8 I The Lovell Chronicle I January 1, 2015
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January
A petition that has been circulat-
ing for several weeks has gath-
ered more than enough signatures
to put a measure on the ballot at the
next election to create a special muse-
um district.
The North Big Horn Search and
Rescue Squad and Big Horn County
Sherifffs deputies deployed to the Yel-
lowtail Wildlife Habitat Management
Area Friday to locate a pheasant hunt-
er who had reportedly fallen and bro-
ken his hip.
An industrial accident Saturday
at the Western Sugar Cooperative
factory in Lovell claimed the life
of a North Big Horn County woman.
Big Horn County Sheriff Ken Black-
burn said Anfesa Marie "Ky" Galak-
tionoff, 28, of Lovell and Deaver died
after falling into a piece of industrial
equipment at the Lovell factory.
A brazen burglar or burglars en-
tered Lovell Drug sometime in the ear-
ly hours of Sunday morning through
a hole in one of the store's large plate
glass windows at the store's entrance
on Main Street. Early evidence indi-
cates the hole was made by a large rock
that was apparently used to break the
window.
6 The stacks stopped belching
steam at the Western Sug-
ar Factory in Lovell Sunday
as the company shut the factory down
temporarily in response to an order
by the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-
tration. The Western Sugar Coopera-
tive ceased operations at the plant in
Lovell while the company implements
a sanitation plan that was "requested.
and approved by the iFDA. ': :
A morning tanker truck crash south
of Lovell kept Lovell volunteer fire-
men and cleanup crews busy well into
the night Tuesday to contain oil that
drained from the ruptured tank.
The Big Horn County School Dis-
trict No. 2 Board of Trustees has be-
gun working on their strategy to find
a new Superintendent to replace Dan
Coe, who recently announced his plan
to retire at the end of the school year
after nine years as superintendent for
the district.
3 According to official reports, a
bad, icky, swine-like flu virus
is just beginning to rear its
ugly head in Big Horn County.
Governor Matt Mead told members
of the Wyoming Press Association Fri-
day afternoon at the winter convention
in Laramie that the 6.5 percent cuts
made last year are more than enough
for a balanced budget this year.
0 During a meeting last Tues-
day, Jan. 21, federal and state
officials told local cattle pro-
ducers who purchased beet pulp and
tailings from the Western Sugar Co.
for cattle feed in the wake of the acci-
dent that the U.S. Food and Drug Ad-
ministration was considering a range
of options including the quarantine
and potential "depopulation" of any
cattle that may have come into contact
with byproducts deemed to be "adulter-
ated" by the FDA.
The U.S. Forest Service announced
Thursday that it is moving forward
with the construction of a new building
in Greybull that will become the new
home of the Medicine Wheel/Paintrock
Ranger District office.
A young man from Coeur d' Alene,
Idaho, remained in serious but stable
condition at the Billings Clinic Wednes-
day recovering from a head injury
caused by a near head-on collision last
Thursday, Jan. 23, south of Lovell.
February
For Lovell Police officers Noe Gar-
cia and Paul Asay, it probably
seemed more like a scene from
MARWYN IYNE
Jay Brinkerhoff nails plywood into place on the Lovell Drug storefront on the
morning of Jan. 5 after the store was broken into. Looking on are Bethany
Reaseh and her father Brent Reasch, the storeowner.
PATTI CARPENTER
A memorial to Anfesa Marie Galaktionoffwas immediately placed on the lawn in
front of the Western Sugar Cooperative business offices in Lovell following the
Jan. 4 industrial accident that claimed her life. Co-workers and the community
mourned the young woman in the months following the accident.
RENAE MILLER
Performing their first-place routine during the State Spirit Competition in
Casper on March 12 are Lovell Dance Team members (back row, l-r) Emilee
Bryson, Heather Bartling, Amber Mayes, Mya Meier, Tori Aiken, (front row)
Chelby Lewis, Whitney Grant, Ashley Steenbakkers, Kaitlyn Grant and Jordan
Harper. Both the LHS dance team and cheerleading squad captured state titles
in Class 3A in March.
an action movie than a normal day
at work.on the evening of Jan. 31 at
around 9 p.m., during their arrest of
Lovell resident. The two officers were
instrumental in the arrest of the man,
who Police Chief Nick Lewis said fled
on foot and resisted arrest.
3 It may have seemed like un-
seasonably cold weather to
some last week, but accord-
ing to Chris Jones, a meteorologist in
the NOAA office in Riverton, it's actu-
ally fairly normal for the area, which
had an official reading of 27 below zero
in Lovell on the morning of Thursday,
Feb. 6. Weather records, which date
back to the 1800s show fluctuations
from as low as 40 below zero to 40
above zero within the same week pre-
ceding Valentine's Day.
The snowpack is up and the wa-
ter outlook is positive for the 2014 run-
off, which should allow Big Horn Lake
to fill to normal levels, Bob Croft of
the Friends of Bighorn Lake reported
Tuesday.
0 Business owners and man-
agers gathered at the Bran-
din' Iron Restaurant in Lovell
Tuesday to hear the latest informa-
tion about the upcoming Lovell water,
sewer and street project during the
February general membership meet-
ing of the Lovell Area Chamber of
Commerce.
Lovell and the LHS Johnny Win-
terholler Gym will be a beehive of ac-
tivity this weekend as Lovell High
hosts the 2014 Class 2A West Regional
Wrestling Tournament.
In answer to vehement challeng-
es and passionate concerns as to the
possibility of errant bullets if a shoot-
ing range were established in Byron, a
National Rifle Association representa-
tive observed, "If you folks want safety,
build a range."
Students at Rocky Mountain High
Scho raised $6,700 for the Cystic Fi-
brosis Foundation on Feb. 14 at a spe-
cial purple-themed event that took
place during the girls and boys varsity
basketball games.
7 A mechanical failure caused
sections of the kiln to rup-
ture at the Georgia-Pacif-
ic plant south of Lovell at around 3
a.m. on Friday, Feb. 21. Fortunately,
none of the 15 workers on shift at the
time were injured as a result of the
incident, which some described as an
"explosion."
Big Horn County Search and Res-
cue was among the agencies search-
ing for five North Dakota snowmobilers
who were reported missing on the Big
Horn Mountains last Friday morning,
North Unit Captain Scott Allred re-
ported this week.
Enjoying some home cooking during
the 2A West Regional Wrestling Tour-
nament hosted by Lovell High School
Friday and Saturday, the Lovell Bull-
dogs put together one of their strongest
performances of the season, finishing
second in the 12-team field.
March
If it seemed like there was a
whole lot. of snow in February,
you're ri:g[[t: There was. At 16,5 '
inches, it was in fact, the secondsow-
iest February in Lovell on record, ac-
cording to NOAA meteorologist Chris
Jones.
The Lovell Lady Bulldogs won the
regional championship game against
the Wyoming Indian Lady Chiefs Sat-
urday afternoon in Riverton - or more
to the point, they Survived it. Lovell
prevailed 59-47.
3 A sudden shift to warmer
temperatures has caused min-
imal flooding in the imme-
diate area, compared to the massive
threat of flooding at the south end of
the county.
The search is on for a new Big Horn
County School District No. 2 Superin-
tendent to replace Dan Coe, who will
officially retire on July 1, 2014, after
nine years serving as superintendent of
schools for the district. The field of can-
didates has been narrowed to three.
Rocky Mountain's Cinderella run at
the state basketball tournament came
to an end Saturday night in the final
game of the 1A-2A tournament when
the Grizzlies fell to the Wyoming Indi-
an High School Chiefs 69-53.
0 They did it, they finally did
it and not once but twice. For
the first time since the Wy-
oming State Spirit Competition was
reduced to just two classes, 3A and
4A, forcing smaller schools to compete
against larger schools, the Lovell High
School Dance Team captured first
place in the competition, and they were
matched by the Lovell Cheerleading
Team with another first-place trophy
in the competition held last Wednes-
day, March 12, at the Casper Events
Center.
Wyoming Secretary of State Max
Maxfield announced Friday that he
will not seek a third term in office, even
though he is eligible to run after win-
ning a lawsuit challenging Wyoming's
term limits law for elected officials. He
said he will miss his partnership with
Lovell.
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