Many of you may celebrate the New Year by drinking, but Detective Fred Moczulski with the Green River police department wants to make sure everyone celebrates safely.
If you do decide to drink this weekend, make sure you have a designated driver. Drinking and driving don't mix. Start the New Year out right.
The driver of a minivan that rolled off Interstate 25 in northern Colorado, injuring five children inside, was allegedly putting on makeup while another passenger steered. The driver, 30-year-old Jennifer Lamblin of Cheyenne, Wyo. as well as the passenger, 23-year-old Trevor Johnson, have both been charged with reckless vehicular assault. The Coloradoan reported that they both appeared in court in Fort Collins Thursday but declined comment. According to an arrest affidavit, Lamblin told troopers that Johnson was steering as she put on makeup on their way to church in Denver. She said the vehicle drifted to the right and she thought he was falling asleep so she went to take the steering wheel back and then lost control. The children injured in the crash ranged in age from 2 to 8.
More strong winds are in store for Wyoming and another round of snow is also expected in the western half of the state on Friday. Over the last two days, winds have knocked over tractor-trailers on Wyoming highways and uprooted trees. A high-rise McDonald's sign was blown over in Casper on Thursday morning. The National Weather Service says there was a gust of 134 mph on Mount Coffin in the Wyoming Range on Thursday. In southeastern Wyoming, the strong gust recorded was 90 mph near Horse Creek. Wind gusts up to 70 mph are possible through Saturday afternoon in the southeast.
Authorities are looking for the man who robbed a bank near the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The armed man robbed a First National Bank branch on Grand Avenue at about 5 p.m. Wednesday according to police reports. The robber is described as white, between 30 and 40 years old and between 5-foot-10 and 6 feet tall and was last seen wearing a black cowboy-style hat, a black waist-length Carhartt-style jacket, dark pants and gloves. Police say the robber may be driving a dark PT Cruiser with dark tinted windows. No one was injured during the robbery.
Several fatalities, 132 so far, have occurred in the state as the year 2011 winds down. Fatality 130 occurred 34 miles southeast of Dubois on US 26, at 6”51 a.m. on December 20. Killed was 11-year-old Makayla M. Strahle of Crowheart, who had just gotten off the school bus and was struck by a pickup driven by William D. Barnes, age 52 of Lander. On December 21, Alyson E. Novak, a 16-year-old from Rock Springs, was ejected from a Saturn driven by someone whose name was not released due to her age. Hers was the 131st fatality. Fatal no. 132 happened December 19, at 1:15 A.M. on I-25 in Casper. She was identified as Lydia M. Simmons, age 31, of Bar Nunn.
An unusual alliance is taking shape in Wyoming and other Western states. Politically conservative members of pro-hunting and fishing groups, like Trout Unlimited and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, are partnering with the National Wildlife Federation and others to try to fend off what they see as anti-sporting legislation. Bob Meulengracht with Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development says one example is HR 1581. He calls it especially troubling because it could open up prized hunting habitats to oil and gas development. He calls it the the "Assault on Our Sporting Heritage Act."
Matthew Copeland with the Wyoming Wildlife Federation claims supporters of HR 1581 aren't being completely upfront about its impact.
Not all sportsmen's groups oppose HR 1581, which would release the land to local management. Safari Club International and the National Rifle Association both back the bill saying it would allow better access for people with disabilities and older hunters. Opponents counter that there are low-impact hunting roads in much of the land already, and that the bill would open up the lands to high-impact development.
The Wyoming Democratic Party has hired a new executive director. Robin Van Ausdall comes from Colorado. She is a veteran of Democratic political campaigns in Colorado and was the Democratic National Committee field officer for northeast Colorado from 2005 through 2008. The Casper Star-Tribune reports state Democratic officials haven't decided yet when Van Ausdall will begin her new job. She replaces Bill Luckett, who resigned in October and moved to Oregon.
A downed power line set off a grass fire more than three miles long yesterday. Weather conditions made it difficult for fire fighters to battle the blaze that was located southwest of Pine Bluffs. Fire districts 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 were all on the scene to help fight the fire. At last word, two structures were destroyed including a shed and a horse barn. The fire was located south of I80 on roads 210 and 158.
While the snow tapered off late yesterday in the western part of the state, gusty winds are still causing problems for those traveling. The National Weather Service says cross winds could impact travel on Interstate 80 in Sweetwater County. The wind has caused at least five truck rollovers. One tractor-trailer was knocked over while parked at a rest area near Elk Mountain. A gust of 81 mph was reported near Cheyenne just after 1 p.m. Thursday. Preliminary figures show that the highest mountains in the Tetons got about 20 inches of snow from the storm but a mix of snow and rain fell in Jackson. Gusty winds are expected again today.
In case you had not noticed, 2012 is an election year. And if you have not done it before, you might consider asking for an absentee ballot to submit your vote. Sweetwater County Clerk Del Davis says voting absentee is open to anyone.
Getting a ballot is an easy process.
Davis also wants everyone to make sure everyone has their voter registration cards up to date. He says if you have moved or have changed your name, it is important to get that information updated as soon as you can.
A car-sized boulder fell on the road between West Yellowstone and Madison Junction temporarily closing Yellowstone National Park's West Entrance. The 4-foot-thick by 7-foot-long boulder has been removed from the road, but park geologists are assessing the hillside from which it fell to determine if other rocks pose a threat. Park officials hoped to have the road reopened sometime Thursday. The park also closed Sylvan Pass to all oversnow travel as a snowstorm raised the avalanche danger. Sylvan Pass will remain closed until park employees conduct avalanche mitigation operations and groom the route.
A judge has sentenced a Pine Bluffs man to four to six years in prison for a crash that killed a woman in Cheyenne last year. Prosecutors say 19-year-old Kerry Lamb had a blood-alcohol level of 0.12 percent and was driving on the wrong side of the road at the time of the crash. The legal limit for driving is 0.08. Lamb's car collided with a pickup truck. The crash killed 25-year-old Heather Morrow. District Judge Peter Arnold sentenced Lamb on Wednesday. Arnold recommended placement at the minimum-security Wyoming Honor Farm. Lamb apologized to Morrow's family in a statement read by his attorney. Lamb pleaded guilty in September to aggravated vehicular homicide, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Heavy snow and strong wind have raised the risk of avalanches throughout the high country of western Wyoming. The Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center has issued an avalanche warning through midnight Friday. The center advises against venturing into avalanche terrain in western Wyoming over the next couple days. The center says avalanches could reach the highways over Teton Pass and through the Hoback and Snake River canyons. Snow has been falling throughout the western Wyoming mountains, including as much as a foot in the Teton Range. The Tetons are forecast to get another 4-6 inches of snow. The avalanche center rates the avalanche risk throughout the mountains of western Wyoming as high. That means natural avalanches are likely and human-triggered avalanches are very likely to occur.
A Gillette physician says contaminated methamphetamine may have killed two people who were hospitalized over the past three weeks. Two other meth users also were admitted to Campbell County Memorial Hospital recently with respiratory failure. Dr. Robert Neuwirth says the four ranged in age from their early 20s to early 50s. He says the two patients who did not die made full recoveries after a day or two on respirators. The Gillette News-Record reports all four were previous drug users who smoked, injected or swallowed the meth. Neuwirth says he contacted the Campbell County public health officer. State health officials say they're not sure if similar cases have occurred elsewhere in Wyoming recently.
Laramie Police say a man armed with a firearm robbed the First National Bank of Wyoming on Grand Avenue around 5 o'clock Wednesday evening. No one was injured. The suspect is a white male between 35 and 40 years old and is approximately 6 feet tall. He was wearing a black cowboy-style hat, a black waist-length Carhartt-style jacket, dark pants and gloves. Commander Mitch Cushman says the FBI has been notified of the robbery. He asks anyone with information about the suspect to contact the Laramie Police at 721-2526 or call 911.
Snow is expected to continue falling in the western Wyoming mountains but snowfall has turned out to be light at lower elevations. The National Weather Service says between 10 and 20 inches are expected in the Teton through Thursday afternoon. Up to 12 inches could fall in the Gros Ventre (groh-VAWNT') mountains. In southeastern Wyoming, a high wind warning remains in effect until 9 p.m. Gusts up to 70 mph are possible. Light, high-profile vehicle are barred from Interstate 25 from the Colorado line to Wheatland because of the risk of rollovers.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has adopted a temporary strategy to protect the greater sage grouse in 10 Western states. A memo issued this week covers vegetation management, oil and gas leasing, grazing and other common activities on public land. Sage grouse numbers are down about 90% from a century ago, and long term plans to protect them are still in the works.
The Wyoming Business Council Board of Directors will meet via teleconference Jan. 6, 2012 at 10 a.m. to vote on adopting revised rules for the Community Development Block Grant Program. The Community Development Block Grant Program rules have been amended and corrected to add or update rules and regulations that are required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the funding source for CDBG. In addition, standard formatting and editing changes were made. New additions to the rules include a requirement to submit applications to Business Council regional directors two weeks prior to application deadlines; a pre-qualification for planning and technical assistance consultants; requiring the submission of a digital copy of applications; and revised application scoring and ranking methodology. Public hearings and public comment periods were provided in accordance with the CDBG Citizen Participation Plan. To obtain a copy of the proposed rules, contact Julie Kozlowski at julie.kozlowski@wyo.gov or (307) 777-2812.
The Bureau of Land Management Rock Springs Field Office will be holding a socioeconomic strategies workshop for its resource management plan revision process on Monday, Jan. 9th. BLM Rep Shelley Gregory says the workshop is open for the public to hear about current conditions and discuss the future of the lands.
Rock Springs Field Manager Lance Porter says input from the public is vital to the process.
The meeting will be held at the Rock Springs Holiday Inn at 1675 Sunset Drive from 6 to 8:30 PM.
What could have been a terrible accident was averted Wednesday thanks to some talented driving and a quick response from the Wyoming Highway Patrol and Wyoming Department of Transportation maintenance crews. Around 10 a.m. a semi-truck carrying an oversized load stopped directly in front of the westbound tunnel near Green River after realizing his load, a massive dump truck, would not fit through the tunnel. Traffic was halted and the I-80 westbound lane was blocked. The truck, along with a second carrying a similar load from C and Y Trucking Company, had acquired the correct permits and permissions for oversized loads and were given the vertical and horizontal clearances of the tunnels. WYDOT Public Relations Specialist Stephanie Harsha said no one was at fault and that the arch and taper of the top of the tunnels was not taken into consideration.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol immediately responded with assistance from WYDOT Maintenance Crews and the city of Green River police department. Together, they were able to clear vehicles off the I-80 westbound lane and divert traffic through the city of Green River on Flaming Gorge Way. Traffic was redirected through Green River for about two hours. The stopped truck and his counterpart were then backed down I-80 to exit 91. Once Maintenance crews verified clearance of stop lights and two additional bridges, the trucks were then re-routed through Green River and back to I-80 by 1 PM.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has adopted a temporary strategy to protect the greater sage grouse in 10 Western states until it implements a long-term policy for the mainly ground-dwelling bird in a couple years. The BLM on Tuesday issued guidance to employees on how to manage sage grouse habitat. One memo covers vegetation management, oil and gas leasing, grazing and other common activities on public land. The other says the BLM must consider all applicable conservation measures in long-range planning for sage grouse habitat. Sage grouse are in regulatory limbo. A recent court settlement set a 2015 deadline for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide the birds' status under the Endangered Species Act. Sage grouse numbers are down about 90% from a century ago
The winter storm blowing across Wyoming is expected to bring continued snowfall today. The mountains could get between 10 and 20 inches of snow with more falling in the Tetons. Southeastern Wyoming saw sustained winds of over 50 mph yesterday. A gust of 73 mph was reported outside Wheatland just before noon. Light, high-profile vehicles were barred from Interstate 25 from the Colorado line to Wheatland because of the risk of rollovers.
A winter storm is expected to bring significant snowfall to western Wyoming and strong, gusty winds east of the Continental Divide. The National Weather Service says snow is expected to develop around midday Wednesday and continue into Thursday. The mountains could get between 10 and 20 inches of snow with more falling in the Tetons. In southeast Wyoming, sustained winds up to 50 mph are forecast with gusts to around 60 mph expected. The winds could affect travel on Interstate 80 between Cheyenne and Rawlins and Interstate 25.
The Wyoming Division of State Parks, Historic States and Trails is holding guided hikes around the state on New Year's Day. Similar hikes are being held in all 50 states as part of America's State Parks First Day Hikes initiative. In Wyoming, hikes start at 1 p.m. at Fort Bridger State Historic Site, at Curt Gowdy State Park and at Guernsey State Park. There's also a hike at Glendo State Park that starts at 10 a.m. For more information, contact the Wyoming Division of State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails.
Police in Wyoming say nobody was hurt when a small gun that was inside a girl's purse fired while she was in a Cheyenne Starbucks. The bullet went through a chair and into a wall and narrowly missed several customers. Police say the mishap occurred while officers were at the coffee shop around 7 a.m. Monday. They found a gunshot hole in the purse and a small, Derringer-type, double-barrel .38 Special inside. Authorities say the girl is under age 18 and didn't release her name. She was cited for underage possession of a firearm.
The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported that the girl's father had given her the gun and encouraged her to carry it for her protection. According to police records, she hasn't had any formal firearms training.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rock Springs Field Office invites the public to a socioeconomic strategies workshop for its resource management plan (RMP) revision process on Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Rock Springs Holiday Inn at 1675 Sunset Drive. The workshop will include a review of historical and current local and regional social and economic conditions and how BLM-administered lands relate to and influence these conditions. The workshop will also help identify desired social and economic conditions and how to enhance these through planning and policy decisions within the authority of the BLM, cooperating agencies and other partners. “Successful resource management must involve those communities close to public lands,” states Rock Springs Field Manager Lance Porter. “This workshop is an excellent way for the public to get involved and learn how social and economic analysis can fit into the BLM RMP process.”
Gov. Matt Mead says he's continuing to push to try to change how Wyoming taxes wind energy projects despite a chilly reception to his proposals from some state legislators so far. Wyoming's sales and use tax exemption on equipment used on wind energy projects expires in January 2012. The state will also begin imposing a $1 per megawatt hour tax on wind energy production starting then. The Legislature's Joint Revenue Interim Committee in October rejected Mead's proposal to continue the sales and use tax exemption on wind energy projects in exchange for imposing lower, 1-time impact fees on them. Mead says he doesn't regard the issue as settled and wants the Legislature to consider it when it convenes in February. He says industries need clarity and certainty in tax laws.
The average price of a gallon of gasoline has dropped nearly 30 cents in Wyoming over the past month. AAA reports the average price of a gallon of gasoline in Wyoming was $3.40 in late November. On Monday the price was down to $3.11. That was down 9 cents over the previous week but remained some 30 cents higher than a year ago. The Casper Star-Tribune reports gasoline prices in Wyoming ranged as low as $2.70 a gallon in Cheyenne.
A Colorado company has announced a $193 million deal to buy a coal mine in western Wyoming from Chevron Mining Inc. Chevron has been getting out of the coal industry and the Kemmerer mine is among its last coal assets. The mine produces 4.7 million tons of coal a year. The buyer is Englewood, Colo.-based Westmoreland Coal Co. The deal announced Tuesday includes a purchase price of $179 million plus $14 million in working capital. Westmoreland also says it is acquiring 118 million tons of coal reserves, enough for 20 years of production. The company says it expects to close the deal with Chevron by Jan. 31.
A couple ruined not only their Christmas by choosing to drink and drive, but also that of an 18 month old child. Detective Fred Moczulski with the Green River police department says 25 year old Sarah D. Davis of Orem, Utah, was arrested on Christmas Eve for driving under the influence and having no insurance.
Moczulski says it is always difficult to take a child.
Davis and Downard were not the only ones to ruin a child's Christmas. Moczulski says he transported a young man who spent the entire weekend in jail for public intox and an outstanding warrant for a second DUI offense from Natrona County.
Moczulski hopes others will remember that when you choose to drink and drive, it is not only your life that is affected, but the lives of others.
Wyoming's capital is nearly at pre-recession economic strength. That's according to the Wyoming Center for Business and Economic Analysis, which analyzed general business activity in Laramie County. The Star-Tribune reported Sunday that economic growth spread through all local business sectors, from retail sales to car registrations and employment numbers. Retail sales climbed at a double-digit rate, up 11% from a year earlier. The report also said key labor market indicators continued to climb from recession lows in 2009. The monthly average number of jobs is now just a few hundred short of the previous high set in 2007. Economist Dick O'Gara said Laramie County escaped mass layoffs during the Great Recession. At the same time, home values remained fairly steady.
An 11-year-old Wyoming girl who was hit by a pickup truck after getting off a school bus is being remembered in her hometown. Funeral services were held Tuesday for Makayla Strahle (STRAW-Lee) in Idaho Falls, the city where she was born. Strahle moved to Wyoming two years ago and was a sixth grader at Wind River School in Pavillion, Wyo. Memorial services are also planned there later. Strahle was hit Dec. 20th on U.S. Highway 26, about 34 miles southeast of Dubois. There was heavy fog in the area at the time. Authorities say 52-year-old William D. Barnes of Lander failed to stop his pickup for the flashing signals on the bus and hit Strahle as she was crossing the road. The Fremont County Attorney's Office is reviewing the case.
A pre-Christmas Neilsen survey found 44 percent of kids between the ages of six and 12 had an iPad on their wish list. No report on how many saw that wish come true, but electronics certainly dominate the lives of children these days – and the National Wildlife Federation is trying to help families pare down the average eight hours a day kids spend in front of screens. N-W-F naturalist David Mizejewski says even in states like Wyoming with vast outdoor resources, kids still tend to prefer technology.
He says those technologies can be used to research locations for outdoor adventures, and applications can be downloaded on phones and tablets to help identify plants and critters. The good news according to a survey released earlier this year, is the average Wyoming child spends between three and four hours outdoors every day - although 65 percent of parents say they want their kids to spend even more time outside. Mizejewski says there’s a vast amount of research showing that outdoor time for kids is good for grades, behavior and health.
Sports are one way to get kids outdoors, but Mizejewski says the best outdoor time for maximum benefits for children should be unstructured – just letting them poke around and explore, either alone or with friends and parents.
A federal judge is allowing wild horse advocacy groups to intervene in a lawsuit in which livestock operators are trying force the removal of wild horses from private lands in an area of roughly 2 million acres in southwestern Wyoming. U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl presides over the Rock Springs Grazing Association's lawsuit. The association wants to force the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to remove horses from private lands along the so-called "checkerboard area." The association says BLM has ignored a 30-year-old agreement to limit horse numbers.
Skavdahl in November allowed the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign and the Cloud Foundation to intervene. He denied a similar request from the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and other groups this month.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pinedale Field Office (PFO) will patrol over 500,000 acres of BLM-administered winter closure areas through April 30th. Shelley Gregory says the patrols have operated since 2009 and demonstrate that the BLM is serious about big game winter range protections.
The patrols are intended to educate the public, distribute maps, answer questions, deter violators and encourage the public to report violations.
The annual winter closures have been in effect since 2008 and help protect elk, moose, pronghorn, and mule deer from disruptive human activities which, during the difficult winter months, can increase the mortality rate for these animals.
Signs are posted at key locations around the closed areas restricting all types of motorized travel. Non-motorized means of travel are still allowed. A map of the closed areas can be found at the BLM website.
As a reminder, elk winter feedground areas are closed through Apr. 30th to all motorized and non-motorized use and human presence. These include the Franz, Finnegan, Bench Corral, Fall Creek, Scab Creek, North Piney, and Black Butte feedgrounds.
Snowfall around Wyoming this winter is shaping up to be substantially less than it was last winter. A new report by the National Weather Service says basins around Wyoming received normal to near normal amounts of snow this November. Snow levels have remained low in December. This year's snow levels are far below the heavy snows that had fallen in the mountains by the end of 2010. Last winter and spring were exceptionally wet in Wyoming. Many rivers and creeks across Wyoming had record or near record flows during spring and early summer runoff this year. Peak flows lasted along many main stem rivers for more than a month. Runoff early this year was heightened by factors including some watersheds devastated by pine bark beetle infestations.
The Riverton City Council is considering repealing a city ordinance that allows officials to hold meetings without public notice. The city's code allows councilors to hold special meetings without advance warning and allows council members to conduct new and old business during them. That conflicts with the state's open meetings law which only allows unannounced meetings in limited circumstances and requires any action to be taken during an open and public meeting. City administrator Steven Weaver told the Riverton Ranger that the city clerk discovered the conflict when she read through the municipal codes. He said councilors haven't been using the ordinance to meet without public notice but city staffers have recommended repealing the section.
Lawmakers in Green River are moving to ban the use of bow and arrows within city limits. City councilors gave initial approval to the proposal this week. Councilman Gene Smith was the only person to oppose it. He said no one has complained about anyone shooting arrows in their backyards and called the ordinance a waste of time. Councilwoman Lisa Maes said it's already illegal to use a sling-shot or air rifle in town so it makes sense to also ban the use of bows and arrows.
A new report suggests a magnitude 7.5 earthquake on the Teton Fault could cost more than half a billion dollars and temporarily displace hundreds of households in Jackson Hole. Geologists with the Wyoming State Geological Survey put together a report on potential earthquake scenarios in Wyoming. The study estimates an earthquake on the Teton Fault would cause an economic loss of $494 million to Teton County, just from damage to buildings. It says the quake would damage nearly 4,000 of the roughly 12,000 buildings in Jackson Hole and surrounding communities. It also predicts the hardest-hit fire departments and schools would be operating at 50 percent capacity after a month. The fault last erupted in an earthquake nearly 5,000 years ago.
Cheyenne Regional Airport has been told by a federal agency that it violated the terms of a $650,000 grant and may have to repay the money. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported that the airport and city officials learned of the problem last month after an investigation conducted by the Office of the Inspector General, which is part of the U.S. Commerce Department. The grant provided money in 1995 and 1997 to renovate an existing airplane hangar at the airport into an aircraft painting facility. The grant was to help create new jobs by teaching people how to paint aircraft. The paint shop is now empty. The newspaper reports that a board overseeing the airport is in talks with the federal agency about the grant and management of the hangar.
Governor Matt Mead has finished his first year as Wyoming's 32nd governor. He says after wrestling with several issues, he is hitting his stride. Mead had to deal with spring flooding around the state, striking a deal with the federal government over ending protections for gray wolves and drafting a proposed budget for the Legislature. Mead, 49, had no experience in elective office before narrowly winning the Republican Party nomination last year. He spent $1.4 million, most of it his own money, to win the four-way battle.
Wyoming authorities are stepping up warnings about moose-vehicle collisions along Highway 390 in Teton County after some game wardens had to shoot and kill a suffering mother in front of her calf. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department says wardens had to shoot the cow moose Dec. 16 because her right leg had been shattered by a car. Afterward, her calf moose pawed at the corpse and ran around in circles in distress. The Jackson Hole News and Guide reported that it was the third moose One of the wardens he has had to put down on that section of road this year. The Wyoming Department of Transportation has moved flashing message signs to Highway 390 to warn people about wildlife on the road.
Mule deer are migrating down from the high country to find food on their winter ranges. If you are traveling Highway 789 south through Baggs, WY, and notice mule deer with bright yellow tags on their ears or white collars on their necks, don’t be alarmed. Those tagged deer are part of important monitoring the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is conducting on the Baggs Mule Deer Herd. Baggs Wildlife Biologist Tony Mong says the project is an extension of the on-going big game underpass and fencing project completed in 2009 north of Baggs.
“The fencing and wildlife underpass have proved to be a tremendous success in saving mule deer and people from vehicle collisions,” Mong says. “Close to 6,000 mule deer used the underpass during the fall and spring migration of 2010 and 2011. I believe another benefit to this deer-vehicle collision prevention technique is the possibility for wildlife monitoring. This technique has the potential to provide managers a great deal more information on individual use of underpasses, deer survival, population estimations and distribution on the landscape.”
Mong, along with local sportsmen, game wardens and fellow biologists with the Game and Fish, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service are trapping mule deer and placing ear tags on mostly does and fawns to determine annual survival of deer using the underpass using mark-resight methods. Mong also hopes to determine the amount of “back and forth” movement in the underpass within a migration season and determine dispersal patterns from the underpass.
Several Wyoming lawmakers say the state is unlikely to follow a federal safety board's recommendation to ban motorists from using cell phones while driving. The National Transportation Safety Board last week called on all states to prohibit drivers from using cell phones except in emergencies. The board says more than 3,000 drivers died last year in accidents caused by being distracted. The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle reports that Wyoming is 1 of 41 states that allows drivers to talk on cell phones. Wyoming has banned sending text messages while driving. Several Cheyenne-area lawmakers told the newspaper that they don't expect the Wyoming Legislature will change state law to follow the federal recommendations.
Colorado authorities are seeking a man and woman accused of stealing items from a van where a Denver-area father and son were found dead. Grand County sheriff's officials said Thursday that arrest warrants have been issued for 29-year-old Jerod Morris Reeves and 35-year-old Kimberly Mae McCaffery of Craig. A vehicle they were driving was found in Cheyenne, Wyo. The two are suspected of taking credit cards and other items from the van where 62-year-old William Ahrold and his 9-year-old son, Jackson, were found dead Saturday in Grand County near the Colorado River. Authorities have said it appears Ahrold killed his son and then himself. Sheriff's officials say they identified Reeves and McCaffery as theft suspects through photographs and videos captured when William Ahrold's credit cards were used recently.
A winter storm that swept across Wyoming dropped 2 feet or more of snow in some spots. The National Weather Service says the Casper Mountains, the Lander foothills and the eastern side of the Wind River Mountains got the most snow. A preliminary snow report issued Thursday shows that Hobbs Park in Fremont County got 2 feet of snow. The Casper Mountain Snotel recorded 2.6 feet of snow. In the Medicine Bow National Forest, 16 inches fell at La Prele Creek.
Colorado River District officials are expressing concerns over a pipeline proposal to deliver water from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming to Colorado. The district handles water policy and planning for the Colorado River Basin within Colorado. Federal regulators are still reviewing Aaron Million's pipeline proposal, which would use water from the Colorado River system. Colorado River District officials are telling regulators the cost for the pipeline, which would stretch more than 500 miles, will be "enormous." They also say the proposal could cause Colorado to use up its allocation of Colorado River system water under a multistate compact and hurt existing users of that water. Million contends there's enough water available for his proposal. Federal and state studies on Colorado River water availability aren't complete yet.
There are going to be a lot more people out on the roads this weekend. That's why Sweetwater County Sheriff Detective Dick Blust advises everyone to use extra caution when driving.
As another tip, make sure you are prepared before you head out... pack an extra blanket, water, snacks and be sure and let someone know your route and when to expect you.
With several ice fishing derbies coming up - and a recent ice fishing mishap that ended in tragedy – Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office Detective Dick Blust issued an advisory and some tips on safe ice fishing.
Blust says to check ice thickness before venturing out and check thickness every 100 to 150 feet. He says the easiest way is to use a cordless drill with a 5/8-inch, 5-inch long wood augur bit.
You should never ice fish alone. And wearing a Personal Flotation Device is highly recommended.
Among the many safety issues and tips highlighted in the video is the use of homemade or “store-bought” self-rescue ice picks, which are easy to carry on the ice and can make all the difference in getting yourself out of trouble.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving ahead with a proposed regulatory designation that could increase pressure on the gas industry to limit emissions that have led to severe wintertime ozone pollution in western Wyoming. The EPA is doing so while it settles a nationwide lawsuit over ozone filed by an environmental group, WildEarth Guardians. In 2009, Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal recommended that the EPA enact what's known as "nonattainment status" for ozone in the Upper Green River Basin. The EPA has informed Gov. Matt Mead it is now prepared to support that recommendation. The EPA's slow response on ozone nonattainment in mainly urban areas prompted WildEarth Guardians to sue in August. Mead says he's pleased the EPA has agreed with the state's recommendations for ozone nonattainment.
A winter storm that moved across Wyoming brought up to 10 inches of snow to some areas. The National Weather Service warns that blowing snow could make travel difficult, especially over mountain passes. Between 6 and 10 inches fell in the Bighorn Mountains and the southeastern Wyoming mountains got up to 10 inches. The storm should help boost Wyoming's snowpack, which has been lagging. A lack of snow has also been limiting snowmobile travel in Yellowstone National Park.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol says an 11-year-old Fremont County girl died when she was hit by a pickup truck after leaving her school bus. Sgt. Stephen Townsend says Makayla Strahle (STRAW-Lee) of Crowheart died at the scene, on U.S. Highway 26, about 34 miles southeast of Dubois. She was hit before 7 p.m. Tuesday, when there was heavy fog in the area. Townsend says a driver he identified as 52-year-old William D. Barnes of Lander failed to stop his pickup for the flashing signals on the bus and hit Strahle as she was crossing the road. The Fremont County Attorney's Office will review the matter. Strahle was a student at Wind River Elementary School in Pavillion. The school is working to provide counseling services for students and staff.
The body of a Green River man who fell through the ice on Flaming Gorge and drowned was recovered late Wednesday morning. Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office Detective Dick Blust says 50 year old Kevin Holloway was ice fishing alone late Tuesday afternoon [December 20, 2011] less than 100 yards from the Gorge’s western shore some 16 miles south of Green River when another fisherman, Tim Isaacson, also of Green River, heard him calling out for help.
Blust says Deputies and Castle Rock Ambulance were dispatched to the scene, which was reached by a two-track road running east about 5½ miles from U.S. Highway 530.
The drowning took place just south of the mouth of the Black’s Fork, an area commonly called “The Confluence” about four miles northeast of the Buckboard Marina. Blust says the lake ice was uneven and does not yet extend from shore to shore at The Confluence.
Blust says the Sheriff’s Office investigation into Holloway’s death is continuing.
More snow is expected from the storm that swept into northern Wyoming today. The National Weather Service in Riverton says the storm is expected intensify this evening as it moves south across the state. "No unnecessary Travel" warnings are in effect on several state highways. The Wyoming Department of Transportation reported slick driving conditions across the Bighorn Basin and areas east of Sheridan. Wind gusts of 25 miles per hour are expected this evening, causing whiteout conditions.
The Wyoming Business Council is asking the Idaho National Laboratory to review a private company's plan to build a coal-to-gasoline plant in Carbon County. DKRW Advanced Fuels applied to the business council in early December asking the state to purchase up to $300 million in industrial development bonds to help finance the roughly $2-billion project. The company intends to build the plant near Medicine Bow, a town of some 300 people about 100 miles west of Cheyenne. Robert Kelly, chairman of DKRW Advanced Fuels, says construction on the plan could begin as soon as next year and be completed by 2015. He says it would use a proprietary process to transform coal mined at the site into 10,600 barrels of gasoline per day.
Encana Corp. has gone on the offensive now that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the first time has theorized a link between a petroleum industry practice called hydraulic fracturing and groundwater pollution in a Wyoming gas field. The EPA suggested the link in a Dec. 8 draft report. On Tuesday, Encana outlined objections to the report in a conference call with reporters. Encana spokesman Doug Hock says the objections have less to do with the data so much as the EPA's interpretation of its data. Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," involves pumping pressurized water, sand and some chemicals underground to open fissures and improve the flow of oil or gas. The EPA says fracking is the best explanation for chemicals found beneath the central Wyoming community of Pavillion.
Officials with the Medicine Bow National Forest in southeastern Wyoming are warning that people visiting the forest for winter recreation should be aware that crews have started removing dead and dying trees along the highway between Woods Landing and the Colorado border.Crews are clearing dead and dying trees that could fall on the state highway as well as cutting trees that could damage the highway right-of-way fence if they fell. Beetle-killed trees are at risk of falling because their roots are rotten. Several snowmobile- and cross country skiing trails on the Laramie Ranger District are affected by the tree-clearing work. However, Forest Service officials say the overall effect of the work on public recreation access will be small.
About 40 members of the 30th Airlift Squadron are coming home from Afghanistan. Stewart Dyer of the Wyoming Military Department says the squadron members are scheduled to return to Cheyenne on Wednesday evening. They've been in Afghanistan for about a month performing cargo carrying missions.
A plan to get much-needed water to Colorado’s Front Range has come back to life, although a coalition of ten conservation groups is hoping it’s short-lived. The Flaming Gorge Pipeline proposal is sitting before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, after being dropped by the U-S Army Corps of Engineers earlier this year. Billions of gallons of water from Wyoming's Green River would be piped to Colorado. Duane Short with the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance in Laramie is a spokesman for the coalition – which has filed to intervene.
The company proposing the pipeline, Wyco Power and Water Inc., has touted its job-creation benefits – plus, there are hydropower construction plans. Short claims the hydropower was only added so FERC would look at the permit. He says the project will use much more power than it generates, because the water has to be pumped uphill across Wyoming and over the Continental Divide. The developer also recently announced some of the water would be used for hydraulic fracturing.
Short says the list of objections is long, and includes violations of the Endangered Species Act and landscape destruction to build the pipeline, as well as downstream impacts of removing so much water from the Green River – which connects to the Colorado River in Utah. The Colorado River Keeper’s Coalition intervention is one of several being filed.
Sweetwater County taxpayers can look forward to a tax decrease beginning January first. County Treasurer Robb Slaughter would like to remind all residents of Sweetwater County and specifically all sales tax vendors that the one cent specific purpose option tax will expire December 31st. He says the county sales tax will revert from six percent to five percent on sales that take place beginning January first. Slaughter says the 9.7 million dollar initiative that was approved in November of last year for the Child Development Center will be fully collected with tax receipts through December. He says vendors in the county began to collect the additional one cent tax in April of this year. Slaughter says beginning January first, all sales tax vendors in the county are responsible for resetting the sales tax rate they collect to five percent.
Authorities are investigating a one-vehicle crash on Interstate 25 that killed a Casper woman. Lydia Pace, 31, was dead at the scene. She was a passenger in a Ford sport-utility vehicle that, while apparently southbound on the interstate, left the roadway and rolled down an embankment. Natrona County Coroner Connie Jacobson said Pace, who died of traumatic chest injuries, was ejected from the vehicle. She was not wearing a seat belt. The wreck occurred near mile marker 189. While authorities say the first call about the incident came in at 7:14 a.m. Monday, the wreck is believed to have occurred about 3 a.m., according to Lt. Terry Vincent with the Wyoming Highway Patrol.
Shelley Gregory with the Bureau of Land Management Pinedale Field Office says they are seeking public comment on a Department of Environmental Quality proposed adaptive management change to the Pinedale Anticline Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision.
If approved, there are two options to fund the $169,000 position extension: with the Pinedale Anticline Project Office (PAPO) Mitigation and Monitoring Fund, the DEQ-preferred option, or with unspent ambient monitoring funds, as described in ROD Chapter 4, Section 6b, Page 27.
Mail or deliver written comments to: Pinedale Field Office. Additional proposal materials are available at the BLM website.
A federal judge is set to hear arguments on whether to grant Wyoming's lone death row inmate new hearings on his claims that he didn't get a fair trial. Dale Wayne Eaton is challenging the constitutionality of the state death sentence he received in the 1988 rape and murder of an 18-year-old Lisa Marie Kimmell of Billings, Mont. Eaton's lawyers have asked U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson of Cheyenne to rule that the death sentence violated Eaton's constitutional rights. State lawyers argue that Eaton was treated fairly in the state court system. Johnson has set a hearing for Monday morning to consider whether to grant a request from state lawyers to dismiss Eaton's request for new hearings on his claims.
A winter storm could affect holiday travel in Wyoming later this week. The National Weather Service says the storm is expected to bring snow to much or all of western and central Wyoming on Wednesday into Thursday as winter officially starts. The Lander foothills and areas around Casper could get between 3 and 6 inches with 4 to 8 falling in the mountains nearby. One to three inches of snow is expected at lower elevations elsewhere. Strong winds could also cause blowing and drifting snow.
For those still needing Christmas ideas for outdoor enthusiasts, the Wyoming Game and Fish Store might be a good place to look. The Game and Fish Store has a number of items for anglers, hunters, and, in general, anyone interested in wildlife. A popular item is the Butcher Lite Kit, which includes knives for field-dressing, skinning, filleting/boning, and a bone saw. The knives have the Wyoming Game and Fish Department logo etched on the blades. Other items in the store include wild game cookbooks and the Garmin MicroSD card compatible with Garmin GPS units only. The chip contains mapping of Wyoming public and private lands, hunt area boundaries, topo lines, roads, trails and other pertinent information on lands and land status. Shoppers can also purchase gift certificates.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pinedale Field Office is seeking public comment on a Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) proposed adaptive management (AM) change to the Pinedale Anticline Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision (ROD). The AM proposal would extend an air quality analyst contractor position through June 2014, an additional 28 months to the time allotted in ROD Chapter 4, Section 6c, Page 27. The DEQ proposal is in response to the continued significance and complexity of air quality issues related to the Pinedale Anticline and surrounding area. If approved, there are two options to fund the $169,000 position extension: with the Pinedale Anticline Project Office (PAPO) Mitigation and Monitoring Fund, the DEQ-preferred option, or with unspent ambient monitoring funds, as described in ROD Chapter 4, Section 6b, Page 27.
A new study says the number of children living in poverty in Wyoming has grown. Wyoming Kids Count announced this week that an estimated 14% of the state's children lived in poverty last year. That's up from 11% in 2005. Kids Count Director Marc Homer tells the Casper Star-Tribune that the increase in poverty rates is largely a result of the recession. Wyoming's child poverty rate remains below the national average of 20%. But Homer says it could still have long-lasting impacts on the state because studies show that adults who grew up in poverty didn't go as far in school, earned less money and were more likely to report poor overall health.
About 6,000 deer used an underpass north of Baggs to get across Wyoming 789 safely last winter and spring. And next year they will have another underpass about three miles south of the first one. Wyoming Game and Fish biologist Tony Mong says the second underpass is being paid for by Game and Fish, the Wyoming Department of Transportation, Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative and the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Fund. Mong tells the Rawlins Daily Times that the second underpass should be completed next summer. He says besides deer, elk, coyotes and even bobcats have used the underpass.
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead is blasting a proposed pipeline that would carry water from the Green River in his state to Colorado's Front Range. Mead is submitting comments to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday stating that he and others in Wyoming have grave concerns with Fort Collins businessman Aaron Million's pipeline proposal. The federal energy agency is reviewing Million's application for a preliminary permit to allow him to build a pipeline that would draw up to 250,000 acre feet of water a year. Mead says the project would hurt endangered fish and impair recreation. Environmental groups also oppose the plan. Million shifted his application from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this year. He says turbines on the pipeline would generate some electricity.
Congress has dropped language that would have barred lawsuits over a proposal to end federal protections for wolves in Wyoming. Rep. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican and Wyoming's lone voice in the U.S. House, had sponsored the language as a rider to a spending bill. Congress already passed similar language blocking lawsuits over delisting of wolves in other Western states. The ban on lawsuits could be critical to the success of a deal that Gov. Matt Mead and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar reached this year over how to end federal protections for wolves in Wyoming. Lummis issued a statement on Friday claiming that radical environmentalists used what she called "their considerable sway in the White House" to remove the language.
Shelley Gregory with the The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pinedale Field Office (PFO) says they are looking for volunteers to conduct a midwinter bald eagle survey on Saturday, Jan. 14th.
The Bald Eagle is considered an uncommon resident in Wyoming, although the number of nesting pairs in the state has increased from 20 in 1978 to over 100 in 2002. It nests along major river drainages and lakes throughout Wyoming with the most significant concentrations in Teton, Sublette, and Carbon counties.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department classifies the Bald Eagle as a Species of Special Concern with a Native Species Status of 2 (NSS2). For more information, contact Josh Hemenway, PFO wildlife biologist, at 307-367-5322.
A statewide survey of high school students indicates that efforts to educate Wyoming youths about drinking and driving appear to have made progress in the last two years. But the Youth Risk Behavior Survey released this week also shows that getting them to buckle up has been less successful. This year, 11.7% of high school students surveyed said they drove a vehicle recently when they had been drinking alcohol. That's down from 13% in 2009 and is the lowest since the survey started asking the question in 1995. However, 15.8% of high school students said they never or rarely wore a seat belt when riding in a car. That is down slightly from 16.5% in 2009 but higher than in 2005 and 2007.
Authorities say a 33-year-old man found dead in the mountains in Fremont County probably died of hypothermia. Fremont County Coroner Ed McAuslan says Blaine Thomas Revere, of Fort Washakie, was found on Saturday morning. The FBI handled the investigation into the death because it occurred on the Wind River Indian Reservation where Revere and two friends were four-wheeling when the vehicle broke down. McAuslan says the trio tried to find help with Revere and another walking one way and the third man walking a different direction. He said that, at one point, Revere fell, and his friend could not get him up. The friend went on to a residence where he called for help. The FBI has determined the death to be accidental.
A Forbes magazine writer has named Jackson Hole the No. 1 ski resort in the United States. In explaining his choice in an article this week, staff writer Christopher Steiner wrote that Jackson Hole Mountain Resort offers something for every skier: big drops, backcountry adventures, a great ski lift and options for all ability levels. But Steiner says he was most impressed that Jackson Hole has managed to "retain all of its soul." Tim O'Donoghue, of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, welcomes the free publicity. He said the economic impact of the free advertising could be substantial.
A Detective from the Green River Police Department responded to the Emergency Room at Sweetwater Memorial Hospital for a report of a male suffering from a gunshot wound on 12/12/11 at 20:30 hours. The victim and witnesses at the scene all advised it was an accidental discharge that entered the victim’s left knee and exit his lower calf. The investigation is ongoing at this time.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pinedale Field Office (PFO) is seeking volunteers to conduct a midwinter bald eagle survey on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. Every January since 1979, volunteers have counted bald eagles. By monitoring and estimating national and regional count trends, an index of the total winter bald eagle population in the lower 48 states has been established. A public meeting will be held on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. in the PFO Rendezvous Room at 1625 W. Pine in Pinedale, Wyo. Survey methodology and eagle identification will be discussed and survey routes assigned. Two-person observation teams are needed so that one person can safely drive while the other documents observed eagles. For more information, please contact Josh Hemenway, PFO wildlife biologist, at 307-367-5322.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it is trying to find more room in its reservoirs to avoid a repeat of this summer's flooding that caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to states along the Missouri River. Corps Brig. Gen. John McMahon said Thursday that his agency has so far tallied $630 million worth of flood damage to the levees, dams and channels built to control the river. He told governors or representatives of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas that the agency is looking for more storage room for floodwater for 2012. Some of the governors have been asking for more aggressive flood control. McMahon says a report due next week is also likely to have specific recommendations.
Federal investigators are trying to determine what caused a small twin-engine life flight aircraft to go off a taxiway and into a ravine at Sheridan County Airport. Airport manager John Stopka says the plane owned by Exec Air of Helena, Mont., had dropped a patient off and was preparing to take off when it went off the side of the taxiway and into a ravine at about 5 p.m. Wednesday. The two people aboard were not injured. Stopka said the plane "is in a pretty deep hole, and it will take some effort to get it out of there." The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
5th and 6th graders at Monroe Intermediate School in Green River honored their local heroes Tuesday, December 13th with breakfast. About 75 law enforcement officers, firefighters, ambulance service and medical professionals, search and rescue volunteers, veterans, clergy, educators, school officials, and others were invited and recognized by students participating in a national program called Fuel Up to Play 60, a youth organization sponsored by the National Football League and the National Dairy Council. Fuel Up to Play 60 promotes good nutrition and fights obesity in the young by encouraging healthy eating habits and encouraging students to “get up and play” at least 60 minutes per day. The Monroe Intermediate Morning Choir performed during the event, and a group of students who competed in and won an essay-writing contest on the theme “What is a Hero?” read their prize-winning entries.
Sweetwater Boces is sponsoring a free holiday concert this evening at the Rock Springs Junior High School Auditorium. Bernadean Craft says the concert will feature some very special performers.
Craft says the evening promises to put anyone in the Christmas spirit.
Since the concert is sponsored by BOCES, it is free. The Sweetwater County BOCES mission is to provide educational opportunities that are not otherwise available in Sweetwater County.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is looking for volunteers to help teach youths around the state how to hunt. Instructors must be 18 or older. Game and Fish hunter education coordinator Jim Dawson says the need for new volunteer instructors to teach hunter education is ever present and recruitment of new instructors to meet public demands is an ongoing task. Dawson says demand for hunter education classes increases at the beginning of each year with a steady demand for classes in most Wyoming communities throughout the year. In 2011, Wyoming's more than 350 instructors conducted 215 classes and certified nearly 5,000 young hunters. Volunteers are not paid, but Dawson says many volunteers have expressed satisfaction in knowing they have helped enhance hunting traditions and values while promoting safe, responsible and ethical hunting practices.
Assault charges filed in Florida against state Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne, have been dismissed, according to information from the Lee County Clerk of Court's office. 54 year old Nicholas, was arrested in Boca Grande, Fla., on Nov. 23 on felony suspicion of abusing a disabled adult, his 19-year-old mentally disabled son. The charge was a third-degree felony under Florida law. A sheriff's report said Nicholas told deputies his son suffers seizures, has a mental condition similar to autism and became combative during lunch. Nicholas said he was trying to get his son out of the restaurant, according to earlier news accounts. Patrons at the restaurant called law enforcement authorities, Nicholas said earlier, because they believed he was being too physical with his son. A phone call to Nicholas' law office in Cheyenne was not returned Wednesday.
The U.S. Postal Service is still considering moving mail processing operations for Rawlins to Cheyenne. The Postal Service announced Tuesday that it would postpone post office closures or changes from April to May. Despite that delay, Postal Service spokesman David Rupert says the agency continues to review the proposed closures. A decision on the fate of where Rawlins mail should be sorted is still expected by the end of February. If the Postal Service backs moving operations to Cheyenne, the switch wouldn't happen until May 15. The move would mean it would take an extra day for mail to be delivered. The Postal Service is considering closing 43 post offices in Wyoming, nearly a third of the state's outlets.
Wyoming’s version of “let’s make a deal” is a little too generous – according to a new report that looks at tax breaks and subsidies for businesses. The Good Jobs First study examines state requirements for those investments, and ranks Wyoming as 49th worst when it comes to ensuring money spent creates jobs. Dan Neal with the Equality State Policy Center says the state has long tried to find ways to diversify the economy. The governor recently announced he wants to spend 15-million dollars on incentives for data center companies.
Report author Philip Mattera says subsidies, incentives and cash grants can be useful tools for states interested in creating good-paying jobs with benefits, but only if that’s clear up front.
Dan Neal says one of Wyoming’s most expensive economic development programs deserves immediate scrutiny – the sales tax exemption for manufacturers. The exemption has cost the state more than 32-million dollars over three years.
The economic turmoil can explain some job losses, but Neal says the state’s own reports show the exemption has been claimed mostly by manufacturers already in the state, not new businesses bringing new jobs.
The pilot and passengers of the Guardian Flight helicopter that crashed near Rock Springs Tuesday have been identified. Sweetwater County Sheriff Rich Haskell said Calvin Cannon of Rock Springs, 45, was piloting the craft, while Max Calnin, 28, Robert W. Moses, 58, Robert B. Moses, 33, and a 13-year-old boy Haskell declined to identify, were passengers. None were patients; it is not believed the flight was a medical transport. At about 6:00 PM on Tuesday, Undersheriff Craig Jackson was on Yellowstone Road about three miles north of Rock Springs when he saw the helicopter, a Bell 407, circling west of the roadway around 6:00 PM. He then observed the craft drop straight to the ground from a relatively low altitude. No one was injured during the mishap.
Sweetwater County deputies working special holiday DUI patrols made four impaired driving arrests last weekend. Detective Dick Blust says that one of the drivers nearly fell to the ground while attempting the field sobriety tests. His intoximeter tests showed him to be nearly three times over the legal limit.
Two other drivers arrested last weekend had previous DUI convictions and one was also driving under suspension.
There are around 16,000 people killed each year as the result of impaired driving, and some 275,000 injured... which equals half the population of Wyoming. Blust says that if you drive drunk in Sweetwater County, you can expect a trip to jail.
The pilot and passengers of the Guardian Flight helicopter that crashed near Rock Springs Tuesday have been identified. Sweetwater County Sheriff Rich Haskell said 45 year old Calvin Cannon of Rock Springs, was piloting the craft, while 28 year old Max Calnin, 58 year old Robert W. Moses, 33 year old Robert B. Moses and a 13-year-old boy Haskell declined to identify, were passengers. None were patients and it is not believed the flight was a medical transport.
At around 6 PM on Tuesday, Undersheriff Craig Jackson was on Yellowstone Road about three miles north of Rock Springs when he saw the helicopter, a Bell 407, circling west of the roadway. Jackson watched as the chopper dropped straight to the ground from a relatively low altitude. No one was injured in the accident. Haskell said investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are en route to Rock Springs to begin their investigation. In the meantime, county detectives and deputies have been conducting a preliminary inquiry and gathering information to be turned over to federal authorities.
Two fugitives remain in custody at the Sweetwater County Detention Center following their recent capture.
According to Sweetwater County Sheriff Rich Haskell, 43 year old Michael Edward Cooper of Weatherford, Texas was arrested at Cruel Jack’s Travel Plaza west of Rock Springs by Deputy Sheriff Patrick O’Farrell on December 8th. Earlier this year, Cooper was indicted by the Brown County Grand Jury in Brownwood, Texas, on two counts of Burglary of a Building.
A 28-year-old man wanted in Minnehaha County, South Dakota on two counts of sexual exploitation and two counts of solicitation of a minor was tracked to Sweetwater County by the United States Marshals Service and arrested in Rock Springs, also on December 8th, though the arrests were unrelated. Haskell declined to identify the South Dakota fugitive, citing sexual assault case confidentiality issues. He said his agency is in touch with Texas and South Dakota officials, arranging the fugitives’ return to those states.
The U.S. Senate has defeated two proposals to add a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi supported the Republican proposal from Sen. Orrin Hatch. It would have required that spending not exceed revenues in any one fiscal year. It also would have required a two-thirds majority to raise taxes. A Democratic proposal sponsored by Colorado Sen. Mark Udall also failed Wednesday. Enzi argued that the nation needs to "put a fiscal straightjacket" on its addiction to spending money it doesn't have. The House failed to approve a balanced budget amendment in a vote several weeks ago.
The 2011 America's Health Rankings finds that Wyoming residents aren't as overweight as some, but the scales are tipping in the wrong direction. Overall, Wyoming ranks 21st out of 50 states for health. The report released recently by United Health Foundation finds that Wyoming residents and the rest of the nation show troubling increases in obesity and diabetes rates. In the last 10 years, Wyoming's obesity rate rose from 18% to 25.7% of adults. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports there are an estimated 110,000 obese adults in the state. The report noted plenty of positive marks for health in Wyoming, including the lowest level of air pollution in the nation.
The Bureau of Land Management has opened the Fossil Island Golf Course cross-country ski trail to the public. The BLM office in Kemmerer announced that there's no charge to use the easy 1.5-mile loop trail. It's located on Highway 189 in Kemmerer.
A lucky puppy and her new owner will be having a special Christmas this year. Sheriff Rich Haskell said County Animal Control Officer Chris Thomas and Wamsutter resident deputy Zach Stublaski rescued a lonely one-month-old Labrador-mix pup from beneath a mobile home in Wamsutter last week. Haskell said the mobile home’s residents did not know the pup was there and believes the pup would not have lived much longer in the cold. Thomas's children have temporarily named the dog Fudge. Fortunately for Fudge, she is being adopted by a Green River woman who recently lost her own dog to cancer.
If you have unused medications sitting in your medicine cabinets, think about donating it to help others. The Wyoming Department of Health's Medication Donation Program takes that medicine and gives it to low-income, uninsured or underinsured residents. They are accepting medications in sealed packages, unexpired medications, medications that don't require refrigeration, and medications that are NOT controlled substances. For more information, go to health.wyo.gov.
The latest application for a federal permit to construct a pipeline to haul water from the Green River in southwestern Wyoming to Colorado's sprawling Front Range is sparking opposition from environmental groups and others in the "Cowboy State." The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is accepting public comments until Dec. 19 on a pipeline permit application from Ft. Collins, Colo., businessman Aaron Million. Many in western Wyoming say they're concerned pumping the river water across the state would draw down Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Million counters that his project offers Wyoming and Colorado a chance to use some of the water they're entitled to under the Colorado River Compact rather than allowing it to flow to California and other states downstream.
Yellowstone National Park will open for the winter season on Thursday but a lack of snow will limit where snowmobiles can go for now. Commercially-guided snowmobiles or snowcoaches will only be allowed to travel between the park's South Entrance and Old Faithful. Park officials say roads in the rest of the park have too much snow and ice for regular vehicles but not enough for snowmobiles or snowcoaches. Commercial snowmobile and snowcoach operators will be able to use snowcoaches or regular vehicles to transport visitors from West Yellowstone and Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful. Snowcoaches can also travel between Norris and Canyon.
The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees is holding a special meeting to hear the university's response to requests for three possible budget-cutting scenarios. The meeting is scheduled Tuesday morning at the Laramie campus. The Legislature's Joint Appropriations Committee has asked all state agencies to submit plans to reduce their state-funded budgets by 5 and 8 percent. Gov. Matt Mead has separately requested a 2 percent budget-reduction plan. A 2 percent cut would reduce state general fund appropriations to UW by $3.7 million a year starting in July 2012. A 5 percent cut would mean a $9.2 million annual reduction, and an 8 percent cut would total $14.7 million per year. The state Legislature meets next February to work out a new two-year spending plan.
New Wyoming fishing regulations take effect beginning in January. Wyoming anglers generally will be allowed to keep six trout of any size in lakes and rivers around the state but will only be allowed to keep three trout from a river or stream, with only one of the three trout being over 16 inches. There will be exceptions to the general limit in certain waters around the state. The new regulation will allow anglers to keep up to 16 brook trout of any size. The old regulation specified only six brook trout could be over 8 inches. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department urges anglers to check the new regulations and pick up a 2012 fishing license before heading out on the first fishing trip of the new year.
A company that wants to build a wind farm south of Rock Springs says the project would create 200 jobs during construction and lead to 25 long-term jobs once it starts operations. EnXco presented the economic benefits of the proposal during a public hearing on the proposal Monday in Rock Springs. The company wants to build between 70 and 100 wind turbines on the south side of Quaking Aspen Mountain. The company's regional manager, Greg Probst, said it picked a site where the turbines wouldn't be visible from Rock Springs, Green River or White Mountain. Some residents are concerned about how the turbines could affect big-game hunting and sage grouse habitat. dThe company hopes to complete an environmental review in early 2015.
The decision by the federal government to give priority review to three Wyoming wind generation projects and two transmission line projects bodes well for the state's burgeoning renewable energy industry. Last week, the Bureau of Land Management announced it has placed three proposed Wyoming wind generation projects on its list for fast-track review. In October, the federal government included two planned Wyoming power transmission lines for accelerated review. Any such projects built on federal land are subjected to time consuming environmental and other types of study in order to get the required permits. Loyd Drain of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority says it's difficult right now to say exactly how much time will be shaved off individual projects, but he says any time saved is a plus.
Wyoming's snowpack so far this season is lagging behind last year's. The Natural Resources Conservation Service in Casper said Monday that Wyoming's snowpack is at 89% of average, compared with 113% of average last year at this time. Only the Powder-Tongue basin has above average snowfall at 128%. The conservation service warns that early season averages go up and down frequently and snowpack measurements don't really become meaningful until the end of January.
Wyoming's snowpack so far this season is lagging behind last year's. The Natural Resources Conservation Service in Casper said Monday that Wyoming's snowpack is at 89% of average, compared with 113% of average last year at this time. Only the Powder-Tongue basin has above average snowfall at 128%. The conservation service warns that early season averages go up and down frequently and snowpack measurements don't really become meaningful until the end of January.
The decision by the federal government to give priority review to three Wyoming wind generation projects and two transmission line projects bodes well for the state's burgeoning renewable energy industry. Last week, the Bureau of Land Management announced it has placed three proposed Wyoming wind generation projects on its list for fast-track review. In October, the federal government included two planned Wyoming power transmission lines for accelerated review. Any such projects built on federal land are subjected to time consuming environmental and other types of study in order to get the required permits. Loyd Drain of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority says it's difficult right now to say exactly how much time will be shaved off individual projects, but he says any time saved is a plus.
