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

Winds reach 111-135 mph during weekend tornado

CHEYENNE (WNE) -– The National Weathedauwooer Service ranked Sunday’s tornado that damaged eight homes near Federal as a two out of five on a scale used to rank tornado damage.

The winds that ripped the roof off at least two homes topped out at 111-135 miles per hour when it passed through the area northwest of Cheyenne, but the tornado could have been even stronger after it left Federal.

Wind speeds are almost impossible to estimate without surveying damage, said Chad Hahn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“It is likely that the tornado continued to occur even outside of what we have included in our report, but we didn’t have any damage in that area, so we couldn’t rate it,” he said.

And despite the fact that three tornadoes touched down in Laramie County over the weekend, such activity is normal for this time of year, meteorologists say.

“Late May and early June are our historical severe weather season for this spring period here across Cheyenne, southeast Wyoming and western Nebraska,” said Mike Heuer, a meteorologist with DayWeather Inc.

Historically, the biggest tornado on record to hit Cheyenne occurred in mid-July 1979, Hahn said.

“Last year, we had the most notable tornado outbreak in history on June 12,” Hahn said. “The number (of tornadoes) that we saw that day was unmatched.”

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Suicidal woman shot by law enforcement

LARAMIE (WNE) — As the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation continues to investigate an officer-involved shooting that occurred Saturday night near Vedauwoo, an eyewitness to the altercation shared Tuesday what he saw.

Law enforcement in Albany County was advised to be on the lookout for a suicidal subject driving a 2002 Ford F-150 pickup, according to a Wyoming Highway Patrol news release.

An Albany County deputy and a WHP trooper located the subject and vehicle in the Vadauwoo area of the Medicine Bow National Forest about 12 miles east of Laramie.

“The trooper and the deputy became involved in a shooting incident with the subject, who was armed with a firearm,” the WHP release states. “The subject was taken into custody and the officers rendered medical aid until paramedics arrived on scene.”

Santa Fe resident Taylor Selby was camping in Vedauwoo with his wife and two children the night of the shooting. The family parked their RV in overflow parking at 9 p.m. and was asleep when the commotion started about 11 p.m., Selby said.

“We woke up to shouting,” he said. “There was some shouting that was going on right outside the RV about 100 feet from where we were.”

Selby and his wife watched the incident from inside the RV, where the two children were still asleep. He said they could hear a woman’s voice, clearly intoxicated.

“We couldn’t really make out too much what they were saying, but we heard her yell that she doesn’t want to live and started yelling obscenities,” Selby said. “And we heard a gunshot, followed by three or four more gunshots, and then we heard the lady crying out and yelling more obscenities at the police officers.”

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Storms break Riverton rainfall record

RIVERTON (WNE) — Riverton broke a weather record for the day Sunday, when 0.79 inch of precipitation fell over the course of 24 hours.

The previous record for the day was 0.13 inch set in 2008; the normal amount is 0.05 inch.

So far in May, Riverton has seen 2.83 inches of precipitation – well above the normal amount of 1.58 inches.

“It’s definitely going to be a wet month here in Riverton,” National Weather Service meteorologist Ralph Estell said Tuesday.

May 2018 isn’t likely to break any top-five monthly weather records, though: Estell said 5.35 inches fell during the wettest May to date in Riverton, in 2011.

This month could break into the top-10 list, however.

“If everything goes well we might be the sixth-wettest month,” Estell said.

Three-tenths of an inch more rain would have to fall this week to meet that mark, of 3.16 inches of precipitation for May set in 2010 and 2005.

“We won’t know until the end,” Estell said, adding, “We still have a few more days.”

The storm brought “pea-sized” hail to parts of Fremont County, Estell said, and conditions were right for a tornado in the South Pass area, though a twister sighting was never confirmed.

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Hawk Springs man killed in rollover

YODER (WNE) -– A Hawk Springs man is dead following a single-vehicle rollover Saturday on U.S. Hwy. 85 near Yoder. 

The deceased was identified by the Wyoming Highway Patrol as Walter Bradley, 82. 

According to a report, Bradley was southbound on Hwy. 85 when the pickup he was driving crossed the center line and traveled off the east side of the highway. 

The vehicle continued south through the ditch until it struck a right-of-way fence, followed by the north end of a concrete culvert, which caused the vehicle to roll. 

Bradley’s vehicle rolled completely once, coming to rest on its wheels facing east. Bradley was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident and was thrown from the vehicle.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

The online investigation report lists a possible medical condition or equipment failure or issues as potential causes for the accident.

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Cheyenne council OKs $600K for air service

CHEYENNE (WNE) -– The effort to bring commercial air service back to Cheyenne Regional Airport received a key vote of confidence Tuesday night.

The Cheyenne City Council voted 8-0 to put up to $600,000 toward a subsidy for a prospective new airline; Mayor Marian Orr was absent, and Councilman Richard Johnson recused himself because he works for competitor Great Lakes Airlines.

The city’s spending will be combined with county, state, federal and private money to form a “minimum revenue guarantee” designed to help an airline avoid losing too much money when it takes a chance on a new market.

The county is expected to pledge up to the same amount in the coming weeks. The Cheyenne Airport Board has $200,000 in federal money and plans to apply for $580,000 more from the state. And CRAFT, a private advocacy group, has raised $85,000 so far, according to group president Wendy Volk.

Councilman Rocky Case, who sponsored the resolution, acknowledged some residents’ concerns about the spending, but said it was necessary to ensure the $18 million in public money going toward building a new terminal and related projects didn’t go to waste.

Beyond those numbers, though, little is clear about the effort, which began in earnest when Great Lakes, the airport’s lone commercial carrier, shut down operations in March.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation’s negotiations with airlines have been kept secret, as have all but one meeting of local public officials, so it is unclear which airlines and destinations are currently under consideration or how much subsidy they will require.

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Veteran Natrona prosecutor to retire

CASPER (WNE) — Natrona County District Attorney Michael Blonigen, who earned a reputation as one of Wyoming’s best prosecutors during a career that included murder convictions in several high-profile cold cases, will retire from public office after his term expires in December, he told the Casper Star-Tribune on Tuesday.

Blonigen has worked in the prosecutor’s office for more than 30 years and was appointed to the top position in 2004. In the courtroom, he was known for his legal acumen and ability to recite case law from memory.

“He’s a walking encyclopedia for criminal law,” said Frank Chapman, a longtime Wyoming attorney. “I tell everybody this: you damn sure don’t want that guy prosecuting you.”

Blonigen said he made the decision to retire from the district attorney’s office years earlier. He plans to continue working as a lawyer, but with fewer administrative duties than his current job.

“What I’d like to do is get back to a more hands-on law practice,” he said, in reference to his administrative duties. “I spend a lot of time not practicing law these days.”

Blonigen said he was uncertain what role he might take on, but it would be one with less time in the public eye.

In 2015, Blonigen received a heart transplant after years of heart-related medical issues.

However, he said he was in good health and his departure from the DA’s office was not related to his medical history.

Blonigen is well known in Wyoming for earning convictions in four cold cases in three years, including that of Dale Wayne Eaton, the state’s lone death row inmate. A jury convicted Eaton in 2004 of the kidnapping, rape and murder of 18-year-old Lisa Marie Kimmell, who had disappeared in 1988.

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Rain leads to Big Horn Basin flooding

TEN SLEEP (WNE) – An abundance of overnight rain on Sunday caused at least three creeks in the Big Horn Basin to flood their banks, and emergency crews to be mobilized. 

In Ten Sleep, the Tensleep Creek crested overnight Sunday, after a flood warning was issued for the weekend due to high mountain rain. Law enforcement and county emergency services were called to the scene of at least one Ten Sleep property in jeopardy of flooding, and water was diverted using sand bags provided by the county. 

As of Tuesday, Tensleep Creek had receded to normal levels and all alerts were cancelled. 

In Big Horn County, volunteers were mobilized by the Greybull Fire Department after flooding of Shell Creek caused some property to flood. Sand bags were used to mitigate the damage and divert the water away from low-lying property. 

“Monday morning was the most intense,” noted Big Horn County Emergency Management Director LaRae Dobbs. 

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Judge approves request for PTSD service dog in court

PINEDALE (WNE) — After his request was denied to bring his service animal into a Pinedale courtroom, a former Pinedale resident asked for his case to be transferred to Ninth District Court Judge Tim Day, in Teton County. 

Judge Day approved Jason Harlow’s request to have the service animal, a dog trained to help Harlow with post-traumatic stress disorder, present in the Jackson courtroom during an upcoming June 21-22 bench trial, court records show. 

Harlow, who now lives in Yellowstone, has represented himself in a civil and criminal suit that he originally filed against Sublette County school and court officials and three Pinedale men. Although many of Harlow’s original complaints were dismissed, Judge Day ruled during a May 17 pretrial conference that some charges will still stand against Shane Adams, Jerry McMackin and Russell Adams, who also represent themselves. 

Judge Day’s approval of Harlow’s request for his service animal to be present states that the animal be leashed, under control and housebroken – the only limitations set by the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

If not, Judge Day said, “The court may ask the dog to be removed from the courtroom at which time the court and parties can discuss how to proceed.”