Posted: Friday, February 22, 2008 12:00 am
Sheridan man dies on drill rig
SHERIDAN - A 27-year-old Sheridan man was electrocuted while working on a coal-bed methane rig.
Authorities say Thomas Brown died Tuesday, which was his birthday.
According to Johnson County Coroner Dave Harness, Brown was holding a cable that was attached to a boom, and the boom was accidentally lifted into a 14,000-volt electrical wire.
Commission appeals tax dispute ruling
GILLETTE - Campbell County commissioners say they will appeal a District Court ruling in a dispute with Rio Tinto Energy America over property taxes for coal mines.
Rio Tinto challenged how the Campbell County treasurer's office calculated interest that the company owed on delinquent taxes.
The company underpaid taxes for 1999 and 2002 but overpaid taxes in 2001. In 2005, Rio Tinto was audited and the interest owed on still-delinquent taxes was calculated on each of the three years instead of for the entire three-year period.
County officials said Rio Tinto owed about $63,000. Rio Tinto said it owed $15,000. District Judge Dan R. Price sided with Rio Tinto.
More park bison go to slaughter
GARDINER, Mont. - Sixty Yellowstone National Park bison were shipped to slaughter Thursday as part of a state and federal effort to keep brucellosis from being transmitted to cattle from bison that roam outside park boundaries.
The contagious disease can cause bison, cattle and elk to abort.
In the past two weeks, 290 bison on Yellowstone's northern edge have been captured and sent to slaughter.
Another 49 bison were hazed Thursday from the Stephens Creek area south toward the Roosevelt Arch at Gardiner.
The National Park Service says Thursday's activities emptied the Stephens Creek capture pens where bison had been held before they were sent to slaughter.
City signs lease for Job Corps center
RIVERTON - Riverton has formally agreed to lease 124 acres to the federal government for a new Job Corps center.
The lease signed Tuesday by Riverton Mayor John Vincent provides the land for 99 years at the rate of $1 per year. Sen. Mike Enzi also signed the document.
Lease in hand, the federal government can now begin building the center, which is expected to provide 550 students a year with job training.
An initial appropriation for $36 million for the center is expected to go before Congress this year. Opening is set for 2011.
Revenue grows from Old Pen
RAWLINS - Revenue from tours of the historic penitentiary in Rawlins increased by almost 16 percent in 2007 from the year before.
Old Pen Director Tina Hill told the Carbon County Commission that about 15,000 people took tours last year, paying a total of $51,835 in fees.
In January, the Old Pen joint powers board increased tour prices for the 2008 season to $7 for adults, $6 for children and senior citizens, and $30 for a family. Children 5 years old and younger are admitted for free.
Hill said the tour price increase was necessary because of an increase in the federal minimum wage.