www. LovellChronicle.com
February 18, 2010 I The Lovell Chronicle I 7
BOB RODRIGUEZ
Sign of the times? Maybe only in Lovell
would you rind a parking sign that actually
demonstrates how to do it. This one, perhaps
the victim of an errant motorist, is on Oregon
Avenue at Third Street across from the
library.
McKee joins
Sheriff's Dept.
BY BRAD DEVEREAUX
The towns of Frannie
and Deaver are collaborat-
ing with the Big Horn Coun-
ty Sheriffs Office to make
some personnel changes to
'save money while continu-
ing to provide law enforce-
ment in the rural areas of
north Big Horn County.
The switch involves of-
ricer Mike McKee joining
,the Sheriffs Department,
according to Sheriff Ken
Blackburn. McKee will re-
main with a focus in the
Deaver,Frannie - area, but
h',will: alsb haan addi-
tionaDpatrol radi: outside
of the towns.
Blackburn said he met
with the mayors of both
towns after they had con-
cerns about revenue short-
falls and didn't want to
lose the law enforcement
presence. Blackburn came
back with a proposal that
the Sheriffs office assume
some of the expenses of the
officer including his vehicle
and insurance, fuel, train-
ing, uniform and dispatch-
ing. The towns will still pay
McKee's salary and ben-
efits, but the BHCSO will
foot the bill for time spent
outside a 3-mile radius of
Deaver or Frannie.
Deputies are also be-
ing sworn in as munici-
pal officers in the towns,
Blackburn said, so that the
towns can realize the reve-
nue when a deputy within
the municipality writes a
ticket.
Blackburn said the new
setup benefits the towns
and the Sheriff Depart-
ment. The arrangement
has been in place for a few
months, Blackburn said.
"I commend the town
councils for their foresight,"
Blackburn said. "It's a fan-
tastic idea and a classic ex-
ample of synergism. Great
things can happen when
people work together to
seek creative solutions in
hard economic times."
PETERSON
Continued from page 1
money that reverts back to
the SFC due to competitive
bids and the $50 million
could grow by the following
year, he noted.
Cities, towns and coun-
ties are still scheduled to
take a hit over the next two
years, Peterson said, al-
though the JAC did restore
$20 million to the direct dis-
tribution formula for local
governments, increasing
the budget from $60 million
to $80 million.
"We expect some
amendments from the
floor," Peterson said. "The
community commissioners
association said they would
like to spread the wealth
in the hardship formula
to disperse it more evenly.
But there's a lot of hurting
out there."
Peterson said the SAC
is trying to hold the line on
tapping into state reserves,
although the $20 million
added back for local govern-
ment came from "spillover"
from the Permanent Miner-
al Trust Fund.
"We felt like we're open-
ing the door," he said. "It's
hard for us to defend our ac-
tions. The battle will be try-
ing to stave off attacks on
our reserves.
"The theme this year
is there are a lot fewer fills
and attention is focused on
the budget and constitu-
tional issues."
BILLS OF NOTE
Two bills of note passed
the Senate on third read-
ing Monday. Senate File
20 would prohibit texting
while driving in Wyoming
and passed the Senate 23-7
on third reading Monday
with Peterson voting in fa-
vor.
The bill would prohibit
the use of "electronic wire-
less communication de-
vices for sending text or
electronic mail messages"
while operating a motor
vehicle "on a public street
or highway," making it ille-
gal to write, send or read a
text-based communication
while operating a vehicle.
Exclusions include tex-
ting while the vehicle is
lawfully parked, texting
to contact an emergency
response vehicle and writ-
ing, reading, selecting or
entering a telephone num-
ber or name in a device for
the purpose of making or
receiving a telephone call.
Also exempt are those op-
erating an emergency re-
sponse vehicle or perform-
ing official duties as an
emergency responder.
Debate centered on the
ability to enforce such a
law, Peterson said, noting,
"It's a tough bill to enforce."
Efforts were made in the
committee of the whole to
make texting while driving
a secondary offense rather
than a primary offense, so
that a person could only be
cited after being stopped
for another violation, but
an amendment to do so
failed.
Also passing on third
reading Monday, 29-1,
was a bill (SF19) to en-
hance penalties for driv-
ing while under the influ-
ence. Sponsored by Sen.
Tony Ross (R-Cheyenne),
the bill would increase the
jail time for long-time re-
peat DUI offenders, make
it illegal for people to oper-
ate a vehicle while under
the influence of drugs and
also police officers to test a
driver's blood alcohol lev-
el within two hours of the
suspect being behind the
wheel and/or arrested.
The bill would also in-
crease the time during
which second-, third- and
fourth-offense penalties
can accrue from five years
to 10 years after the first-
offense conviction.
HARVEY
Continued from page 1
HB 55 - Elementary for-
sign language instruction.
The bill would eliminate
the foreign language re-
quirement for elementary
schools. Harvey said she
supported the bill because
it has been difficult to find
enough qualified teachers
for the foreign language re-
quirement. The bill passed
the House 49-9 Friday.
HB 13.- Underage
drinking-passed 55-1 on
third reading in the House
Tuesday. The bill would
make it a crime for minors
to attempt to enter a "21
and older zone" of a liquor
store or drive up to a ser-
vice window that serves li-
quor. The bill would also
extend offenses to minors
who have consumed alco-
holic beverages. Under the
current law, Harvey said,,
a minor would be in viola-
tion if he was in possession
of an alcoholic beverage,
but not in violation if he
had already consumed the
beverage and discarded the
container. There are some
exceptions provided in the
bill, she said.
HB 26 - Medical review
panel - passed the House
55-1 Tuesday. The bill aims
to strengthen the medical
review panel, which allows
Wyoming residents to bring
a claim before the panel be-
fore bringing the case to
court. The panel sometimes
encourages settlement on
valid malpractice claims or
can advise a claimant that
the claim does not look'val-
id.
The bill would make it
so anything said in the pan-
el is not admissible in court.
If a claimant decides to sue
anyway, even after being
advised not to by the panel,
none of the findings of the
panel could come into play
in the courtroom. Harvey
said the bill should encour-
age more people to use the
medical review board and
ultimately encourage set-
tlements and reduce mal-
practice insurance costs.
. HB32 passed: unani,..
mously with 57 votes in
the House Tuesday. The
bill would allow the board
of nursing to complete in-
vestigations on nurses
who are accused of abus-
ing patients or otherwise
abusing their licenses.
Currently, Harvey
Representative
Elaine Harvey
said, these nurses can
choose to surrender their
licenses upon investiga-
tion and the board of nurs-
ing must the inves-
tigation. lffe :nrs are
then free to seek employ-
ment in a different state,
she said.
HB 37 - Judicial re-
tirement - would repeal
the rule that states judges
of the Wyoming State Su-
preme Court and district
courts must retire at the
age of 70. The bill passed
52-5 Tuesday and is con-
tingent upon the passage
of a constitutional amend-
ment - HJ 4 - that would
have to be approved by a
vote of Wyoming residents
in November.
"This an acknowledge-
ment that there is no mag-
ic age and a review system
is in place now that works
well," Harvey said, adding,
"I hate to lose the wisdom.
70 is not as old as it was
100 years ago (because of)
medical gains:"
Harvey said it has
been a "really good ses-
• sion" for her so far and the
process is handling things
in a positive way.
"Everything is being
handled in such a good
way," she said. "Folks are
being really thoughtful of
the things they are bring-
ing forward. A lot of that
is because of the financial
situation."
Beginning Monday of
next week, the House will
begin hearing Senate Files
in House committee meet-
ings, Harvey said.
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HYPE
Continued from page 1
Hyart performance.
Davis said he would
highlight his hair Lovell
blue if at least 450 people
attend the Hyart perfor-
mance.
The free program is be-
ing sponsored by Big Horn
County School District No.
2, the Lovell Police Depart-
ment and the Big Horn
County Health Coalition.
Other local businesses are
helping promote the event,
Davis said.
Performers will be stay-
ing in host family homes
while in town, Davis said.
He has contacted sufficient
host families, but Davis
said any help preparing
meals for performers would
be appreciated.
Love,
Dillon, Alyssa & Jason
BIG HORN COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH
Participating in Wyoming Department of Health Program
FREE VACCINES FOR UNINSURED ADULTS
AGES 19 TO 64 WITH NO HEALTH INSURANCE OR 00 NOT
HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE THAT COVERS IMMUNIZATIONS
FOR A LIMITED TIME
VACC1NES AVAILABLE AT
BIG HORN COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH
Hepatitis A. Hepatitis B • Tetanus
• Human Papillomavirus for females ages 19-26
• Pneumonia shot for smokers and adults with chronic disease
• Shingles shot for ages 60-64
E
ii
.... ......
::!:! !!::: ii::i:ii::i 9 ) Call for more information and appointments:
|ni[ 765-2371 in Greybull and 548-6591 in Lovell
i
l
Cancer Support
Group Meeting
.... 7 pm, Thursday, Feb. 18
Open Discussion Meeting
N,,.
Cancer Patients, Caregivers,
Family Members, Survivors,
Everyone is welcome.
Multi-Purpose
Room
. •
NEW HORIZONS CARE CENTER
548-5200 * 1115 Lane 12 * Lovell, MVY 82431
00ing
for a
Urologist?
I
Dr. Gregory Stewart
Dr. Gregory Stewart
Board Certified Urologist
provides the following services:
Minimally invasive therapy of enlarged prostrate
Prostate cancer screening * Incontinence * Kidney stone disease
Lithotripsy * Erectile dysfunction * Lupron injections ,
Contact us for information on FREE Prostate Cancer Screening exams
Clinics held in Powell, Basin - Big Horn Clinic,
GreybuU - Midway Clinic
Thermopolis - Hot Springs Co. Memorial Hospital
VA patients accepted with prior approval
rologicaJ.ervices of
rthern Wyoming, PC
225 W. Yellowstone Ave., Suite 9 • Cody, WY
To schedule an appointment please call 307-587-5131
' ..... -so007,te007 yo".-
! • Basic Disaster I
Preparedness :
I CemnlunltyEnlergency • Disaster: Fire I
I Respense Training (CERTJ
I CERT is about readiness.
I It's people helping people, and
I doing the greatest good for the
I greatest number of people•
I It's a realistic approach to
emergency situations where
I citizens will be initially on their
I own because of a disaster and
I their actions can make a
I life-saving difference to their
| family, friends, and neighbors.
|i ............................ :
Classes are on Tuesdays from o
I February 23 through March 23 :
l: @ 6:30 to 9:30 pm :
Suppression I
• Disaster: Medical I
Preparedness and I
Operations I
• Disaster: Light I
Search and Rescue I
• Disaster I
Psychology I
• CERT Team I
Organization I
I
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Sponsored by: |
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it, Please call Big Horn County Emer- : Emergency Management |
i-" gency Management 548-2516 for :
• _ information and applications, , I
