State Grant Officials Pow-Wow in Jackson

Will 2 hometown hopefuls get a thumbs up or down?

By GIL BRADY
Casper Star-Tribune correspondent

Filed 5.30.07

JACKSON, Wyo. (CT) – If Shakespeare was right when he wrote “unbidden guests are often welcomest when they are gone,” Wyoming Business Council board members might consider making their stay here today either short or more welcoming toward two local projects their staff has recently shot down.

The Wyoming Business Council?

Pushed by Gov. Dave Freudenthal and lawmakers, the state-run community business development fund reported this month that it has at present $28.25 million in its coffers via the Wyoming Legislature’s 2007 supplemental budget.

Business council board members are slated today to review nine recommended grant applications from across the Cowboy state from hopefuls seeking nearly $14 million to create new jobs and diversify the economies of their hometown districts.

(Click here & read on via NewWest.net)

CLICK HERE for ------>Wednesday's WYBC winners and losers from their meeting in Jackson

Hiatus

The Cowboy Times is on hiatus this week.

Normal publishing will resume the week of May 28th.

Mo Movin' on Up to Gillette

By CORY MATTESON
Casper Star-Tribune

Filed 5.21.07

Like many former American League MVPs, Mo Vaughn has never visited Gillette and didn't know where it was. Unlike many former American League MVPs, he's got a couple million reasons to make a trip there later this year.

(Click & Read on courtesy of the Casper Star-Tribune)

Photo Captions & Credits:: "Mo Vaughn rides victory horse after Red Sox win pennant" courtesy of bostondirtdogs.boston.com

Teen murder suspects lead highway cops on crazy chase

Via the Casper Star-Tribune

Filed 5.19.07

GREEN RIVER, Wyo. -- Teenagers wanted for questioning in the grisly double murder of a Nebraska mom and her daughter led troopers on a breakneck 67-mile chase early Friday, ending when they crashed into an empty cop car, Wyoming Highway Patrol officials say.

(Click here & Read on courtesy of the Star-Tribune)

Olsen 'all right'

EXCLUSIVE...developing...Rep. Monte Olsen, R-Daniel, reportedly out of Idaho hospital and on his way back to his Daniel, Wyo., home.

By GIL BRADY
Star-Tribune correspondent

JACKSON, Wyo. -- A Wyoming legislator seriously injured by being rolled under a vehicle driven by his wife was headed home Thursday, several days after he was released from an Idaho hospital.

(Click & Read on via the Casper Star-Tribune)

Trails & tribulations

EXCLUSIVE...LOCAL JURY MAY DECIDE FATE OF PAUL DeBOER

By GIL BRADY
Star-Tribune correspondent

Filed 5.17.07

JACKSON -- Local jurors may decide whether a previously convicted 65-year-old man recklessly endangered the lives of three bicyclists nearly half his age by allegedly sideswiping them with his truck last summer, a judge ruled this week.

After denying defense motions to change the trial location, amend charges and depose pretrial witnesses -- including police -- Circuit Judge Timothy C. Day set the stage for the trial of controversial landowner Paul DeBoer, now 66.

(Click & Read on via the Casper Star-Tribune)

Ancient humans unearthed

Via the Casper Star-Tribune

PINEDALE, Wyo. -- The Sublette County Sheriff's Department has asked a local anthropologist to examine the remains of seven people found outside Pinedale. Authorities say the remains appear to be those of American Indians and could be many centuries old.

Sheriff's detective Sgt. K.C. Lehr said a local resident was putting in a septic system west of Pinedale on Thursday and called law enforcement after coming across what appeared to be human remains.

(Click & Read on courtesy of the Star-Tribune)

Can Paul DeBoer get a fair shake in Teton County?

DEVELOPING...

By GIL BRADY
The Cowboy-Picayune Sunny Times

Filed 5.15.07

JACKSON, Wyo. (CT) -- 9th Circuit Court Judge Timothy C. Day denied Monday defense motions to change trial venue to another county, merge charges and depose pre-trial witnesses -- setting the stage for controversial Game Creek resident Paul DeBoer's jury trial next month.

According to charging documents, DeBoer faces three counts of reckless endangerment and one count of reckless driving stemming from a showdown with mountain bikers last July near his home.

The issue of pre-trial publicity, including a Feb. 2007 editorial in the Jackson Hole News & Guide urging officials to get tougher with DeBoer, was raised by defense attorney Robert Horn Monday.

Horn argued that negative publicity toward the court and his client drummed up by the local press made getting a fair trial for DeBoer in Teton County impossible. Day ruled that the jury-selection process was the proper avenue to test whether local jurors could put aside their opinions on the case.

DeBoer faces a maximum of three and half years in jail and $750 in fines, or both, if convicted of the four misdemeanor charges. A courthouse clerk said late Monday DeBoer's trial would likely start around mid-June.

Man accused of injuring deputy headed for trial

By GIL BRADY

The Cowboy Picayune-Sunny Times

Filed 5.14.07

JACKSON, Wyo. (CT) -- The man charged with felony interference for allegedly kicking and injuring Teton County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Stanyon entered a plea of "not guilty" Friday before 9th District Court Judge Nancy J. Guthrie.

Teton County prosecutors had dropped two of three felonies against Robert Hulsy, 25, last month. But Circuit Court Judge Timothy C. Day bound over the third charge – felony interference with a peace officer – to District Court.

The defendant faces one charge of interference with a peace officer, a felony, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and $10,00 in fines, or both.

Hulsy allegedly kicked Stanyon in the knee as Stanyon and deputy Chad Sachse led him outside the Mangy Moose Saloon in Teton Village around 2 a.m. last March, according to Stanyon and court records.

Prosecuting Attorney Steve Weichman dropped one of the felonies after Sachse testified last month that Hulsy didn't threaten him personally, according to Jackson Hole News & Guide reporter Amanda Miller.

Public Defender Greg Blenkinsop, Husly's former lawyer, successfully argued last month that prosecutors failed to prove the necessary elements of an aggravated assault and battery charge.

According to records and witnesses, Stanyon and Sachse arrived at the Mangy Moose March 14 after dispatch reported a male picking fights with customers and bouncers having trouble containing him. Saloon employees and Hulsy’s roommate, Richard Jenkins, reportedly had already pinned Hulsy face-down on the bar's back deck when deputies arrived.

Stanyon said Friday after court that Hulsy "donkey kicked me" as he and Sachse led him out.

Asked about Hulsy's "not guilty plea" and possible upcoming trial, Stanyon said: "Let him go, we'll prove it."

Stanyon, who still walks with a knee brace, added that his therapy "was coming along" and he hoped to return to light duty soon.

Hulsy's trial date is scheduled for November 7. He is free on $25,000 bond.

Stay with The Cowboy Times

Underdog

"George," one gutsy Jack Russell terrier, gets medal for saving kids

By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Filed 5.6.07

(AFP) -- Nine-year-old Jack Russell terrier George is being honoured with a posthumous bravery medal for saving five New Zealand children from an attack by two pitbulls.

The medal from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) comes after US Vietnam veteran Jerrell Hudman said he was sending his Purple Heart medal to George's owner after hearing of the dog's bravery.

(Click & Read on courtesy of Yahoo)

Photo captions & credits: "George, a 9-year-old Jack Russell terrier that gave his life to save five New Zealand children from two marauding pitbulls, is seen in New Plymouth, New Zealand in this undated file photo. New Zealand's main animal welfare." Courtesy of the AP

Iraq oil missing

By JAMES GLANZ
The New York Times

Between 100,000 and 300,000 barrels a day of Iraq’s declared oil production over the past four years is unaccounted for and could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling, according to a draft American government report.

(Click & Read on courtesy of The New York Times)

Police find clue at arson scene

Will a fingerprint and old-fashioned gumshoe police work help solve a spree of suspicious fires?

By GIL BRADY
Star-Tribune correspondent

Filed 5.11.07

CLICK PHOTO
(full-image)

JACKSON -- A clue found among the wreckage from a string of arsons here could shed light on the unusual early morning blazes that kept firefighters running from one torched SUV to another until just after dawn.

The fires April 26 destroyed three SUV-type vehicles and part of a rental cabin.

"We lifted a fingerprint off a car body,” Detective Cpl. Andy Pearson of the Jackson Police Department said this week, adding that the state crime lab would analyze the print against its existing database.

(Click & Read courtesy of the Casper Star-Tribune)

Photo captions & credits: "One of three arson scenes from April. An incinerated Dodge Ram truck and maroon sports car sit behind a charred cabin overlooking Broadway Ave. in Jackson." By Andrew Wyatt -- Star-Tribune correspondent

Bananas

Is the Platte County Attorney's Office nuttier than a Woody Allen flick?

By DENISE HEILBRUN
Star-Tribune correspondent

Filed 5.09.07

WHEATLAND -- Felony charges of child abuse and domestic violence were dismissed against a Mexican national Friday after Platte County Attorney Mary Eikenberry failed to attend a court hearing.

It was the latest of more than 50 criminal cases in Platte County Circuit Court dismissed since she took office in January, though the vast majority of those have been misdemeanor counts.

(Click & Read on courtesy of the Casper Star-Tribune)

UPDATE 5/10...CLICK HERE----> PLATTE COUNTY COMMISSION VOTES TO ACCEPT EIKENBERRY's RESIGNATION...but she vows to go back to work!

Cheney speed-dates Saudis

A freely available OPINION

By DAVID IGNATIUS
The Washington Post

Filed 5.9. 07

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may make the headlines with her high-profile diplomatic missions to the Middle East. But for a glimpse at the hidden power plays, follow Vice President Cheney's trip this week to Saudi Arabia.

(Click & Read on courtesy of The Washington Post)

Gaffe prone Prez plays King for a day

By DANA MILBANK
The Washington Post

Filed 5.8.07

With etiquette handbooks at the ready, the White House was in a high state of faux pas alert for Queen Elizabeth II's visit yesterday. Still, President Bush lasted only about 14 minutes into the state arrival ceremony before implying that the British monarch is 300 years old.

"You've dined with 10 U.S. presidents," Bush said on the South Lawn with the 81-year-old sovereign at his side. "You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in seventeen s --" -- here the president caught himself -- "in nineteen seventy-six."

(Click & Read on courtesy of The Washington Post)

Frogs elect right-winger as Prez

Sarkozy vows to mend relations with America

By Agence France-Presse

Filed 5.7.07

Right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy's clear presidential election win paved the way Monday for radical reforms to kickstart France's sluggish economy, tackle simmering social discontent and chart a new foreign policy course.

"The French people have chosen to break with the ideas, the habits and the actions of the past," Sarkozy said in a victory speech following his emphatic triumph over Socialist Segolene Royal.

(Click & Read on courtesy of Breitbart)

Rise of the Peaceniks

By MICHAEL LUO
New York Times

Filed 5.6.07

WASHINGTON, May 4 — Every morning, representatives from a cluster of antiwar groups gather for a conference call with Democratic leadership staff members in the House and the Senate.

Shortly after, in a cramped meeting room here, they convene for a call with organizers across the country. They hash out plans for rallies. They sketch out talking points for “rapid response” news conferences. They discuss polls they have conducted in several dozen crucial Congressional districts and states across the country.

(Click & Read on courtesy of The New York Times)

Photo captions & credits: "Antiwar organizations at a planning retreat Thursday in Washington, in a composite image. The discussion mirrored that of planning meetings for traditional political campaigns." By Stephen Crowley for The New York TImes

Is Gates blowing off Bush's playbook in Iraq?

As the president pushes for more time and money for the war, the Pentagon chief's message has seemed to run counter.

By PETER SPIEGEL and JULIAN E. BARNES
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

Filed 5.6.07

WASHINGTON — President Bush has mobilized his administration, including his top general in Iraq, in a major push to win more time and money for his war strategy. But one crucial voice has been missing from the chorus: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates'.

In fact, Gates' recent comments seem to run counter to the message from the White House. During a recent trip to the Middle East, Gates told the Iraqi government that time was running out and praised Democratic efforts in the U.S. Congress to set a timetable for withdrawal, saying it would help prod the Iraqis. He reiterated that point during a meeting with reporters last week.

(Click & Read on courtesy of The Los Angeles Times)

Photo captions & credits: "As Bush pushes for more time in Iraq, the Pentagon chief has said time is running out." By Mikhail Metzel/AFP/Getty Images

Olbermann: Genuine newsman or posterboy for limousine liberals?

Some freely available Big Media analysis

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed 5.4.07 - Updated: 06:10 PM EST

NEW YORK - In an angry commentary on April 25, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann accused Rudolph Giuliani of using the language of Osama bin Laden with "the same chilling nonchalance of the madman" to argue that Republicans would keep Americans safer than Democrats from terror.
Eight days later, Olbermann hosted MSNBC’s coverage of the first debate among Republican candidates for president.
Olbermann’s popularity and evolving image as an idealogue has led NBC News to stretch traditional notions of journalistic objectivity. The danger for MSNBC is provoking the same anger among Republicans that Democrats feel toward Fox News Channel.

(Click & Read on courtesy of The Boston Globe)

NYPD surveillance records closer to seeing 'Daylight'

By DANIEL TROTTA
Via Reuters

Filed 5.4. 07, 5:23pm ET

CLICK PHOTO
(full-image)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Six hundred pages of documents relating to intelligence that New York City gathered before the 2004 Republican National Convention should be made public, a federal judge ruled on Friday.

Judge James Francis of U.S. District Court in Manhattan struck down the city's attempt to keep the documents confidential, but agreed to keep them sealed pending a possible city appeal.

(Click & Read on courtesy of Reuters)

Photo captions & credits: “Naked activists protest outside Madison Square Garden, where the Republican National Convention was held in 2004.” Courtesy of Public Nudity in the Public Interest

GOP field united on war, divided on social issues

By DAN BALZ and MICHAEL D. SHEAR
Washington Post Staff Writers

CLICK PHOTO
(full-image)

Filed 5.4.07

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., May 3 -- Republican presidential hopefuls diverged sharply on abortion, stem cells and immigration in their first nationally televised debate Thursday night, with the three leading candidates all forced to defend current or past positions that are anathema to many in the party's conservative base.

(Click & Read on courtesy of The Washington Post)

Photo captions & credits:"The 10 current GOP candidates for president met at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., for their first debate. From left, Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee, James S. Gilmore III, Mitt Romney, Sam Brownback, Ron Paul, Tom Tancredo, Tommy G. Thompson, Rudolph W. Giuliani and John McCain." By By Mark J. Terrill -- Associated Press Photo

Smith resigns as Lincoln County Sheriff

BREAKING...!

By GARREN STAUFFER
Star Valley Independent

Filed 5.3.07

Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Smith has announced that he will retire from his elected position within a month. The Lincoln County Commissioners released a notice of the resignation at a meeting, May 1, in Kemmerer.

(Click & Read on courtesy of the Star Valley Independent)

Developing...SOURCES say Smith may rejoin JPD

Cops & protestors clash in LA melee

By PETER PRENGAMAN
The Associated Press

Filed 5.3.07

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Investigators will review hundreds of hours of video of an immigration rally where police clashed with the crowd, wielding batons and firing rubber bullets to break up the demonstration, the police chief said Thursday.

Chief William J. Bratton said in an appearance on CBS's "Early Show" that he was "not happy" when he watched videotape of the events at MacArthur Park late Tuesday, when officers fired 240 nonlethal rounds to clear demonstrators.

(Click & Read on courtesy of MyWay)

Kucinich's case for impeaching Cheney

A freely available OPINION

By RICHARD COHEN
The Washington Post

Filed 5.2.07

The resolution offered by the gentleman from Ohio reads sensibly. It alleges crimes high and low, misdemeanors galore -- all of them representing an effort to mislead the American people and take them into war. It is Dennis Kucinich's articles of impeachment directed at Dick Cheney. The vice president will, of course, deny being a liar. As long as Kucinich is at it, add that to the articles.

The congressman's case is persuasive, although his remedy may be too radical. He calls for Cheney to be impeached by the House and tried by the Senate, just as Bill Clinton was for what turned out to be neither a high crime nor much of a misdemeanor. What was it, anyway, compared with more than 3,300 American dead?

(Click & Read on courtesy of The Washington Post)

Wife runs down lawmaker

Via The Casper Star-Tribune

Filed 5.01.07

PINEDALE -- Rep. Monte Olsen, R-Daniel, was in the intensive care unit of an Idaho Falls hospital Monday after he was struck by a vehicle in what investigators called a "domestic situation." Arrested and charged in connection with the Saturday incident was his wife, Lisa Glenn, 37, a Pinedale optometrist, according to court documents filed Monday.

(Click & Read on courtesy of the Casper Star-Tribune)