Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 1

I -3 fir i CASPERP" Former TCU assistant talks with Moon Sports Cln Scnc 1 TtchnolojyCl hacoan culture 913 i WYOMIN G'S STATEWIDE NEWSPAPER 61D1 YtLLOwSTONc 1891 --p CHEYENNE WY i 2 On rpa o-n 9 .1 a tt Pipeline fraud charges eye Sexual harassment case against Wyo opens Ex-PSC employee charges bosses created hostile environment Sweetwater County Commission may launch probe Grynberg's charges seriously. Commission Chairman Carl Mal-donado said he will ask the commission today to consider contracting with Grynberg to pursue an investigation into natural gas pipeline companies doing business in the county. "We should get started at least on how we pursue this," Maldonado said. "We need to start getting some answers." Grynberg has made a very public second career out of suing pipeline companies in Colorado and other states, and he said emphatically that the same types of fraud he has seen in other states is occurring in Wyoming. State officials scoff at Grynberg's claims, but county gov ernments have been listening to his pitch intently.

Grynberg met with the executive board of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association last week. Though board member Tom Satterfield said the association has decided to wait to pursue any further official contact with Grynberg, he said Grynberg has made a credible case that abuses are occurring. Satterfield, the current Fremont County Commission chairman, said he was present at a January meeting where Grynberg made a pitch to Department of Revenue Director Johnnie Burton and other state officials asking them to join him in pursuing an investigation. Since that meeting state officials have By KERRY DRAKE Star-Tribune capital bureau CHEYENNE A former Wyoming Public Service Commission employee's federal sexual harassment suit against the state of Wyoming opened Monday with claims her bosses created a hostile work environment and denied her promotions. Sheryl Ellis based the majority of her case on alleged unwanted sexual acts committed against her by former PSC chairman Bil Tucker.

Tucker, who was originally named in the civil suit, settled with Ellis last month for an undisclosed amount. Ellis' attorney, Bernard Phe-lan, said she "endured a most demeaning assault upon her body, her mind and her emotions" by Tucker for nearly four years. Over the course of three hours Ellis described in detail her alleged sexual abuse by Tucker. But attorney Curtis Buch-hammer, representing the state, two current PSC commissioners and several staff members named in the suit, claimed Ellis willingly had an extramarital affair with Tucker between 1991 and 1995. "(Ellis) was, and perhaps still is, an opportunistic predator," he said.

"She will do everything it takes to get what she wants." Buchhammer said Tucker will not appear as a witness but his deposition will be read into the U.S. District Court record. In addition to charges of being forced by Tucker to engage in sex acts and phone sex, Ellis charged that he made her work on his wife's 1994 campaign for superintendent of public instruction. Phelan told the five-man, three-woman jury that during the first two years of her employment as a typist at the PSC beginning in 1989, Tucker frequently invaded her personal space and complimented her on her appearance. "He was grooming her for what was to come later," Phelan said.

The 33-year-old Ellis recalled that she rebuffed a sexual advance from Tucker, who was not Please see SUIT, A8 By CHRIS TOLLEFSON and KATHARINE COLLINS Star-Tribune staff writers Casper Star-Tribune, 1998 WASHINGTON A Denver oil and gas producer has accused natural gas companies in Sweetwater County of fraud, and he says the state isn't doing enough to investigate his claims. "Pipeline companies are ripping off producers, counties and the state," Jack Grynberg said, adding that state officials have shown no interest in investigating evidence he's shown them of systematic efforts to manipulate reports of gas production volumes. Sweetwater County Commissioners, however, are taking History Day A. i i 1 I lib. ri 1 I vYv Clinton raps tobacco Urges Congress to pass anti-smoking legislation P.

refused to participate, he noted. "The state has chosen to do nothing, and I'm really surprised about that," Satterfield said. "Even if he's only half right, we're talking about a lot of money." While Sweetwater County may give Grynberg a contingency contract to recover lost revenues in state court, Satterfield said Grynberg's demand for 40 percent of any judgement is too high for his county to accept. Grynberg has filed dozens of suits against pipeline companies in the last 15 years, and most recently filed suit in federal court under the False Claims Act against more than 60 natural gas pipelines in multiple states Please see FRAUD, A8 RICHARD ALAN HANNONStaf-Trtbuiw Henderson perform the story of four students represented the 'It's a whole new ball game we're going to have to form a position on, but we haven't had a lot of debate or discussion on it. It's a new enough concept that there doesn't seem to be any organized constituency either for or against it right PAM LICHTMAN.

SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE JACKSON HOLE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE of special interests, to act in the interest of the health of generations of our children." The legislation, proposed by Sen. John McCain, would codify a settlement reached last year between the tobacco industry and state attorneys general to help states recover the costs of treating smoking-related illnesses and help tobacco companies shield themselves from future lawsuits. But the McCain bill would cost cigarette makers an estimated $516 billion over 25 years, much more than the settlement would. Tobacco companies now oppose the McCain measure, saying the cost would be tens of billions of dollars higher than originally intended. The president decried the industry's reversal, saying the country has a responsibility to put a stop to "predatory practices by tobacco companies that Please see TOBACCO, A8 By SONYA ROSS Associated Press WASHINGTON Hoping to inject new energy into a sputtering bid for tobacco regulation, President Clinton urged lawmakers on Monday to abandon their doubts and pass strict anti-smoking legislation now.

"We must not let this opportunity slip away," he said. In a Rose Garden statement punctuated with criticisms of big tobacco, the president said the highest priority for lawmakers should be preventing an estimated 3,000 children from smoking this year not easing the economic impact regulation would have on cigarette manufacturers. "All these children have been targeted by a massive, multimillion-dollar media campaign that preys on their insecurities and their dreams," Clinton said. "We have an opportunity and an obligation now to put aside politics, to turn aside the pleas The grouch may charge the Star-Tribune a user fee. Cassie Lewallen, right, and classmates Marcus Davis, Stefanie Thompson, Tyler Legerski and Cody Jackie Robinson for judges during the 19th Annual National History Day in Casper on Monday.

The Holy Name School of Sheridan. See story and full list of winners on the Casper page. -'l LI MMIS ey they earn," the Cheyenne resident said. Lummis. 43, served in the Wyoming House for eight years and in the Senate for six years Please see LUMMIS, A8 President Clinton, meanwhile, issued an executive order permanently banning importation of 58 assault-style weapons modified to skirt 1994 restrictions on such firearms.

Supporters of each measure cited Jonesboro in stressing the urgency for action. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and Rep. Diana DeGefte. said the Ploiwe nee GUNS, A8 Lummis to run for state treasurer Former legislator will seek Republican nomination Agencies consider Wind River user fees 'A responsive investment policy can help to reduce the need for new taxes, allowing Wyoming families to keep more of the money they By KERRY DRAKE Star-Tribune capital bureau CHEYENNE Cynthia Lummis, a former state legislator, announced Monday she will seek the Republican nomination for state treasurer.

State Treasurer Stan Smith, a Republican who previously announced he will not seek a fifth term, joined Lummis at a press conference at the Frontier Days' Old West Museum. If elected, Lummis promised that she will assemble Wyoming's own investment experts to re- With reports JACKSON (AP) People heading to the Wind River Range in western Wyoming to camp or even just to hike for a day may have to pay user fees under a proposal from the federal agencies that manage land in the area. The managers of the Bridger-Teton and Shoshone national forests and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management hare asked the Forest Service's regional office in Ogden, Utah, for permission to charge fees. If approved in Ogden, the fee proposal could be subjected to public hearings and be in place by summer 1999.

Officials have not yet determined how much might be charged for an overnight stay, a parking permit or a season pass, said Eric Sandeno, the lead wilderness ranger for the Bridger Teton's Pinedale District He said officials hope to Plea nee FEES, A8 Index CALENDAR A2 CASPER AREA B4 CLASSIFIED C3 COMICS 04 CROSSWORD C6 LANDERS, BROMPTON A5 LETTERS A7 MARKETS A4 MOVIES A5 OBITUARIES B3 OPINION A6 SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY CI 2 SPORTS D13 WEATHER A2 WYOMING Bl Jonesboro spurs gun control legislation CYNTHIA view the shape and performance of the state investment plan. "A responsive investment policy can help to reduce the need for new taxes, allowing Wyoming families to keep more of the mon bush in Jonesboro, that left five dead, gun control advocates have introduced legislation that would close a loophole in the 1934 Crime Control Act and ban the sale of all ammunition clips of more than 10 rounds. Another bill would impose criminal penalties on adults who don't properly store or have safety locks on a firearm that a child uses to harm others. By JIM ABRAMS Associated Press WASHINGTON Gun control advocates are using the Arkansas school shooting to press a reluctant Republican Congress to take tip bills that would ban the sale of some ammunition clips and require safety locks on guns. Since the March 24 school am 6 Save money with national brand coupons in the Casper Star-Tribune.

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