Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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Wyoming is among 18 states affected by an outbreak of E. coli 0121 infections that have been linked to organic carrots. Carrots that are currently on the shelves of stores are not likely to be affected, but they may be present in your home. The carrots are sold by Grimmway Farms and may come under a number of brand names, including 365, Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Full Circle, Good & Gather, GreenWise, Grimmway Farms, Marketside, Nature’s Promise, O-Organic, President’s Choice, Raley’s, Simple Truth, Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, Wegmans...
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released the draft of its plans to manage public lands in northeast Wyoming and the public now has a chance to comment. The new resource management plan would replace the current, 23-year-old version now used by the Newcastle Field Office. The Draft Newcastle and Nebraska Resource Management Plan covers all the lands within the Newcastle Field Office's boundaries in Crook, Weston and Niobrara counties, and also the entire state of Nebraska. While this may...
It's time for some retail therapy, because next weekend is your annual opportunity to get your Christmas shopping underway while supporting local businesses and earning the chance to win a reward of your own. The Saturday following Thanksgiving marks the date of two local traditions: Small Business Saturday® and the Ladies Night Block Party. Your two chances to "Shop Small" begin with Small Business Saturday®, which will run throughout the day. Sundance observes this holiday shopping...
Both father and son in the cow defacement case have entered into plea agreements that would see their felony charges lowered to misdemeanors. Two ranchers are accused of using bleach to paint markings, including drawings of penises, on a total of 189 cows and six bulls belonging to their neighbor. Patrick Sean and Tucker Carroll claimed their actions were intended to bring their neighbor’s attention to the problem of broken fences that weren’t being fixed quickly enough. The markings led to an alleged loss in value for the cattle of app...
Wyoming was succeeding in its mission to return to a path of financial stability until faced by one of the worst fire years in the state’s history. This is the message of Governor Mark Gordon’s proposed supplemental budget for the next year, which requests $140 million for firefighting and restoration efforts. “Fighting these fires exhausted our total biennial allocation for fire control within a few months instead of two years,” he wrote. “I am not sure any of us imagined all of that capacity would be used up that quickly.” In his message to l...
A Moorcroft man has been charged with strangulation after allegedly grabbing a victim by the neck during an argument. On November 10 at around noon, a Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputy was called to a domestic dispute in Moorcroft. The reporting party claimed that they had received a text message from a sibling stating that Jeffrey Dowling had strangled them and said he wanted them dead. The deputy asked for additional units and responded. As he was doing so, he received more information that drugs and alcohol were thought to be involved. T...
Crook County didn’t vote in favor of the constitutional amendment that will see a new “residential property” class created for tax assessments. The rest of the state disagreed. Crook was among only four counties that disagreed with the measure, with a final vote count of 1925 for and 1997 against. Goshen, Niobrara and Platte made up the other “no” votes. The amendment still received a majority of the total ballots cast, with 146,336 votes for and 100,392 votes against. The total number of ballots cast was 271,123, so the majority needed was 135...
The City of Sundance is rethinking its policy for property owners who need to install or repair a water or sewer line that runs under a city street. The hope is to ensure that contractors return the roadway to its original condition, rather than leave the city with that work and expense. The issue was brought forth by the Land Use Planning Committee, which recommended that the current $250-500 fee is not sufficient. The original suggestion was to raise it to somewhere between $3000 and $5000 as a deposit, in case the repairs are not completed....
The official tallies appear to show a record-breaking turnout for Crook County at the general election, with a total of 4368 ballots cast. This outstripped the 4143 ballots cast during the last presidential election in 2020, which then-County Clerk Linda Fritz said at the time was the most she’d seen in her 22 years of working for the county. In the prior presidential election of 2016, for example, 3866 ballots were cast, while 3718 people voted at the general in 2012 and 3706 in 2008. Presidential election years have historically seen a higher...
Grant funding is still on track and meetings with the engineer will begin in the new year to plan phase two of the Old Stoney renovation is set to begin in the new year, said Clerk-Treasurer Theresa Curren last week. “That gives us a month to get the grant agreement finished and voted on and the engineering contract changed up a little bit and then voted on hopefully next month,” she told the council, stating that the contract has been reviewed and a few changes made. The Wyoming Business Council (WBC) approved a Community Facility Reh...
Chronic Wasting Disease has been identified in an elk hunt area at the border of Crook County. Elk Hunt Area 126 begins at the border to the southwest of the county and travels south through much of Weston and Niobrara and west into Converse. The hunt area is bordered by seven other elk areas that are now known to be positive for CWD, including 117 and 129, both of which are partially in Crook County. CWD was also confirmed in Deer Hunt Areas 31 and 94, both towards the middle of the state in the Sheridan and Lander regions respectively. The...
The City of Sundance has been gathering up yard waste containers for the winter with the aim of changing things up next year for the sake of fairness. Last Tuesday was the final day of yard waste pickup for the fall, said Public Works Director Mac Erickson. His department then began picking up the containers to store them and at the same time figuring out, “Where they are, where they’ve been. I think we had quite a mess of yard waste containers just scattered out there.” Mayor Paul Brooks explained that there has been more demand than conta...
With winter here and more snowflakes pending, Mayor Paul Brooks asked the council last week if the City of Sundance should continue to assist the county with snow removal from the courthouse parking lot – especially now it has grown in size. “I don’t want to be hauling away every ounce of snow off that great big parking lot,” he said. “I think the county can haul their own away like we would expect a business to.” Brooks posed this question to see where the council stands on the matter. The county does not pay for the service, he said. “Righ...
Crook County School District (CCSD) will be hosting events to help kids avoid the dangers of opioid addiction, thanks to grant funding through the county. According to Superintendent Mark Broderson, an incident took place on the Moorcroft campus in early October and “opioids were part of that problem”. This generated a conversation with principals across the district about possible ways to prevent opioid abuse from impacting the kids of Crook County in the future. On hearing that the county has funding available, Curriculum Director Mel...
The City of Sundance is now at a point where it can start issuing citations for dogs at large. Several known issues involving dogs within city limits made this a priority. There are other ordinances that Sheriff Jeff Hodge aims to begin enforcing, he said at last week’s meeting of the council, but this is currently the “primary one”. The ordinance has been in place since 1986 and prohibits owners from allowing their dogs to run at large within town limits or keeping nuisance or vicious animals. Dogs must also be licensed and vaccinated again...
American Legion Crook County Post #45 and VFW Devils Tower Post #3411 invite the public to a ceremony and gathering to commemorate Veterans’ Day. A program of respect and honor for veterans will take place at 11 a.m. on November 11 at the war memorial in Sundance. This will be followed by a pot luck lunch, to which the public is also welcome. Attendees are encouraged to bring a salad or dessert to share. The lunch will feature a Prisoner of War/Missing in Action table (otherwise known as a Missing Man Table). This table holds symbolic items, s...
The election everyone has been waiting for saw more than 40% of registered Wyoming voters cast their ballots before the week even began, according to the Secretary of State's Office. For Crook County, there were a couple of surprises in unoffical the local vote tallies. State and County Chip Neiman will serve two more years as Crook County's state representative, having run unopposed to retain his seat. A new face will join the Crook County Commission next year, as John D. Davis secures the...
Local officials are concerned that a state land lease has created a dangerous situation near Sundance, where two ranchers now find themselves at loggerheads over grazing rights. When the state purchased a parcel of land in the Moskee area a few years ago, it allowed the grazing lease to pass into new hands. In any other circumstances, this might not have been a problem, but the parcel forms the filling in a sandwich of properties that were previously all owned or leased by the same rancher. For more than 40 years, no fences were necessary....
Crook County Library will be offering its first ever movie screening on November 15 and invites the community to enjoy the tale of a Wyoming man who survived capture by the Germans during World War II. “Dear Sirs” is a tribute to the filmmaker’s grandfather, a trona miner by the name of Silvio Pedri from Rock Springs. After Pedri passed away, his grandson found an archive of photos, documents and letters that described his experience of being captured and marched across Germany as a prisoner of war. His capture occurred during a mission in Fr...
To the surprise of few but the relief of many, fire restrictions are now being lightened across the county. Shortly after last week’s snowstorm, Fire Warden Charlie Harrison announced that the county burn ban was to be temporarily suspended until November 5, when a more permanent solution would be decided with the approval of the county commissioners. However, a 120-acre fire took place next to Keyhole State Park on the weekend, which Harrison says was caused by an escaped controlled burn on private land. On Tuesday morning, this led the fire w...
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Devils Tower Post #3411 is the recipient of a sizeable donation last week: a third of the proceeds from the delicious treat that has become a hallmark of Burnout Wednesday in Sundance. The Powder River Energy (PRECorp) walking taco booth, as always, was set up on the corner of the courthouse lawn throughout the busiest day of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this side of the border. It was staffed by volunteers from the cooperative. The booth raised a total of $3600,...
The Sundance Chamber of Commerce has issued a warning about a scam in which unknown persons appear to pretend to be associated with the organization. Two versions of the scam are known of at this time. The first is an email enquiring as to whether the recipient would like to purchase the distribution or membership list of the chamber, which it claims includes more than a thousand contacts. It asks the recipient to reply to the email so that a price and further information can be given. The...
A petition is to be filed with the county commission next week to form a new service and improvement district for Warbonnet Canyon Ranch. The 476-acre subdivision is ten miles north of Hulett and next door to the 847-acre Warbonnet Canyon Estates, by the same developers. The ranch consists of ten parcels of around 35 to 40 acres in size, half of which are currently listed as sold. Landowners also have access to the ranch headquarters through homeowners’ association membership, which includes a timeshare-style program for access to the 1560 s...
Almost 30 years ago, the body of a young woman was found near Colony. She had been shot multiple times. We know that she was found on June 25, 1996 in a culvert on Hwy 212, about 75 yards from the border. We know that she had been shot multiple times in the head and once in the mouth, and that she may have been sexually assaulted. We don’t know why she was there or who wanted her dead. The 19-year-old’s death is one of many unsolved mysteries within the new Wyoming cold case database. It’s the only crime so far added to the database that took...
Homeschooled and private school students will soon be eligible for education savings accounts soon, providing annual funding to support the child’s education. The Wyoming Education Savings Act (ESA) was signed into law earlier this year and the Wyoming Department of Education is currently seeking comments on the proposed rules that will govern the program. ESA funding of $6000 will be available each year for students who are enrolled in private and home schools. To qualify, the child must also be a Wyoming resident, aged four or above (...
