Proudly Serving the Hulet and Devils Tower Community
Proudly Serving the Hulet and Devils Tower Community
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The primary elections this August will see a couple of minor alterations for local voters, but future elections could bring deeper change. Warned County Clerk Linda Fritz last week, the current focus on election integrity may see Crook County lose some of its polling places. “Times are going to change,” she told the county commissioners, later adding, “If we can’t keep the places secure enough and we have too much scrutiny, I think it would be fair to say that [we] may have to…close down some of the rural polling places.” Fritz was referring t...
Crook County’s elected officials are set to see a significant salary increase for the first time in many years. The county commission has approved raises across the board to ensure that those individuals elected to serve the county are paid at a rate that better matches inflation and is more competitive with similar roles in surrounding communities and private industry. According to the resolution, salaries for elected officials were last raised four years ago by $1700. In the time since, non-elected county employees have received cost of l...
Is more control needed over what happens on Crook County land? The county commission is hoping its potential rules for large acre subdivisions will be enough but, as stated by Commissioner Kelly Dennis last week, may need to consider the idea of zoning. The conversation cropped up during discussions of hiring a new secretary for the Growth & Development department to replace an outgoing employee, including what should appear on the job description for that person. “I think we need to have a clear plan of where we’re going down the road to hir...
Sticking close to home again when making his decision, Governor Mark Gordon has selected Crook County Deputy Attorney Lynda R. Bush as the Sixth Judicial District’s next Circuit Court Judge. “I want to thank Governor Gordon for the honor of this appointment, and I look forward to serving the citizens of Crook and Weston Counties,” Bush said. Bush was selected from a list of three candidates that were submitted to the governor by the Judicial Nominating Commission for his consideration. Also on the list were Jacqueline K. Brown of Casper and N...
Once again this June, the Country Junkin’ weekend will offer a unique opportunity to sell your unwanted items, find new treasures or both during a countywide yard sale. Applications are available now if you would like to sign up as a vendor. The Country Junkin’ event was conceived in 2019 as a way to attract visitors to the area while giving avid collectors the chance to share their treasures and combining the yard and garage sales that tend to punctuate the summer in this region. The weekend of bargain hunting is set to take place on June 3-5...
For those interested in standing for election this year, whether for local, county or state positions, the filing window is about to open. For a two-week period, citizens will be invited to put forth their names for seats ranging from U.S. Congress to city council. Filing opens on May 12 and will close on May 27 for most county, state and federal seats. Special district and school board applications will not be accepted until later in the year as these seats will appear on the ballot for the general election. As well as two county commissioner...
Guidelines for public or private organizations wishing to request a portion of the American Rescue Plan Act money granted to Crook County are now available on the county website. After a public hearing, the county commissioners approved the proposed rules that the county will use to guide distribution of the remaining funding left in its coffers, as well as the second installment of just under a quarter million dollars that’s expected later this year. The county has been working to devise an application process for entities with projects t...
Wyoming Game & Fish has now detected cases of bird flu in wild birds within this state. Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI, commonly known as bird flu) was already known to be affecting back yard poultry in Wyoming. The national outbreak has caused die-offs in both domestic and wild birds in states as close to home as South Dakota, Nebraska and Colorado. The public is asked to report groups of dead birds. “Anyone who finds clusters of three or more dead wild birds – especially waterfowl and other water-birds – please contact the Game...
The Vital Statistics Services division of the Wyoming Department of Health has released data showing that 2021 was a second year of unprecedented death rates in this state. However, there were also more births and marriages in Wyoming, and fewer divorces. A total of 6572 deaths were recorded in 2021 and 5986 in 2020. For context, 2019 saw a lower death rate of 5122. Specific figures for Crook County in 2021 were not available at time of going to press. However, local death rates did show a considerable jump in 2020 with 106 deaths recorded, as...
County Clerk Linda Fritz has handed in her resignation, citing plans to move out of the area to be closer to family. Fritz presented her letter of resignation to the county commissioners last week, but will continue to act as clerk until her official last day of May 31. "My husband, Todd, and I have chosen to move back to Iowa to be with family. Most of our family resides there and quality time with my father has no rival," she said in the letter. "We have lived in Wyoming for 37 years and will...
Law enforcement in Crook County is facing three new – and very concerning – trends. According to Sheriff Jeff Hodge, there have been local increases in the use of fentanyl, suicide threats among the youth and the need to employ force during arrests. “Some of the trends I think people are not aware of – and, if they’re not, they should be,” he said last week. Fentanyl Fentanyl, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), is a synthetic opioid up to 100 times stronger than morphine. It was developed for pain management...
County level elected officials have requested that the Crook County Commissioners consider granting them a pay increase for the next four-year period. County Attorney Joe Baron spoke to the issue, citing issues including competition with private industry, retention and cost of living as arguments for making the increase. “Every four years, the board of commissioners has to set salaries for elected officials,” he said. This process cannot happen once an elected official is instituted; it must be complete before they take office. The Wyoming Leg...
Established last fall, a new collaborative covering the northeast of Wyoming is looking to improve outdoor recreation in this area – and needs your help for its first steps towards doing so. The Northeast Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Collaborative (NEWORC) has two ideas for projects this summer, but first needs to discover the identity of the Eagle Scout who installed a life jacket kiosk at Keyhole State Park. “We need to find out who this person was or if anyone remembers anything about it,” says Commissioner Jeanne Whalen, who is part of the NE...
Rare Element Resources (RER) last week announced that it has developed a timeline for its rare earths demonstration plant that should see construction complete within around two years and the test itself done around a year later. Meanwhile, the company has appointed a new chief financial officer. RER scaled down its staff considerably after the Bearlodge Project was put on hold in 2016 due to financial woes. Aside from its boards of directors, management has been handled by President, CEO and Director Randall J. Scott. With the demonstration...
Appearing in court for an arraignment on Thursday, Ed Svoboda pled not guilty to the charges against him related to the death of his wife in September by reason of mental illness. His wife, Kathleen, was allegedly hit by a truck and trailer in her back yard on September 5, 2021. Svoboda was arrested and charged with murder in the first degree. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment at minimum, and could be given the death penalty, a $10,000 fine or both. He has also been charged with murder in the second degree, carrying a minimum penalty of...
Unless the long-term weather forecast undergoes a pretty dramatic change, 2022 is shaping up to be another potentially dangerous fire season. Fire Warden Doug Leis is warning Crook County citizens to take care when burning slash piles even now, and expects there will be fire restrictions in place as early as April. “The conditions right now are the same as what they would be in September, really. It’s not greened up and if we don’t get some moisture, we’re not going to get a lot of green-up,” he says. “These spring fire conditions are as bad...
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will once again be holding public open houses around the county this month to discuss the proposed hunting seasons for 2022. Meetings are scheduled in both Sundance and Hulett and comments will be accepted until April 1. The first of the two meetings will take place in Sundance on March 21 in the courthouse basement from 4 to 6 p.m. The next day, March 22, the Greater Hulett Community Center will host a meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The intent is to gather public input on general hunting regulations, as...
A public hearing is coming up next month for proposed rules that the county will use to guide distribution of the remaining $200,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding left in its coffers, as well as the second installment of just under a quarter million dollars that’s expected later this year. The county has been working to devise an application process for entities with projects they believe are eligible for pandemic-related funding. Now available for public viewing are the application form, certification form, checklist, eligible e...
Mary Kuhl was given a deferred sentence on Friday for crimes related to misconduct during her time as county treasurer. She will serve two years of supervised probation as part of a plea agreement, after which the charges will be expunged from her record. Kuhl originally pled “not guilty” to one felony charge of unauthorized use of monies, as well as to one misdemeanor count of official misconduct and two misdemeanor counts of issuing false certificate. The allegations against her included that she listed a customer’s license plate tabs as lost...
This article has been corrected for clarification. This year's county audit flagged a serious issue within the Crook County Weed & Pest District that led to a "near complete breakdown in the accounting process". The list of errors presented included failures to pay bills or file reports and "general disorder" within the administrator's office and accounting system. Paul Stille of Leo Riley & Associates presented his annual findings to the county commissioners last week, commenting that, "Weed &...
County resident Edward Svoboda has been bound over to District Court on charges related to the death of his wife of 53 years last September. Svoboda appeared in Circuit Court on February 7 for a review of the competency evaluation performed in January at the Wyoming State Hospital. Judge Matthew F.G. Castano found there to be probable cause to believe an offense – or several offenses – had been committed by Svoboda. He bound the case over to District Court for arraignment and further proceedings. Svoboda has been charged with murder in the fir...
Seasons change even when they never quite seemed to arrive, and so the next few weeks will undoubtedly bring the first hints of spring. Unless the Climate Prediction Center changes its current outlook, flooding is unlikely to play a major part in the season ahead of us. According to predictions released by the National Weather Service (NWS), drought conditions are expected to persist this spring and there is a below average potential for flooding in this region. The U.S. Drought Monitor is likewise expecting abnormally dry to extreme drought...
With approximately $200,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding left to spend and another installment of just under a quarter million dollars expected later this year, the county has been working to devise an application process for entities with projects they believe are eligible for pandemic-related funding. The Crook County Commissioners have scheduled a public hearing on April 5 at 4 p.m., at which time they will hear comments on the application form that has been devised, which details the requirements to both request and award the...
The Wyoming Public Service Commission (PSC) has granted permission for Powder River Energy (PRECorp) to increase its Cost of Power Adjustment (COPA) by $1,386,882 per annum to reflect a change in wholesale power costs. The effect of this will be a modest increase to residential monthly bills. In a second filing, the cooperative has also been given permission to increase the discount offered to members who have permanent electric resistance heat or electric heat pump space heating systems. COPA COPA is the mechanism by which the cooperative...
Honorable Matthew F.G. Castano, familiar to the community already as Circuit Court Judge for the Sixth Judicial District, has been appointed to serve as District Court Judge for Crook, Weston and Campbell counties. Castano will step into the role left by Judge Thomas W. Rumpke upon his retirement. As a Crook County resident – in fact, the first District Court judge in a while to reside in this county – he says he has no plans to relocate. "This is our home and this will remain our home," he says...
