Powell Tribune

Second guilty plea in Badger Basin murder

At a brief hearing on Wednesday, former Powell resident Pedro Garcia Jr., 30, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree murder. The deal, which involves prosecutors dropping and reducing the original charges, calls for Garcia to receive … more

By CJ Baker | 1/26/17

Legislators propose K-12 education cuts, spending from savings

Bills on K-12 public school funding have been introduced in the Wyoming House and Senate to address an estimated $400 million annual shortfall. On Monday night, the House Education Committee voted to sponsor a broad proposal for representatives … more

By Tribune Staff | 1/26/17

This was Colleen and Clarence Anderson’s view of President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday. The Powell couple’s children gave them the trip to Washington, D.C., as a Christmas present.

A firsthand view of history

“It was marvelous, being in that crowd of Americans, watching this process,” said Colleen Anderson. “It was just a humbling thing to do,” agreed her husband, Clarence Anderson. Colleen said attending the inauguration would have been an … more

By CJ Baker | 1/26/17

Larry and Karen Parker of Powell lead a group of demonstrators around Cody City Park during the Park County Women and Allies March Saturday. The event drew around 500 participants and was held in conjunction with the Women’s March on Washington.

Around 500 marchers turn out in Cody to support human rights

The Cody event drew around 500 women, men and children. Millennials integrated themselves with members of Generation X and the Baby Boomers as they marched around Cody City Park, carrying homemade signs and chanting from sheets handed out at sign-in … more

By Don Cogger | 1/24/17

No county wage hikes this year

A total of 26 employees had been recommended for raises by their supervisors, but in a split 3-2 decision last month, county commissioners rejected them all. Including the adjustments to the employees’ benefits — like retirement and Social … more

By CJ Baker | 1/24/17

Although these cattle were on the boundary of the McCullough Peaks wilderness study area last fall, there are two grazing allotments in the study area, which would be permitted if it became a wilderness area.

Wilderness study committee considering McCullough facts

The Wyoming Public Lands Initiative’s Park County Advisory Committee has a number of classification options it could recommend, ranging from wilderness (which would prohibit mechanized travel) or a number of non-wilderness designations that … more

By Gib Mathers | 1/24/17

Three more members of 'High on Life' group plead guilty

Those sentences were handed down Thursday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Carman at the Yellowstone Justice Center in Mammoth Hot Springs. High on Life was the subject of multiple investigations by the National Park Service and the U.S. Bureau … more

By Tribune Staff | 1/20/17

Superintendent search narrowed to three finalists

The Powell school board met Tuesday evening in an executive session to review applications and unanimously agreed on the three finalists. “It was a hard process. Everybody was well-qualified,” Greg Borcher, chairman of Park County School … more

By Tessa Baker | 1/19/17

Wapiti, grizzlies and guns featured at education secretary hearing

DeVos — whose family owns a large ranch in the Wapiti Valley — referenced the small school west of Cody in her response to a question about guns in schools. The stage was set toward the beginning of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor … more

By CJ Baker | 1/19/17

The inside of the east water tower became covered in ice after springing a leak last month. Powell’s water needs are now being provided solely by the tower on the west side of town until repairs can be made this spring.

East water tower springs leak

The water tower on the east side of Powell, near Homesteader Park, has been temporarily shut down, as a leak was detected by the City of Powell Water/Wastewater Department. Powell’s water needs are now being supplied solely by the tower on the … more

By Don Cogger | 1/19/17

Legislature may enforce tax on internet sales

“Wyoming businesses are at a disadvantage when internet businesses fail to collect tax,” Mead said in a release. “This is an important step in the right direction.” State lawmakers are considering another big step toward collecting taxes … more

By CJ Baker | 1/17/17

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and representatives from Wisconsin and Minnesota introduced a bipartisan wolf bill that would remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act list and nix litigation following delisting.

Cheney launches new effort to delist wolves

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, and fellow congressmen from Wisconsin and Minnesota introduced a bill on Jan. 10 that would remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act list. The measure would also outlaw any lawsuits aimed at returning the … more

By Gib Mathers | 1/17/17

College bus collides with cows, power pole

“I have been traveling on buses for 40-plus years and have never had an experience like that,” Will Rider, Gillette College’s head women’s basketball coach, said Monday. The team was on Wyo. Highway 30, between Burlington and Basin, and … more

By Ilene Olson | 1/17/17

As heavy snowfall blanketed Powell on Wednesday morning, snowmobiler Mike Walsh couldn’t resist the fresh powder on Sunlight Drive. Walsh, 22, was home in Powell on days off from oilfield work in Colorado.

Powell snowed in again

Tuesday night’s snow was blown around by cold winds, primarily from the north, piling it up in drifts and making it difficult to navigate area roads Wednesday morning. Despite those challenges, Powell schools opened as usual on Wednesday, with … more

By Ilene Olson | 1/12/17

Education in budget crisis

For Powell, Superintendent Kevin Mitchell has a request: Let local school district leaders decide how to make those cuts. “You guys make a decision on how much money you need — make that into a percent cut or something — and then we’ll … more

By Tessa Baker | 1/12/17

Wild horses, including these shown in the Pryor Mountains in 2015, establish a strict hierarchy. The Bureau of Land Management has increased the appropriate management level by five to 15 adult head in the Pryor Mountain herd.

BLM boosts Pryor mustangs’ maximum population number

A judge ordered the bureau to recalculate the appropriate management level (AML) in 2015, said Nancy Cerroni of the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center in Lovell. In July, U.S. District Judge Susan Watters noted that the bureau had stated, in a … more

By Gib Mathers | 1/12/17

From the staircase, Christine Bekes, executive director of the Powell Economic Partnership, reviews PEP’s annual report with local shareholders and leaders during the PEP annual meeting on Thursday. She also shared information about a new hotel for Powell. In the center foreground is Greg Anderson, who paid for a community feasibility study to assess Powell’s potential for a new hotel.

Momentum for hotel: Developer packages four acres in Gateway for hotel of 65-75 rooms

On Thursday, hotelier Steve Wahrlich of Billings announced plans for a new hotel on three lots in the Gateway West business park off West Coulter Avenue. The lots, adjacent to a new car wash facility in Gateway West, total more than four … more

By Dave Bonner | 1/10/17

Tree death due to spruce budworm is evident in the vicinity of Wyo. Highway 296. ‘In the past year we have had an increase of 3,000 acres,’ said Amy Haas, forester for the Shoshone National Forest. ‘This brings the total affected acres to approximately 15,000.’

Crandall logging to thin budworms

In response to the budworms’ ongoing infestation, Shoshone National Forest staff are proposing to log approximately 2,000 acres in the Crandall area. The western spruce budworm is a widely distributed defoliator, according to a Shoshone … more

By Gib Mathers | 1/10/17

Powell man gets probation for assaulting wife

“You don’t belong in prison,” Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Steven Cranfill told Greg Paris at a Thursday sentencing hearing. In imposing five years of supervised probation, Cranfill recognized the counseling and medical treatment Paris … more

By CJ Baker | 1/10/17

Powell City Council members (from left) Lesli Spencer, Floyd Young, Jim Hillberry and Mayor Don Hillman are sworn in Tuesday at the first city council meeting of 2017. Seated are council members John Wetzel and Eric Paul. City Clerk Tiffany Brando (far right) officiated the swearing-in ceremony. Council President Wetzel will be filling in for Mayor Hillman in the coming weeks.

Fight against cancer may temporarily sideline mayor

The meeting began on a positive note, with Mayor Hillman and council members Floyd Young, Jim Hillberry and Lesli Spencer sworn into their new terms of office by City Clerk Tiffany Brando — all having won their bids for re-election in … more

By Don Cogger | 1/5/17