Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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An appeal to re-examine Marty Smith’s guilty verdict will be heard by the Wyoming Supreme Court in September. Smith was sentenced to up to 18 years in jail after a jury convicted her of accessory before the fact to involuntary manslaughter and to aggravated assault and battery related to the death of local man Doug Haar. Haar died in the early hours of August 1, 2018 following an incident that involved Smith and her then-boyfriend, Jesse Johnson. Smith and Haar were said to have bickered and then begun pushing each other. When Johnson became i...
Thirteen jurors sat at intervals in the audience gallery. Witnesses in the jury box. A courtroom of people wearing masks, gloves or both and multiple containers of cleaning supplies. A jury trial in the time of COVID-19 isn’t the familiar sight it once was. Last week marked the first jury trial in this county since the pandemic hit, and it had to be done by the book. The Wyoming Supreme Court has issued safety guidelines, but local courts are expected to adopt an operating plan that will be functional in each unique situation. “It had to be...
To ensure the safety of all concerned, Principal Jim O’Connor of Sundance High School has released guidelines on spectator attendance at sports events this fall. All spectators at high school and junior high football games will be screened as they enter the facility (though there will not be temperature checks). Face coverings will be required if you are unable to social distance, other than when in family pods, and when using the restrooms. Students must sit with their parents or an adult a...
All has been quiet on the rare earth front this year, but that doesn’t mean the folks at Rare Element Resources (RER) have been twiddling their thumbs. According to the latest report from the company that has spent the last decade attempting to open a mine in the Bearlodge, 2020 has so far been spent perfecting the technology that separates out those coveted rare earth minerals. “We’re still working hard, because there’s nothing like this project at this stage and none of our other peers h...
Trevor Hartl of Gillette faces felony charges of assault after allegedly refusing to leave a local bar and causing bodily injury to the police officer who was called to escort him from the premises. According to a statement from the Sundance Police Officer involved in the incident, a disturbance took place at around 9:35 p.m. on August 20 at the Dime Horseshoe Bar. The bartender told the officer that she wanted Hartl, the man allegedly causing the disturbance, to be removed from the bar. The officer reports that he attempted at least three time...
L. Bud Skaar, 80, of Sundance, Wyoming, passed away on Sunday, August 30 2020, at Monument Hospital, Rapid City, South Dakota. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9 a.m. Central Daylight Time on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, at Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Stanley, North Dakota. Rite of Committal will follow in the family lot in the Fairview Cemetery in Stanley. Closed casket visitation will be 1 to 4 p.m. Friday, September 11, 2020, at Fidler-Roberts & Isburg Funeral Chapel in Sundance, Wyoming. A full obituary...
Russell T. Graham died August 29, 2020, in Spokane, Washington, of complications of MS. Russell was born July 1, 1949, in Sundance, Wyoming, where he lived with his parents, Tom and Signe and two sisters, Janice and Karen. Russell knew early in his life that he wanted to be a forester and started working for the Forest Service in Sundance in 1965. He attended the University of Montana and received his BS in Forestry in 1972 and started working for the Forest Service in Darby, Montana. He completed a CEFES program with the Forest Service, where...
Jaime and Brian Bosl are proud to announce the birth of a son on May 25, 2020 at 11:26 p.m. He has been named Benjamin Wade Bosl and was 9 lbs. and 21 inches at birth. Maternal grandparents are Jerry and Vicky Adams. Benjamin joins his two-year-old brother Calvin....
Decker’s employee Nate Schommer is shown with Sundance Community Handbell Director Janet Lake. All shoppers are encouraged to continue to save Decker’s Our Family brand UPC codes (#70253) for a generous program that the store offers for non-profits like the handbell choir. The collection container is at one of the checkouts. The bell choir, which is accepting new ringers, will be performing at a location near you as soon as rehearsals are once again possible!...
Commissioner Kelly Dennis and County Attorney Joe Baron recognized Dave Osborne for his five years of dedicated service to Crook County....
Our Thanks The family of Ross Garman wishes to extend a heartfelt thanks to all who have shown us kindness, care and concern through gifts of food and flowers, personal visits, memorial donations and by keeping us in your daily thoughts and prayers. We have been generously showered with love and support during this difficult time. A special thanks to all who were asked to have a part in Ross’s service – it was so beautiful and each of your parts honored Ross in a fitting way. From the riderless horse, to the mounted pallbearers and the fri...
The specifics of budget cuts that amount to a ten percent reduction in the state’s expenditures have now been formally announced, affecting the state’s agencies, boards and commissions alike. Governor Mark Gordon spoke to the reductions at a press conference last week, commenting that the cuts “are going to be devastating,” but at the same time, “they are necessary.” The cuts total $250 million, with an additional $80 million in cuts to maintenance of state buildings and those at the university and community colleges. It has taken two to thre...
With little improvement to the steady climb of COVID-19 cases across the state, Governor Mark Gordon announced last week that the current public health orders will remain in place. No changes have been made to these orders, which will expire on September 15. Four new deaths have been reported in Wyoming over the last week, in Fremont, Washakie, Lincoln and Park Counties. All were older adults who died out of state. Crook County has held steady at a total of 14 cases of the novel coronavirus, with four of them still active. Sundance Hospital...
ALIGN, in coordination with a local task force, is conducting a Community Needs Assessment in Crook County. Members of the local task force include representatives from the hospital, city/county government, library, school district and other local agencies. The assessment will help inform decisions on local services and programs as they relate to healthcare and utilization of Community Service Block Grant funding. Included in the assessment is a countywide survey. Each Crook County household should receive a survey via mail. The survey states...
Crook County resident Ricky Dean Wilmore has been given a suspended sentence for a felony charge of child abuse after allegedly causing physical injury to a child that was not the result of reasonable corporal punishment. On January 24 at 9 p.m., a Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a report from the Department of Family Services of a possible case of child abuse involving a child with multiple bruises on various parts of their body. The child was placed in protective custody by the Department of Family Services. Their i...
Patrick LeFave of Moorcroft has been given a deferred sentence on a felony charge of strangulation following an alleged incident in which he physically attacked a female victim who then locked herself in a room to contact law enforcement. A Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to a residence in Moorcroft on the morning of March 27, 2019 to respond to a report of a domestic issue. The call to 911 was placed by a female who claimed she had been physically assaulted by LeFave. The caller allegedly stated that LeFave grabbed her by the neck and p...
Aug. 22 – House watch and business checks. Three bar checks. Five traffic stops. Aug. 23 – House watch and business checks. Two traffic stops. Aug. 24 – House watch and business checks. Officer recovered stolen car that had been towed as abandoned vehicle. Three VIN inspections. Two traffic stops. Aug. 25 – House watch and business checks. Officer issued criminal trespass warning. Three traffic stops. Aug. 26 – House watch and business checks. Three bar checks. Five traffic stops. Aug. 27 – House watch and business checks. Three bar checks....
Aug. 24 – Five VIN checks. Three paper services. Three traffic stops. Three sets of fingerprints. Fire department page. EMS page. Theft report. Aug. 25 - Six VIN checks. Paper service. Seven traffic stops. Two EMS pages. Fight. Animal bite. Motorist assist. Aug. 26 – Four VIN checks. Two paper services. Four traffic stops. Motorist assist. Two sets of fingerprints. EMS page. Information case. Aug. 27 – Four VIN checks. Two traffic stops. Two sets of fingerprints. Suspicious vehicle. Information case. Assisted Hulett Police. Two fire depar...
Speeding – Ethan Feller, NY, 90/75, $135; Hector Covarrubiasarambula, CA, 85/75, $105; Ilija Macht, FL, 82/65, $145; Laurence Rockert, IL, 76/65, $115; Alan M. Garrison, Casper, 54/45, $103; Shanna J. Sorch, Gillette, 90/80, $105; Robert A. Renshaw, TX, 77/70, $99; Kory S. Pike, MT, 90/75, $135; Cortney M. Weber, Gillette, 88/75, $110; Cody Lee, UT, 90/80, $105; Nicholas Felure, WA, 87/75, $120; Michael Sexton, CO, 74/65, $113; Emily Entz, MT, 95/75, $160; Daniel Ellefson, SD, 70/30, $410; John Exner, IL, 78/40, $101; Blair Knutson, WA, 8...
Speeding – Thomas Culp, WI, 65/55 Failure to Stop – Jeffrey Hill, IL...
Park staff have observed that three peregrine falcon chicks have fledged from their nest on Devils Tower. The confirmation of chicks leaving the nest means that all rock climbing routes have reopened on the tower. Each year, some climbing routes are temporarily closed during the spring and summer to protect falcon nesting sites and to protect climbers from adult falcons who will defensively dive to protect their young. Protected nesting locations such as Devils Tower have been crucial in the recovery of peregrine falcons. Falcons experienced...
Dear NP, I am in my late 60s. I am worried about the immunizations that my primary care provider is offering me. With flu season just around the corner, I am considering the influenza vaccine. Then, there is the possibility of the COVID-19 vaccine becoming available. Can you talk about vaccines, how they are made and the potential side effects of vaccines in general? M. S. Dear M. S., Vaccines have certainly been a hot topic of debate over the last several decades, and I understand why people...
Someone has hit the rewind button on my television, all the way back to the 1990s. The infamous home renovation show that birthed an entire genre is set to return to British screens – and I honestly cannot wait. The name of this game is Changing Rooms, and it was an accidental masterpiece. I believe it was adapted here after it became wildly popular back home (and was the inspiration for Trading Spaces), but I don’t know if the American crew was quite as oblivious to its own insanity. This was...
The Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources is the recipient of a federal “Save America’s Treasures” grant to improve preservation and conservation of artifacts associated with the Vore Buffalo Jump, an archaeological site near Beulah. The grant is provided by the National Park Service, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the National Endowment of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Wyoming grant is one of 42 prese...
The Sundance Bulldog Cross Country team opened its fall 2020 season August 27 and 28 with the Newcastle Invite. The Bulldogs had a successful first meet, claiming several top spots from junior high to varsity. Senior Hunter Skeens finished fourth in the boys varsity race, running in a time of 18:54.2. Skeens claimed his fourth-place finish by a foot – literally – as he raced a Douglas competitor across the finish line. Skeens was impressed with his work for the opening meet. “The course was nice and flat with a few hills to climb. There was g...
