Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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When Sundance man Doug Ramsey began volunteering at the world-famous Iditarod seven years ago, he did so because it was an important item on his bucket list. Last week at the Skwentna checkpoint, he ticked off another list-worthy achievement: saving the life of a child. According to a dispatch from the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Ramsey’s quick thinking enabled him to rescue a young boy after he fell through the ice. On March 9, Alaska Wildlife Troopers Knier and Gunderson report that they were a...
A year ago this week, an emergency operations center (EOC) was activated in Crook County to handle the impending arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. This marked the beginning of an era in which toilet paper was more precious than gold and shaking hands was no longer the simplest way to greet your friends. A day before the EOC opened, on March 12 Governor Mark Gordon signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency. Visitation was locked down at the hospital and long-term care, schools were closed until further notice and businesses and...
Crook County Medical Services District has taken delivery of a second ambulance to complete its Sundance fleet. Almost identical to the first vehicle in both appearance and design, the 2020 Dodge Ram 4500 is also a four-wheel drive to ensure that emergency responders can reach patients in crisis no matter where in the county they are located. The second ambulance was purchased directly with district funds, while the first was obtained through CARES Act funding. Pictured above, Christopher...
Wyoming’s national delegation has responded to pleas for help in clarifying the future of commercial timber sales in the Black Hills National Forest (BHNF). Along with their South Dakota counterparts, Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis and Representative Liz Cheney have penned a letter urging the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to increase local involvement in the issue. The Wyoming Legislature’s Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee recently requested assistance from the nat...
Vanda Kay Steele, 67, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, at the Crook County Hospital surrounded by her loved ones. Vanda was born January 15, 1954, in Newcastle, Wyoming, to Mary Wondercheck (McLeod) and Frank Sipe Sr. She attended elementary in Moorcroft, Wyoming, junior high school in Osage, Wyoming, and high school in Upton, Wyoming, where she graduated in 1972. In 1977 she began working for American Colloid where she met Lynn Watt, who she married on August 19, 1978. During their 14 years of marriage, they had three children...
John E. “Jack” Pridgeon of Beulah, Wyoming, lost his battle with Alzheimer’s, the evening of March 5, 2021, at his home in Red Canyon surrounded by his family. Jack Pridgeon was born on May 16, 1933, in Newcastle, Wyoming, to Henry I. “Hank” and Maxine E. (Foltz) Pridgeon. He lived in Newcastle, Sundance and finally in Upton, Wyoming. He graduated from Upton High School in the class of 1951. He married Clarice B. (Thompson) Pridgeon, on August 11, 1949, in Buffalo, Wyoming. To this union six children were born. Jack was a member of the Wyomi...
Crook County Library is hosting the program “Frozen and Boiled: The Weather Extremes of 1936” by Tim Velder on Friday, April 9 at the library meeting room in Sundance. The program will begin at 7 p.m. and is free to the public. Throughout the history of America’s upper Great Plains, weather is almost always among the top three factors in the success or failure of a people. One harsh winter. One brutal drought. One season of pestilence. Any one of those things happening in one calendar year...
A year after the people of Beulah asked for permission to save the old schoolhouse that serves as their community building, Keith Haiar of the Beulah Civic Committee gave the Crook County Commission an update on progress so far. The building’s future fell into uncertainty when it was deemed unsafe and the community’s polling station was moved elsewhere. Beulah locals did not want to lose the building, however, and offered to take on the cost and responsibility of fixing the damage and preventing future deterioration. Issues with the bui...
After a year’s hiatus, the Old West Invitational Turkey Shoot (OWITS) will resume for its 11th year! This year’s event will take place April 28 to May 1 at the Greater Hulett Community Center in Hulett. Hunters from all over the country will converge on Crook County and enjoy another great turkey season combined with fun activities and camaraderie. All events will take place at the Greater Hulett Community Center (GHCC) this year, beginning with an opening mixer and team auction Thursday night, competitive hunting all day Friday, barbeque and...
Pat Frolander, local writer and Wyoming’s fifth poet laureate, has been honored with an award from the Western Writers of America. The Spur Awards honor the best in Western literature and are selected by a panel of judges from material that was published the previous year. Spur Awards are given for works whose “inspiration, image and literary excellence best represent the reality and spirit of the American West.” This year, “Baptism,” a poem that was published in Frolander’s Second Wind by High Plains Press, was chosen for the Best Poem award...
Due to winter weather conditions, the mobile vaccine clinics have been rescheduled for Fri., Mar. 19 in Sundance and Newcastle. Veterans with appointments simply need to come at their previously schedule appointment time, now on Friday. Additional appointments are available. The clinic will be in Sundance from 8-11 a.m. at the CCSD Central Office parking lot and in Newcastle from 12:30-3:30 p.m. at the Gateway Travel Center parking lot. Veterans choosing to be vaccinated will receive the Janssen (Johnson and Johnson) one dose vaccine. In...
We are still doing curbside and delivery if you would prefer not to come inside. The statewide mask mandate has ended, but if you want to wear a mask in the library, we have masks available. Children under 13 MUST be accompanied by an adult. Two computers are available for adults. Teen and Children’s computers are not available. We will start allowing teens and children to use the computers and kid’s iPads on April 1. The meeting room is now open for meetings, parties, etc. Please call the library for more information and availability. The FCC...
When government fails, it’s the rare public official who says, “Oops. My fault.” That’s human nature, particularly for officials in the public eye who may have to run for office again. No one wants to be held directly responsible for letting the public down. Case in point is the recent catastrophe in Texas, when unexpected winter storms left four million homes without power, ruptured pipes and tainted the water supply for many. Texas’ energy grid essentially collapsed. While Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was quick to blame frozen wind turbines,...
Dear Editor, I am responding to Dick Claar’s letter to the editor. Our county commissioners are elected by the people to represent the people of Crook County. Please read that, picturing the entire county. I resent that he is so critical of the Constitutional Representation of our commissioners. I am reminded of the old saying that a lamb, a lion and a wolf sit down to decide what is for dinner. In a democracy the lamb is sure to be dinner, but in a constitutional representative government the lamb is protected from being dinner. Our F...
In 1992, when I worked my first fall hunting season in the Black Hills, there were some elk around and the lucky folks who had tags could fill them with a little work. That has changed radically since, and now we have elk in numbers and places where we never thought we would. The population has been so successful, trying to manage their numbers has become very difficult and frustrating for a lot of folks. The Black Hills provide excellent habitat for elk. Plus, unlike the western side of our...
When you think of Britain, the image that likely pops into your head includes our iconic red telephone boxes. Bright, cheerful and emblazoned with a golden crown, in 2015 these iconic kiosks were voted the greatest British design of all time. Astonishingly, that means they are more beloved than the double decker bus, Doc Marten boots and even our own national flag. Phone booths may have gone the way of the dinosaur in these times of a communication device tucked into every purse and pocket, but...
Travis Price of Sundance stands accused of 13 individual felony charges related to sexual abuse of a minor after two victims identified him as having molested them over the course of several years. According to court reports, a Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputy on February 2 interviewed two people who claimed Price had touched them inappropriately while they were minors. Price was interviewed after the deputy had spoken with both alleged victims and the deputy reports that Price commented several times during the interview that he was ...
Businesses have just under two weeks left to apply for a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a pandemic-related relief option that has recently undergone some program changes to make the system more equitable. The program closes on March 31 for both first and second draw loans. PPP loans are intended to be a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on payroll and the Small Business Administration (SBA) says the loans will be forgiven if all employee retention criteria are met and the funds are used for eligibl...
Phillip Cotney of Sundance has been sentenced to between four and seven years in jail after allegedly pulling a knife on a police officer who had approached him outside a local bar. While on regular patrol on July 24, 2020, a Sundance Police Officer observed Cotney sitting outside the Turf Bar. Aware of an active warrant for Cotney, the officer allegedly approached him, advised him of the warrant and asked him to stand up. According to court reports, Cotney became very angry, went to the street and pulled a knife from his back pocket. Cotney...
Speeding – Hunter P. Skeens, Sundance, 94/80, $130; Steven Cape, Gillette, 85/75, $105; Kimberly Erbacher, MT, 88/75, $125; Jordan Moore, Sundance, 82/75, $130; Sandra Donahue, SD, 80/70, $105; Robert Dewhurst, CO, 74/65, $103; Chester De Villa, WA, 87/80, $99; Timothy Clark, SD, 79/70, $103; Edward Toomey, NM, 89/80, $103 Expired Temporary License Permit/Improper Registration – Pedro Dinwiddie, TX, $140 No Registration and Improper Display of Tabs – Corine L. Anton, Gillette, $90 No Valid Driver’s License – Chester De Villa, WA, $140 No S...
Mar. 1 – Eight VIN checks. Two paper services. Eight traffic stops. Civil assist. Subject booked into jail. Business checks. Mar. 2 – Five VIN checks. Two traffic stops. Civil assist. Theft report. Threat report. Fire page. Business checks. Mar. 3 – Six VIN checks. Inmate transported to appointment and back to jail. Two sets fingerprints. Suspicious person complaint. Assist to Sundance Elementary. Civil standby. Suspicious circumstance. Business checks. Mar. 4 – Eight VIN checks. Traffic stop. Civil assist. Two motorist assists. Sundanc...
For a number of years, Crook County and the U.S. Forest Service have been working to create a map of the area that identifies ownership of particular roads and the entity responsible for their maintenance, a project that will ensure the public always has access to thoroughfares. As the first of the FERTA easements needed to make that happen reaches completion, District Ranger Mike Gosse provided an update last week on what the project involves – and how it might be possible to speed up the process. While there may be a “perceived lack of pro...
Wyoming to receive $1B from latest relief package CASPER (WNE) — Wyoming will receive over $1 billion in state aid soon, thanks to the latest stimulus package signed into law Thursday by President Joe Biden. The federal government passed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package along party lines this week, the third economic recovery act to pass Congress since the pandemic began last year. Wyoming will soon see hefty returns under the sweeping act. In addition to the approximately $1 billion in state aid, the federal government will funnel an ad...
The young thespians of Sundance High School would like to remind the community that the first full-scale musical in 25 years will be hitting the auditorium this coming weekend. There’s also still time to show your support for the kids in the form of a raffle that will be drawn after the final performance of “Flapper” on Sunday. The raffle is for an original Bruce Speidel painting of a bull elk laying in the snow, commissioned by the Fowlers at Sundance Hardware, says director Teresa Preisner. “Proceeds go towards the High School Perform...
SHS basketball players earning All Conference or All State honors, left to right: Baillee Heaster (2A NE All Conference Girls), Aftyn Marchant (2A NE All Conference Girls), Lane Gill (2A NE All Conference Boys, 2A All State, 2A NE Player of the Year), Brad Kruger (2A NE All Conference Boys), Landon Martin (2A NE All Conference Boys, 2A All State), Gunner McLaughlin (2A NE All Conference Boys, 2A All State). SHS boys’ coach Nick Olson was also 2A NE Coach of the Year....
