It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, October 16th. I’m Mac Watson.
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A Fremont County judge ordered that she won’t dismiss the second-degree murder charge for a Lander man who claims he was acting in the defense of everyone during a fatal bar fight. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports Richard Dollard’s lawyer says he’s already drafting a petition to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
“The judge went right through what was on these videos that were taken five surveillance videos from inside the bar, two taken by patrons, that basically showed everything. And it was a brawl, and it didn't dispute a lot of what Mr. Dollard says what he claims happened. The question is: Is what he claims happened? Did it lead to this person's death, or is it something that should be dismissed under that law? That's something the Wyoming Supreme Court may very well weigh in on.”
While 54-year-old Richard “Deak” Dollard’s second-degree murder trial is set to begin Nov. 30, his Casper-based defense attorney, Ryan Semerad, tells Cowboy State Daily that he’s already drafting a petition to the Wyoming Supreme Court to challenge the judge’s ruling. The crux of his argument is that Dollard should be immune from prosecution under what’s known as the 2020 “John’s law,” which outlines that people who act reasonably in defense of others are immune from prosecution, Semerad said.
Read the full story HERE.
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Well-meaning people who mistake guardian dogs for strays in rural pastures are taking them to animal shelters. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports the growing problem has Wyoming ranchers scrambling to find missing animals — and leaving their livestock without protection from predators.
“One rancher I talked to in Laramie County had to drive 30 miles into town into Cheyenne to pick up his dog. The dog was actually taken off of his property and brought into the animal shelter. Law enforcement officials and animal shelter employees say it's a bad idea to just load up a dog in your car and bring it to an animal shelter. One, because you don't know that dog's background or where it belongs, and two, the animal shelters may not have room for them anyway, so it's always best to call the local law enforcement first to report a dog. Local law enforcement can often tell you whether that dog belongs there or whether it doesn't. If it doesn't, then law enforcement can take over from there.”
Livestock guardian dogs are trained to know the property boundaries of huge ranches that can sometimes run hundreds of acres that they roam with the livestock.
Read the full story HERE.
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A little boy turned one in Casper on Thursday after surviving a horrific rollover with his mother after their car launched 100 feet in the air and flipped end-over-end. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that the little boy, named Thomas, miraculously suffered only minor bruising.
“Alycyn Swanson went to Casper to pick up her son, where he was staying with his grandparent. Investigators say she crashed her car after she fell asleep at the wheel in northeastern South Dakota near Buffalo. Thomas remarkably came out of the wreck with only scratches and bruising. Alycyn was taken to Rapid City Hospital with life-threatening injuries. As of Thursday, she was still in the ICU with injuries to her neck and spine. I spoke with Allison's older sister Nessa Schaefer, who says that her sister has been conscious once since the crash, and she said, ‘I am going to get through this.’”
Schaefer tells Cowboy State Daily that an officer later told her mom that her daughter shouldn't even be alive. South Dakota Highway Patrol released preliminary details of the crash Thursday, confirming it happened on U.S. Highway 85, about 8 miles south of Buffalo, South Dakota. The Highway Patrol stated the 2016 Subaru Impreza crossed into the southbound lane, entered the west ditch and struck a field approach before going airborne, rolling, and coming to rest on its roof.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Wyoming Highway Patrol and federal agencies are investigating a “threatening” letter discovered at the Capitol on Thursday morning, targeting the Secretary of State's office. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports election offices in at least five other states were also targeted this week.
“Secretary of State Chuck Gray confirmed that it was destined for his elections office. Highway Patrol said it didn't make it past the mailroom before it was intercepted. Authorities say that it's linked to that it is part of a rash of threatening letters, some of which contain white powder, (this one didn't,) sent to elections offices around the country.”
Public-affairs officer Vikki Migoya said the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to various addresses nationwide, “including Secretary of State offices and their related election offices.”
Read the full story HERE.
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I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.
Cowboy State Daily News continues now….
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A Casper resident is upset because a tattoo she requested of an eagle and feather looks like a “penis on my neck.” Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports the tattoo artist says it's unfinished and he's being blackmailed.
“The thing that both parties agree on is that the tattoo is unfinished. The person who got the individual who got the tattoo said that she was not told that there would be a future appointment needed, and she wanted it corrected because she doesn't want to walk around with that on her neck the way that it looks and that everybody is making fun of. The artist says that it was made explicitly clear that it was unfinished when she left and that it needed a lot of work in order to get closer to what she wanted. And when he offered to make amends to try to find an appointment, she wanted it sooner than later, like within a week, and then she took to social media to air her grievances. And the irony of this whole thing is, she likes the tattoo overall. She actually told me that she thinks his work is great.”
Angelina Parkhurst Eagle Alvarado wanted a tattoo of an eagle and feather on her neck as she’s Oneida Iroquois. She explained to Cowboy State Daily, “My grandma gave me the name Little Eagle. This tattoo is supposed to be something that represents me. I don’t want a penis on my neck.”
Read the full story HERE.
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OSHA has confirmed it investigated a gruesome workplace injury at Meta’s Cheyenne data center project last week. Cowboy State Daily’s Emma Jane Jackson reports that a worker said a colleague of his was run over by a lift twice and “The bone was sticking up the side of the leg; it was just dangling there.”
“I talked to Joel Ferguson, who was there when the injury happened, and he said that his coworker was run over twice up to his chest and was left with an injury on his leg, where his bone was just dangling and hanging out of his leg. He was taken to the hospital, and his coworker said that the injured man had surgery in the next few days. I also talked to Larry Wolf from the Cheyenne City Council, and he said that data center construction isn't necessarily as dangerous as something like oil and gas drilling. But any project with a tight deadline or quick turnaround has a bigger potential for accidents. I also talked to a representative from OSHA who confirmed that this incident happened on October 7 at the Meta Construction site, but she would not give me any more details as far as what the investigation found or what to expect.”
Erin Turbitt, a spokesperson for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), told Cowboy State Daily the agency investigated an Oct. 7 incident reported by VFC Lightning, one of the project’s subcontractors.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Wyoming political action committee launched attack mailers this week against some Republicans running for two of the rare purple seats in the state Legislature. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports one candidate who was targeted says it’s “libelous.”
“So this week, PAC for a Better Wyoming started hitting Republican candidates vying for purple house seats with some attack mailers, really focusing on the Republicans themselves would say amplifying or distorting their support for Proposition One, which would cut residential property taxes for home structures by 50% if it passes on November 3, the attack ads are saying this is going to cause all these problems on public lands like cheatgrass proliferation. The candidates are saying there's other options before it gets to that, like governments conserving more or finding a way to backfill.”
The flier says Republican candidate for House District 14, Emily Study, “wants to sell our public lands. She also supports extreme cuts that fuel wildfires, spread invasive cheatgrass, and put public lands at risk.” Study tells Cowboy State Daily, “It’s false information. It’s close to libel.”
Read the full story HERE.
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Gillette veterinarian Clare Sheehan had to treat her 5-year-old horse Selah at home after roving dogs attacked it Wednesday. Cowboy State Daily’s Emma Jane Jackson reports that Selah suffered bite wounds to the face, chest and front legs.
“I talked to Clare Sheehan, who's one of the horse's owners and also an equine vet herself. She emphasized that it's not the dog's fault, but the responsibility is on the owners. The Gillette Police Department told me that the situation is being dealt with by animal control, but Clare Sheehan said that the incident has left her fearing for her own safety because her horse she said was just ‘minding its own business’ when the dogs attacked.”
Sheehan tells Cowboy State Daily that her horse was left with some scratches and bite marks and was given a booster for her rabies. Sheehan added that the horse's joints looked fine, so they think she's going to be okay.
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.
