Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 2085
My column this week is a cry for help. I've spent more than a decade trying to make one of my favorite dishes work this far above sea level and I've finally run out of ideas. I've come to know that this community boasts a few world class bakers, so now I'm hoping for a miracle. In exchange for your assistance, I humbly offer a recipe that is widely regarded to be the best thing Britain has ever invented: the Yorkshire pudding. Of course, to use this recipe, you'll need to first be able to tell...
Sheriff Jeff Hodge reminds the community that fire restrictions have been put in place for the county – and that this decision was made for a reason. The county fire warden has determined that the dry conditions have created high fire hazards. Despite these conditions, individuals in recent days are known to have been setting off fireworks within the limits of the City of Sundance. This, says Hodge, is not against the county’s fire restrictions, but it is a breach of city ordinances. Specifically, it violates municipal ordinance 7, section 8:...
The Sixth Judicial District is adding a fourth judge to its ranks thanks to legislation that was signed into law last week. The Sixth Judicial District covers Crook County, as well as Campbell and Weston counties. The bill increased the number of judges in the district from three to four and appropriated $1.24 million to fund the additional judge for the first two years, beginning on July 1. It also authorized three full-time positions for the personnel necessary to staff and support the new judge. SF-53 sailed through the legislature with...
Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD) has announced the appointment of Wesley Davis, DNP, as its Chief of Staff. Davis is already a familiar face to those who patronize the hospital in Sundance, where he has served in the emergency department and adult inpatient services since joining the district in 2018. Davis is board-certified in emergency, family and adult-gerontology acute care. He is also an assistant professor and emergency nurse practitioner specialty coordinator at the University of South Alabama College of Nursing and...
Crook County Junkin’ Weekend is coming back this year and vendor sign-ups are now open. Once again, the countywide yard sale will run for three days across numerous locations, each one offering unique items for treasure hunters. This year’s event has been scheduled for June 7 to 9, running from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the first two days and until noon on the Sunday. Vendors are welcome to offer their wares throughout the event, but you can also select custom times if you are unable to be available for part of the weekend. While you can use you...
A Sundance man faces a felony charge of driving under the influence with a child passenger, second offense. According to court reports, at 5:15 p.m. on March 11, a Crook County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report that Tyrell Burrows had come to pick up one of his children and got into an altercation with a teacher. Burrows had allegedly left the campus with a child in his pickup. The deputy reports that he was aware of Burrows from previous incidents and knew his home address, so he and a second deputy headed there. As they arrived, they a...
After the warmest winter on record for the United States, there are indications that Wyoming may still get its fair share of spring showers. Predictions for the next couple of weeks suggest above average precipitation and cooler-than-normal temperatures in this area, with the temperatures then rising but the possibility of extra moisture lasting through until at least the middle of April. This is a marked change from a winter that has now been reported as the warmest on record – an estimated 5.4 degrees above average for the United States as a...
If you receive a call from an Illinois-based number claiming to offer advertising or be associated with a local organization, the Sundance Chamber of Commerce wishes to make it known that this is not a company with whom they are working. The call is likely a scam, says Jamie Jessen. At least one person is known to have paid the caller when contacted. The caller will claim to be from a company currently offering local ads, but, says Jessen, it may not be made entirely clear what these ads are supposedly for. If you have received a call of this...
Once again busier than would normally be expected at this time of year, the county's firefighters were called to two significant blazes over the last week. The first claimed a home near Sundance, while the second spread to over 200 acres near Barlow Canyon, north of Devils Tower. The structure fire on Tuesday night claimed a single family residence on Cow Camp Road, northwest of Sundance, but no injuries were reported to the residents or the firefighters who responded. The fire is believed to...
With fire season already underway, Crook County is now under burn restrictions. Fire Warden Charlie Harrison requested the restrictions be put in place last week, telling the county commissioners that more Wyoming acres burned in February than in the entirety of 2023. While the county has had a little moisture recently, in some places there was "barely any", he said, and temperatures are still above average. "There's no good news in the forecast," he said. While the restrictions have been put...
Why is the county willing to plow a 6.3-mile dead end that leads to a single family, but won’t consider doing the same for a quarter-mile stretch that serves 17 homes? County resident Eric Akola posed this question last week as he fulfilled his promise to keep appearing on the commissioners’ agenda until the issue is resolved. While the commission’s decision not to change its mind regarding adding more miles to the road maintenance roster was no great surprise, a new wrench appeared in the works at the revelation that Akola’s opinion does no...
Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD) is gearing up to introduce mental health services for seniors through a program that would see all its costs reimbursed through Medicare. As this means the program would not cost the district to run, it’s possible that the revenue could in the future be used to fund an additional mental health service for younger age groups. Senior Solution The Board of Trustees heard a presentation last week from Kirby Johnson of Senior Life Solutions, a program offered by Psychiatric Medical Care of Tennessee. T...
Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD) is purchasing a 12-unit property in Sundance to house employees, a decision made in response to the lack of housing currently available in this area. The local housing crisis has made it difficult to hire new employees, explains Trustee Mark Erickson, because they would need to commute from outside the community. The intent is to entice good candidates to accept roles within the district if they would otherwise be reluctant for this reason, he says. Now, says Erickson, the member of staff and...
A small issue with a phantom door needs to be resolved before the City of Sundance renews the contract with Crook County Medical Services District to house its ambulances in the fire hall. “Your folks like to leave the door open,” Mayor Paul Brooks told Anthony Vopat, EMS Coordinator. “We’re having some problems with this and the public sees it.” With the bay door open, it costs too much to keep the building heated, the mayor said, especially as someone had been turning the thermostat up to 70 degrees. However, according to Vopat, the open...
Now that the City of Sundance has a policy in place for providing utilities to out-of-town residences, the request that originally sparked its creation has finally been granted. Ron Anhorn first asked for approval to tie into the city’s water system from his 35-acre property on Wild Bunch Trail in May, 2023, but was told that the council could not really offer an answer until it had developed a firm policy and some time would be needed to consider and research the question. At that time, Public Works Director Mac Erickson listed several p...
Counties like Crook may get to have a say in the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) new rules for old-growth forests after all. Earlier this year, the commissioners called for a rethink of the USFS’s plans to amend every national forest land management in the nation to create one overall strategy. In a comment letter, the county criticized the one-size-fits-all approach and failure to include local governments in the process. The new rules are expected to affect all National Forests in Wyoming, including the Black Hills. Dru Palmer, consultant for...
There's not much chance of flooding this spring, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The county continues to slide into drought conditions after a winter that brought little snow. The flood outlook summary for this spring is below average across all of northeastern Wyoming and western South Dakota. This is the time of year for ice cover on streams, rivers and lakes to melt and for ice-jam flooding to potentially occur. Flooding from snowmelt on the plains typically takes place betwe...
A structure fire on Tuesday night claimed a single family residence on Cow Camp Road, northwest of Sundance, but no injuries were reported to the residents or the firefighters who responded. The fire is believed to have begun at around 2:35 a.m. on March 6. At this time, the cause is unknown and under investigation. Sundance Fire Department responded along with a county fire unit. Upon arrival, crews found that the structure was burned to the foundation. Work began to extinguish the fire that...
Wyoming is still fighting the good fight to keep invasive mussels from its waters. With boating season underway, Wyoming Game & Fish has opened its check stations for the season. “Wyoming is one of the few states left in the nation that hasn’t detected the invasive zebra or quagga mussels in our waters,” said Josh Leonard, AIS coordinator in a press release. “Game & Fish is dedicated to keeping these destructive invasive species out of our state’s waters. That’s why it’s crucial that out-of-state boaters and residents who have taken their b...
Bills have fallen by the wayside at a steady pace throughout this year’s legislative session, but the first new laws have made it to the governor’s desk. As a budget session, the focus on non-financial matters has been necessarily limited. The budget bills spent the beginning of the week the Joint Conference Committee, which was tasked with finding a way to reconcile a $1.1 billion gap between the proposals put forth by the House and Senate. The two chambers went in different directions while examining the budget. While the House added addition...
After six dormant years, Sundance's American Legion post is proudly bringing its Easter egg hunt back to the community this March. Once again, little ones will get their chance to root out the goodies left behind by the bunny and fill their baskets to brimming just as quickly as they can. This will be Legion Post #45's first community-focused event since it re-formed about a year ago. Since that time, under the leadership of Phil Colozzi, Commander, the group has been working hard to establish...
The Wyoming Department of Transportation is getting ready for road repair season, starting with a project expected to be visible on I-90 throughout most of the year and will involve eight individual bridges. Also confirmed for the season is a striping project on U.S. Hwy 212. The bridge structure project will be completed by contractors S&S Builders and, weather permitting, began on March 4. It is scheduled for completion on November 30. The eight bridge structures to be repaired during the project are located between mile markers 152.96 and...
Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD) is about to flip the switch on a new electronic medical records system (EMR) – a project more than a year in the making. Please forgive any hiccups in service while the new system is implemented, says a press release from the district announcing the launch. “At CCMSD, our mission is ‘Proudly providing high quality care, putting patients first’ and partnering with a new EMR will do just that,” states the press release. “Taking our software into the future to maximize efficiency and patient car...
Another chest of federal funding for broadband access is soon to go live in Wyoming, this time through the “Internet for All” initiative. The federal government’s “Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program” (BEAD) aims to make sure that all unserved locations in the state – at a minimum, with “underserved” locations to also be targeted if possible – will be connected to the internet by the time the funds have been spent. According to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is part of the U.S. Departme...
Two wildfires that ignited on Sunday burned a combined estimated total of 1600 acres and required a sizeable response from firefighters around the county and beyond. In New Haven, a fire located on a combination of private and state land is estimated to have reached 400 acres. According to Fire Warden Charlie Harrison, crews that responded to the fire included Oshoto, Carlile, Sundance, Pine Haven and Hulett. The lower portion of the fire was located in grass, but around 70% of the fire was in...
