Proudly Serving the Hulet and Devils Tower Community
Proudly Serving the Hulet and Devils Tower Community
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A group of landowners from the Hulett area have found themselves disagreeing over the maintenance required on a private road that serves an estimated ten families. Despite the differences of opinion, several of the affected citizens were able to come together last week on a potential solution: requesting that it be adopted as a county road. Unfortunately, the Crook County Commissioners were equally united in their response. While the landowners have every right to put together a formal petition for their request, the commissioners responded,...
Crook County Medical Services District is ready to form its own internal fundraising foundation, having given the nod of approval to a completed set of bylaws. The board decided this was necessary after disagreements with the Crook County Medical Foundation (CCMF) over the Red Bluffs Clinic, which led trustees to feel that the goals of the two entities no longer aligned. Offering a contract to Campbell County Health was, to some, a clear demonstration that the foundation’s mandate is to support healthcare in the county, rather than CCMSD i...
U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso have resubmitted a bill that would protect the name of Devils Tower National Monument. The bill, which was introduced on January 22 and has been read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, would designate the monument as “Devils Tower” and commands that it shall be referred to as such in any law, map, regulation, document, paper or record. Senator Mike Enzi first introduced the bill, along with Barrasso, in 2015, at which time Lummis introduced companion leg...
Once again, the students of Crook County have outdone the state average with a graduation rate for the 2021-2022 school year of 90.6%. This places Crook County School District among the top 15 in the state. Overall, graduation rates in Wyoming have been statistically strong over the last decade, staying above 81% since 2014 according to the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE). This year’s state average was 81.8%, down slightly from 82.4% in 2020-2021, which was the highest in the nine-year span. A total of 77 students graduated in Crook C...
Following the December tragedy at Keyhole Reservoir, a recent training session gave Crook County Sheriff's Office the opportunity to test out the Argo first responder UTV under the varying circumstances that might occur during an ice rescue. The primary purpose of the training, says Sheriff Jeff Hodge, was to prepare and train for different types of ice rescue operations – and to ensure that a rescue can be completed safely. This was done by pushing the limitations of the Argo and other e...
Crook County Sheriff's Office hosted an active shooter training at Sundance High School on January 20, focusing on a scenario in which one or two officers must respond to an active shooter situation. "The reality is that, if an active shooter incident occurs, it will likely be one or two officers that are able to respond in the critical first few minutes and it is their responsibility to stop the threat," says Sheriff Jeff Hodge. "There is not time to wait for backup or a SWAT team to arrive in...
On Tuesday morning, the county commissioners approved a grant application for funds that would be used to construct a new building to house the county’s emergency response departments under a single roof. The application will be submitted to the State Lands and Investments Board (SLIB) for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. The building would be known as the Crook County Consolidated Public Response Facility and would contain space for three individual departments. “It’s for fire, emergency management, search and rescue,” said Commissione...
As one of the county's own picked up the gavel as President of the Wyoming State Senate, and another became the first freshman legislator elected as floor leader, Crook County took its fair share of the focus during the first week of the 2023 Legislative Session. During the opening ceremonies, Governor Mark Gordon gave the annual State of the State speech, during which he took the opportunity to recognize one of the community's exemplary volunteers. Perry Honored There's something about the...
The county commissioners enjoyed their first opportunity at last week’s regular meeting to try out the exemption process for the new regulations governing large-acre subdivisions, which came into effect at the end of last year. Garry Davis was the first to come before the commission to ask for an exemption, regarding land he has owned with his business partner since 1998. The two are aiming to split the land into almost equal portions and would like it grandfathered in before they do so. Davis initially made his request in December. However, a...
The Wyoming Legislature convened on Tuesday at the State Capitol to kick off its 37-day general session. As always, a variety of services will be available both online and offline to help members of the public participate in the session. The numerous bills so far introduced cover potential new laws such as a significant increase to nonresident hunting tags; prevention of crossover voting; 12 months of Medicaid coverage for women after giving birth; an increase to tobacco tax; the creation of a 988 suicide and crisis lifeline; a “back to s...
A clearing of the air at last week’s meeting led to the board of trustees agreeing to examine the possibility of once again seeking to fund a new hospital building for Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD). As the board convened for its monthly meeting, Sandy Neiman addressed new trustee Brent Fowler with the stated intention of getting to the bottom of a rumor before the board begins working together in the new year. “When you were elected and even afterwards, you said the reason we don’t have a new hospital is my fault,” she said to...
January Life had almost returned to normal by the beginning of 2022 after almost two full years of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the danger was not over, as a new and more infectious strain that came to be known as Omicron began to dominate new infections. Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD) implemented a new policy requiring staff be vaccinated to comply with the federal mandate upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and tightened its visitation policy to protect patients and residents...
Hot on the heels of a nation-spanning storm that closed down the region for several days came a “polar plunge” last week, just in time for Christmas. Travel once again became difficult as temperatures began to plunge and the new snow joined what was already on the ground to blow whiteouts across the roads. The strong, gusty winds continued until the end of the week, with the combination of fresh snow and wind resulting in blizzard-like conditions in some parts of the region. The bigger problem for human fingers and toes, though, was the dan...
Two local men died during a search and rescue effort at Keyhole State Park that began on Thursday and continued until dusk on Sunday. The Crook County Sheriff’s Office received a call on December 15 at around 9:10 p.m. that a male subject had fallen through the ice while driving his UTV on the reservoir. Dispatch spoke to the subject on the phone, who said he had made it out of the water and was lying on the ice. Pine Haven Fire and EMS were paged and arrived at approximately the same time as three local citizens, who drove a UTV onto the i...
The Audubon Christmas Bird Count is a widespread effort in which an estimated 80,000 volunteers in more than 2600 locations across the U.S., Canada, Caribbean and Latin America will track the health of bird populations at a scale that scientists could not accomplish alone. Crook County is among the locations where volunteers can help gather valuable data about such things as number of bird species and numbers of each species within set geographic areas on an early winter day. Birders of all ages are invited to contribute to the nationwide...
Powder River Energy has announced that it will be issuing almost $20 million in capital credit retirements this year. The cooperative describes these credits as one of the major benefits of being a member and say they reflect one of the seven principles of a cooperative: member economic participation. Each year, all revenue that has been received in excess of the expenses for that year is allocated to members as a capital contribution based on their power purchased. The unretired amount in a member’s capital credit account represents the v...
The board of trustees for Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD) has officially moved to replace its electronic medical records system (EMR), which has been causing serious issues with cash flow and is deeply unpopular with staff. The board met in special session on Friday to discuss the potential contract. The majority of the meeting was spent in executive session to allow board attorney Kara Ellsbury to provide legal advice on the terms of the contract and any other legal issues associated with it. Following the executive session,...
Search and rescue crews from the Crook County Sheriff's Office continue to search for two men who were reported missing last night at Keyhole State Park. The Sheriff's Office received a call on December 15 at around 9:10 p.m. that a male subject had fallen through the ice while driving his UTV on the reservoir. Dispatch spoke to the subject on the phone, who said he had made it out of the water and was lying on the ice. Pine Haven Fire and EMS were paged and arrived at approximately the same time as three local citizens, who drove a UTV onto...
When Cindi and Brandon Baudhuin asked for help to create a unique hunting experience for a 13-year-old boy who is battling a form of bone and soft tissue cancer, a group of local outdoorsmen did not hesitate to answer the call. As it turned out, fate was also listening in. Thanks to a series of coincidences, the passionate young hunter was able to take his first lion right here in Crook County. Oconto River Kids The Baudhuins volunteer with Oconto River Kids, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit with...
Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD) is introducing a new program that it hopes will encourage staff members to progress their own careers – and simultaneously offer an opportunity to people who may be interested in the medical field but are either unable to afford the education required or cannot justify leaving a current job to go back to school. “It’s our belief that the best way to staff our facilities is from within,” said board chairman Mark Erickson at last week’s meeting, explaining the program to incoming board member Br...
Continuing the recent tradition of punching above its weight, the small county of Crook can once again boast that both of its legislators hold positions of leadership in the Wyoming State Legislature. During a vote held on Saturday, Senator Ogden Driskill was voted the new President of the Senate, while Representative Chip Neiman will start his second term in office as the House Majority Floor Leader. Senate President As Senate President, Driskill will select committee members, appoint committee chairs and decide which bills are sent to which...
Rare Element Resources announced this week that it has been awarded $4.4 million from the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA) towards its demonstration plant in Upton. The grant is a cost reimbursement award for future expenditures related to the project, which will see the company test its proprietary extraction technology via a demonstration plant, using ore previously gathered from its proposed mine site in the Bear Lodge to produce commercial grade neodymium/praseodymium high-purity oxide used to produce high-strength permanent magnets. The...
Crook County's own Jennifer Purcell has been honored with the Public Safety Telecommunicator of the Year award from the Wyoming chapter of APCO International. Purcell has worked within the county's dispatch center for seven years, though her experience in the field spans two decades. She was nominated for her pleasant and professional manner with callers and colleagues at all times, no matter what kind of day she is having. In announcing Purcell's award, APCO also recognized her for being...
No changes were made to the results released on election night after the Crook County Canvass Board came together for its post-election audit on Thursday. Though several races came down to the wire, only one was close enough to meet the criteria to trigger an automatic recount. Meanwhile, two potential candidates were identified via write-ins for seats where no name appeared on the ballot. Recount The only race that came close enough to require a recount was the Hulett trustee race for Crook Cou...
Crook County’s thoughts on the two constitutional amendments that appeared on last week’s ballot were broadly reflected by voters across the state. Like local voters, Wyoming as a whole supported the idea of allowing towns invest money in stocks, but did not support increasing the retirement age for judges. A total of 1270 people in Crook County voted for increasing the retirement age, while 1923 people voted against. No county in the state voted for the amendment, with the totals ending up as 74,633 people who believed judges should be abl...
