From Wyoming News Exchange newspapers

Woman charged after allegedly stabbing boyfriend

LARAMIE (WNE) — A Laramie woman has been charged with second-degree attempted murder after stabbing her boyfriend on Christmas Eve.

The victim was taken to Ivinson Memorial Hospital and given stitches for his wounds, which all were sustained on his right arm.

Fifty-year-old Terry Goodman was also charged with aggravated assaultand battery and domestic battery.

Amber Ferguson, an officer at the Laramie Police Department, was dispatched to the Motel 8 on Boswell Drive shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday after the incident.

Goodman acknowledged stabbing her boyfriend with a butcher knife because “he made her mad and always talked over her,” according to Ferguson’s affidavit.

“He called the police like a (obscenity) instead of letting me leave,” Goodman told the officer.

When Goodman was taken to the Albany County jail, she said the couple had been drinking and arguing throughout the evening.

Goodman said her boyfriend was upset she had visited her children for Christmas while he was not able to spend the holiday with his son anddidn’t have money for Christmas gifts.

Her boyfriend then offered to pay Goodman $200 if she’d leave the motel.

As he smoked a cigarette, Goodman grabbed a butcher knife and stabbed him three times in his right arm.

Goodman said the stabbing was not committed in self-defense. She said her boyfriend had cancer and “claimed to be dying.”

“She wanted to help him end it,” Ferguson’s affidavit states.

A person convicted of attempted second-degree murder can be sentenced to up to 20 years imprisonment.

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Judge appoints new Campbell commissioner

GILLETTE (WNE) — Del Shelstad has been selected to fill a vacancy on the Campbell County Commission.

Shelstad is the president of Dust Control Inc. and the chairman of the Joint Powers Fire Board, which oversees the Fire Department on behalf of Campbell County, Gillette and Wright.

District Judge Michael N. “Nick” Deegan announced his selection Thursday in a written statement.

Last week, Deegan interviewed six of the 13 who applied to District Court earlier this month after the Campbell County Commission failed to select one of the three finalists put forward by the Campbell County Republican Party Central Committee.

“The court wishes to express its appreciation, on behalf of the judiciary and the public, to the six finalists, all fine candidates, for taking the time to present themselves in a public forum for interview by the court,” Deegan wrote in his statement. “Arriving at a decision has been difficult because each candidate could serve on the Board and add value to its deliberations.”

The commission seat opened when Clark Kissack resigned for unspecified reasons at the end of October. Whoever is selected will serve the final two years of Kissack’s term.

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Sage grouse plan comment period extended

PINEDALE (WNE) — After releasing its final environmental impact statement about revisions to its greater sage-grouse management plans on Dec. 8, the Wyoming Bureau of Land Management set a protest period deadline of Jan. 8. 

On Dec. 21, the Wyoming BLM extended that protest period deadline to Jan. 23 “to ensure the public and BLM’s state and local partners have sufficient time to review the final (EIS).” 

Those who participated in public comment periods and are considered to have “an interest that could be ‘adversely affected’” are eligible to file protests – often conservation and wildlife groups. 

One reason given for the extension is that incorrect versions of Appendix A, B and C were published with Wyoming’s final EIS, which the state office released with sage grouse amendments that affect resource management plans in Pinedale and nine other districts. 

The BLM also released its separate EISs for Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada/ northeastern California and Utah. 

Wyoming’s FEIS was worked out with the Governor’s Office, state agencies and other stakeholders. The proposed record of decision, which would be signed after protests are settled, is also posted with it. 

The proposed sage-grouse actions would “better align” BLM regional resource management plans with state plans to protect sage grouse populations, find a regulatory balance and build more trust among western states, Wyoming, BLM spokesman Emmet Pruss said on Dec. 6.

Gov. Matt Mead also supported the joint efforts that day, saying, “Having better alignment between state and federal management for the bird is important to the species and the people of Wyoming.” 

The proposed amendments for Wyoming BLM adopt the state’s compensatory mitigation framework, clarify habitat objectives where livestock grazing is permitted and removes the sagebrush focal area designation from 1.9 million BLM acres from sage-grouse habitat mapping.