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Six fatal crashes so far in Campbell County this year

GILLETTE (WNE) --- So far in 2024, 21 people have died in 18 fatal crashes in Wyoming. A third of those crashes, which resulted in six deaths, happened in Campbell County.

In 2023, there were 11 fatal crashes in Campbell County. In 2022, there were seven. 2021 had four fatal crashes, and 2020 had eight.

Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny said when it comes to these crashes, “it randomly spikes and sometimes it doesn’t.”

The first crash wasn’t until Jan. 30, then there was another one about two weeks later.

Of the five crashes, one was on Highway 50, one was on Interstate 90 and one was on Highway 51. Another was on Echeta Road, and a fifth was on Country Club Road. The most recent one, on Saturday, was on North Highway 59.

The winter has been pretty mild this year, and weather conditions were listed as a contributing factor in only one of the six crashes. Matheny said the nice weather means that “more people are out and about on the highway.” And the more drivers there are, the greater the risk for accidents.

Since 2020, there have been 36 fatal crashes in Campbell County. Fourteen of those had speed listed as a contributing factor, while driver inattention was an element in nine of the crashes.

Jason Roascio, public information officer for Wyoming Highway Patrol District 4, said many drivers have gotten comfortable with driving distracted.

“They’re taking their attention away from what’s already a very dangerous task,” he said. “We take it for granted, our speed limits in Wyoming are 80 mph. That speed is serious, and it can be done safely as long as you are paying attention to driving.”

“How do we make them more attentive?” Matheny asked. “I don’t know what to do.”

While an increased law enforcement presence may help drivers slow down on the highways, Matheny said speed traps “don’t do anything with distractedness.”

The numbers are concerning, he added, and “honestly, all law enforcement should be diligent in making sure people are paying attention.”

“Maybe it’s time for the police department, highway patrol and the sheriff’s office to do more,” he said.

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Health Trust denial prompts indignant email from Rescue Mission

CASPER (WNE) --- The Wyoming Rescue Mission’s stance that it hires only Christians may have cost the group a $160,000 grant.

On Thursday, the non-profit organization’s director of development blasted the Natrona Collective Health Trust, another local non-profit, in an email to media outlets. In the email, Cheryl Austin alleged that three employees from the trust had taken a 1-1/2 hour tour of the mission the day before, and one had called her that day to tell her the mission would not be giving the group the $160,000 grant it had applied for.

Austin said she recorded the phone call, in which she was allegedly told that since not all Natrona County residents can work at the mission, the trust would not approve its grant application. There was no application date or deadline listed on the attachment Austin sent with her original email.

The Wyoming Rescue Mission is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that has a statement of faith, although Austin stresses in her email that it allows people of all faiths, genders and backgrounds to come into the mission and receive its services.

“We made it clear that ANYONE is welcome at the Wyoming Rescue Mission. We showed firsthand how we serve the homeless in our community, partner them with case management and back-to-work plans and provide long-term recovery programs,” Austin wrote in the email.

She formatted the last sentence of the email in italicized, bold font: “I wonder how the county commissioners feel about the decisions of the Natrona Collective Health Trust to denying funding for human service agencies that serve residents of Natrona County.”

Beth Worthen, CEO of the health trust, declined to comment on the dispute.

Austin, who previously worked as a reporter, later sent an apology email asking media outlets not to report the story as a favor, noting she understood that messages can’t be unsent. In the email, which was carbon copied to mission Executive Director Brad Hopkins, she wrote she had “acted independently” and that Hopkins preferred private discussions with the trust.

The mission had applied for $80,000 per year for two years, the highest yearly amount the group could apply for, the grant application stated.

In the application, the health trust asked for a “statement of inclusiveness” to be included.

“Wyoming Rescue Mission is committed to ensuring that people in need from all backgrounds have unrestricted access to our services and interventions. WRM serves those in need without exclusion, applying and allowing no bias in our services. The Mission is inclusive of clients of any religion, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, economic status, physical ability, mental ability, resident immigration status, veteran status, marital status, or any other distinguishing factor for which discrimination might occur,” its response stated.

Its hiring practices, however, are not inclusive, and the group has fought to keep them so.

In 2022, the mission sued state and federal agencies after being threatened with punishment for refusing to hire a non-Christian for a clerk position at its Rescued Treasures thrift store in 2020. In a settlement, the state acknowledged the group held a religious exemption and could discriminate based on faith, according to media reports.

After explaining the current situation, Austin asked, “How discriminatory is the action of the Natrona Collective Health Trust?”

In 2023, the mission reported to the IRS that it had $15.1 million in assets and $4.9 million in revenue – including $4.5 million in contributions and grants, according to its GuideStar profile.

In the same year, the mission spent $4.09 million, including nearly $2 million in salaries and $1.5 million on programs at its Park Street Center in Casper, providing 36,000 nights of shelter, 72,742 meals and 11,180 weekly case management sessions. The organization’s second biggest expense was its Rescued Treasures stores, which cost it $1.4 million and had $1.9 million in sales. The mission reported no employees making $100,000 or more per year, and all of its board members were uncompensated.

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Powell man imprisoned for child abuse, drug use

POWELL (WNE) --- As he appeared before the Park County District Court for sentencing on counts related to child abuse and drug use, Juan L. Marquez Jr. described it as a case of history repeating itself. Marquez noted his father had appeared before the same court on similar charges decades earlier. In that case, Marquez was the young victim, and he said the abuse he suffered at his father’s hands has stuck with him “forever.”

But on this day in February, the now-42-year-old Marquez was in court as the perpetrator — having beaten and choked his own child in 2022. It was also far from Marquez’s first run-in with the law, as he entered the hearing with a long record of criminal conduct involving violence and drugs. Marquez asked District Court Judge Bill Simpson to break the cycle by giving him an opportunity to seek counseling and drug treatment, but the judge opted for the approach recommended by prosecutors. He imposed nine to 10 years of prison time.

“I take no great pleasure in the imposition of this sentence, Mr. Marquez, but frankly … you’ve had plenty of second chances, regardless of the horrendous upbringing that you suffered from,” Simpson said. “Your family has tried to pull together, but unfortunately, the level of violence, anger, frustration, drug use and all that goes with that torment has haunted you just as it did your father, and perhaps his father before him.” The judge called the case “a tragedy in every sense of the word.”