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September 17, 2020
‘Weston County
Newcastle, Wyoming
1054 02-06—21
Sgl‘élALL TOWN PAPERS
SHELTON
ALL FOR ADC
7 w RAILROAD AVE
WA 98584-3847
INC
##
Year 134 Week 38‘
City to hire new police chief
Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
The Newcastle City Council
appears to be ready to appoint a new
police chief for the police depart-
ment at its meeting on Sept. 21,
according to Clerk-Treasurer Greg
James, although little is known about
where the candidates are from and
what qualifications they have.
In a saga that began with the abrupt
resignation of former Newcastle
Police Chief Jim Owens on July 6,
the council appointed officer Samuel
Keller as interim chief after a com-
mittee-meeting on July 2 at which
council members chose Keller. Keller
was sworn in as a new hire on Oct.
21, 2019. As previously reported, the
News Letter Journal was only able to
obtain confirmation that now former
Mayor Deb Piana and Councilman
Roger Hespe attended this police
, committee meeting.
At the July 6 meeting, the council
voted unanimously to appoint Keller
'with no public discussion about
why he was the best candidate and
that a search for a new police chief
had begun. Keller’s appointment as
interim chief was effective July 11.
According to James, nobody was
specifically charged with advertising
for candidates for the position. and as
far as he is aware, no advertising was
done. James said he was tasked with
answering any inquiries the city may
— See Chief, Page
Nuisances
addressed
I Commissioners nix
creating resolution
She’sa winner!
Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
The Weston County commissioners have decided they
would rather not create a resolution to address “nuisance”
complaints for properties outside of city limits. According
to the Aug. 20 meeting minutes, Commissioner Marty
Ertman had expressed interest in having these complaints
dealt by the Department of Environmental Quality or the
state fire marshal, rather than by resolution.
On Sept. 1, County Attorney Alex Berger reported
that other counties in the state have nuisance resolutions,
specifically Carbon and Natrona counties, although they
are very different. Ertman explained, however, that she
would like to see nuisances handled by the other entities
and that there should be no need for the commissioners to .
get involved.
“As I explained last time. Different boards could have
different definitions,” Ertman said, noting that too broad a
resolution could create issues with future boards being too
controlling. “Someone could say they don’t like an orange
house. It can get to that point. I am not comfortable with
7 that at all.”
Ertman said that she was not comfortable with the
county coming up with rules and regulations dictating
what landowners could and could not do on their own
property.
Berger explained that state statute gives county com-
missioners the authority to draft a resolution outlining
nuisances and that there was a way to make the resolution
broad or to be more specific.
“These are two different resolutions. They are polar
opposites. One is vagae (Carbon County) and Natrona
County’s is detailed,” Berger said, adding that Natrona’s
resolution contains various definitions of the nuisances
covered by the resolution.
According to Berger, the county could easily draft
a 50-page resolution so that there was little chance of
. Photo by Walter Sprague/NLJ
On Saturday, at the Weston County Fairgrounds, Region 6 Trail C.R.E.W.W.
(Competitive trail Reining Endurance Working
Western) club held the Ticket to Ride horse show. Above, 6-year old Zinnia
Barton, from Carlile, Wyo., proudly looks at the
green ribbon she won showing Gumdrop, a miniature horse. See more photos on
Page 8.
; It’s dry
out there
— See Nuisance, Page 2
Bob MCEwen speaks at Lincoln Day Dinner
Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent
This year’s scholarship winner is
Christian Velder, a freshman at
Sheridan college. Velder attended
Over plates of prime rib, corn
and potatoes, Republicans of
Crook County and the surrounding
area met at the Moorcrofi Town
Center on Sept. 5 for the annual
Lincoln Day Dinner hosted by the
Crook County Republican Party.
The speaker at the event was Bob
McEwen, a former congressman
from Ohio and an “advocate for
pro-family interests and free-
market economies,” according
to his website. This year’s theme
was “We the People,” and at every
table, the preamble of the U.S.
Constitution was printed out for
everyone to read.
The event was $50 per person,
but children under 18 attended
for free. The members hosting
the event said they believe that
young people need to get involved
with politics, so the Crook County
Republican Party set up a $1,000
essay scholarship. To be eligible
for the scholarship, students had
to write an essay about patriotism.
the dinner and delivered his essay
to the guests. His essay was about
the importance of the Constitution,
the Bill of Rights and the separa-
tion of powers to defend the rights
of the people from an oppressive
government.
In addition to dimer, there were
door prizes, silent and live auctions,
various recognitions and a drawing
for a custom 6.5 Creedmoor rifle
that came with a case and two
— See Dinner, Page 7
Photo by Hannah Gross/NLJ
The attendees at the 2020
Lincoln Day, Dinner, hosted by
the Crook County Republican
Party in Moorcroft, had the
opportunity to hear from former
U.S. Representative for Ohio
Bob McEwen, who is an advo-
cate for pro-family interest and
free-market economics.
“It has been really dry,
recently,” said Melissa Smith, a hydrologist
with the National Weather Service when
speaking about the current weather condi-
tions in Weston County. “It is not as bad as it
could be, but it’s still pretty bad.”
According to the National
Service, Newcastle has received a total of
11.48 inches of precipitation through the
end of August. The area averages, according
to precipitation summaries, 16.44 inches of
precipitation annually.
Despite not making the top 10 for driest
years, 2020 is slated to remain in the top
30 driest years on record. The driest years
I County designated
as contiguous natural
disaster
Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
especially
Weather
—— See Drought, Page 2
a: .— Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday |NS|DE
Lu {D Sunny Patlbeudy MostlyCloudy Sunny Sunny Moslinunny Sunny I =:
I Hi 34, Lo 49 ii 19, Lo Hi 84, Lo 51 Hi 76,‘ Lo 47 Hi 77, Lo 51 Hi 81,
Lo 49 Hi 76 Lo 49 ' Students quarantined, Page 2 I £3
E ("'3 ‘» " ' ‘ ‘ ‘ - History on Main, Page 6
':-“
I“ g - Paulley, Page 7 =———:
3 LL -A perfect run, Page 9 g————__~=
- Growing pains, Page 10
8 i