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May 7, 2015
Newcastle, Wyoming
$1.oo
Year 129 Week 19
November Rain
Photo courtesy of Sol Shine Photography
Julie Day performs her ballet piece to the song November Rain during the Meadowlark
Academy of Dance Recital held on Saturday.
Bob Bonnar architects for the proposed project and others who
NLJ Reporter will now spring into action to put the construction
plans in motion.
Less than 900 voters showed up at the polls on "I have a list of people to email, and we'll start
Tuesday to determine the fate of the local hospital, working on stuff tomorrow" Cadwell told the
but when the votes were counted more than half News Letter Journal.
of them favored a one percent optional sales tax to One of the first steps will involve working with
raise $8.75 million needed to complete a proposed Kaiser and Company out of Cheyenne to get the
$14.2 million renovation of the facility, paperwork in place for the bonds to be issued.
When the totals came in, 494 ballots were Those bonds will be paid off over time as the tax
cast in favor of the tax (which is estimated to last is collected.
between seven and eight years) and 379 people Cadwell said hospital officials will also be
voted against it. Newcastle voters were primarily working with architects and planners to make final
responsible for the measure's success, as they preparations for the construction work that they
voted 414 to 248 in favor of the project, whiletheir hope to begin by August. Cadwell said the board
counterparts in Upton (62-90) and Osage (18-41) has been at a standstill on the project until voters
voted against it in unofficial tallies released by determined how much money would be available
the Weston County Clerk's Office at 8:30 p.m. on for it.
Tuesday. "We basically had to hold off on a lot of the
"Awesome," Weston County Health Services planning specifically because we're at a point
CEO Maureen Cadwell said when the totals were where we need to set a top budget for the project.
released, letting an audible sigh of relief escape her The board didn't want to set that top dollar amount
lips after uttering the one-word statement, until the results were in, and that makes sense
She immediately took out her phone and because you don't have to step back and redo a lot
began emailing members of the WCHS board, the of work," Cadwell explained.
I
II
Bob Bonnar throwing rocks at them as they porch, but was unable to get the
NLJ Reporter worked to prepare the baseball suspect to respond to his com-
fields for Little League season, mands to stop.
A standoff between local law Police Chief Jim Owens Owens reported that
enforcement and a man who told the News Letter Journal on Hillhouse then used his tazer
allegedly assaulted a police Tuesday that this isn't the first to stop Hoover as he was
officer last Wednesday ended time city crews have encoun- attempting to go through the
peacefully when the suspect sur- tered Hoover under such cir- door and into hiS home, but
rendered three hours after bar- cumstances in the vicinity of was caught off guard when the
ricading himself in a home near his First Avenue home, and that suspect rallied immediately after
the baseball and soccer complex Hillhouse initially tried to talk to the weapon had delivered its
in Newcastle. the suspect about his actions but five-second pulse of electricity.
The incident began when was rebuffed. "Five seconds later, Doug
Newcastle Police Officer "When Rich moved up was on his feet and went
Richard Hillhouse responded to closer -to him,-~he .turned and after Hillhouse," Owens said,
the home of Doug Hoover, 56, went through the gate and into describing a physical confronta-
after city workers called dis- the yard" Owens said, noting tion that resulted in both men
patch to complain that Hoover that Hillhouse followed Hoover
was shouting obscenities and through the yard and onto his -See Standoff, Page 8
Denice Pisciotti in recent years, and noted that they chose With these factors in mind, Sylte said a
NLJ Reporter not to fill two positions-- one in the number of discussions were held with the
central office and another in the physical budget planning team and that the group
The Weston County School District #1 education department-- that are being delved into the perceived needs of the
Board of Trustees approved raises for all vacated this year. district. Their findings were then brought
of their staff members at their meeting last Sylte explained that every school dis- before the district's leadership team and
Wednesday night, and they expect to cover trict in Wyoming will get money from the finalized prior to LaCroix bringing his
the bulk of the cost of the salary increases external Cost adjustment in the funding final recommendations to the board.
by using a projected $323,330.73 in addi- model approved by the legislature, and This year, the proposals were also
tional monies that will come to the district said the amount each receives is based on presented to the trustees in a workshop
next year as a result of a cost of living different factors that vary by district. She on Monday, April 20, to ensure their
adjustment approved by the Wyoming said the district also benefitted when an understanding of the budget and the issues
State Legislature earlier this year. anticipated decrease in student enrollment that drive it. Sylte presented her projected
"The board made a commitment to actually turned into a slight increase, increases and decreases in the budget,
the staff with about $395,000. I wish we Expectations for enrollment for the 2015- and went over different scenarios with the
could always do more, but you can only 2016 school year are projected to be up as board to give them an overall picture of
do what your budget will allow," WCSD well, with a kindergarten class beginning all possibilities. The budget they approved
#1 Superintendent Brad LaCroix noted, next year at Newcastle Elementary School for next year ended up producing a dif-
He and WCSD #1 Business Manager with a dozen students more than the ference between the projected increases
Deb Sylte explained that the district freed senior class graduating from Newcastle
up additional money through downsizing High School on May 17. -- See School, Page 9
Alexis Shultz
NLJ Reporter
"We all agree. Time is of the essence," Ray Hunkins told the
Weston County Commissioners at their April 21 meeting.
The lawyer hired by the commissioners to represent the county
in an ongoing dispute with the contractors responsible for errors
that resulted in the closing of the Weston County Event Center just
a couple of months after it opened in 2011 suggested a couple of
weeks ago that he and the lawyers representing Dan Hart Patrol and
Paul Reed Construction have agreed that the next step to take in the
process is mediation between the groups. Hunkins also admitted at
the time that the last thing anyone involved in the dispute wants is
actual litigation to take place.
Unfortunately, there appears to be some dispute between the
lawyers and insurance companies representing the contractors.
"It is more complicated to resolve than they originally thought,"
Hunkins admitted, explaining that the major issue facing the group
when it comes to moving forward with the repairs is the difference
-- See Court, Page 5
Alexis Shultz Sean and Priscilla Pruitt, who
NLJ Reporter have lobbied for months for
a new recreational facility in
Prior to Bob Bonnar's testi- Newcastle. They approached
mony Monday night about the the council at their April 6
lack of a need for a Recreation meeting, accompanied by
or Community Center in Dave Spencer of the Wyoming
Newcastle, the City Council had Business Council, to ask the
agreed to drafting a resolution city to support a planning grant
in support of a feasibility study for the feasibility study. The
to determine whether or not council voted unanimously to
the community needed such a do so at the time, but Mayor
facility, but following the public Greg James insisted that the city
heating on the resolution at the would not supply any finances
council's first meeting in May, or manpower for the project.
they reversed course and voted The council was required to
not to support the study, hold a public heating prior to
The request for sponsorship
of the study had come from --See Council, Page 7
Local Roper
Jessica
Kaprina Jones teams up to post one of the top times in Saturday's team roping event. See results on page 11.
Yarnes/NLJ
Cloudy
Hi 54 Lo 38
Hi 55 Lo 39
Rainy
Hi 49 Lo 36
Hi 45, Lo 28
Hi 55 Lo 35
Sunny
Hi 61, Lo 43
Partly Sunny
Hi 66 Lo 47
• Mallo Mone Page 3
• FOCUS, Page 7
• Mexican, Page 8
• Rodeo, Page 11
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