Helicopter crew rescues 'boarder

JACKSON - Rescuers using a helicopter plucked a snowboarder off a cliff face after he climbed down a rope to recover a ski pole and couldn't climb back up.

Ian Rothman, 26, lost the ski pole in a band of cliffs while skiing near Teton Pass on Tuesday. He went back Wednesday on his snowboard to try to find it, according to Teton County Search and Rescue officials.

Rothman brought his dog, a German shepherd, and tied the dog to a tree. Rothman then climbed down a rope toward his ski pole 25-30 feet below the top of the cliff.

Rothman reached the ski pole but couldn't climb back up either the rope or the slick rock, said Search and Rescue director Tim Ciocarlan.

Facing at least a 60-foot drop down the cliff, Rothman had no way out. He called 911 on his cell phone around 2:30 p.m., and eight rescuers were flown in by helicopter.

They lifted Rothman out of the cliff band using ropes.

"We walked him right out of there at 6 p.m.," Ciocarlan said.

Rescuers flew the dog out in the helicopter. Sheriff's officials said Rothman will get a bill for the use of the helicopter.

Widow hopes to receive benefits

SHERIDAN - The widow of a Sheridan man killed when a Civil Air Patrol plane crashed in the Big Horn Mountains says she's getting some clarification about receiving military benefits.

Terese Meyer is the widow of 53-year-old Jim Meyer, who was killed along with two others when their plane crashed Aug. 20.

The three were searching for a missing 16-year-old boy who later turned up safe.

Terese Meyer says for months she wasn't sure what benefits she and her children were eligible to receive. But she now says personnel at the Wyoming Army National Guard Armory in Sheridan have arranged for a military attorney with the Wyoming National Guard to review the paperwork she needs to submit to the U.S. Army Reserve.

Meyer's late husband was a member of the U.S. Army Reserve. She says he had more than 20 years of active and Reserve service before he was killed.

Ambassador plans Wyoming visit

CHEYENNE - The European Union ambassador to the United States is headed to Wyoming next week.

John Bruton plans to address the Wyoming House and Senate on Thursday, then head over to Laramie to give a speech at the University of Wyoming. Bruton also will take part in roundtable discussions with UW faculty both Thursday and Friday.

Bruton is a former prime minister of Ireland.

He represents the world's largest economic bloc. University of Wyoming officials say one of Bruton's goals is to raise the EU's profile in the United States and work to maintain strong economic ties between the United States and European Union.