Wyoming News Briefs SEPTEMBER 24

Yellowstone Airport sets records through summer

CODY — Yellowstone Regional Airport is entering its slower winter season with great momentum from the previous summer.

For the respective months June through August, the airport set records for total boarded passengers. In August, YRA beat the August 2016 record by 201 passengers and in July accounted for even higher passenger totals, with 6,521 compared to the previous high of 5,962 passengers in July 2016. In June, YRA enplaned 4,979 passengers compared to the previous high of 4,907 in June 2018.

YRA achieved another milestone in July with passenger numbers exceeding 6,000 for the first time.

Overall, it was an 8.7 percent traffic increase from the summer of 2018 and qualifies YRA as the third busiest airport in Wyoming, behind Casper and Jackson.

Bob Hooper, general manager for YRA, attributes the increases to improved flight schedules and competitive fares being offered by United and Delta Airlines.

YRA board member Bucky Hall said the Cody weather was fairly cooperative for flying this summer, but what still caused many delays was recurring inclement weather in Denver.

United returned nonstop Chicago flight service to YRA for the first time since 2017 this summer with a Saturday arrival and Sunday departure. Hall said the flights were typically about 80 percent full on the 70-seat planes.

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Riverton looks at virtual school

RIVERTON (WNE) — Riverton educators are developing a virtual school program that could begin as early as June.

Administrators say the online option could provide a “home base” for Fremont County’s more “mobile” or “transient” students who often miss out on extended periods of school due to family moves or out-of-district transfers.

“Families have many different school districts to choose from within Fremont County,” Riverton Middle School principal Brant Nyberg said in a report to the Fremont County School District 25 School Board last month. “This leads students to move into and out of our schools at a high rate throughout the year.”

Last year, he said, more than 400 students transferred into or out of Riverton schools. All of those students “lose time” in class, he said.

“Getting caught up can quickly become overwhelming, especially for students who transfer more than once,” he wrote in his report. “Being able to offer these students a virtual connection to (the district) would allow them to continue their progress toward graduation, despite family movement.”

Nyberg’s report noted that online programs are successful if they focus on building a sense of community among students and providing as much face-to-face interaction as possible with teachers.

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Dog alerts homeowner to fire

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The old adage goes that heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

For Jessie Harrison, that shape was Mikey, the small gray Shih Tzu that’s been her companion for more than a decade. Monday afternoon, that friend turned hero, alerting her to flames by licking the vinyl siding on the west side of her home at 7915 E. Pershing Blvd.

“He was sitting right there with me in the living room when he started raising Cain,” Harrison said as she sat inside the side door of an AMR ambulance with Mikey standing over her right shoulder.

“At first, I came out to see what was going on, and then I called 911. ... They said, ‘Are you out?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I’m out. But the only thing is my little dog is in the house.’ She said, ‘Don’t go back in there.’”

After arriving on the scene shortly after 2:47 p.m., firefighters were able to rescue Mikey unharmed from the white ranch-style home with red decorative shutters.

Manny Muzquiz, operations chief for Laramie County Fire District 2, said his department and others were able to limit the damage to one front room that Harrison called “the music room.” Agencies that responded to a mutual aid call included Laramie County Fire District 1, Cheyenne Fire Rescue, F.E. Warren Air Force Base and the Wyoming Air National Guard fire brigade.

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Wyoming this Weekend, Sept. 27-29

By The Wyoming News Exchange

A chance to get some hands-on experience with archaeology tops this weekend’s list of events around Wyoming.

Gillette’s Rockpile Museum will host an “Arcaheology Fair” on Saturday, where attendees will get a chance to excavate artifacts, make pottery, use an atlatl and grind corn using stone tools.

Other activities will include a demonstration of a travois and a cooking demonstration.

Other events scheduled fo the weekend include:

The “Rustler Roundup” Central Wyoming College rodeo on Friday and Saturday;

The “Run the Red Trail” race at South Pass City on Saturday;

A “J.B. Okie Manor Trek” in Riverton on Saturday, and

The CWC “Apple Orchard Trek” on Saturday.

For more information on these and other events, please visit the Wyoming Tourism Division’s website at TravelWyoming.com.