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Cooking 9 21 24

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<title>Cooking With Clair: Saturday, September 21, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Cooking With Clair: Saturday, September 21, 2024

 Scouring the Internet for recipes that Clair McFarland probably makes for her family.....

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Wildlife

With summer tourist activity hitting full pitch in Yellowstone National Park, and other black bears engaged in mating-season courtship, one bear apparently decided he’d just had enough and passed out for hours by the roadside near Tower Junction.

The bear sprawled on his back with his tongue hanging out and snoozed away the hot afternoon seemingly without a care in the world, blissfully ignoring traffic roaring by barely 30 yards away.

The bear zonked out so hard, some people worried that it was dead, park visitor and wildlife photographer Corey Pettis told Cowboy State Daily.

But the bear would occasionally stir, raise his head to look drowsily around before going back to sleep, said Pettis, who spent a couple of hours watching that bear and several others on May 28.

“It was a hot day. I think the temperature was up in the 80s,” which might explain why the bear was wise to find a shady spot and get some rest, even as other bears amorously chased each other around, he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Black Bear Hangout"}]

 has been getting plenty of attention in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks this spring.

Around Tower Junction, it’s all about black bears, said Pettis, who lives in Wisconsin and has been visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton every spring and fall for years.

“Over by Tower Falls is where the black bears all hang out. I’ve hardly ever seen a grizzly go through there,” he said.

Pettis said he saw nine black bears in the general area on May 28, including three others in the vicinity of the sleepy bear.

Those bears included at least one female that was being actively pursued by males trying to mate with her.

“Maybe he (the sleeping bear) had been out chasing that female earlier and was just tired,” he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Going Unnoticed"}]

Pettis said that the snoozing bear was one of the most amusing things he’s ever seen in the national parks.

Equally amusing is how unnoticed the bear was by many tourists.

“There were hundreds of people stopping and looking around,” attracted by the sight of the black bears that were up and moving, he said.

“But that sleeping bear was down so flat on the ground, many people didn’t even notice he was there,” he added.

That’s just as well, because nobody tried to push in too close and disrupt the bear’s slumber, he said.

“He was sleeping hard. I could just about picture the drool coming out of his mouth,” Pettis said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"More Tolerant Of People"}]

Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of the Grizzly Bear Foundation in British Columbia, Canada, told Cowboy State Daily that he wasn’t particularly surprised to hear about a black bear sleeping soundly near so many people.

Generally speaking, black bears are “much more comfortable being closer to human settlements than grizzlies are,” he said.

Black bears evolved in heavily forested habitats and usually don’t need as much vast, undisturbed territory as grizzlies do, he said.

“Grizzlies need bigger habitats,” he said. "They need isolated alpine areas to den in."

So-called “roadside” grizzlies in Yellowstone and Grand Teton are mostly females with cubs, Scapillati said.

That’s because male grizzlies will sometimes kill a female’s cubs in hopes that the female will go back into heat so the male can mate with her.

Large male grizzlies tend to be less tolerant of crowds, and so the roadside grizzly mammas have learned to take their cubs near roadsides to lower risks, he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Bear Personalities"}]

While black bears might be more apt to get comfortable around crowds, grizzlies can get used to specific humans in the backcountry, Scapillati said.

He’s watched female grizzlies nursing their cubs in the wild, something those bears might not have been comfortable doing near crowds.

People also frequently underestimate how intelligent black bears and grizzlies are, Scapillati said.

They’re smart and complex enough to develop a wide range of personalities, he said.

It makes sense that the black bear Pettis watched snoozing near Tower Junction may have an unusually mellow personality, Scapillati said.

And in the parks, it might be possible for grizzlies to develop that level of comfort with crowds of tourists, he added.

“It’s probably a matter of time before somebody films a grizzly bear doing that (zonking out by the roadside),” he said.

Sleepy bear 6 3 26

<title>Tired Of Mobs And Mating Season, Yellowstone Black Bear Zonks Out By Roadside | Cowboy State Daily</title>

As Yellowstone buzzed with tourists and other bears were caught up in courtship, a black bear apparently decided he’d had enough and zonked out by the roadside near Tower Junction. The bear was out so hard, some people worried that it was dead.

Tired Of Mobs And Mating Season, Yellowstone Black Bear Zonks Out By Roadside

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

Crime & Courts

Courts

CASPER — A 35-year-old Evansville man is accused of camping out in a trailer on someone’s property, then walking into their house uninvited to get orange juice from the refrigerator.

Police say those actions happened after Garrett Maheu failed to return as required to the Casper Re-entry Center, the community corrections facility in town.

Maheu waived a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Casper Circuit Court on charges of burglary, criminal entry, theft, interference with a police officer, and use of controlled substance in one case and an escape charge in another case.

Court documents show Maheu’s renewed encounter with the court system began with his failing to return to the halfway house facility by midnight May 25 following a shift at the Outback Steakhouse in Casper.

He was declared an escapee by the facility at 2 a.m., and law enforcement efforts to locate Maheu were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, at about 8 p.m. the next day, Casper police were dispatched to a home on a report of a burglary. 

Officers were told by the husband of a woman at the residence that a man in a blue beanie, black shirt, and blue jeans was trying to open the doors of their house. 

His wife was inside and “freaking out,” according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case.

After police and the husband arrived at the home, the couple provided police with video of a man acting erratic, speaking to himself and apparently experiencing a “manic episode,” the affidavit states.

At 8:55, 911 got another call from a woman in the 2000 block of South Coffman Avenue that an unknown man just walked into her house, and she had no idea where he went.

Police responded to that home, and the woman told police he left out her back door and that she had never seen the man before.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"She Was ‘Shaking’ "}]

“(The woman) was visibly shaking from the incident and advised she was shocked by the event,” the affidavit states. She "advised she was the only adult home and had two children who were asleep.”

The woman told police that a man in a black shirt suddenly walked into her house and opened her refrigerator. 

She said she confronted the man, then he “grabbed a container of orange juice from the fridge and stated to (the woman) that he had been living in a camper parked out back.”

The woman told police he than ran out the back door with the orange juice and she then called 911.

Officers went to the back yard and found nobody in the trailer. 

They had the woman examine the trailer and she told them it “was a mess and not in that state before being stored for the winter,” the affidavit states. 

She told police the trailer was typically left unlocked.

She also pointed out a blue beanie in the bathroom of the camper that did not belong to her family. The beanie was similar to the one worn by the man on the video at the previous residence, the affidavit states.

Police searched the area, but could not locate the suspect.

At 10:12 p.m., another Casper resident called 911 about a man walking westbound in an alley who appeared to be under the influence. 

Officers responded to the area and found Maheu in the vicinity of Dover Avenue and Essex Avenue, noting he matched the description of the man at the other locations.

Maheu told officers that he had been inside the camper on South Coffman Avenue and that the woman inside the home had given permission for him to take the orange juice. 

He initially refused to give police his name, denying he was Garrett Wayne Maheu. But after being confronted with the description about the Casper Re-Entry Program escapee with the skull tattoo on his chest, which he had, he admitted his identify, the affidavit states.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Meth And Drinks"}]

At the time of his arrest, Maheu was “profusely sweating” and had “pinpoint pupils” and was acting erratically, the affidavit states.

Under questioning, Maheu admitted he had used an “eight ball” of meth a few hours earlier, the term used to describe an eighth of an ounce of the drug. 

He also had two drinks that were cold in his possession that included a Fever-Tree Ginger Beer and a Truly strawberry lemonade hard seltzer that he said he got from the cooler of a guy known as “Evil.”

When shown the beanie found in the camper, he told the officer that it “absolutely” belonged to him and that he obtained it at a truck stop.

Both the burglary and escape charges carry a potential penalty of 10 years in prison as well as an up to $10,000 fine for the burglary charge. 

The criminal entry, theft, and use of a controlled substance charges are punishable by up to six months in prison and a $750 fine.

The interference with a police officer charge is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Bond was set at $10,000 cash or surety in the burglary case and $5,000 in the escape case.

Maheu had been serving time at the Casper Re-Entry Center after being sentenced for a larceny in Sweetwater County.

Maheu Casper Cop Car 6 3 26

<title>Fugitive Accused Of Breaking Into Casper-Area Homes, Taking Orange Juice | Cowboy State Daily</title>

An Evansville man accused of not returning to a Casper halfway house after work faces more charges for allegedly breaking into people’s homes. He "grabbed a container of orange juice from the fridge” when confronted by a frightened woman at one house.

Fugitive Accused Of Breaking Into Casper-Area Homes, Taking Orange Juice

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

UPDATE 2:50 p.m.: This story has been updated to reflect the Goshen County Sheriff's Office confirms a suspect has been identified, and that if criminal charges are filed that will be up to the Goshen County Attorney's Office.

The family of two Rottweilers found dead and mutilated in the North Platte River near Torrington says Goshen County Sheriff

s Office representatives have told them someone has turned himself in and admitted to shooting the dogs.

Angelica Garcia, whose parents owned the dogs named Django and Hildy, said that members of the sheriff’s office informed the family on Wednesday that a person had come forward and admitted to shooting the animals.

According to Garcia, investigators declined to identify the suspect, citing concerns for that person's safety.

The case has drawn statewide attention since Friday, when the dogs disappeared after getting loose from their family's property and were later found dead by a mother and her son near a popular fishing area along the North Platte River.

Garcia told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that she believes the dogs 

The family has previously claimed the dogs were shot, their collars removed, and their bodies left in the river. Authorities have not publicly confirmed those allegations.

Goshen County Sheriff Kory Fleenor confirmed Wednesday his office does have a suspect, who is not in custody. His identity isn't being released at this time, and it will be up to the Goshen County attorney to decide if criminal charges are appropriate.

"This was an unfortunate situation for everyone involved," Fleenor said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Family Says Objection To Online Posts"}]

Garcia said the revelation about the alleged suspect came during a tense conversation with investigators.

According to Garcia, members of the sheriff's office expressed frustration with videos and information the family has shared online about the case and took issue with some of the media coverage surrounding the deaths of Django and Hildy.

She said the sheriff's office expressed frustration with Pamela Garcia for videos and information the family shared online.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"We're not taking anything down,\" Garcia said."}]

The deaths of the dogs sparked a wave of public reaction after the family posted photographs and videos online and launched a petition demanding answers about what happened.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"$2,500 Reward Offered"}]

As questions continue to surround the case, Animal Wellness Action announced it is offering up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for what the organization describes as the unlawful killing of the dogs.

The reward was announced before Garcia said the family learned that someone had allegedly admitted to shooting the animals.

Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, said he was not aware of any tips submitted to the organization as of this week, but that rewards often motivate witnesses and others with information to come forward.

"The reward really is the driver of that information," Pacelle said. "Once people understand that there's a reward, that is a very important incentive for people to participate in the process of helping law enforcement."

Pacelle said his organization became involved because of what he views as a well-established connection between animal cruelty and broader patterns of violence.

"There's a tremendous link between malicious acts of cruelty and other crimes and other social violence," he said.

Pacelle pointed to research linking animal cruelty to domestic violence and other criminal behavior.

"It's often a precursor or a red flag of someone who is going to commit other acts of violence," he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Echoes Of The Cody Roberts Case"}]

Animal Wellness Action and its sister organization, the Center for a Humane Economy, were also involved in the high-profile case of Cody Roberts, the Daniel man who pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty after chasing down a wolf with a snowmobile and later displaying the severely injured animal in a bar.

Pacelle said the facts in the Torrington case remain unclear and stopped short of directly comparing the two incidents.

[{"type":"text","text":"Still, he said both cases raise concerns about how animals are treated."}]

"The common theme is just a contempt for the life of an innocent animal," he said.

Pacelle said the organization hopes the reward and public attention surrounding the case will encourage anyone with information to come forward.

"It does matter a great deal," he said. "People may not be aware of the correlation between animal cruelty and human criminality and violence, and we really want to underscore that."

Rottweilers and torrington 6 3 26

<title>Torrington Family Says Suspect Turns Self In For Shooting Mutilated Rottweilers | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Torrington family says the Goshen County Sheriff’s Office told them a suspect turned himself in for shooting their Rottweilers, whose mutilated bodies were found in the North Platte River. The sheriff’s office confirms there is a suspect in the case.

Torrington Family Says Suspect Turns Self In For Shooting Mutilated Rottweilers

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon released an executive order on Wednesday telling state agencies to “promote responsible development of data centers and other large-load facilities.”

[{"type":"text","text":"The order is effective immediately."}]

On the one hand, the order points to Wyoming’s capacity to produce energy, its business-friendly environment, reliable infrastructure, and what the governor called a “proven commitment to innovation which provides Wyoming a leading role in America’s digital future.”

 President Donald Trump signed, promoting advanced artificial intelligence development and its role in support of national security.

[{"type":"text","text":"Data centers feed artificial intelligence."}]

On the other hand, Gordon’s state-level order requires Wyoming executive-branch agencies to heed several considerations while they advance these projects.

• Encourage advanced technology uses and practices that minimize water consumption and protect water quality, including by supporting innovative cooling tech “appropriate for Wyoming’s semi-arid climate;”

[{"type":"text","text":"• Balance economic growth with wildlife and open space conservation;"}]

• Encourage “open and continual communication” and allow meaningful opportunities for public participation on proposed builds, while being transparent about project impacts, benefits, and regulatory processes;

• Recognize “that data centers are increasingly important to national security, global technological competitiveness, and economic growth” while pursuing opportunities that strengthen the nation’s energy security and technological leadership – and Wyoming’s role as the nation’s leading energy state;

• Protect residential and small-business utility customers from bearing incremental costs exclusively associated with data center builds;

• Leverage the state’s competitive business climate to “attract investment across Wyoming” while ensuring that expansion is in line with the state’s heritage, and generates “meaningful benefits for local governments” and systems.

• Prioritize workforce development efforts to prepare state citizens for careers in digital infrastructure or related trades. That means working with the University of Wyoming, community colleges, school districts and businesses;

• Encourage projects that show a commitment to helping and improving their host communities.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Explosive On The Home Front"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Local communities in Wyoming are roiling at the prospect of data centers."}]

 on data center development last week after four hours of emotional, sometimes angry testimony by community members on both sides of the issue.  

In Evanston, the Uinta County Planning and Zoning Commission faced less vocal pushback – despite a packed room – during a similar approval meeting last week.

 to recommend permit approvals for a 1.25 gigawatt data center.

Many tribal members of the Wind River Indian Reservation are still indignant over an April announcement, that the Wyoming Business Council has awarded a $50,000 grant to the Northern Arapaho Tribe’s government to study the prospect of a large data center on the reservation.

[{"type":"text","text":"That reservation headquarters a second tribe, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe."}]

LeBeau heads one of the two factions currently vying in court for executive-branch control of the Shoshone Tribe.

The Converse County Commission tried and failed earlier this year to create a special industrial park to fast-track a data center on private land. The Attorney General 

 back — and the commission did — reportedly because the county doesn’t already have a zoning system in place to allow such a targeted land designation.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"More About …"}]

Data centers are large warehouses full of servers that power parts of the internet and increasingly, artificial intelligence.

They may use a closed-loop cooling system, which proponents tout as a water-conservative way of keeping the equipment from overheating. 

In a closed-loop system, water still should be flushed periodically because its quality can degrade and cooling chemicals can break down over time, 

Wyomingites have voiced fears of water pollution and consumption, noise, vista degradation and a shift from the state’s agricultural environment with the influx of data centers.

Proponents of the builds, however, have pointed to their capacity to generate immense revenues and create jobs.

 data centers exist currently in Wyoming. 

Data center and gordon 6 3 26

<title>Gordon Orders 'Responsible' Data Center Development In Wyoming | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon released an executive order on Wednesday telling state agencies to “promote responsible development of data centers and other large-load facilities.” The order comes as local governments create their data center rules.

Gordon Orders 'Responsible' Data Center Development In Wyoming

A Lincoln County contractor could be facing serious criminal charges after allegedly beating a man, threatening him with a shovel, taking his phone and coercing him into signing over a truck and equipment during a daylong 

Lincoln County Sheriff's Deputy Kale McGee outline the allegations in a 12-page affidavit filed Friday and made available Tuesday, seeking charges of aggravated blackmail and battery against Thomas John Robinson.

mother called 911 from Afton, reporting her son had been held against his will and was covered in blood, wrote McGee. 

The sheriff's deputy arrived to find the man wearing a white shirt stained with dried blood. McGee wrote that he also had dried blood near his nose and fresh bruising on his face.

The man claims Robinson arrived at his Thayne-area home around 10 a.m. demanding repayment from a failed equipment deal.

Robinson money, but said he couldn't immediately pay him, and that Robinson could not simply take vehicles and equipment 

He said he "originally owed Robinson $30,000, but Robinson kept bumping the price up.” 

The alleged victim said that Robinson then grabbed him by his sweatshirt collar, threw him to the ground and climbed on top of him, wrote McGee. 

"He popped me,” the man told investigators, later reported pain in his ribs, face, and mouth.

Next, he said Robinson loaded up a trailer and skid steer onto the man's truck and hauled him to a property on Rock Farm Road outside Etna.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Threats And A Shovel "}]

Once at the property, the man told investigators that the confrontation escalated, according to the affidavit.

He said Robinson began videotaping him and humiliating him while accusing him of fraud.

In a video taken by a witness, Robinson tells the man, "I honestly can't believe there's people like you around in this world,” the affidavit says. "Every one of us as a god — civilization and a community. 

"Every one of us that's a normal mother f***er that goes and works for their money needs to come together and f***ing catch people like you and string you up and flog you daily." 

In the video, Robinson calls the man a "piece of shit" multiple times, wrote McGee. "Like I said, I got him by the balls. I got him right by the balls; he just forfeited his truck and equipment to me and agreed to do so."

The man claimed Robinson threatened to hit him in the back of the head with a shovel and "bury him,” and also told him that he would come after him if he went to the cops. 

Robinson also allegedly threatened to burn down the man's house with his children inside and to "take him out of the community," again referencing striking him with a shovel, according to the affidavit.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Robinson Tells A Different Story"}]

Robinson acknowledged to the sheriff’s office that he confronted the other man over money, but described the encounter very differently.

According to McGee, Robinson told investigators he had been trying for months to recover money he believed was owed to him.

Robinson said he discovered the man had recently acquired a truck, trailer and skid steer despite owing him money.

McGee wrote that Robinson told investigators the man voluntarily drove the equipment to Robinson's property and later agreed to sign over his truck and equipment as collateral 

Robinson denied bloodying the man, telling investigators that he told him he was free to leave and ultimately agreed to work off the debt.

McGee wrote that Robinson produced six invoices totaling $43,589.16 and documents allegedly signed by the man transferring the truck as collateral.

Before investigators arrived at the property to talk to Robinson, they learned that he had an active warrant out to Idaho with full extradition. 

When they told Robinson there was a warrant for his arrest out of Fremont County, Idaho, Robinson began "using vulgar language and became agitated," wrote McGee. "He refused to let me place him in handcuffs behind his back and told me that he had shoulder issues.” 

He was ultimately placed in handcuffs and taken to the Lincoln County Detention Center, but according to the sheriff's department, he is no longer there. 

Court records in Fremont County, Idaho, show Robinson had been facing a felony DUI charge there. 

However, a plea agreement was filed May 28 and the case has been remanded to a lower court, according to a Fremont County District Court clerk. The clerk said the felony charge has been reduced to a misdemeanor and Robinson is expected to enter a plea in the lower court.

[{"type":"text","text":"Robinson is not being held in custody in Idaho."}]

A Lincoln County man is accused of beating a man to coerce him to sign over a truck and equipment during a daylong shakedown over a debt. “Catch people like you and string you up and flog you daily,” police say the contractor threatens on video.

Cooking With Clair: Saturday, September 21, 2024

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