Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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Kid Prints Inc. is facing a significant budget deficit after losing a grant that has been in place since the pandemic began. The board of directors is pursuing numerous options to keep the daycare’s doors open to local young families. “As of September, we lost the $60,000 grant we’ve been receiving,” said Janie Hett, Board of Directors. This grant has been in place since the pandemic began and was intended to facilitate COVID-19 relief. The daycare is still managing to operate at under a $43,000 deficit, said Hett, but this obviously needs t...
The Sundance City Council has offered its blessing to plans for the new owner of the Dog Pound Grill to construct a small house on the lot behind the eatery. David Stone approached the council last month to ask for a variance, which would be necessary because current regulations state that no housing is permitted on lots zoned as “general business”. The residence, Stone said, would be a smaller prefab modular located in a place that would not have an effect on current traffic flow. He also intends to install two charging stations for ele...
Sundance Volunteer Fire Department will be hosting its annual open house this weekend, a chance to support your volunteers while indulging in food, fun and fire prevention activities. Among the opportunities on offer for the community during the day-long event are three fire prevention demonstrations. The first is CPR and AED training at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., the second is use of fire extinguishers at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and the third is “Jaws of Life Jenga” at noon and 3 p.m. Other activities that will take place throughout the day include fir...
Rare Element Resources (RER) held a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony on Monday for its demonstration separation and processing plant in Upton. A crowded room of local and state officials and community members from both Crook and Weston counties filled the community center to listen to remarks from dignitaries including RER's CEO Brent Berg and newly appointed Director Paul Hickey. Also present was General Atomics CEO Neal Blue – who described Wyoming as his favorite place to do business "in t...
A joint powers board formed in 2016 to investigated options for a countywide solid waste district will likely soon be revived. The board, which included representatives from the county and each municipality, met regularly but ultimately disbanded without reaching a resolution. Last week, after a discussion that involved numerous elected officials from across the county, the county commissioners determined that resurrecting the board was the most reasonable next step in answering the lingering question of whether it’s worth constructing a l...
A variance request that would allow a used ATV business on the corner lot where higbee’s café once stood must follow the appropriate “sequence of events”, said Mayor Paul Brooks last week. Jason Coder approached the council to present the proposal, explaining that he and his wife, Darlene, now own both the corner lot and the building next door, which was previously Sundance Realty. The Coders would like to use the empty lot to display used ATVs, adventure bikes and other such vehicles and the building as the base of operations, he said. Brooks...
Since the county commission arranged for Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) reps to meet with Jim Geis last month to help him find a way to continue draining county septic tanks despite regulations limiting his choice of places to take it, he has had little luck in pursuing any of the options that were given to him. DEQ changed its rules on “land spreading” a few years ago, with the county following suit a couple of years later in its 2018 regulations for small wastewater systems. According to those rules, domestic septage can on...
Rare Element Resources (RER) is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony and open house on Monday for its planned separation and extraction demonstration plant in Upton. Construction is expected to begin at the plant before the end of the year. The event is a celebration of progress towards the eventual goal of constructing a full-scale separation plant using the company’s proprietary extraction technology, which it says is environmentally friendly and can successfully produce pure oxides that are more than 99.5% pure. The open house will also i...
"Why not?" Before Crook County's newly minted event coordinator turns down any opportunity to make more use of the fairgrounds, that's the question she wants to hear answered. Why can't we bring Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PCRA) rodeo events to Sundance? Why can't we have the circus come to town, or give the community a chance to come face-to-face with a sea lion? Why can't we host festivals and seasonal events, evening dances or concerts, or create a permanent community hangout...
If a Sundance ambulance is asked to stand by at an event, or is called out multiple times by a commercial entity to assist a person who has fallen, Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD) is considering whether it should reserve the right to assess a charge. The Board of Trustees considered two policy changes at last week’s regular meetings, both suggested by EMS Director Antony Vopat. “One of the things our EMS director is wanting to do is to have the option to charge for standby ser...
Friendly ghosts and ghouls are needed to help treat the kids this Halloween at the annual Trunk or Treat kids’ carnival. The hour-long event will take place on October 21 in the Sundance High School parking lot from 4:30 p.m., to be accompanied by a kids’ carnival in the gym that will continue until 7 p.m. To participate, simply decorate the trunk of your vehicle, get dressed up for the season, invest in some delicious candy and call the high school at 283-1007 to be added to the lineup. Little ones will be able to tour the trick-or-treat lin...
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis and all members of the Senate Western Caucus on which she serves as chairman, as well as U.S. Senator John Barrasso, voted to override President Joe Biden’s veto of the resolution that questioned the listing of the northern long-eared bat as an endangered species. In total, 47 senators voted for and 45 against, failing to meet the two-thirds majority required to overturn the veto. “The Biden administration’s heavy-handed interpretations and ongoing abuse of the ESA continues to punish private property owners rathe...
A Hulett woman has been charged with interference with a peace officer after allegedly punching a Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputy in the stomach. According to court reports, two deputies responded to a welfare check request on September 26 at 4:54 p.m. after a lone female was seen walking along U.S. Highway 14 towards Moorcroft from Highway 24. The female was identified by the reporting party as Natalie Johnson. According to the affidavit of probable cause, one of the deputies was actively investigating a case in which Johnson was the susp...
Two ranchers face property destruction charges after using bleach to paint markings, including drawings of penises, on a total of 189 cows and six bulls belonging to their neighbor. The father-son duo 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. According to the affidavit of probable cause, the Crook County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from a county rancher on Ju...
Wyoming Game & Fish is reminding hunters of a regulation change this season that affects youth deer license-holders. Due to low populations, a full-price, youth deer license does not permit the harvest of mule deer does or fawns during an antlered deer season. This year, youth hunters possessing a full-price, youth deer license may take an antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer (including does and fawns) during an antlered deer season in accordance with the species limitation of their license in the hunt area(s) where their license is vali...
As the nights draw in and the weather gets colder, boating season is winding down in Wyoming – and so are the check stations that protect local water bodies from invasive aquatic species. Check stations will begin to close or reduce their hours this month, but the Wyoming Game & Fish Department still requires that any watercraft transported into Wyoming until November 30 undergo a mandatory inspection by an authorized inspector. “Boaters who need to get their watercraft inspected between now and the end of November can stop by a Game and Fis...
The time once again draws near for the busiest shopping event of the year. If you would like to be a vendor at this year’s Ladies Night Block Party, you can now contact the Sundance Chamber of Commerce to submit your name. Ladies Night will help kick off the holiday season November 25 this year and applications are open for vendors who would like to reserve their spot. If you have never taken part before, the Sundance Chamber of Commerce invites you to make contact via [email protected] to be placed on the list. The Ladies Night Block...
Wyoming’s unemployment rate fell below 3% last month – and Crook County’s was significantly lower even than that. As one of the most employed counties in the state last month, Crook County had a 2.3% unemployment rate. This is a significantly better statistic than at the same time last year, when unemployment in this county was at 4%. This represents a year-to-year drop of 1.7% - the biggest reduction in unemployment over the year of all counties, followed by Washakie County’s 3.9 to 2.9% and Niobrara’s 3.2 to 2.2%. In terms of numbers,...
A Gillette man has given a sentence of up to six years after pleading guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol – with five prior known convictions for the same offense – after crashing his vehicle on I-90. On February 24, a Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to assist Wyoming Highway Patrol with a one-vehicle crash at milepost 185 of I-90 just after 7 p.m. He reports that the vehicle had driven off the road and struck the guard rail, ending up in the median eastbound. The deputy reported that he observed a male subje...
A crash on U.S. Highway 14 claimed the life of an Idaho man last week. According to reports from Wyoming Highway Patrol, driver fatigue and speed are believed to have been contributing factors to the accident. The crash occurred on September 20 at milepost 188.5 on U.S. 14 and involved a single vehicle. Road conditions were dry and clear. The pickup was northbound when the driver attempted to negotiate a sharp right-hand turn. The pickup left the roadway to the right and then attempted to steer back onto the roadway. The vehicle then began to...
On behalf of local septic tank pumper Jim Geis, the Crook County Commissioners hosted a special meeting on Friday to seek guidance on the proper disposal of domestic sewage. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) changed its rules on “land spreading” a few years ago, with the county following suit a couple of years later in the regulations instituted in 2018 for small wastewater systems. According to those rules, domestic septage can only be land applied on the property at which it was generated. Having not been previously awa...
The Wyoming State Flag flew at half staff over Crook County and the Capitol building in Cheyenne on Tuesday in honor of Nels Smith, who passed away following a vehicle accident early this month along with his wife, Jeanette. The flag at half staff from sunrise to sunset was intended to honor Nels' service to the county and state during his service in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1963 to 1978, including two years as Speaker of the House from 1977 to 1978. Nels sponsored Resolution...
In a show of continued support for the Sundance Economic Development Committee’s (SEDC) efforts to encourage growth and more housing opportunities, the Crook County Commissioners have approved a letter of support for the group’s latest grant application. The SEDC has been looking at the possibility of connecting the north and south ends of Sundance on the east end of town via an extension to 21st Street. A couple of months ago, the committee announced it had applied for funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation “Safe Streets and R...
COVID-19 is no longer considered a pandemic, but the Centers for Disease Control are nevertheless recommending that everyone over the age of six months consider an updated vaccine this fall alongside your flu shot. The updated vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are now available and the CDC says they are the best protection against hospitalization and death, and also reduce the chances of Long COVID. An updated vaccine is recommended if you have not received a COVID-19 vaccine within the last two...
There’s something to be said for perseverance, but there’s also virtue in knowing when to stop beating the dead horse. The Loch Ness Monster, for example. She’s arguably the most famous cryptobeast on the planet and we’ve been searching for her for 1300 years, yet we’ve never managed to introduce ourselves. We had an excuse back when the best you could do was a quick sketch of what you just saw, and even when it took half an hour to snap a photo, but can we really keep the charade going des...
