Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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No charges will be filed in Riverton shooting death RIVERTON (WNE) — No charges will be filed in the November homicide that resulted in the death of Lisa Pitt, 39, of Riverton, Fremont County Attorney Patrick LeBrun said Friday. Pitt died of a “single perforating gunshot wound” to the trunk, according to the Fremont County Coroner’s Office. The incident was reported at about 8:20 p.m. Nov. 23 near Tundra Drive in Riverton. “This was an accidental shooting,” LeBrun wrote in a Friday statement, noting that Pitt’s husband was involved. “Th...
CASPER — Breaking with a vast majority of her colleagues in the Senate, Sen. Cynthia Lummis voted to overturn election results in Pennsylvania, one of two states being contested by conservative members of Congress early Thursday morning. Lummis’ vote – which represented one of just a handful of dissenting votes in the 92-8 result – lent credence to unsubstantiated claims by President Donald Trump that the vote there was rigged in favor of President-elect Joe Biden. But it also set her apart from most of the holdout Republicans who pledged...
Wyoming wolf-hunting season comes to close PINEDALE (WNE) — The 2020 wolf-hunting season in Wyoming’s trophy game management area closed as the New Year began last week, with only 31 gray wolves taken from a limit of 51. Last year, Wyoming Game and Fish sold 1987 licenses to resident hunters and 234 to nonresidents for a total of 2,221. All but one of ten Wyoming Game and Fish hunt areas closed on Dec. 31; Hunt Area 13, Whiskey Mountain, remains open through March 31 with one wolf reported taken from a quota of three. Only Hunt Area 10, Rim...
CASPER — After a bruising year battling the one-two punch of the COVID-19 pandemic and collapse in energy markets, coal operators in Wyoming could receive a small boost in demand in 2021, but it may be short-lived. In 2020, U.S. coal production came in around 26% below the levels of the prior year, according to initial data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an impartial data center. Residential and commercial demand for electricity slumped during the pandemic as states enforced stay-at-home orders and industrial activity s...
Legislature to convene for one-day virtual session CHEYENNE (WNE) – The 66th Wyoming Legislature will convene at noon Jan. 12 for a one-day virtual session to fulfill the requirements of the Wyoming Constitution. Gov. Mark Gordon’s message will take place at 2 p.m., according to a news release from the Wyoming Legislative Service Office. During the convening of the 2021 general session, the Legislature will address all necessary business in accordance with the Wyoming Constitution, including, but not limited to: • Election of legislative leade...
CHEYENNE – About 250 people demonstrated in front of the Wyoming State Capitol Monday afternoon to protest a statewide mask mandate and other COVID-19 related restrictions. Calls to “Stop the tyranny,” “Free Wyoming” and make Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon a “one-term governor,” were the rallying cries the protesters belted out after about an hour of listening to elected officials and other citizens decry the mask mandate, including outgoing Rep. Scott Clem, R-Gillette, who challenged people to bur...
SHERIDAN — Sheridan County officials will consider a large solar energy project proposed near Swaim Road in the coming months as it makes its way through the permitting process. Sheridan Solar, LLC, has proposed to construct an approximate 20-megawatt commercial utility-scale solar energy facility on a 163-acre parcel of land at the west end of Swaim Road. According to application documents, the property is locally owned by SunSource, LLC, and is leased to Sheridan Solar, LLC. It’s currently used for cattle grazing. Sheridan County Planner Mar...
GILLETTE — In a move that could potentially stave off a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in five years for Peabody Energy Corp., the company has announced an agreement with its creditors to refinance $459 million of debt. The agreement, made in a Christmas Day a press release, includes all of its revolving lenders and about 65% of its 6% senior secured notes due in 2022. In the release, the company calls the deal a “comprehensive financing solution” to help give it some financial breathing room as it continues to drown in red ink. “Toda...
Former Grand Teton Park superintendent dies from COVID JACKSON (WNE) — A onetime Grand Teton National Park superintendent who rose to the top of the National Park Service has died after contracting COVID-19. Gary Everhardt, 86, led Teton Park from 1972 to 1975, departing to become the ninth director of the National Park Service under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Both Gary and his wife, Nancy, succumbed to complications from the novel coronavirus during the past week in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area, according to longtime f...
Initial shooting review expected to be complete in 30 days GILLETTE (WNE) — Crook County Attorney Joseph Baron said his office’s initial review of a Gillette officer-involved shooting is expected to be completed in the next 30 days. Baron was named this week as special deputy county attorney in charge of reviewing the Nov. 13 shooting that involved an officer of the Gillette Police Department and Cody William Amman, 31, who was shot and killed in the incident. Following the shooting, the unnamed officer was placed on paid administrative lea...
CHEYENNE — Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, 24.5% of Wyoming’s incarcerated population has contracted the virus at some point, and there have been no deaths from COVID-19 among those individuals, the state Department of Corrections director told lawmakers Friday. The figure, which reflects testing data from all five of the state’s correctional facilities, was among a handful of COVID-19 updates provided by DOC Director Dan Shannon to the Joint Appropriations Committee during its agency hearings Friday. Along with the percentage of inca...
East gate opens earlier for snowmobiles CODY (WNE) – For the last two decades snowmobile enthusiasts have been gaining ground as far as access to Yellowstone National Park. They will now get 20 extra days to access Yellowstone in the winter from the East Entrance. It’s an effort Dede Fales, co-owner of Gary Fales Outfitting, has lobbied for extensively. On Wednesday, the Park announced it will bump up its opening date for the gate from Dec. 22 to Tuesday. In the spring, the Entrance will now close on March 15 instead of the prior date of Mar...
Wyoming puts $10 million into long-term care CASPER (WNE) — Wyoming will put $10 million of federal pandemic relief dollars toward staffing nursing homes and assisted living facilities. COVID-19 has continually spread through these locations, with the Wyoming Department of Health announcing Friday that 81 residents of long-term care facilities have now died from the virus — an increase of 42% over the last two weeks. The $10 million will be used to hire traveling nurses and nursing aides to facilities in need of staff, according to a rel...
LARAMIE — Sometimes the worst of circumstances brings out the best in people. Anyone in search of a Thanksgiving meal Thursday learned and benefited from that if fortunate enough to come upon a converted school bus-turned-food truck called Devine Eats. Situated at the parking lot on the corner of South Fourth Street and Grand Avenue, where Linda Devine’s law practice is, Devine and six to eight volunteers gave of their time, distributing free meals to anyone who approached the truck. “I’d say we...
CASPER — When a company produces electricity using coal, natural gas or renewable energy in Wyoming, it needs a way of transporting that power to customers, both in the state and beyond. That’s where a transmission line comes in: The high-voltage power lines zip electricity across the landscape between substations, ultimately reaching resident’s homes. Wyoming’s largest rate-regulated utility, Rocky Mountain Power, announced on Nov. 19 it had completed a key segment of its Gateway West transmission line. This part of the line runs from a brand...
Governor recovering from COVID-19 at home, first lady tests negative CHEYENNE (WNE) — After announcing last week that he had tested positive for COVID-19, Gov. Mark Gordon is continuing to recover from home while working a full work schedule this week, his office said Monday. The governor is continuing to experience mild symptoms from the virus, though he has not needed any medical interventions, according to Gordon’s communications director, Michael Pearlman. Wyoming first lady Jennie Gordon, meanwhile, has tested negative for the virus and...
GILLETTE — Discussions over how to shape legislation that could allow Campbell County to form its own community college district are underway. With Gillette College’s future in the hands of the state Legislature, many questions remain. The Select Committee on Community College Funding worked through drafts of a pair of bills that, if passed in the next legislative session, could clear the way for a new district centered around Gillette College. One bill proposes the creation of the Gillette College Community College District itself. The oth...
PINEDALE – A 2019 court case with five misdemeanor citations for violating a brand inspection law is taking new life as parties prepare for a second round in Circuit Court. The misdemeanor case against Rex F. Rammell has traveled to both low and high level courtrooms after a magistrate’s decision brought brand inspection checks to a standstill and outside judges were called to weigh in. On June 27, 2019, Rammell was driving his truck and livestock trailer into Sublette County from Sweetwater County when a local deputy stopped and asked him for...
Yellowstone sees record visits in October CODY (WNE) — Yellowstone National Park posted another record month in October to close out its 2020 summer season, shattering the previous record for that month with more than 110,000 additional people visiting this year. In total, the Park hosted 360,034 recreation visits during the month, up 110% from October 2019. The previous October record was set in 2015, when 252,013 people came through the gates. It was also the busiest October on record at the East Entrance with 12,182 people visiting. This w...
Man killed in shootout with Gillette police identified GILLETTE (WNE) — Cody William Amman, 31, has been identified as the man killed in an officer-involved shooting Friday night in Gillette. Amman allegedly fired at a Gillette police officer early Friday evening and in turn, the officer returned fire. Amman was taken to Campbell County Memorial Hospital, but died of gunshot wounds at 10:41 p.m. Friday, Campbell County Coroner Paul Wallem said Monday morning. It is unclear where Amman was wounded or how many times he was shot. The number of s...
GILLETTE – All John McClelland wants to do is complete his daily ranching chores, but he recently had to deal with unexpected losses of livestock as well as clean up a growing amount of trash on land he uses. In early October, McClelland found one of his cows lying dead near a target practice shooting site on a parcel of state trust land he leases northwest of Gillette. “There’s another loss,” McClelland said, adding that two cows and a calf of his were shot a year ago on the same section of land. On Oct. 6, the Campbell County Sheriff...
Outbreak at Shepherd of the Valley largest of its kind in Wyoming CASPER (WNE) – Fourteen residents of Casper’s Shepherd of the Valley nursing home have died from COVID-19, the most deaths reported at any such facility in Wyoming since the pandemic emerged. Casper-Natrona County Health Department spokesperson Hailey Bloom said the deaths at the facility began in early October. An administrator for Shepherd of the Valley did not respond to a call Friday, nor did they respond to a call last week regarding the outbreak. It’s unclear how many...
Not guilty plea entered in attempted manslaughter in Gillette GILLETTE (WNE) — The man accused of attempted manslaughter after a bullet from his gun grazed another man’s head has pleaded not guilty to charges against him. Zachary Shawn Manning, 34, faces two counts of attempted manslaughter and a misdemeanor count of reckless endangering. A March 1 date has been set for a three-day trial in District Court. Manning is accused of firing three shots from his apartment balcony Aug. 2 using his custom Olympic Arms AR-15 after he saw people with “gl...
CASPER – Wyoming leaders are hoping for more money from the federal government as Congress remains gridlocked over an additional round of stimulus funding. The state is working to spend the remainder of the $1.25 billion in federal relief granted earlier this year before its Dec. 30 deadline. Still, Wyoming leaders are hoping for more time to spend the money. Simultaneously, they are looking for additional funds to help bolster the state amid a structural decline in revenues driven by woes in the extractive energies. The feeling is a common one...
Two Campbell County residents killed in Thursday morning crash GILLETTE (WNE) — Two Gillette residents were killed in a two-car crash about 9 a.m. Thursday about 34 miles south of Gillette on Highway 59 near Breene Road. A Ford E-350 with seven people inside was headed southbound on Highway 59 when it rotated counterclockwise due to the snow and ice on the road and went into the opposite lane, said Wyoming Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeremy Beck. A 33-year-old man in a Ford F-150 was driving north and veered to the right to avoid a crash, but the t...
