Forest suspends permit for resorts

CODY - The Bighorn National Forest has formally suspended commercial operations at two Big Horn Mountain resorts.

Forest Service officials recently shut down Meadowlark Lake Resort and Deer Haven Resort over alleged health and safety violations.

Forest Supervisor Bill Bass on Tuesday suspended the resorts' special-use permits.

He said the resorts' owner, Big Horn Mountain Resorts, has 30 days to correct the alleged problems or the Forest Service will begin the process of revoking the resorts' permits.

Bass said the suspension will be lifted earlier if the problems are taken care of.

The owner of the resorts has said that any problems will be repaired. He said a winter manager at the resorts allowed them to fall into disrepair and has since left the business.

Agency aims to log beetle-killed trees

LARAMIE - The U.S. Forest Service has rolled out a plan to cut down beetle-killed trees that threaten to topple onto roads and trails.

The Forest Service says the dead trees can fall without warning and are a serious safety hazard as long as they remain standing.

The first trees would be removed this summer in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest of southern Wyoming and northern Colorado.

Plans call for cutting down beetle-killed trees within 150 feet of forest roads.

An epidemic of bark beetles has killed millions of pine trees from Alaska to New Mexico over the past several years.

Forest Service will spray campgrounds

CODY - The Shoshone National Forest plans to close some campgrounds this month while crews spray trees with insecticide.

The spraying will start Monday. Officials say the spraying will help to protect trees from bark beetles. Other work will include removing dead trees that pose a risk of falling on people.

Campers should contact local district ranger offices for closure dates for specific campgrounds. The affected district ranger offices are in Cody, Lander and Dubois.

Schools set up notification system

CHEYENNE - Schools in Cheyenne are setting up a system so that parents can be notified by phone or text message whenever there's a snow day or an emergency at school.

The new system will be launched this fall. School officials say it should be capable of sending out 10,000 recorded messages within 20 minutes.

The Laramie County School District 1 board voted this week to contract with a Utah company, Parlant Technology, to set up the notification system.

Paper seeks veterans, families

The Casper Star-Tribune is seeking military men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan to share their stories about returning home.

We're also looking for military family members who can talk about how the return of their loved ones is affecting them and their families.

Please contact capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or jared.miller@trib.com.