THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018 108TH YEAR/ISSUE 08 NEBRASKA ZOO PLANS TO MAKE THE ORPHANED BROTHERS THE ‘HEART’ OF ITS FACILITY SCHOOL STAFF SURVEY ON FIREARMS IF A POLICY WERE APPROVED, WOULD YOU APPLY TO CONCEAL CARRY IN PARK 1? ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES Yes 20.94% (40) No 53.93% (103) Famed grizzly cubs Maybe 25.13% (48) find a new home TOTAL RESPONSES 191 BY MARK DAVIS AND CJ BAKER Tribune Staff ‘IT’S WAY TOO wo grizzly bear cubs — made famous by a local Tphotographer — are now drawing more attention as the stars of a Nebraska zoo. IMPORTANT Michelle Giltner captured a shot of the two cubs last spring, as they leaned on a guardrail along the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. When the Powell TO RUSH’ school teacher uploaded her shot to Facebook, it quickly became an online sensation. School board starts discussing In Giltner’s photograph, the bears look inquisitive — almost firearms policy, survey results as if they were out for a day of people-watching. But the truth BY TESSA BAKER publicly discussed the issue is the cubs were lost. On May 21, Tribune Features Editor since the Wyoming Legislature the day before Giltner snapped cleared the way for trained the young grizzlies’ picture, their f Powell schools were to al- school employees to carry con- mother had been shot and killed low trained staff to carry cealed firearms last year. by a Cody man. Iconcealed guns, 40 employ- Much of the meeting focused ees say they would apply, and on existing security measures, A CRIME another 48 say “maybe.” active shooter response train- William Kenneth Stoner — That’s according to a recent ing already underway in Powell also known as Kenneth Stone — Park County School District No. schools and the survey results. thought he had harvested a black 1 survey that drew responses Out of 634 responses from bear, federal prosecutors say. from roughly 190 the community, 446 But when the 57-year-old went to employees — more came from parents. register the bruin with the Wyo- than half of the dis- Curtis said the re- ming Game and Fish Department trict’s 350 staffers. sults only included in Cody, staff informed Stoner he “I was quite as- people who said had actually killed a grizzly bear, tounded by the re- they lived within which was protected under the sponses,” said Jay the boundaries of Endangered Species Act. Curtis, superinten- the Powell school Investigators with the Wyo- dent of the district. district. ming Game and Fish Depart- Surveys of the The vast major- ment, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Powell community, ity of parents — Service and the Bureau of Alco- parents and staff 74.6 percent — said hol Tobacco Firearms and Explo- showed that most re- GREG BORCHER having armed staff sives would ultimately determine spondents — rough- that receive annual that, not only had Stoner wrongly ly two out of three training would make killed the grizzly, prior felony — believe armed staff would school buildings safer. By com- convictions meant he was prohib- make school buildings safer. parison, 15.7 percent of parents ited from possessing the Savage But the school board isn’t said armed staff would make .270 caliber rifle he’d used to rushing into any decisions on a schools less safe, while 9.7 shoot the bear. weapons policy. percent said there would be no Stoner previously ran afoul “We will not be making any effect on school safety. of federal authorities in 1993. decisions tonight, as this is a Overall, nearly 67 percent That’s when the then-river guide Two orphaned grizzly bear cub brothers explore their new home at Riverside Discovery Center in discussion item at this point, of community members — in- and seven other men took it upon Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The cubs, whose mother was killed by a Cody man, were relocated to the zoo after and it’s way too important to cluding parents, students and themselves to reshape a narrow, becoming habituated to humans. Photo courtesy Irene North, Scottsbluff Star-Herald rush and make a decision one members of the general pub- treacherous section of Arizona’s way or another,” said Greg lic — and almost 64 percent Salt River by detonating a large legally hunt with weapons like a Borcher, chairman of the Pow- of school employees said they amount of explosives. Stoner — bow or antique, muzzle-loading ell school board, on Tuesday. believe armed staff would make who said he was trying to make guns, but state and federal laws If the board were to eventually schools more safe. the route safer for rafters — later prohibit them from possess- adopt a policy, one of the many “I found that interesting, fled the country ing modern fire- questions it would have to an- particularly in light of similar with fraudulently arms — such as swer is which staffers — and surveys done in other counties obtained money ‘I hope Scottsbluff the rifle used by how many — would be allowed around Wyoming that were and phony docu- adores them as Stoner. to carry a weapon. exactly opposite of that,” Curtis ments, prosecu- much as the people As part of a Tuesday’s regular meeting tors said at the deal with Wyo- marked the first time the board See Guns, Page 2 time. Authori- of Park County.’ ming’s U.S. At- ties eventually torney’s Office, nabbed him in Michelle Giltner Stoner pleaded Australia and Photographer guilty to a mis- filed additional demeanor count charges. of unlawfully taking a threatened Forecast: 2018 could be bad In 1997, Stoner was sentenced species (the female grizzly) and a to 42 months in prison, plus pro- felony count of possessing a fire- year for strong earthquakes bation, and ordered to pay more arm while a felon. than $260,000 in fines and resti- On Jan. 4, U.S. District Court BY MARK DAVIS The slowing, according to the tution for seven offenses, federal Judge Scott Skavdahl sentenced This photo of the two cubs leaning against a guardrail became an Tribune Staff Writer team, causes liquid magma court records say. Stoner to five years of supervised online sensation last spring. Michelle Giltner, a fifth-grade teacher at deep in the earth’s core to People with past felony convic- Southside Elementary School, captured the image during a class field wo regional scientists slosh and results in a higher tions generally remain able to See Bears, Page 7 trip on May 22. Photo courtesy Michelle Giltner who’ve forecast roughly number of devastating earth- Ttwice as many strong quakes. earthquakes this year are The researchers present- standing by their ed their findings work, but have during the annual stepped back from meeting of the Geo- Art proposal selected for NWC Yellowstone Building the limelight to logical Society of ease fears caused America in Seattle BY ILENE OLSON SCULPTURE TO BE INSTALLED THIS SPRING by sensationalized in October. The re- Tribune Staff Writer headlines. search is currently Dr. Rebecca undergoing peer fter being on hold for more Bendick, a geolo- review. than three years, plans for gist in the college Faced with sen- Aa sculpture outside the Yel- of Humanities and sational headlines lowstone Building at Northwest Sciences at the and skeptics in the College have changed, but are University of Mon- ROGER BILHAM scientific commu- moving forward. tana, and geologist nity, Bendick and Denver artist Jodie Cooper has Roger Bilham of the Univer- Bilham have been refusing been selected to create a sculp- sity of Colorado in Boulder interviews until that peer ture for the building, according are forecasting the incidenc- review has been completed. to a statement from the Wyoming es of magnitude 7.0 or greater The pair were aware that Arts Council. earthquakes to nearly double their work would strike a Through Wyoming’s Art in in rate from the average of nerve with the general public, Public Buildings program, Coo- 15 per year to between 25-30 but the stakes are too high per will create a two-part steel this year. to not try, Bendick told the plate sculpture that will be Bendick and Bilham’s fore- Washington Post in one of her installed outside in the grassy cast is based on their re- last interviews. area adjacent to the Yellowstone search of trends over the past Mike Poland, the scientist- Building. Titled “Infinite Pattern 118 years: While researching in-charge at the Yellowstone Esses,” the piece will be laser cut quakes, they noticed there Volcano Observatory has no with an organic pattern that will have been intervals of higher doubt the research has valid- create shadows on the building earthquake activity evenly ity. But he wants the differ- throughout the day, the state- spaced out since the turn of ence between forecasts and ment said. the 20th Century — corre- predictions to be clear. Over 22 feet in length and 10 sponding to the slowing of the “I think it’s important feet tall, the $39,000 sculpture A mosaic tile mural in Northwest College’s Yellowstone Building is one of two art projects paid for by earth’s rotation. About every to point out that we’re not Wyoming’s Art in Public places program. The second, a 10-foot by 22-foot laser-cut sculpture, will be five years, the earth’s rota- See Sculpture, Page 2 installed this spring. Tribune photo by Ilene Olson tion slows by milliseconds. See Earthquakes, Page 7 INSIDE ♦ NWC WRESTLERS WIN DUAL: PAGE 9 ♦ POWELL’S FLAG LADY: PAGE 13 PAGE 2 • POWELL TRIBUNE THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018 Guns: Public will get a chance to comment on issue Sculpture: Will cast shadows on building Continued from Page 1 that law enforcement would have with a threat.