Jackson Hole News and Guide from Jackson, Wyoming • 28

28A JACKSON HOLE Wednesday, May 27, 2009 Week in Review I 1 if I 1 1 5A ihv hi JU. NEWSIGUIOE PHOTO PRICE CHAMBERS American Legion Post 43 Cmdr. David Bentlage comforts Jackie Williams on Memorial Day at Aspen Hill Cemetery. Williams was sitting where she planned to bury her father, Jack Richards, a veteran who served as a commander for the American Legion. The plot is next to where her family buried her grandfather, a veteran of World War I.

County parks on Internet Just in time for summer, Teton County has unveiled a new Internet-based resource for residents and visitors to learn about local parks and fields available for public use. This week the Jackson Teton County Parks and Recreation Department went live with its online database of the county's 20 parks and fields. The database is part of an ongoing effort to revamp the county's Web-based resources. The site, www.tetonwyo.org parks, provides maps, directions, descriptions and photo slide shows. Parks among most visited Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks made this year's list of the 10 most visited national parks, according to National Park Service statistics.

Combined, the two parks welcomed roughly 5.5 million visitors in 2008, or about 2 percent of the National Park Service's total visitation spread out among 360 parks, parkways, memorials, national monuments and other National Park Service units. The Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia was the busiest national park unit overall, with more than 16 million visitors for the year. Among national parks, Yellowstone came in fifth, with 3.06 million visitors, and Grand Teton ninth, with 2.49 million visitors. Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina took the No. 1 spot, with more than 9 million visitors, followed by Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Olympic national parks.

Rec board to award cash Teton County Recreation District board members will decide today which of 16 organizations asking for almost $1.27 million will receive funding. The board generates almost $1.2 million a year from a property tax the school district levies to support school and community recreation projects and programs. The board already granted a $750,000 request from the school district to put toward a football stadium renovation. Town panel OKs projects The Jackson Planning Commission last week approved two developments that would add more than 70,000 square feet of mixed-use space to north Jackson. The commission voted unanimously Wednesday to approve final development plans for the projects but tacked on provisions to each that will require developers to post a bond for the completion of the project.

The two developments, a lodging and commercial facility on North Cache Street and a remodeling of the Miller Park Lodge, will now head to the Jackson Town Council for approval June 15. Pine Glades plats get OK The Jackson Town Council unanimously approved final plats Thursday for the first phase of the Pine Glades subdivision on Snow King Mountain. Before the plats can be re Peacock said a staggering number of Yellowstone grizzlies died last year, at least 54 that are known. Hunters and others shot 37 of them. He attributed the increase in deaths to the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service taking the grizzly off the endangered list two years ago, plus the loss of whitebark pine, which has seeds that provide an important food source for the bears. Flu vaccine plan crafted County health and emergency response officials have identified important community groups that will need a vaccine for the swine flu virus when it becomes available. Top priority would go to medical workers and public health workers who are involved in direct patient contact, said county public health response coordinator Tammy Marshall. The availability of the vaccine after its expected release this fall could prompt agencies to take a closer look at the list to identify an order of importance, she said. Stabbing death in Alpine Lincoln County authorities are investigating the stabbing death of an Alpine man and have identified a "person of interest" in the case, according to a news release.

David Reneker, 41, of the Alpine area, was found dead by a friend, according to reports. After investigating, officials ruled Reneker was killed by multiple knife wounds. Anyone with information about the stabbing is asked to call the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office at 307-885-5231. No bids on Aspens condo A condominium in The As pens will revert to Wells Fargo bank after failing to attract any bids during an auction Thursday morning. Cheryl Chidester, civil process supervisor for the Teton County Sheriffs Office, said Wells Fargo took over the property after no one else bid the minimum of about $301,000.

There are eight properties, whose owners owe a total of $3.9 million, still scheduled for auctions through June. Ex-ranger earns award A ranger who ushered in the era of helicopter rescues in the Teton Range won the prestigious Harry Yount National Park Ranger Award, the National Park Service said Wednesday. Pete Armington was Jenny Lake sub-district ranger with Grand Teton National Park when he helped convert rescue operations to take advantage of helicopters. Armington now works at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Guns in parks bill OK'd Congressional leaders passed a bill May 20 that will allow people to carry loaded guns into national parks and wildlife refuges.

The House approved the bill on a vote of 279-147, a day after the Senate passed identical legislation. A total of 105 Democrats in the House joined 174 Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis, in supporting the gun measure. The legislation allows licensed gun owners to bring firearms into national parks and wildlife refuges as long as they are allowed by state law where the park is located opposing the Teton Health District's Smokefree Air Rule, which took effect Saturday.

The suit asks 9th District Court Judge Nancy Guthrie to "declare that the 2009 Air Rule is void and unenforceable." The Teton County board of health approved the rule, which prohibits smoking in all public places including bars, restaurants and places of employment, in late March following a mandatory public comment period. Y'stone hot pool explodes Yellowstone National Park geologist Hank Heasler was lecturing a group of colleagues in Biscuit Basin on the rarity of hydrothermal explosions last week when Boom! A hot pool behind him exploded, spewing mud, rocks and hot water 50 feet in the air. Geologists know of only a handful of such unpredictable explosions in Yellowstone's recorded history. "I couldn't decide; should I run or grab my camera," said University of Utah Professor Bob Smith, who was leading the tour. "By the time I got people down, to stand back, it was over." Expert: Help list grizzlies A grizzly bear expert and author urged Jackson Hole residents this week to petition the government to put the animals back on the endangered species list Public response is key to relisting grizzlies, Doug Peacock said during a presentation May 19 in Jackson.

He said signing petitions and writing letters to public officials is the best hope for action because the government agencies protecting the grizzly are incapable of doing so. corded, however, developer Dave Taylor will have to resolve liens filed by two subcontractors who worked on the project. Town Attorney Audrey Cohen Davis said Westwood Curtis Construction and Sullivan Construction, the two subcontractors who have filed liens against Pine Glades, will have to release or subordinate their respective liens for the final plat to be recorded. Subordinating a lien would not release the claim completely, but it would allow the final plat to be recorded so the project can move forward. Attempts by Pine Glades to have the liens dismissed in court have so far proven unsuccessful.

Town, county recognized Former first lady Laura Bush has designated Jackson and Teton County as some the nation's newest Preserve America Communities. The town and county will receive certificates and road signs advertising the designation. And officials will host a reception at 2 p.m. today in the Teton County commissioners chambers, 200 S. Willow St.

The public is invited. Communities designated through the program receive national recognition for their efforts. Benefits include the right to use the Preserve America logo on signs and promotional materials, eligibility for Preserve America grants, listing in a Web-based directory that showcases preservation efforts, and heritage tourism destinations. Suit filed over smoke ban The owners of The Virginian Saloon and three nonprofit groups filed a lawsuit Friday.