Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 13

INSIDE WYOMING Weather Obituaries B6 B3 WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005 State editor Chad Baldwin can be reached at (307) 266-0583, (800) 5590583 or SECTION IN BRIEF FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS Campbell County approves tax percent. That means sales tax on a $100 purchase will jump from $5 to $5.25. Cam-plex officials estimate it would take four to five years for the percent tax to generate $22 million. Then the tax would go away. Cam-plex currently consists of several multi-use pavilions, an outdoor grandstand and arena, a performing arts center, convention center and several RV campgrounds.

Cam-plex is again scheduled to host the National High School Finals Rodeo this summer, as well as the "RVing Women" RV rally. To see diagrams of the multievents center, go to www.friendsofcamplex.com. Lusk woman dies in house fire A Lusk woman died Sunday from smoke inhalation after she re-entered her burning house for unknown reasons, according to the Niobrara County coroner's office. Jane J. "Jennie" Lenz, 74, tried to fight the midday fire with her neighbors before the Lusk Volunteer Fire Department came to help.

According to officials, fireplace ashes set outside to cool reignited, eventually engulfing the rear and side of the house. Funeral services will be held at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Lusk at 10:30 a.m. Friday. Jury convicts man in meth case CHEYENNE A 12-member jury last week convicted a Mexican national of distributing more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine on the Wind River Indian Reservation, in Riverton, Lander and Pavillion and in the area of Ogden, Utah.

One hundred pounds of methamphetamine has a street value of between $4.5 million and $6.8 million, according to a news release from Wyoming U.S. Attorney Matthew Mead. Following a four-day trial, Jesus Martin Sagaste-Cruz, 39, of Guamuchil, Sinalou, Mexico, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson presided over the trial.

Sagaste-Cruz is scheduled to be sentenced July 6. He faces a mandatory minimum term of 20 years to a maximum term of life in federal prison, a fine of up to $8 million, and 10 years of supervised release. Two other Mexican nationals, a Utah man and eight Fremont County residents were also charged in the case. They all pleaded guilty to conspiracy and distribution charges. Cowley man replaces Northrup in Senate LOVELL A Cowley man was chosen Monday to replace a late Powell lawmaker who defeated him three years ago.

Former Big Horn County Commissioner and Rural Development Council member Ray Peterson was selected to replace Laness Northrup in the state Senate. Peterson emerged in a vote by Park and Big Horn county commissioners. His name, along with former state Rep. Sylvia Gams of Cowley and newspaper publisher Dave Bonner of Powell, was submitted last month by Republican Party officials from Big Horn and Park counties. Northrup died April 5 of complications from lung cancer after having served in the Statehouse since January 2003.

Because he was a Republican, his party was allowed to offer three nominees for his replacement. Peterson calls himself a "progressive conservative" and said his goals include helping local governments with funding. Peterson, who will serve through the end of 2006, lost to Northrup in the 2002 GOP primary. GILLETTE Campbell County voters approved a quarter-percent capital facilities tax for a new $22 multi-events center to be constructed at Cam-plex. Voters approved of the measure by 54 percent, or 3,363 for and 2,864 against the tax.

The 135,000 square foot "multievents" center will consist of three main arenas on one level and surround seating on a second, open level. It will be the biggest floorspace events center in the state. Sales tax in Campbell County will jump from 5 percent to 5.25 Case could go to Wyo high court Federal judges say state gambling laws need clarification By JON SARCHE Associated Press writer DENVER Federal appealscourt judges considering an Indian gambling case said Tuesday that Wyoming's gambling laws are so vague and confusing they might have to ask the state's Supreme Court for clarification. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is trying to decide whether gambling could be allowed on central Wyoming's Wind River Indian Reservation.

A three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled in November that federal law requires Wyoming to negotiate with the Northern Arapaho tribe on rules under which a casino would operate. Wyoming Attorney General Pat Crank was granted a rehearing before the full appeals court after he argued the panel misinterpreted state law. He said if the decision stands, the state would be forced to accept forms of gambling on the reservation that are illegal everywhere else in Wyoming, The confusion stems from a provision of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which allows tribes to engage in the same types of gambling that the state allows for other groups. Several judges said Wyoming's law was so tangled they couldn't determine what is allowed and what is illegal. Crank said the law prohibits "professional gambling," which is defined as when the house keeps part of the betting or when one party in the game has better odds of winning than others.

But the law specifically allows pari-mutuel and calcutta bet- Bug buffet TONI correspondent A male woodpecker finds bugs to eat in a dead tree stump near Sheridan recently. Forest Service honors fire spotters Lookouts, smokechasers have played big roles over the years By BRODIE FARQUHAR Star-Tribune correspondent LANDER After Gen. Jimmy Doolittle led his B-25 bombers in a sneak attack over Japan in 1942, the Japanese responded with several attacks on the West Coast of the United States. Wyoming's 115th Cavalry was assigned to patrol the coasts of Washington and Oregon to protect inland forests from Japanese incendiary balloon bombs. The Japanese military released 9,300 balloon bombs into the jet stream that ran west to east.

The intent by Japan was to kill people, destroy buildings and start forest fires. One fire bomb was spotted over Thermopolis, while others were spotted in Oregon, Wash- ting, and other forms of nonprofessional gambling as long as devices are not used and they are part of a social relationship among the players. "What about casino night at a family reunion?" asked Judge Robert Henry. Judge Mary Beck Briscoe said the state's law could be read to make a deck of cards an illegal gambling device. "We're all flailing away," said Judge David Ebel.

"Isn't this just absolutely the poster child for a state to decide what its own policy is?" Both Crank and the tribe's attorney, Andrew Baldwin, said they would support a ruling sending the case to Wyoming's Supreme Court for clarification of the state gambling laws. The judges did not say when they might rule. In 2000, the tribe asked the state to begin negotiating a compact to allow gambling on the reservation. After the negotiations failed, a federal judge in February 2002 ordered a new round of talks aimed at allowing only pari-mutuel betting, or betting on horse and dog races, and calcutta betting, similar to pari-mutuel betting dealing with other types of sports events. The judge ruled the state had negotiated in bad faith by refusing to discuss the possibility of allowing calcutta and pari-mutuel betting.

Both sides appealed. The tribe argued the judge improperly limited what forms of gambling could be allowed, and the state said it had negotiated in good faith. In the meantime, a court-ordered mediator sided with the tribe on allowing numerous types of casinostyle gambling. That plan is pending before the Interior Department. WyDOT places 98 memorials Roadside marker program reaches two years By BILL LUCKETT Star-Tribune capital bureau with staff reports CHEYENNE Ginger Shutt's son, Terrance "T.J." Gilligan, crash south of Cheyenne in 2001.

Shutt later visited the crash site to put flowers to mark the spot, and that when she realized that she was putting herself in a dangerous situation. "To me, you're liable to lose another loved one putting flowers and roadside memorials," she said. The Wyoming Department of Transportation feels the same way, which is why the agency developed a policy for roadside memorials two years ago. "The biggest thing that we want to put out is we're just concerned about people parking on the shoulder of the highway," WyDOT spokeswoman Lisa Murphy said. "We don't want anyone to get From 2000 to 2004, 11 people were killed and 177 injured in crashes involving vehicles parked beside Wyoming roads outside urban areas, according to WyDOT statistics.

Since the roadside memorial program began, 98 signs have been sanctioned and placed along Wyoming's highways to remember crash victims, including at least one memorial in each county. The most signs, 15, are in Laramie County, followed counties, with nine each. Twenty requests have crashes that the signs Please see 23-year-old granddied in a head-on DEPARTMENT OF This is an example of the memorial markers the Wyoming Department of Transportation developed two years ago that the agency places at fatal crash sites to remember crash victims. by Albany and Fremont Eight requests are pending. been denied because the would commemorate MEMORIAL.

B2 Ag board wants less cheatgrass Panel presses for seed allowance reduction ington and as far away as the outskirts of Detroit. But only 237 were ever spotted or recovered in the United States. "I saw a lot of fog," said Lou George, who patrolled motorcycle up and down the Northwest coast as one of Wyoming's mechanized troopers with the 115th. He worked with the smokechasers, smokejumpers and lookouts of the region to suppress the threat posed by Japan's balloon bombs. "It was a cooperative relation formed with the Wyoming National Guard that continues today in our modern firefighting efforts," said Forester Karl Brauneis of the U.S.

Forest Service's Washakie Ranger District. The district honored fire lookouts and smokechasers on Tuesday, covering a span of almost 70 years of service. Wyoming's 115th cavalrymen and Civilian Conservation Corps members were senior among the honorees. "The celebration is designed Please see FIRE, B2 By BILL LUCKETT Star-Tribune capital bureau CHEYENNE Grass seed sold in Wyoming would have no more than 0.5 percent cheatgrass seed under a proposed standard the Wyoming Board of Agriculture favors. The current standard in state law is 2 percent.

The ag board adopted a resolution recently calling for the new, purer standard, although the board is unsure whether it has the legal authority to set a new standard with that resolution. The board plans to pass the resolution on to the attorney general's office for review. "If approved by the attorney general, a resolution adopted by the board would limit cheatgrass to 1,250 seeds per pound in seed sold in Wyoming. This would represent a drop from the 5,000 seeds per pound now allowed by state law," said Paul Meiman, a University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service range specialist who is stationed in Lander. Cheatgrass, or downy brome, was introduced from Eurasia in packing material, and it is now widely distributed throughout North America.

It competes with more desirable perennial grasses for moisture because of its winter and early spring growth habit. "After maturity, it becomes a nuisance and a fire hazard. It is also a common crop seed contaminant and is very difficult to separate from grass seed," according to the book Weeds of the West. The Wyoming Section of the Society for Range Management, the Wyoming Crop Improvement Association and the Wyoming Weed and Pest Council jointly convinced the board to pass the resolution, said Meiman, who serves on the information and education committee of the Wyoming SRM. If the attorney general's office finds that the board doesn't have authority to set a new seed purity standard, the groups plan to take their case to the Legislature, said Richard Dunne, president-elect of the Wyoming SRM.

Attorney General Pat Crank was out of town and could not be reached for comment Monday or Tuesday. Dunne said existing law appears Please see CHEATGRASS, B2.