Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 32
In an upset to the status quo, Tyler Lindholm lost his bid to retain the House District #1 seat for another two years to challenger Chip Neiman. This result was reflected in Weston County’s unofficial results. Election night brought fewer surprises at the local level, with Kelly Dennis on track for another four years as county commissioner after defeating challenger Bob Latham. Also at Tuesday night’s primary, Republican incumbent Liz Cheney was Crook County’s vote, leading challenger Blake...
There was plenty of speculation leading up to the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. In the middle of a pandemic, would there be more visitors to town to take advantage of one of the few big events still on track this year, or would the bikers play it safe and stay away? The answer appears to be that, while there was little change in numbers for Wyoming Wednesday itself, Crook County was a popular destination for bikers throughout the week. “I think the crowd downtown was about the same as last y...
The global pandemic may have had plenty of downsides, but there was an unexpected upside for the kids who raised animals to sell at this year’s county fair. The livestock sale saw higher average sale numbers and a net total sale that was up from years past, says 4-H Educator Sara Fleenor. “It was a really high sale,” she says. The net total came in at $333,000, which is an increase of $60,500 from last year’s net total of $272,500. Buyers at the county livestock sale are traditionally generous, but were even more so this year. “We attribute...
As Old Stoney’s new occupants prepare to move in, bringing to a successful end the years of hard work and dedication to repurpose the hundred-year-old building into a cultural center for Crook County, Museum Director Rocky Courchaine encourages the community to take advantage of two upcoming events to celebrate this moment. The first is Old Stoney’s 97th birthday at 5 p.m. on August 21. As well as enjoying cupcakes and bottled water, attendees will be able to tour the finished building if occupancy has been granted. The occupancy test is sch...
An older man who had spent a week camping out near Warren Peak was found dead at the location of his vehicle on Wednesday morning. According to Undersheriff Todd Leimser, deputies with the Crook County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a report of a deceased body on August 12 at around 10:10 a.m. The location of the body was believed to be an area north of Warren Peak, off Forest Service Road 838 (otherwise known as Taylor Divide) to respond to a report of a deceased body. The deputies were able to locate the male subject and identify him a...
John Edward Queen, 84, of Moorcroft passed August 11, 2020 in Sundance, WY after a courageous battle with cancer. John was born April 24, 1936 to Elmer and Bertha (Crago) Queen at the home of Aunt Georgie Crago. He was joined by older sister Sadie. In 1943, they moved to the Barton Ranch to live in a one-room schoolhouse. John attended country school and later went to Sundance High School. He started his ranching career at the Campstool Ranch. He married Phyllis Davis on Oct 18, 1959 in Newcastle, WY. To this union were born Thomas Elmer in...
Mary Ann Boe of Spearfish, SD, died peacefully at her daughter’s home in Sioux Falls, SD, on August 13, 2020, at the age of 93. Preceded in death by parents, Joe and Novice Short; husband, Leon (Bob) Boe; brothers: Leo, Lloyd and Denny Short; daughter, Sally Boe; and grandson, Randy Nankivel. She will be dearly missed by her children: Dean, North of Arpan, SD, Susan Obermoller (Douglas) of Sioux Falls, SD, Sharon Boe of Spearfish, SD, Michael (Roberta) of Torrington, CT, and Patrick of Worthington, MN; grandchildren: Andrew Obermoller (...
Earl Gray, 91, of Sundance, Wyoming, passed away on August 13, 2020. Earl Gray was born May 26, 1929, outside of Alva, Wyoming, to Frank Gray Sr. and Rena (Loe) Gray. The youngest of four siblings, Earl went to country school until his father’s passing, when the family moved to Sundance. During high school, Earl was involved in many clubs and activities including the school newspaper, The Annual, the class plays and the Letterman’s Club. He played football and basketball. During summer vacations he worked at various jobs around Sundance, inc...
Marietta “Rita” Ellen Smith-Griffis, age 82, of Casper, Wyoming, passed away August 3, 2020, at her home. Rita was born August 16, 1937 in New Underwood, South Dakota, to Benjamin and Berniece (Shoun) Smith. She grew up and graduated from Sturgis, South Dakota, High School. Rita and her husband, Jerry, were long-time Wyoming residents and owned and operated a trucking business for more than 40 years. Marietta was preceded in death by her parents and step-daughter, Brenda Griffis. She is survived by her husband, Jerry Griffis; son, Alan Hil...
Mary Isadora Johnson, 86 of Moorcroft, Wyoming, formerly of Spearfish and Lake Norden, South Dakota, passed away on Saturday, August 15, 2020, at the Crook County Nursing Home in Sundance, Wyoming. Funeral Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, August 20, 2020, at the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church in Moorcroft. Interment will be at 2:30 p.m. central standard time on Friday, August 21, 2020, in the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church Cemetery at Lake Norden. Mary I. Johnson was born on December 10, 1933, in Moorcroft, the daughter of Waldon...
Paul left this world surrounded by some of his favorite things. He carefully packed his fishing pole, binoculars, Metroline dart set, big candle belonging to his girlfriend, photo albums and framed photographs of his son and mom and himself enjoying family activities. He carried them to his backyard and sat them down. With a black marker he wrote goodbye messages on the glass of the pictures. While looking through a gap in his trees to view Keyhole Reservoir where he frequently fished from his boat, Paul, 53, chose to move beyond this life. At...
The emergency housing assistance program through which the State of Wyoming has offered help to citizens facing eviction or the loss of their mortgage due to the global pandemic has received a revamp to make it easier for those in need to access assistance. According to Scott Hoversland, executive director of the Wyoming Community Development Authority (WCDA), flaws in the program were causing too many applications to get denied. The Wyoming Emergency Housing Assistance Program (WEHAP) has been up and running since June 4. Since that time,...
My high school has its fair share of famous alumni, from politicians and scientists to a professional tennis player who is still the only British woman to have won all four Grand Slams. In my own time there, I shared classroom space with two future actresses; a well known lyric soprano; and virtuoso cellist Natalie Clein. My school has particular success when it comes to music because of its strong all-round program, but it was never going to be the road to riches for me. While my talented...
There were still signs of the pandemic easing in Wyoming early last week as the daily figures stayed lower than they have been for a while and the number of active cases dropped. At the weekend, however, a resurgence saw the state set a new daily record and high numbers of new cases throughout the weekend and into this week. Three new cases have been identified in Crook County over the last week, two adult males and one adult female. Two of the cases are symptomatic and the place of exposure is under investigation for all three. At this time,...
A Rapid City man faces a felony charge of driving under the influence, fifth offense, after he was observed driving erratically on the interstate near Moorcroft. On August 8 at around 5:15 p.m., a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper was dispatched to a report of drunk driving. The report stated that a vehicle was traveling westbound on I-19 towards Moorcroft and was all over the road. The trooper observed a vehicle matching the description and caught up to it. According to court reports, he observed the vehicle drift across the center line and then...
A Gillette man faces multiple charges including aggravated assault and interference with a police officer. Vincent Everett allegedly attacked a Moorcroft police officer who chased him after a fight broke out in a local bar. On August 13 at around 11.30 p.m., two officers from Moorcroft Police Department heard a bartender yelling from Dewey’s Place that a fight was in progress. One of the two men allegedly fighting was escorted from the bar, while a witness approached the officers to state that he had broken up the fight and the other man had le...
The Wyoming Department of Health has issued a recreational use advisory for Keyhole Reservoir due to a harmful cyanobacterial bloom (HCB). On August 10, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality received a report from Keyhole State Park of dog illnesses that were potentially linked to cyanobacteria exposure. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality visited the reservoir on August 12 and collected water samples. Cyanobacteria densities were found to exceed the 20,000 cells/mL recreational use threshold as identified in Wyoming’s H...
There were no credible reports of an actual confrontation with the Old Stoney bison as of press time, but evidence witnessed early Tuesday morning appears to indicate someone may have ignored the warnings about petting wild animals and experienced a de-britches-ing as a result....
The Beulah Cemetery will be the location of the library’s last cemetery walk of the season on Thursday, August 20 at 6:30 p.m. Cemetery walks are a great way to learn more about the history of Crook County and share the stories of our early residents. During the course of the evening we will “visit” a number of “residents” of the cemetery, relate their biographies and share stories or memories about them – at Beulah we will “meet” Hans and Theresa Tauck, Charles and Mary Kokesh, Robert and Jane Gunn, Adam and Carrie Giltner, Lucretia Marchb...
Our Thanks We would like to thank Zone 25, Zone 8, many friends and neighbors and County Fire Warden Doug when we had the fire on August 17. The prompt action certainly saved several buildings. The Dennis Family Ranch...
The library doors are open. We will still be doing curbside delivery if you would prefer not to come into the library. We do ask that you wear a mask to enter the library. If you do not have a mask, one will be provided. Maximum of five (non-staff) people in the library at one time. Maximum length of stay limited to 30 minutes. Children under 13 MUST be accompanied by an adult. Two computers are available for adults. Teen and Children’s computers are not available. Library Programming: BEULAH CEMETERY WALK, Thursday, August 20. Meet at the c...
Aug. 10 – Four VIN checks. Two paper services. Five traffic stops. Suspicious vehicle complaint. Fingerprints. Crash report. Two motorist assists. Business checks. EMS page. Aug. 11 – Two VIN checks. Eight traffic stops. Subject booked into jail. Motorist assist. Business checks. Assist to Hulett Police. Traffic hazard. K-9 sniff on traffic stop. Seven EMS pages. Two fire pages. Aug. 12 – Eleven traffic stops. Unattended death investigated. Crash report. Two motorist assists. Traffic complaint. Business checks. Subject booked into jail. Assis...
Speeding – Rifat A. Arif, MO, 88/80, $111; Michael Q. Totman, CO, 87/75, $120; Emily A. Verrastro, MN, 93/80, $125; Robert D. Felbinger, ID, 90/75, $135; Megan K. Gorsuch, Gillette, 84/75, $88; Scott Shultz, Casper, 90/75, $135; Joshua J. Cunningham, Gillette, 32/20, $115; Connie M. Higgins, ND, 89/75, $115; Rekha Sukhlecha, IL, 97/80, $145; Michael J. Hayworth, SD, 85/70, $135; David Aho, MN, 54/45, $103; Curtis Kingrey, WA, 86/70, $140; Travis J. Brandenburg, Gillette, 50/40, $105; Matthew C. Pistorio, IL, 89/80, $88; Rylea L. Erickson, Gille...
Aug. 1 – House watch and business checks. Officer put on bike rodeo at fair. Traffic control for parade. Three bar checks. Six traffic stops. Aug. 2 – House watch and business checks. Officer found open door; owner notified. Officer responded to alarm; determined it was caused by squirrel. Two traffic stops. Aug. 3 – House watch and business checks. VIN inspection. Traffic stop. Aug. 4 – House watch and business checks. Dog at large; owner identified. Two traffic stops. Aug. 5 – House watch and business checks. VIN inspection. Officer p...
Wyoming launches app for coronavirus exposure SHERIDAN (WNE) — Gov. Mark Gordon recently announced that Wyoming has launched Care19 Alert, an exposure notification app that will alert users if they have been in close contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19. Wyoming is one of the first states in the country to launch a COVID-19 app using Bluetooth Low Energy technology developed by Apple and Google, which does not rely on personal information or location data. Users opt-in to download and utilize the free app. “The Care19...
