Wyoming News Briefs

WGFD detects diseases in elk herds, rabbits

SHERIDAN (WNE) —Animal diseases have been identified in two species in the Sheridan region — chronic wasting disease in elk and rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 in cottontail rabbits.

CWD was identified in three new Sheridan Region elk hunt areas this fall. In October, the disease was documented in Elk Hunt Areas 36 and 129 and in November, a hunter-harvested cow elk in Elk Hunt Area 113 tested positive for the disease. All of the elk areas overlap hunt areas where the disease has previously been documented in deer.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials continue to monitor the prevalence of CWD through targeted surveillance of identified deer and elk herd units across the state.

Surveillance efforts to obtain CWD prevalence estimates were completed between 2018 and 2020 for Elk Hunt Areas 35 to 40 and for the Powder River mule deer herd in Hunt Areas 17, 18, 23 and 26 in 2019.

Five cottontail rabbits in Sheridan County and one in Johnson County have tested positive for rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2. The disease was first identified in Wyoming in December 2020 and has the potential to impact wild populations of rabbits and hares.

WGFD officials are asking for the public's assistance in reporting rabbit carcasses, particularly jackrabbits, snowshoe hares or carcasses of multiple animals.

The disease does not pose a risk to human health. However, because rabbits can carry other diseases that could impact human health, if you find a rabbit or hare carcass on your property or while recreating, please do not touch or collect it. Instead, provide a GPS point or other location description to the Sheridan Regional Office, a local game warden or wildlife biologist.

Semi rolls over south of Wright, spills ‘copious amounts’ of Bud Light

GILLETTE (WNE) — No one was hurt in a semi rollover Thursday evening south of Wright, but someone did make off with a couple of kegs of beer.

A truck carrying kegs and cans of Bud Light rolled over Thursday evening on Highway 59 about eight miles south of Wright.

Deputies received a report of a semi rollover, and when they arrived, they saw a white 2009 Freightliner with Washington plates had rolled into the ditch on the east side of Highway 59.

The trailer was hauling “copious amounts of alcohol,” Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds said. The driver, a 61-year-old man, said he was trying to slow down as he was going downhill when his truck began to slide.

He was going about 50 mph, and the truck went off the road. The trailer swung around, spinning the truck. The trailer rolled when it hit the grass, causing the vehicle to jackknife, Reynolds said.

During the rollover, kegs and cans of Bud Light were spilled into the ditch. The driver and his passenger, a 61-year-old woman, were not hurt. There were no tickets, but the truck and trailer were totaled.

And deputies learned that a passerby in a pickup pulled over, grabbed a couple of kegs of beer and drove off. It’s unknown how much alcohol was taken or who was driving the truck, Reynolds said.

Man sentenced to five years for meth, fentanyl, heroin delivery

GILLETTE (WNE) — A man accused of bringing meth, fentanyl and heroin to Gillette has been sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute.

Travis Bougie, 45, was sentenced recently by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Scott W. Skavdahl. Bougie has listed homes in both Bar Nunn and Gillette.

Bougie was accused of working with Cameron Means, 33, and Stephen Fogleman, 34, to get the drugs.

Means’ case is still in federal court. Fogleman was sentenced in state court to six to 10 years on two counts of conspiring to possess with intent to deliver heroin and fentanyl.

Bougie and Fogleman were pulled over Sept. 22, 2020, in a newer Ford pickup that didn’t have a front license plate and was speeding 73 mph in a 70 mph zone just south of Gillette on Highway 59.

A drug dog indicated drugs were in the pickup and a search turned up paraphernalia, about 7 ounces of meth, 88.5 blue fentanyl pills stamped like oxycodone 30 mg pills and about 13 grams of black tar heroin, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

City of Laramie gets money for new solar array, EV charging stations

LARAMIE (WNE) — A local green energy initiative that has already seen the installation of solar panels at the Laramie Community Recreation Center and the Laramie Ice & Event Center is expanding. 

The city of Laramie has received an award of nearly $40,000 from Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky Renewable Energy Program participants to install a solar array and electric vehicle charging stations at Laramie Fire Station 3 west of town near Laramie Regional Airport. The installation supports a Laramie City Council initiative that aims to reduce carbon emissions from municipal government operations and work toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to the city. 

“This continues to address the city’s carbon neutrality goal by reducing the cost to operate city facilities along with reducing the amount of energy needed from the grid to operate these facilities,” said Todd Feezer, assistant city manager.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring, and the site is expected to be functioning by June 30. 

When operational, the new system will produce 24% of the fire station’s power, while the EV charging stations will be available for public use for a fee, Feezer said. 

The city estimates the solar panels will save roughly $5,000 a year. 

Feezer said the award will cover about half the installation costs, and the rest of the money will come from unencumbered funds or the city’s General Fund. 

Between the three solar projects, Blue Sky partners have covered more than 75% of the estimated $240,000 needed to build them, Feezer said. That includes about half of the nearly $80,000 needed for the Fire Station 3 project and about $144,000 of the $160,000 for the rec center and ice arena.