Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 3

-ft star Gasper Area Wednesday, Aug. 1 5, 1 984 Star-Tribune, Casper, Wyo A3 Tax increase in store for property owners UN li li 1 1 1 ti i mi inir" i that county assessors assess lots at 8 percent of their current market value. In the past, valuations were based on 1967 land values. New plats in the county also accounted for the increase in the local assessed valuation, Boling said. The state decline was due to a fall in energy production and a court -ordered cut in the assessment of railroad property, she added.

The state was forced to cut property taxes on railroads in hajf because of a federal law which prohibits discriminatory taxes on railroads. State officials have said the enormous tax break sterns from basic flaws in the state's tax system. With a $508 million total assessed valuation in the county, one mill will raise $508,655 in taxes. The total mill levy within the city limits totals 71.74 mills, down one-half mill from last year, according to Boling. Of the total levy, the city will receive 8 mills; the county, 12 mills; (both are the maximum number of mills those governments can levy), the state school fund, 12 mills; the special school levy, 25 mills; the mandatory school levy, 6 mill; school district bond and interest, 4.45 mills; Casper College, 4 mills; and the county weed and pest, .29 mills.

With the exception of the school interest and bonds levy, which decreased .30 mills, and the weed and pest levy, which decreased ,21 mills, all other levies remained at last year's levels, Boling said. By STEVE STOVALL Star-Tribune staff writer CASPER Property taxes will increase for Natrona County homeowners this year even though the mill levy will drop slightly, county officials said Tuesday. Natrona County Assessor Maria Boling blamed the increase on Gov. Ed Herschler's veto of the Homestead Exemption. Taxpayers will do without the $80 to $90 tax break the bill continuing the exemption would have called for, according to Boling.

The state-mandated change on figuring tax assessments for non-agricultural lands will mean an average jump of $40 for county homeowners, Boling has said. Meanwhile, the county's total assessed valuation was up 2.1 percent or $11 million from last year, acccording to Boling. The total assessed valuation which represents valuations on minerals, railroads, utilities and property is $508,655,018 compared to $497,031,589 last year. Local property valuations increased 15 percent, or $36 million, to a total of $239,527,235, Boling said. But the state valuation on energy production, railroads and utilities in the county decreased 9.2 percent, or $25 million, falling to $269,127,783, she said.

The local assessed valuation was up due to the increase in the value of all the lots in the county, Boling said. That increase was due to the new formula in which lot valuation is determined. This year for the first time, the state required I I Tlie final section of the Poplar Street extension was completed a day before Poplar Street extension open By STEVE STOVALL Star-Tribune staff writer CASPER After years of planning, the city's most important north-south link was opened to traffic late Tuesday morning. The final section of work on the Poplar Street extension between Collins Drive and West Yellowstone Highway was completed by Structures of Wyoming Inc. a day ahead of schedule.

The project carried an $800,000 price tag. City public works director Jim Couch said the extension will "indescribably" increase the Library board approves reduced budget Wr- coming" with the major obstacle gaining access through the former Chicago Northwestern switching yard. He said the switching yard relocation was expensive and time consuming. The city began negotiations to acquire access through the old switching yard 15 years ago, former city engineer Jack Carlson has said. The yard was relocated at a cost of $2.2 million, with the city paying for $265,000 of the project cost and the rest coming from federal funds.

moved its switching yard west of the old location, and the re library will not send out its monthly calendar to library partrons, he said. The library will have to find other ways to distribute that information, he added. The children's programs have generally benefited from donations from the business community, Schepis said, which gives soft drinks and popcorn. In a pinch the library buys those extras, he said, but that budget also has been cut. Other cuts will come in the library's office supply and equipment repair budgets, he said.

The library is taking its cuts like everybody else in the county, he said. The county commissioners were more generous with the library than the other county the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. and the Office of the State Examiner in Cheyenne. According to Burk, "If there are any claims arising from the Western National Bank (closing), then they will be encompassed by that (filing)." Burk said that "there are no known claims in that area," but said it would be "negligent" not to list a potential creditor when filing a bankruptcy petition for his client. "If you don't list the creditor," he said, "their claims are not discharged." The $12 million figure was picked "out of thin air," Burk said, to protect his client against any possible suits.

Among the unsecured debts was a $1.5 million industrial revenue bond issued by the Town of Mills to finance the construction of the State Bank of Mills' building. Smith gave his personal guaranty on those bonds. "It's pretty hard to float a loan any more in any corporate capacity without getting everybody's personal guarantees," Burk said. Two companies figured pro 'lit traffic ease in the western section of town from the downtown area as well as ease the access to the Casper Events Center. Couch now expects some traffic flow problems at the intersection of 15th Street, Cy Avenue and Poplar.

But he noted the Wyoming State Highway Department has nearly completed the design work to rebuild the intersection, and expects the department to bid out the work in late fall and begin contruction next spring. The extension, the director, said has "been a long time he said. Despite the cuts, Schepis said the library plans no reduction in library hours or service. But Schepis also said the staff is "pretty well stretched," and if "this trend continues" the board will have to reduce its services and programming. He said the board will closely moniter its programming, services and budget throughout the fiscal year.

Some of the programs the library offers are the Brown Baggers lunch series, which includes guest lecturers during the lunch hour, the children's reading program and the monthly calendar. To reduce its postage cost, the Burk said. By filing for bankruptcy, Smith is seeking protection from the court system against both his current creditors and any future claims that might arise out of the failure of the two banks, Burk said. According to court documents, most of the liabilities listed by Smith are contingent liabilities meaning Smith may not actually owe money, but is protecting himself against the possibility of future claims being filed against him. The largest single listed liability, a $12 million contingent liability, is a result of the closure of Western National and the State Bank of Mills.

Smith was the chairman of the board of both banks and president of the holding company that controlled the banks' stock. The $12 million liability lists as potential creditors Frank Kellch, H.B. Hardin J.W. Miller, Ray Frank, Don E. Phillips, Ralph L.

Schauss, A.J. Bondi, Jack Whitlock and William Tobin, all former directors or major stockholders of the two failed banks. Also named as potential creditors of the $12 million liability are Western National Bank, State Bank of Mills, Second Western By STEVE STOVALL Star-Tribune staff writer CASPER The Natrona County Library Board Tuesday announced budget cuts and wage freezes sparked by a 5 percent drop in its annual budget. The board approved the 1984-85 budget of $902,550. The budget calls for wage and hiring freezes, the elimination of all out-of-state travel, and the limiting of in-state travel, according to library director Frank Schepis.

The board also cut by 20 percent budgets for fiction and non-fiction books, documents, maps, newspapers, records and cassettes, Schepis said. Last year's budget was $943,060, Star-Tribune-Rick Sorenson the project deadline to traffic moval of 11 sets of tracks took little more than a year to complete. The railroad left in place 2 sets of tracks which traverse the new street. Two buildings at the intersection of Rancho Road and the West Yellowstone Highway also had to be razed in order for the street to be constructed. Those buildings, which were built by the old Standard Oil Co.

in the 1920s, were used as personnel offices. Poplar now extends all the way from Casper Mountain to the Casper Events Center. boards, such as the hospital, fair, airport and parks, he said. The commissioners allocated $686,000, or 1.40 mills to the library, the largest allocation of all county budgets. The rest of the library's budget comes from revenues from fines and rentals, which total $216,550.

"We can't make our budget off 10 cents a day fines," he said, so the commissioners give the library the largest share of the levy. The board also elected new board officers Tuesday. Murray Dahill will replace Don Swanton as board chairman. Leigh Flack was elected vice chairman; Harold Meier, treasurer and Mary Masterson secretary. minently in Smith's bankruptcy petition, court documents indicate West Rawlins Properties, Inc.

and Six Company. According to Burk, Six Company is a partnership consisting of the members of the board of Western National. It owns the parking lot behind Western National Bank. West Rawlins Properties owns several motels on the west side of Rawlins, Burk said. Both companies are solvent, but any potential liabilities to Smith from those companies were listed to guard against future claims, Burk said.

Other major unsecured creditors included: F.A. Rummell Jr. of Saratoga et. al. $2.5 million.

Ray Franks $375,000. Eagle Limited $290,000. Wyoming Bank of Rawlins $180,000. Saratoga State Bank $155,000. Platte Valley State Bank $50,000.

The largest secured creditor listed is the Colorado National Bank with three notes totalling $1.18 million. Other major secured creditors are Saratoga State Bank with $75,000 and Hilltop National Bank with $38,000 in listed liabilities. Bear hug Bank executive files for personal bankruptcy Securely nestled in the arms of her large friend "Teddy," Tammy Engleman, 12, savors her victory in the "Biggest Bear" category in the First Annual Teddy Bear Parade held at and sponsored by the Natrona County Public Library Tuesday. Teddy belongs to Tammy and her brothers Rick, 9, and Joe, 5. Star-TribuneRick Sorenson in brief have been used to manufacture methamphetamines or "speed," reports indicated.

Man sentenced in cop assault CASPER A 29-year-old Casper man who pleaded guilty in May to charges of burglary and aggravated assault was sentenced Tuesday to 4-5 years in the state penitentiary. -1 Gilbert Patrick was sentenced by Judge Dan Spanpler, who ordered Patrick to serve a 4-5 year term for each offense. Those terms will run concurrently. Deputy District Attorney Mark Carman said. Patrick was shot by a police officer and arrested after the officer saw him leave Frosty's Liquor Store through a indow April 9.

Patrick was charged with assaulting the officer with a knife and burglarizing the liquor Mre. The officer was not injur in the incident. Continued from At Smith filed -for bankruptcy in Federal Bankruptcy Court in Cheyenne this month, claiming he is unemployed and has no income. Smith is the president of Second Western the holding company which owned Western National and its sister bank, the State Bank of Mills. He was president of Western National, and board chairman of State Bank of Mills.

Both banks failed in May and were taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The banks later were sold to other local bank holding companies. In his bankruptcy filing. Smith listed $54,143 in assets ard $18.4 million in debts and liabilities. He 'had pledged no collateral on $17.12 million of those debts and liabilities, the documents said.

Although Smith listed a number of individual and corporate creditors, only two have filed lawsuits against him, his attorney said. But those two suits alone were enough to force Smith to declare bankruptcy, Casper lawyer John Burk said. "(Smith) can't even afford to defend himself against those lawsuits," Burk said. "The reason for his filing was jhe classical reason he was wiped out and needs a fresh start," Casper Zespy hearing continued CASPER The preliminary hearing for a man accused of attempting to manufacture methamphetamines was continued Monday in Natrona County Court. No date for the remainder of the hearing for Rob Charles Zespy has been set, however, a county court spokesman said.

Zespy is charged with possessing and intending to deliver a controlled substance. He was arrested in January, following a three-month investigation sparked by an anonymous telephone tip, earlier police reports stated. A search of Zcspy's South Fairdale Street home uncovered more than 373 jars of hallucinogenic psylocybin mushrooms that Zespy allegedly grew at his house, as well as chemicals authorities believe could.