A temporary home for 157 cats

The more than 150 cats seized from a Powell area home on Thursday (Aug. 26) needed a place to go as legal proceedings and logistical operations are pending. So, workers with the Humane Society of the United States set up a temporary shelter at the Park County Fairgrounds.

On Friday, a team of veterinarians, assistants and Humane Society workers examined and provided medical care to the confiscated felines. This video shows some of this morning's operation.

We'll have much more detailed coverage in Tuesday's Tribune.

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More than 150 cats seized at Powell area home

Officials say 157 cats were seized from a rural Powell home today by employees and volunteers from the Humane Society of the United States, in coordination with the Park County Sheriff's and Park County Attorney's Offices.

A massive Humane Society trailer was loaded up with cats as they were captured in and around a Lane 11 residence south of Powell.

"We're doing a search warrant to collect cats," said County Attorney Bryan Skoric at the scene.

Workers assembled cages to carry captured cats from the home to an area where they were examined and tagged by Humane Society workers, and then loaded onto the trailer.
The Humane Society said in a press release that the cats were being taken to the Park County Fairgrounds for temporary care and holding. The cats will likely be taken to larger communities to be adopted out.

Within city of Powell limits, homeowners may own a maximum of two adult pets, but in the county's unincorporated areas, there are no maximums.

"There is no number -- it's the manner in which they're kept," Skoric said. He said the allegations were that these cats were not being properly cared for.

Adam Parascandola, the Humane Society’s director of animal cruelty issues who was leading efforts at the scene Thursday, said the home’s wooden floors were soaked with cat urine and feces. He said the high levels of ammonia in the house made the air potentially harmful to breathe for both animals and humans; workers in the home wore masks as they removed cats.

"It's definitely pretty unsanitary," Parascandola said.

“I have not gone into the residence nor will I,” said Skoric.Parascandola said Humane Society workers were using live traps and nets to catch the cats throughout the house -- including the ceiling.

"We do a lot of them (cat-catching operations) so we know where their hiding spots are," he said.

Skoric, who has been county attorney since 2003, recalled an early 1990's case where an elderly Cody woman had a large number of animals, but "Since I've been here, certainly we've had nothing like this," he said.

Skoric declined to name the three individuals who were living at the residence. Clifton Taylor was listed in the phone book as living at the 900 block address on Lane 11.

No criminal charges had been filed in the case as of Thursday morning.

The affidavit of probable cause used to conduct the search will not be publicly available until the warrant is returned to Circuit Court. That was expected to happen perhaps sometime tomorrow.

Skoric said the help of the Humane Society — which will pay for nearly all of the operation -- was critical. Parascandola estimated the Humane Society's cost at between $40,000 and $50,000; kennels and other materials were donated by PetSmart Charities.

"It's an operation that needed a great deal of cooperation," Skoric said, adding, "Quite frankly I don't know how Park County would have handled it (without the Humane Society).”

The Tribune will update this story as it develops.

Humane Society video of the operation is embedded below:

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Signatures sought for independent Gov. candidate

A local conservative activist is collecting signatures to get Taylor Haynes, a Cheyenne rancher, former practicing urologist and current University of Wyoming trustee, on the general election ballot in November.

If you're interested in signing the petition, you'd better act fast.

Local folks interested in signing should contact David Kellett of rural Powell today (Friday), because he plans to put the signatures he gathers in the mail on Saturday. To make the ballot, Haynes must submit the signatures of 4,988 registered Wyoming voters to the Secretary of State's office by Monday, Aug. 23.

Kellett, organizer of the Wyoming 9-12 Coalition, said he would have the petition available at his home on Lane 9. He can be contacted at 754-4354.

Haynes' campaign has received added attention since Tuesday's primary election, apparently from Republicans who view winner Matt Mead as not conservative enough. Ron Micheli had been viewed as the most conservative candidate in the Republican governor's race, but Haynes, also a registered Republican, may be even more so.

Haynes told the Casper Star Tribune earlier this month he didn't think any of the leading Republicans "will take the hard, constitutionally-based line that I am saying I'll take." He was endorsed by Wyoming's Constitution Party last month.

On Haynes' campaign website, he lists his positions on a variety of issues, from taxes (minimize them) to abortion ("protect the life of the unborn unequivocally, no exceptions") to voluntary school prayer (a First Amendment right). But state sovereignty comes across as a clear key issue.

"We must contain the Federal Government to its constitutionally legitimate roll (sic)," says Haynes' home page "We CAN accomplish this by exercising the constitutional authority vested in Wyoming at statehood and returning to our traditional Christian values. We must protect what we’ve been given. We must DRAW THE LINE."

If he makes the Nov. 2 ballot as a gubernatorial candidate, Haynes, as an independent, would face Republican Mead and Democrat Leslie Petersen.

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'Arthur 2 Fire' simmers near Yellowstone’s East Entrance

Strong winds Wednesday brought to life a fire that likely ignited from a series of storms that passed through the Yellowstone National Park area more than a week ago, according a National Park Service news release.

As of Thursday afternoon, the 75-acre Arthur 2 Fire was about a mile and a half miles southwest of Yellowstone's East Entrance. No closures were in effect.

Large amounts of dead upright and down timber — victims of the 2001 Arthur Fire — comprise the sequel's fuel.

No firefighters were battling the blaze Thursday.

“Because of the acres of snags and the heavy dead and down fuels, there is no way to get firefighters in there safely, no safety zone and no escape routes,” said Fire Management Officer Joe Krish.

Since it was lightning-ignited, the blaze qualifies as natural and the Park Service generally tries to allow natural processes to occur in Yellowstone.

“Yellowstone has requested a wildland fire management team to do a long-term analysis plan for the Arthur 2 Fire,” said the release.

Shoshone National Forest personnel also are involved in the decision to manage the fire, the release said.

Only about 20 percent of the fire’s perimeter is active, the release said.

Updates on the Arthur 2 Fire can be found on the Inciweb website.

(Revised at 6 p.m. to show that the Park Service has renamed the fire from "East Fire" to "Arthur 2 Fire." The new name better reflects the location of the fire, the Park Service said.)

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LIVE Park County primary election results

This post will be updated with results and election info as it's available. Keep refreshing this page for the latest.

10:45 p.m. Just got a phew from Clerk Kelly Jensen. We're done. No surprises. Keep in mind these results are unofficial until certified later this week.

Dave Bonner wins re-election to House District 25 by about 15 percent (300 votes), Sam

Krone wins District 24 pretty handily, incumbent Tim French and challengers Loren Grosskopf and Joe Tilden advance as the top three GOPers for the Park County Commission. Commissioners Jill Shockley Siggins and Bill Brewer have been voted off the board.

Barb Poley looks to be the winning candidate in the GOP treasurer's race.

West Park's $14.2 million cap tax fails with little doubt, with only about 30 percent of Park County voters supporting it.

Powell City Councilman Rex Sanders has lost his seat, with challengers Myron Heny and Tim Sapp advancing.

I think that's a wrap. You can see all of the county results here, and the Casper Star-Tribune is doing a fantastic job covering the statewide races here. The GOP governor's race is too close to call with nearly all votes in.

Thanks to those who followed along!

10:33 p.m. Things that Powell's vote didn't change -- in GOP race for treasurer, Barb Poley has emerged on top over Rebecca Winterowd, in state GOOP races, Simpson wins the county's support for governor, Cloud wins the county's auditor nod, Hill the county nod for state superintendent of public instruction.

10:12 p.m. Some more highlights: looks like incumbent city councilman Rex Sanders has been ousted. He picked up just 17 percent of the vote (69 votes), behind Myron Heny (45 percent of the vote, 182 ballots) and Tim Sapp (33 percent, 133 votes).

I think we can safely say the West Park cap tax has failed. Voters in Powell and Meeteetse soundly voted it down; with their votes added in, only 30 percent of voters county-wide supported the tax.

10:10 p.m. Most of Powell's precincts are in (so are Meeteetse's) and we have 24 of 29 precincts reporting; absentees are among those still out.

In House District 25, incumbent Dave Bonner leads with 45 percent of the vote (683 votes) over Gerry Parker's 32 percent (488 votes) and David Kellett's 18 percent (280 votes).

For the commission, incumbent Tim French (2,373 votes) and challengers Loren Grosskopf (2,029 votes) and Joe Tilden (1,873 votes) continue to have the top three slots for the three open seats. Incumbents Bill Brewer (1,783) and Jill Shockley Siggins (1,633) continue to trail. It's starting to look grim for them. Vicki Gibson of Powell looks like she picked up a ton of votes in her hometown, but with 1,104 votes so far, it likely won't be enough. Hank Whitelock is also in quadruple digits, with 1,349 votes.

9:47 p.m. Still waiting on Powell results to be uploaded.

9:26 p.m. Powell results just arrived. While those are being processed, it might be a good time to start checking statewide results, as the GOP governor's race looks TIGHT early on between Micheli, Mead and Meyer, with Colin Simpson significantly behind.

9:20 p.m. While we continue to wait for results from Powell and other areas, a brief recap of what we know so far:

Sitting commissioners Jill Shockley Siggins and Bill Brewer need help from Powell to keep their seats. Challengers Joe Tilden and Loren Grosskopf are sitting in the top two spots, followed by incumbent commissioner Tim French. It'll be a tough uphill battle for anyone other than those five to vault into the top three.

The West Park Hospital cap tax is headed to failure unless Powell voters overwhelmingly support it.

Similarly, barring a monumental shift in Powell, Barb Poley takes the GOP's nomination for Treasurer over Rebecca Winterowd.

Sam Krone takes the House District 24 race pretty handily, early results indicate.

Colin Simpson will win his home county in the GOP governor's race.

9:01 p.m. Some other results as we wait for Powell's ballots to come in... Again, this is with 10 of 29 precincts reporting, mostly Cody area.

In the GOP race for auditor, Cynthia Cloud (of Cody) has 66 percent of the vote (1,602 votes), Bruce Brown has 34 percent (827 votes).

State Superintendent of Public Instruction (GOP side), Cindy Hill leads 48 percent of the vote (1,114 votes), Jim McBride has 31 percent (703 votes), Trent Blankenship has 15 percent (351 votes) followed by Ted Adams - 6 percent and 131 votes.

U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo) is winning over challenger Evan Slafter, 83 percent to 17 percent.

If you're wondering To update the unopposed candidates (secretary of state, state treasurer, county sheriff, coroner, attorney, clerk of district court, etc.), nobody's getting bumped off by a write in campaign.

8:54 p.m. 10 Park County precincts are in (of 29). Basically still just Cody results.

In the GOP governor's race Simpson continues to lead with 39 percent (1,059 votes), followed by Rita Meyer at 23 percent (628 votes), 21 percent for Ron Micheli (563 votes), and 14 percent for Matt Mead (391 votes).

On the Dem side, Leslie Petersen leads Pete Gosar by 21 votes.

Challengers Joe Tilden (1,104 votes) and Loren Grosskopf (1,098 votes) and incumbent Tim French (1,068 votes) continue to lead the race for the three open seats on the commission. Siggins (889 votes) and Brewer (850 votes) are next, followed by Whitelock (659 votes).

The $14.2 million West Park cap tax is looking very likely to fail, with 58.5 percent opposed (1,662 votes) and 41.5 percent in favor (1,178 votes), again, in mostly Cody precincts.

In the race for county treasurer, Poley has more than 80 percent of the vote (1,931 votes), followed by just less than 20 percent for Rebecca Winterowd (472 votes).

Krone has 53 percent of the vote in the GOP District 24 race (1,027 votes), Simonton has 30 percent (587) and Whitman has 16 percent (313).

8:40 p.m. First results are in, they include 7 of 29 precincts, mostly Cody areas (correction, not Meeteetse).

Simpson's leading the county for the GOP governor nod, challengers Joe Tilden and Loren Grosskopf and incumbent Tim French lead the race for the three open commission seats. Incumbents Jill Shockley Siggins and Bill Brewer may be in trouble in the fourth and fifth position unless Powell comes through for them. Deputy Park County Attorney Sam Krone leads the House District 24 race by a healthy margin. GOP Treasurer candidate Barb Poley is up handily as well.

Looks bad for the cap tax. 58 percent (1,053 voters) against and 42 percent (761 voters for).

Powell's results are still on the way.

Governor's race:

GOP

Simpson -668

Meyer -412

Micheli -383

Mead -248

Kousoulos - 31

County Commission (top three):

Joe Tilden -744

Loren Grosskopf - 695

Tim French - 608

Jill Shockley Siggins - 581

Bill Brewer - 504

Hank Whitelock -409

Karla Dee Gitlitz -176

Fred Reynolds - 125

Vicki Gibson - 170

Bill Yetter -160

Ted Davey - 57

House District 24:

Krone - 788

Simonton - 442

Whitman - 248

8:08 p.m. Still no results yet, but elections department staff are in the process of uploading results from four precincts. Clerk Kelly Jensen said complications with having to print and use some emergency ballots has complicated the process, but she expects some results - such as those from Cody's bigger precincts - could be available in about 15 minutes.

7:50 p.m. Some more financial numbers, on the governor's race, if you're interested, as you'd guess, Cody native Colin Simpson led the way in raising money in Park County among Republicans, pulling in $257,144 in the county as of Aug. 3 -- with $117,260 coming from himself or immediate family. Ron Micheli raised $15,855 in the county. Rita Meyer raised $8,455 and Matt Mead raised $5,080 from individuals. Lesser-known GOP gubernatorial Candidate Alan Kousoulos of Cody raised all of his $4,038 in Park County, $3,111 of that from himself or immediate family. On the Democratic side, Pete Gosar raised $250 and Petersen reported raising nothing here.

Just for the record, the courthouse is hopping tonight. We've got ballots coming in, and down in the basement, the county planning and zoning board is hosting an overflow crowd at their monthly meeting.

7:34 p.m. No ballots back yet, but it appears turnout in Park County was really high, says Clerk Kelly Jensen. There were an unexpectedly high number of Republicans, Jensen said.

Party-switching, perhaps?

"We believe we had a lot (of switches)," Jensen said, but that's still just speculation until the numbers come in.

Ballots are coming in from the more than 10

polling places across the county as I type.

"The other clerks were saying it (election day) was dull and boring, I was like, huh?" said Jensen.

7:15 p.m. I'm not going to guess the results of some of the contentious races, but here are some possibly useful numbers to consider as the polls close here in Park County and across the state:

As of Aug. 3, the reporting deadline, here's what the fundraising picture looked like for the Republican candidates for House District 25 (the Powell area):

1. Tribune publisher (and incumbent) Dave Bonner - $1,850
2. Powell Church of Christ Preacher Gerry Parker - $1,830
3. K.I. Computing owner and tea party organizer David Kellett - $900

Back in May, Kellett said he'd need to raise $15,000 to run a successful campaign, so we'll see if that holds true.

And in the extremely heated GOP race in House District 24 (the Cody area) to replace outgoing House Speaker Colin Simpson, here's how the fundraising numbers shook out:

1. Private attorney Steve Simonton - $20,606 (for the record, that appears to be more than double the amount raised by any other legislative candidate in the state)
2. Deputy County Attorney Sam Krone - $9,430
3. Optometrist Jason Whitman $4,345

Just for fun, if Facebook followers are an accurate predictor of support, he's how the GO gubernatorial candidates may finish:

1. Colin Simpson - 2,337
2. Ron Micheli - 2,073
3. Matt Mead - 1,932
4. Rita Meyer - 1,714

And the Dems:

1. Leslie Petersen - 426
2. Pete Gosar - 417

6:10 p.m. As you hopefully are aware, today is primary election day in Wyoming (along with fellow W-state Washington). If you didn't know, well, you do now, and you've still got time to get to the polls and vote (they close at 7 p.m.).

Obviously, there aren't any results available from Park County just yet, but as soon as they are, I'll be updating this post. Just refresh the page for the latest. I'll probably start updates in earnest around 7:15 or so, depending on how things go.

If you're looking for some other sources to check live results as they come in, you can try the Park County Clerk's Office primary election results page and, for the whole state, the Secretary of State's elections results page. If things work like they did in 2008, the Tribune should have county results online before anyone else.

There's a lot of big races to track tonight. Here's what I plan on focusing on: the Republican county commission race, West Park's cap tax, the Cody and Powell GOP state house races (that's district 24 & 25, respectively), and, of course, the governor's races. And I'll be sure to track the county treasurer's race in the Republican party and Powell's Ward 3 City Council race (which is non-partisan).

As we wait for the polls to close, if you've got any fearless predictions for the outcome of tonight's races, by all means, please post them in the comments below and wow us with your political prognostication skills.

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Death in Powell not related to escaped convict

Powell police are investigating the death of a woman who was found in a Powell home Monday morning.

Contrary to rumors circulating around town, the incident is in no way related to the Monday arrest of an Arizona prison escapee in Meeteetse, said police chief Tim Feathers.

Kristina Gevara, 26, was found dead in a Bent Street home Monday morning, according to Park County Coroner Tim Power.

An autopsy was performed Tuesday to determine the cause of death, but no results were available Tuesday afternoon.

A final report may not be available until toxicology reports are complete, which could take up to three weeks, Power said.

The case is under investigation.

You can read more about the story in Thursday’s Powell Tribune.

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Updated: Escaped convict captured in Meeteetse

UPDATE 1 p.m: Tracy Province, an escaped convict from Arizona, chose to sign a waiver of extradition Tuesday morning in Park County's Circuit Court in Cody.

Following the hearing, a heavily-armed contingent of Park County Sheriff's officers escorted him out of the courthouse to a waiting car which returned him to the county detention center.
For more, see Thursday's Tribune. The earlier story follows.

A convicted murderer who escaped from an Arizona prison 11 days ago was apprehended in Meeteetse early Monday morning. Another escapee and a suspected accomplice remain at large.

Tracy Province, 42, was arrested without incident by federal officials near the Oasis Motel around 6:20 a.m, the U.S. Marshals Service said. An alert Meeteetse resident had recognized him Sunday from photos on the news and contacted the Park County Sheriff's Office. Province's Park County booking photo is at right.

The Arizona escapee, who had been serving a life sentence for murder and robbery, is scheduled to appear at an extradition hearing before Circuit Court Judge Bruce Waters tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9 a.m. in Cody.

Province, John Charles McCluskey, 45, and Daniel Renwick,35, escaped from the Arizona State Prison at Kingman on July 30, officials say. Casslyn Welch, 43, is believed to have assisted them in the escape.

Renwick was apprehended on Aug. 1; McCluskey and Welch are still at large. The Marshals Service said Monday they believe McCluskey and Welch - a romantic couple and cousins - may have left the Yellowstone National Park area and headed to Montana.

When arrested this morning, Province was carrying a handgun and a hitch-hiking sign saying, "Casper," said a release from the U.S. Marshals Service.

Province was initially taken to the Hot Springs County Jail in Thermopolis, but later brought to Cody, booked into the Park County Detention Center at 2:44 p.m., sheriff's records say.

At a press conference Monday evening in front of the jail, Deputy Park County Attorney Sam Krone (at center in at-right photo) said he plans to ask Judge Waters to hold Province without bail until he is extradited to Arizona.

Krone said the case type was not completely without precedent in Park County, noting the 2008 arrest and extradition of Charles White, a man accused of murdering his mother and sister in Red Lodge. He did note that this case "certainly has garnered a lot of press attention nationwide."

Lt. Tod Larson, the jail's administrator (at right), said no special security measures would be needed inside the facility while Province is being held.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Larson said. "We have a very secure facility."

Park County Sheriff's Office Lt. Dave Patterson (at left) said a deputy initially received a tip from a Meeteetse woman mid-afternoon on Sunday saying she had seen Province. The deputy, Patterson said, determined the tip was legitimate and notified U.S. Marshals. After formulating a plan in the "wee hours" of Sunday night, Province was arrested Monday morning, Patterson said.

He said deputies had been pursuing multiple tips of possible sightings of the escapees.

"There has been lots of call-in tips," Patterson said, declining to speculate or elaborate on which other reports might have been legitimate.

Noting that McCluskey and Welch are still on the run, Krone asked Park County citizens to remain vigilant.

At a press conference in Phoenix, the U.S. Marshal for the District of Arizona said McCluskey and Welch consider themselves to be a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde.

“I think they’ve taken the persona that this is some type of movie and this is a kind of joke that they are living, but it is not,” said Marshal David Gonzales. “It is a very, very serious business.”

Law enforcement officials say evidence has connected McCluskey - who was believed to be then-traveling with both Welch and Province - to a double-homicide in New Mexico last week.

“We are going to continue working this around the clock,” Gonzales said.

McCluskey and Welch are considered to be armed and extremely dangerous; anyone with information on the fugitives is asked to call their local police or the ASP Kingman Escapees Task Force in Arizona at 602-542-1212.A $40,000 reward has been offered for information leading to their capture.

You can read more about the case in Tuesday's and Thursday's Tribunes.

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