Wyoming News Briefs

Man found in woman’s home arrested for drug use, trespassing

GILLETTE (WNE) — A 31-year-old man was ticketed for drug use after a 65-year-old woman found him in her home Friday night.

The woman called police after finding the man in her apartment in the 600 block of Tyler Avenue. She had not given him permission to be there, but she was able to get him out of her apartment and into the hallway.

He appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance, and EMTs were called. The woman showed police a syringe that she found in her apartment, in the place where the man was lying, said Police Deputy Chief Brent Wasson.

The man was taken to the emergency room. Officers found several used syringes, as well as property the man had left in the woman’s apartment. They also suspected the man of using some of the woman’s prescription medication, Wasson said.

The man had been trespassed from the apartment in 2022. 

Wasson said it did not appear that he broke in or forced his way into the home. He was ticketed for use of a controlled substance and criminal trespass.

Construction sector leads Wyoming job growth in third quarter 2023

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The Research and Planning Section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services reported Friday that from third quarter 2022 to third quarter 2023, total employment in the state rose by 6212 jobs (2.2%), and total payroll increased by $186.4 million (4.7%).

In third quarter 2023, the largest job growth occurred in construction, which added 1307 jobs (5.8%). Within construction, especially strong growth was observed in power and communication system construction (including the construction of wind farms).

Other sectors that exhibited solid growth included leisure and hospitality (1225 jobs, or 2.9%), professional and business services (957 jobs, or 4.4%), local government (including public schools, colleges and hospitals; 648 jobs, or 1.5%), and mining (including oil and gas; 613 jobs, or 3.7%).

More modest growth occurred in federal government (337 jobs, or 4.2%), health care and social assistance (316 jobs, or 1.2%), and transportation and warehousing (274 jobs, or 2.7%). Employment fell in retail trade (-95 jobs, or –0.3%) and financial activities (-94 jobs, or –0.8%).

Laramie County’s employment increased by 1024 jobs (2.2%), and its total payroll grew by $49.4 million (7.4%). 

Growth was seen in many sectors, including local government, mining (including oil and gas), construction, accommodation and food services, federal government, health care and social assistance, and other services. Employment fell in retail trade.

Norovirus spreading in Wyoming, cases confirmed in Sheridan

SHERIDAN (WNE) — The Wyoming Department of Health says norovirus is spreading throughout the state, and cases have been reported in Sheridan.

Norovirus is often described as the stomach flu or food poisoning, the WDH said in a press release Jan. 30. It’s spread when people eat contaminated food or touch contaminated surfaces, or through close contact with someone already sick.

Kristen Czaban, director of marketing and communications for Sheridan Memorial Hospital, said the hospital’s urgent care has seen multiple laboratory-confirmed cases of norovirus over the past week, though exact statistics aren’t yet available.

Sheridan County Public Health Response Coordinator Edward Hinzman said the public health department has heard anecdotal evidence of the illness spreading through schools and offices in Sheridan County.

Symptoms of norovirus can include nausea, vomiting and dehydration, among others, and typically begin around 12-48 hours after exposure, Hinzman said. According to the WDH, other viruses and illnesses caused by bacteria contamination can cause similar symptoms, but norovirus is the most common cause.

Symptoms usually last three days at most, the WDH said.

Hinzman said norovirus tends to spread through facilities like elementary schools and nursing homes. 

He said the best way people can protect themselves from norovirus is the same as with most other transmissible diseases — meaning lots of hand washing and disinfecting frequently-touched surfaces.

People who become severely ill from norovirus may need to call or visit a medical professional, according to the WDH. Infants, young children, immune-compromised persons and those unable to care for themselves — such as the disabled or elderly — are at higher risk for dehydration and may need to be hospitalized.

Skiers trigger slide in Grand Teton National Park

JACKSON (WNE) — Five skiers triggered an avalanche in Grand Teton National Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Teton County Search and Rescue team was contacted at 2:11 p.m. after park rangers requested helicopter assistance to respond to an injured 29-year-old skier on Prospectors Mountain inside the park.

The skier, a local woman and four men were near the top of the Banana Couloir at 10,800 feet when they triggered and were caught by an avalanche.

“Three in the group were able to self-arrest, while one of the men was carried 500 feet and the woman was carried by the snow slide approximately 1500 vertical feet,” a Grand Teton National Park press release said. “Neither skier was fully buried; however, the woman sustained serious injuries.”

The search and rescue team was able to see the skiers on the mountainside when the helicopter flew up, said Matt Hansen, communications director for the Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation. No skiers required excavation from below the debris.

The Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center characterized it as a “wind slab avalanche.”

“The avalanche did not step down to the Jan. 4 layer and only involved the most recent storm snow,” according to its website. Eight other avalanches were observed Sunday, the website said.

“It’s hard to say if they should’ve done anything differently,” Hansen said. “It sounds like they were skinning up and got up pretty high up Prospectors when they triggered the avalanche.”

Deeper weak layers persist beneath the fresh upper layer. As of Monday afternoon, avalanche danger remained “considerable” at higher elevations, with conservative terrain choices recommended.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort finalizes sale

JACKSON (WNE) — Jackson Hole Mountain Resort announced Friday that it has completed transferring ownership of the western Wyoming ski hill from the Kemmerer family to two longtime board members and their families.

Siblings Jay, Connie and Betty Kemmerer bought the resort in 1992. They announced plans to sell in August, saying they would sell to two board members — Eric Macy and Mike Corbat — their families and a small group of co-investors. At the time, the resort had planned for Jay Kemmerer to stay involved in the ownership group.

A Friday press release announced that the deal had closed and said the resort would not share any financial details of the transaction.

“The Kemmerer family is proud and happy to pass our legacy asset into capable hands,” Jay Kemmerer said in the press release. “Mike Corbat and Eric Macy are great friends and will do an outstanding job leading Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.”

Kemmerer specifically thanked his sister Connie “for providing insight and direction to our new and old buildings, and her contributions to wellness in the valley” and St. John’s Health.

The press release said Jay Kemmerer will remain on the resort’s board and executive committee while playing a senior advisory role. It also said the Kemmerers would maintain some equity ownership in the resort. The release did not say whether the group of co-investors would still be involved or who they were. 

Resort spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment before press time Friday.

Firefighters rescue two horses from icy pond

GILLETTE (WNE) — Campbell County firefighters rescued two horses from an icy pond Tuesday afternoon.

Sheriff Scott Matheny said a 56-year-old man called 911 at 2:30 p.m. after seeing two horses in a pond off of Echeta Road about 9 miles west of Gillette. Deputies responded, and five firefighters followed shortly after. 

Two horses were up to their necks in a small pond surrounded by ice. The horses had managed to walk to the center of the ice before it broke, and they were unable to get out. The pond was not deep enough that the horses were going under, but the water was very cold, and it’s unknown how long they’d been in the water, said battalion chief Kate Eischeid.

The crew used chainsaws and other ice rescue equipment to cut a path through the ice for the horses to get out.

At 3:14 p.m., about 45 minutes after the first call came in, the horses were able to get back onto dry land.

“They seemed normal and happy when they got out,” Eischeid said. “They were cold and shivering, one had an injured rear leg, but nothing crazy.”

Ice rescues are “fairly rare,” she said, but firefighters periodically train for them. They’re just usually done with humans, not horses.

When it comes to ponds and lakes, the edges are always the first to melt because it’s shallower there than in the center. Although animals are going to go on the ice regardless of the safety concerns, “people themselves need to be very cautious about ice and how unpredictable it can be,” Eischeid said.

Governor expresses thanks for support of sold-out Prayer Breakfast

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Gov. Mark Gordon thanks the people of Wyoming for their support of the 2024 Governor’s Prayer Breakfast, which is now sold out.

In recognition of the keynote speaker, retired Maj. Scott “Scotty” Smiley, the U.S. Army’s first blind active-duty officer, the governor is dedicating this year’s event to the Code of the West principle to “Live each day with Courage.”

The Prayer Breakfast, a long-standing tradition spanning more than 70 years, will be held on Feb. 21 at 6:30 a.m. at Little America Hotel and Resort.

In 2005, while leading his platoon in Mosul, Iraq, Major Smiley found himself in front of a suicide car bomber. After the man blew himself up, shrapnel blew through Scotty’s eyes, leaving him blinded and temporarily paralyzed. A week later, he woke up in Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Though questioning his faith, Scotty made a decision to forgive and rebuild his life and continue to serve in the Army, becoming the first blind active-duty officer in military history.

436 eagles sighted in PRB in annual count

GILLETTE (WNE) — More than 400 eagles were spotted in the Powder River Basin during a volunteer-conducted survey in early January.

Ninety volunteers searched for bald and golden eagles in the Powder River Basin on Jan. 6 as part of the nationwide Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey, coordinated locally by the Bureau of Land Management’s Buffalo field office.

They counted 436 eagles along more than 1,500 miles of roads in Campbell, Sheridan and Johnson counties.

Volunteers this year counted 279 bald eagles, 118 golden eagles, and 39 eagles of undetermined species. The 436 total is a slight decrease from the 461 birds counted last year, but despite the decline, this year’s total falls within the average count of 400 to 500 eagles seen annually, according to a press release from the BLM’s Buffalo field office.

A record high of 576 eagles were counted in 2022.

While hundreds of bald eagles are seen in the basin during winter, only a few of them nest in the area. Greater numbers of golden eagles remain in the Powder River Basin to breed. The additional winter populations migrate north in February, March and April, returning to Canada and Alaska. 

The information gathered by the survey is used by wildlife researchers and managers nationwide and is valuable on the local level as well. The data gathered in the Powder River Basin helps the BLM determine important habitats in Campbell, Johnson and Sheridan counties.