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[{"type":"text","text":"Dog brings his stuffed animals to join him for all his meals..."}]

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Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Daily Smile: Thursday, August 10, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Dog brings his stuffed animals to join him for all his meals...

Daily Smile: Thursday, August 10, 2023

 Dog brings his stuffed animals to join him for all his meals...

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Business & Tourism

Tourism

The Maverik gas station in Montrose, Colorado, can’t sell any diesel after someone dumped an RV’s waste tank into the station’s underground diesel supply.

The incident happened sometime on Monday, and a woman who answered the phone at the Montrose Maverik station on Tuesday confirmed that someone had dumped an RV waste tank into its underground diesel storage tank.

She said the pumps “are shut down right now,” that the store was busy, and hung up.

Cowboy State Daily hasn’t been able to confirm the status of the situation at the Montrose Maverik since that call. Subsequent calls weren’t answered.

Evan Peters shared details of the incident in the Facebook group Montrose Message Board.

“They dumped into the large manhole covers near the road directly into the diesel tank,” he wrote. “They have a dedicated dump at the larger pumps, but I guess someone decided to undo the manhole and dump there.”

To add insult to injury, Peters said a cashier at the Montrose Maverik told him the station had “just gotten a new delivery of diesel.”

Now, they’ll have to pump everything out of the tank and thoroughly clean it before it’s operational.

That’s what happens when someone’s No. 2 becomes someone else’s No. 1 problem.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Necessary Evil"}]

Bill Sniffin, an avid RV enthusiast and Cowboy State Daily columnist, said emptying an RV’s waste tank is “a necessary evil of RVing.”

“Let me tell you, it’s not fun,” he said. “It's usually a two-person operation, and it’s pretty darn rank.”

When Sniffin heard about the incident at the Montrose Maverik, he said it was “almost unbelievable.” 

He couldn’t see how anyone could confuse an RV dump station for the portal leading to a diesel fuel tank, regardless of how the gas station is situated.

“The dump stations are very obvious,” he said. “They’ll have signs all over the place, and it’s very self-explanatory.”

When people rent or buy RVs, they might not anticipate that anything that’s flushed down the on-board toilet needs to be emptied, usually every week or so. It’s the least glamorous part of traveling via RV.

“You can’t hire anybody to do it for you,” Sniffin said. “Luckily, I've got a wife who's a pretty good sport about it, but I have to admit that I have many pictures of her standing over the tank, holding her nose, and trying not to yuck.”

When discussing the Montrose incident, Sniffin kept referencing the 2006 film “RV” starring the late Robin Williams. In the movie, Williams plays an oblivious dad who rents an RV for a fun family vacation.

There’s a particular scene where Williams’s character has to empty the RV’s waste tank. Williams used his comedic genius to make the most of the all-too-relatable moment.

“He doesn’t know how to do it, so of course it explodes into a brown Old Faithful,” Sniffin said. “Anybody who's ever been in the RV business looks at that scene, cringes, and says, ‘For the grace of God, go sweet, those hoses better not pop loose.”

Sniffin has never had an incident as severe as depicted in “RV.” His worst experience was when one of the hoses he used to empty the waste tank split in the hot sun.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It was a helluva mess,” he said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Black Then Gray (In That Order)"}]

RVs have two notable tanks that need to be emptied regularly. The gray water tank holds the water used for sinks and showers, and the black water tank holds the smelly stuff.

According to Sniffin, an experienced RVer knows they need to empty the black tank before the gray tank.

“You have two valves and one hose,” he said. “The routine is to do the black valve first, so all the really bad stuff is gone, then you do the gray valve to rinse out all the stuff as it goes down.”

Where can you empty the black tank? It can be more logistically challenging than many people, especially first-time RVers, realize.

Most RV campsites have waste tank dump sites, either a singular designated spot or one at each hookup, if it’s a full-service site. RVers on the road can empty their black water tanks at fairgrounds, truck stops, and water treatment plants, usually for a fee.

Some gas stations, including Maverik, have dump stations available for free. 

They’re usually clearly marked, with lots of signage telling RVers of all stripes exactly where to back up and bail out their black water tanks.

That comes with a certain risk, as the Montrose Maverik discovered this week.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Everyone Has Stories"}]

Andrea Wood, general manager at the Devils Tower/Black Hills KOA campground, has an RV waste tank dump station at her campground. However, it’s only available to “registered campers.”

“They can reserve a water and electric site, which means they use our dump station, or they are in a full hookup site, which means they hook directly to the sewer system.”

Anyone else who asks to swing in and use their dump station is directed to the Crook County Fairgrounds in Sundance. It’s best not to take chances.

“Anyone who works at a campground will have fecal matter stories for you,” she said. “It is not a daily occurrence, but it happens with frequency, without question.”

Wood couldn’t recall a particularly “exciting” incident at the Devils Tower/Black Hills KOA campground, although there’s nothing exciting about it.

According to her, the most common problem is people “emptying their black water tanks into whatever hole they can find.”

“Not only is it inconvenient and gross, but it's a biohazard,” she said. “The cleanup is never much fun, but it's also a safety concern.”

That said, there’s a particular demographic that’s the most problematic. Nearly every incident Wood could recall involved inexperienced RVers who were “unaware” of what they were doing.

“Lots of people buy or rent campers thinking it's going to be a fun vacation thing, but they don't truly grasp the maintenance and what's required to take a rig down the road,” she said.

Sometimes, people dump their black water tanks in the first spot they find. Sometimes, they don’t even wait for a promising pipe.

“Some people don't bother to put their black water tubing into the sewer hole, and have dumped it straight onto the ground,” Wood said. “Other times, they found something alongside the road that looked like it might work for them and pumped their things into that. 

"It's always amazing to us where they choose to dump, because it's really, it's quite simple.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Unbelievably Newbie'"}]

Sniffin’s guess was that whoever was responsible for the incident was “unbelievably newbie.” They would have had to unscrew the lid to the subterranean fuel tank, insert their hose into it, and let ‘er rip.

“It’s almost unbelievable,” he said. “The whole process is so unpleasant that it's bad enough, but then doing it in the wrong place is just unbelievable to me.”

Wood shared the assessment that the perpetrator was probably a first-time or inexperienced RVer. However, she added that many RV mishaps are caused by foreign tourists who have even less experience with RVs than the average American.

“We get lots of German and French travelers that travel with Cruise America, and they are frequently very unfamiliar with the RVs,” she said. “It's just about knowing and understanding the rig that they're driving and being able to use it the way it's meant to be used, which many don’t.”

Regardless of their experience or ethnicity, the person who made the mistake in Montrose just made their vacation a lot more expensive.

Sniffin, who used to work at a gas station, knows how laborious and meticulous it is to maintain fuel tanks. Correcting the mistake at the Montrose Maverik will be costly and time-consuming.

“I can't imagine the process they're going to have to go through to clean that tank out,” he said. “The whole process of dumping fuel into a fuel tank is very antiseptic. 

"The people driving those trucks make sure not a speck of dirt or anything gets into the tanks or the hose there because that could ultimately mess up a car.”

The Montrose Maverik will have to empty and thoroughly clean the underground diesel tank, along with all the associated filters, pumps, and hoses, before refilling it.

“It's going to be very expensive,” Sniffin said. “If you make that kind of mistake, you are in an unbelievable world of hurt.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Never Never Land"}]

Most people don’t have issues emptying their RV’s black water tank. Wood thinks it’s incredibly simple.

“There's literally only one spot to do it, and all that’s there is a PVC pipe with a cap on it,” she said. “You take the cap off, put your sewer hose in there, and that's where it goes.”

Wood could believe that someone would mistake a fuel tank for an RV dump station, as incredulous as she was that anyone could get that far without realizing what they were doing. 

For her, it’s a reminder that people need to understand RVs before renting or buying one.

“If you're going to use the bathroom in your camper, that goes somewhere,” she said. “It doesn't just disappear into Never Never Land. All of that raw sewage has to go somewhere, and it’s your responsibility to do that the right way at the right spot.”

RV and Montrose Maverik 5 27 26

<title>RV Driver Empties Waste Tank Into Colorado Gas Station's Diesel Supply | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Colorado Maverik station can’t sell any diesel after someone dumped an RV’s waste tank into the station’s underground diesel supply tank this week. One avid RVer said the mistake is “almost unbelievable … the dump stations are very obvious."

RV Driver Empties Waste Tank Into Colorado Gas Station's Diesel Supply

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Law Enforcement

Thousands of drivers, truckers and travelers pass through Rock Springs along Interstate 80 every day, 

swiping cards at gas pumps without a second thought.

one fuel pump near Exit 101 may have been stealing financial information from unsuspecting customers with the help of a credit card skimmer.

The discovery has prompted warnings for travelers, truckers and local residents who regularly fuel up along one of Wyoming’s busiest highway corridors.

The Maverik station at 1225 Foothills Blvd. sits directly off Interstate 80, a route carrying a constant flow of commercial truckers, tourists and cross-country travelers through southwest Wyoming.

The Rock Springs Police Department warning about finding the skimmer didn’t come as a surprise for local resident Jaime Stahle, who used to work in a Wells Fargo call center and dealt with victims of credit card skimming  daily.

“Oh, it happens so often,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “It was daily, a constant problem. I will never — never — pay at the pump because of that.”

Stahle said the convenience of filling up, paying and leaving is tempting, but not if it means getting scammed and having someone drain your bank account.

“I still tell my family, ‘Please don’t pay at the pump,’” she said, adding that’s only partially successful. “My dad has to get a new card every few months because he pays at the pump.”

Credit card skimmers are so common that banks like Wells Fargo are on high alert, she said.

“It’s actually something they talked to us about in training,” she said. “It’s a very common tactic to steal your card information."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Truck Stop Manager Sees Scams Regularly "}]

At a nearby truck stop off Exit 104, manager Tori Walker said financial scams like credit card skimmers have become part of modern truck stop life.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It happens,” Walker told Cowboy State Daily."}]

While TA Express hasn’t dealt with a skimmer specifically, Walker said staff routinely encounter scams involving counterfeit bills and fraudulent gift cards.

He said skimmers are something employees actively watch for as the devices have become more common nationwide.

Walker said workers inspect fuel pumps at least three times a day for signs of tampering.

Credit card skimmers are devices illegally installed over or inside payment terminals that capture card data during legitimate transactions; t

said the practice costs financial institutions an estimated $1 billion a year. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Skimming"}]

Walker said the layout of his truck stop may make it harder for someone to secretly install a skimmer because employees can clearly see the fuel islands from inside the building. 

He also noted that Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers frequently patrol the area around Exit 104, but acknowledged other stations may be more vulnerable depending on visibility and pump placement.

Police have encouraged anyone who recently used fuel pumps in Rock Springs to carefully monitor bank and credit card accounts for suspicious activity.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A New Kind Of Interstate Crime"}]

Law enforcement advises customers inspect card readers for loose or unusual attachments, cover PIN pads while entering information and use tap-to-pay options whenever possible.

Police also recommend using pumps closer to store entrances, where activity is generally more visible to employees and security cameras.

Stahle said she’s been to the Maverik store where the skimmer was found, and she wonders how long it had been there covertly stealing people’s information.

“It’s really hard to visually tell because they look so real,” she said. “That’s why sometimes there’s no telling how long those have been there.”

When she sees others filling up and sticking their cards into the slot on the pump, Stahle said that, “I cringe every time. I’m thinking, ‘You really shouldn’t do that,’ but I also don’t want to tell them what to do.”

The best advice she has is to “just go inside. There, you have constant cameras and there’s always someone there,” Stahle said.

Maverik Rock Springs Card skimmer 5 27 26

<title>Truck Stops On Alert After Credit Card Skimmer Found In Rock Springs | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Police say a credit card skimmer was found on diesel pumps at a Rock Springs gas station off Interstate 80 this week. "I will never — never — pay at the pump because of that,” says a former bank worker who said she handled skimming complaints daily.

Truck Stops On Alert After Credit Card Skimmer Found In Rock Springs

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Government & Politics

Legislature

Wildlife agents are killing just as many — if not more — grizzly bears every year because of human-bear conflicts than hunters would if there were grizzly hunting seasons, Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Angi Bruce told lawmakers.

An average of 21 “conflict” bears are killed in Wyoming every year, whereas 20 grizzly tags might be issued for a “conservative” Wyoming hunting season, Bruce said Wednesday.  

She made those remarks before the Legislature’s Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee, which is meeting in Casper.

Bruce has been an outspoken advocate for delisting grizzlies in the Lower 48 from federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection. 

So has her predecessor, former Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik, who is now director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

Bruce told the committee that she regards grizzly hunting as a vital “management tool” that her department is now denied.

That is “allowing these bears to be more comfortable in the ecosystem and spreading outside the ecosystem than they would be if we had a hunting season,” Bruce said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Be Patient’"}]

While giving the committee an update on Game and Fish, Bruce mentioned efforts to delist grizzlies, which started a discussion on the matter.

Grizzly delisting involves federal policy, so the committee took no action. 

There’s an ongoing, two-pronged approach to get grizzlies in the Lower 48 delisted, Bruce said. She didn’t mention a time frame for when it might happen.

There are efforts to take an “administrative” approach through FWS, as well as a legislative approach, through bills pending before the U.S. Congress.

Last year, Wyoming Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman introduced 

, the Grizzly Bear State Management Act, and Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis introduced a mirror bill.

On the administrative side, Bruce said the goal is to come up with a “durable” delisting plan that will “last through the court system.”

Previous grizzly delistings, most recently in 2017, were overturned by federal judges.

“We are working very closely with our Fish and Wildlife Service partners in the effort to delist the grizzly bear,” Bruce told the committee. "I will tell you and ask you to be patient, because these things take time.

“You won’t see anything publicly-facing on this until later in the year. But just know that it is a continuous work in progress."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Just One Judge"}]

Committee member Sen. Brian Boner, R-Douglas, remarked that “all it takes is one judge to undo all of that effort.”

“How easy is it for a different (presidential) administration to just come in and wipe it away on Day One?” Boner asked Bruce.

Bruce said the goal is to craft a delisting plan that is built “on science,” but noted that an administrative delisting could be overturned.

“That’s why we’re not letting off the gas when it comes to the legislative fix — a congressional action to delist them,” she said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Mother May I?’"}]

Game and Fish is already essentially managing grizzlies in Wyoming, and spending about $2 million a year doing so, Bruce said.  

However, with ESA protection still in place for grizzlies, federal authorities have the final say, she said.

“We still have to go to the Fish and Wildlife Service and ask ‘mother may I?’ beforehand,” Bruce said.

Committee member Rep. Robert Wharff, R-Evanston, asked Bruce when Wyoming’s grizzly population reached objective numbers.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"“Over 20 years ago,” Bruce responded."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Roadless Protection"}]

If the goal is to kill fewer grizzlies, hunting might be the better option, Wharff said.

“People need to understand that grizzly bears are dying even under federal protection, they are being removed rather than using sportsmen to hunt those bears,” he said.

“The agency is put in a pretty tenuous position. They don’t want to be killing grizzly bears, but that’s one of the realities,” Wharff added.

Richard Garrett, government affairs advisor for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC), told the committee that the GYC is willing to keep talking about a “durable and sustainable” plan to delist grizzlies.

 on national forests could affect grizzlies, he said.

Roadless areas reduce human-bear conflict, Garrett said.

“We’re seeing a lot of human activities on roadways right now,” he said. "Because grizzlies are very active and applications on cellphones are very active too."

Calls to delist grizzlies surged again after 

 in Yellowstone and Glacier national parks, and in Idaho.

In Yellowstone, two brothers were severely hurt when a grizzly mauled them, and a grizzly is thought to have killed a hiker in Glacier.

In Idaho, a black bear hunter shot and killed a grizzly that charged him and his son. Wildlife agents ruled that the shooting was legitimate self-defense.

Grizzlies may be hunted in Alaska and parts of Canada. Those in the Lower 48 haven’t been hunted since they were put under ESA protection in 1975.

Whether hunting grizzlies makes them more fearful of humans and mitigates human-bear conflicts

 among biologists and bear conservation advocates. 

Some claim that it’s effective, others argue that it makes no difference.

Angi Bruce and grizzly 5 27 26

<title>Director Says Game And Fish Likely Killing More Grizzlies Than Hunters Would | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming is killing more "conflict" grizzlies than would be killed by hunters if the bears were delisted, the state Game and Fish director said Wednesday. One legislator said that if the goal is to kill fewer grizzlies, hunting might be the better option.

Director Says Game And Fish Likely Killing More Grizzlies Than Hunters Would

Courts

A Star Valley man accused of killing his wife during a drunken argument in November 2024 was found not guilty Tuesday by a jury following a six-day trial that ran a day longer than originally planned.

The closely watched case stretched through the holiday weekend before jurors ultimately returned an acquittal.

The verdict marked the latest turn in a case that has hung over western Wyoming since Jared Erickson’s wife, Tennille, was found dead in her Star Valley home in November 2024.

"We appreciate the jury's hard work on the difficult case," said Erickson's defense attorneys, Tom Fleener and Devon Peterson. 

Assistant District Attorney Blaine Nelson, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the state, declined to comment on the trial or the verdict. Multiple voicemails to the District Attorney who filed the inititial charges, Dan Itzen, were not returned. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Contentious Case Finally Reaches Jury"}]

The case had drawn attention months earlier during a contentious 

in Lincoln County Circuit Court, where prosecutors laid out the foundation of their allegations while defense attorneys pushed back hard against the state’s theory.

During those earlier hearings, prosecutors argued they believed the evidence pointed toward criminal responsibility, while the defense repeatedly characterized the case as built too heavily on assumptions and speculation.

[{"type":"text","text":"That back-and-forth carried into the trial."}]

Over six days, attorneys questioned witnesses, picked apart investigative decisions and dug into forensic details as jurors heard two very different versions of what happened inside the Ericksons’ home that night in November 2024.

At times, objections and disagreements between the attorneys slowed testimony as both sides argued over wording, evidence and how far witnesses should be allowed to go in their answers.

[{"type":"text","text":"Then in Tuesday, jurors reached a unanimous conclusion: not guilty."}]

"It's hard to know what resonated most," said Fleener, "but we hope they sensed that we presented our case with honesty and integrity." 

The acquittal means Erickson will not face criminal punishment in connection with the case.

"This case has taken an emotional toll on all involved, and we hope the families and community can begin to heal," Fleener added. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Friend Calls Verdict 'So Disappointing'"}]

Among the witnesses called during the trial was Alison Penny, who said she had known Tennille Erickson “her whole life.”

Penny traveled from Jackson to Kemmerer expecting to testify early in the week, believing she would likely take the stand early in the trial. Instead, she and her husband spent much of the week holed up in a motel waiting for her to take the stand, which was pushed to Thursday.

“It’s been one of the most stressful, gut-wrenching things I’ve ever done in my life,” she said. 

“Now to have this be the outcome, I’m just so disappointed,” she added after learning Tuesday night that jurors had acquitted Erickson. 

“She was an excellent mother, she was an immaculate homemaker, a good friend, and she is missed,” Penny said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Death By Blunt Force Trauma"}]

alleged the case stemmed from a drunken argument between Jared and Tennille Erickson at their Star Valley Ranch home. 

According to court documents filed in the case, Jared Erickson called 911 on Nov. 17 and reported finding his wife unresponsive in a bedroom with blood and vomit on the bed.

Investigators later alleged Tennille Erickson spent much of the following day secluded in the room after the couple argued the night before while drinking.

Court records said Tennille sent her husband a photo showing bruising and swelling on her face along with a text asking whether she should “send these around.” 

Prosecutors also pointed to messages Tennille allegedly sent to a friend claiming her husband had beaten her.

Responding deputies and medical personnel observed bruising on Tennille Erickson’s forehead, eye and torso when they arrived at the home. Prosecutors later argued those injuries were consistent with blunt-force trauma and not an accidental fall, according to the affidavit.

Defense attorneys, however, maintained Tennille Erickson struggled with alcoholism and health issues, and argued her injuries could have resulted from falls or other non-criminal causes. 

Court records indicated Jared Erickson told investigators the couple had a volatile relationship and both had been drinking before the argument.

After a six-day trial that spanned the Memorial Day weekend, a Lincoln County jury on Tuesday found Jared Erickson not guilty in the death of his wife. "This case has taken an emotional toll on all involved," said his defense attorney. 

Daily Smile: Thursday, August 10, 2023

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