Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 11

star Wyoming Bl Thursday, January 9, 1992 Star-Tribune, Casper, Wyo. Sullivan won't grant Hopkinson clemency State to reclaim old pits in park punishment, I do not share that position, and despite considerable reflection on both the moral and legal consequences, I have not been persuaded to change my position. "As governor, I am charged by the Wyoming Constitution with faithfully upholding and carrying out the laws of our state," Sullivan continued. "While I share some reservations about Wyoming's law providing for capital punishment, I do support that law and have consistently said I would enforce it, barring unforeseen extenuating circumstances in a particular case." Sullivan added, "Mark Hopkinson has been adjudged guilty by his peers, and his conviction and sentence repeatedly have been upheld in every court. I have not been persuaded in the past to use my power of clemency in the Hopkinson case, and that position has not changed.

I must respectfully disagree with those who again urge me to intervene." BY JOAN BARRON Star-Tribune capital bureau CHEYENNE Gov. Mike Sullivan Wednesday reiterated his support of the state's death penalty law, saying that while he respects the views of opponents of capital punishment he has not changed his position. In a prepared statement released by his office, Sullivan said he met with representatives of the Wyoming Church Coalition earlier this week and told them he has not changed his mind. Sullivan also made it clear he does not intend to use his powers of clemency for convicted murderer Mark Hopkinson who is scheduled to die by lethal injunction Jan. 22.

"My position on capital punishment is clear and has not changed over the years, Sullivan said in a prepared statement. "While I respect those who argue fervently against capital Dewey VanderholT A bald eagle cruises above the Shoshone River near Ridge in the Wapiti Valley, west of Cody. Sky view DOE: Peddling nuke waste difficult 3 more tribes apply for MRS feasibility study grants mm Mil Tmmm "lal Man charged in Cheyenne child's death CHEYENNE (AP) A man from Cheyenne accused of killing a 5 year-old girl and trying to disguise it by lighting the house on fire was bound over to district court on Tuesday. After a preliminary hearing, Laramie County Judge Frank Mockler determined there was enough evidence to move the case of Mark Barnes to district court. Barnes is charged with second degree murder tor the death ot Brandy Imhott in heyenne last month.

sponsor gives us an opportunity to monitor what is going on" at the nearby Hanford nuclear reservation, Howard said. The DOE also said the acceptance of a grant does not bind the recipient to siting the facility. The grant would also create jobs for tribal members and others at the Hanford site, which lies on lands ceded by the Yakima Nation in the Treaty of 1 855, the Yakima leader said. The department announcement did not disclose how much money would be allocated in the grants. If approved, the grants will be used by each of the applicants to gain an understanding of the nation's nuclear waste management system, including the MRS facility, and determine whether there is an interest in pursuing further feasibility studies, the DOE said.

The Mescalero Apache tribe and Grant County, N.D., were awarded Phase I feasibility grants in 1991, and an application for a feasibility study was received last month from the Chickasaw Indian Nation of Oklahoma. Dr. John W. Bartlett, director of the DOE Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, said in a news release that the deadline for feasibility grant applications has been extended to March 3 1 WASHINGTON (AP) Idaho's former lieutenant governor, David Leroy, has made slow progress at the seemingly impossible task of finding by 1993 a state or Indian tribe willing to bury high-level nuclear waste in its back yard. He is nowhere near that goal.

But after a year of peddling his nuclear wares, two counties and five Indian tribes have expressed remote interest in storing nuclear waste. "We are a long, long way from an accomplished siting of a facility anywhere," Leroy said recently in Boise, Idaho. Even so, "We've had a superb year on all fronts." Not only have the Mescalero Band of Apaches of New Mexico, Grant County, N.D., Fremont County, and the Chickasaw Indian tribe of Oklahoma applied for $100,000 feasibility-study grants from Leroy's office, but, Leroy said, "we have made successful preliminary communications to all 623 states, tribes and territories which we were authorized to contact." Three other tribal groups have also applied for the grants: the Yakima Indian Nation of Washington state, the Prairie Island Indian Community of Minnesota, and the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma. With a $2.4 million-a-year budget and a salary of $1 10,000, Leroy has a congressional mandate to locate a burial site for an estimated 4 million spent nuclear reactor fuel rods now stored at the nuclear plants where they were generated by next year. Scientists and the state of Nevada have criticized the government's first choice for a permanent repository, within Nevada's Yucca Mountain.

Authorities haven't had any better luck finding a host for an above-ground storage facility for temporary storage. None of the four jurisdictions requesting grant money from Leroy's office are interested in hosting a permanent waste repository, he said. But they might be open to a temporary storage facility. Augustine Howard, a Yakima Tribal Council member, said she doubted her tribe actually wanted to build such a facility on its land. She said the application is an effort to become more involved in nuclear waste issues.

"I don't think the intent of the application was for us to build a (nuclear waste) storage tank, Howard said. "Having us being a primary Natalie McManaman, the child's mother and Barnes' girlfriend, is accused ot accessory to second degree murder. She was automatically bound over to the higher court when she waived her preliminary hearing. By CAROLE CLOUDWALKER Star-Tribune correspondent CHEYENNE Officials in Yellowstone National Park have asked Montana and Wyoming Abandoned Mine Lands programs to finance reclamation of three abandoned gravel pits, a Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality spokesman said. Stan Barnard of Cheyenne, assistant program manager for the state's AML program, said the Yellowstone gravel pits targeted for reclamation were primarily used for road construction in the park beginning in the 1920s.

The state agency is also planning projects in the Medicine Bow National Forest, including reclaiming an abandoned gold mine opened at the turn of the century and a 1 -acre copper mine tailings pile, Barnard said. Cost of reclaiming all five sites is roughly estimated at about $170,000, DEQ officials said. By linking the projects together under one engineering contract, the DEQ hopes to begin paperwork on the reclamation jobs beginning this summer, with actual reclamation possibly beginning in the summer of 1993, Barnard said. Meanwhile, he said, Yellowstone officials are preparing an inventory of illegal gold mines in the park area apparently worked during the Depression. He said the National Park Service, in a recent meeting with the DEQ, indicated that it would seek AML funding within two years for reclaiming those mines when the survey is completed.

Mining before 1977 are eligible for reclamation under the AML program, which Barnard said is funded by a nationwide 25 cent per ton producer fee on coal. One-half of the revenue collected must be returned to the states which generated it. In addition to seeking AML funds from Wyoming, Yellowstone officials are also asking the Montana's state AML program to pay for reclamation of an abandoned coal mine located just north of the Wyoming border between Mammoth and Gardner, Barnard said. The three Yellowstone gravel pits are the Little Thumb Gravel Quarry, the Ice Lake Pit, and the Dry Creek Gravel Pit, which together cover about 35 acres. The Dry Creek pit located between West Thumb and Old Faithful along Craig Pass was used during the time U.S.

Army troops were stationed in Yellowstone at the turn of the century as a source of materials for road construction. In the Medicine Bow National Forest, the DEQ plans reclamation of a 10- to 15-acre site, one mile south of the ghost town of Keystone on Douglas Creek, Barnard said. The abandoned gold mine located there was first developed in 1893, and work ceased in 1940. The agency also plans to reclaim 1 -acre site near the national forest boundary which is filled with copper mine tailings, he said. The tailings are on private land, and the property owner has asked that they be covered, Barnard said.

If the reclamation work increases the value of the property and it is resold, the DEQ could file a lien and recover reclamation costs, he noted. He said it would cost from $20,000 to $25,000 to reclaim the tailings pile. The DEQ is seeking statements of interest from engineering companies interested in the work in Yellowstone and the Medicine Bow forest. The child's body was found in a cabinet by firemen who responded to a tire at the home. Cheyenne Police detective Steve Reese testified that Barnes and McManaman had gotten a fight and the child "got in the middle." She was backhanded at least once by Barnes, causing her head to hit a nearby doorjamb, Reese told the court.

The officer said the child had also been kicked. Police say the girl probably died a week before the body was found. Both Barnes and McManaman remain in county jail. Wyo ranks in middle in abortion survey WASHINGTON (AP) A state-by state study by the National Abortion Rights Action League concludes that women in Louisiana face the most immediate likelihood of losing their abortion rights if the Supreme Court allows states to ban or strictly limit abortions. Wyoming is ranked near the middle in the survey.

The study, released Tuesday, says the least risk to abortion rights Jackson optimistic despite ski slump would be confronted by women in California. The report is based on the abortion views of each state's governor and state legislative majority, and on state laws already in place. Here is how the report ranks Wyoming and adjacent states, from the riskiest to the safest tor abortion rights, in NARAL view: 1. Louisiana; 2. Utah 11.

Nebraska; 13. South Dakota; 17. Idaho; 21. Wyoming; 28. Montana; 35.

Colorado; 50. California Ranchman sues over contracted disease CHEYENNE (AP) A Dubois ranchman suffering from a ing at $49 for a ski ticket and one night's lodging, he said. Goodwin said the campaign is specifically targeted toward the slower January business and that, "by no means is this a fire sale." But there was some concern among Jackson merchants that bookings would not reach the same levels of past years, Goodwin added. Although the recession has hit the New York metropolitan area especially hard with layoffs, he said the council had no contingency plans if the season's lack of reservations reached crisis levels. The Jackson area caters to the "destination visitor, who typically takes a ski vacation, Goodwin said.

"We don't see any big reason for concern." By LAUREN McKEEVER Star- Tribune correspondent JACKSON Area businesses say they are worried about a slumping ski season, but are still optimistic that Jackson's winter tourism fortunes can be reversed. Reservations at area hotels are down by as much as 30 percent this year, which has prompted the Jackson Hole Visitor's Council a group of local merchants to launch an intensified advertising campaign to draw regional visitors to Jackson Hole. But Carol Lewis, president of the Jackson Hole Resort Association, said business is not slow enough to justify layoffs or for sizable discounts in ski lift or lodging prices. Greg Goodwin, director of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, said the new regional promotion campaign was designed to counter the national recession which has apparently affected tourism from especially the East Coast, where Jackson draws most of its long-distance skier business. To bolster business, the Jackson Hole Visitor's Council plans to intensify current regional advertising efforts by airing 20,000 television ads in Pocatello and Idaho Falls in Idaho, Salt Lake City, Colorado's Front Range, around Wyoming and western Montana, according to Goodwin.

The advertising will focus on "Ski Stampede," a discount ski package start brucellosis-related illness allegedly contracted from diseased cows has sued the federal government. Lyle Peck, a ranchhand for the Parker Land and Cattle claims he became infected through handling aborted fetuses and has several physical ailments. Peck company also has sued the government for $1.1 million in damages from the loss of 620 cattle, allegedly linked to the disease, which causes cows to abort their fetuses. The infected livestock were slaughtered to prevent the spread of the disease. The Parker company claims the cattle were infected by elk and bison carrying the disease from Grand Teton National Park and the National Elk Refuge in western Wyoming, 70 miles west of the ranch.

Peck joined Parker in the lawsuit against the government. The case started Monday in Cheyenne and is expected to last two weeks. Peck lawyer, Mark White, told U.S. District Judge Clarence Agreement returns Lander teacher to work Brimmer that Peck's contraction proves the virus is life-threatening to humans. White said that Peck, 33, has suffered several health problems since handling the fetuses in 1989, including joint-muscle pain, sleep disturbances and degenerative arthritis.

In opening arguments. White told the judge that the government informed its own employees of the possible dangers, but failed to warn ranch hands. Yellowstone again posts visitation gains JACKSON (AP) The number of tourists visiting Yellowstone National Park rose 3 percent in 1991, about 3,000 people short of the school district charges against Harms, facts supporting the charges, remediation action and restitution. When Young suspended Harms and recommended dismissal, charges against Harms included "insubordination, neglect of duty, and, other and good and just cause." Helping trigger Young's suspension was Harms' alleged "failure and refusal to wear and require students to wear mandatory eye protection on numerous occasions from 1 969 through 1 99 1 and other reported safety problems. On Dec.

12 after Harms' suspension, some 200 high school students staged a noon rally in support of the teacher. Students walked and drove through Lander with signs and chants supporting Harms and later met with school officials. MIKE SAMPSON Star-Tribune correspondent LANDER A settlement agreement signed on Tuesday returned a suspended vocational arts instructor to teaching duties at Lander Valley High School Wednesday. Robert Harms was suspended with pay Nov. 6, 1991 after an alleged safety violation in his shop class.

As part of the settlement agreement between Harms and Fremont County School District No. 1, district superintendent Gene Young withdrew his recommendation of Harms' dismissal. In signing the agreement, Harms will develop "a comprehensive safety procedure, or procedures, for all of his classes." Harms also has served as a track coach at the high school. The school district at its expense will provide "an expert to perform a complete safety audit of the shop classes with orientation toward the teaching and instructional aspects of shop operation." In the settlement, the school district agreed to pay $2,500 for a substitute teacher while Harms was under suspension from Nov. 8 to Dec.

16. Harms agreed to pay $5 1 0 for a substitute teacher who taught Harms' classes from Dec. 16 through Jan. 7. A public hearing between the district's board of trustees and Harms originally was to be held on Dec.

16, and a postponement extended the hearing to Jan. 7. Attorneys had expected "to call over 40 witnesses and present in excess of 50 exhibits" during the hearing. The 1 7-page agreement outlined million mark. More than 24,000 people passed through park gates in December alone, spokeswoman Joan Anzelmo said Tuesday.

She did not give the figure for the previous December but said it's "quite a jump from Southeast Wyo digs out from blizzard CHEYENNE (AP) Government workers were back on the job and skies cleared over Cheyenne as residents dug themselves out Wednesday after their biggest January blizzard in 71 years. Thirteen inches of snow dumped on Cheyenne by sunrise Wednesday, when the storm had moved through the southeast part of the state and into Nebraska, according to the National Weather Service. last year. The yearly growth also continued a three-year trend at the park, she said. About 2.9 million visited the park in 1990 and 2.8 million in 989.

Anzelmo predicts the growth rate will continue although it may not be as great a rise this year because of the economic crisis. The number of people flying to the Jackson Hole area also rose in 991. Airport officials said they had about 170,458 passengers, a 9 percent increase from the previous year..