Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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Not even a backup plan that would have required a little less snow could save the Sundance Winter Festival from the whims of Mother Nature this year. With almost no snow cover on the streets of the city, the Sundance Chamber of Commerce has announced that the popular event will not be going ahead this year. Organizer Tony Barton had included an alternative in his plans that would have seen the festival move down to the fairgrounds, where less snow would be needed for the course. Unfortunately, there wasn’t even enough building material for t...
Crook County is calling for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to rethink its plans to amend every national forest land management in the nation to create one overall strategy for managing old-growth forests. In a comment letter signed by the county commissioners last week, the county criticizes the one-size-fits-all approach and the USFS’s failure to include local governments in the process. “Upon reading through it, it will affect all the National Forests in Wyoming, which includes the Black Hills; it will also include Thunder Basin National Gras...
The water company that serves 32 customers in the Beulah area has applied for a significant increase to its monthly rates, causing many local residents to express strong concerns to the Public Service Commission. The change would increase the amount each customer of Beulah Land Water LLC pays by just under $200 per month – a 380% hike on the current rate. According to the application, the 32 regular customers connected to the system pay $50 per month at this time. Beulah Land Water, owned by Lenn Island, has requested an increase to $240.06 p...
Josh Idler, who was recently jailed on child abuse and assault charges, will serve an additional two to six years of incarceration after being found guilty of breaking the terms of his probation in an earlier case. This increases the amount of time he is set to serve to a potential maximum of 16 years. In the 2021 case, Idler was adjudicated guilty of counts including reckless endangerment, child abuse and domestic abuse. The case involved an allegedly ongoing situation of verbal and physical abuse that culminated in an incident where he...
The first significant fire of the year burned an area 42 acres in size on Monday afternoon. According to Fire Warden Charlie Harrison, a three-week-old burn pile on private land a mile to the west of Aladdin reignited at around 1 p.m. and took several hours to mop up. "It smoldered for a while and then got caught up in the wind yesterday," he says. Conditions are significantly dryer than usual at this time, he says, but the lack of moisture and winds can lead to dangerous situations....
Crook County Weed & Pest asks for members of the community who would be interested in a grasshopper program this year to attend a meeting later this month. To be held on February 19 at 6 p.m. and February 20 at 9 a.m. in the courthouse basement, the meetings will help Weed & Pest evaluate public interest in the program and construct a program for the year ahead. Discussions will include surveys, potential treatments, cost estimates, cost-share options and the next steps for the potential program. Contact Alycia or Sophie if you have any...
A Hulett woman will serve four years in federal prison on charges that she ordered narcotics through the mail. According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Wyoming, Donna Singleton has been sentenced to 48 months for use of a communication facility to facilitate a felony drug offense. The sentence was imposed on February 1 by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl. Singleton’s arrest occurred during an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) into a large drug operation that involved shi...
Christopher Walter of Hulett has been given a deferred sentence on a felony charge of strangulation after an incident that took place last March at a motel in Hulett. According to court reports, Hulett Police Department responded to a reported verbal dispute at the motel on March 25, 2023, that occurred at around 5:30 a.m. During the dispute, Walter’s actions allegedly transgressed into physical and mental harm. He was accused of striking a female victim several times in the face with an open hand, leading EMS to suspect a broken jaw. He was a...
With an unknown number counterfeit hundred-dollar bills believed to now be in circulation after an incident in Billings, MT, last week, Andy Miller, President of Sundance State Bank, is warning businesses and citizens that some could make it through to Crook County. “I don’t know how much trickle will make it through to our area, but there’s certainly potential,” he says. “Be aware when you take a $100 bill from somebody to make sure it feels right, make sure it looks right, make sure the security features are there and just be cautious because...
Once again, the students of Crook County have outdone the state average with a graduation rate for the 2022-2023 school year of 89%. This places Crook County School District among the top 15 in the state, which has 48 school districts. "We appreciate that our graduation rate is above the state average but, to be honest, our goal is always going to be 100%," says Superintendent Mark Broderson. "Graduation rates include many factors that are out of a school's control but we want all students to wa...
Kid Prints Inc. announced last week that it is thrilled to have received a grant of $10,000 from the Wyoming Community Foundation. It's an award that the daycare has not pursued in recent years, says Executive Director Shari Gose, and has never received in such a high amount. The grant is earmarked for general operating expenses, says Gose, and as such will be used for needs such as maintaining staff wages, purchasing supplies for the daycare and running the business. "It's going to good use and...
Crook County School District (CCSD) fared well on the annual state report card, but Superintendent Mark Broderson says the district won't be resting on its laurels. The report card, published by the Wyoming Department of Education, shows that CCSD's most recent scores are above the state average for proficiency at all levels in English language and math. In English language, proficiency at the elementary and middle school levels was 58%, above the 54% Wyoming average. At the high school level,...
Half a century after Robert Redford proved he's a real-life outlaw when he grabbed our name and rode right out of town, the real Sundance has finally been represented at the festival he used it for. A brief recap if you missed my last column: I was accidentally invited to the NFP Inspire Lounge at the Sundance Film Festival – the kind of VIP area that's supposed to be for movie stars, producers and celebrity press. I did my best to explain that I wasn't who they thought I was, but it didn't s...
An accident at the Sundance Travel Center on Thursday caused injuries to a 44-year-old male victim that required he be airlifted for medical attention. The accident took place when a 70-year-old- woman from Tennessee mistook the purpose of the orange cones that had been placed to establish a work area. According to a report from the Crook County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy was called to the premises at around 11:30 a.m. on January 25 for a report of a pedestrian hit by a vehicle. When the deputy...
Charges have been refiled for the case in which 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. Father-son duo 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 estimated loss in value for the cattle of $141,750. The original case was filed last...
The last in a series of public meetings aimed to gauge the community's opinion of zoning was held in Sundance on Wednesday evening. The commissioners have been examining the potential need for zoning in the light of more than usual development taking place around the county. However, before taking any steps towards developing a zoning plan, they were keen to gather input from county residents. As she had done at meetings in the three other municipalities, Community Planning and Zoning Consultant...
Josh Idler of Sundance has been jailed on charges of child abuse and aggravated assault and battery. Judge James Michael Causey weighed arguments from either side before finding that the sentence that was recommended in Idler's plea agreement should be imposed. In that agreement, Idler admitted to two felony charges of child abuse and one of aggravated assault and battery. The first two involved pushing minors under the age of 18 into a bathtub, causing injury, and the latter charge involved...
The Wyoming State Legislature meets for its 67th session soon and there are numerous ways for the public to participate or listen in. This year is a budget session, which means it will last approximately 20 legislative days. The other factor that sets it apart from a general session is that, aside from the budget bill, all other bills will require a two-thirds vote in the Senate or House in order to be introduced. The session begins on February 12 and a wide range of bills have already been assi...
Over a weekend of life-threatening cold that saw weather warnings issued across most of the lower 48, local records were broken as the temperature kept right on dropping. The bitter temperatures were caused by Arctic air migrating down from Canada. Wind chills were low enough at times for frostbite to affect exposed skin within five to ten minutes. The lowest wind chills in Crook County were recorded on Saturday morning, just after 5 a.m., when Sundance and the area east of Pine Haven saw...
Firefighters were able to contain a blaze in the attic of a home over the weekend, despite the best efforts of the weather. "Everything that could go wrong, did," says Fire Chief Gari Gill. The report came in late on Friday evening that a fire had started at a home on Canyon Springs Rd, south of Sundance, and smoke was visible in the eaves. The cause is thought to have been a separated chimney. However, says Gill, at this time a full investigation is pending until the cold clears up a little....
The county commissioners convened in a special meeting on Tuesday morning to approve a letter of comment on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rock Springs Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (RMP). The document has been controversial across Wyoming and, by approving the letter, the commission joined with the efforts of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association to push back against it. "It is clear that the draft Rock Springs RMP is critical for the economy and...
All eyes are on the question of increasing property taxes – with the 2024 Budget Session coming up, especially those of Wyoming's legislators. The ideas are already flowing, says Senate President Ogden Driskill, who hopes a solution can be found that assists this state's citizens while maintaining the proper function of its governments. Finding that solution will be no simple task. Follow the Money The most obvious hurdle to reforming property tax is simple cause and effect: cutting taxes r...
The answer is still no, the commissioners told two local residents last week. The county will not be adding any more miles of road to the 600 already maintained, they said, because it cannot afford to do so. Scott Pomerenke and Eric Akola approached the commissioners to ask them to reconsider adding a quarter mile of Old Sundance Road in the area where it meets Beaver Creek Road to the route of the county's snowplows. This request was originally made in August, on the basis that snow tends to...
As long as the weather plays nice, Sundance is set to once again welcome ski joring to the downtown area this year. Organizer Tony Barton confirmed last week that plans are underway for the Sundance Winter Festival, which will be hosted on Main Street as usual. At time of speaking, this area had not exactly been blessed with an abundance of the material needed to build the course. With that in mind, Barton said he was looking into the possibility of establishing the county fairgrounds as a...
The corner lot on which higbee's café once sat is soon to become a sales lot for recreational vehicles. The Sundance City Council has granted a one-year variance that will allow the land, which is zoned as downtown business, to be used for this purpose. Owners Darlene and Jason Coder have said they intend to display ATVs, motorcycles and seasonal equipment, promoting the Black Hills as a recreational destination in the process. The next door lot, which was until recently a real estate office,...
