Wyoming News Briefs

Cheyenne man sentenced for hitting women outside bar

CHEYENNE (WNE) – A man facing charges for hitting two people outside a local bar was sentenced Monday afternoon in Laramie County District Court to two to four years in prison.

Anthony Lane, 34, had been previously charged with aggravated assault and battery with a bodily injury with a deadly weapon following an encounter at DT’s Bar on East Lincolnway on Dec. 29, 2018.

That night, Lane punched one woman and struck another in the back of her head with a gun before firing two shots into the air and fleeing the scene outside the bar, according to court documents.

During Monday’s sentencing hearing, Laramie County District Attorney Leigh Ann Manlove asked for a seven- to 10-year sentence for Lane, pointing to his previous criminal history. Lane’s defense, meanwhile, asked for probation.

District Judge Thomas Campbell ultimately imposed a sentence of 24 to 48 months, noting Lane’s actions outside the bar could have led to a death, and therefore had to be taken seriously.

The ruling can be appealed to the Wyoming Supreme Court within the next 30 days.

Campbell County may allow ‘Street Outlaws’ to film races on Little Powder Road

GILLETTE (WNE) — A last-minute addition to a quarterly department meeting agenda could prompt a decision about making Campbell County a future shooting location for the television show “Street Outlaws.”

“Street Outlaws,” a Discovery Channel show based on underground auto racers from Oklahoma City, wrapped up about three weeks of filming in Casper on Friday.

The show is searching for a new location, Commissioner Rusty Bell said.

He received a call from one of the program’s producers Friday and said the producer visited Campbell County to scout possible shooting locations with Kevin Geis, who heads the county’s Road and Bridge Department. Geis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Bell said the producer was shown three or four locations, but the one that seemed most suitable for the show’s needs is Little Powder Road.

If producers decide on Campbell County and get the OK to film here, they would want to start shooting as early as next week, Bell said.

Having “Street Outlaws” in Casper brought an estimated economic benefit of $1.5 million to $2 million to that community, Bell said.

Ron Carr, the show’s producer who has been in contact with Bell, said he’s not certain if the show will choose Campbell County for its next location.

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up just yet,” Carr said.

Longmire Days will be virtual event this year

SHERIDAN (WNE) — The Longmire Foundation has canceled in-person activities for the ninth annual Longmire Days in favor of a virtual event, scheduled for August.

In past years, the event has brought as many as 10,000 visitors to Buffalo, who spend around $2 million each year.

“We’re finalizing our virtual schedule right now,” said Jennifer McCormick, who planned the event for the past several years with the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce, and now does so with the Longmire Foundation. “Now that we’re in our ninth year, we know what to do to put together an event for 10,000 people. With the virtual event, we didn’t have a clue what we could do.”

The virtual event will include question and answer sessions and an online auction, including items from the Longmire set and Craig Johnson’s new book, “Next to Last Stand,” which is the 16th novel in the Walt Longmire series. The book will be released in September. 

The event will also include guest appearances from Longmire actors like John Bishop, who played Bob Barnes on the six-season television series.

“We didn’t think he would make it in person before the pandemic, because he will be touring in England. But he will do a mini-concert for us,” McCormick said. “It was difficult getting started, but we knew we’d be making the transition to a virtual event in June.”

Meseret Tegenu, communications and program manager for the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce, said that she’s glad the Foundation, which took over planning Longmire Days this year, is doing a virtual event.

“We’re thankful that they are doing it virtually, and we are glad they decided to do something instead of cancelling altogether,” Tegenu said. “People are still wanting their Longmire fix.”

Testing maxed as Jackson Hole’s COVID-19 numbers grow

JACKSON (WNE) — As the per-capita rate of COVID-19 cases in Jackson Hole climbs, community leaders are beginning to feel the impacts on health care services, including virus testing capacity, public hotlines and telehealth.

Teton County’s per capita rate of infection rose to 47.5 cases per 100,000 as of Monday, up from 39 on Friday. Another metric trending in a negative direction is testing capacity, which Teton County Director of Health Jodie Pond said has been moved to “concerning.”

“We are maxed on testing right now,” Pond said. “The hospital really doesn’t have much more capacity for the rapid testing.”

Most tests are being sent to private labs, with results taking five to seven days, which is too long, she said.

St. John’s Health has felt the pinch of increasing case numbers through high volumes of phone inquiries and telehealth visits.

St. John’s coronavirus hotline answered a record 258 calls a week ago Saturday, “the highest volume we’ve experienced since the line was created in March,” hospital CEO Paul Beaupre said Friday. 

Video and phone telehealth visits are numbering 50 to 80 per day.

Remembering the Fallen memorial travels through Guernsey

GUERNSEY (WNE) – At approximately 9:15 Sunday morning, bikes began to appear on the horizons, some coming East on Highway 26 and some coming west, all descending on Guernsey where they would rendezvous with the entourage carrying the names of the fallen soldiers who had given their lives in battles since 9/11. 

Nick Schwab, the director for the ALR Chapter 95 in Guernsey said that riders from Guernsey were participating in the ride sponsored by the Casper College Veterans Club and the name of the ride, nationally recognized as “Remembering Our Fallen” passed through Guernsey, heading toward Glendo at 9:45 a.m. 

“This is a memorial similar to the traveling Vietnam wall,” Schwab said. “But it’s for the 9/11 veterans forward. Not to exclude Vietnam, but the memorial is for the veterans who died since 9/11.” 

The date is the distinction date between the Vietnam War and the wars that followed, starting with Operation Desert Storm. 

The 50 bikers who came through Guernsey were part of an entourage that would pick up additional riders who would join along the route to escort the wall bearing the names of the fallen. 

The group began in Torrington at 9 a.m. and roared into Guernsey, picking up a police escort through town. The group, traveling west out of Guernsey at 70 mph were making good time, heading toward Highway 25 north. It had stops planned at Glendo, Douglas, Glenrock and Casper College.