One More For The Road

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<title>One More For The Road: Saturday, February 24, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

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One More For The Road: Saturday, February 24, 2024

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

Andrew Rossi

Around Wyoming

An extreme heat wave is headed for Wyoming, and it’s going to be one for the record books.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued 

or much of northern and central Wyoming from Saturday through Monday in anticipation of “dangerously hot conditions.”

[{"type":"text","text":"How hot will it get?"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"According to the NWS, 110 degrees in Worland."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Around 105 degrees in Cody."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Up to 103 in Casper."}]

And it won't be a single day of intense heat. It's expected to be an extended period 

 multiple days of triple-digit temperatures.

“It’s definitely a big deal,” Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day said. “It’s a significant heat wave, and I expect some record temperatures. I’d certainly be concerned about people and animals.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Day After Day After Day"}]

July and August are Wyoming's hottest months, so days with triple-digit temperatures are expected. This heat wave is different and dangerous.

“This is going to be an extended period of hot, hot temperatures,” said lead meteorologist Grant Smith with the NWS office in Rapid City, South Dakota. “A ridge of high pressure will set over (the western U.S.), keeping the hot air in place, and we won’t see any change in temperatures until we see a drastic change in the weather pattern.”

According to Smith, that period will be at least from Saturday through Monday and could easily extend beyond that. He wouldn't be surprised if the entire region was just as hot Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Day expected this heat wave to catch many Wyomingites off guard. While this has been 

, this is the first “prolonged heat snap” of the summer.

“The combination of heat and low humidity is going to be impactful, especially for north-central and northeastern Wyoming,” Day said. “That's where it's going to be the worst.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"How Hot?"}]

The NWS is already anticipating record-breaking temperatures across most of Wyoming.

Smith said residents of northeast Wyoming should expect highs of 105 degrees on Sunday and Monday.

“That’s just the first draft,” he said. “They’ll be flirting with highs between 101 and 105 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday, and even beyond that.”

Nobody will be hotter than the Bighorn Basin. It’s always a hot spot during heat waves, and this will be exceptional.

“The eastern edge of the Bighorn Basin will be our warmest spot,” said meteorologist Richard Lowe with the NWS office in Riverton. “Greybull, Worland, Thermopolis, and even Cody and Meeteetse will be in the area of greatest concern for the highest temperatures.”

Worland’s daytime high is 110 degrees on Sunday and 105 degrees on Monday. It could be even hotter in Greybull, with a daytime high of 111 degrees on Sunday.

[{"type":"text","text":"That would break all-time highs for July 12 in Greybull and Worland."}]

It won’t be as hot in southern Wyoming, but it’ll still be historically hot.

Lander’s all-time high for July 12 is 102 degrees. Sunday’s high is anticipated to be 103, according to the NWS.

“We’re in a state where everything with the weather is being amplified,” Day said. “Southern Wyoming will have temperatures well into the 90s, while northern and central Wyoming may hit triple-digit highs for three or four days in a row.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"High Altitude, Low Humidity"}]

Throughout the heat wave, it won’t feel quite as hot as the thermometer says. Because the atmosphere will be mostly dry, the heat shouldn’t be amplified by humidity.

“We’ll have relative humidity values below 10% over the weekend,” Lowe said. “Even though it could be 105 degrees, it might feel a couple of degrees less than that. I'm not going to say that’s cooler, but it won’t be as hot as the actual temperature.”

There shouldn’t be enough moisture for afternoon thunderstorms to form, though, and the wind will be relatively mild. That will reduce wildfire danger across Wyoming, provided nobody 

“Once the heat dome really kicks in, it lowers our risk for thunderstorms until the pattern changes,” Smith said. “You can't rule out the little thunderstorms that pop up, but they’d last only 15 or 20 minutes before they fade out.”

For anyone seeking a naturalistic solution to beat the heat, Day recommended a trip to Yellowstone, the Bighorns or the Snowy Range.

“Every 1,000 feet you go up, you'll be six to seven degrees cooler,” he said. “This would be a great time to head into the mountains.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Too Darn Hot"}]

Air conditioners will be working overtime this weekend, and that might be one of the safest ways to beat the heat. These temperatures should be a legitimate cause of concern, Day said.

“Dehydration, sunstroke, and over-exertion will be real problems,” he said. “Pets and the elderly are really susceptible to this, so make sure to take care and check on them until things get cooler.”

Day, Lowe and Smith emphasized how severe this heat wave will be, especially because it’ll last multiple days without a break. That’ll be taxing on everybody.

“People should definitely take precautions,” Lowe said. “If you have to be outside, try to get out in the morning or evening, drink plenty of fluids, and stay out of the sun. Check in on your neighbors and relatives and keep an eye on everybody from Saturday to Tuesday and onward.”

The second half of July is actually looking 

 than the first half, but we have to get there first.

“We’re going to have at least three or four days under this big dome of heat,” Lowe said. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

Worland church temperature 7 9 26

<title>Hot, Hot, Hot: Triple Digits Forecast In Wyoming For At Least Three Days | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The National Weather Service is predicting a record-breaking weekend for many locations in Wyoming with "dangerously hot conditions" in the forecast. Temperatures will be hottest in the Big Horn Basin with Worland and Greybull expected to top 110 degrees.

Hot, Hot, Hot: Triple Digits Forecast In Wyoming For At Least Three Days

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

A Manderson, Wyoming, man and woman have been charged after the suspicious death of an infant in a case where investigators say a camper where the child lived was filthy, overheated, had no running water and was littered with human waste, animal feces and meth.

The investigation began just after 10 a.m. Monday, when agents with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation were notified of the suspicious, unattended death of an infant.

By the time Special Agent Anthony Giles arrived at Three Rivers Hospital in Basin, the baby's mother — 22-year-old Destynie Study — had already told investigators what she said happened that morning.

A newly filed affidavit in the case available Thursday says Destynie fed and changed the infant around 1:30 a.m. before putting the baby back to sleep in a crib inside the family's camper in Manderson. 

She told investigators she woke around 9:45 a.m. and found the infant unresponsive.

She immediately grabbed the child, climbed into her father's vehicle and started driving toward Three Rivers Hospital, calling 911 along the way. 

The affidavit says the baby lived in the camper with the mother, her father Travis Study, and another child who is just over a year old.

At the hospital, investigators said dirt covered Destynie's arms, legs and clothing, and what appeared to be lice eggs or significant dandruff near her scalp. 

"An overwhelming smell of body odor, urine and feces was coming from her person and the room," Giles wrote.

Investigators also documented dirt beneath the infant's fingernails and that "the same odor was permeating from the deceased infant's body."

"The infant's diaper was completely saturated in urine," Giles wrote, along with a small amount of feces and a live, moving insect inside the diaper after it was removed. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"5-Gallon Bucket Of Human Waste"}]

Armed with a search warrant, DCI agents later searched the camper where the family had been living. Outside sat several black garbage bags investigators believed had recently been placed there.

When agents opened the door, they were hit with the same overwhelming odor of urine, feces and body odor they had encountered earlier at the hospital, wrote Giles. 

Investigators described the camper as being in "complete disarray,” the affidavit says.

Old and moldy food, empty food containers and trash littered nearly every corner. Clothing, wrappers and garbage were piled throughout the sleeping area, the affidavit continues. 

The bathroom emitted what investigators described as an extremely strong smell of feces.

[{"type":"text","text":"The camper itself also was stifling hot."}]

Investigators measured the interior temperature at about 95 degrees with an air conditioner that didn't work. 

There also was no running water connected to the camper, and the sewage system appeared to have been unusable for some time, the affidavit says. The shower and sinks showed signs they had not functioned for an extended period.

The affidavit says investigators also found dog feces and mouse droppings throughout the camper.

[{"type":"text","text":"Inside the bathroom sat a 5-gallon bucket nearly full of human waste."}]

The toilet also contained human waste and appeared abandoned, investigators wrote, with evidence of insect infestation.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Warning Signs "}]

The crib where Destynie told investigators the infant slept was damp and smelled strongly of urine.

Investigators found urine-soaked bedding, a soiled diaper beneath the mattress, and liquid pooled inside the crib's frame. When they lifted the crib, more foul-smelling liquid drained from its support structure, says the affidavit.

Fresh trash outside the camper allegedly discarded before law enforcement arrived contained baby food along with a comforter investigators believed was heavily soiled with urine and feces.

Court records note the conditions inside the camper had raised alarms months before the infant died.

The document outlines four separate contacts between the family, the Wyoming Department of Family Services and Manderson police dating back to early April.

On one visit, officials said they were denied entry while investigating concerns about the family's living conditions.

Another welfare check involved reports that Destynie had missed prenatal appointments during what investigators described as a high-risk pregnancy.

During another visit, a caseworker reported the family's Jeep smelled strongly of cat urine and was littered with debris.

By late May, DFS had received reports that the infant had lost 11% of its body weight and that Destynie had missed a medical appointment.

When caseworkers and officers returned to the property, investigators say they again were refused entry into the camper.

Travis told them to "get the f*** off his property and never come back," alleges the affidavit. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Normal Grandpa Stuff' "}]

Travis remained on speakerphone while investigators interviewed Destynie at the hospital.

When agents requested Destynie's cellphone to establish a timeline, he allegedly warned that if anyone with "a badge or a gun" came to his property, "it would be a bad day for that individual."

Both Travis and Destynie told investigators that Travis regularly cared for the children when Destynie left the residence. Travis reportedly described it as doing the "normal grandpa stuff."

[{"type":"text","text":"The search of the camper also turned up drugs."}]

Investigators say they recovered more than 21 grams of suspected marijuana, marijuana paraphernalia and a glass pipe containing white crystalline residue.

A swab collected from inside the pipe tested presumptively positive for meth and was submitted to the Wyoming State Crime Lab for confirmation.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Criminal Charges Filed"}]

Following the investigation, prosecutors filed criminal charges Wednesday in Big Horn County Circuit Court.

Travis Study, born in 1969, is charged with felony child endangerment alleging exposure to meth, along with misdemeanor counts of reckless endangering, child endangerment, possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana.

Destynie Study is charged with misdemeanor reckless endangering of a child and child endangerment. She pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Big Horn County Attorney Marcia E. Bean filed a demand for a speedy trial the same day, and the court appointed counsel to represent Destynie. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Aug. 3.

The affidavit does not identify an official cause or manner of death for the infant, and the criminal complaint does not allege either defendant intentionally caused the child's death. The investigation is ongoing.

Manderson police and sign 7 9 26

<title>Big Horn Grandpa, Mom Charged After Baby Dies In 95-Degree Feces-Filled Trailer | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Big Horn County grandfather and mother have been charged after a baby died Monday in a 95-degree trailer filled with feces, garbage and a 5-gallon bucket of human waste. "The infant's diaper was completely saturated in urine,” an investigator says.

Big Horn Grandpa, Mom Charged After Baby Dies In 95-Degree Feces-Filled Trailer

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

Wildlife

A Uinta County rancher charged with videotaping two others torturing a sickly moose by roping, riding, spurring, and dragging the animal  in May 2021 is continuing toward a trial date next month. 

Two other men in the case have entered plea deals with a special prosecutor.

Court records show Justin Martin, 54, of Evanston, faces an Aug. 11 trial on charges of two counts of accessory before the fact to felony cruelty to animals, and two counts of accessory before or after the fact to wanton taking of a big-game animal, both misdemeanors.

His son, Range Martin of Evanston, 23, pleaded guilty June 22 to a felony cruelty to animals charge in return for the dropping of two misdemeanor charges. Kylan Platte, 22, of Malad City, Idaho, took a similar deal from Special Prosecutor F. Gaston Gosar, pleading guilty to felony cruelty to animals June 30.

Under the deal, charges against both men of wanton taking of a big-game animal and possession permit required for warm-blooded wildlife were dropped.

Court records show Range Martin “provided a sufficient factual basis for his plea, including identifying defendant Justin H. Martin as the person speaking on the video(s) and taking picture(s) on or about May 21, 2021.”

In his plea agreement, court records show Platte also agreed to identify Justin Martin for his role taking video and photos on May 4, 2021, as he rode, roped and spurred a moose.

The agreement for both men calls for three years of supervised probation under Wyoming Statute 7-13-301, which allows the court “without entering a judgment of guilt or conviction” to place the defendant on probation and  dismiss the proceedings when probation ends.

The deal states that both men would agree to no hunting, trapping or fishing during probation and other conditions “enumerated” by the court, as well as pay a $1,000 fine.

The court records show Judge James Kaste was not a party to the agreement, meaning he could accept or reject it at sentencing. Kaste ordered pre-sentence investigations for both men.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Background"}]

Charges against the men began with a Wyoming Game and Fish Department investigation that involved the seizure of Justin Martin’s phone on a separate issue. Game and Fish found video and screenshots of the 

 by Justin Martin and Platt on May 4, 2021, and Justin and Range Martin on May 24, 2021.

Game and Fish allege the abuse happened on Justin Martin’s M Arrow Ranch.

The videos and associated screenshots uncovered on Justin Martin’s phone, and testified to by Game and Fish Officer Heather Sterling at a 

 in Evanston Circuit Court, showed Platt at the M Arrow Ranch lassoing, spurring and riding a cow moose judged by Sterling to be in poor condition.

“He’s smiling, and he is aggressively spurring the moose as if it’s a horse being broken to ride,” she said. “He doesn’t seem to have an issue in participating in this activity at all.”

Sterling said audio taken from the video had Justin Martin’s voice encouraging Platt as he rode the moose. 

She said that in addition to Platt having a rope around the moose’s neck, a rope also was around one of its hind legs.

“In the video, you can hear Justin Martin encouraging this behavior and he says, ‘All right now, spur that son of a bitch, give him the dicks spur on him',” Sterling quoted for the court. “'Spur him some more, go to the fronts, that’s a kid'.”

Sterling testified Justin Martin was laughing as he encouraged Platt. 

The investigation also found Justin Martin sent the video to more than 20 phone numbers, she said. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Struggling Moose"}]

Other videos linked to the May 4 incident show Platt before riding the moose standing in the bed of a Honda off-road vehicle with a lariat around the moose’s neck and holding it as the animal struggled.

A video from May 24 showed Range Martin with a cow moose standing in chest-high sagebrush with a lariat around its neck and pulling it while on a horse. 

Sterling said the moose is shown falling and struggling to get back on its feet.

She said Justin Martin could be heard saying, “I don’t think Ol' Roany likes that son-of-a-gun too much.”

Justin Martin’s four-day jury trial remains set for Aug. 11, according to court records.

The accessory before the fact to felony cruelty to animals charges Justin Martin faces carry a maximum of two years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine. The accessory before or after the fact charges to wanton taking of a big-game animal, a cow moose, carry a potential sentence of one year in jail and up to a $10,000 fine.

Uinta moose 7 9 26

<title>Trial Set For Uinta County Rancher Charged In Moose Torture Incident | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Uinta County rancher charged with videotaping two others torturing a sickly moose by roping, riding and spurring it is continuing toward a trial date next month. Two other men in the case have entered plea deals with a special prosecutor.

Trial Set For Uinta County Rancher Charged In Moose Torture Incident

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Government & Politics

A state audit of the Town of Guernsey's finances has raised questions about the community's bookkeeping after auditors reported an apparent $1.3 million deficit and identified multiple deficiencies in the town's accounting and record-keeping practices.

Town Clerk/Treasurer Hillary Dawson, however, said the large negative number does not mean the town is missing money. 

Instead, she said it reflects how nearly $4 million in grant funding for a town-wide water line replacement project was received over several years but largely spent during fiscal year 2025.

"Our entire town is not missing funds,” Dawson told Cowboy State Daily. “We're just operating in a different pool of money."

According to the 30-page audit released by the Wyoming Department of Audit Public Funds Division, Guernsey reported about $3.42 million in receipts and $4.72 million in disbursements during fiscal year 2025, resulting in an approximately $1.3 million deficit. The town's general fund ended the year with a negative cash balance of $1,265,889.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Water Project Skews Numbers"}]

Dawson said the deficit largely reflects the timing of a major infrastructure project rather than the town's financial health.

Although Guernsey has a population of roughly 1,100 and ordinarily qualifies to perform its own financial audit, the town was required to undergo a state audit after receiving about $960,000 in federal grant funding during fiscal year 2025 for the water line project.

Over roughly three years, the town received nearly $4 million for the project, Dawson said. Most of that money was spent during fiscal year 2025.

"If you bring in $4 million on a project over three years but you spend it all in one year, it's not going to look the same on paper," she said.

She added that the town currently has about $5.9 million in its accounts, including reserves.

"That's what's sitting in our bank accounts right now," she said. "The town's money is being allocated and spent in the right place."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Audit Raises Concerns"}]

While Dawson disputes the significance of the reported deficit, the audit also identified several accounting issues unrelated to the water project.

Auditors said they were unable to verify the town's beginning and ending cash balances because sufficient documentation was not available.

"Management has acknowledged that the cash beginning and ending balances appear misstated and that cash transfers between funds could be required to correct these balances," the report states. "Accordingly, we were unable to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to determine whether beginning and ending cash balances are accurately stated at the fund level."

The auditors also noted the town's general fund reflected negative cash and reported that management "was unable to provide support or an explanation as to the cause."

The report recommends the town investigate the cause of the negative cash balances and correct any misstatements, if necessary.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Meeting Minutes, Vendor Lists"}]

Auditors also found what they described as a "significant deficiency" in the town's meeting minutes.

According to the report, minutes posted on the town's website contained inaccuracies, including duplicated meeting minutes from one meeting to another and duplicated vendor payment listings.

Calls and emails to Mayor Ed Delgado were not returned before publication.

Guernsey resident and mayoral candidate Shawna Reichert said those findings validated concerns she has raised.

"I think the big thing that stood out to me was that even the minutes being put out to the public are not being done correctly," Reichert said. "There's no accountability. I think a lack of accountability has gotten us into the position we are currently."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Accounting Method"}]

Another audit finding involved journal entries that reclassified expenditures.

Auditors found instances in which expenses were moved between accounting periods. Because the town uses cash-basis accounting, expenditures should be recorded when cash is disbursed rather than when the expense was incurred.

Dawson said the issue stemmed from staff mistakenly recording invoices in the month services were provided instead of the month they were paid.

For example, she said, the town received a July invoice from Wyoming Municipal Power for June electric service and initially coded the expense to June.

"We should not have done that," Dawson said. "We paid an invoice for June that we did not receive until July."

She disputed the audit's suggestion that the entries were made to move expenses out of over-budget accounts, saying none were over budget and the issue reflected confusion between cash-basis and accrual accounting.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Corrective Plan"}]

The town has already adopted Resolution 2026-010, a corrective action plan that calls for improving cash-allocation procedures, adding reviews of journal entries, reconciling liability accounts, improving the accuracy of council meeting minutes and using a third party to review journal entries.

[{"type":"text","text":"Reichert remains skeptical."}]

"I have no confidence that change will happen because they've never spoken about it in any of our town council meetings," she said of the mayor and council. "How can you fix it if you're not bringing it to the public?

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I want better for our community.\""}]

Dawson said people are welcome to ask questions of her at the town hall at any time.

“People are smart enough, if they want to ask questions, they can come in and ask questions,” she said. “A lot of us come in here and we work really hard for this community.”

Guernsey Town Hall 7 9 26

<title>State Audit Finds $1.3 Million Deficit In Guernsey, Town Official Says No Money Is Missing | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A state audit of the Town of Guernsey's finances flagged a $1.3 million deficit and identified multiple issues with the town's accounting practices. Treasurer Hillary Dawson said the large negative number does not mean the town is missing money.

State Audit Finds $1.3 Million Deficit In Guernsey, Town Official Says No Money Is Missing

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

Clair McFarland

Native American Tribes

A “Yellowstone” series TV actor posted a clip Tuesday of a Christian pastor preaching on the Wind River Indian Reservation and discouraging some of the Arapaho tribal religious ceremonies, saying “Jesus is everything...A pipe cannot hear your prayers.”

, garnering 31,000 views as of Wednesday afternoon and provoking outrage, particularly around the reservation.

Christian Wassana, an enrolled Cheyenne Arapaho of Oklahoma who played Martin Kills Many on “Yellowstone," described Foundations for Nations pastor Sarah Lucas’ message as, “A pastor speaking at a church on the Rez in Wyoming condemning Sundance, one of our oldest and most sacred ceremonies.”

Several Northern Arapaho Tribe members are outraged at a Christian pastor who spoke against their religious customs and encouraged worship of Jesus instead. One Arapaho member told Cowboy State Daily that the church is "not welcome here anymore."

One More For The Road: Saturday, February 24, 2024

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