Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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Crook County Volunteer Fire Department has been gifted a piece of equipment that is expected to prove invaluable to wildland fires of all types and locations. The 2015 Type 6 Wildland Firefighting Engine previously belonged to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and was stationed in Buffalo. Now, says Fire Warden Charlie Harrison, it will be located at the fire cache as an addition to the fleet. Along with Harrison and Doug Leis, who got the ball rolling on the exchange while he was himself...
Devils Tower National Monument opened back up just a couple of days after a temporary closure caused by hail damage. The storm on the evening of August 19 brought down numerous trees, damaged buildings, campers and vehicles and made many of the trails impassable. Significant damage was also reported at the KOA campground next to the Tower and surrounding businesses. By August 21, all trails were back open and visitors were once again welcome to enjoy the nation's first national monument....
The primary election results are now official, with no changes necessary from the preliminary numbers that were released on election night itself. In contested seats, John D. Davis beat incumbent Kelly Dennis to the Republican nomination for county commissioner by 999 votes to 741. Harriet Hageman retained the nomination for U.S. Representative and John Barrasso was Crook County’s Republican choice to retain his U.S. Senate seat. “We didn’t have any automatic recounts,” says County Clerk Melissa Jones. “There’s a formula and it has to be a cer...
Filing has now closed for the general election and the roster of candidates for Crook County’s special district positions is official. Four seats are open for Crook County School District, all four-year terms, for a Hulett, Moorcroft and one of two Sundance district trustee positions. Candidates include William (Bill) Motley for the Hulett seat; Thayne Gray (incumbent) and Calvin McCrea for the Moorcroft seat; and Will Ellsbury, Dana Hawk, Peggy Howard and Colton Lenz (incumbent) for the Sundance seat. For Crook County Medical Services D...
A Gillette man has been charged with felony counts of child abuse and domestic battery after allegedly becoming violent with one adult and one juvenile victim at Sand Creek Campground. On June 15 at around 5:20 p.m., a Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to Sand Creek Campground for a reported domestic dispute involving Michael Andrews threatening to “stab and slit someone’s throat”, according to court reports. The deputy spoke with two alleged victims, one of whom was under 12 years old. The deputy observed lumps and scratch...
As part of a plea deal, a Moorcroft woman has been sentenced on reduced charges following an incident earlier this year in which she allegedly falsely reported that someone was trying to kill her. According to court reports, a Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a report of a domestic disturbance on May 16 at around 11:30 a.m. According to the deputy, the victim stated that Sheila Hansen had come out to his shop and accused him of having an affair. She allegedly began hitting him in the back of the head with her hands as he walked...
Kegan Vega of Gillette has been charged with sexual abuse of a minor after allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old during a camping trip. According to a special agent with the Division of Criminal Investigation, the assault took place at Keyhole State Park on July 8, 2023 at around 2 a.m. The agent was assigned to investigate the incident on February 1. An interview was conducted with the alleged victim, who was aged 15 at the time of the incident. The victim alleged that they went on a two-night camping trip that included family members and fr...
A woman who was arrested in 2021 for theft after allegedly holding a citizen’s firearm “hostage” and demanding money in exchange for returning it has had her probation revoked and sentence reimposed. The theft charge resulted from a report of a stolen gun from a Pine Haven homeowner, who said he had met Lisa Ingalls in Arizona and allowed her to stay at his house for a few weeks while she looked for a job in this area. Ingalls allegedly left to return to Arizona to retrieve her last paycheck and, shortly afterwards, the homeowner noticed a fir...
Two thirds of Crook County has now slipped into a state of severe drought, with the southeastern quarter of the county now listed as experiencing moderate drought. These conditions have triggered wildfire assistance for agricultural producers in this county through the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). The FSA began by reviewing the variety of fire assistance it offers and identified the counties authorized for emergency haying and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands outside of the primary nesting season, for which a county must...
The unofficial results are in for the 2024 Primary Election and there are few surprises for this year's incumbents. However, John D. Davis beat incumbent Kelly Dennis to the Republican nomination for county commissioner by 999 votes to 741. Chip Neiman ran unopposed to retain his State Representative title and received 1610 votes in Crook County. John Barrasso was Crook County's Republican choice to retain his U.S. Senate seat (1129 votes) over competitors John Holtz (109) and Reid Rasner (547)...
With the primary complete, voters will now be asked to turn attention to their next set of choices. This year’s general election ballot will contain two local propositions for the community to decide on and one constitutional amendment. SPOT Tax The first proposition relates to the Specific Purpose Sales and Use Tax, better known as SPOT. The money raised through this 1% tax goes directly to the four municipalities and county and is used for infrastructure needs that are often difficult to fund elsewhere. SPOT is the “sixth penny” tax and i...
Crook County's firefighters tackled a 509-acre fire last week near Oshoto, which destroyed an old school house. The Bertha Hill fire on August 14 was caused by lightning and was first reported by local ranchers. It was located off Dead Man Road in grass and brush and required a sizeable response to bring under control. According to Fire Warden Charlie Harrison, county units that responded included 16 engines, two water tenders, two blades from Road & Bridge and the county's fire dozer, three...
A Las Vegas man faces possession charges after his story about traveling to Blackhawk to become a farmer raised suspicions for a Crook County Sheriff’s Office Deputy. According to court reports, at around 4:30 p.m. on August 6, the deputy observed a vehicle parked in a driveway with two adult males inside. He stopped to check that they were not in need of any assistance. The two men, including Matthew Cobb of Nevada, allegedly stated that they were eating and had a burger and pizza with them. They claimed to be traveling to Blackhawk, SD, to fa...
Like the rest of Wyoming, Crook County’s population has seen some changes over the past couple of years. Perhaps the most significant is that the state experienced the fastest population aging in the nation between 2022 and 2023. During that timeframe, according to data from the state Economic Analysis Division, the total population of Wyoming only grew by 0.4% but the population aged 65 and over grew by 3.5%. This saw the median age for Wyoming increase by 0.4 years to 39.7 years, which is slightly above the national median age of 39.1. W...
With Wyoming’s first case of human infection from West Nile virus (WNV) confirmed for the year, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) has issued a reminder to protect yourself from mosquito bites. “Recent reports confirm the first human infection of West Nile virus this season involving a Goshen County resident,” said Courtney Tillman, epidemiologist with WDH. “It is important to remain alert and protect yourself from mosquito bites during the last months of summer while mosquitoes remain active.” According to CDC data, this year has seen...
Filing is now open for the special district seats to be chosen at the general election in November. This year, seats will be elected for the school, medical services, museum, natural resources and senior citizen districts. Four seats are open for Crook County School District, all for four-year terms. Candidates may file to run for a Hulett, Moorcroft or one of two Sundance district trustee positions. For Crook County Medical Services District, three seats are open. These include four-year terms for the Hulett, Moorcroft and Sundance areas....
Fire Warden Charlie Harrison and the Crook County Commissioners have made the decision to upgrade the county fire restrictions to stage two. At this time, the fire situation throughout the county is considered to be severe to extreme due to a heavy fuel load and dry conditions. This could create situations that over-extend the firefighting capacity of local government. “The situation dictates that,” commented Commissioner Fred Devish last week, noting that it doesn’t seem as though the conditions are set to change any time soon. Shawn Cochr...
Signs of the primary election are everywhere, with less than a week to go. But if you’ve been watching carefully, you may have spotted indications since almost the beginning of the year. “There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, all the way back to February in election year,” says Melissa Jones, Crook County Clerk. Early Days Filing for an initiative petition must be done in February, for example. April sees the start of the process of finding election judges, while the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office (SOS) certifies the offices that are u...
Crook County’s local mining concerns are both seeing growth and development. While Rare Element Resources prepares to open its pilot plant in Upton and makes moves towards establishing a mine in the Bearlodge, Strata Energy is expanding its production. It’s a pretty exciting time at Strata, said CEO Ralph Knode last week, thanks to fundraising efforts from parent company Peninsula Energy. “In the last eight months, they’ve raised over $100 million USD and it’s all going right into the expansion of our plant operations at Oshoto,” he told the...
At last week’s regular meeting, the Sundance City Council agreed to a cost-share deal with Josh Kammerer for the subdivision of “starter homes” he intends to build on the south end of 21st Street. In exchange for the 240 feet of new sewer infrastructure that Kammerer will install for the nine lots, the city agreed to waive the tap fee on those lots. This was decided upon in lieu of the agreement between the two parties that had originally been on the agenda, with Kammerer suggesting it would be an easier way of doing things that would requi...
There may or may not be a leak in the water pipe underneath a home located on S. 5th Street, but finding out for sure would be a conundrum. Cheryl Bullock visited the council last week on behalf of her ex-husband, Kerry Littke, who owns the property but does not live there. Littke has been asking for the water to be shut off for two years now, she said, but is told it cannot be done. He does not, however, want to continue receiving bills for water that he has not been using. “Evidently, there’s a water leak there,” said Bullock, telling the c...
The Sundance City Council has opted to table an ordinance that would create a no parking zone on one block of a city street. The decision was taken in response to an appeal from the residents whose choice of parking originally sparked the discussion. At July’s meeting, the council heard that a specific vehicle on the block of E. Sewell St. behind the high school was causing issues for the neighbors, who were having difficulty backing out of their driveway. The owner of the vehicle, according to Mayor Paul Brooks, had initially agreed to a...
The U.S. Forest Service is considering fee increases to specific sites across the Black Hills and motorized OHV use permits. If approved, the increases would become effective in 2025. Locally, the only proposed increases would be for use of the motorized trails, which would include a new day fee of $10 per vehicle, as well as an increase from $20 to $30 for the weekly fee and from $25 to $50 for a season pass. The additional proposed increases include Meeker Cabin near Custer, Summit Ridge Cabin near Newcastle, Jenny Gulch Picnic Area at...
The Wyoming Department of Corrections announced last week that inmate Fred Schon had died at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Facility in Torrington. In 2021, the 87-year-old was sentenced in Crook County to up to 40 years of incarceration for second degree sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 13. Schon was originally charged with 52 separate felony counts of the same charge. The incidents allegedly took place over a period of approximately four years, according to court reports. The allegations were investigated by Sundance Police...
The first reported local fatal accident of this year’s rally took place on Thursday near Hulett, claiming the life of 18-year-old Gina Schaffer of Minnesota. According to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, the incident took place just before 1 p.m. at milepost 17.3 of WY 24. Schaffer was negotiating a series of curves on her motorcycle when she entered a hard right-hand, downhill curve. Her motorcycle crossed the centerline and impacted the left rear wheels of a commercial vehicle trailer. According to witness statements, there is a possibility t...
