The Star Valley Independent is part of the Wyoming News Exchange. These stories courtesy of the WNE.

Protests over Yellowstone bison culling continue

CODY (WNE) — Protests over the winter bison culling at Yellowstone National Park have continued along with more arrests.
Two more protestors were taken into custody last Friday morning by National Park Service officials after they blocked the access road to the Stephens Creek holding pens where bison are fenced in after capture, NPS officials announced.
The two people brought their own barrels and chained themselves to the containers. The protestors were discovered before 7 a.m.
Since January there have been several incidents at the fenced-in enclosure in response to the annual program that manages the Park herd.
At least 600 bison have been slaughtered this winter as part of the goal of reducing herd size to less than 4,000.
Once in January and once in February vandals either cut through the fence to release bison or opened a gate.
More recently, other protestors have chained themselves to the Stephens Creek fencing. A third person was arrested for illegally entering a different bison pen.
All three of those people were arrested, spent several days in jail, were fined and put on probation, as well as being expelled from the Park for five years.
A Park Service statement about Friday’s case indicated “operations at the facility were not disrupted.”

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Powell schools move to 4.5-day week

POWELL (WNE) — With widespread support from educators and parents, the Powell school district is moving to a 4.5-day school week, starting in August.
A recent survey showed 88 percent of community members and staff favored early release Fridays.
To have that much support for an initiative “is almost unheard of,” said Jay Curtis, superintendent of Park County School District No. 1.
“To get that many people to agree on anything is pretty amazing,” he said. “I just think it’s right for Powell.”
The Powell school board unanimously approved adopting a 4.5 day calendar at its meeting last week.
Under the current schedule, students get out early on 12 Wednesdays throughout the school year; staff members use that time for professional development.
With the new schedule, students will start school a little earlier and get out a little later on Mondays through Thursdays.
While students will get out early every Friday, school employees will spend 18 of those Friday afternoons on professional development.
All told, the new schedule allows for six additional half-days of professional development.
The schedule change came after an earlier survey about the calendar showed many parents and teachers wanted to examine a 4.5-day school week.
Attendance data shows a lot of Powell High School students miss Fridays for sports and other activities.
For example, 125 PHS students missed more than an hour on a Friday last September while only 25 students did so that Wednesday. By moving the early-release day to Fridays, every Wednesday can be a full day of instruction, when students are more likely to be at school.

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Man to change plea in wife’s death

CODY (WNE) — A Powell man charged with second degree murder is scheduled to have a change of plea and sentencing hearing at 10 a.m., May 22 in District Court.
David E. Williamson was charged after his wife Shirley Williamson was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head last summer in the house the couple had shared for decades.
If the hearing goes through, it will be Williamson’s first court appearance since he entered a not guilty plea at his December arraignment on the murder charge. Murder in the second degree carries 20 years to life in prison.
Since the December hearing, Park County deputy prosecutor Leda Pojman and Williamson’s public defender Tim Blatt have sought a negotiated settlement. Blatt indicated as early as Oct. 2 he was seeking a plea deal for his client.
It’s unclear whether Williamson is slated to plead to second degree murder or to a lesser crime such as manslaughter. Manslaughter is a felony carrying up to 20 years in prison.
Williamson was arrested in the early morning hours of Aug. 26 at the doorstep of the house where his wife was found dead.
He had called the police on himself, charging documents allege, and when responding Park County Sheriff’s Office investigator Phil Johnson arrived, Williamson reportedly told him “I’m the one that killed her.”
In the room where her body was found, a Glock,  the Bersa .380 whose slug killed her and a third gun were recovered, police say.
David is alleged to have told police Shirley pointed the Glock at him, pulled the trigger, and that when the chamber clicked empty, she begged David to kill her. He shot her.

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Horse illness postpones Sheridan team roping school

SHERIDAN (WNE) — A confirmed case of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV1) Myeloencephalopathy in Sheridan County postponed Bob Harris’ Team Roping School at Sheridan College’s Agripark.
EHV1 is a common Rhinopneumonitis virus, which can cause mild respiratory symptoms and in some cases neurological symptoms.
Director of college services Zane Garstad and his group originally had the team roping scheduled for this past weekend, but after much deliberation, they elected to push the team roping school back for the weekend of April 21.
“We are not in panic mode,” Garstad said. “We’re just being proactive in our approach.”
The affected horse in Sheridan County began showing neurological signs of EHV1 last weekend at a rodeo event in Gillette.
That same horse competed in rodeo competitions in Casper and Cheyenne earlier this month as well.
The Wyoming Livestock Board urges anyone who had a horse or horses that may have come in contact with the infected one to monitor their horse closely. The best way to do that is to check the horse’s temperature at least twice daily — affected horses will have an elevated temperature — and if the horse is showing neurological symptoms, the owner should contact his or her veterinarian.
Initially, Gartsad and his staff were going to hold the team roping school with the stipulation that participants have a recent certificate from a veterinarian indicating no EHV1 symptoms in their horses.
However, with the case of EHV1 not getting confirmed until Wednesday, that gave participants little time to get their horse evaluated.
“It’s kind of inconvenient,” Garstad said. “… And because it was such short notice, we told the people that we’re going to postpone the team roping.”

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Wyoming this Weekend, March 23-25 – From the Wyoming News Exchange

(WNE) — Snowmobilers trying to tackle a 1,500-foot vertical rise will be the top draw in Jackson this weekend.
Snow King will host the 42nd Annual World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb through Sunday, with snowmobilers from around the country challenging the mountain.
Displays at the base of the mountain will feature the latest snowmobile gear and technology.
Other events scheduled this weekend around Wyoming this weekend include:
The Ceili at the Roundhouse Celtic Festival in Evanston on Friday and Saturday;
An exhibit of works by Russian-born artist Gennady Spirin at the Brinton Museum in Big Horn;
The third annual International Women’s Celebration, titled “Poetics and Peace: Artists and Friends of the Wind River,” Friday at Central Wyoming College in Riverton;
The Wrangler Team Roping Championships at Gillette’s Cam-Plex Friday through Sunday;
A concert by pianist Michelle Cann on Friday in Sheridan;
The High Altitude Arenacross Series in Rock Springs on Saturday and Sunday, and
The community celebration “Streetfest” at the Cam-Plex in Gillette on Saturday.
For information on these and other events, visit the Wyoming Tourism Division’s website at travelwyoming.com.