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

Continuance granted in federal murder case

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A judge granted a continuance Friday for a second time in the case of a local man charged in federal court in connection with the murder of a 19-year-old last year. 

Armando Ramirez-Serna appeared for court flanked by his attorneys and U.S. marshals for a preliminary hearing, which seeks to determine whether investigators have found enough “probable cause,” or evidence, to support the charges. 

But both the defense and prosecution agreed that the hearing should be moved to July 3 as they continue to reach a resolution in the case.  

Ramirez-Serna is facing charges of interference with commerce by robbery, use and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death, use and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and use of fire to commit misprision of a felony. 

He was arrested last year after Laramie County Sheriff’s deputies found the body of Michael Robinson in a reservoir southeast of Cheyenne near a burned Lincoln MKX SUV. 

Investigators later connected that body and the vehicle to a “shots fired” call in the 7600 block of Braehill Road where law enforcement found a gun, a shell casing and a pool of blood, according to court documents filed in the case. 

A witness said he saw a man driving a black SUV around the block several times. When he got near a certain part of the road, he got out and appeared to be looking for something, the witness told investigators.

After analyzing Facebook messages and talking to several witnesses, investigators believed that Ramirez-Serna was trying to steal a half-pound of marijuana from Robinson the night Robinson was killed, according to court affidavits.

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Man convicted in child porn case could face 82 year sentence

RIVERTON (WNE) — Gordon Harstad, faces up to 82 years imprisonment for numerous sex crimes under an approved plea agreement with local prosecutors. 

The Lander man is in his mid-30s. He became one of Fremont County’s most heavily charged criminals in recent memory this spring after county attorney Pat LeBrun charged the defendant with 23 felony sex crimes with minors. 

Harstad pleaded guilty this month to four counts of first degree sexual abuse of a minor, two counts of sexual exploitation of children, and two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree. 

Harstad faces a minimum prison sentence of 25 years and a maximum of 82 years, depending on an impending decision by Judge Norman Young. 

The defendant was originally charged with two sex crimes in February. But after more victims came forward, Harstad was charged with 21 more crimes, including the production of child pornography. 

Jacob Nation, a detective in the Riverton Police Department, first began investigating Harstad after after a man reported Feb. 2 that his pre-teenage daughter had been sexually assaulted by the defendant in January. 

The daughter reportedly told her father that during a weekend in mid-January, Harstad both digitally penetrated her and forced her to perform oral sex on him while he took pictures on his cell phone. 

During a Feb. 5 interview with the Children’s Advocacy Project in Casper, Harstad’s first discovered victim revealed that she had also been molested by Harstad prior to January. 

When police searched Harstad’s cell phone, they discovered multiple videos of a nude “prepubescent female” being molested by an adult hand that appeared to be Harstad’s. 

Two days later, another victim revealed that Harstad had abused her “many times” since 2009, when she was 5 years old. 

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Study to track emissions in Jackson Hole

JACKSON (WNE) — A new emissions study of the valley will help track the impact residents and visitors have on the surrounding ecosystem.

“It looks at transportation, buildings, aviation,” said Alicia Cox, director of Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities. “It looks at the community as a whole.”

An emissions inventory was last conducted in 2008, commissioned by the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole and funded by 1 percent for the Tetons. It measures the greenhouse gas emissions equivalence caused by everything from school buses to fertilizer application. The 2008 inventory determined that 80 percent of the county’s greenhouse gas emissions came from transportation.

“We all know tourism has increased, there’s a lot more traffic,” Cox said. An updated report will help the town, Teton County and nonprofit groups identify where to target energy-saving efforts and projects.

The study may show results from community efforts over the last 10 years, from installing energy-efficient lightbulbs in public buildings to the green power program that allows Lower Valley Energy customers to purchase renewable power for a home or business.

The county commission has approved $7,500 in funds from the energy mitigation program, which collects fees from developers to offset energy use. The Community Foundation matched that with a $7,500 competitive grant.

Other organizations, including Friends of Pathways, Teton Conservation District, Creative Energies, High Country Linens and Energy Conservation Works, also contributed funding toward the total $22,500 cost of the study.

Lauren Long, director of general services for Teton County, said the inventory will help the county focus its own energy-saving efforts and meet goals related to natural gas or its diesel fleet.

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Campbell Co. valuation up for first time since 2015

GILLETTE (WNE) — For the first time since 2015, Campbell County’s assessed valuation has increased over the previous year.

The county’s assessed valuation for 2018 is $4,428,276,932, up $245 million or 5.9 percent from 2017. It may not seem that big of a change, especially considering last year’s drop of $1.1 billion, but that $245 million is larger than the assessed valuation of eight Wyoming counties in 2017.

County Assessor Troy Clements said he was “very pleased and glad to see what we got.”

The final numbers came in a little higher than anticipated, thanks to increases in coal, oil and gas. The combined value of those industries is $3.5 billion, or 80 percent of the county’s total, up from $3.2 billion and 77 percent last year.

Coal alone makes up 59 percent of the assessed valuation, and Clements said an uptick in coal production at the end of 2017 was responsible for most of the growth. Oil and gas production actually declined, but prices went up, leading to the increased value.

The 2018 assessed valuation means that 1 mill of tax will raise $4.428 million. The mill levy in the county is about 59 mills, the majority of which goes to statewide education, with the county taxing 11.17 mills — it’s one of three counties, along with Teton and Lincoln, that don’t tax the full 12 mills allowed — and the hospital 3 mills. The city of Gillette taxes another 8 mills on top of that.

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LCCC starts free college program

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Free community college is now closer to becoming a reality in Wyoming.

Laramie County Community College is beginning a new scholarship program that covers all costs to attend, allowing adults a chance to improve their lives in ways they may not have believed possible.

Through “Rediscover LCCC,” 80 adults can study 24 different programs this fall at no cost.

“We’re taking your full tuition and fees off the table, so if you get a Pell grant or a scholarship from the Foundation or other type of aid, that’s going to help you with books, gas, bills, rent – all the stuff we know adults have to pay for, anyway,” LCCC President Joe Schaffer said.

Schaffer said some adults may not return to college because of the financial challenges it presents.

“If you were to leave your job today to come back to college full time, you not only have the life commitments you have to pay for, but now you have to pay for tuition and fees to come to college,” Schaffer said.

“It makes it incredibly difficult in this environment to do that.”

“Rediscover LCCC” is open to residents who have lived in the state for three years or more, are at least 25, can show financial need, are willing to attend full time and have not previously earned a degree. Schaffer said participants also must maintain a 2.5 GPA throughout the program, as well.

Schaffer said LCCC is hoping to take in 80 students this fall and 80 in fall 2019. Students can come from any community in the state and can complete programs entirely online if they choose.

Available programs range from certificates that take one semester to associate degrees designed for transfer to a four-year institution. 

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Yellowstone to replace Lewis River bridge

JACKSON (WNE) — Yellowstone National Park officials are making plans to swap out the bridge that spans the Lewis River where it crosses the South Entrance Road about 10 miles north of the park boundary.

The plans call for installing an either 300- or 500-foot bridge to the east of the current structure, a 273-foot bridge that’s nearly 60 years old. Work would start in 2019 and conclude the following construction season, if funding is procured. The project would not require any lengthy closures of the South Entrance Road, park officials say.

“Traffic flow would remain on the current bridge until a new bridge is completed,” a Yellowstone document summarizing the project says. “At that time the existing bridge would be removed and the area would be rehabilitated to a natural condition.”

A 2014 Federal Highway Administration inspection report found that the multibeam bridge spanning the Lewis River is in “poor condition” and requires extensive rehabilitation. Degradation of the concrete deck was the “foremost issue,” the park document says, although there was also damage to abutments, wing walls, railings and bearing points. There was also potential for the bridge foundations to scour and, thus, become unstable.

The project would also include a new parking area on the north side of the Lewis River. Because the Lewis River Bridge is 600 feet downstream from Lewis Falls, it’s a popular place for park visitors to unload and snap pictures.

Yellowstone planners are preparing an “environmental assessment” that will further look at the project. It’s scheduled to be complete in late summer, with a decision to follow in the fall.