TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019 109TH YEAR/ISSUE 08 GUN-FREE ZONE REPEAL DEALT BLOW IN SENATE Kost casts key vote against proposal BY CJ BAKER, Powell Tribune AND RAMSEY SCOTT, Wyoming Tribune Eagle bill to repeal gun-free zones created by schools and local governments was killed Aby a state Senate committee on Wednesday, though an identical measure remains pending in the House. Senate File 75 and House Bill 183 would gener- ally allow people to carry concealed weapons at Josh Pomeroy of Blue Ribbon Tree Services rakes up branches and other debris as his crew works to remove some trees along Absaroka Street Monday schools, colleges, government meetings and ath- morning. Traffic will be disrupted along the busy street over the coming week as more than a dozen trees are removed to prepare for street work and widening. letic events — places where firearms are currently Tribune photo by Mark Davis prohibited. People would still be barred from carrying guns in law enforcement facilities, courtrooms, bars and any pri- vate property where firearms Trees begin coming down along are prohibited. Senate File 75 failed on a 2-3 vote in the Senate Judi- ciary Committee, with Sen. R.J. Kost, R-Powell, join- Absaroka Street for widening ing with Sens. Michael Von Flatern, R-Gillette, and Liisa More than a dozen trees lining Ribbon Tree Service is the contrac- currently, it can be a tight squeeze of December and it will end April 1.) R.J. KOST Anselmi-Dalton, D-Rock Absaroka Street are being taken tor for the removals. for passing vehicles when there are City of Powell officials plan to host Springs, in opposition to the down this week and next, in prepara- A project engineer said last year cars parked on the heavily used a public meeting on the Absaroka measure. Sens. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, and tion for the street’s expansion and that the city will plant new trees to route. Street project on March 11, starting Brian Boner, R-Douglas, supported the bill. overhaul. replace the old ones “as soon as pos- Some utility work will also take at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. It follows Kost said in a later Facebook post that he strong- Starting Monday morning and sible.” place between First and Third a well-attended gathering last year ly feels that decisions about where to allow fire- continuing for roughly a week, the The work is part of a $4.25 million streets. and “will be the final one before they arms should continue to be made at the local level. road may be closed in spots to al- project that will widen Absaroka Park County voters approved the start the actual construction,” Powell “Even though the vote would indicate the deci- low crews to take out some trees Street between Third and Seventh project in November 2016, when City Administrator Zane Logan told sion favored my thoughts I did not feel like I ‘won’ between Third and Seventh streets. streets and rebuild and upgrade the they passed a $13.68 million specific the council last week. anything,” the freshman lawmaker added, “be- The road will reopen during evening water lines, storm drains, curb, gut- purpose sales tax that includes other The entire Absaroka Street project cause there are those who have very strong feel- hours. Some 16 to 18 trees will be ter, sidewalks and lighting. When projects around the county. (The is set to wrap up by January 2020. ings supporting the bill and there are those who removed, Powell City Councilman finished, the street will include two extra 1 percent tax had raised more have very strong feelings against the bill. I knew Floyd Young said last week; Blue 12-foot lanes with room for parking; than $12.67 million through the end — CJ Baker going into this meeting that no matter which way I went there would be people upset with my decision but the decision I made was for the local control and not for the state to mandate.” Some local conservatives reacted with dismay. Ban on handheld devices brought no citations in first year Dona Becker of Powell, a precinct committee- woman within the Park County Republican Party, BY CJ BAKER indicates that officers handed out while on their cellphone, “it’s “And they hadn’t realized how said Kost took an oath to defend the Constitution, Tribune Editor 50 warnings for using a handheld probably not going to draw [an much they were on their phone not local control. device — an average officer’s] attention until they couldn’t use their “The [Second] Amendment is still the preemi- ne year after the City of of about one a week when they’re running phone.” nent law of the land and you swore before God to Powell prohibited driv- — while issuing no ‘... hopefully it’s from call to call to Mangold said one of his co- uphold it, which you did not do,” Becker wrote in Oers from using handheld citations in 2018, the making Powell a call,” Eckerdt said. workers now “takes her phone response to Kost’s post. “What good is an oath if devices, it’s hard to pinpoint the ban’s inaugural year. Still, Eckerdt is and puts it in the cupholder right our elected politicians don’t abide by it? What good ban’s exact impact. Powell Police Chief little safer.’ certain the ordinance when she gets back into town.” is an election when an elected official doesn’t fol- “I’m still seeing people still not Roy Eckerdt suggest- has made a differ- “And it’s even taught me ...,” he low their party platform?” using their turn signal because ed the relatively low Scott Mangold ence. added. “I’ve heard the text pop in Kost responded that the Second Amendment they’ve got a cellphone up to numbers stemmed in City councilman While some people on my phone and I reach for it and is not unlimited. He pointed to a 2008 decision their ear,” said City Councilman part from the depart- have told the chief I went, ‘Nope, I can’t do that.’” from the U.S. Supreme Court — written by the Scott Mangold. “But I think it has ment spending much of the year they still see drivers on their Texting while driving has been late Justice Antonin Scalia — that tacitly affirmed changed some people’s driving short-staffed. phone, others “have talked about illegal across the entire state habits.” Unless a driver is, say, swerv- how they’re making a conscious See Gun-free, Page 2 Powell Police Department data ing or blowing through a stop sign effort to make a change,” he said. See Ban, Page 2 Enjoying the fruits of their labor BY MARK DAVIS to the health of streams, rivers TEAM ATTACKS THE ICE TO SAY HELLO TO A FEW OLD FRIENDS Tribune Staff Writer and lakes across the state. And all came to Lower Sunshine rriving at the foothills of for a chance of catching one of the Absaroka Mountain four trout species they stocked ARange before sunrise, there: Yellowstone cutthroat, four fishermen braved below- lake, tiger (a sterile hybrid of freezing temps to try their brown and brook trout) and luck on the hard water. Work- splake (a hybrid of brown and ing hard for ev- lake trout). ery fish harvested, The three don’t they stayed on the ‘Our job is commute to work; lake until a sunset they live at their storm pushed them to provide respective hatch- on their way. these angling eries to be on hand But the hard in case of emergen- work started long opportunities cies. Spending long before the group and it’s good for hours raising and planned its Thurs- us to come out delivering trout day trip to Upper across the state, and Lower Sun- and enjoy those each year they shine reservoirs. opportunities deliver more than Because for every 100,000 trout to the fish they pulled as well.’ twin Sunshine res- through holes in ervoirs alone. On the 2-foot-thick ice, Greg Lehr Thursday, the crew they had helped Game and Fish came to southern put tens if not hun- Park County to dreds of thousands of trout into say hello to a few of their old the two popular fisheries west friends on their day off. They of Meeteetse. called up Carl Yorgason — a Two of the anglers, Bart local landowner and entrepre- Burningham and Greg Lehr, neur with 65 years of business work at the Wyoming Game experience in Wyoming — to and Fish department’s state-of- join them in the fun. the-art Ten Sleep Fish Hatch- “We put a ton of fish in here ery in the Bighorn Mountains. over the years. For me it’s Hunter Burningham, Bart’s rewarding to come down here son, is a fish culturist at the and fish for them,” said Bart Wigwam Rearing Station, a few Burningham. “You can catch a Hunter Burningham, fish culturist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, patiently waits for a bite while clouds move on the Lower miles down the road. All care bunch of different kinds of trout Sunshine Reservoir Thursday afternoon. He and other Game and Fish hatchery employees used their day off to enjoy the fruits of their labor. for brood stock and oversee the Tribune photo by Mark Davis spawning of species invaluable See Fish, Page 8 LAST WEEK’S LOTTA NUMBER BELONGED LOTTA NUMBER - 4937 01/22/2020 TO SUE SIRONEN OF CODY WHO MISSED $20.