Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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School is still a few weeks away but, for parents planning the annual shopping trip for classroom equipment, whether or not there will be a need for face coverings has come into question. While the pandemic remains ongoing and state-level guidance continues to change, Superintendent Mark Broderson says it’s not possible to be sure whether students will need to wear masks, or how much of the day they may need to wear them for. “The district will follow recommendations from Public Health based on current cases and trends in the com...
Ken Kary gets the fairgrounds ready for next week’s visitors, both two- and four-legged. Following the weekend’s Bob Burke Days and youth rodeo, Fair Week will bring the traditional animal shows as well as the ranch rodeo on Tuesday evening, bubble shows at the rodeo grounds and the youth rough stock rodeo on Thursday....
Only visible in the early hours of the morning until late last week, comet NEOWISE can currently be seen in the northwest skies about an hour after sunset, near the Big Dipper. The comet will make its closest pass to Earth on July 23 before disappearing again on its long orbit, not to be visible from this planet again for 6800 years. Its spectacular tail is made up of dust, rock and ice, activated by the Sun as the comet passed by. What makes this comet unusual is its secondary “ion tail” jus...
Crook County has recorded its ninth instance of COVID-19, an adult male who contracted the virus at a family gathering, as the state continues to see the daily number of new cases trend upwards. On Monday, Wyoming broke its record by a notable margin when 62 new cases were recorded in one day. Daily statistics from the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) now regularly show new case counts in the mid to high 30s or higher. The trend demonstrates a significant increase from the early days of the pandemic, when new cases were consistently below...
What’s causing damage to ponderosa pine trees across eastern Wyoming? Along the eastern border, high levels of damage are visible, varying from partial yellowing of the needles to tree mortality. According to a press release from State Forestry, the answer is not yet known, but the issue is being investigated with the assistance of the U.S. Forest Service and UW Extension. At this time, two factors appear to explain some of the effects being seen. The first is winter damage caused by the drying...
The Wyoming Business Council (WBC) has breathed new life into the hope of securing better broadband access for rural residents of Crook County. The county commissioners had been pushing ahead to gather connectivity data and proposals while waiting to hear the state’s plans. Ryan Kudera of the WBC informed them last week that the launch of a new program will help bring these efforts to fruition. Kudera introduced the new program, an initiative from the governor’s office called Con...
Crook County Food Pantry is pleased to announce that a new director has now taken the reins. Jill Keller will from now on be available to those who wish to visit the pantry and those who would like to donate towards its stock of food and necessities. The pantry was left without a director when Katy Daves sadly passed away. Since that time, Hugh Palmer, chairman of the Crook County Council of County Services, has been filling in to keep the service running. Keller is a Crook County native, hailing originally from Hulett. She was aware of the dir...
and first responders Photo courtesy Vic Worthington An exhibit honoring firefighters and first responders will be in the fair Exhibit Hall during the Crook County Fair and Rodeo, July 29 through Aug. 1. The exhibit will include a display of 15 scale models of fire trucks dating from 1890 to the present. Included in the display is a one-of-a-kind, 1:12 scale model of an 1890 American horse-drawn steam pumper....
Graveside rites for Nubs and Norma Bernd will be held on July 28, 2020 at Green Mountain Cemetery in Sundance beginning at 11:30 a.m. Rev. Stephen Christy will preside and a 21-gun salute will be provided by the local VFW. The family invites anyone to attend that knew Nubs and Norma and to please practice social distancing and wear a face mask if you want....
Jason Barnum has been sentenced on fraud charges in Crook County. The Gillette man allegedly obtained property by false pretenses from two separate victims in Crook County. He has also been sentenced to up to 13 years in prison for defrauding the Boy Scouts and a 76-year-old woman out of $150,000 in Campbell County and has fraud charges in Wright and Weston County. On February 21, Moorcroft Police Department was notified of the first incident. In his report, the officer who responded says he recognized Barnum’s name from numerous news r...
Nevada resident Eddy Prieto-Madril was given a suspended sentence in Crook County District Court for his fifth offense of driving under the influence. A week later, a date was set for a hearing to revoke his probation after he allegedly failed to comply with its terms. On August 28, 2019, at around 12:45 p.m., a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper observed a vehicle traveling above the speed limit near milepost 202 on I-90. He confirmed the speed to be 88 mph in an 80 mph zone and reports “finally” conducting a stop at around milepost 199. “Wh...
A North Dakota man faces a felony charge of driving while under the influence after being spotted driving in a suspicious manner on the off ramp of I-90. Myron Jepson has three previous known convictions for DUI. According to court reports, Jepson’s vehicle was spotted by a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper at around 4:50 p.m. on July 7 on the off-ramp of I-90 with a car waiting behind it. The vehicle then allegedly went straight onto the on ramp and appeared to swerve, possibly trying to park beside a delineator post. The trooper reports getting...
Speeding – Lyndell M. Royster, MS, 100/80, $145; Kelcey D. Straight, Gillette, 85/75, $90; Julius Johner Jr., Gillette, 89/80, $103; Kristina I. Aguirre, Gillette, 89/80, $88; Linde E. Sifuentes, MN, 86/80, $82; Terry L. Sellers, NC, 79/65, $115; Benjamin C. Thompson, AL, 88/80, $86; Brittany K. Murphy, Casper, 94/70, $165; Pedro Villalobos, SD, 44/30, $115; Zachary T. Stott, Gillette, 90/80, $90; Cherilynn M. Westphal, WI, 95/75, $160; Breckin Marcus Berry, MI, 106/70, $235; Michelle A. Kelly, Gillette, 44/30, $125; Matthew K. Hendricks, IL, 8...
July 13 – Five VIN checks. Three traffic stops. Possible parole violation investigated. Booked in subject to jail. Three EMS pages. July 14 – Six VIN checks. Paper service. Two traffic stops. Gunshot injury investigated. Destruction of property investigated. Trespassing call. EMS page. Two fire department calls. July 15 – Twelve VIN checks. Two traffic stops. Two animal complaints. Prisoner transport. Theft investigated. Fingerprinting for outside employment. Assisted Highway Patrol. Two EMS pages. Fire department page. July 16 – Seven VIN che...
This year it seems that voters in House District #1 have a choice between a candidate who is pro-gun and pro-life and another candidate who is pro-gun and pro-life. Whatever is a voter to do who feels that guns take lives, so it is impossible to be in favor of both. But, we know that pro-life is really a code word used mainly by middle-aged men who want both a small government (“Lower those taxes, reduce those regulations!”) and a government big enough to intrude itself into the personal decisions of young women. So, we would have a gov...
It’s not that I condone bad behavior, it’s just that some naughtiness is so majestic it’s hard to condemn the perpetrators. Such has been the case with some of my old neighbors across the pond who haven’t been following the rules of this pandemic properly. The story that has brought me the greatest joy from the “I shouldn’t laugh at this, but…” category takes place in a pub in the English city of Sheffield. Like every other pub in the nation, it was told to close its doors when the pandemic fi...
The Sundance City Council convened on Thursday evening to approve a bid for the project to replace the water storage tank in Sundance West. The bid was awarded to low bidders Timberline Services. The low bid was $593,000, which undercut the engineer’s estimate of $822,947 by quite a margin. “He is below significantly,” commented Mayor Paul Brooks. Michelle Sell on behalf of city engineers Triydro explained there are a couple of reasons for the difference. The first, she said, is that most contractors factored in mobilization at between $75,0...
“Put simply, we don’t have enough income,” said Governor Mark Gordon last week as he announced a 10% cut across the board on the state’s budget. Wyoming has lost roughly a third of the income it counts on the pay the bills for every program in the state, the governor said, and further cuts will be coming. Revenue projections suggest that the state’s general fund will have an almost $1 billion shortfall, plus an additional $500 million for school funding. Budget reductions will include mandatory furloughs, a reduction in major maintenan...
After several years of discussion, the county commissioners have made use of a pay scale matrix developed by elected officials to scrutinize wage increases for this year’s budget. This met with a surprised but positive reaction during last week’s budget hearing. It became evident that the matrix had been used when County Attorney Joe Baron questioned a salary increase built into the budget for one employee. “It doesn’t even look like that was requested,” he said. Commissioner Jeanne Whalen responded that the board had spoken with the departmen...
The University of Wyoming lists six students from Crook County on the 2020 spring semester academic Dean’s and Dean’s Freshman Honor Rolls. Students are: Yuli D. Viergets of Beulah; Amber Kaplan, Taylor Olivia Kennah and Alberto Mastrovito of Hulett; Chace Sterling Peterson of Moorcroft; Aaron M. Kanode of Sundance. The honor rolls consist of regularly enrolled undergraduates above freshman standing who earned a 3.4 or better grade-point average, and freshmen who have earned a 3.25 or better grade-point average. To be eligible, students mus...
The University of Wyoming lists six students from Crook County on the 2020 spring semester Provost’s Honor Roll. Students are: Jonathan Tinsley of Aladdin; Sara J. Thomas of Hulett; Faith Marie Sanderson and Kerry T. Zimmerschied of Moorcroft; Aspen Harris of Pine Haven; Kelsie Jade Loken of Sundance. The Provost’s Honor Roll consists of undergraduates who have completed at least six but fewer than 12 hours with a minimum 3.5 grade-point average for the semester....
GILLETTE – When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Wyoming and with the coronavirus having spread through much of the United States, Todd Koehler saw the impacts firsthand at his independent meat processing business, Koehler’s Wild Game. As fears of food shortages gripped the nation, many people early on stocked up on groceries and other supplies. Toilet paper and hand sanitizer were often difficult to find. While grocery shelves stayed mostly stocked, one major part of the U.S. supply chain has struggled to get its product to stores: the meat ind...
LARAMIE — Dozens of American and Blue Lives Matter flags flew at the corner of Third Street and Grand Avenue Saturday as pro-police demonstrators filled the intersections’ four corners. The demonstration was loosely organized by local citizen groups looking to show support for law enforcement amid protests against police brutality and racism that have seen supporters calling for reforms or even defunding police agencies. Brandon Homan, who led marchers from the American Legion Post 14 to the...
Cheyenne woman sentenced for throwing two-month-old daughter CHEYENNE (WNE) — A woman who pleaded guilty to throwing her two-month-old daughter in a ditch was sentenced Monday to seven to ten years in prison, suspended for five years probation, by Laramie County District Judge Steven Sharpe. Lillian Jeffrey was charged with one count of aggravated child abuse in connection with the incident in December 2017. She was also ordered to pay $17,260 and given credit for 538 days of jail time. On Dec. 9, 2017, Jeffery is accused of throwing her b...
The library doors are open. We will still be doing curbside delivery if you would prefer not to come into the library. We do ask that you wear a mask to enter the library. If you do not have a mask, one will be provided. Maximum of five (non-staff) people in the library at one time. Maximum length of stay limited to 30 minutes. Children under 13 MUST be accompanied by an adult. Two computers are available for adults. Teen and Children’s computers are not available. Library Programming: IN-LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IS SUSPENDED FOR JULY. HULETT C...
