II
Lovell, Wyoming 82431
Price 75¢
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Volume 104, Number 49
BY BRAD DEVEREAUX
A memorial fund in
memory of former Lovell
resident Jennifer Elaine
Thomas McDougall, 30,
has been established at
First National Bank and
Trust in Lovell to benefit
the children left behind fol-
lowing her murder Sunday
in Spring, Texas.
According to Houston-
area media reports, Mi-
chael Alan McDougall, 37,
formerly of Cody, was j ailed
Monday in Harris County,
Texas, and charged with
capital murder in the shoot-
ing death of his pregnant
wife, Jennifer. Court re-
cords show he was booked
Monday and ordered held
without bail.
Jennifer Elaine Mc-
Dougall, who was about six
months pregnant, was shot
several times, according to
the Harris County Sheriffs
Office. Her unborn child did
not survive the shooting.
Investigators say wit-
nesses reported hear-
ing gunfire and a woman
scream Sunday morning.
Upon arrival, deputies ar-
rested McDougall at the
house and a handgun was
recovered ......
The McDougalls moved
to Spring from Denver last
year and the couple had
three other children.
MEMORIAL FUND
The Lovell High School
Class of 1998, of which Mc-
Dougall was a member, es-
tablished a memorial do-
nation account at First
National Bank and Trust.
LHS Valedictorian Evan Frost and Salutatorian Ben Long
BY DAVID PECK up," Frost said. "In the first couple of weeks
A pair of young men with lofty goals back it was hard to make myself do any-
and an outstanding academic record have thing, and that got me even further behind,
been named valedictorian and salutatorian but I was able to get caught up."
at Lovell High School ahead of next Mon-Frost said he enjoys science, although
day's commencement exercises, his strongest area on the ACT was Eng-
Evan Frost, son of Stuart and Holly fish. He also enjoys music and was selected
Frost, is the valedictorian, earning a grade for the all-state choir as a junior, singing
point average of 4.0, and Ben Long, the son
of Pat and Barbara Long, is the salutato-
rian with a 3.8 GPA.
Frost, who also earned a 29 on his ACT,
plans to enroll at the University of Wyo-
ming under the ROTC-Air Force program
in pre-med in hopes of eventually enter-
ing medical school to become a neurologi-
cal surgeon.
That goal is fitting in light of the fact
that Frost had to battle back from head
and back injuries suffered in an automobile
accident last fall.
"It took Llr emester t6-g 'gffglitl ack "
Commencement
Anyone is welcome to do-
nate to the fund, which will The Lovell High Commencement Cer,
benefit her three children, e monies will be held Monday, May 24, at
Kim Anderson Cutler 7 p.m. at the Jo ,Winte rhoUer -
of Lovell was a friend and nasium. Forty students will reCeive::t}leir
classmate of McDougall diplomas Monday:
bass. He also plays the guitar and counts
instructor Ron McClure as one of his favor-
ire teachers.
A successful golfer, he placed second at
State as junior in Class 3A, fourth as a se-
nior in 2A and then won the regional crown
Friday and Saturday in Moorcroft.
He has participated in choir, guitar
class, Knowledge Bowl his freshman year
and broadcasting, video and digital imag-
ing.
"People say you're going the wrong
Primary election
BY DAVID PECK AND
BRENDA TENBOER
The filing period for the
2010 Primary Election start-
ed Thursday, May 13, and
• there are already a number
of local races blooming.
In Lovell, there will be a
race for mayor with incum-
bent mayor Bruce Morrison
receiving a challenge from
James Szlemko. Both have
filed at town hall. No coun-
cil candidates had declared
as of Tuesday afternoon.
Up for re-election are Bruce
Wolsey and Jodi Lindsay.
Szlemko has lived in
Lovell for nearly 12 years
and is a frequent contribu-
tor to the Lovell Chronicle
editorial page through his
letters to the editor com-
menting on community is-
sues. The primary goal of
his campaign is increasing
public access to the gov-
erning process. He issued
a statement this week that
will be included in a story
next week.
In Byron, there were
two filings as of Tuesday af-
ternoon, according to Town
Clerk Vicki Gibson. Bret
George is running for may-
or, and Linda NeVille has
filed for the council seat to
which she was earlier ap-
pointed. Yet to file, as of
Tuesday, were Mayor Mil-
ton Meier and Councilman
Curtis Abraham.
There had not been
any filings in Cowley as of
and said many will miss
her for her friendly and
caring attitude.
"She was great, she
was always so nice," Cut-
ler said. "She was a great
friend and she was always
smiling. She had quite a
variety of friends."
Cutler said Anderson
was always anxious to help
friends and will be missed
greatly by many. She said
her thoughts and prayers
go to her parents, Marie
and Jim Thomas of Lovell,
and the rest of her family.
Though the two friends
drifted out of constant con-
tact over the years, Cutler
said they kept in touch on
See 'MURDER,' page 7
Wednesday morning. Seats
Frost listed Biology I and II as his fa- up for election include May-
vorite classes, along with Joshua Sanders' or Roland Simmons and
See OP STUDENTS' I ge--7 " c0unm 'members Carolyn
Grad night out parties Monday and Tuesday
BY BRAD DEVEREAUX
Following their respec-
tive commencement cere-
monies Monday and Tues-
day, the Lovell High School
and Rocky Mountain High
School graduating classes
will enjoy a night of games,
food, fun and a last chance
to be together as a class at
the 2010 Grad Night Out
parties at the Lovell Com-
munity Center. Lovell's
party will be held Monday
and Rocky Mountain's will
be Tuesday.
The celebrations will
get the newly graduated
students dancing.
Prizes will be given
throughout the night, she
said, including a refrigera-
tor, iPOD Touch, cash, a
computer, a bicycle, and
more, Lewis said.
The party will shift to
Victoi y Lanes for bowling
from midnight to about 1:30
or 2 a.m., she said, before
heading back to the commu-
nity center.
Games will begin at
See 'GRAD NIGHT,'
page 7
begin at 10 p.m. sharp, ac-
cording to organizer Geor-
gette Lewis. Every senior
is invited and may bring a
guest, she said. Transpor-
tation will be available for
guests who need to leave
before the party is over. Se-
niors are encouraged to stay
for the entire night, she
said, and may not return if
they decide to leave.
The night will kick off
with burgers, nachos and
food before a DJ will light
up the community center
with some kickin' beats to
Barnes and David Banks.
There is a race for may-
or in Deaver, Clerk Vana
Camp said. Incumbent
councilmen Don Wenstrom
Jr. and Fred Yates have
each filed for the mayor's
seat currently held by Rod-
ney Wambeke. Gary Ful-
bright and incumbent Mark
Cozzens have filed for the
town council. Wambeke and
Councilwoman Cindy Phil-
lips had not filed as of Tues-
day afternoon.
The Frannie town of-
fice was closed Wednesday,
so filings were unavailable.
Up for election this year
are the seats held by May-
or Gerald Dart and council
members Marty Roedel and
James Beard.
STATE OFFICES
On the state level, as
of Tuesday night, both Sen.
Ray Peterson (R-Cowley)
and Rep. Elaine Harvey (R-
Lovell) had filed for the Re-
publican nomination to the
seats they currently hold in
the Wyoming Legislature.
They had no challengers as
of Tuesday.
Rep. Cynthia Lummis
(R-Cheyenne) has filed to
retain her seat in the U.S.
House of Representatives
and, so far, has no challeng-
ers.
State office candidates
so far include:
Governor, Republican
- Colin Simpson of Cody,
John Self of Sheridan and
Ron Micheli of Fort Bridg-
er; Governor, Democrat-
A1 Hamburg of Torrington
and Chris Zachary of Chey-
enne.
Secretary of State, Re-
publican - incumbent Max
Maxfield; State Auditor, Re-
publican - Bruce Brown of
Devil's Tower; State Trea-
surer, Republican - incum-
bent Joe Meyer.
Supt. of Public Instruc-
tion, Republican - incum-
bent Jim McBride, Cindy
Hill of Cheyenne and Ted
Adams of Cheyenne; Supt.
of Public Instruction, Demo-
crat - Mike Massie of Lara-
mie.
COUNTY RACES
Big Horn County Dep-
uty Clerk Cynde LaCounte
has filed to run in the Aug.
17 Primary Election as a
Republican candidate for
County Clerk.
Incumbent Dori Noyes
also filed her intention to
run for a third term in of-
rice.
LaCounte has worked
as a deputy in the clerk's of-
fice for a total of five years,
giving her the qualifications
and experience to under-
stand how the county oper-
ates, she said.
During her employment
as a deputy clerk, LaCounte
said she has been ewarded
with increasing responsibil-
ity
and With tl at additional
education and training.
"The current county
clerk showed appreciation
to my accountability and
trustworthiness by request-
ing that I perform addition-
al tasks such as payroll,
accounts payable and re-
ceivable, elections and pre-
serving documents on mi-
crofilm to scanned images,"
she said.
LaCounte bases her
campaign on compassion
by ensuring all people are
treated with respect, dig-
nity and fairness. She said
she is uniquely qualified
and will use her knowledge
and professionalism while
in office, if elected.
"I want to promote
a productive team atmo-
sphere between the employ-
ees where I can implement a
plan to increase productivi-
ty and place the highest pri-
ority on the residents of our
county and their satisfac-
tion," she said. "This means
I will listen to the needs of
the citizens and other elect-
ed officials, which can be
achieved through open com-
munication."
She graduated from
See 'ELECTION,' page 7
J
'it
survives
BY NATHAN OSTER
Jim Scott has seen a lot in his 31 years with Burl-
ington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad.
But nothing will ever compare to what he encoun-
tered last Wednesday in the Wind River Canyon.
Scott, who lives in Greybull, was the engineer of
a southbound BNSF freight train that struck a boul-
der the size of a pickup truck and derailed in the Wind
River Canyon.
See 'TRAIN WRECK,' page 8
Left, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
crews work Friday morning to clean up the site
of the derailment that took place Wednesday in
Wind River Canyon just south of Thermopolis.
Most of the work was completed by Saturday.
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