Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
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WORLAND – Daniel Leyva, 31, of Worland, was bound over to Fifth Judicial District Court this week after a preliminary hearing on charges of conspiracy in connection with a drug overdose death in Worland in September of 2016, according to a release by the Washakie County Attorney’s Office. The charging documents state that Leyva conspired with his brother, Joseph Leyva, 28, to involve a third person to become an accessory after the fact for the crime of involuntary manslaughter. According to the affidavit, Clayton McCreery, 21, was with Dan...
HOUSTON, TX – From her command center in Gillette, Red Cross Disaster Program Director Cindi Shank has been busy manning the phones and coordinating relief efforts and donations, while 21 volunteers with the Wyoming-Colorado region Red Cross work in Texas to help those displaced by Hurricane Harvey, and the resulting flooding in southeast Texas. "I'll be going down [to Texas] in two weeks, and frankly, we will probably be involved there for years," said Shank, by phone. "The Wyoming Red Cross is...
MEETEETSE – Back in 1912, the town of Meeteetse decided to celebrate Labor Day with a free cookout and rodeo for local families. Now, 105 years later, the celebration is still going strong, with events planned for all four days of the holiday weekend. Starting on Friday, Meeteetse will kick off the festivities with a high school football game at the school, and Chicken Drop Bingo at 6 p.m. behind the famous Cowboy Bar. On Saturday morning, the day kicks off with a quilt show at the museum and a...
TEN SLEEP – Every year since 2002, some Wyoming cattle producers have donated calves from their herds to the University of Wyoming’s “Steer-a-Year” program, designed to provide scholarships to UW students from the proceeds of the sale of the cattle. This year, a Ten Sleep donor ranch was named champion when the beef was evaluated after time at a state feedlot. Hampton Ranch was selected as champion after data showed the donated beef exhibited the fastest rate of weight gain, and quality of meat. Rice Ranch, also of Ten Sleep, donated a calf whi...
WORLAND – A 22-year-old Worland man will appear before in Fifth Judicial District Circuit Court today in on two counts of unlawfully threatening to use a drawn, deadly weapon on another person, and one count of unlawful removal by force. A preliminary hearing in the case of the state of Wyoming versus Noel Andres Zavala is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. According to an affidavit provided by the court, on Aug. 14 at approximately 1:09 a.m., officers were called to Sage Crossing apartments, due to a report of a man threatening people with a gun, i...
WORLAND – Following an Aug. 12 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in the death of one counter-protestor and two state troopers (due to a helicopter crash), Wyoming state lawmakers were quick to denounce the violence, while local resources closer examined the way the state treats racially and religious-motivated crimes. Wyoming’s U.S. Representative Liz Cheney responded, using Twitter to issue a statement following the violence. “Vile white supremacist/neo-Nazi hatred has no place in America.” U.S. Senator...
WORLAND – At the ring of the bell, Worland Middle School students filed out their classes on Monday and amassed on the football field to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event, when clear Wyoming skies offered a near-perfect view of the 2017 solar eclipse. Leading up to Monday's eclipse, science students learned the differences between solar and lunar eclipses, and worked on lab assignments dedicated to the effects of the eclipse, to better understand the event. "We went over the safety rules for v...
WORLAND – Engineers and representatives from the Wyoming Department of Transportation District 5 office held an information session with the county commission and local leaders on Wednesday, to review the State Transportation Improvement Program for 2017-2018 and go over budget numbers and schedule for future projects in Washakie County. District 5 Engineer Pete Hallsten noted that due to state budget cuts, WYDOT is currently working at a $5 million deficit, but has $56 million for improvements for District 5, which includes Washakie, Big Horn...
TEN SLEEP – What began as an acoustic jam session for Wyoming musicians in 1999 has grown into an annual event that continues this weekend in Ten Sleep, home of the Nowoodstock music festival. Back in 1999, local musicians met regularly at the Per Cup coffee shop, clanging out bluegrass and western tunes to an audience of entertainment-starved locals and the occasional pack of town dogs. After more than a few successful get-togethers, an idea was born: a music festival. In 2000, Per Cup owner J...
TEN SLEEP - There is no record store in Ten Sleep. Growing up in the small, isolated burg at the foot of the Big Horns, Jalan Crossland was forced to find inspiration and influence the old-fashioned way. Lots of time locked in his bedroom or sitting on the front porch with a handful of instruments, starting with the guitar and moving on to the banjo, eventually mastering a catalog of traditional, and sometimes odd, American styles. Over time, Crossland's skill on the guitar earned him spots in...
WORLAND — Washakie County’s Wyoming Public Lands Initiative (WPLI) study group wrapped up onsite tours of local Wilderness Study Areas on Monday, with a trip to the Honeycombs. Previously, the group toured Bobcat Draw as part of an ongoing effort to determine best use of, or multi-use of, wilderness areas. Washakie County Commissioner and former Wyoming County Commissioners Association Public Lands Committee Co-Chairman Aaron Anderson led the group, and feels the WPLI has enough information gathered to start crafting recommendations to the sta...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Monday that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of Wyoming to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the flooding from June 7-22, 2017. Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide. For Washakie County, assistance will be available to address damage caused by snowmelt runoff erosion to the banks of the Big Horn River, but not flood damage caused b...
TEN SLEEP – In a sit down interview with the Northern Wyoming Daily News on Wednesday, Ten Sleep Mayor Jack Haggerty discussed the town’s annual budget for 2017-2018, passed by the town council in July. “The amazing thing, is that if we were to lose the one cent sales tax revenue we receive, it would be a huge deal,” said Haggerty, in reference to the $205,000 the town receives in sales tax, which amounts to roughly a third of the town’s overall budget revenue. With an actual operating budget of around $700,000, the town needs all of the revenu...
TEN SLEEP — The Ten Sleep Town Council met on Tuesday to finalize a set of liquor law changes, an agreement to host the annual Nowoodstock music festival, and begin payment for an ongoing sewer repair project. Ten Sleep held the last reading of three ordinances pertaining to hours of operation, age restrictions, and licensing fees, and two ordinances dealing with display of license and public notice. Ordinance 206 amends the current liquor statute to allow longer hours of operation, stating “on all days, a licensee may open the licensed bui...
WORLAND – The Washakie County Commission heard from Washakie County Fire Warden Chris Kocher on Tuesday, to consider a proposal to issue a burn restriction from August 18 until August 23, to coincide with an influx of state visitors to view the eclipse event on Aug. 21. “There will be an unknown amount of people around and an unknown amounts of emergency events [during the eclipse],” said Kocher, outlining his reasons for requesting the temporary ban. “There is definitely the potential for increased accidents during the eclipse.” “The pote...
TEN SLEEP – Leaders from several agencies held an open house and educational session in Ten Sleep on Friday to discuss what to do with livestock in the event of fast moving wild fires on private and public land. Led by Karen Fenton of the Washakie County Conservation District and Washakie County Extension Educator Caitlyn Youngquist, the session emphasized planning for a wildfire event, and coordination with local agencies and departments to seek the best options for keeping livestock safe. Worland Fire Chief Chris Kocher and Shane Starbuck o...
WORLAND – A Worland man was sentenced to 6-12 years in the Wyoming State Prison system on Wednesday for his involvement in a shooting during a failed robbery attempt in September 2016. In March, Angel L. Ramos, 18, of Worland, previously of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty to three charges including aggravated burglary, and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. The victim, Gilbert D. Garcia, 23, of Worland, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a controlled substance (heroin). According to court records, on Sept. 27, 2016, G...
BASIN – The Big Horn County Fair in Basin officially kicks off Monday morning with horse judging but the dog show is tomorrow at 9 a.m. The fun starts Wednesday with a variety of free events for kids of all ages and culminates with a rodeo and concert next Friday, Aug. 5. “We aren’t having a carnival this year,” explained Fair Director Sheila Paumer, “but we will be having laser tag and an inflatable fun zone, free of charge.” Behind the fairgrounds main hall, activities will include an inflatable fun zone and laser tag Wednesday through Sat...
WORLAND – Two wildland fires kept firefighters from Worland, Ten Sleep, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service busy this weekend, in both the Worland and Ten Sleep areas On Saturday afternoon about 3:15 p.m., the Worland Fire Department was called to assist Ten Sleep Fire with a blaze approximately 20 miles South of Ten Sleep. Called the “Otter Fire,” the fire was started by lightning and due to heavy brush fuel such as juniper and sage, quickly spread to over 12 acres. Crews from Ten Sleep, Worland, BLM, and Forest Servi...
WORLAND – "This is something we need to address before it gets worse," said Washakie County Commission Chairman Terry Wolf. "Some kid could get hurt out there, in the dark, and then we would have a real problem." On Tuesday, commissioners Wolf, Aaron Anderson and Fred Frandson went to investigate a growing crack in the Worland Bicycle Path, located along Airport Road. Randy Chenoweth with the County Road and Bridge Department and David Anderson, county planner, went along to see if an e...
WORLAND – Red Cross Disaster Program Director Cindi Shank of Gillette held a volunteer open house on Tuesday, hosted by Washakie County Emergency Management. The goal was to add to the ranks of Red Cross volunteers locally, and across the state for emergency situations. “Red Cross volunteers are not only active during disasters,” explained Shank. “We rely on the principals of Prepare, Respond and Recover, so it’s important that we have volunteers to work with groups to make sure the community is prepared in the event of an emergency or disast...
WORLAND – The Washakie County Fair Board met Monday evening, in their continuing effort to finalize plans for the 2017 Washakie County Fair, July 21 through Aug. 5 at the Washakie County Fairgrounds in Worland. In advance of the tractor pull event scheduled for July 29, the attending board members heard from Jay Richard of Jay’s Detail, the providing vendor for the tractors. Richard expressed that an American flag was not readily available at last year’s event, and the flagpole at the fairgrounds is broken. The board agreed that an openi...
WORLAND – The Washakie County Commission will meet today starting at 9 a.m. to review and tentatively vote to approve the revised Washakie County Emergency Operations Plan (WC-EOP), and will hear new burn restrictions put into place by the Bureau of Land Management last week. Once accepted by the county commission, and signed by Chairman Terry Wolf, the WC-EOP will be in effect for two years, unless modified or redefined by incident aft-action reports within the two-year period. After two years, the plan will be subject to review and the a...
TEN SLEEP – The annual Nowoodstock music festival, held each August and celebrating 17 years this summer, has faced a financial setback due to cuts in Wyoming arts grants, and organizers are formally asking for donations to keep the music flowing on the banks of Ten Sleep Creek. “I guess I got lulled into a false sense of security over the last five or six years,” said Pat O’Brien, director of Nowoodstock and frequent recipient of a Community Support Grant from the Wyoming Arts Council to fund the festival and pay performers. This year, t...
WORLAND — Washakie County Emergency Coordinator Jeff Schweighart hosted an open house at the offices of Washakie County Emergency Management on Thursday, for key personnel to review the final draft of the revised Washakie County Operations Plan (WC-EOP). “This [plan] is really the mothership of all of the emergency planning for the county,” explained Schweighart, noting that the 122-page plan will be ratified by the county commission on July 18, after review by key county personnel, as designated by the state. Schweighart explained that the m...