Wyoming News Briefs

AARP COVID dashboard shows improvement In Wyoming’s nursing homes

SHERIDAN (WNE) —The latest edition of the AARP COVID-19 dashboard showed substantial improvement in staff and resident cases of COVID-19 inside the state’s nursing homes over the four-week period ending Dec. 18, 2022.

Wyoming’s nursing home COVID-19 resident ratio for that period was 7.27 cases per 100 residents, which is the eighth highest in the nation and up from November’s rate of 6.7 cases per 100 residents. 

Wyoming’s nursing home staff case rate was just over the national average at 4.8 confirmed cases per 100 residents. That led to 51% of Wyoming nursing homes self-reporting staff shortages.

The good news is Wyoming’s rate of nursing home resident deaths due to COVID-19 dropped to .05 per 100 residents, placing Wyoming 11th in the nation and well under the national average of .10 deaths per 100 residents. 

That is a big change from the November stats, which listed Wyoming as having the highest number of nursing home resident deaths attributed to COVID-19 with .33 deaths per 100 residents or six deaths total among nursing home residents. 

Wyoming wasn’t alone in seeing its COVID-19 rates increase. Going into winter, COVID-19 cases and deaths across the nation rose for the second consecutive month, while vaccination rates remain stalled. 

As of mid-December, more than three months since the shots became available, fewer than half of nursing home residents (47%) and less than one-quarter of health care staff (22%) were up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations.

Wyoming’s nursing home residents are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines at a rate higher (60.8%) than the national average of 47.5%. Wyoming nursing home staff is vaccinated at a rate of 23.1%.

Second expert to evaluate Underwood’s competency

POWELL (WNE) — One expert found Joseph Underwood competent to face charges that allege he dumped his ex-girlfriend’s dead body south of Cody, but the defense will receive a second opinion. 

On Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah agreed to order another evaluation of Underwood. 

The defendant’s attorney said the work will be performed by one of the two doctors who found Underwood was mentally unfit to face other charges stemming from the 2019 murder of his ex-girlfriend, Angela Elizondo. 

The Laramie County District Attorney’s Office had charged Underwood with first-degree murder and other felonies relating to Elizondo’s killing, but permanently dropped the case last year, after Dr. Max Wachtel of Denver and Dr. Dan Martell of Newport Beach, California, found Underwood was incompetent. 

Following the dismissal of that case, however, the Park County Attorney’s Office refiled separate charges against Underwood. 

They include felony counts of concealing a felony crime and possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a violent felony, plus misdemeanor counts of interference with a peace officer and fleeing police. 

Charging documents allege Underwood disposed of Elizondo’s body on a remote two-track road between Cody and Meeteetse and led law enforcement officers on a chase when they caught him returning to the scene. 

Immediately after Underwood was transferred from Cheyenne to Cody, Judge Darrah expressed concern about proceeding with a defendant recently found to be incompetent.

Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric contends that, because it’s a felony case, Darrah lacks the authority to make a ruling on Underwood’s competency and the decision should be left up to a district court judge. 

The prosecutor is currently asking the Wyoming Supreme Court to order Darrah to move forward with Underwood’s case and hold a preliminary hearing. 

WYDOT adjusts snow response

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Back-to-back storms impacting the entire state has caused Wyoming Department of Transportation snow crews to restructure how they approach clearing roads.

WYDOT Assistant Chief Engineer for Operations Tom DeHoff told the Wyoming Transportation Commission Thursday maintenance crews are approaching snow removal differently this winter season.

DeHoff said there were several road closures in the past month due to winter conditions, crashes and wind, causing no visibility and drifting. Maintenance crews are shifting resources to where the storms are and attacking storms as soon as they come, enabling roads to open as quickly as possible.

“Several team members have gone to other districts to help fight the storm and stay several nights in hotel rooms away from their families,” he said. “This is a little shift in [our plan] and the guys are adjusting well to it, and I just want to commend them on how they’re adjusting to this new way of our trying to attack the storms.”

Other staff are gearing up for summer, ensuring maintenance on equipment in preparation for construction projects. 

Six snow plows had been hit since the last commission meeting, with ten having been hit in total so far this season. Fortunately, DeHoff said, nobody was injured but there was damage to the trucks requiring minor repairs. All are back on the road and working.

A total of 62 vacancies remain out of 449 total maintenance positions throughout the state, which is three fewer than the last time DeHoff reported, he said, noting each month the number decreases. He noted raises approved for maintenance crews helped with the hiring of open positions.

For those interested in open positions with WYDOT, see governmentjobs.com/careers/wyoming.

New terminal to be

named after Coe

CODY (WNE) — The terminal of Yellowstone Regional Airport officially has a name — one that pays tribute to a longtime advocate of local air service.

The airport board voted unanimously to name the terminal the “Senator Hank Coe Terminal” during its Jan. 11 meeting, almost two years after the idea was first introduced to the board by Cody Mayor Matt Hall and Park County Commissioner Lee Livingston in April 2021.

The terminal at YRA had no prior designation. The general aviation terminal was named after historic Cody aviator Elmer Faust in 1992, and this terminal is still named in his honor.

Sen. Coe, who died in January 2021, was an avid supporter of air service in Cody. Former county commissioner, and Coe’s longtime friend, Joe Tilden told the airport board the senator had “done more for commercial aviation in the state of Wyoming — and in particular Cody, Wyoming — than anyone else I know of.”

Coe was a founding member of the Cody-Yellowstone Air Improvement Resources organization, an advocacy group for Yellowstone Regional Airport. He would travel across the country to lobby for YRA in front of airline executives, petitioning for more flights and days of air service to and from Cody.

“The fact that we have our current air service…is because of Hank,” Coe’s colleague Rep. Sandy Newsome, R-Cody, had told the Enterprise at the time of his passing.

State’s crop production declines

CASPER (WNE) — Wyoming’s crop production fell last year as the state produced the smallest winter wheat harvest since 1944. 

Production was also down for barley, sugar beet, dry edible beans, pinto beans and corn for grain. 

Drought, a reduction in planting and pests all contributed to the reduced harvests, said Leslee Lohrenz, Wyoming’s USDA agricultural statistician. 

“I’d guess the main cause is that input costs are higher than usual — and extreme weather,” she said. 

Rising farm production costs were a major factor for producers in 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. In 2021, total farm input expenses — fuel and oil, livestock, fertilizer — increased about $29.8 billion compared to the year prior. 

Portions of southeast Wyoming — including Laramie, Albany, Goshen, Platte, Converse and Niobrara counties — were all considered to be in extreme drought conditions as of Jan. 10, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. 

In 2022, the corn for grain crop was 18% below the previous year, the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service said. Wyoming’s barley seeded area was down 7000 acres. Sugar beet production decreased by 10%, dry edible beans decreased by 16% and pinto beans decreased by 14% last year. 

Three crops managed to increase output: hay, winter wheat seedlings and seedlings of alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures. 

In Wyoming, the intensity of future droughts is projected to worsen, even if precipitation increases, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a 2022 state report. This will likely impact crop production for years to come. 

“Increases in evaporation rates due to rising temperatures may increase the rate of soil moisture loss during dry spells. Thus, future summer droughts, a natural part of Wyoming’s climate, are likely to become more intense,” the report said.

Man bound over on kidnapping and aggravated assault charges

GILLETTE (WNE) — A man accused of threatening his girlfriend and keeping her in an apartment against her will has been charged in District Court.

Aaron G. Coklas, 39, waived his preliminary hearing Jan. 10 and was bound over to District Court on felony counts of kidnapping and aggravated assault and battery, as well as misdemeanor interference with a peace officer.

The morning of Jan. 1, police were called by his girlfriend’s friend, who reported that Coklas was making nonsensical statements and that she was worried for her friend’s safety.

Officers had difficulty opening the door of the residence. Coklas was inside holding a knife with an eight-inch blade. Officers ordered him to drop the knife, which he did, then wrestled him into handcuffs while telling him to stop resisting. Coklas was sent to the hospital by ambulance, according to court documents.

Police interviewed Coklas’ girlfriend, who said that he called her at 7 a.m. and said she had two options. The first option was to pick him up, and “the second option is I am going to kill you,” according to court documents.

After picking Coklas up, he allegedly began accusing her of wanting to kill his bird, being a murderer and stabbing him with needles. She said she didn’t leave because she was afraid Coklas would kill her. He took her phone and would not let her leave the apartment, according to court documents.

When police interviewed Coklas at the hospital, he said he would have killed his girlfriend and that he took her phone and called her friend hoping that the friend would call police. He said police intervention was the only way to resolve the situation without him killing her, according to court documents.

Sheriff’s office advises public not to ‘rescue’ livestock guardian dogs

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — Over the years, livestock guard dogs have become an increasingly popular, and non-lethal, tool in livestock management. Ranchers in Wyoming depend on special breeds to protect their livestock from predators. 

But every year across the state, especially during the winter grazing season, a number of these dogs are taken from their security outposts on Bureau of Land Management or national forest lands by those mistaking them for lost or abandoned pets. 

“This time of year, many ranchers run their sheep or cattle on winter feed-leases,” said Sweetwater County Sheriff ’s Office Animal Control Officer Chris Omas.

While most have good intentions as dog lovers who just want to make sure the animals are OK, Omas said removing the dogs for any amount of time threatens not only the livestock but also the canine’s welfare. 

“Livestock guardian dogs are specifically bred and trained to protect cattle and sheep,” she said. “Removing them from their work assignments, for any amount of time, actually jeopardizes their temperament and training.” 

In fact, under Wyoming law, “livestock guarding animals” enjoy special legal protections when compared to household pets. 

“We just ask people to call first, instead of taking matters into their own hands,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Jason Mower said. “Don’t feed them or pick them up — just make note of their location and call dispatch’s non-emergency number so we can get an animal control officer in the area to assess the situation.” 

“We also want people to know, the animals are well cared for,” Omas said. “Ranchers invest a lot of time and money into breeding and training them, and they’re an invaluable deterrent for predators on the open range.”

Detimore charged with alleged sexual abuse

LANDER (WNE) — Donald Floyd Detimore, 70, has been charged with first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, third-degree sexual abuse of a minor, and two counts of immoral or indecent acts, alleging he molested children going back as early as 1978 and as recent as 2015. The most serious charge, first-degree sex abuse, carries a penalty of a minimum of 25 years to a maximum of 50 years in prison. His trial is expected in mid-May 2023. 

Officials reportedly received allegations of sexual abuse decades ago, but charges never surfaced until last spring, when the Fremont County Sheriff’s Department began investigating allegations that Detimore sexually abused a child in 2014. A special agent from the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation began to assist the investigation in April 2022. 

The most recent alleged victim provided testimony to investigators that the alleged abuse began when the child was approximately seven years old and continued until the child was approximately nine years old. 

Investigators re-examined a case from 2002 that included allegations against Detimore that hadn’t resulted in charges. An affidavit alleges Detimore had sexual contact with a teenaged minor, to whom he allegedly wrote love letters. 

Detimore was arrested in May 2022. 

In September 2022, following a tip, investigators looked through records and found a file from December 18, 1984, when allegations had surfaced that Detimore had molested another minor six years prior. 

A Fremont County Sheriff’s Department investigator then reportedly interviewed Detimore in January 1985, when Detimore allegedly admitted he had sexually molested the victim on at least two occasions in 1978, although he did not appear to have faced any criminal consequences at the time.

WHP reports 2022 fatality statistics

SHERIDAN (WNE) — The lack of use of vehicle restraints contributed heavily to the number of road fatalities in Wyoming in 2022.

Fatal crash statistics through November 2022 showed out of 123 fatalities in 107 fatal crashes, 62 were attributed to not using occupant restraints, with 41 involving rollover crashes, 17 involving multi-car collisions and four involving fixed objects. 

Of the 62 who perished from not using proper restraints, 14 were younger than 21 years old.

Percentage breakdowns show 82% of those who died in rollover crashes were unbelted, compared to 45% unbelted who died in multi-vehicle crashes and 100% of those who died in fix-object crashes were unbelted. 

Likewise, 83% of the resident fatalities were unrestrained, while 46% of nonresident fatalities were unrestrained. 

Those involving drugs or alcohol came in at 37% of total crashes, rising above the national average of 28%.

Of the total fatalities, more were male drivers, Ratliff said.

A bill going through the Wyoming Legislature revises child restraint requirements, replacing language of “infant seat” with “child safety restraint system” and requiring children remain in a rear-facing child safety restraint system until the child reaches either the age of 2 or the weight or height limit specified by the manufacturer of the restraint system. 

The bill was sponsored by the Transportation Committee and has been received for introduction in the House as of Jan. 17.

Current statute incurs only a $25 fee for a driver not wearing a seat belt and a $10 for passengers not wearing restraints.