending a multi-year investigation by Wyoming Game and Fish Department law enforcement officers that resulted in more than $137,000 in fines and restitution among three individuals.

On Dec. 5, 2019, North Gillette Game Warden Kristen Strom responded to a poaching call from an anonymous member of the public. The reporting party informed a local landowner that a deer had been shot and he saw three individuals hiding the deer on the landowner’s property. Later that night, with help from the landowner, Strom caught Gillette resident Eric Sorensen and Georgia resident Justin Price attempting to retrieve the illegally killed deer. Rou fled the scene and was not apprehended.

As the investigation began, multiple wildlife violations for all three suspects were discovered dating to December 2018, including eight buck mule deer and one bull elk taken out of season or wantonly destroyed.

Bomb threat prompts two days of lockdown at Lander Middle School 

LANDER (WNE) — On Wednesday morning, two Lander Middle School (LMS) students were walking to school when they encountered an adult man. 

Fremont County School District #1 Superintendent Mike Harris explained the man made a threatening statement, then walked toward and past the school building. 

Lander Police Chief (LPD) Scott Peters, who noted his department has been vigilant in searching for the man who allegedly made the threat, said it was something of a bomb threat. 

“I don’t know the exact wording,” Peters shared. “He said ‘Oh I hate that school,’ and something to the effect of ‘I’d like to bomb that school.’” 

The two students reported the threat to LMS administrators when they got to the building, and the ordeal prompted FCSD#1 and LPD leaders to take swift action. 

On both Wednesday and Thursday, LMS was in a soft lockdown, keeping students indoors for the duration of the day, including recess, and heightened LPD presence as officers patrolled on the lookout for the suspicious person. 

Although the LPD hasn’t identified anyone of interest, ensuring the school is safe has been its top priority. “We always take any threat seriously,” Peters explained, adding these kinds of incidents are on the rise nationwide. 

It’s not the only bomb-threat faced by local schools this month. Last week, Wyoming Indian actually evacuated students and faculty following a bomb threat that was made to nearly every school in Wyoming, later determined to be a hoax. 

Gas prices expected to rise slightly before Christmas holiday

CHEYENNE (WNE) — As millions of Americans hit the road for the Christmas holiday, many will reap the gift of lower gas prices, with nearly 100,000 stations offering gasoline at $2.99 or less.

The national average price of gas is projected to be $3.09 on Christmas Day, according to GasBuddy.com, the leading fuel savings platform saving North

Prices over the holiday weekend will have dropped nearly 80 cents per gallon compared to what drivers were paying earlier this fall, when the national average reached $3.85 per gallon.

Though a $2.99 national average seemed to be on the horizon, a sudden surge, propelled by the Federal Reserve hinting that interest rate cuts could be coming next year and Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea caused oil prices to rebound in the run-up to the holidays. While the rise may last a week or two, increases should be fairly mundane, with over half the nation’s states likely to stay close to a $3 per gallon average.

Another window of opportunity for lower gas prices could arrive in January or February, as refiners start to liquidate winter gasoline ahead of the transition to summer fuels.

“For the second straight year, we’ve seen the national average stop just short of falling below the $3-per-gallon mark, though tens of thousands of gas stations around the U.S. will still have prices at $2.99 or lower,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “While most are just trying to get through the holidays, we’ve been crunching numbers for what motorists can expect for 2024. Our annual Fuel Outlook, to be released in the coming days, offers some hope of lower prices for the year ahead.”

Two haul truck incidents at Campbell County mines Tuesday

GILLETTE (WNE) — Two haul truck drivers were taken to hospitals Tuesday after separate crashes at different Campbell County mines.

The first call came in at 9:40 a.m., when sheriff’s deputies and EMS workers responded to a “mayday” call in a Wyodak coal pit, Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds said.

In that incident, a 39-year-old man was driving a haul truck when he had an unspecified medical episode, lost control of the truck and drove over a berm inside of a coal pit.

He was taken to Campbell County Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Later that afternoon, a 55-year-old woman was driving a haul truck at Black Thunder Mine when she had an unspecified medical episode, causing her to roll a haul truck onto its side.

The mine’s rescue team extricated the woman from the haul truck and she was flown by air ambulance to Casper for medical treatment, Reynolds said.

Reynolds said it’s “very rare” to have multiple haul truck incidents on the same day, and Sheriff Scott Matheny said that he doesn’t recall it ever happening in his 37 years working with the sheriff’s office.

Pedraza sentenced in string of DUI crashes 

WORLAND (WNE) — A Worland man was sentenced on Dec. 13 in two cases of felony property destruction resulting from driving under the influence of fentanyl. 

Bryan Pedraza appeared in Washakie County District Court  and confirmed the events that originated his charges. 

On May 5, Pedraza was driving his vehicle under the influence of fentanyl and crashed into a parked vehicle, causing over $1000 in damages. On July 25, he once again drove his vehicle under the influence of fentanyl and crashed into a parked vehicle, this time hard enough that it rolled into the vehicle in front of it, causing over $1000 in damages to both vehicles. 

Since his arrest after the second incident, Pedraza has been held at the Washakie County Detention Center as he was deemed too dangerous to release. 

At sentencing, Pedraza was faced with three felony destruction of property charges, one from the first case and two from the second. The charge of felony destruction of property in the first case was amended to a misdemeanor, for which Pedraza was sentenced to pay $750 fine and serve six months in jail.  In the second case, one charge of felony destruction of property was amended to a misdemeanor and the other dismissed.  For the second misdemeanor he was given the same sentence as the first.

Restitution was not requested in these cases because Pedraza’s insurance company covered compensation to the victims. 

After completing an addiction severity index, Pedraza was deemed to require level 3.5 inpatient addiction treatment. At the end of Pedraza’s first six months in jail, he may apply for a modification to his bond conditions that will allow him to seek inpatient treatment. At the time that Pedraza leaves jail, he will begin three years of supervised probation.