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| Verna Lawrence with the Johnson County Sheriff's Department fields a question from County Commissioner Gerald Fink about the existing criminal justice center's space limitations during a public tour of the facility on Oct. 30. A tax measure to replace the aging facility failed on Nov. 4. |
1. Voters defeat jail tax
A 1 percent specific-purpose tax to fund the construction of a new $23 million Johnson County Justice Center failed by 120 votes in the Nov. 4 general election.
The total was 2,186 to 2,066, according to results from the Johnson County Clerk’s Office.
“Back to the drawing board,” said Johnson County Commissioner Smokey Wildeman, reacting to the narrow defeat, adding, “the jail is still a high priority.”
Three years ago, the county put a similar initiative on the ballot, lumping several projects together under a 1 percent specific-purpose tax. That measure failed as well.
This time, the tax lagged by 74 votes in northern Johnson County, with 13 precincts reporting. Wildeman and fellow commissioner Gerald Fink waited at the Johnson County Courthouse on election night to see if four Kaycee precincts could swing the result. Ultimately, Kaycee voters simply widened the gap.
2. Runaway vehicles crash with tragic results
James D. Stark, 73, of Hot Springs Ark., was pronounced dead at the scene after his 1997 Chevrolet RV with a Jeep utility vehicle in tow crashed through the Rimrock Pipeline office building in Buffalo on the afternoon of Thursday, July 18.
His wife, Saralee G. Stark, 68, suffered serious injuries and underwent care at the Wyoming Medical Center in Casper. The Starks were traveling eastbound on Highway 16 in their 35-foot motor home. While coming down Powder River pass, their brakes began to fail and ultimately gave out near the U.S. Forest Service office.
It wouldn’t be the last fatal crash on Highway 16 that year. Emergency responders converged at Mosier Gulch on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 23, and viewed the devastation of the year’s second fatal crash on this section of Highway 16. Edward D. Flowers, 50, of Illinois, died when his semi truck with flatbed trailer lost its brakes and plunged into the ravine off Highway 16.
WyDOT agreed to install an overhead sign to mark the entrance to the highway’s newest truck escape ramp and add other signs to warn of the road’s steep grade.
3. Attempted murder trial wraps up with guilty verdict
Recalling the night in which she was shot by a .22 caliber bullet that burst through her window and plunged into her right arm, Virginia Purdy, 92, referred to the event as a “miserable mess.”
Purdy was called as a witness for the prosecution on Monday, Oct. 20, in the opening day of the trial of David Sanders. Sanders stood accused of the attempted murder of Purdy on the morning of Sept. 5, 2007.
Sanders of Buffalo would be found guilty on one count of attempted voluntary manslaughter and one count of attempted aggravated burglary. Sentencing has been set for Jan. 12, 2009 at 11 a.m.
Prosecuting attorney Chris Wages expressed satisfaction with the jury’s decision.
“Essentially, it reaffirmed my belief in the jury system,” Wages said. “I thought the jury paid close attention to all the evidence, and I’m confident that they had a good grasp of the case.”
4. Council appoints Mike Johnson interim mayor
In a special meeting Friday, May 9, the Buffalo City Council accepted the resignation of Mayor Gary “Andy” Anderson and appointed Councilman Mike Johnson the interim mayor.
They also appointed business owner Randy Dyess to the council vacancy created by Johnson’s new appointment. Anderson’s resignation became effective immediately.
In the municipal elections of 2008, Johnson would run unopposed for the mayoral post. Patty Reid would replace Dyess on the Buffalo City Council after she outpolled him 984-952.
In a race for two, four-year seats on the city council, former mayor Bruce Hepp — who was narrowly denied the council seat to which Dyess was appointed — and incumbent Skip Hancock both won election. Hepp led four candidates with 1,108 votes, while Hancock secured the second seat with 918 votes. Incumbent Don Vogl received 908 votes, only 10 fewer than Hancock, but not enough to win another stint on the city council.
5. Community mourns loss of Edwards, Lawrence
City Electric owner served his city (June 5)
Bob Edwards was a familiar face to many in Buffalo who saw him out taking part in numerous community activities, such as putting up Christmas lights or quietly working the controls of a crane while lowering a new bronze bison statue into place at Buffalo High School.
When Edwards died Tuesday night, May 27, at the age of 67, he left many who would always remember that face as being synonymous with kindness and service.
Teresa Saxbury knew Edwards for 23 years, as she worked in the City Electric office.
“Bob was just the best employer I ever had,” she said. “I respected him and he treated us with respect.”
She said he was loved by his crew, and “he treated us like family.”
At Edwards’ funeral on Saturday, May 31, Steve Reimann, a local businessman and member of the Kiwanis Club, delivered a moving tribute to Edwards that recapped much of his service to his neighbors and friends.
Reimann concluded his remarks at the funeral by saying, “We will all be comforted by the fond memories we can all cherish forever. To Bob, I know the light in that basement office is turned off now; somebody else will turn it on again, but you will never be replaced in our hearts. Well done true and faithful servant, well done.”
Lawrence left a legacy (June 19)
On the last day of August 2007, as the Bison football team faced Lander on the field at Buffalo High School for their opening home game, Steve Lawrence called his last game as the unmatched “Voice of the Bison.”
Those present and the audience listening on KBBS could not have foreseen that less than 10 months later, that voice would fall silent, at least on this world.
Steve Lawrence died Wednesday, June 11, and five days later a crowd filled half the gym at the high school to say goodbye to the man known for more than 38 years of announcing sports games and interviewing people on “Community Speaks.”
Appropriately enough, before the funeral began, the hushed murmur of conversations quieted as Steve’s voice came over the speaker. It was the replay of one of the many football games he called over the years, and his voice’s intensity and volume increased with the tempo of action, culminating in an exultant, “Touchdown Buffalo!”
The recording ended, and for a brief moment, there was not a sound in the gym.
The ceremony itself began with the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which Father Pete Johnson from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church said Steve requested be played at all public events.
Steve’s daughter, Heather Moses, read a poem from the back of the funeral program, a statement of remembrance from the departed: “And when you must come this way alone, I will greet you with a smile and say, ‘Welcome home.’”
Nick Jackson, older brother of Steve’s wife, Janet, described Steve in many ways — easy-going and laid back, loving and caring, father and grandfather. He told Steve’s children, “As long as you live here on Earth, you have your father Steve with you.”
6. Everything old is new again at Clear Creek school
In February of 2007, Buffalo school teachers, students and support personnel said their goodbyes to the large brick school on the corner of Fort Street and Adams Avenue and opened up shop down the street at the newly minted Clear Creek Middle School.
In August 2008, less than 18 months later, students once again roamed the halls of the school. Only this time, they were students of Clear Creek Elementary School.
The building, longtime home to Buffalo’s fifth- through eighth-graders, was given a second life housing fourth- and fifth-graders after crowding problems at both Meadowlark Elementary and Clear Creek Middle schools forced the district to move students back to the shuttered school.
“We’re going to have around 160 to 180 kids,” said Clear Creek Elementary School principal Craig Anderson. “It’s going to be a real small, cozy school.”
Before construction on the new Clear Creek Middle School was even finished, school administrators knew that the building would likely not be large enough to house the district’s burgeoning student population.
That’s because the formula used by the Wyoming Schools Facilities Commission underestimated how quickly Buffalo’s school-age population was growing.
Shortly after the district vacated the former middle school, the state’s facilities commission directed the district not to sell or dismantle the building as it might be needed in the near future.
7. Mark Gordon runs for the U.S. House
A longtime Buffalo resident and former Wyoming Environmental Quality Council chairman put his hat in the ring for the state’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for the 2008 election.
Mark Gordon announced in January his intention to run for the Republican nomination to succeed Barbara Cubin. Cubin said in the fall of 2007 that she would not seek re-election.
In an interview with the Bulletin, Gordon said. “I think the main thing is, it’s time to get something done.” Gordon would go on to lose to Cynthia Lummis in the Republican primary, although he easily carried Johnson County. Lummis would win in the general election, defeating Democrat Gary Trauner.
8. Sage-grouse poised for federal listing
State officials hope that core habitat areas for sage-grouse — a ground-dwelling, plains bird — could turn the tide of what appears to be troubling trends in the bird’s populations. A lagging but growing body of research indicates that sage-grouse are in trouble, at least where human activity disrupts their reproduction, researchers said.
Dave Naugle, associate professor at the University of Montana and lead sage-grouse researcher in the Powder River Basin, said data to date show consistent results: sage-grouse don’t take well to disturbance. He spoke on Saturday, Nov. 15 at the 36th annual meeting of the Powder River Basin Resource Council in Sheridan.
There’s a feeling of unease — voiced by rancher Don Spellman at the council meeting — as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decides whether Endangered Species Act protection is warranted for the sage-grouse. Spellman said a listing would affect everybody.
A decision on pursuing a federal listing is expected in early 2009.
9. Downpour drenches Johnson County
Heavy rainfall coupled with melting snow pushed the heights of Johnson County creeks up to near-record levels in late May.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather service offices in Riverton reported a total rainfall between May 21 and May 24 of 4.89 inches for Buffalo, 4.45 for Barnum, 3.5 inches around Kaycee and a whopping 6.36 inches for the area northwest of Kaycee.
10. Recycling center changes hand
An audience of anxious citizens breathed a sigh of relief in October after the city of Buffalo and the Johnson County Solid Waste District were able to reach a tentative agreement to keep the local recycling center in operation.
The Community Resource Center, which had been managing the recycling center’s administrative duties, decided to give up its responsibilities on Nov. 1. That left county and city officials scrambling to find another entity to manage the books and oversee personnel.
The new manager — the Johnson County Solid Waste District — agreed to take over on a one-year trial basis, ending in June.
A 1 percent specific-purpose tax to fund the construction of a new $23 million Johnson County Justice Center failed by 120 votes in the Nov. 4 general election.
The total was 2,186 to 2,066, according to results from the Johnson County Clerk’s Office.
“Back to the drawing board,” said Johnson County Commissioner Smokey Wildeman, reacting to the narrow defeat, adding, “the jail is still a high priority.”
Three years ago, the county put a similar initiative on the ballot, lumping several projects together under a 1 percent specific-purpose tax. That measure failed as well.
This time, the tax lagged by 74 votes in northern Johnson County, with 13 precincts reporting. Wildeman and fellow commissioner Gerald Fink waited at the Johnson County Courthouse on election night to see if four Kaycee precincts could swing the result. Ultimately, Kaycee voters simply widened the gap.
2. Runaway vehicles crash with tragic results
James D. Stark, 73, of Hot Springs Ark., was pronounced dead at the scene after his 1997 Chevrolet RV with a Jeep utility vehicle in tow crashed through the Rimrock Pipeline office building in Buffalo on the afternoon of Thursday, July 18.
His wife, Saralee G. Stark, 68, suffered serious injuries and underwent care at the Wyoming Medical Center in Casper. The Starks were traveling eastbound on Highway 16 in their 35-foot motor home. While coming down Powder River pass, their brakes began to fail and ultimately gave out near the U.S. Forest Service office.
It wouldn’t be the last fatal crash on Highway 16 that year. Emergency responders converged at Mosier Gulch on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 23, and viewed the devastation of the year’s second fatal crash on this section of Highway 16. Edward D. Flowers, 50, of Illinois, died when his semi truck with flatbed trailer lost its brakes and plunged into the ravine off Highway 16.
WyDOT agreed to install an overhead sign to mark the entrance to the highway’s newest truck escape ramp and add other signs to warn of the road’s steep grade.
3. Attempted murder trial wraps up with guilty verdict
Recalling the night in which she was shot by a .22 caliber bullet that burst through her window and plunged into her right arm, Virginia Purdy, 92, referred to the event as a “miserable mess.”
Purdy was called as a witness for the prosecution on Monday, Oct. 20, in the opening day of the trial of David Sanders. Sanders stood accused of the attempted murder of Purdy on the morning of Sept. 5, 2007.
Sanders of Buffalo would be found guilty on one count of attempted voluntary manslaughter and one count of attempted aggravated burglary. Sentencing has been set for Jan. 12, 2009 at 11 a.m.
Prosecuting attorney Chris Wages expressed satisfaction with the jury’s decision.
“Essentially, it reaffirmed my belief in the jury system,” Wages said. “I thought the jury paid close attention to all the evidence, and I’m confident that they had a good grasp of the case.”
4. Council appoints Mike Johnson interim mayor
In a special meeting Friday, May 9, the Buffalo City Council accepted the resignation of Mayor Gary “Andy” Anderson and appointed Councilman Mike Johnson the interim mayor.
They also appointed business owner Randy Dyess to the council vacancy created by Johnson’s new appointment. Anderson’s resignation became effective immediately.
In the municipal elections of 2008, Johnson would run unopposed for the mayoral post. Patty Reid would replace Dyess on the Buffalo City Council after she outpolled him 984-952.
In a race for two, four-year seats on the city council, former mayor Bruce Hepp — who was narrowly denied the council seat to which Dyess was appointed — and incumbent Skip Hancock both won election. Hepp led four candidates with 1,108 votes, while Hancock secured the second seat with 918 votes. Incumbent Don Vogl received 908 votes, only 10 fewer than Hancock, but not enough to win another stint on the city council.
5. Community mourns loss of Edwards, Lawrence
City Electric owner served his city (June 5)
Bob Edwards was a familiar face to many in Buffalo who saw him out taking part in numerous community activities, such as putting up Christmas lights or quietly working the controls of a crane while lowering a new bronze bison statue into place at Buffalo High School.
When Edwards died Tuesday night, May 27, at the age of 67, he left many who would always remember that face as being synonymous with kindness and service.
Teresa Saxbury knew Edwards for 23 years, as she worked in the City Electric office.
“Bob was just the best employer I ever had,” she said. “I respected him and he treated us with respect.”
She said he was loved by his crew, and “he treated us like family.”
At Edwards’ funeral on Saturday, May 31, Steve Reimann, a local businessman and member of the Kiwanis Club, delivered a moving tribute to Edwards that recapped much of his service to his neighbors and friends.
Reimann concluded his remarks at the funeral by saying, “We will all be comforted by the fond memories we can all cherish forever. To Bob, I know the light in that basement office is turned off now; somebody else will turn it on again, but you will never be replaced in our hearts. Well done true and faithful servant, well done.”
Lawrence left a legacy (June 19)
On the last day of August 2007, as the Bison football team faced Lander on the field at Buffalo High School for their opening home game, Steve Lawrence called his last game as the unmatched “Voice of the Bison.”
Those present and the audience listening on KBBS could not have foreseen that less than 10 months later, that voice would fall silent, at least on this world.
Steve Lawrence died Wednesday, June 11, and five days later a crowd filled half the gym at the high school to say goodbye to the man known for more than 38 years of announcing sports games and interviewing people on “Community Speaks.”
Appropriately enough, before the funeral began, the hushed murmur of conversations quieted as Steve’s voice came over the speaker. It was the replay of one of the many football games he called over the years, and his voice’s intensity and volume increased with the tempo of action, culminating in an exultant, “Touchdown Buffalo!”
The recording ended, and for a brief moment, there was not a sound in the gym.
The ceremony itself began with the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which Father Pete Johnson from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church said Steve requested be played at all public events.
Steve’s daughter, Heather Moses, read a poem from the back of the funeral program, a statement of remembrance from the departed: “And when you must come this way alone, I will greet you with a smile and say, ‘Welcome home.’”
Nick Jackson, older brother of Steve’s wife, Janet, described Steve in many ways — easy-going and laid back, loving and caring, father and grandfather. He told Steve’s children, “As long as you live here on Earth, you have your father Steve with you.”
6. Everything old is new again at Clear Creek school
In February of 2007, Buffalo school teachers, students and support personnel said their goodbyes to the large brick school on the corner of Fort Street and Adams Avenue and opened up shop down the street at the newly minted Clear Creek Middle School.
In August 2008, less than 18 months later, students once again roamed the halls of the school. Only this time, they were students of Clear Creek Elementary School.
The building, longtime home to Buffalo’s fifth- through eighth-graders, was given a second life housing fourth- and fifth-graders after crowding problems at both Meadowlark Elementary and Clear Creek Middle schools forced the district to move students back to the shuttered school.
“We’re going to have around 160 to 180 kids,” said Clear Creek Elementary School principal Craig Anderson. “It’s going to be a real small, cozy school.”
Before construction on the new Clear Creek Middle School was even finished, school administrators knew that the building would likely not be large enough to house the district’s burgeoning student population.
That’s because the formula used by the Wyoming Schools Facilities Commission underestimated how quickly Buffalo’s school-age population was growing.
Shortly after the district vacated the former middle school, the state’s facilities commission directed the district not to sell or dismantle the building as it might be needed in the near future.
7. Mark Gordon runs for the U.S. House
A longtime Buffalo resident and former Wyoming Environmental Quality Council chairman put his hat in the ring for the state’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for the 2008 election.
Mark Gordon announced in January his intention to run for the Republican nomination to succeed Barbara Cubin. Cubin said in the fall of 2007 that she would not seek re-election.
In an interview with the Bulletin, Gordon said. “I think the main thing is, it’s time to get something done.” Gordon would go on to lose to Cynthia Lummis in the Republican primary, although he easily carried Johnson County. Lummis would win in the general election, defeating Democrat Gary Trauner.
8. Sage-grouse poised for federal listing
State officials hope that core habitat areas for sage-grouse — a ground-dwelling, plains bird — could turn the tide of what appears to be troubling trends in the bird’s populations. A lagging but growing body of research indicates that sage-grouse are in trouble, at least where human activity disrupts their reproduction, researchers said.
Dave Naugle, associate professor at the University of Montana and lead sage-grouse researcher in the Powder River Basin, said data to date show consistent results: sage-grouse don’t take well to disturbance. He spoke on Saturday, Nov. 15 at the 36th annual meeting of the Powder River Basin Resource Council in Sheridan.
There’s a feeling of unease — voiced by rancher Don Spellman at the council meeting — as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decides whether Endangered Species Act protection is warranted for the sage-grouse. Spellman said a listing would affect everybody.
A decision on pursuing a federal listing is expected in early 2009.
9. Downpour drenches Johnson County
Heavy rainfall coupled with melting snow pushed the heights of Johnson County creeks up to near-record levels in late May.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather service offices in Riverton reported a total rainfall between May 21 and May 24 of 4.89 inches for Buffalo, 4.45 for Barnum, 3.5 inches around Kaycee and a whopping 6.36 inches for the area northwest of Kaycee.
10. Recycling center changes hand
An audience of anxious citizens breathed a sigh of relief in October after the city of Buffalo and the Johnson County Solid Waste District were able to reach a tentative agreement to keep the local recycling center in operation.
The Community Resource Center, which had been managing the recycling center’s administrative duties, decided to give up its responsibilities on Nov. 1. That left county and city officials scrambling to find another entity to manage the books and oversee personnel.
The new manager — the Johnson County Solid Waste District — agreed to take over on a one-year trial basis, ending in June.
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| 2008, the year in review |
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