Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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Man accused of setting up camera in women’s bathroom POWELL (WNE) — A Powell man is alleged to have set up a camera in the women’s bathroom at his former Powell workplace, capturing images of four of his female co-workers in states of undress. Fifty-year-old Scott G. Abraham, who lives between Lovell and Byron, was arrested on the allegations Wednesday and made bail on Friday. He’s facing six felony charges. An investigation by Powell police concluded that Abraham staged a camera in the women’s bathroom at the building where he worked on...
Body found near in Park Co., murder suspect arrested POWELL (WNE) — A hunter stumbled upon a woman’s body about halfway between Cody and Meeteetse on Saturday afternoon — and authorities say she appears to have been the victim of a homicide. A suspect was arrested in connection with the case on Saturday night, the Park County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday. However, the agency’s brief news release did not identify the man who is in custody or name the deceased. Law enforcement officials indicated that they believe the woman was killed in sou...
Roundup nets 558 wild horses WORLAND (WNE) — Through Tuesday evening, 558 wild horses in the Fifteen Mile Herd Management Area had been gathered with 261 shipped to other facilities for treatment or to be prepared for adoption. The Bureau of Land Management scheduled the gather as part of the HMA’s management plan. According to a BLM press release, the gather operation is in line with the BLM’s commitment to maintaining healthy wild horses on healthy, productive public rangelands. The Fifteenmile HMA is located approximately 35 miles north...
GILLETTE — To a casual passerby, the 109,000 square feet of flat, even crushed red stone is a big empty space. To Dave Gribble, the large research pad at the Integrated Test Center represents even larger potential. “I think [the ITC] has a lot of potential and it will be interesting to see how things evolve and change from the first set of experiments in all those test bays,” he said about the ITC at the Dry Fork Station power plant north of Gillette. As senior scientist for Colorado-based TDA Research, Gribble will have a front-row seat to se...
CASPER — Despite economic doubts and numerous remaining hurdles, state lawmakers continue to move forward with discussions to potentially bring a temporary nuclear waste storage facility to Wyoming. At a meeting next month in Casper, the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Committee on Minerals, Business and Economic Development will be taking up the idea of creating an exploratory committee within Gov. Mark Gordon’s office and the Department of Environmental Quality to explore the concept’s future in Wyoming. Despite previous estimates that it woul...
SHERIDAN — The Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Navajo Transitional Energy company announced they reached a short-term agreement late Friday that will allow coal production at the Spring Creek Mine to resume. The interim agreement will keep the mine operating for 75 days while the two parties continue negotiating a long-term agreement, according to Montana DEQ Public Policy Director Rebecca Harbage; it can last beyond 75 days if both parties agree to an extension, she added. While some of the issues that led to the closure w...
Black bear euthanized in Story SHERIDAN (WNE) — An adult male black bear was euthanized by Game and Fish personnel in Story after it broke into a secured shed near a residence. Game and Fish received a report from a Story resident on Oct. 11 that his shed had been broken into and damaged the previous night, with the carcass of his harvested deer drug away. Suspecting a black bear, Game and Fish personnel set a trap for the bear that evening. When personnel later checked the trap, they discovered the bear had an ear tag, identifying it as a b...
CASPER — The sale of two Powder River Basin coal mines owned by bankrupt operator Blackjewel closed Friday, leading the new owner to begin mobilizing furloughed employees after nearly four months of limited communication. The closure of the sale comes after the takeover firm secured surety bonds required to operate the Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines, according to a statement released Monday morning by permit holder Contura Energy. The finalization of the sale brings the nation’s fourth- and sixth-largest coal mines one step closer to ret...
RIVERTON — A 21-year-old Fremont County woman is facing manslaughter charges after telling a Riverton Police Department detective that she used a knife to attack a man. Rachelle Lynch, who is a lifelong resident of the county, appeared in Riverton Circuit Court Thursday morning to hear the two counts of manslaughter, each of which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The second of the charges alleges that “voluntarily, upon a sudden heat of passion [Lynch] killed a human being.” Lynch’s arrest followed a call to police at 3:22 Monday...
Vaccine shortage postpones flu clinics CODY (WNE) — Due to a temporary shortage of influenza vaccines from its supplier, Park County Public Health has postponed a couple of community flu clinics. “We’re not getting vaccine when we thought we would,” said Bill Crampton, public health nurse, last Friday. Over the past three years Park County Public Health has returned leftover flu vaccines. Referencing the 2018-2019 season, Crampton said the county used all but 100 of 2000 doses on hand. “This year it looks like we’re going to run out,” he said....
CASPER — A string of bankruptcies have ravaged Wyoming coal country this year, as operators erase outstanding tax, labor and reclamation debts during court proceedings, leaving counties and taxpayers facing unexpected budget shortfalls. But state lawmakers have begun to investigate ways to mitigate the harm caused when mammoth coal companies spiral into insolvency. Meeting Monday as a select committee, the lawmakers convened with the goal of considering effective policy changes that could protect the state and counties from the outbreak of b...
CHEYENNE – With the state facing millions of dollars worth of unmet needs for its roads and bridges, a bill to create a task force to explore ways to fund repair work failed by a narrow margin Friday in committee. The bill would have created a 15-member group, comprised of legislators, stakeholders from transportation industries, and representatives from the Wyoming Department of Transportation and the governor’s office, to explore funding strategies used by other states and entities. Ultimately, the bill failed in the Joint Tra...
Campbell County computer outage nearly repaired GILLETTE (WNE) — About 98 percent to 99 percent of the computer systems at Campbell County Health were expected to be back online Friday, two weeks after a ransomware attack at the hospital left it without its 1500 computers. Campbell County Health officials expressed their appreciation for the work staff, state and federal agencies have done and continue to do in tackling the attack. “In conjunction with our law enforcement partners, our cyber security response team and everything else, we are...
The Wyoming State Bar is pleased to announce that James L. Edwards, an attorney from Gillette, Wyoming, has been elected Treasurer of its organization. Edwards has been serving on the Board of Officers & Commissioners as the Commissioner for the Sixth Judicial District since September 2013. The 2019/2020 Election of Officers was held according to Article II, Section 1 and Article VI of the Bylaws of the Wyoming State Bar. The results of the election were announced last week in Jackson, Wyoming, at the Bar’s Annual Business Meeting. Edwards e...
CHEYENNE - Wyoming first lady Jennie Gordon announced a hunger initiative Thursday aimed at fighting food insecurity for children and families across the state. The Wyoming Hunger Initiative will bring together various groups working on food security, according to a news release issued Thursday by Gov. Mark Gordon's office. "I am not interested in reinventing the wheel, but rather in making a difference for kids in Wyoming," Jennie Gordon said in the release. "If I can shed light on the work that is currently being done and bring organizations...
Wyoming motorists who need permission to travel on closed sections of highways when conditions are safe may be eligible for faster approval into the state’s authorized travel program. The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) is streamlining its WYDOT Authorized Travel (WAT) program to allow faster approval for new and renewing Wyoming applicants under certain conditions. Once approved, WAT users would then receive travel permission alerts the same way. WYDOT decided to implement a faster-approval system to help when the state has r...
CHEYENNE — Ruth Van Mark was appointed Monday by Gov. Mark Gordon to be Wyoming’s first public records ombudsman. She will mediate disputes between agencies and parties requesting information, determine if records are public or confidential and serve as a resource for public agencies that receive records requests. “I am excited about the opportunity to assist Gov. Gordon in bringing Wyoming state government closer to the people,” Van Mark said in a news release. The position was created with the passage earlier this year of Senate File 57, whi...
One killed in five-car crash LARAMIE (WNE) — The Wyoming Highway Patrol reported one person dead and expected U.S. Highway 230 to be closed for an several hours Monday afternoon after a five-vehicle crash occurred within a few hundred feet of where Lewis Road intersects the highway, close to the entrance of Harmony Elementary School. Five vehicles were involved in the crash, including two commercial vehicles. There was one fatality and two serious injuries, Wyoming Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeremy Beck said Monday. One of the five vehicles i...
EVANSTON — Uinta County School District No. 1 has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed against the district over Rule CKA, which allows for approved staff to carry concealed firearms on district property. The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 26 by Evanston attorney Tim Beppler, retired teacher Katie Beppler, and parents Nathan Prete and Tiffany Eskelson-Maestas, both as individuals and on behalf of their minor children. The suit makes several claims, including that Rule CKA is unconstitutional according to both the U.S. and Wyoming Constitution...
GILLETTE — In a span of less than 36 hours, hundreds of former Wyoming Blackjewel LLC coal miners have gone from wondering if the Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines would ever reopen to wondering who they may be working for when they reopen. Two companies have made offers to buy the mines after six weeks of near silence of what appeared to be stalled negotiations between the federal government and Contura Energy Inc., which bought the mines as the only bidder at Blackjewel’s bankruptcy auction. Contura announced Wednesday it has an agreement wit...
No patient data at risk in Gillette ransomware attack GILLETTE (WNE) — There is no indication that any patient data was compromised by the Friday ransomware attack that has disrupted Campbell County Health’s computer systems, said Matt Sabus, CCH IT director, in a press conference Monday afternoon. CCH has no estimated time for when its computer systems will be restored after Friday’s ransomware attack, but in the meantime it is continuing to serve patients. During a press conference Monday afternoon, Dr. Nicholas Stamato, chief of medic...
CASPER — A company co-owned by two Wyoming legislators is suing its former CEO over the use of a trademark attributed to the blockchain-based agricultural company they founded together. In a complaint filed Aug. 30 in federal court, well-known GOP financier and Wyoming Blockchain Coalition founding member Robert Jennings is accused by his former partners in the company, American Certified Brands LLC, of posing as the owner of a brand owned by the company, BeefChain, in an attempt to damage the company’s reputation after being dismissed fro...
CASPER — Lawmakers on Monday defeated two controversial bills that would have had significant implications on Wyoming’s elections. The bills — one to eliminate the practice of crossover voting in primary elections, another to combat voter fraud by requiring photo identification at the polls — have received considerable attention since first appearing last fall, inspired by national concerns over voter fraud and the revelation that thousands of voters purposefully switched their party affiliations to participate in the 2018 Republican primari...
Two killed, two wounded in Cheyenne shooting CHEYENNE – Two adults were killed and two juveniles were seriously injured in a shooting late Monday afternoon in east Cheyenne. The sole suspect, Andrew Weaver, 25, of Cheyenne, was taken into custody after a nearly two-hour search of the area. He was taken to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center for treatment, but the nature of his injuries was not released. Cheyenne Police Department spokesman Officer Kevin Malatesta said a call of shots fired came in around 4:30 p.m. Officers responded to the home a...
Attorneys ask for juvenile court for boy’s attempted murder trial GILLETTE (WNE) — Attorneys for the boy accused of nine counts of attempted first-degree murder after he took guns into Sage Valley Junior High School have asked a judge to transfer the case to juvenile court. Local public defender Jefferson Coombs and Wyoming State Public Defender Diane M. Lozano asked for a two-day hearing to present all the relevant evidence and testimony in support of moving the case to juvenile court. The motion itself and arguments are listed as con...
