Two killed in crash near Evanston

EVANSTON (WNE) — A multi-vehicle crash resulted in two more fatalities on I-80 east of Evanston on the night of Friday, March 15. Three vehicles were involved in the accident at milepost 33 that kept emergency crews busy and closed the interstate in both directions for several hours. 

Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Dave Homer said the accident involved a commercial vehicle, a decommissioned fire truck and a passenger car. The commercial vehicle, a 2019 Volvo semi-truck, struck the rear of the fire truck, both traveling westbound. The fire truck spun off the roadway and rolled while the commercial vehicle crossed the median into eastbound traffic. 

The driver of an eastbound passenger vehicle, a 2002 Toyota Camry, swerved to avoid a collision but still struck the semi’s trailer, spun and came to rest in the median. 

There were two people in the passenger vehicle. The driver — Ronnie Beck, 78, of Green River — succumbed to injuries at the scene of the crash. Passenger Ruth Beck, 74, of Green River, was transported to Evanston Regional Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. Three additional patients from the other two vehicles were also transferred to ERH. All five involved were wearing seatbelts. 

The semi driver has been identified as 49-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, resident Murad Temish. The driver of the fire truck was 42-year-old Fort Bridger resident David Watson, according to WHP. 

The fatalities bring the number to 30 lives lost on Wyoming roadways in 22 crashes so far in 2019 — double the fatalities of 2018 and significantly higher than the four previous years.

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Western College trustees approve fee increases

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — Voicing regret at having to do so, the Western Wyoming Community College Board of Trustees on Monday approved increases to a number of student and course fees.

Vice President of Student Services Philip Parnell, sitting in for President Karla Leach, said the college tries very hard to not increase fees for its students. However, continued revenue cuts by the Wyoming 

Legislature — and with future budget cuts on the horizon — make these increases necessary, Parnell added.

Despite the increases, student and course fees remain below other higher education institutions in Wyoming, said Parnell and Kim Farley, vice president for Student Learning.

In addition to the increases to student fees across the board, an increase of $5 to the Academic Support Fee was approved.

Some of the courses that will see fee increase for the 2019-2020 school year include: general art, $7 to $12; all auto courses, $30 to $40; all biology courses, $50 to $55; all chemistry courses, $65 to $70; and all history courses, $0 to $10.

Courses that will see a large course fee increase are the ceramics courses, which jump from $35-$60 to $120-$150; and the professional nursing care in health promotion course, which will increase from $100 

to $300.

Trustees Greg Erramouspe and Troy Archuleta questioned these large increases. Archuleta requested the enrollment be tracked in the ceramics courses to see if the large fee increases cause a loss to enrollment. He said if the program loses students, then the college may have to bear some of the costs.

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‘Wyoming Promise’ continues drive despite death of bill

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Despite the Free and Fair Elections Resolution failing in the Senate Corporations Committee on a 3-2 vote, Wyoming Promise volunteers are encouraged by their success so far.

“The successful effort to date is due to over 300 volunteers who donated time and money, collected voter signatures, contacted legislators, attended and testified at the legislature, distributed educational materials, hosted informative presentations, and networked with counties across the state,” Sheridan volunteer Stacy Page said. “The grassroots effort collected over 20,255 registered voter signatures from concerned citizens, and were able to get 10 legislators as co-sponsors to introduce the resolution.”

Wyoming Promise is a cross-partisan group working to reduce the political influence of big money and increase the power of the people.

Jeff Clements, the chair of American Promise, congratulated Wyoming Promise at the end of the legislative session.

“Ordinary citizens of all political persuasions know that the corrupting influence of money in politics is one of the most significant issues eroding our representative democracy,” said Kris Korfanta, local team leader for Wyoming Promise. “Across the nation groups like ours are working to put the people back into the equation.

Wyoming Promise volunteers will continue to work to get Wyoming to join the 20 other states calling for a constitutional amendment that clarifies that money is not speech and multinational corporations are not a persons with the same liberties as humans, according to Sue Heuerman, another local volunteer.

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Wyoming this Weekend, March 22-24

By The Wyoming News Exchange

A celebration of all things celtic tops the list of this weekend’s events as Evanston hosts its annual “Ceili at the Roundhouse” celtic festival.

The two-day festival at Evanston’s Roundhouse and Railyard complex begins Friday and will feature live Celtic bands throughout the weekend, along with dance workshops, craft workshops, lectures and storytelling.

Activities begin at 3 p.m. Friday and wrap up at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Other events this weekend include:

The 44th annual “Pole, Pedal Paddle” competition in Jackson on Saturday;

Wrangler Team Roping championships through the weekend at Gillette’s Cam-Plex;

The “Wildlife Discovery” art exhibition and sale at Trailside Galleries in Jackson through the weekend, and

A celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing at the Campbell County School District planetarium in Gillette on Saturday.

For more information on these and other events, please visit the Wyoming Tourism Division’s website at TravelWyoming.com.