6 I The Lovel! Chroniclel September 16, 2010 www.LovellChronicle.com
Hunt petition hearing ..,
Reason petition filed disputed in opening arguments
BY KARLA POMEROY
It will be several weeks before a deci-
sion is rendered in the petition filed to re-
move Big Horn County Attorney Georgia
Antley Hunt from office.
A seven-hour hearing was held last
Wednesday before the Big Horn County
commissioners and hearing officer Tom Ju-
bin. The hearing included the submission
on more than 40 exhibits, all written docu-
ments, and testimony from four witnesses.
The hearing concluded shortly after 5 p.m.
with Jubin telling the parties that written
closing arguments are due by Sept. 23. The
commissioners will have time to review all
the testimony and exhibits before making
a decision. No timeline has been set for
commissioners' deliberation or decision.
The petition, filed by Letitia Abromats
of Greybull on Aug. 2, alleges five reasons
for removal -- mishandling of criminal re-
cords data; vindictive and selective pros-
ecution of petitioner; closing office; con-
flict of interest with defense attorney Bill
Simpson; and exposing County Clerk Dori
Noyes to a federal contempt citation.
The hearing opened with Jubin an-
nouncing that motions had been filed re-
questing the removal of the two of the com-
missioners -- Keith Grant and Thomas
"Scotty" Hinman.
Both commissioners declined to recuse
themselves, stating they could be fair and
unbiased.
OPENING ARGUMENTS
Letitia Abromats used her opening ar-
guments to discuss what the case is not
about. "I'm not an attorney. I'm a citizen
bringing forth this petition pro we. I want-
ed to point out first of all what we're not
discussing."
She said she did not bring forth any-
thing that she did not feel she had suf-
ficient evidence for. She said prosecuto-
rial discretion would not be discussed or
questioned, nor would competence. She
said they would not be discussing prob-
able cause regarding the driving under
the suspension charge brought by Hunt
against Abromats that is at the heart of
the vindictive prosecution allegation.
"Those have been dealt with exten-
sively in the federal court and those are
not pertinent to the issues I'm bringing
forward today," Abromats said.
"This is a very serious proceeding
that I'm coming forward with. I didn't do
this in a flip or cavalier manner," Abro-
mats said.
She said the statute provides recourse
for citizens to deal with elected officials in
between elections because elections are so
far apart, but added that there are reasons
she brought the petition forward close to
the election.
"There are issues of public interest
that need to be put on record. There's also
a situation of a deterrent for other county
officials and oth-
ers in positions
of authority that
they need not to
use their position
of authority in an
improper manner
or they're not to
be reckless with
their position of
authority," Abro-
mats said.
Abromats
said, "I'm de- Georgia Antley
pending upon Hunt
you three gentle-
men to do what's
important for the
public policy issues, which is to make sure
that our elected officials are held account-
able by the public."
Hunt's attorney Larry Jones said there
has been a long history between the two
parties, who are currently battling it out
in federal court and district court on two
separate civil cases.
He said the biggest question is: why
was the petition filed? "The reasons (Abro-
mats) gave of why we are here today does
not answer the question ..."
"There's been a primary election and
my client has not won. She lost. There are
some four months left in her term. Her
term will end Jan. 1 or 2." He said even
if the commissioners use their discretion
and choose to remove Hunt from office
"my client will serve out her term." There
is a right to an appeal and any decision is
stayed during an appeal. He said, "No Dis-
trict Court is going to resolve an appeal in
four months. So to remove my client from
office can't be the reason we are here. It's
illogical."
Jones addressed Abromats' opening
comments about filing the petition as a
deterrent to other public officials. "That is
a totally improper reason for bringing any
claim under the statute," he said.
"I believe the evidence will show that
the petitioner and her husband filed this
particular action on Aug. 2 and argued
that it had to be heard on Election Day.
(During a commission meeting in present-
ing the petition Aug. 3, Phil Abromats ar-
gued that the hearing should be held Aug.
16 so a decision could be made for the vot-
ers to make an informed decision.)
"Can there be any other reasonable
conclusion from that other than the peti-
tioner wanted to influence the election?"
Jones said.
He added that motivation for the pe-
tition is "purely personal. It is solely in-
tended as a means of gaining an advan-
tage in the federal court litigation."
Jubin said the Petitioner (Abromats)
will have the burden of proof, which is
"clear and convincing proof."
Defense attorney testifies on 'sweetheart deal' accusation
BY KARLA POMEROY
Only two of the five allegations listed
in the petition to remove Big Horn County
Attorney Georgia Antley Hunt Hunt from
office are not part of the federal lawsuit of
Abromats vs. Hunt, Matthew Miller, et al.
The issues -- conflict of interest and clos-
ing of the county attorney office -- were
addressed during testimony of the seven-
hour hearing last Wednesday before the
Big Horn County commissioners.
Petitioner Letitia Abromats submit-
ted two documents regarding the allega-
tion of closing the county attorney's office,
an e-mail from Georgia Antley Hunt to col-
leagues and family on Dec. 22, 2007, stat-
ing that someone had complained about
the office being closed the previous day
and that Commissioner Keith Grant had e-
mailed her a statutory reminder.
The second exhibit was an article from
the Basin Republican Rustler dated Oct.
15, 2009, where the closing, of the office in
September 2009 was discussed at a com-
missioner meeting. In the article, Commis-
sioner Jerry Ewen states that all offices are
to be open during business hours.
During the hearing Wednesday, Hunt
testified that the first closing was for a few
hours just before Christmas: She said she
was leaving early and did not feel it was
right to ask her employees to work. Dec. 21
was a Friday and the courthouse was closed
Dec. 24-25 (Monday and Tuesday).
In 2009, she and her deputy county at-
torneys attended the Wyoming Association
of County Officials. She said her adminis-
trative assistant had a doctor's appoint-
ment that could not be rescheduled and
rather than hire someone to answer the
phones for one day she closed the office. She
said she is unaware of any emergencies or
issues that were not addressed when the
office was closed.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Regarding the conflict of interest, also
termed a "sweetheart deal" in the petition,
Abromats did not call any witnesses but
filed a few exhibits including the federal
case pleading showing that Bill Simpson is
the attorney of record for Hunt and a news-
paper article regarding the embezzlement
case of Quinton Vavra.
Hunt's attorney Larry Jones called
three witnesses to address the allegation,
first calling Michelle Burns regarding an
embezzlement case while she was county
attorney from 2003-2006. Burns testified
that officials from the Town of Burlington
did not want the defendant to go to jail and
she agreed to a 7-13-301 or deferred pros-
ecution where Mary Howard would not
have a felony conviction on her record if she
abided by terms of her probation and made
full restitution.
Hunt also testified regarding her re-
lationship with Simpson as a defense at-
torney and as her attorney in civil action.
Regarding the Vavra case, she said Vavra
was initially charged with two felonies -
forgery and larceny by bailee. Vavra pled
guilty to the forgery count, paid restitution
of $29,000 to Big Horn Rural Electric, was
sentenced to three to five years in prison,
which was suspended, and was placed on
five years probation. She said Simpson re-
quested a deferred prosecution sentence but
Hunt denied it because she did not think it
was appropriate despite the fact Vavra had
a clean criminal record.
Simpson testified that he believed
Judge Steven Cranfill knew that Simpson
was representing Hunt on the lawsuits, as
well as representing Vavra, since Cranfill
was the judge in the Vavra case and is the
judge on the lawsuit Abromats filed against
Hunt in District Court alleging "interfer-
ence with contractual relations."
Simpson said he has worked with five
Big Horn County attorneys over his years
as a defense attorney and each one has
agreed to deferred prosecutions. He said
embezzlement cases are good situations
for deferred prosecution because they are
"crimes against an entity, not a person."
"If this was a sweetheart deal (for
Vavra) it was not much of one based on oth-
er deals I've made," Simpson said. He said
he, Hunt and Judge Cranfill were aware
that Big Horn REA officials wanted Vavra
to serve prison time and plea agreements
have been against the wishes of victims in
the cases.
Under cross examination, he told Abr0-
mats he did not recall th judge being up-
set by the plea agreement, adding that the
judge has sole discretion to accept or reject
any agreement.
PUBLIC N()TICES
Bi Hnrn Coun Schanl Disfricf #2 ;chanl Lunch .nrnram
BIG HORN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT #2
FREE AND REDUCED PRICE MEALS IN
THE NATIONAL SCHOOL BREAKFAST AND SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMS
BIG HORN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT #2 announced its policy for providing free and reduced price meals for children served under the
National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. Each school and/or the Special Education Office have a copy of the
policy, which may be reviewed by any interested party.
Children in households receiving SNAP (Food Stamps), FDPIR, or TANF and most foster children can receive free meals regardless of your
income. Households receiving assistance under the SNAP (Food Stamps), FDPIR, or TANF should only submit an Application for Meal
Benefits if they are not notified of their current eligibility in the new school year.
If the household income is within the Income Eligibility Guidelines, your child(ren) can receive free or reduced price meals. Applications for
School Meal Benefits are available at school sites.
The Big Horn County School District #2 offers healthy meals every school day. Elementary (K-5) prices are $1.90 per lunch, $1.10 breakfast.
Middle School and High School (6-12) are $2.15 per lunch, $1.10 per breakfast. Adult meals are $3.00 per lunch and $1.50 per breakfast.
Your children may qualify for free meals or for reduced price meals.
INCOME ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR FREE AND REDUCED PRICE CATEGORIES
For school year 2010-2011
FREE MEALS
Every
Household Twice Per Two
Size Annual Monthly Month Weeks
1 $14,079 $1,174 $587 $542
2 $18,941 $1,579 $790 $729
3 $23,803 $1,984 $992 $916
4 $28,665 $2,389 $1,195 $1,103
5 $33,527 $2,794 $1,397 $1,290
6 $38,389 $3,200 $1,600 $1,477
7 $43,251 $3,605 $1,803 $1,664
8 $48,113 $4,010 $2,005 $1,851
For each
additional
family
member,
ADD $4,862 $406 $203 $187
Weekly
$271
$365
$458
$552
:i
$645
$739
$832
$926
$94
REDUCED PRICE MEALS
Twice Per
Month
Annual Monthly
$20,036 $1,670 $835
$26,955 $2,247 $1,124
$33,874 $2,823 $1,412
$40,793 $3,400 $1,700
$47,712 $3,976 $1,988
$54,631 $4,553 $2,277
$61,550 ! $5,130 $2,565
$68,469 $5,706 $2,853
$6,919 $577 $289
Every
Two
Weeks Weekly
$771 $386
$1,037 $519
$1,303 $652
$1,569 $785
$1,836 $918
$2,102 $1,051
$2,368 $1,184
$2,634 $1,317
$267 $134
Lnwer Sunshine Reservnir .nrnject
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Greybull Valley Irrigation District is seeking responses to its request
for proposals for qualified contractors and engineers interested in
submitting a design-build proposal for the engineering and construc-
tion of the Greybull Valley Irrigation District Hydroelectric Project,
including FERC permit application. The project is located at the
Lower Sunshine Reservoir in Park County, Wyoming. Interested
parties should contact Greybull Valley Irrigation District, P.O. Box
44, Emblem, WY, phone 307-762-3555, Attn: Lee Allen, email: gvid-
guy@msn.com. For engineers/contractors interested in submitting
a design-build response to the RFP, Greybull Valley Irrigation Dis-
trict is requesting that a notice of intent to bid be presented to them
by September 21, 2010. A pre-bid conference has been scheduled
for September 21, 2010 and although not mandatory for persons
intending to submit a response to the design-build option for the
hydroelectric facility, it is strongly recommended. Different time lines
apply to engineers intending to provide a response for only engi-
neering services.
Publish: September 16, 2010
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To schedule oaz appointment please call 307-587-5131
Free and Reduced Meal Benefits are for breakfast and lunch.
In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the
basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.
To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington DC 20250-9410 OR CALL (202) 720-5964 (Voice and TDD).
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Publish: September 16, 2010
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Recycling bins are located in the parking lot of the Red Apple Supermarket.
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U,$, OEPARTMENT OF HEAL1H AND HUMAN IIERVICI
