News briefs from around Wyoming

From Wyoming News Exchange newspapers

Barrasso bill would fund Southern Border Wall with unused COVID-19 funds

LYMAN (WNE) — U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) introduced legislation Tuesday, May 21, that would require unobligated COVID-19 funds be used to finish building the wall along the United States’ southern border.

Barrasso introduced the legislation as an amendment to the Border Security Act (S. 4361).

The Build the Wall Act of 2024 would establish the “Southern Border Wall Construction Fund” and require the Department of Homeland Security to use any unobligated Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLRF) to construct and maintain physical barriers along the southern U.S. border.

“Border walls work. Before President Biden came into office, we were well on our way to a secure and safe southern border. But on his first day in office, the president and Democrats rolled out the welcome mat for millions of illegal immigrants to come into our nation,” said Barrasso. “We must hold Democrats accountable for their open border policies that have created the worst border crisis in our nation’s history. If they are serious about securing our border, they should have no issues voting for a policy that actually works and is already paid for.”

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South Dakota man guilty of fifth DUI

SUNDANCE (WNE) — Harold Chant of New Underwood, South Dakota has been sentenced to three to five years for driving while drunk after being pulled over on the highway for unsafe driving.

According to court reports, Chant was pulled over for failing to maintain a single lane of travel on Hwy 14 at mile marker 202.2 at around 10 a.m. on November 2, 2023.

Chant was the sole occupant of the vehicle and was observed to have bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and the odor of alcohol about his person. He allegedly admitted to drinking a lot “last night” and said he had stopped drinking at 3 a.m. An unopened container of alcohol and one partially consumed container was also visible in Chant’s vehicle.

When asked to perform standardized field sobriety tests, Chant allegedly declined and said the test was going to show he was “hammered.”

Chant allegedly admitted to not having a driver’s license; a search of his driver status showed it had been revoked for multiple charges of driving under the influence.

Chant pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, fourth or subsequent offense within ten years, with three prior convictions in Pennington County, SD, in 2014, 2016 and 2021 and one in Meade County, SD, in 2021.

Sixth Judicial District Court Judge Matthew F.G. Castano sentenced him to between three and five years in a state penal institution and a fine of $100.

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Republican governors oppose two WHO proposals under negotiation

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Twenty-four Republican governors, including Gov. Mark Gordon, joined together Wednesday to write a letter to President Biden, stating their united opposition to two proposals currently under negotiation that would grant the World Health Organization unprecedented and unconstitutional powers over the United States and its people.

The most recent draft of the Pandemic Treaty would strip provisions that would allow for the WHO to have immediate access to outbreak sites through rapid response and expert teams, weaken intellectual property rights, and allow the WHO to use the treaty to call for parties to combat false, misleading, misinformation, or disinformation through effective international collaboration and cooperation.

“If adopted, these agreements would seek to elevate the WHO from an advisory body to a global authority in public health,” the governors stated in their letter. “Under the proposed amendments and treaty, the WHO’s Director-General would supposedly gain unilateral power to declare a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ in member nations, extending beyond pandemics to include a range of perceived emergencies.”

View the full letter at rga.org

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Commuter buses now carrying food, water

JACKSON (WNE) — Following feedback from riders, all commuter START buses traveling to Idaho and Star Valley will be equipped with food and water in case of emergencies or long delays.

START Director Bruce Abel said the supplies are in response to two nights on Teton Pass this spring, May 1 and May 7, when the pass closed multiple times, inconveniencing riders and extending the commute into several hours.

“A number of our customers suggested it would have been nice if we had water and snacks on board,” Abel said.

Bottles of water are now stored in the overhead bins, and while Abel has snacks in hand, he’s mulling the appropriate place to keep the “protein-oriented” snacks, including beef jerky, trail mix and granola bars.

On May 1, Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers were kept busy, as car after car lost traction, resulting in multiple closures in one night. A START bus was among the vehicles that lost traction due to icy roads.

“It was effectively stuck,” Abel said.

Bus drivers are in contact with the Highway Patrol and Wyoming Department of Transportation via radios and also communicate via text and phone.

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Corbett Bridge crash: Driver alleged to have been severely impaired

POWELL (WNE) — After a driver crossed into the wrong lane of travel and crashed into an oncoming vehicle east of Cody Monday afternoon, authorities suspected the 37-year-old man was drunk and placed him under arrest.

Charging documents say a subsequent breath test confirmed their suspicions, as it allegedly pegged the Cody resident’s blood alcohol content at nearly five times the legal limit for driving.

The crash on the Corbett Bridge on U.S. Highway 14-A did not result in severe injuries, but it has resulted in serious charges.

Wade D. McMillin faces a misdemeanor count of driving while under the influence of alcohol plus felony counts of property destruction and aggravated assault and battery.

Charging documents say both vehicles were totaled in the collision.

First responders initially believed the couple had escaped injury, but the man later reported increasing foot pain and his wife reported chest soreness; both sought medical attention at a local hospital on Tuesday, charging documents say.

“It’s only by the grace of God that he’s not dead and the two victims are not dead,” Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Hatfield said at McMillin’s initial court appearance on Wednesday afternoon.

Two intoximeter tests, administered at the Park County Detention Center more than an hour after the crash, put McMillin’s blood alcohol content at 0.38% and 0.392%.

Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah set bond at $25,000 cash or surety. Beyond the standard conditions of staying away from bars and alcohol, Darrah required McMillin to participate in a Park County Treatment Court pretrial drug/alcohol testing program.

“You’re presumed innocent, but based on what I’ve seen here, most people would not be conscious with that sort of a blood alcohol content,” Darrah said. “In fact, some people would die from that. So I do have a very serious concern.”

A preliminary hearing is tentatively set for May 30.

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Fremont County man gets life for murder

RIVERTON (WNE) — He walked into his neighbors’ home at 5:30 a.m. and shot Derek Redstar Pappan in the back of the head. And last week, Francis James Acebo Jr. was sentenced to life in prison for the murder.

Acebo was convicted by a federal jury on February 16 for the crime committed on March 25, 2023.

It was the early hours of the morning at the Oil Field Road home when Pappan had left his bedroom and was looking for a phone charger in the living room. He was bent over a mattress there when Acebo entered the residence and shot him; three others were present in the Pappan home at the time of the murder.

Acebo fled the residence and went to his own home nearby; he was picked up a short time later and driven to a home on Airport Road to say goodbye to his children, federal documents describe.

He turned himself in three days later.

Acebo was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder and causing death with a firearm, along with a 10-year sentence for discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

“The successful prosecution of homicides and other violent crimes on the Wind River Indian Reservation is one of our highest priorities,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas Vassallo. “Mr. Acebo’s life sentence is the result of a well-coordinated investigation by the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and this office’s commitment to obtaining a first-degree murder conviction.”

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Grand Teton will take no action against grizzly that attacked visitor

JACKSON (WNE) — Grand Teton National Park will take no action against a grizzly bear that attacked a visitor, officials say.

“We are not considering any management actions,” Chief of Staff Jeremy Barnum said. “It’s pretty clear in talking to the person who was injured and based on the site investigation that this was a surprise encounter and that the bear, likely a sow, responded defensively because she had at least one cub.”

According to Grand Teton National Park records, the attack Sunday is the seventh since Teton park was founded in 1929.

The fact that park rangers have determined the bear acted “defensively” is also significant.

When it comes to bear attacks, biologists view attacks in self-defense differently than even rarer acts of predation. Grizzly or black bears that pursue or stalk humans are often killed. But bears that swipe or maul a human that surprises them are often spared that fate.

On Sunday the Massachusetts man was hiking through a forested area, carrying bear spray and intentionally making noise based on bear safety information Teton park had posted. When he saw a smaller bear in close proximity running away, he reached for his bear spray and was simultaneously charged by a larger bear, according to a park report on the incident provided to the News&Guide.

The victim was able to remove his bear spray from his holster but didn’t have time to let it loose because of how quickly the larger bear approached. The bear hit the man several times and ultimately punctured the bear spray can. After that, the bears left.

The man was discharged from the local hospital Monday and is expected to make a full recovery.

The park does not know what bears were involved and may never know for certain.

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Man with broken leg rescued from power plant air duct at Wyodak

GILLETTE (WNE) — Several local agencies worked together Friday morning to rescue a 37-year-old man who fell and broke his leg in an air duct at the Neil Simpson Power Plant.

Deputies went to the power plant at the Wyodak complex east of Gillette at about 8 a.m. for the report of the man stuck in the air duct, and were joined by Emergency Medical Services, Campbell County Fire Department and Black Hills Energy personnel.

The man was not trapped but couldn’t move because his leg was broken, Sheriff Scott Matheny said.

A fire department news release said that firefighters used technical rescue equipment to remove the man from a “confined and elevated location.” EMS then took the man to Campbell County Memorial Hospital for treatment.