It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, January 15th. I’m Mac Watson.
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A field officer for the federal Bureau of Land Management was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder,. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that 53-year-old Richard “Deak” Dollard allegedly choked a man to death in a Lander bar fight.
“The affidavit says that there was tough talk and exchanges before this. And then the dad and son were getting in there and fighting. And then it describes Deak Dollard entering the fray and choking the guy, while another of the suspects pulled the man's hood so that his head was yanking back, and then he fell on the floor…Deke Dollard, who is accused of doing the choke out, the allegedly fatal choke out, is charged with second degree murder, which is a felony punishable by between 20 years in life in prison. But there's an alternate charge where, if it's more appropriate, the jury, if it goes to trial, could choose voluntary manslaughter, which is only punishable by up to 20 years in prison. And so then Justin and Jesse would attach, they are facing accessories before the fact charges. If manslaughter is more appropriate there, it's up to 20 for them.”
Deak Dollard’s LinkedIn lists him as a U.S. Bureau of Land Management field staff law enforcement ranger from May 2016 to the present date.
The BLM’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a voicemail request for comment.
Read the full story HERE.
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After arguing with a homeless man named Earl over a $30 debt at a long-term stay motel, a 69-year-old man reportedly told Earl to “die, bitch,” then shot him in the chest Friday. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that a court affidavit available Wednesday says the encounter was caught on video.
“They said the surveillance video showed him kind of standing over him for a bit, and then he went back into his room. And then he stayed there for another four hours, while about every cop in Cheyenne, it was, it was a huge scene. 34 cars were there, responding to the SWAT team with their big tank. They finally got it. They finally got him out.”...These guys knew each other. There's some, there's some discrepancy on the $30 whether he was paid back, or whether he was trying to pay him back at the time. But apparently there was, yeah, $30 and it led to the guy being shot, being shot.”
According to Cheyenne PD, Harold Wayne Sarvis is facing an attempted second-degree murder charge.
Read the full story HERE.
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Natrona County legislators gathered Wednesday to preview priorities ahead of next month's budget session. Cowboy State Daily’s Zak Sonntag reports that the discussion was hijacked by some stunned over Tuesday’s defunding of the Wyoming Business Council.
“Every panelist weighed in on it. It was kind of like what turns out to be something of an ideological battle line taking shape around this microcosm of the Wyoming Business Council, and they're saying, what is the proper role of the state in the economy? And you had legislators like Representative Lee Campbell, who wants to see the Business Council stay around. She wants to see funding for a white for the University of Wyoming. And the big concern is the workforce. They say, if we don't have an educated workforce, we're not going to attract employers, and if we don't have a business council that's here to help employers, we're not going to attract the workforce.”
The Joint Appropriations Committee voted onTuesday to dismantle the Wyoming Business Council, a publicly-funded agency designed to boost business through state-backed loans and grants.
Read the full story HERE.
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Parents in Sweetwater County School District No. 1 are blasting the board for high vacancies, ignored comments, a secret superintendent raise, and poor accountability. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that despite promises, leadership isn’t really offering any explanation amid ongoing turmoil.
“Parents are frustrated that they're not getting answers from school leadership, from members of the school board, the school board is saying they're not not responding. They're just looking into the complaints and need time to be able to come up with responses and do proper investigations…One parent I spoke to said that she has brought up a complaint three times this semester to the school district about one issue and has still not received a response…Board Chairman Cole right responded to an email received by Cowboy State Daily. His response was, quote, ‘We will continue reviewing matters brought up during last night's board meeting and via cowboy states outreach, and we will respond when our review is complete.’”
The Wyoming Department of Education acknowledged this week that it had received formal complaints about the Sweetwater school district.
Read the full story HERE.
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I’ll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.
Cowboy State Daily news continues now…
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The CEO of a tribal health clinic and a state lawmaker are voicing concerns over a legislative committee’s push to block $58 million in federal money. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the denial, which is not final, was part of a slew of proposed Wyoming Department of Health cuts.
“The Appropriations Committee majority voted to block 58 million that was to go to tribal health clinics on the reservation. It was 100% federal funded. And I got to talking to Representative Lloyd Larson, was like, ‘If you block this Medicaid money from these tribal health clinics, what tribal members who qualify for Medicaid will do is they'll go get care in Thermopolis in Riverton, in Lander, and guess what? In those clinics, the state pays half of the Medicaid coverage, whereas in tribal clinics, they pay 0% of the Medicaid coverage. So what this is actually going to do is take a big fat gouge to the state's bottom line.’”
As a former House Appropriations member, Rep. Larsen oversaw the Wyoming Department of Health’s budget for eight years.
Read the full story HERE.
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The former Campbell County High football coach fired in November for a profanity-laced outburst aimed at a player has been cleared by the state board that licenses teachers and coaches. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that Orah Garst says he’s grateful and wants to coach again.
“They dismissed the complaint. However, they did admonish him, saying, you know this, this, you need to, you need to address. And the coach, Coach, the coach really says that that's fine. And that's what he said at the time he was fired. I did the story in November when he was fired, and he said the same thing. He said, ‘Yeah, there's no denying it. I did it.’ He yelled at the kid. Used profanities. He said, it's not in his nature to do that. He hadn't done that before, but, you know, it got recorded. There was complaints that led to him being fired, and he says he doesn't, although he thinks it was an overreaction, he doesn't contest it, because he says you've got to be responsible for your actions.”
The Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board dismissed a complaint against Orah Garst last month, clearing the way for Garst to coach again in Wyoming.
Read the full story HERE.
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Yellowstone is considering three permanent routes to replace its flood-damaged North Entrance Road, with a hybrid “center alignment” emerging as the preferred option. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi explains why the $300 million project could take five to nine years to build.
“So that the time of the construction timeline will depend on the solution chosen. It could go anywhere from five years to as long as nine years, because it's an ambitious project. You're talking about brand new infrastructure. Most of the plans require new road embankments, new bridges, wildlife, underpasses. They require so much and so much money and so much effort to do this, because it's not a long distance between Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardner Montana, but you're talking about a canyon. You're talking about river systems, rock slides, all these things need to be factored in. So everything's been designed. All they're doing now is getting public input on which design they'll go with which they have, one that they're heavily favoring, and once that design is selected, construction can begin as soon as 2027.”
Yellowstone National Park Director Cam Sholly met with citizens to hear their ideas and encouraged comments and criticisms, saying the decisions made today will "extend beyond any of our lifetimes.”
Read the full story HERE.
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A photo capturing two coyotes in a standoff over a bison carcass in Yellowstone National Park depicts the canines with their backs arched, raised paws raised and baring their so aggressively it might be easy to assume they were ready to rip each other apart. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that biologists say it’s all for show.
“I tracked down the guy who actually took the photo, and he's an ecologist. He specializes in wolves and elk, but he also knows a little bit about coyotes. And then I talked to a second biologist who probably knows just about as much about coyotes as anybody in this entire region. And I kind of had them both break it down, and the guy who took the photo said it started over a carcass, a bison carcass.So one coyote was on the bison carcass, eating it. The other one came along and started doing this really weird arch back pose, and so the other one jumped off the carcass, and they kind of went back. To four, back and forth like that for a little bit. He said they did tough a little bit, but they didn't seriously fight. And then finally, they apparently settled at the one, went back to eating the one, back off, and waited till the first one was done, and then went and took its turn. But this guy said, Yeah, I've seen coyotes do that weird arch back thing in several different instances. Sometimes it almost looks like a greeting. And then the other guy talked to the guy who's really an expert in Coyote, said they have a whole range of body language and vocalizations and behaviors that, as much as we study them, we still haven't figured it all out yet, but he did confirm that while coyotes will tussle, they will fight with each other. They don't get in those vicious blood letting rip each other apart fights that wolves do.”
Coyotes might tussle with each other, but they don’t get into vicious, winner-take-all fights like wolves sometimes do.
Read the full story HERE.
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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.
