Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 9

star Wyoming Bl Thursday. Dec. 4, 1 986 Star-Tribune, Casper, Wyo. Fossil fish a bone of contention in Lincoln County County commissioners vote to rescind an agreement to buy fossils for courthouse display I By PAUL KRZA Southwestern Wyoming bureau KEMMERER Petitions have been circulated and a lawsuit threatened in a widening dispute that has erupted in Lincoln County over the purchase of a $33,000 fossil exhibit by the county commissioners. Supporters say the "world-class" exhibit will enhance the extensively-restored Lincoln County Courthouse with an educational and tourist attraction.

But critics argue that the spending is extravagant and can't be justified during economic hard times. The exhibit, which consists of 10 large, glass-enclosed rock panels containing fossilized fish and a separate palm frond, has already been delivered to the courthouse. The commission, by a 2-1 vote, approved the purchase from Kcmmcrer and Jackson fossil preparator Wally Ulrich in October. But late last month, the commission, with a vote that involved a telephone call to a hospitalized commissioner, decided to reconsider the purchase. The action came after a set of petitions were presented to the commissioners.

Ulrich, whose family has long been involved in fossil recovery near Kemmerer, maintains that the reconsideration isn't ethical or legal. On Wednesday, his lawyer, Kemmerer attorney Tony Vehar, sions in the county and state about "how the hell we get the economy in Wyoming going again," he said. State officials noted, "we see Ulrich's fossils everywhere all over the world," he said. "They asked, 'Why isn't there some on display in the courthouse, or the state Ulrich, and his parents, Shirley and Carl, have recovered and sold fossils since the early 1940s. Their pieces are on display worldwide, including at the Smithsonian in Washington.

The idea of an "educational exhibit" of a "world-famous international resource" prompted the proposed sale, first outlined to the commissioners in April, he said. Thornock said he is not opposed to education and promoting tourism. But, he added, it is not necessary to purchase exhibits but rather to simply allow people to use the courthouse to place exhibits. After the vote in October, petitions appeared, and newspapers in both Kemmerer and Afton carried letters opposing the purchase. "We've never had an issue that presented a claim for payment of the $33,000 to the commissioners opposing the acquisition.

"I fulfilled my contract, and delivered the fish," Ulrich said. "Basically, we consider the things sold except we haven't been paid." Lincoln County Commission Chairman Russ Thornock of Cokeville, who voted against the purchase and pushed for the reconsideration, said the "majority" of residents in the county are also opposed. "The main reason I was opposed to it is that I didn't think it was an appropriate time to be putting that much money out for anything," he said. Thornock also said he wasn't sure about the value of the fossil fish, which the county did not appraise before the purchase. But Ulrich said the commissioners were well aware of what they were purchasing when they made their decision.

The fossil exhibit was sold for "less than my wholesale price," he said. The idea of placing the exhibit in the courthouse began months ago, Ulrich said. It grew out of discus people have got so concerned about in the four years I've been on the commission as these fossils," Thornock said. That prompted Thornock at a commission meeting last month to suggest reconsideration, but Commissioner Nancy Peternal of Kemmerer refused to second his motion, meeting minutes indicated. Thornock then called absent commissioner Harry Bruce, who was recuperating in a Salt Lake City hospital from a leg amputation two days earlier.

Bruce, from Afton, had supported the purchase in October, but decided to support reconsideration, first seconding and then voting over the phone in favor of Thornock's motion. In a-letter to the commissioners, Vehar called the vote "very innovative" but added, "I strongly question the legality." He argued that the commission had approved a valid contract, and couldn't break it now simply for reasons of "political expediency." Thornock said he sought reconsideration only after hearing legal advice to back his position. Munker says recent Hopkinson shuffle a game by state officials AP Tuesday Senior Assistant At torney General Allen Johnson would not say why Hopkinson was moved. He said the press and public shouldn't fault his office for withholding the information because he said "it's available" from Munker or Hopkinson. But the attorney' general's office has refused to let reporters talk with Hopkinson and Munker said he not only doesn't know why Hopkinson was moved, but he also wasn't officially informed of either move.

"It's a game and everybody's playing it as a game and I'm treating it as a game," Munker added. When he attempted to contact Warden Duane Shillinger, "The Lincoln fight over fossils like this one ut Smithsonian State, IRS meet about reclamation tax issue says police By CANDY MOULTON Star-Tribune correspondent RAWLINS A state official says any information about the temporary removal of condemned murderer Mark Hopkinson from the penitentiary to the Carbon County Jail last week must come from Hopkinson or his attorney. But State Public Defender Leonard Munker said Wednesday "1 haven't any idea" why Hopkinson was moved from the prison to the Carbon County Jail Nov. 25 and then moved back to the prison Nov. 29.

"Hell, no, I don't know what's going on," Munker said. "They're playing games. God knows why," he added. Bar owner By ERICH KIRSHNER Star-Tribune capital bureau CHEYENNE A Gillette bar manager says he was beaten by the local police who responded to his calls for help with a bar fight. Good Times Lounge manager Craig Means is suing the police and the City of Gillette for the alleged beating he suffered April 30.

Wednesday Means filed his lawsuit in federal district court in Cheyenne. In his suit Means does not request a specific amount of money. While managing the Good Times Lounge on April 30, Means tried to breakup a disturbance involving three bar patrons at about 9:30 p.m., according to the suit. After one of the patrons assaulted him in the parking lot, Means told Riverton man gets 10-20 for homicide LANDER Dennis Dale "Levon" Monroe was sentenced on two felony charges Wednesday afternoon in district court here. District judge Elizabeth Kail sentenced Monroe to 10 to 20 years on a vehicular homicide charge and "not less than one year" for leaving the scene of an injury accident, according to the clerk of district court.

Monroe was driving a car which struck and fatally injured Joel Lyman, 13, north of Riverton Aug. 31. The car also struck and injured Shane Sanderson, 13, also of Riverton. Two days after the accident, Monroe pleaded guilty in county court to driving without a valid driver's license and speeding. He was sentenced to 1 10 days in jail on the two counts and has been in the Fremont County jail since shortly after the accident.

Reservation man charged in murder CHEYENNE A man from the Wind River Indian Reservation was bound over to federal district court Wednesday morning on second degree murder charges. Albert Chavez, 42, is being charged with the Nov. 29 second degree murder of Marian Wadda on the reservation. Chavez, whose bond was set at $50,000, is now in the Laramie County Jail in Cheyenne. Propane tank owner sues Riverton estate SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The owner of a propane tank that exploded after a semitrailer truck careened into it last October has filed a lawsuit against the estate of the Wyoming driver who died in the accident and his employer, Inc.

A truck carrying about 70 head of cattle crashed into an propane tank outside Woodruff, Rich County, Oct. 16, causing an explosion that killed the truck driver and forced the evacuation of most of Woodruff's 150 residents. The explosion also ignited a gas tank that burned through the night until most of the propane was consumed. V-l Oil claims carelessness of the driver, Michael James Woodard, 22, Riverton, caused the accident. sets meetings on elk licenses CHEYENNE Proposals to increase the number of non-resident elk licenses will be discussed at a series of public meetings next week.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is proposing the increased license quota to boost the economy and provide adequate harvest of the elk, spokesman Al Langston said. The meetings will be held Dec. 8 at the District office in Green River and Sheridan County Courthouse annex in Sheridan; Dec. 9 at the Antler Motel in Jackson and Elks Lodge in Lander; Dec. 10 at the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission building in Casper and Nelson Associates Building in Powell; and Dec.

at the Albany County Public Library in Laramie. All of the meetings begin at 7 p.m., Langston said. Hispanic population increasing faster LARAMIE (AP)-The nation's Hispanic population is growing three times faster than the nation's total and may account for one-fourth of the nation's growth in the next 20 years, according to a federal Census Bureau report. The report, released through the Central Retrieval Information Service at the University of Wyoming, indicated that Hispanics represent 7 percent of the nation's population, a figure that could rise to 12 percent by 2020, 16 percent by 2050 and 19 percent by 2080. warden wouldn't talk with me," Munker said.

"ft doesn't make any sense to move (Hopkinson) from death row to an old county jail." But he said Hopkinson gets along with Carbon County Sheriff C.W. Ogburn and has never had any problem with the sheriff. Munker said the move was not the first for the death-row inmate. Ogburn had Hopkinson returned to the penitentiary Saturday because he feared Hopkinson's rights were being violated by holding him at the jail, Carbon County Attorney Kurt Kelly said. "I suspect why Ogburn moved him back is he's got good sense and didn't want to play with the shenanigans," Munker said.

beat him to due process under the law." Means wants compensation for cuts, abrasions, and bruises he says required medical treatment. He is also asking for compensation for mental anguish, emotional distress, humiliation, pain, and suffering. Named in the suit are Gillette police officers Ostrem, Roberts, Laurie Kadrich, Police Chief Robert Hartman, and the City of Gillette. According to the suit Kadrich was at the scene of the alleged police attack and despite being patrol sergeant and supervising officer, did nothing to stop the other two police officers. Chief Hartman and Gillette City Attorney Charles Anderson said Wednesday they had no comment on the suit.

elsewhere Sen. John Perry, R-Campbell-Johnson and Rep. Michael Enzi, R-Campbell, are co-sponsoring a bill to make it a high misdemeanor to commit assault and battery against a senior citizen 65 years or older. The bill was recommended by the Silver-Haired Legislature to address the problem of elderly people battered by their caretakers, Perry said. The bill makes it a high misdemeanor for anyone to unlawfuly touch an elderly person in a rude, insolent or angry manner or to cause them any bodily injury.

The proposal carries a penalty of one year in prison, a $1,000 fine or both. 1 Assault and battery would re--' main a low misdemeanor for victims under 65 with the penalty six; months in jail, a $750 fine, or both, Perry said. Other bills pre-filed recently would: allow employees on public works projects to work four, ten-hour days per week, instead of five, eight-hour days. increase police survivors benefits to those not covered under the general benefits increase of 1979. The bill would cost the state's general fund $9,000 per year.

allow parking spaces for handicapped non-residents. to state employees living By PAUL KRZA Southwestern Wyoming bureau ROCK SPRINGS State mine reclamation officials plan to meet with Internal Revenue Service personnel today to clarify possible tax liabilities on reclaimed private land, a Department of Environmental Quality official said. Meanwhile, some concerned landowners have begun t'o contact the DEQ because of reports that reclamation work is taxable, according to state Abandoned Mine Lands Director Gary Beach. The meeting Thursday with local IRS representatives was set up "to see if we can get some comfort from them" on the issue, Beach said. Last week, reports surfaced which indicated that an IRS ruling in an Ohio tax case might be applied nationwide to the federal Abandoned Mine Lands program.

The ruling required a landowner to pay taxes on a state mine reclamation grant he had received, officials said. Beach said Wyoming officials Bills would By JOAN BARRON Star-Tribune capital bureau CHEYENNE More than 130 state, community college and University of Wyoming employees who live in neighboring states would lose their jobs if they don't move to Wyoming under a bill being drafted for the 1987 Legislature. Other pre-filed bills would eliminate money transfers to the rainy day fund and would increase the penalty for battering the elderly. Rep. Scott Ratliff, D-Fremont, who is sponsoring the new residency bill along with Rep.

Shirley Humphrey, D-Laramie and Sen. John Vinich, D-Fremont, said $1.7 million a year in state payroll money is now going out-of-state because of the lack of residency requirements. Ratliff said many of the 130 or so non-resident employees work at the State Hospital at Evanston. "A lot of your psychiatrists, your higher paid people, are buying homes in Utah," Ratliff said. "That's wrong.

That's state money." Although the bill would give the employees time to relocate, Ratliff said he was unsure whether the proposal is legal because it would affect employees who were hired before residency was a are now "more confident" that the Ohio ruling doesn't apply to state AML projects. It may have been that federal Office of Surface Mining which alerted the states to possible implications "have really misconstrued" the ruling's narrow intent, he said. But, Beach added, private landowners still need "something in writing" to clearly show reclamation won't be taxed. Until either the IRS provides that assurance, or the law is changed, landowners will be undestandably reluctant to go ahead with reclamation projects, he said. "The unfortunate thing is that it puts the fear of God into people," Beach said.

Already, several nervous or "irate" landowners where AML projects are underway have called to inquire about the tax issue, he said. "So far, they're listening to reason," he said. But if the situation isn't cleared up landowner consent may be withdrawn and projects might have to be stopped, Beach said. deny jobs But he added that Wyoming must become like the State of Colorado which does not even consider job applicants who are not Colorado residents. Meanwhile, Rep.

Lynn Birlcffi, D-Laramie, has pre-filed a bill that would require only state employees to live in Wyoming. Entitled the "State Employee Residency Act," the bill would give non-resident state employees until Oct. 1, 1987 to relocate or forfeit their jobs. Birleffi said she wanted a limited bill that would not apply to UW SCOTT RATLIFF Employees taking unfair advantage "7 Li an employee to call the police, according to the suit. But when the police arrived they too assaulted Means, according to the suit.

"Upon arrival defendant Steve Roberts grabbed plaintiff from behind and choked him until plaintiff was unconscious. While defendant Steve Roberts held plaintiff, defendant Jay Ostrem struck him repeatedly and maliciously with a nightstick on plaintiff's shoulders, back and legs. "After forcing plaintiff to the pavement, defendant Steve Roberts placed his knee on the back of plaintiff's neck, grinding plaintiff's face into the pavement," the suit alleges. Means said the alleged police actions deprived him of his "right need for a special legislative session if revenues continue to decline. Arncy's bill also gives the governor the option of recommending an appropriation to the rainy day fund.

The law now makes the governor's recommendation binding. A companion bill sponsored by Arney would remove the governor's authority to cut budgets. Arney said that authority would not be needed if more money is left in the general fund. RF.X ARNF.Y Changing rainy day arrangement 1 1 rn i A and community college employees as Ratliff'sdoes. She also said residency of employees on public payrolls will be an issue in the 1987 legislative session.

An existing state law requires that state employees hired after June 30, 1986 become residents within 90 days or lose their jobs. Sen. Rex Arney, R-Sheridan, pre-filed a bill to end transfers of unspent general fund appropriations to the budget reserve account, also known as the rainy day fund. Arney said he always opposed creation of the rainy day fund on grounds it is an "artifical mechanism" and the transfers would draw down the general fund. "Well, that happened," Arney said.

He added that Gov. Ed Herschler took care of the problem in his May executive order cutting $62.7 million in general fund spending from state budgets. A total of $31.6 million was tranferred from the general fund to the rainy day fund on July 1, 1986 at the close of the biennium, compared to $67.7 million at the close of the 1983-84 budget period. Commenting that he doesn't expect a return of the "cushy" revenue years of the past, Arney said the excess money should be left in the general fund to minimize the.