Posted: Wednesday, July 1, 2009 12:00 am
Carbon monoxide sickens two girls
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK - Park officials are reminding boaters not to try "teak surfing" after two 9-year-old girls were hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning.
The girls were sickened Tuesday by a boat's exhaust while trying the thrill sport in which swimmers cling to the back of a boat. They were on Jackson Lake with their parents and were taking turns holding onto a swim platform attached to the back of a 20-foot ski boat. The girls passed out and were hospitalized, but survived.
"Teak surfing" is illegal in many states and in all national parks. Grand Teton spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said the accident is under investigation and that a citation may be filed in the case. A father of one of the girls was driving the boat.
Rabies appears in 14 skunks
GILLETTE - More rabid skunks are turning up this year in Campbell County.
Veterinarians have documented 14 skunks with rabies in Campbell County so far this year. That's compared to 16 cases in 2008 - and Campbell County had Wyoming's only confirmed rabid skunks last year.
Campbell County also has had two rabid horses this year.
But numbers of rabies cases in Wyoming are cyclical, and the cases in Campbell County aren't unusually high compared to years past, said Ken Mills, a professor at the University of Wyoming's College of Veterinary Sciences.
Rabid skunks were found in many more places around Wyoming 20 years ago.
"If you go back far enough, there were some years with 280 positives," Mills said.
Grizzly kills pigs near Cody
JACKSON - The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has trapped and moved an adult male grizzly bear after it killed four pigs on private land near Cody.
The department trapped the bear on Sunday and released it in an area about a mile west of Grassy Lake, about 25 miles northwest of Moran.
The department said the release site is located within currently occupied grizzly bear habitat. It's also within the designated Grizzly Bear Primary Conservation Area.
Bears can cause problems if they become accustomed to getting food from people. The department stresses the importance of keeping all food sources out of the reach of bears.
Treatment center will reopen
SHERIDAN - A coalition of American Indian tribes plans to reopen an addiction treatment center in Sheridan.
The Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council says the Inter-Tribal Wellness Center would also offer health counseling.
Organizers say treatment programs could incorporate traditional ceremonies such as sweats and vision quests for "spiritual development."
The council says it will raise $100,000 for repairs to open the treatment facility at the former Thunder Child Treatment Center. Thunder Child was a residential drug- and alcohol-addiction treatment center that opened in 1994. It has stood vacant since 2006.