Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 3

Managing Editor Ron Gullberg can be reached at (307) 266-0560, 1-800-559-0583 or ron.gullbergtrib.com A3 Gay pride flag focus of dispute 0 Tuesday, January 29, 2013 In bris? FROM STAFF WIRE REPORTS ljLmS vtS mOVhiihiUm Cynthia Lummis wfll serve on three subcommittees of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee. The committee has released subcommittee assignments for the 113th Congress. Wyoming's lone con-gresswoman will serve on the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, the Public Lands and Environment Regulation Subcommittee, and the Water and Power Subcommittee. Lummis says the subcommittees have an enormous influence on Wyoming and she's eager to work on issues important to the state.

He said be brought the gay pride flag along to the photo shoot to add some color to an otherwise dreary mid-fall background, not to make a political statement. "It shows part of me," he said. "It's like anything else, really. It could be a bracelet, or a rosary. It just describes you." Worland High School Principal Randy Durr said he denie'd the photo because he thought it violated the school's policy to refrain from taking stances on anything controversial.

"Kids like to express their opinions in many different ways," Durr said. "We're concerned about political, controversial and debatable items. We're trying, as a school, to not get into that." By UAH TODD Star-Tribune staff Matt Jolley never wanted to make a scene. The Worland High School senior submitted a yearbook photo his mom had snapped and he, a budding photographer, had edited. But first the yearbook staff, then the principal, then the district superintendent were uneasy about the rainbow flag Jolley held in his right hand.

School officials called the photo "too political," Jolley said, and told the openly gay high school senior he would have to pay for the photo as an advertisement if he wanted it in the yearbook. "It has turned political, when I reaDy, truly didn't want it to be," Jolley said Monday evening. Worland High School senior Matt Jolley, above, holds a gay pride flag in his proposed yearbook photo taken last fall. Washakie County school officials have Please see FLAG, A4 I I 5 -r ruiiniwiirj IH' Bighorn carries bug linked to pneumonia JACKSON Biologists think there's a risk of another pneumonia outbreak developing among Jackson Hole's bighorn sheep herd. Ten of 14 sheep darted earlier this month tested positive for a bacteria linked to bighorn die-offs intheWest.

Biologists took samples from the animals because of a high death rate among radio-collared sheep. Six of the 20 tracked sheep have died since the summer. The tests of the darted sheep did yield some good news. Game and Fish wildlife biologist Doug Brimeyer said none of the 14 had a more dangerous pathogen and all had good fat reserves. The area's bighorn sheep herd was cut in half by a pneumonia outbreak in 2002 and the population took years to recover.

UMMcatinM-mwK A customer walks past a 1978 Chevy Corvette in the White's Mountain Motors service department on Monday in Casper. The car will be raffled Saturday along with other large prizes to support the Boys Girls Clubs of Central For a good cause Boys Girls Club fundraiser raffles hot car, dream trips "We have a single father who recently lost his job, and he relies on our program to regularly feed his kids," Bright said. "Our food is available to parents and family members who are struggling, as well as the A 1978 Chevy Corvette limited edition Indianapolis 500 pace car will be raffled on Saturday night and proceeds from the car raffle go directly to the food program. Tickets are limited to 30 and are $2,000 each. "An All American Evening" on Saturday at the Casper Events Center will feature silent and live auctions, dinner at 6:30 p.m., and pre- and post -dinner music by Rob Staffig.

Doors open at 5 p.m. A new, exciting raffle includes four "Dream Theme" packages valued between $2,000 and $4,000 each. Raffle tickets for these packages are $100 each or $250 for three. You wfll pick which dream theme you'd like to win. Themes include "Children's Dream," Please see RAFFLE, A4 By SALLY ANN SHURMUR Star-Tribune staff writer If you have not yet reserved your tickets for Saturday's Reverse Raffle and Auction to benefit the Boys Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming, there are some circumstances you might want to consider.

The clubs greater Casper, Paradise Valley, Mills, Evansville, Verda James and Glenrock have served 140,000 free snacks and meals, lunches in the summer, and breakfasts to Roosevelt High School students in the past year, according to chief professional officer Ashley Bright. "We have seen a big increase in the teen population eating meals due to the Dick and Lynne Cheney Cowboy Ethics Club," Bright said. The teen-focused expansion at the main club was completed in20l2. And Bright said it's not just the club members ages 6 to 18 who are able to eat there. Biologists study gray owl numbers JACKSON -Avian biologists are assessing the population of the great gray owl in Jackson Hole.

The study is being done in anticipation of a wildfire-reduction project that will fell dead trees and influence habitat on the west side of the valley. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is helping with the study, which will fit up to a dozen of the large raptors with transmitters. Officials say it's the first time since 1985 the Jackson Hole great gray population has been subject to a study. Personnel discussions top Commission agenda The Natrona County Commission will meet Tuesday to discuss filling an accounting position in the Treasurer's Office that has been vacant since early January. A certified public accountant left the office Jan.

according to Natrona County Commission Chair-man Bffl McDowell Under the county's current hiring freeze, the commission has instructed all county departments to make do with limited staff rather than hire to fill vacancies as they arise. In cases of essential employees, department beads must petition the commission for permission to rehire. The work session will begin at 4 pin. in Room 115 of the Natrona County Courthouse withaprivate' executive session to discuu additional personnel matters, according to the group's agenda. uncz Council approves land purchase for potential conference center 2 skiers die in separate avalanches By KELLY BYER Star-Tribune staff writer The Casper City Council on Monday approved the purchase of a vacant lot for a potential conference center in a 5-4 vote.

Mixed enthusiasm for a project as large as the conference center was described by City Manager John Patterson as the "worst case for a city manager." He emphasized the need for a unanimous or nearly unanimous decision because of challenges that could occur with any development project. Patterson offered to create a private sector model that may decrease the need for public funds but not necessarily be located downtown, which consultants have touted as necessary. The council split 5-4 again, with the majority preferring to stay the course. "Let's play this out and see if ft comes together," Councilman Paul Bertoglio said. Councilman Charlie Powell said he wants to follow consultant recommenda tions for a downtown location.

He said a site would allow thecity to request propos -als from interested hoteliers, which would provide a more detailed view of the costs. "Until we get to that point we have no idea, really, what we're looking at," Powell said Councilmen Keith Goodenough, Daniel Sandoval, Craig Hedquist and Stephen Cathey voted against the purchase, citing concerns about meeting contract deadlines and a lack of information regarding definite costs. "There's some very fine lines with public money being involved," Cathey said. Three people also spoke in opposition to the purchase Monday night, expressing concern about a rushed decision and lack of information. The council in August made a $15,000 down payment to Arlene LLC, operated by the Goodstein family, for the exclusive right to purchase the property until Jan.

Please see COUNCIL, A4 3 By TheAssociated Press BONDURANT Two backcountry skiers were killed in separate avalanches in western Wyoming on Sunday, the first, two people to die in slides this winter. Elizabeth "Liza" Gray Benson, 28, of Jackson, died after being caught in a small slide west of Bondurant and hitting a tree, the Sublette County sheriff's office said. Longtime Grand Teton National Park seasonal employee Nick Gillespie, 30, of Jackson, was also caught in an avalanche around 5p.m. Sunday on the southeast face of Survey Peak and died of injuries from the slide, park officials said Monday. Crews were working Monday to recover their bodies.

1 Benson was skiing with four other people, including a doctor, in the area near Cliff and Cabin creeks, according to the sheriff's office. The skiers called for help but during the call the doctor Please see.