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

<title>You Still Here? Wednesday, December 27, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

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You Still Here? Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Wyoming Life

Around Wyoming

RAWLINS — Six weeks ago, Carbon County Sheriff’s Sgt. Zach Burns was fighting for his life in the dirt parking lot of a Baggs apartment building after 

 from a gunman who later died in a shootout with law enforcement.

Wednesday, he was discharged from a Colorado hospital and got a hero’s welcome as he was escorted roughly 230 miles home by a long procession of law enforcement representing agencies across two states.

 streets through downtown Rawlins were lined with pockets of people who paused their workdays to wave and yell as Burns was driven by with a loud chorus of sirens following.

“That doesn’t surprise me at all,” said local resident Deanna Deffenbaugh about the turnout. “We take care of our own around here.

“Anytime an officer has gotten hurt in the line of duty — even his family — we get the community involved to step up and help take care of them.”

Deffenbaugh said she doesn’t know the Burns family personally, “but that doesn’t matter. If they’re willing to put their lives at risk for us, we need to take care of them.”

Maybe Deffenbaugh doesn’t know Burns, his wife and two young children, but the folks at the Carbon County Courthouse do. He’s their courtroom bailiff, said Jo Rieger, who had staked out a small patch of shade along 3

“Woo-hoo. He’s coming home!” she shouted. “This is cool and very inspiring. He deserves it. He deserves the biggest hero’s welcome ever.”

For Micah Johnson, who also works with Burns at the courthouse, Wednesday was 

, when Burns took bullets in the neck, arm and hip.

“You fear the worst when you first hear about that, you know?” he said. “I think a lot of us were just waiting to hear any kind of piece of news, right? Then I saw the post that he’s coming home today.”

He was referring to a Facebook post Sheriff Alex Bakken made earlier Wednesday telling people that Burns had been discharged from a Colorado hospital and was on his way home.

At 3:31 p.m., the small groups stationed at street corners and in front of the Carbon Building on the corner of 3

 and Pine streets began to cheer as they heard the sirens blaring louder, along with a medical helicopter circling the procession.

“There he is. I see him,” said a woman in the crowd as a Carbon County Sheriff’s Office truck slowly passed.

Sergeant Burns was sitting in the passenger side with the window rolled down and enthusiastically waving to those who gathered for him.

His beaming smile got just a little bit bigger when he saw a giant red, white and blue “Welcome Home Zach” banner.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘We’re All Family’"}]

About an hour earlier, Valeta Rogabaugh was anxious for the procession to get to Rawlins.

The longtime dispatch supervisor for the Rawlins Police Department walked into the bullpen at the department with tears in her eyes.

She had just heard a county dispatch bulletin that Burns and the procession had “come home” and had just passed into Carbon County on westbound Interstate 80.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said when Chief Michael Ward asked how she was holding up. “It’s just emotional. They even talked to (Burns’ wife) and told her welcome home too.”

Although Burns works for the county sheriff’s office, there are deep connections with the Rawlins PD and other agencies, she said.

“We’re all a team and we’re all family,” Rogabaugh said, adding that Burns’ wife also is a dispatcher for the sheriff’s office.

There are no lines between agencies, said Rawlins Police Sgt. Thom Gamblin, adding that he’s good friends with Burns.

“This isn’t just a guy in uniform coming home, he’s a guy who works and lives here. I’m saying that this is a community, this is home, and it isn’t just his workplace,” Gamblin said.

“This isn’t just his work office, it’s people who love him,” he continued. “These are the people who care for him. It’s the people he meets every day when he serves.”

There’s a reason close to 100 officers from multiple jurisdictions around Wyoming and Colorado responded to Baggs that afternoon when the bulletin went out about an officer down and a gunman was on the run, Gamblin said.

“This is personal,” he said. “He did his job and nearly lost his life over it. He didn’t — thankfully — and now he’s back here where we can protect him.”

Without the quick action of a pair of Baggs residents who 

, he likely would have died, said Chief Ward. Wednesday’s procession was for them as well.

[{"type":"text","text":"“They’re heroes, too,” he told Cowboy State Daily."}]

“It’s a miracle that he’s still with us,” Ward added. “All of us are grateful for that, every minute of every day. His daughter still has a father. His wife still has a husband. He’s still with all of us.

“We could not be more relieved, grateful and excited he’s coming home today.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Stopped ‘Large-Scale Act’"}]

The scope of the potential carnage Burns may have prevented unfolded in the days following, Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken has said.

That includes Burns interrupting the suspect carrying out what appeared to be a devastating plan, the sheriff said

The man had a stockpile of semiautomatic weapon ammunition in his Baggs apartment and was likely planning a "large-scale act," Bakken reported June 17.

Burns was in the area June 8 when dispatchers relayed information about a suspect in an active shooting incident. Burns located the suspect driving in town and conducted a traffic stop at his apartment, the CCSO has reported.

“Upon coming to a stop, the suspect immediately exited his vehicle and opened fire on Sergeant Burns with a semiautomatic rifle,” Bakken said in the report.

The suspect — who so far has not been publicly identified — then 

The suspect tried to start his apartment complex on fire with numerous propane tanks inside, then sped away in his car again, according to the CCSO.

He was eventually killed in a shootout with law enforcement after crashing his car north of town off state Highway 789.

“Thanks to his bravery, (Burns) saved the lives of countless first responders and community members,” Bakken says in the report. “The gunman had stockpiled hundreds of AR-15 magazines in his apartment and, by all appearances, had been prepared to initiate a large-scale act of violence.”

At the Hilltop Conoco station along Cedar Avenue, Paige Garwood and Heather Stalinski were working Wednesday afternoon, handling a steady stream of locals and visitors driving through just off I-80.

They both said they were excited to learn that the long procession of emergency responders for Burns would go past their station.

Neither knows Burns or his family, but both said that Rawlins is a small town, and when one person is in trouble, everyone knows and responds.

“I’ve been reading about him and heard what happened to him. He’s a hero,” said Stalinski. “That he’s coming home is really good, and great for his family, his wife.

“I think he was really brave for what he did. He’s a brave, brave man. I think she should get a lot of (accolades). Would I call him a hero? Absolutely.”

Garwood said that Burns getting out of the hospital and getting back to Rawlins is a great boost for the whole town.

“I think it’s great that he’s coming home, because he almost died because of that idiot,” she said. “He deserves it.”

For Chief Ward and other law enforcement officers, the risk is always there, he said. While running toward danger while others run from it is what they sign up for, the hope is that they won’t have to.

“He took an oath to protect our community, and he almost gave his life doing so,” Ward said about Burns. “On the scale of heroism, that’s pretty far up there.”

Sgt Burns Home 1

<title>Hero’s Welcome In Rawlins: Deputy Nearly Killed In Baggs Shootout Comes Home | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Sgt. Zach Burns — shot three times by a gunman in Baggs last month — got a hero’s welcome in Rawlins after a 230-mile escort from a Colorado hospital Wednesday. “On the scale of heroism, that’s pretty far up there,” said the Rawlins police chief.

Hero’s Welcome In Rawlins: Deputy Nearly Killed In Baggs Shootout Comes Home

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

After vocal Green River residents shut down the city’s attempt to secure grant funding for a license plate reader camera project, a police sergeant speaking on his own behalf Tuesday urged the council to reconsider.

Green River Mayor Pete Rust and Councilman Gary Killpack had speculated at a July 7 meeting that the group opposing the cameras drowned out a silent, alternate movement in their favor.

 against the $112,000 federal grant for the project, which had been slated for putting Motorola license plate reader (LPR) surveillance cameras at town entrances.

Green River Police Sgt. Brad Dodson, who said he was speaking for himself and not the department, brought that alternate view to the council’s regular Tuesday meeting.

“While I recognize that decision, I was a little disappointed you didn’t listen to the chief a little bit more and maybe take more time to reevaluate that decision,” Dodson said during the public comment section.

 the grant was characterized as an anti-terrorism effort, but he said the cameras would also be a tool in helping find missing and vulnerable people, as well as answering other real-time investigations.

Dodson told the council the department recently responded to a stolen vehicle incident, and was able to use LPRs from other areas.

In another stolen- vehicle attempt last week, “a license plate reader would have been great to have” to track down the vehicle, he said.

“This is something people ask, something people maybe even expect us to have,” Dodson said.

He urged the council to consider the camera project if it surfaces again, and said he’s happy to offer any information people seek.

“I’m happy to dispel some fear, some concerns, or maybe just give another side of the story,” Dodson said. “Especially from someone who’s on, essentially, the front line trying to solve these crimes for the citizens of this community essentially every day.”

Killpack delivered comments toward the end of the meeting to rebut what he described as an email from a Laramie resident on the topic, calling him dumb and dishonest.

He said he’d take the dumb critique but the “dishonest” claim is slander and “unacceptable.”

The people who opposed LPRs two weeks ago, said Killpack, “they don’t understand what happened.”

Killpack said if any of those people go to Salt Lake City, “they’ve been picked up” by the camera and their plates logged into the system.

Salt Lake City has LPRs. It also paused a plan to expand its system in December over privacy concerns, 

Killpack said the people in the audience two weeks ago also didn’t understand the council’s nay votes killed the grant, though not necessarily some later decision to raise cameras.

Marshall Burt, a former, and first, Libertarian state lawmaker for Wyoming bristled at that in a Wednesday interview with Cowboy State Daily.

[{"type":"text","text":"He said Killpack was “blaming people for being stupid and confused.”"}]

“Now I’m going to have to wait for the next city council meeting, show up and argue again,” said Burt, who rallied people via social media ahead of the July 7 meeting.

Dennis Laughlin, vice-chair of the Libertarian Party and a business owner in Green River, also protested at the July 7 meeting.

“Yeah I would say Killpack doesn’t understand what the people of Green River obviously want,” Laughlin said.

Laughlin said he had a qualm with the federal funding, and it’s wrong for people to believe that’s free money. But most LPR opponents were against the installation of the cameras alone, and lobbied against the grant as a means to prevent that, he said.

“People are seeing this constant encroachment on their liberties. It’s like being pecked to death by a duck, and one peck doesn’t hurt – but eventually you die,” Laughlin said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Laughlin said he’s glad Killpack is not running for council again."}]

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<title>Green River Police Sergeant Urges Reconsideration Of License Plate Cameras | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A police sergeant urged the Green River City Council Tuesday to reconsider license plate reader cameras, two weeks after vocal residents blocked the project. He said they are a valuable tool in helping find missing and vulnerable people.

Green River Police Sergeant Urges Reconsideration Of License Plate Cameras

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Courts

A former Special Olympics Wyoming employee accused of stealing more than $200,000 from the nonprofit has agreed to plead guilty to six felonies, bringing one of Wyoming's most closely watched charity theft cases a major step closer to resolution.

A plea agreement filed in Natrona County District Court shows Christine Rodriguez, 57, of Bar Nunn, will plead guilty to three counts of felony theft and three counts of felony forgery. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss three additional forgery charges, according to documents made available Monday.

[{"type":"text","text":"The agreement still must be accepted by a judge."}]

Rodriguez's attorney, Ryan Semerad, declined to discuss the specifics of the agreement before sentencing but said his client is accepting responsibility.

"She is very remorseful for her actions and deeply regrets them," Semerad told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday, adding the defense plans to address those issues more fully at sentencing. 

Rodriguez worked for Special Olympics Wyoming for roughly a decade before the alleged thefts came to light.

[{"type":"text","text":"Police Called Alleged Scheme 'Sophisticated'"}]

Casper police arrested Rodriguez in April after a monthslong financial crimes investigation into the missing money.

Investigators alleged Rodriguez embezzled roughly $206,000 over several years by writing unauthorized checks, falsifying financial records, forging signatures and concealing missing cash.

Police described the alleged scheme as "sophisticated," alleging Rodriguez altered audit documentation and misapplied deposits to hide missing cash. Investigators said those actions concealed the missing money from the nonprofit for years.

When Rodriguez first appeared in court in April, she was charged with nine felonies — three counts of theft and six counts of forgery.

The alleged theft reached far beyond a balance sheet. The missing money belonged to a nonprofit that raises funds to provide year-round athletic training and competition for Wyoming athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Lead investigator Officer Jace Carver added that crimes involving charitable organizations ultimately hurt the athletes and families those organizations exist to serve.

[{"type":"text","text":"Three Charges Dismissed"}]

Under the negotiated plea agreement, Rodriguez will plead guilty to the three theft charges and the first three forgery charges.

[{"type":"text","text":"The remaining three forgery counts will be dismissed."}]

The agreement also outlines how the parties will recommend Rodriguez be sentenced.

The three theft convictions would run concurrently, and the three forgery convictions would also run concurrently. Those two groups of convictions, however, could be ordered to run consecutively, leaving Rodriguez with a maximum sentencing exposure of 18 to 20 years in prison.

The plea agreement also states Rodriguez cannot withdraw her guilty pleas if the judge ultimately imposes a sentence different from the prosecution's recommendation.

[{"type":"text","text":"Restitution Still Pending"}]

Rodriguez agreed to pay restitution for all criminal conduct, including losses tied to the three forgery charges to be dismissed.

The final restitution amount has not been determined, though both sides anticipate it will exceed $200,000, the plea agreement says.

Police credited Special Olympics Wyoming with providing extensive financial records and cooperating throughout the investigation.

Because of the scope and complexity of the review, detectives enlisted the Rocky Mountain Information Network — part of the Regional Information Sharing Systems network — to help analyze the records.

Investigators also noted the case carried added significance because of Special Olympics Wyoming's longstanding partnership with law enforcement through programs such as the Law Enforcement Torch Run and Tip-A-Cop fundraisers.

[{"type":"text","text":"Organization Waiting For Sentencing"}]

Special Olympics Wyoming CEO Jen Haines declined to comment on the specifics of the plea agreement, saying the organization does not want to jeopardize the proceedings and plans to speak more openly once the case is resolved.

Haines did confirm one important detail: The organization has not received any restitution while the criminal case remains pending

 She said the restitution amount, along with any prison sentence, is expected to be determined at sentencing. 

In a written statement, the organization said it remains focused on the people it serves.

"Special Olympics Wyoming is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and protecting the interests of all of our athletes, donors, and supporters,” it says. "Special Olympics Wyoming appreciates the past, and continued, much-needed support of SOWY athletes at this time. SOWY has been offering sports training and competition programming since 1972 and looks forward to the continued implementation of our mission to benefit athletes with intellectual disabilities from across Wyoming."

Christine rodriguez special olympics 7 22 26

<title>Woman Accused of Stealing $200K From Special Olympics To Plead Guilty To Six Felonies | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Bar Nunn woman has agreed to plead guilty to six felonies for embezzling $206,000 from Special Olympics Wyoming. Her attorney told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday that she is "very remorseful for her actions and deeply regrets them."

Woman Accused of Stealing $200K From Special Olympics To Plead Guilty To Six Felonies

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Cheyenne Frontier Days' new “skybox” experience might be two or three stories above the rodeo action, but somehow that action feels closer than ever.

It’s a curious paradox, hard to explain until you’ve seen it yourself.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Maybe it’s the view."}]

It’s full-on. It’s literally over the top. Your eyes stretch from one end of Cheyenne’s historic outdoor arena — the largest outdoor rodeo arena in the world — to the other end, with no obstructions. 

Stand or sit wherever you want. It doesn’t matter. The view will still feel as if you’re a king or a queen, looking down on creation. Fix your gaze anywhere you like.

Or maybe it’s the sound, wired straight into the box and wrapping itself around spectators. 

It’s immersive — pounding hooves, foot-stomping music, the cheering crowd. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Like some kind of rodeo dream."}]

The announcer’s voice rolls over it all like thunder.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Long Overdue Leap"}]

Cheyenne Frontier Days has been delivering world-class rodeo competition since 1897, drawing elite cowboys and top-tier musicians to the “Daddy of 'em All.” 

Until now, however, the venue has lacked a true, modern skybox experience. While the grounds previously offered limited, basic, upper-level VIP areas, the new complex marks a much bigger leap into premium hospitality. 

CFD CEO Tom Hirsig has told Cowboy State Daily the $8 million multi-level facility was a long-overdue necessity. 

What CFD had previously was essentially a weathered wooden box above the ropes that Hirsig said had “far outlived its life expectancy.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Fixing it would be a huge challenge. "}]

But it also presented an opportunity — one that could support the rodeo’s future.

“One of the things we recognized is the need for VIP experiences,” Hirsig said. “Those are the fastest things that go, if there’s some sort of VIP area.”

A VIP area done right not only supports itself, it also helps chip away at deferred maintenance, he said. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"From Sliders To Shade"}]

 VIP experiences had room for roughly 25 sponsors, as well as a rooftop area that could accommodate about 70 people.

Now there’s room for about 450 in a mix of VIP boxes that are perfect for parties of around 30, along with individual seats that cost $125 each for those who aren’t part of a large group.

The private VIP box suites all come pre-stocked with snacks and drinks. Guests can also order a range of catered items. 

On Tuesday afternoon, the skybox occupied by Nate Janousek and his family felt as if a family living room had been dropped over Chute 9. The children leaned against the rail to watch broncs explode from the chutes, while parents huddled over drinks and plates piled with brisket sliders, wings, and corn dogs. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"There were smiles all around."}]

“This was all really good,” Janousek told Cowboy State Daily. “There’s tons of catering options, and everything we’ve had has been terrific.”

Janousek, who provides concessions at CFD, comes to the rodeo every year, but Tuesday was family day for him, so he decided to do something special. 

“The view above Chute 9 is incredible for the steer roping events and the steer wrestling,” he said. “And then just the ability to have so many spaces for the seating and the televisions, and places for food and drink and stuff like that.”

The light breeze constantly blowing in felt like air conditioning, he added.

“You’re not getting blasted by the sun,” he said. “It’s really terrific. I think it’s going to be harder and harder to get these as people find out.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'This Is Just Fantastic'"}]

From their skybox perch, Jennifer Gray and her travel buddy, Brian Hayes, could see straight down into Chute 9. 

That was just perfect for Gray, who was videotaping each steer, hoping to catch a cowboy wrestling one to the ground. 

The previous day, she and Hayes had squinted into the sun from the grandstands, craning around hats and flags to catch the Military Monday displays. Gray’s son was to have been part of a parachute jump that ultimately was canceled. 

“This is just fantastic,” Hayes said. “The view, to be able to see the action, especially right down in here, it’s just amazing.

“We sat over there yesterday,” he added, gesturing toward the left-hand stands. “And this is like a whole different experience.”

For former roughstock rider Chris Hall, the skybox is as close as he can get to an arena these days. Hall did “that stuff” as a teenager, he said, nodding toward a bucking bronc throwing a rider to the dirt about two seconds into his ride. 

“I’m all broken, so I can’t do any of this stuff anymore,” he said. “But I love watching it.”

He watched a string of riders “tossed one right after the other,” calling it “crazy” and grinning like he’d just been down in the chutes himself. 

Drinks and snacks were just a few steps away, he added, and there were no lines, making a drink run feel seamless and smooth. 

Skip and Taryn Schuman, CFD regulars from Fort Collins, Colorado, felt the same about the skybox versus just about any other place they’ve tried at CFD, from the Wrangler box to the grandstand benches. 

“That was fun, but this is so much better,” Skip told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s classier.”

“And there’s an elevator for the old folks,” his wife added with a chuckle. “Before the stairs were real steep. It’s so nice and cool up here. The seats are comfortable.”

“There’s food and drinks,” her husband continued. “You’ve got everything here. Check, check and check.”

For all its new polish, the skybox doesn’t change the essence of Cheyenne Frontier Days. It’s still the same old rodeo it’s always been. But now there are softer seats and party rooms — with a commanding view, one that will make spectators feel like royalty at the rodeo. 

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<title>Cheyenne Frontier Days' New Skybox Delivers Luxury — And An Over The Top View | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Soft seats, catered food, and a commanding view — Cheyenne Frontier Days’ premium skybox experience already has fans. “The view above Chute 9 is incredible,” one said. “I think it’s going to be harder and harder to get these as people find out.”

Cheyenne Frontier Days' New Skybox Delivers Luxury — And An Over The Top View

State Sen. Eric Barlow released poll results Tuesday showing him with a sizable lead over other Republican candidates in the race for Wyoming governor.

[{"type":"text","text":"Two of his opponents doubt that outcome. One of them doesn’t."}]

Barlow, a legislator of 13 years and former House speaker, is running for the Republican nomination against Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, retired Marine Col. Brent Bien, and Centennial man Curt Blake.

His campaign released polling results Tuesday showing him at 42% support, followed by Degenfelder at 19% and Bien at 14% — with 22% undecided — when people were asked who they would vote for if the election were held today.

The poll was taken in the past three days by the Pulse Decision Science firm, the campaign says.

“Barlow has gained 10 points since the campaign’s previous survey and his net favorability has climbed from +19 to +34,” says a Tuesday statement by his campaign. “This comes even as he has been outspent more than 5-to-1 by Degenfelder and the outside groups supporting her.”

Barlow said he’s taken six full trips through all 23 Wyoming counties and is starting his seventh statewide tour.

[{"type":"text","text":"The primary election is set for Aug. 18."}]

“We believed from the beginning that if we showed up, listened and stayed focused on Wyoming, voters would respond,” Barlow said. “This poll is encouraging, but it does not change how we campaign.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"We will keep showing up, keep listening and keep earning every vote.\""}]

The Eric Barlow gubernatorial campaign released an internal poll Tuesday showing a significant lead over both Megan Degenfelder and Brent Bien. According to his internal polling numbers, 42% of voters support Barlow while Degenfelder is at 19% and Bien at 14%.

You Still Here? Wednesday, December 27, 2023

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