The Year in Review

January

As the annual Wyoming Legislative Session kicked off, Jason Perry was honored during the opening ceremonies for his work as Hulett's ambulance director and his efforts to get all of Hulett's EMTs certified as paramedics.

Meanwhile, Ogden Driskill took the oath as President of the Senate and Chip Neiman was selected as House Majority Floor Leader – which, to the best of his knowledge, was a position never before offered to a freshman legislator.

Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD) began to contemplate finding funding for a new hospital building and decided to look for possible opportunities for grants or loans.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delayed the effective date of its decision to upgrade the northern long-eared bat to "endangered" after receiving a letter from a group of senators, including U.S. Senator Cynthis Lummis, that expressed concern over its impact on ongoing infrastructure projects.

The nationwide bird flu outbreak grew to become the largest on record, with Crook County one of the few counties in Wyoming in which no cases had been detected in wild birds.

A new K-9 unit joined the Crook County Sheriff's Office. "Condor", a year-and-a-half old Belgian Malinois, is a certified narcotics K-9.

February

Hulett Public Works was kept busy plowing after a three-day storm that included warm weather, rain and snow.

Wyoming Game & Fish (WGF) opened its check stations at Keyhole to protect the waters from zebra mussels, which had been found just 30 miles from the Wyoming border at Pactola Reservoir.

CCMSD announced that the paperwork was complete and it was ready to form its own internal fundraising foundation after disagreements with the Crook County Medical Foundation over the Red Bluffs Clinic in Hulett.

March

Hulett was designated a Purple Heart Community during a ceremony hosted by Governor Mark Gordon, Maj. Gen. Greg Porter and Veterans Commission Chairman Jake Jacobs.

The toughest winter in a while impacted Crook County's ranchers. After two months in which the state was under some combination of weather warning for 66.5% of the time, calving season brought extra challenges. The U.S. Department of Agriculture began offering recovery assistance for livestock losses due to the storms and frigid weather of winter.

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) announced that a wildfire prevention program in California would bolster the timber supply in Crook County, with Neiman Sawmills to receive surplus salvage logs from areas with too much wood and no market for it.

After the CCMSD Board of Trustees held an in-depth conversation with a representative from the USDA, funding for a new county hospital was looking more possible than ever. The board agreed to submit a preliminary application to the USDA for a potential loan of $50 million in order to kickstart the USDA's internal process of reviewing the particulars to see what might be possible.

April

Hulett Chamber of Commerce hosted an Easter egg hunt at the GHCC with over 400 eggs hidden, each one containing candy or chamber bucks.

Eighteen teams of four took to the streets for Urban Golf, a scramble that doubled as a fundraiser for the Hulett High School ecology trip.

Kids at Hulett School were served a special meal that included homegrown beef donated by student Paxton Pravacek.

Northern long-eared bats were officially classified as "endangered" in response to the continued spread of white-nose syndrome.

May

An estimated 80 hunters participated in the Old West Invitational turkey shoot, which included special guests, banquets and live and silent auctions.

Former Hulett resident Nicholas Penning announced he had successfully run the Boston Marathon.

Strata Energy's Ross Project hosted U.S. Senator John Barrasso and Governor Mark Gordon to speak with representatives of the industry about what can be done to support and encourage uranium production in this state.

Rare Element Resources (RER) announced it was awaiting the "last piece of the puzzle" to construct a demonstration plant in Upton to finish out the testing process on its patented technology: a source material license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Once home to the county museum, the courthouse basement was stripped as the first stage of a major overhaul that will see upgrades to the building's mechanical system and a new layout that will provide more spacious offices and additional storage, as well as an additional – but smaller – community room to provide a more intimate space for gatherings.

June

The 76th Hulett Rodeo maintained its reputation for a wet weekend, but that didn't stop the action-packed event from thrilling the crowd.

Wyoming Girls State was held at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne and offered three local students the experience of being elected to high office. Girls State is a week-long session all about learning how government works on the city, county and state levels.

Willow Lindholm, Sundance, was elected as Governor. Ahnya Moody and Natalee Harrison, Hulett delegates, were elected as Treasurer and County Commissioner, respectively.

The Hulett Youth Field Day saw kids head to Chip Neiman's ranch for an educational experience hosted by the Wyoming Sportsman group.

RER announced the completion of a $4.4 million grant from the Wyoming Energy Authority that will be used to assist with the cost of constructing the company's planned demonstration plant in Upton.

Increased vigilance for invasive mussels had already resulted in five thwarted attempts to cross the Wyoming border this summer. Two of the five infested watercraft traveled through the check station near Beulah.

Five kids were announced to be representing Crook County in rodeo this summer, with three of them set to compete during the seven days of the 75th National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) in Gillette. Two meanwhile headed for the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, GA for the week-long National Junior High Finals Rodeo (NJHFR).

July

The fifth Hulett Airport Fly-in was a success, with 21 planes and helicopters arriving and more than 80 people served breakfast.

To the theme of "A Brand of Its Own", the Crook County Fair officially kicked off. Events began with entertainment including the youth and ranch rodeo, the ice cream social and animal shows including horses and 4-H dogs and ended with the grand finale of parade day.

The Bureau of Land Management opened its public scoping period to inform an environmental impact statement for planned revisions to the resource management plans for the Newcastle Field Office and Nebraska planning area. The proposed revision would replace the existing 23-year-old Newcastle RMP that guides the management of approximately 287,900 acres of public lands and 1.7 million acres of federal mineral estate managed by the BLM in Crook, Weston and Niobrara counties.

During the annual presentation from WYDOT on proposed state transportation improvement projects, District Engineer Scott Taylor told the county commissioners that rising costs have had a serious impact on what the department is able to achieve. The department was forced to delay $70 million's worth of projects in 2023 due to this issue, Taylor said.

August

The Hulett rally saw a packed Main Street as bikers came to enjoy the local sights. The rumble of motorcycles began early this year, with visitors increasing up to ten days before the rally began.

The 20th Annual Devils Tower Car Show attracted 127 entrants, the largest turnout yet.

With funding from the Wyoming Arts Council, the Hulett Museum was able to re-design its ranching exhibit.

The Crook County Commissioners submitted official comments on the Bureau of Land Management's plans to revise its resource management plan (RMP) for northeast Wyoming. Pointing out that the county needs its natural resources to survive economically, the commission's letter urged the federal agency to be mindful of the priorities laid out in the Crook County Natural Resource Management Plan

Crook County Family Violence and Sexual Assault Services changed its name to reflect an expansion to its service territory. The organization now works under the trade name of Northeast Wyoming Advocacy Resource Center (NEWARC) and covers both Crook and Weston counties.

RER was granted its source materials license from the NRC, a "critical step" in moving ahead with the company's planned demonstration plant in Upton.

The Sheriff's Office introduced its own active shooter training to the community, starting the process to offer Critical Incident Response Training in each of the municipalities.

Game & Fish announced that Crook County would be one of the focus areas for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing and on the list of areas from which hunters would be asked to submit samples.

September

Ride a Horse Feed a Cowboy raised money this year for locals including Roni Johnson, Marla Waugh, Mike Tokarczyk and Michelle Davis.

The third annual quilt show at the Hulett Museum and Art Gallery included both historic and modern quilts, all made locally.

Crook County Natural Resource District's e-cycling event saw thousands of pounds of electronic items hauled away for safe and secure disposal.

The Honorable John R. Perry, retired District Court judge for the Sixth Judicial District, was the year's recipient of the Larry L. Lehman Award for Judicial Excellence.

October

The annual haunted house at the GHCC saw the gym transformed into a spooky experience for the kids.

RER hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its demo plant in Upton. A crowded room of local and state officials and individuals from both Crook and Weston counties filled the community center to listen to remarks from dignitaries including RER's CEO Brent Berg, newly appointed Director Paul Hickey, General Atomics CEO Neal Blue and Senator John Barrasso.

The county began the process of developing a possible zoning plan for the county and invited a community planning and zoning consultant to do the necessary groundwork of figuring out exactly what the county wants and needs.

A joint powers board formed in 2016 to investigate options for a countywide solid waste district was revived when the county commissioners determined that doing so was the most reasonable next step in answering the lingering question of whether it's worth constructing a landfill for the whole county.

Crook County opted to retire the position of Fair Secretary and instead hire an event coordinator who would take on the task of promoting more use of the fairgrounds.

November

Old Man Winter made his first appearance with the first significant snowfall: around an inch and a half of accumulation.

The Devils Tower FFA hosted a Fall Fest at the school, including pumpkin decorating, pie eating and a chili cook-off. Later in the month, the Hulett craft fair saw 13 vendors display their wares for more than 150 shoppers.

At precisely 11 a.m. on November 11, the courthouse lawn reverberated with the sound of rifle volleys and the revered bugle call "Taps". Members of the public were invited to join American Legion Post 45 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4311 in marking Veterans Day with a service at the war memorial.

Meanwhile, in Hulett, students sang patriotic songs during the school's annual Veterans Day program.

The school district announced a partnership with Care Solace to improve mental health care access for students, staff and their families.

December

Hulett Library hosted a Ladies Christmas Shopping Extravaganza with 78 people attending, while a Fill the Fire Truck and Deck the Halls gala was full of holiday cheer. The junior high and high school Christmas concert included traditional and contemporary songs to celebrate the season.

The assessment phase for the Black Hills National Forest Plan Revision process was announced to be complete and a total of 20 revised, forest-wide resource assessments were released.

The Crook County Commissioners approved updates to the regulations for minor subdivisions and the bylaws of the Land Use Planning Commission following a public hearing.

Over a thousand homes in Crook County are set to have access to broadband internet for the first time thanks to federal grant awards that aim to make access available across the nation. Two local projects were among 32 applications to be approved for funding: one for the Aladdin-Beulah area and another for the Moorcroft and Pine Haven area.

Game & Fish announced that, despite breaking records for high-risk watercraft inspections this year, the state's waters appeared to still be free from invasive mussels.