www.LovellChronicle.com
May 19, 2011 I The Lovell Chronicle I 5
BOB RODRIGUEZ
With pitchforks and fire hoses, members of the Lovell Volunteer Fire Department
stir up a hay pile to extinguish the flames that got out of control on May 14
outside of Lovell.
re00rt
LPD investigates reported home theft
The Lovell Police De-
partment received the fol-
lowing calls for the week
of May 10-16, 2011:
May 11: Officers recov-
ered an X-box 360 during
a search of a Lovell resi-
dence (see information in
pill story).
ir Officers received a re-
port of a dispute over
custody of a child, but
the LPD advised the
caller that the case
would have to be han-
dled civilly before charg-
es can be filed.
May 13: A theft at a Lovell
home was reported to the
LPD. The case is under in-
vestigation.
Deputies find riders without horses
The Big Horn County
Sheriffs Department re-
ceived the following calls
for the week of May 9-16,
2011:
May 9: A Lovell area resi-
dent called to complain
about someone tampering
with the irrigation ditch.
Deputies advised the man
that the case was a civil
matter and there was noth-
ing the Sheriffs Department
could do at this time.
May 11: Deputies received a
report of two horses running
down the road with saddles
but no riders. Deputies re-
sponded and found the rid-
ers without their horses.
A deputy gave them a ride
back to their truck and trail-
er and assisted searching
the area for the horses.
Mr Deputies arrested Wil-
liam C. Tucker, 36, on
an outstanding Natro-
na County warrant and
transported him to jail
in Basin before he was
transferred to Natrona
County.
May 14: Deputies received a
report of hay on fire on coun-
ty land outside of Lovell. The
Lovell Volunteer Fire De-
partment handled the call.
May 15: Deputies separated
two parties for the night af-
ter being called to the scene
of a domestic disturbance
with drinking involved.
Arrests made in March
drunk-driving fatality
BY JENNIFER BUTLER
Last week Big Horn
County Sheriffs deputies
made two arrests in the
Burlington area following
an investigation into the fa-
tal crash that killed Tylor
Burke, 17, of Powell.
On Wednesday, May
11, Donna Marie (Burke)
Brunko, 39, was arrested
and charged with criminal-
ly negligent homicide and
permitting house parties
where minors are present.
Both are misdemeanors.
The homicide carries a pen-
alty of up to a year in jail
and the house party charge
carries a sentence of up to
six months.
Brunko was also cited
for criminal entry and in-
terference with an emer-
gency call for not reporting
the accident.
According to Circuit
Court documents, Brunko
allegedly admitted in a vol-
untary verbal statement
to allowing her son, Ty-
lor Burke, and his under-
age friends to have a house
party where alcohol was
provided on Friday, March
11. She also allegedly said
she witnessed Burke and
his friends drinking alco-
hol and allegedly advised
them they were allowed
to "drink" only if they re-
mained at the residence,
Soon after, Brunko left the
minors unsupervised and
went inside her home while
the minors remained out-
side on the lawn.
According to the affi-
davit, Brunko had noticed
that her son and his friends
had left the residence, and
at this point she attempt-
ed to contact them via text
messages and phone calls.
In the early morning
hours of Sat.urday, March
12, the other minors re-
turned to the Brunko res-
idence without Burke.
Burke's friends allegedly
said Burke had taken his
friend's vehicle and left the
Burlington Bar, where they
were. Around 1 a.m. Burke's
mother and his friend began
looking for Burke. Brunko
said they had noticed debris
on U.S. Highway 14/16/20
from what appeared to
be an accident and found
pieces to the friend's car.
They soon left the scene of
the accident and continued
searching for Burke, and
although they returned to
the scene of the accident
several times they alleged-
ly failed to notify authori-
ties for assistance.
According to court re-
cords, Brunko and Burke's
friends returned to Brunko's
residence around 5 a.m.
About 6 a.m., Brunko
returned to the accident
site, along with another of
Burke's friends, to continue
looking for Burke. Brunko
allegedly did not contact au-
thorities or emergency per-
sonnel to aid in the search.
It was not until about
7 a.m. when a passerby
noticed the accident and
called 911 that the accident
was reported. Burke's body
was found at 7:15 a.m.
Burke left the road
at the intersection of US
14/16/20 and Wyoming 30.
He was not wearing a seat-
belt and was ejected from
his friend's vehicle, accord-
ing to the Wyoming High-
way Patrol report. Burke
was pronounced dead at the
scene.
On Thursday, May 12,
Melissa Braten, 30, was
arrested and charged with
criminally negligent homi-
cide and allowing minors
to enter into a dispensing
room where alcohol is being
served.
According to the affida-
vit, on Friday, March 11,
Braten, the leaser and bar-
tender of the Burlington
Bar, Burke and his friends
entered the bar about 11
p.m.
Braten allegedly told
authorities that Burke and
his two friends were "ex-
tremely intoxicated" when
they entered the bar and
they had all been drink-
ing. Braten reportedly was
informed by one of Burke's
friends that they were all
19 years old (with the legal
drinking age 21), but she
allegedly failed to check
for proper identification.
Braten, according to court
documents, said Burkehad
been passing out inside the
bar, so she asked one of his
friends to take Burke and
his other friend home de-
spite the fact that they had
all been drinking.
According to court re-
cords, Burke was put into
his friend's vehicle while
the engine was running. His
friends then left him unat-
tended, and Burke drove off
with his friend's vehicle.
Braten did not contact
authorities or the parents
of the intoxicated minors,
"because she knew the par-
ents and sympathized (with
one of the friends) for hav-
ing to babysit his 'drunk
friends.'"
Sheriff Kenneth Black-
burn said, "Any time a young
member of our community
dies it is very wrenching,
and we do not take it light-
ly. The tragic fact of this is-
sue is that it is not only the
authorities' responsibility
but also the responsibility
of the community to look
out and ensure the safety
of the youth. It needs to be
a triangle of police, parents
and community. This kind
of case brings life pain-
fully into perspective. Our
hearts go out to the fam-
ily and everyone involved.
I would like to commend
the efforts of the county at-
torney's office as they work
tirelessly on this case. We
at the sheriffs office will do
everything in our power to
ensure safety of the youth
no matter how unpopular
or unpleasant."
He added, "I emphasize
the alleged suspects are in-
nocent until proven guilty."
Blackburn said he is
concerned about the upcom-
ing graduations and cele-
brations. He said, "Be sure
with the choices you make
that you are able to live
with the consequences."
On 0000cord in
Big Ito00 County
BIRTHS
We are interested in printing the births of
North Big Horn County babies. Please call
and personally report these births by con-
tacting the Chronicle at 548-2217.
Born to Analyn A. and Mazher Khan at the
fined $70
For speeding in a 20 mph school zone:
Richard T. Longtim, 27, Evanston, 30 mph,
fined $180
Vernon L. Wood, 60, 25 mph, fined $65
Jessica Rael, 25, 25 mph, fined $65
Powell Valley Hospital bn May 9, 2011, at Kelly Sourer, 52, Ogden, UT, 25 mph, fined
1:44 p.m., a baby girl, Sofia Khan, weighing
7 Ibs. 11 oz. Grandparents are Mohd Maq-
sood All Khan, Shajhan Begum, Alfredo
and Erlinda Andres.
MARRIAGES
Marriage licenses issued from the Big Horn
County Clerk's office recently were:
Dana Gregory Nordlund of Greybull and Steph-
ante Marie Creatore of Canfield, OH
Logan Scott Triplett and Jennifer Clarke Gra-
ham, both of Basin
DEEDS
Warranty deeds issued from the Big Horn
County Clerk's office recently were:
Daniel P. May and Sheridan A. May to Steven
A. Frost; (part) NW4SW4, Sec 32, T57N,
R96W
MUNICIPAL COURT
Persons fined in the Lovell Municipal Court
before Judge Sylvia Gams recently were:
Aubrey M. Jordan, 33, dog at large, fined $40;
dog at large, fined $40
Angelo Jones, 18, illegal passing, fined $70
Pamela A. Dodd, 61, Rock Hill, SC, failure to
yield to pedestrian, fined $70
Mona Lee Averett, 75, no seat belt, fined $25
Vangi A. Hackney, 36, no valid registration,
$65
Roger D. Hiser, 77, 25 mph, fined $65
Josephine C. Rodriguez, 76, 25 mph, fined
$65
Boyd Barchinger, 57, 25 mph, fined $65
For speeding in a 30 mph zone:
Stevie Eaves, 20, Wodand, 40 mph, fined
$100
Individuals are local residents unless oth-
erwise noted.
CIRCUIT COURT
Persons fined in the Fifth Judicial Circuit
Court in Lovell before Judge Thomas Har-
rington recently were:
Angel Montanez, 40, driving under the influ-
ence, deferred sentence, fined $190, 6
months unsupervised probation
Michael Martinelli, 29, interference with a
peace officer, fined $190, 180 days in jail
(69 days suspended), 6 months unsuper-
vised probation
For speeding in a 65 mph zone:
Walter L. Deshazo, 26, Horatio, AN, 79 mph,
fined $87
Individuals are local residents unless oth-
erwise noted.
Koritnik joins Lovell Police Dept.
BY BRAD DEVEREAUX
After only a day's rest
from attending his senior
year at the University of
Wyoming, Lovell resident
Matt Koritnik was in uni-
form for his first day on the
job as Lovell's newest police
officer.
Koritnik, the son of Joe
and Janet Koritnik of Lovell,
began working on the force
Tuesday, May 10, and said
he has already been in-
volved in a number of high-
profile cases during his first
week on the job including
drug-related arrests, search
warrants and involuntary
holds. He also experienced
some less exciting calls, like
gathering up dead cats and
doing VIN inspections.
"It's been a lot of fun so
far and I was fortunate to
start on a pretty eventful
week," Koritnik said. "I'm
looking forward to some
more education and being an
asset to the department."
Koritnik studied crim-
inal justice at Sheridan
College and UW, receiv-
ing a bachelor's degree this
spring. He interned with the
Lovell Police Department in
December of 2010, applying
for the open officer position
soon after.
He said he wanted to be
a police officer to help peo-
ple and because every day
on the job is different.
Koritnik was born in
BRAD DEVEREAUX
Matt Koritnik joined the Lovell Police Department
last week and has gained some valuable experience
already. Koritnik was hired as a full-time officer
and will complete his training at the police academy
this fall.
Cheyenne and lived in Cody
for six years before moving
to Kansas for three years,
then to Lovell with his fam-
ily in 2003. Koritnik worked
as a firefighter for the Big-
horn National Forest dur-
ing summers while he was
in college.
He will attend train-
ing at the Law Enforcement
Academy in Douglas Aug.
22-Nov. 18 to complete his
training.
Big Horn County Long Range Forecast
Thursday
Mostly cloudy,
rain showers
52 / 41
Friday
Mostly cloudy,
rain showers
51/40
:]pm -- [.]i,= :r..i..,e p|.ii
Saturday
Scattered
showers
53 / 44
Sunday
Showers, a few
thunderstorms
59 / 47
Monday
Mostly cloudy,
rain showers
60 / 46
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A large trough of chilly and wet Pacific low pressure will make for
cooler and wetter than average conditions through at least early next ...... + .%** .4.
week. Lower elevations wilt see mostly rain, but late season snow wil ,• .... '<::::: . ++.++ € ......... -+-
. /-.<. :'.. 50s 140s
still be possible at night for a few locations. Mountain locations will see ..... ,::,l;-r..., so/4os ,e ,-:..- -
mostly snow. Flooding concerns will continue for the entire area. " "ii: +, :+i-+,.,- e +
+ Cody, +
Climate Almanac Normals for 05/19 to 05/23
.... % +%.80S 1 40S Basin +]+ k..
Love. Grebull
: s
Record Hilh/Low 94 in 1980 25 in 1931 Rerd H h/Lw 9] n !992 26 n 2Q03
Record 24hr. Precip. 0.85" in 1927 Record 24hr. Precip. 1.16" in 1981
Jet Stream Forecast for 05/23 Sunrise & Sunset
Sunrise Sunset
Friday 5:45 AM 8:36 PM
Sunday 5:43 AM 8:37 PM
National Weather Service Forecasts:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/riwAndax.htm
60S 140S'•'++'++ .. ..
" : +-.. +.+++++. Worland
...... . .. SOS / 40s ..
+. - .
Recreation Outlook
Big Horn Lake - Unseasonably cool with cloudy skies
" - s • . • . • and periods of rain. Rain witl generally be light.
River Basin River Basin
Yellowstone National Park- Wet snow will be falling at
Shoshone River 145% of normal Upper Yellowstone River 166% of normal times for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. At least small
: i%:i new accumulations are likely.
Road and "fi'avel - (1-888-996-7623) or (307) 772-0824; Cellular: #ROAD Big Horn Mountains - This will not be a nice spring
Road and Travel on the web- http'Jttydotweb.state.wy.us/web/highway/text_road.html weekend. Look for chilly temperatures and light rain and
F .... t prepared by: DayWeather, Inc. Cheyenne, 82001 snow showers.
www.oayweather.com
Big Horn County Forecast sponsored by
lilll/llilllllllil - -- I+ ..................... -.,7 .........
