Larimer claims large RNC support

CHEYENNE - Jan Larimer said she has the support of 29 Republican National Committee members in her bid to become co-chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Larimer lives in Jackson and has been RNC committeewoman for Wyoming since 1988. Each state has one committeeman and one committeewoman.

The RNC is scheduled to choose its officers Jan. 30. The RNC has one co-chairman, which in essence is like being vice chairman of the party.

Larimer said in a release Wednesday she's humbled to have the support of so many of her fellow committee members. She said she's running to help build the Republican Party on the state and local levels.

Groups file challenge to air permit

CHEYENNE - Two conservation groups have filed a court challenge over a state air permit issued for a $1.3 billion coal-fired power plant under construction in Campbell County.

The Powder River Basin Resource Council and the Sierra Club contend the Dry Fork Station plant is being built by Basin Electric Power with obsolete technology. The groups say the plant should be required to install equipment that reduces carbon dioxide and other emissions to better protect air quality.

Basin Electric Power said the technologies suggested by the environmental groups would not work well on the new Gillette plant.

The petition was filed last week in state district court in Cheyenne.

The air permit was approved by the state Department of Environmental Quality in October 2007.

Boy allegedly brings gun to school

GILLETTE - Police in Gillette say a 14-year-old boy brought a loaded gun to school and passed a note saying he was contemplating whether to shoot another student.

The boy is charged with carrying a concealed weapon with criminal intent, a felony.

Authorities say the boy passed two notes to another student in class Tuesday at Sage Valley Junior High School. According to police Cpl. Eric Dearcorn, the boy said in the first note that he was upset with a girl. Dearcorn said the boy wrote in the second note that he hadn't decided whether to shoot the girl yet.

The student who received the note told school administrators. Principal Terry Quinn removed the note-passing boy from class.

Police said they found a fully loaded .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol in the boy's coat pocket.

Holdup trial opens in Cody

CODY - A man is on trial in Cody for the holdup of two teenagers at a night deposit drawer outside a Cody bank.

The robbery happened in 2002 and the victims were a 16-year-old girl and a 19-year-old man who were depositing cash from the Burger King where they worked.

Richard G. Bloomer is charged with one count of aggravated robbery and one count of aggravated assault.

Prosecutors say Bloomer bragged about the robbery to a former co-worker, saying he used a toy gun that looked real and split the take of less than $1,000 with a getaway driver.

Bloomer's attorney said the prosecution evidence is vague and it's hard to tell what happened.

The trial is expected to conclude this week. The victims of the robbery have since married and now live in Washington state.