I,I
What's Inside
Lots of abduction tips 5
Trail dedication Saturday 6
RMHS homecoming photos 8
Regional volleyball bracket 11
LOVELL, WYOMING - VOLUME 107, NUMBER 19 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2012 - 75
PATTI CARPENTER
A group of cheerleaders leads the crowd at a pep rally and bonfire on Thursday night as
part of the homecoming festivities held at Rocky Mountain High School last week.
BY DAVID PECK
Plans are set for the first Fall
Festival to be held in conjunction
with the annual Lovell Holiday
Bazaar this Friday and Saturday,
Oct. 19-20.
The festival is a spinoff from
and an addition to the Lovell
Pumpkin Festival and is being
tied in with the Bazaar at the
Lovell Community Center, said
Lovell Inc. Director Sue Taylor,
one of several organizers of the
event.
The Bazaar will be held from
4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Taylor said,
and the Lovell Farmers' Market
will be moved out to the commu-
nity center for its final session
this fall, starting at 4 p.m. Friday.
The Bazaar will run from 9
a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, and
the Fall Festival will continue
from 1 to 4 p.m. with kids games
at the National Park Service Visi-
tor Center. Code Red Tactical will
sponsor an obstacle course and a
kid-friendly turkey shoot, Taylor
said. Other games are planned,
as well, and Ranger Shawn Wil-
liams will demonstrate throwing
an atlatl.
People attending the kids
games are encouraged to take in
the Lovell-Kane Museum display
at the visitor center, Taylor noted.
At 4 p.m. the Fall Festival
will move back to the community
center, Taylor said, where a bake-
off will be held in three catego-
ries: pumpkin, apple and choco-
late. Sponsored by Cowboys and
Cook Catering, entry forms are
available at the Hen Hoase, the
Lovell Area Chamber of Com-
merce and the Byron Bar.
Entries may be dropped off at
the community center from 4 to
5 p.m and judging will be held
See 'FALL FESTIVAL THIS
WEEKEND,' page 7
BY KARLA POMEROY
Fifth Judicial Circuit Court
Judge Thomas Harrington noti-
fied the Big Horn County com-
missioners at Tuesday's regular
meeting that the Wyoming Su-
preme Court will be closing the
Lovell Circuit Court office on July
1, 2013, as a cost-saving measure.
Judge Harrington said the
Supreme Court completed a clerk
study in April. "Based on those
numbers we are losing a clerk po-
sition," he said.
There are three positions
currently, and staff would be re-
duced to two -- the clerk and an
assistant. He said the two cur-
rent assistant clerks have agreed
to work half time each, splitting
one of the full-time positions.
The Supreme Court is looking
at closing three satellite offices in
the state, Lovell, Powell and Du-
bois. They estimate the savings
from closing the three offices over
a five-year period will be nearly
$300,000, according to their bud-
get report for 2013-2014, Har-
rington said.
According to the report, they
estimate a savings annually from
the Lovell office of $21,387.27,
which includes reducing staff to
half time. Harrington said the
problem is that they are already
eliminating the clerk position.
Other savings are in mileage and
office expense 7 According t6 their
study there were 1,284 filings in
Lovell in 2011, 841 for traffic and
263 civil/small claims cases.
The estimated savings for
Powell is $4,224.17 and Dubois is
$13,863.50.
The report states additional
savings comes from eliminating
equipment and technology needs.
"I can't tell you how much
I oppose this move. I think it's
the wrong direction to go," Har-
rington said. He added that he
wrote a memo last spring but
no one noticed. He said he didn't
know if the county could cover
the costs to keep the office open.
Chairman Jerry Ewen said,
"Our approach is going to have to
be political rather than financial.
We don't have the funds to pick
up the tab."
Commissioner Thomas "Scot-
ty" Hinman added that the coun-
ty could get local legislators
involved.
Harrington said he has heard
a Park County legislator is work-
ing on introducing legislation to
try and prevent the closings.
He said that the issue is
administrative. "I don't think
they're going to change anything
unless someone picks up the tab,"
adding that the Legislature has
asked each department to cut
budgets next year by 8 percent.
Ewen asked Harrington how
he thought the change would im-
pact circuit court.
"Everything will be filed
in Basin. We're worried about
where we're going to put the
files," he said. "This is an admin-
istrative action that doesn't have
to go through the Legislature un-
less the Legislature takes action
and says we're not closing any
COUrtS."
His biggest concern, however,
is "access to justice for residents
of Big Horn County." He said if
a business in Lovell has a $200
See 'CIRCUIT COURT
OFFICE TO CLOSE,' page 7
BY DAVID PECK
Organized quickly in thewake of last
week's abduction of an 11-year-old Cody
girl, a "Be Smart, Be Safe" child safety
meeting at the Lovell Community Center
Monday evening drew a large crowd of par-
ents and children.
Organized by the Lovell Police Dept.
and the North Big Horn Hospital District,
the session conducted by Chief of Police
Nick Lewis included many practical tips
for both parents and kids.
Lewis said he compiled all of the best
practices he could research in his Power-
Point presentation, hammering home over
and over again that children should be
wary of adults they don't know. He also em-
phasized how important it is for families to
remain vigilant long after the heightened
alert caused by the Cody case subsides.
Lewis said he would like to develop a
refrigerator magnet that would help fami-
lies keep in mind the most important safe-
ty tips to keep in mind.
THE PRESENTATION
Lewis begin Monday's session with
some statistics, noting that a child be-
comes missing or is abducted every 40 sec-
onds in the USA. He said there are three
primary types of kidnapping: a family
member abduction, 49 percent; an acquain-
tance abduction, 27 percent; and a strang-
er abduction, 24 percent. In 80 percent of
abductions by strangers, the first contact
between the child and the abductor occurs
within a quarter mile of the child's home.
Most abductors grab their victims on
the street or try to lure them into their ve-
hicle. Acting quickly is critical for a suc-
cessful outcome.
Lewis pointed out that a stranger is
anyone that a family doesn't know well,
and while it is common for kids to think
that '%ad strangers" look scary, they usu-
ally don't, and in fact, it is dangerous for
children to think that way.
"Good looking strangers can be just
as dangerous as the not-so-pretty ones,"
the chief said. "When you talk with chil-
dren about strangers, explain that no one
can tell if a stranger is nice or not nice just
by looking at them and (explain) that they
should be careful around ALL strangers."
Lewis said it is important to empower
DAVID PECK
Lovell Chief of Police Nick Lewis discusses child safety tips with parents and
children during a meeting Monday evening at the Lovell Community Center.
Lewis said his PowerPoint presentation is available to anyone who would like it.
children to say "no" to an adult stranger.
"If you want your children to stand up
for themselves, don't get in the habit of
speaking for them," he said. "Doing so can
rob a child from developing the very skills
he or she needs to look and sound deter-
mined. Instead, find opportunities for your
children to practice using strong body lan-
guage and a firm voice so they can learn to
defend themselves."
Give children permission to say "no,"
Lewis continued, noting that kids under
the age of 9 rarely say "no" to a sexual of-
fender because they are told to obey adults.
"So give your child permission to say or
yell 'No!' If someone tried to touch them in
places a bathing suit covers, makes them
feel at all afraid or uncomfortable, (tell
them to) say 'No!'," Lewis said. "(Tell them)
you will not be in trouble. If someone tells
you to do something you know is not right
like get in a car, say 'No!"
Teach kids to trust their "fear factor"
and pay attention to their gut instincts, he
added.
CODE WORD
Lewis suggested that families devel-
op a secret family code word, a word like
"Geronimo" that is easy to remember, and
give that code word only to family mem-
bers or trusted individuals who are respon-
sible for children when parents are absent.
Parents should stress that children never
leave with anyone who can't say the code
word. Also, parents should create a texted
code like 1-1-1 or 1-2-3 to be used by a child
to contact a parent if he or she is in danger.
Lewis said in many cases when a child
is found wandering and apparently lost,
an officer will ask the child's name and he
won't know his last name, phone number,
address and other basic information. Teach
9-1-1 to children and make sure theyknow
their last name, telephone number and
address.
On the other hand, he said, a child
should never give that kind of personal in-
formation to a stranger.
See 'KEEPING KIDS SAFE,' page 7
