Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 13

erStarTHbune Thursday, February 13, 2003 morning OBITUARIE B3 LEGISLATURE. B5 In Brief Elementary school closure discussed IRomstmi WD WW imports Police ID body found on border CHF.YENNE The woman whose body was found just ac ross the border in Colorado northeastern corner ol town and Spring Creek, a lew blocks south ol the University ol Wyoming campus Jenkins said the task force would also be encouraged to re-consider its decision to put oil the effective date of the closure to fall of 21 MM. instead ot losing school in the fall of this year. In any event. School Superintendent Charles Head said submit the volunteers to another three or four-hour meeting at which they would "sit in a large horseshoe" and cast their votes publicly.

Tuesday's meeting was the third held by the group The board received a financial report citing expended revenues of $31 million, down from $32.6 million. The report said drastic measures would be need ed to keep the district's finances in balance. The district has lost 900 students in the past six years. The other elementary schools in the city are LJnford, the only one in West Laramie; Indian Paintbrush, in the far lion sending the matter back to the task force for lurther consideration The volunteer group was asked to reach a decision in time for a public hearing to be held, probably on March followed by a special meeting of the board on March 10. Amy Jenkins, a member ol the board and tin- chairman of the task force, said she would press for a decision from the volunteer group by Feb.

28. She said the vote would be taken by e-mail and the votes of individual members would be kept confidential. Jenkins said it would be "cruel and unusual punishment" to from eac school, agreed at a lengthy meeting Tuesday that one school needed to be closed, but could not decide which one. The field for possible closure had been narrowed to Thayer and Beitel. which are in the southeastern part of town, and Slade.

in the northeastern sector near Laramie High School. Laramie has six traditional public elementary schools plus the newly formed Snowy Range Academy, which is a charter school within the public school distric but gov erned by Its own board of parents. The school board adopted by unanimous voice vote a mo- Task force must decide to close one Laramie school By W. DALE NELSON Star- ribune corresfx nd ill LARAMIE Faced with declining enrollments and revenue, the Albany County School District Board asked a reluctant task force Wednesday to decide which of Laramie's public elementary schools should be closed. The task force, composed of parents, teachers and principals last weekend has been identified as Shawny Smith.

32. of Cheyenne, police said. Smith's death is being investigated as a homicide. SMITH Federal budget ML ''MB tH ft if i "We need a decision by the fall of 2004 We i. nit wait any longer than that." "We do have to take some steps." Head said Jenkins said 24 ol the Please see LARAMIE, B2 Pomeroy to head jobs agency By BILL LUCKETT Star-Tribune capital bureau CHEYENNE Gov.

Dave Freudenthal on Wednesday announced his appointment of Cheyenne business woman Cindy Pomeroy as the new director ol th'' Wyoming Department of Employment Pomeroy. 54, a Democrat, has been president and general manager of general operations of First merican Title Co. of Laramie ounty since 19H7. and she served as president ol the Rockv Mountain Title Insurance Agency of Lincoln County from 1976 to 1984. Pomeroy will take over the 300-plus employee agency in either early March or upon confirmation by the state Senate.

The thing that's important in my mind with regard to the appointment ol Cindy to this Department of Employment Is that it again, is fundamentally a management job." Freudenthal said. "It is a job which requires somebody who has the rapacity to evaluate people and hire-good people and the capacity to delegate responsibility, hold people accountable and also stand behind them when they're in controversy Workers' compensation and unemployment insuranc are two programs where controversies sometimes arise, he said, and the discussion over the prevailing wage will also require some ol Pomeroy 's attention. The prevailing wage rati' is the average wage paid to employees who hold similar jobs. said understanding the various workers compensation issues will be among her lop priorities it serves three different Please see POMEROY, B2 TONI MEGEE Star-Tribune correspondent In this file photo, a mother cow stands on dry ground with her new calves. Drought aid appears intact according to Laramie County Sheriff Danny Click.

Anyone with information about Smith's whereabouts between Feb. 6 and Feb. 8 is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 307-633705 Smith's Ixxiy was found on Saturday about 2 miles south of the stateline. Click said. No arrests have been made.

Charge reduced in Farson death RCK'K SPRINGS Circuit Court Judge Samuel Soule has reduced a murder charge against a man accused of shooting his brother-in-law to death. Soule ruled Tuesday there is not enough evidence to support a first-degree murder charge against Allen A. Geer. of Farson. Soule reduced the charge to second-degree murder.

Prosecuting attorney Anthony Howard protested the ruling. He said that (ieer had to go from his living room to his l)edroom to retrieve the gun used in the sh Kiting and that was sufficient evidence of premeditation. Geer is charged with shooting Rolxrt Ryan Jr at I jeer's residence in Farson on Jan. 12. According to police.

Geer told investigators he shot Ryan in self-defense after Ryan tried to choke him during a fight. However, police said there were no signs of a physical altercation and (ieers wife, who was cooking in the kitchen, told investigators she had heard only some verbal threats by Ryan against Geer and did not see a physical fight. Two found guilty of fraud CHEYENNE A jury in federal court Wednesday found two Cheyenne residents guilty of defrauding at least 15 investors in five states of more than 1 million, according to a prepared statement from U.S. Attorney Matthew Mead Walter Navlor was convicted of conspiracy, money laundering, wire fraud, mail fraud, securities fraud, and interstate transportation to obtain monies by fraud. His assistant Sandee Dowlin was convicted of conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, and aiding and abetting.

U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson presided over the trial, which began Jan. 27. They were indicted in May 2(112. for running a purported self-liquidating kian" program which charged investors a fee of between and 15.000 that was said to yield a return on investment of 1 million between two weeks and 90 days NayloT created companies called Freship.

Provider and Dos Brisas Corp. to facilitate the self-liquidating loan program He mislead investors into believing he owned gold certificates worth 19 billion from a foundation in the Philippines, and that he owned patents worth million Naytor and Dowlin allegedly diverted 1337,169 of investors funds to themselves and spent 1115,000 on a property at 2614 Capital Ave. and spent The Senate-passed version ol the bill would unci the drought disaster aid by reducing the amount that all of the agencies receive A bill must be passed in identical form by the Senate and House and signed by the president to become a law and the Senate version had little sup port from either the House members or the Bush administration. House Republican leaders and administration officials insisted that assistance should be deducted from money provided in the farm bill It beCOlM apparent that it was not ai i eptable for it to come out of funds for tilings like educ ation social servk and transportation." Rehberg said "We t.iok it from a program that we lelt could withstand it Rehbert; added that in the future he (lease see DtOi B2 would limit the aid mostly to farmers who had lost a crop to drought or flood but were working on changes that would guarantee that a farmer with a bumper Crop would not receiv a payment While the issue of ho would receive money was still up in the air. an agreement was reached on where the money should come from.

Despite protests from some farm state senators, legislators agreed to take the $3 1 billion from a $73 5 billion (arm bill that Congress enacted last year. The concerns of farm state senators were blunt ed. became the money would come from I conservation program that is authorized in the farm bill, rather than the crop support- that the bill authorizes. Furthermore, the cuts would come from future funds tor the conservation program. Details still in the works By TED MONOSON Star-Tribune WuhklgtaB bureau WASHINGTON Montana Republicans Sen Conrad Burns and Rep.

Dennv Rehberg spent much of Wednesday in the middle of a congressional battle i ivei disaster assistance for farmers and ranchers Legislators made signific ant changes to a $3.1 billion agriculture aid proposal that is part of a larger spending bill They were still working out the linal details late Wednesday night. They had agreed to changes that Poacher fined nearly $15,000 Greens move to delay EIS decision i It pleas to the other barges. Mischke said Mischke said the case broke in December 2001 when the (iE received a tip from a local resident. "The ensuing investigation revealed Newman cruised Big Horn-area roads and shot the deer near dusk with a 220 Sw ift caliber ride, an illegal big-game caliber in Wyoming," Mischke said dell said the white-tailed deer included one buck with antlers having six points on one side and five on the other, two five-by-fives, and another having nontypical antlers shaped like "crab claws The mule deer had a five by-five rack The antlers will be used for educ ational purposes and possibly in "Stop Poaching" displays. Mischke said Jesse Newman was convicted in 1999 ol shooting a deer from a public road near Big Horn, he said Two other local men.

Cody Warnke. 19. and Justin Koltiska. 25. were implic ated in the latest poaching case and were previously sentenced animals.

These opportunities have been taken away from the citizens of this state Adell added Judge Simpson stated tins I the most aggravated wildlife crime he has seen in his more than 11 years of serv Newman will serve 2 12 years supervised proba tion after his release from jail He also had his hunting fishing and trapping privileges revoked for 24 years in Wyoming and 16 other states belonging to the Western States Wildlife Violator pact. Mischke said Mischke said Jesse Newman pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of violating Wyoming's "winter range statute." one for taking an antlered deer out of season and one for taking a oVer without a proper license He also pleaded guilty to two counts ol over-limit ol deer Additional charges ol tak ing deer without a proper license and over-limit tA deer in 2002 were dismissed by the Sheridan Countv Attorney's Office in exchange for his Also sentenced to 90 days in jail SHERIDAN (AP) Circuit Judge John Sampson sentenced a Big Horn man to 90 days in Mil aiter he pleaded guilty to poaching live trophy class deer, according to the Wyoming (iame and Fish Lepaiiment Jesse Newman. 20. was also ordered to pay $14,820 in fines said Warren Mischke information specialist with the GAF in Sheridan. Mischke said $7,500 of the fines will be placed in the Stop Poaching program Newman pleaded guilty to poaching four trophy-class white-tailed deer and one mule deer near Big Horn between 1999 and 2001.

Mischke said "This was a very serious crime Jesse Nevman stole wildlile from the people o( Wyoming Any one ol these deer would have been prized as a liietime hunting trophy said local wildlile invest i gator Scott Adefl "Many people enjoyed seeing these beautiful Records ol Decision that are expected to finalize each Els sometime in April "We want to make sure the people who Will be impacted by this development have I chance to comment on the new information revealed in the EIS said Cimpbfll County rancher Nancy Sorenson. PRBRC hair woman The BLM Buffalo Field Of he and heyenne office didn't respond to inquiries on the matter Wednesday Together, the EISs would al low more than 60.000 ne roaibed methane gas wells and related equipment to be established in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana Development on the Wyoming side of the basin would allow the most development 19,000 new wells BLM o(fi es in Wyoming and Montana released sepaM'- nal I ISs in January, and a 30-dav public protest" period ends 'ii 'e-sdav in Wyoming PRHR( staff member Jill Please GREENS B2 Bv DiSIIV BI.IIT.lliK Star-Tribune eneri refxirler GILLETTE Four environmental groups have laid the groundwork lor a possible protest of the final Environ mental Impact Statements in Wyoming and Montana for federal coal bed methane gas development The Wyoming Outdoor Council. Powder River Basin Resource (ouncii. Northern Plains Resource Council and Natural Resources Delense Council claim the final EISs contain 650 pages of air and water quality analysis that was not included (or public review in the draft versions In a joint letter smt to the Bureau ol Land Management on Tuesday the groups lor malty asked the BLM to present the additional information in a supplemental oVk umen which would require that the BLM conduct another public comment period of 60 days or more Preparing a supplemental document would also dHav M3.127 cm a 1999 Lincoln Navigator (-rwor Nadia Whit For nftrtation. question arid nmmen about this page.

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