Wyoming News Briefs

Park lifts indoor masking as Teton County COVID risk declines

JACKSON (WNE) — Grand Teton National Park has lifted its requirement for wearing masks inside park buildings as Teton County’s risk for COVID-19 has declined.

After just one week at high risk for COVID, the county is back down to medium, based on a decrease in new COVID-positive hospital admissions.

The Teton County Health Department announced the change Friday afternoon, minutes after an emergency Nixle showed a 28.7% decrease in weekly cases. Since June 10, there have been 119 reported cases for county residents, and an additional 62 nonresident cases.

It resumed counting out-of-county visitors this week in an effort to track how tourists spread the virus.

Only a handful of people, both residents and visitors, have required hospitalization for COVID-19 in the past week.

St. John’s Health has a 7-day average of 0.43 patients with COVID in the hospital’s primary care unit and 0.14 patients with COVID in the ICU.

At medium-risk level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends staying home when sick, testing when symptomatic and wearing a mask to limit exposure.

Those who test positive can call the health department’s COVID hotline at 307-732-8628.

Some individuals may qualify for free antiviral treatment, which can reduce the chances of severe illness from the virus.

Last summer, Teton County entered the high-risk level in late August and remained at that elevated level for months.

The Health Department has since changed its metrics to align with the CDC, which changed the data it tracks to determine risk level.

Now, on a weekly basis, the CDC determines countywide risk based on county-level case rates, new regional hospital admissions and the percent of inpatient beds full of COVID-19 patients.

Emergency poultry rule repealed, showing at the fair to proceed

CODY (WNE) — Poultry shows have the go-ahead from the state livestock board after being banned for most of the spring due to concerns of avian influenza.

Wyoming’s emergency rule prohibiting commingling of poultry due to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was repealed June 13, according to a release.

Due to declining cases both in Wyoming and across the U.S., the WLSB voted to repeal the emergency poultry order.

With the repeal of the emergency poultry rule, local fair and extension officials are able to determine the status of their poultry exhibitions.

The rule was passed on April 19 by the Wyoming Livestock Board to limit the spread of HPAI.

Since the initial diagnosis of HPAI within the U.S. in February, the virus has spread across 36 states on 371 premises, affecting approximately 40 million poultry.

Park County was one of the first in the state to report cases of bird flu. The rule put poultry showings, including the one at the Park County Fair, in jeopardy, although officials said they would revisit the rule.

Now cases are declining in Wyoming, due primarily to a decrease in wild waterfowl migration. That means poultry showings can proceed for the summer fair season.

As the virus is transmitted via migratory birds, mainly wild ducks and geese, poultry owners are reminded to continue their vigilance against the highly fatal disease by eliminating contact between wild waterfowl and domestic poultry.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the recent HPAI detections do not present an immediate public health concern. Birds and eggs from an infected flock will not enter the food system.

Former jail officer accused of having sex with inmate pleads no contest

GILLETTE (WNE) — The former Campbell County jail officer accused of having sex with an inmate in May 2021 while she was in jail pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree sexual assault.

Sean Isaac Allen, 31, was found guilty of that charge on May 12 and had a count of third-degree sexual assault and another second-degree charge dismissed, according to court documents.

A plea deal recommended a suspended four- to six-year sentence with a 365-day split-sentence to be served in jail outside of Campbell County, as well as the ability to argue for a lesser sentence.

The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation began investigating Allen last summer when an inmate complained in early July that Allen was engaging in sexual activity with an inmate.

The inmate who complained said that Allen would frequently enter the woman’s cell alone with her and stay there for several minutes, during which sexual noises sometimes could be heard, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Others in the cell block said it wasn’t uncommon for Allen to enter her cell, outside the view of cameras, for 5 to 10 minutes at a time, according to the affidavit. They also complained that the inmate was given privileges from him that they were not.

The inmate told DCI that Allen made her “feel that if she didn’t do what he wanted she would be in trouble,” according to court documents.

Allen continued to go into her cell, she said, stating at one point they had sexual intercourse, according to court documents.

Video footage showed him visiting her cell during the daytime when they allegedly had sex.

Allen has a sentencing hearing scheduled for July 29.

Gordon seeks block to BLM land buy in Natrona, Carbon counties

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The state of Wyoming is asking a federal panel to block a Bureau of Land Management purchase of Marton Ranch land in Natrona and Carbon counties. 

On Friday afternoon, the office of Gov. Mark Gordon announced the legal move. It called BLM’s action “a massive acquisition of land.” 

The agency itself has called this its largest land purchase in Wyoming, “creating a 118-square mile contiguous block of public land and improving public access to the North Platte River.” 

The notice of appeal was filed with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Hearing and Appeals’ Board of Land Appeals. 

“The State has concerns that BLM did not involve the public in the acquisition process and that the environmental assessment did not adequately consider impacts on tax revenues, school funding, grazing, mineral development and other natural resources” of the transaction, a news release summarized. 

For such land deals, the state said it needs to have a 60-day comment period and to have two public votes of the State Board of Land Commissioners. 

The land board counts Gordon as a member, along with several other statewide elected officials. 

Gordon’s office said he emphasizes that this new legal challenge is “focused on the adequacy and proper adherence to the process that occurred.”

“This action is not about limiting access for sportspeople or challenging the rights of private property owners’ rights,” Gordon said in the release. “It is about whether the Federal government can increase its land holdings without public scrutiny, or should it adhere to the same transparent process that private landowners are subject to if they sought to purchase or exchange federal land.” 

The BLM declined to comment Saturday on the administrative complaint. 

Gillette Community College District trustees approve first budget of $16 million

GILLETTE (WNE) — The Gillette Community College District passed a major milestone and obstacle this week when it approved its first-ever budget and settled on taxing 2.5 mills.

The $16.2 million budget covers the costs of administration, facilities, establishing information technology, running Area 59 and other expenses associated with standing up the independent district. Notably, it also includes funding for the return of athletics programs and the Energy City Voices.

Those programs were cut in June 2020 and incited the push to form an independent district around Gillette College.

“This is historic for us,” board chairman Robert Palmer said on the passing of the district’s inaugural budget.

The 2.54 mills the district will tax equates to about $11.55 million, or 71% of its revenue. The half-mill levied by the Board of Cooperative Higher Education Services is expected to bring in $1.9 million, adding another 12% of the district’s initial budget.

Taxing less than four mills means the district won’t receive state funding. 

Because of Campbell County’s outsized assessed valuation, trustees and those in favor of the split from Sheridan advocated for taxing less than four mills, making GCCD the only of the eight community college districts in Wyoming to do so.

Expenses for the athletic program account for 6% of the budget, translating to just under $1 million in the first year. The full year of rodeo, which was not cut along with the other sports programs, is included in that funding.

The budget has about $4.9 million in new annual costs for the district and about $5.3 million in one-time startup costs, about $4 million of which were included in the approved budget.

Opossum found in Rock Springs

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — On Monday, June 6, Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office animal control officer, Chris Thomas, responded to the Western Hills neighborhood on Purple Sage Road west of Rock Springs for a report of a local resident who discovered a possum hiding under his residence. 

North American opossums are the only marsupial, or pouched mammal, found north of Mexico, and today across North America, is native primarily to the southern United States in places like Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. They are not native to Wyoming, and likely would not survive its harsh winters in the wild. 

Known widely for playing dead when frightened and hanging by their tails to sleep, possums are docile, nocturnal animals that use their tails to help them climb but rarely hang by them, contrary to popular folklore and cartoons.

Thomas said the possum she discovered is a male roughly the size of a small house cat. 

She dubbed it “George” and said she does not believe he had been domesticated. 

Rather, since possums often seek refuge in dark, tight spaces, she theorized that George hitched a ride on a semi on the interstate and went looking for food when the truck stopped.

Thomas cared for George during his week-long stay in Sweetwater County and managed to locate a rehabilitation center to arrange for George’s transportation back to a state in the southern U.S. where possums live as a native species.

Airport runway reconstruction completed ahead of schedule

JACKSON (WNE) — Construction projects at the Jackson Hole Airport are moving forward quickly, with the biggest item — a complete runway reconstruction — already completed ahead of schedule.

According to a Wednesday update from the airport, the runway paving was fully finished, and “paving crews are close to finishing Taxiway A4 and will [then] begin paving the north blast pad, which is the final paving section.”

With the airport scheduled to reopen on June 28 at 6 a.m. after a 78-day closure, the progress report also indicated that other key aspects are also nearing completion. 

The runway electrical work was reportedly 65% complete, with work ongoing on the runway centerline lights and airfield signage.

Interior projects are also moving along smoothly. The carpeting and ceiling are finished at the updated TSA checkpoint, and the interior and exterior glass is being installed next week. The checkpoint equipment will also be moved into place at that time, and refurbished gate areas are set to be completed by the reopening as well.

Work on the renovated restaurant area of the airport is also progressing on schedule, though that won’t be fully finished until later in the year.

The pace of the work is welcome news for Jackson Hole Airport Director Jim Elwood, who thanked airport customers for accommodating the potential interruption to their schedules. He said travelers will be pleased with what they see when the airport reopens.