Posted: Tuesday, May 6, 2008 12:00 am
Protest draws about 60 people
PINEDALE - About 60 locals participated in a sit-in Sunday afternoon on the Pinedale Anticline natural gas field, protesting a proposal for expanded gas-field development.
Participants met at the Pinedale Bureau of Land Management office. Before traveling in a caravan to the gas field, they sang Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind," said Susan Kramer, a Pinedale resident and participant.
"I though it went well, and it was very positive," Kramer said. "The speakers were all local. Everybody learned a little bit about ozone, and it was peaceful."
Seven local speakers addressed the protesters, and several area residents performed songs they'd written especially for the occasion, she said.
"Each speaker presented a different view of what we've been trying to do, and what we need to do more of in order to make sure our quality of life and the anticline doesn't get ruined," Kramer said. "We really just need to continue pressing forward and be vigilant."
The BLM is considering a plan to allow up to 4,400 more wells in the gas field in Sublette County, where ozone levels reached unhealthy levels several times this winter.
Cheyenne has lowest gas price
While the price of gasoline continues to climb around the country, a national survey recently found the lowest price in Cheyenne.
The national average price for regular gasoline has risen about 15 cents in the last two weeks. That's according to the Lundberg Survey of 7,000 stations nationwide released Sunday.
Of the cities surveyed, the cheapest price was in Cheyenne, where a gallon of regular cost $3.39, on average. The highest average was in San Francisco at $3.95.
Regular gasoline is up 55 cents since 2008 began.
Agency launches housing program
CHEYENNE - The Wyoming Department of Corrections has launched a program that will provide jobs skills to inmates and help build affordable homes.
The program at the Wyoming Honor Farm in Riverton provides eligible inmates with construction skills and experience and earns them college credits for completing the coursework and the housing construction.
The inmates would build about a dozen homes a year. The homes can be purchased by people who qualify and moved to any location.
In order to be considered for entry into the construction program, inmates must have a GED or a high school diploma, must complete classes in construction and pass a formal interview as they would in society.
Honor Farm inmate dies
RIVERTON - An inmate with the Wyoming Department of Corrections has died in Riverton.
The corrections department said inmate Clyde Olen Clawson Jr. died Saturday at Riverton Memorial Hospital.
The 31-year-old Clawson was serving a sentence of five to 10 years on convictions of forgery/burglary and grand larceny and had been sentenced to prison in 2003.
Clawson was born in Colorado Springs. The department is conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death.