Wyoming News Briefs

Wyoming gas prices increase slightly

GILLETTE (WNE) — Gasoline prices could stall during the second half of summer after nine straight weeks of increases, according to a surveying company.

But in the short term, Wyoming customers are paying more at the pump. Prices have risen 1.5 cents a gallon in the past week, averaging $2.09 a gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 494 stations.

Gas prices in Wyoming are 10.9 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 62.1 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

Prices in Campbell County are at $1.927 a gallon, according to the survey. Lower prices in Wyoming are found only in Natrona and Converse counties.

The national average price of gasoline has fallen 1.2 cents a gallon in the last week, averaging $2.17.

“With July 4 behind us, we’re now halfway through the summer driving season, and the pace of gas price increases has finally hit a wall,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “As of Sunday evening, it appears possible that we may break the nine straight weeks of rising prices thanks to a drop in demand fueled by COVID-19 cases surging in some states.”

Memorial Day and the July Fourth holidays have seen the lowest prices since 2004, he said.

The cheapest station in Wyoming was priced at $1.64 a gallon Monday while the most expensive is $2.59 a gallon, a difference of 95 cents.

Men arrested in Evanston sought in Utah murder

EVANSTON (WNE) — Two men who were arrested last week by the Evanston Police Department on multiple charges, including possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, were in custody when they were later discovered to be wanted in connection to the shooting death of a 17-year-old boy in West Valley City, Utah. 

The West Valley City Police Department announced 25-year-old Saivontre Spillers and 22-year-old Adrian McCleary were arrested in Evanston by WVCPD related to the June 28 death of teen Edwin Reyes. 

Evanston officers arrested the pair after being called to the Flying J on the morning of June 29, regarding a vehicle with significant front-end damage that had been parked with the lights on for more than 45 minutes with no visible occupants. 

During a thorough search of the vehicle after obtaining a warrant, officers said they discovered three Glock pistols wrapped in T-shirts in a bag in the backseat, along with magazines, ammunition and holsters. 

They also discovered baggies and packages containing what appeared to be drugs, according to the police report. 

Utah law enforcement officers reportedly came to Evanston, took custody of the vehicle and possession of the firearms and met with local officers. 

With EPD officers present, Utah officers also reportedly interviewed both Spillers and McCleary, who allegedly both admitted they had participated in the shooting in West Valley City, Utah, on June 28, which resulted in the death of Reyes. 

Foresters begin ten-year thinning project in Bridger-Teton

JACKSON (WNE) — Dozens of firefighters and contracted foresters have been out on foot in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, trimming, limbing and stacking slash piles of trees along the forest front south of Bondurant.

The project, now underway, is the first phase of a forest thinning and burning effort that covers 16,135 acres, reaching from the east face of Monument Ridge, south past Clark Draw and Clark Butte, and then continuing down to Kilgore Creek along Upper Hoback River Road. When headed out of the Hoback Canyon toward Pinedale, the area covers much of the high country south and west of Highway 189/191 all the way to the Hoback River bridge near the Bondurant post office.

“The project starts on the northwest end, and slowly over a 6- to 10-year period, we’ll work toward the Upper Hoback Road,” Bridger-Teton National Forest Big Piney District Ranger Don Kranendonk told the Jackson Hole Daily.

The goal is twofold: benefiting mule deer and other wildlife habitat by encouraging aspen growth, while also attempting to mitigate the risk of high-intensity wildfires by reducing the density of the forest.

Two years from now, in spring 2022, Bridger-Teton crews or contractors will ignite the then-cured piles of slash that firefighters are assembling right now, according to a press release from the forest.

Gillette wins ‘Main Street America’ accreditation

GILLETTE (WNE) — For the fifth straight year, Gillette Main Street has been designated as an accredited Main Street America program. It’s Main Street America’s top tier of recognition and signifies a demonstrated commitment to comprehensive commercial district revitalization and a proven track record of successfully applying the Main Street approach.

During those five years, Gillette Main Street has brought in more than $136,000 in in-kind support, $147,000 in grants and contractual funding and 12,404 volunteer hours, which equates to $297,696 in investment.

In 2019, Gillette Main Street hosted events that brought an estimated 12,000 people downtown.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Gillette Main Street has been a vital clearing house of information for merchants and the community to connect them to resources and continued downtown events and promotions.

Gillette Main Street is one of 860 nationally accredited Main Street America programs across the country.

Gillette Main Street’s performance is evaluated by the Wyoming Main Street Program, which works with Main Street America to identify local programs that meet 10 performance standards. Evaluation criteria determines communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as fostering strong public-private partnerships, documenting programmatic progress and actively preserving historic buildings.

Sheridan County’s Miller wins GOP Senate straw poll

GILLETTE (WNE) — Bryan Miller was selected as the Wyoming Republican Party’s preferred U.S. Senate candidate through a straw poll at the party’s convention June 25-27 in Gillette.

Miller beat former U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis, who came in second, and Robert Short, who came in third.

Before the poll, each candidate spoke in front of the convention to say why they should be elected to the seat. Most candidates spoke in person, but Lummis spoke through a pre-recorded video.

The poll was then conducted at each county’s tables, said Holly Jennings, Sheridan County acting chair. Each delegate at the tables was asked their preference and each county’s tally was combined to get the final results.

The open senate seat is uncontested by an incumbent for the first time in more than a decade, with current Sen. Mike Enzi retiring after serving since 1996.

Miller challenged Enzi in 2014, marking his first high profile political race. That year he earned only 9% of the vote.

Miller said he believes the results of the straw poll shows Wyoming citizens are tired of being represented by politicians who aren’t accessible and don’t make an effort to hear their needs.

“If you want to know why the numbers are the way they are, it’s because people around the state actually do know me,” he said. “Not the masses, but the people around the state who are both active in the party and people in the state who come to party events. I may not be known by 80% of the state, but I’m certainly known by 50% of the state.”

Riverton clinic conducts nearly 10,000 coronavirus tests

RIVERTON (WNE) — Wind River Family and Community Health Care in Riverton has given nearly 10,000 COVID-19 tests and now averages more than 200 tests a day. 

As of June 30, Northern Arapaho Tribal health officer Dr. Paul Ebbert said his clinic, known commonly as Wind River Cares had performed 9,742 tests since March, when the virus was first detected locally. 

That’s roughly a 2742 increase in tests performed in two weeks’ time. 

On June 12, Ebbert told The Ranger the clinic had conducted “well over 7000 tests,” and was averaging about 100 tests a day, with one-day records of up to 500 tests. 

The late-June average rose to 228.5 tests per business day. 

Fremont County has the largest number of confirmed infections in Wyoming and also has done the most testing. 

As of June 25, Fremont County health officer Dr. Brian Gee, whose term has since expired, wrote that his office was monitoring three out of 68 active coronavirus cases in the county. The other 65 are being monitored by “other providers.” 

Gee’s jurisdiction for public health tracking encompassed all of Fremont County except for the Wind River Indian Reservation. The county is now under the public-health oversight of Wyoming health officer Dr. Alexia Harrist until the Fremont County Commission finds a replacement for Gee. 

Miller moth numbers on the rise

JACKSON (WNE) — 2020 is a year for rolling with the punches – in this case, miller moths in Wyoming.

Miller moths are a common name for the adult stage of an army cutworm, Euxoa auxiliaris. A recent press release by the University of Wyoming states that the moths are following flowering plants as they begin blooming across Colorado and surrounding states.

University of Wyoming Extension entomologist Scott Schell said that environmental conditions have been working in the moths’ favor. They’ve been moving into urban areas partially due to dry conditions outside of town, with fewer flowers to feed on. Towns offer lush greenscapes as people water their lawns, and a higher flower population to sustain them.

“The eastern plains had more reports of crop damage to alfalfa and winter wheat caused by the miller moth larvae, called cutworms, than usual,” Schell said in the release. “That was followed up by dry conditions on the sagebrush steppe and prairie producing few wildflowers for the moths to gather nectar at.”

The moths are luckily not a long-term issue: they’re on their way to higher country on their annual summer migration. Schell said they likely hang around until a warm southern front comes through.