Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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Winter arrived with a vengeance this week, bringing frigid temperatures, cold winds and a few inches of much-needed snow. Not everyone was displeased by the new state of their digs, though. Above, a turkey and fawn enjoy each other’s company as they forage through the drifts for a bite to eat....
A solid waste district is not on the cards as a means to solve the county’s issues with trash, but the commissioners are still willing to explore the available options. A committee is to be formed over the next month to more fully investigate what possibilities exist to preserve the last remaining landfill in the county. “We all agree that we need to dump, we just don’t all agree that we need to tax everybody for it,” stated Commissioner Jeanne Whalen. Whalen was referring to the initial proposal from Dick Claar, Mayor of Moorcroft, to form a s...
Mayor Dick Claar of Moorcroft has expressed his disappointment in the decision to appoint a committee because it’s a repeat of the failed previous attempt to find a countywide solution to the trash problem. In response, the Moorcroft council has decided to explore the possibility of going it alone and will be investigating potential funding avenues over the next couple of months. “I don’t know what they’re looking for because they had a joint powers board and they met for two years without any decision made and now they’re back to [a committee...
With budget cuts looming ever closer, the Sundance City Council is revisiting the idea of franchise agreements with utility companies that serve citizens within town limits. While these do already exist with certain companies, until now they have seldom involved the exchange of money. Mayor Paul Brooks introduced the topic last week, “In light of the recent financial struggles of the State of Wyoming, which is going to trickle down to us.” A franchise agreement is standard in most places, he said, and it may be time to formalize the pro...
Convinced that members of the Aladdin Water District will not be organizing themselves properly any time soon, the county commissioners have taken the first step towards dissolving it. A hearing will take place at the beginning of March to make a formal decision. According to Commissioner Jeanne Whalen, who attended the district’s meeting in October, members said at that time that they would organize the paperwork and respond to a number of violations of state statute. Two members worked hard to do this, she said on Wednesday, but the rest d...
County regulations provide guidance as to what a landowner may and may not do when it comes to such things as placement of mailboxes and cattleguards – but only if they own less than 35 acres. Concerns are mounting that there are no rules governing the much larger parcels that are now being sold to people moving from outside of the state. “A whole lot of people are coming here who don’t share the same values we do,” said Roger Connett, Crook County Land Use Planning and Zoning Commiss...
William L. Willey, 78 of Coalville, Utah, formerly of Hulett, Wyoming and Belle Fourche, South Dakota, passed away at the Intermountain Medical Center in Murry, Utah, on Thursday February 4, 2021. Private family visitation with Masonic Rites will take place at Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapel on Wednesday, February 10, 2021. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 11, 2021, at the United Methodist Church in Belle Fourche. Burial will follow at the Alva Cemetery in Alva, Wyoming. Arrangements are pending with Fidler-Isburg Funeral...
Larry Petersen of Pine Haven, Wyoming, 80 years old, died February 6, 2021, after a short battle with cancer, at his daughter Dawn’s home in Sundance surrounded by his daughters and family. Larry was born to Woodrow and Marlys (Stewart) Petersen in Gillette, Wyoming, in 1940 and raised on the Petersen Ranch off of the Old Sundance Road. During his early years, he was awarded the nickname the “great white leader” for he was often instigating trouble around the ranch with his siblings. In some...
Randy Scott Beckman passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on February 6, 2021, at the VA Hospital in Sturgis, South Dakota. Cancer is wicked. Randy was born June 25, 1950 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he spent his childhood years. In 1969, he married his lifetime partner, Pam Sheetz and had two children, Thad and Jamie. The military draft called him to duty from 1970-72. After discharge, they remained in Sioux Falls for a few years before moving to the Black Hills. He and...
Our Thanks Crook County Fire Zone 12 – Aladdin VFD – wishes to thank Don Brunson’s family for naming us as recipients for his memorial funds. Don was an active member of the department in his younger days and his son and grandchildren continue his legacy. We appreciate the Brunson family’s support. Crook County Fire Zone 12 Our Thanks Crook County Fire Zone 12 wishes to thank all those involved in the charity Coyote Hunt held Feb. 5-6. Thanks to Trent and the crew at the Aladdin Store for planning and hosting the event. Brandon at Running...
Greetings Crook and Weston Counties, I’m writing with an update to overview some of the information on the happenings at the virtual session. As I have shared before, what we dealt with were bills that had been discussed during the interim. One would think that after going through committees over the year there would not be much discussion. That was not always the case. Some of the more heavily talked about issues included HB 0054, which dealt with the Statewide Health Information Exchange. While the ability to move records quickly from d...
We are troubled by the commission’s decision not to form a solid waste district for Crook County. Not because we feel one way or the other about the county’s trash issues, but because this is not how our democracy is supposed to work. We believe the commission has made what it feels is the right decision in light of what they believe to be the mood of the people. Unfortunately, we’re not sure they realize that, by doing so, they have taken a crucial decision about the county’s future out of the hands of its citizens. The original request...
Letter to the Editor Dear Editor, Regarding “Local Republicans Censure Cheney,” I was surprised because I consider myself a “local Republican” and I did not censure Representative Cheney. Reading further confirmed that the Republican Party of Crook County (“RPCC”) was probably causing Edmund Burke to spin in his grave. Burke, a conservative long before Crook County was dreamed up, defined the boundaries of representative government as follows: “[I]t ought to be the happiness and glory of a Representative, to live in the strictest union, the cl...
President Joe Biden’s moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on public lands is a bad idea and certainly cause for concern for Wyoming and Johnson County. But to hear Wyoming’s politicians describe the pause, it will be the downfall of our children’s education. We do not favor the moratorium, especially since Wyoming, with 29 million federally owned acres, will be disproportionately affected. But make no mistake, elected officials claims that the moratorium is the cause of our state’s education funding woes are disingenuous. Prior to this ex...
The City of Sundance is planning to pursue a new water project. Though the North Transmission Line has been sitting on the priority list for a while, the deteriorating condition of the current water line is becoming an ever-more-serious problem. The project would involve replacing the water line that runs along 3rd Street from Cleveland Ave. to the park. Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz explained there are two reasons to pursue this project right now. First, she said, there is a possibility the state will soon get rid of mineral royalty grants, so,...
An important milestone this week offered further evidence that Wyoming may have passed the worst of its winter wave of COVID-19. For the first time since the end of September, active cases fell below 1000 on Saturday. The decline has been ongoing since the end of last year as the number of people recovering from the novel coronavirus began to outpace the number of new infections. This week’s milestone represents a precipitous drop from the all-time high of 11,861 active cases, which was recorded near the end of November. This positive s...
A month after the Crook County Sheriff’s Office took on the enforcement of law within Sundance, the city council had no concerns or complaints to share with Sheriff Jeff Hodge at last week’s regular meeting. “The people I’ve talked to think it’s working well,” said Mayor Paul Brooks, commenting that he’s certain he would have heard from citizens if they’d had any complaints. The people of Sundance appear to be enjoying the presence of the Sheriff’s Office deputies, said Brooks, while Council Member Callie Hilty commented that it appears there...
The Aladdin Community Hall is set to receive a full makeover courtesy of the Aladdin Homemakers. The group has been maintaining the building for a while but, said Sheila Burggraff last week, it’s time for some major repairs and renovations. Burggraff, who spoke with the county commissioners on Wednesday to request permission to go ahead with the improvements. A donor has come forward to cover the cost of new windows, she said, and the community of Aladdin has donated approximately half of the $3200 estimated cost to replace the siding and a c...
Businesses that are in need of working capital to get started or expand but are having a hard time mustering the collateral for a loan can still take advantage of a program that Sundance helped pioneer almost a decade ago. Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz offered a reminder last week that the Wyoming Smart Capital Network (WSCN) is still going strong. “There’s a lot of opportunity for folks who are looking to start businesses,” she said as she described the history of the program. Sundance was one of the 17 municipalities that originally signe...
Speeding – Mitchell Rotta, WI, 90/80, $105; Lian Thang, MO, 82/70, $120; Jessica Malenovsky, MT, 80/70, $105; Daniel Little, MT, 94/75, $155; Shaun Ryan Wendling, Moorcroft, 89/75, $130; Nicholas McKee, 88/75, $125; Aaron Johnson, CO, 87/80, $99; Shawn Moore, ID, 84/70, $130 No Seat Belt (driver) – Pamela J. Stugelmeyer, Sundance, $25; Tucker J. Allison, Moorcroft, $25 Fail to Drive Vehicle within Single Lane – James Fleming, Casper, $90 Passing Zone Violation – Sean D. Kaplan, Hulett, $140 Vehicle Off Road – Justin G. Thompson, Pine Haven, $25...
Feb. 1 – Six VIN checks. Two traffic stops. Booked in two new inmates. Two vehicle crashes. Report of fraud. Civil assist. Fire alarm. Business alarm. EMS page. Fire page. Business checks. Feb. 2 – Four VIN checks. Three paper services. Traffic stop. Motorist assist. Fingerprints for outside employment. Child abuse investigation. Suspicious vehicle. Feb. 3 – Two VIN checks. Two traffic stops. Booked in new inmate. Project Life Saver. House watch checks. Served warrant. EMS paged out three times. Fire page. Business checks. Feb. 4 – Two VIN che...
CASPER — At least four bills that would specifically regulate public health orders have been introduced in the Wyoming Legislature this session. The tenor of the proposals ranges from broad legislative oversight of public health orders to more minor specifications regarding timing and executive approval. Several of the bills are similar but propose different degrees of oversight. A bill sponsored by Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper, would require the Wyoming Legislature to ratify any public health order that would be active for more than ten days. I...
University of Wyoming researchers are surveying Wyoming cattle and sheep producers about pests tormenting their livestock. “The goal of this survey is to understand the current degree of external parasitism, prevalent external parasites, diagnosis and treatment methods in Wyoming livestock as well as the financial impact on Wyoming producers,” said Derek Scasta, UW Extension rangeland specialist. Parasites are broken down into six categories: flies, lice, ticks, mange, cattle pests and sheep pests. “We would like to give Wyoming cattle and she...
Cody resident detains burglary suspect CODY (WNE) — Jumping over neighborhood fences as he chased the auto burglary suspect, Cody resident Colton Johannsen, 20, was not willing to let the man go despite the late-night hour and winter’s chill. Despite not being armed, Johannsen still took the law into his own hands in order to stop an attempted auto burglar from getting away on Feb. 1, and was successful, tackling and apprehending suspect Bryan Nihei, 31, of Powell. “I felt like I had to catch him no matter what, even if he was armed,” Johanns...
1 Years Ago Feb. 10, 1921 From all indications the entire county will be represented in Sundance on Feb. 22, the date of the good roads dance. Arrangements are being made to care for a large crowd, and if weather is favorable it will be a record dance for Crook County. Progressive farm bureau members met on Sunday afternoon at the Earl McCelland place to discuss building a dipping vat. The attendance was not large, but those present were interested in the project, and a plan was developed which will enable the farmer-rancher to have the...
