Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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GILLETTE - Clarence Barry followed the white hearse past the half-staff flag and up the hill that climbs through the entry gate of Mount Pisgah Cemetery. He knew almost nothing about the man lying in the hearse before him. Like the handful of veterans who Barry invited to the service Tuesday morning, he didn't know where the man was from, or how he got to Gillette. He didn't know whether the man had ever been married, or what kind of life he lived after his military service. Barry didn't even...
GILLETTE - A Gillette Realtor and owner of 1st Class Realty has been accused of forging signatures of three local real estate agents and using their identities to close deals without their knowledge, allegedly gaining her higher shares of higher commission rates. Tami L. Hinson, 57, waived her preliminary hearing Tuesday, binding her over to District Court on six felonies: three counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information and three counts of forgery, according to court...
GILLETTE — Two separate investigations into deaths that have happened in Campbell County Sheriff’s Office custody have been forwarded to special prosecutors in neighboring counties to review for potential charges. At their regular meeting this week, Campbell County Commissioners approved sending the cases out of county to avoid potential conflicts of interest with the Campbell County Attorney’s Office. The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation report on the death of Kenneth R. Durrah, who died while he was an inmate in the Campbell Count...
With September as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, it’s a good time to take stock of the efforts made toward addressing the issue statewide and locally, including the progress made. Wyoming’s standing among the nation at large when it comes to suicide rates has long reached a point of notoriety. The state is routinely at or near the highest rate in the country and often at a figure approaching twice the national average. The simplicity of naming statistics and dreading the implications has become well-trodden territory. But the...
GILLETTE — A man who led Sheriff’s deputies on a chase through Gillette that caused more than $10,000 in damage has pleaded guilty and had a sentencing enhancement dropped that could have put him in prison for life. Rusty D. Locke, 44, pleaded guilty May 30 to aggravated eluding and no contest to aggravated assault and battery. District Judge Stuart S. Healy III found Locke guilty of each count and withdrew a habitual criminal sentencing enhancement that carried a maximum penalty of life in prison. Counts of failure to register and mis...
GILLETTE — Gary and Darva Rye looked out their window to a surprise Thursday morning. On days when the sky is clear, they have a full view of the Big Horn Mountains situated more than 70 miles from their home on Bell Road, just south of Gillette. But when they looked out toward Highway 50 last week, it wasn’t the mountains that grabbed their attention. That morning, construction began on a 5200 square-foot cryptocurrency mine, one of at least two crypto mines currently being built in Campbell County. The mine sits close to Highway 50 south of...
Chancey Williams isn't in a hurry. While country music artists have risen to the national scene and fallen from its graces throughout the years, Williams and the Younger Brothers Band have steadily made a career for themselves over the past decade. The concept of a music career, especially at the highest levels, tends to be an oxymoron. Careers are typically stable and music careers are known for being many things but that. A life in music can be volatile on the way up and down. That's a reality Williams is keenly aware of. It's also a reality...
GILLETTE — Gail Heath had a chronic cough that just wouldn’t go away. It started in the winter of 2020. For anyone sick at that time, there were a number of reasons to be concerned or, at the very least, hyper-aware of even the slightest coughs and chest pains. The Gillette woman, now 75 years old, has always lived a healthy life. She was never a smoker and always mindful of her diet and supplements, yet the coughing hung around until the spring before finally going away. When the cough returned the next winter, it became clear that it was som...
GILLETTE —The number of fentanyl-related overdose deaths has steadily increased in Wyoming since 2017. The number of yearly deaths fluctuated prior to that, with up and down years since 2013, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. But the change has drawn the attention of the state department of health, which released information about the rising deaths and what to know about the synthetic opioid drug. There were 106 fentanyl overdose deaths in Wyoming in 2021. That number increased from 99 deaths in 2020, 78 deaths in 2019, 65 d...
This story contains references and information about suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis or concerned, please call the National Suicide Lifeline at 988, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. GILLETTE — Campbell County recorded 15 suicides in the first seven months of the year, tying its previous year-long record with five months still remaining. The demographics of those who have died vary widely, with few patterns in terms of age or gender said Ashley McRae, community suicide prevention specialist for Campbell County. “Honestly, I sus...
GILLETTE — Halfway through 2022, Powder River Basin mines have produced about half of the total amount of coal as last year, keeping up the pace of production despite struggling to get enough trains to maximize on the continued demand for thermal coal. The 12 Campbell County PRB mines combined to produce 115.7 million tons of coal this year through June. Last year, those same mines produced about 230 million tons, according to coal production data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Spring Creek, a PRB mine in Montana, has p...
GILLETTE (WNE) — The coal production from Peabody Energy Corp. and Arch Resources Inc. through the first three months of 2022 aligned with the strong projections each company had for their Powder River Basin mines headed into the year, despite rail issues and other logistical challenges. Their steady coal production comes amid an increased demand for thermal coal sold at higher prices that has carried over from last year. But both companies have kept an eye on the short-term gains with the other fixed on the looming long-term downfall of the c...
GILLETTE — Just about every day at about 5 p.m., Kennedy Wainaina waits on a phone call. Ever since his sister, Irene Wairimu Gakwa, went missing from Gillette in February or March, he has stayed in close contact with the Gillette police detectives working to solve his sister’s disappearance. After Wainaina talks with detectives each night, he calls his mother and father in Kenya, who also have grown accustomed to waiting by the phone. “They’re in rough shape, especially my mom,” he said. “My dad maybe hides it well but my mom, I can tell sh...
GILLETTE - After 87 years of standing above Gillette Avenue, the two spruce trees that towered in front of Twin Spruce Junior High School for decades are gone. A tree-removal crew took down the two ailing trees over the course of Dec. 27 and 28, clearing the way for the two replacement trees planted in 1998 to carry on the school's namesake. "I loved those trees, they were part of the school...for 87 years," said David Foreman, principal of Twin Spruce from 1990-2014. "All good things,...
GILLETTE — Discussions over how to shape legislation that could allow Campbell County to form its own community college district are underway. With Gillette College’s future in the hands of the state Legislature, many questions remain. The Select Committee on Community College Funding worked through drafts of a pair of bills that, if passed in the next legislative session, could clear the way for a new district centered around Gillette College. One bill proposes the creation of the Gillette College Community College District itself. The oth...
GILLETTE — The Select Committee on Community College Funding agreed Friday to start working toward drafting a bill that would clarify state statute regarding community colleges and potentially clear the way for the possible creation of Gillette College’s own community college district. Several parts of the state law, specifically regarding the mill levy requirements for community college districts, needed clarification, said Sen. Jeff Wasserburger, R-Gillette, co-chairman of the committee, which is comprised of state senators and rep...
GILLETTE — Multiple Campbell County Republican legislators and primary candidates are bucking against an outspoken pro-Second Amendment group after a bevy of political attacks targeting incumbents and other candidates ahead of this month’s election. State Sens. Michael Von Flatern and Ogden Driskill, former Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives Tom Lubnau and others are rebuking the claims and question the motivations of Wyoming Gun Owners following a steady flurry of social media posts targeting them and other politicians. The cam...
GILLETTE – When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Wyoming and with the coronavirus having spread through much of the United States, Todd Koehler saw the impacts firsthand at his independent meat processing business, Koehler’s Wild Game. As fears of food shortages gripped the nation, many people early on stocked up on groceries and other supplies. Toilet paper and hand sanitizer were often difficult to find. While grocery shelves stayed mostly stocked, one major part of the U.S. supply chain has struggled to get its product to stores: the meat ind...
