Articles written by Sarah Pridgeon
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Smith sentenced to 18 years
Marty Smith has been sentenced to a minimum of six years and a maximum of 18 years in jail after a jury found her guilty as an accessory to involuntary manslaughter and to aggravated assault and battery. Judge Thomas Rumpke presided over the...
District prepares for new school year
There’s just a month left of summer break and Crook County School District is preparing for new classes to fill the halls as the school year begins again. A number of new faces will greet the students this year as new teachers are welcomed in...
Band invites community to march for parade
Sundance’s new music teacher invites anyone and everyone of a musical persuasion to march alongside the students during this year’s parade. Marching is a long-held tradition and fair one of the...
County budget to include commissioner room remodel
The Crook County Commissioners have published their proposed budget for the year ahead, with the most significant new expenditure being $50,000 to remodel the commissioners’ room, which has changed very little since around the 1970s and lacks both...
Cowboy Hall of Fame induction date set
Two Crook County natives will be honored as part of the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019 this weekend at an event to be held in Newcastle. Joe Graham and Gerald McInerney will be...
"Decoy driver" sentenced
Lee Her of California has been sentenced on several felony charges after allegedly acting as a “decoy driver” for a vehicle carrying 83 pounds of marijuana. On March 15, 2018, at around 6 p.m., a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper observed two...
Belle Fourche woman charged with smuggling drugs into jail
A Belle Fourche woman faces felony drug charges including one of attempting to take a controlled substance into the Crook County Detention Center. Sandra Vinson was arrested after her vehicle was spotted in apparent distress on the interstate. On...
This Side of the Pond
There’s a new initiative in development that’s supposed to make the London Underground more of a pleasant experience and less of a writhing coil of snakes, but I’m not sure how I feel about it....
Bat disease not found in Crook County
Annual testing for white-nose syndrome, which decimated the population of northern long-eared bats across the nation a few years ago and caused it to be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 2014, has found no trace of...
The return of county fair
A decade ago, it wasn’t uncommon to hear someone lament that the days of county fair were seeming numbered. This summer, nothing could be further from the truth for the kids of Crook County. In...
City seeks AML funding for water project
The City of Sundance is looking to secure Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) funding for the next project on its list to upgrade and improve the water system. At an estimated cost of $1.6 million, the project...
High garbage volumes may force "additional dumpster" fee
High volumes of garbage are being collected from around town this summer, the Sundance City Council heard on Tuesday. This is partly due to the Oneok pipeline construction currently taking place,...
City animal carcass program in jeopardy
Rule changes may force Sundance to call time on its dead animal waste composting program, the council heard last week. At the request of Council Member Joe Wilson, representatives from the DEQ will be asked to visit Sundance to clarify its rules and...
Accessibility project begins at Devils Tower
A project to improve accessibility at Devils Tower National Monument is on the near horizon, says Superintendent Amnesty Kochanowski. The work will aim to make the popular site more accessible and safer for visitors and will concentrate on the main...
Forest Service updates on projects
District Ranger Mike Gosse provided an update on current Forest Service activities to the county commissioners last week, beginning with the Cook Lake dam project that began on Monday. The new...
This Side of the Pond
Even a creature with no voice has something to teach, as I’ve had reason to acknowledge over the last couple of weeks. This is the tale of the little plant that could and the gardener who never had...
Peddler permits face the axe
Whether from a large tent or a tiny stand, any vendor who wishes to sell their wares during Rally Wednesday has historically been asked to pay a peddler permit fee. This, said Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz on Tuesday, is $110 for the day itself and an...
City improves ISO rating by one point
Improvements within the volunteer fire department and the City of Sundance’s efforts to loop its water system to provide fire flow have led to an upgrade in the city’s ISO rating, said Fire Chief Chris Tomford last week. Sundance has increased...
Unsettled weather brings tornadoes
By Sarah Pridgeon Two simultaneous tornadoes made landfall in the Goldie Divide and New Haven area last week, before splitting to travel in different directions. Both appear to have remained on the...
The future thru the pasture
The Crook County Fair will be inviting the community to "See the Future Thru the Pasture" this July, with a packed schedule of events for visitors and youth to enjoy. On July 19, enjoy Bob Burke Days...
Cook Lake dam project begins
The Black Hills National Forest has confirmed that Cook Lake recreation area will be closing on Monday, July 8 along with Trails 88 and 91 to allow a long-planned project to take place at the spillway. Now six decades old, the structure is showing...
LTC wins four awards
The Crook County Long Term Care Facility (LTC) will be adding four more awards to its trophy cabinet this month, each recognizing the high standards that the nursing home has achieved. The first is a...
DEQ releases study results for low pH wells near Carlile
The Department of Environmental Quality has released the results of its investigation into a number of water wells in the vicinity of Carlile that suddenly ran dry or acidic in August, 2017. The study did not find any confirmable links between the...
Local jury system gets overhaul
Crook County’s courts will soon be switching over to a new computer program to manage jury pools – a system that will not only make life easier for the clerks, but will also streamline the process for members of the community who are called to...
County nominates public records point of contact
The Crook County Commissioners have nominated the Crook County Clerk as the designated point of contact for persons requesting public records involving any of the boards, departments and offices associated with county government. The commissioners...
