Wyoming News Briefs for April 25, 2024

PINEDALE (WNE) — Pinedale Middle School student Delaney Edwards won first place in the 2024 Letters About Literature statewide contest hosted by the Wyoming Center for the Book and Wyoming Humanities. Wyoming students in grades fourth through twelfth were invited to write back to the author of a book that inspired them and changed their lives.

Edwards was inspired by the book Star of Light and chose to write to its author Patricia St. John. The novel, set in North Africa, follows the story of Hamid and his little sister, Kinza, who is blind, as they escape from their mountain village to avoid their stepfather selling Kinza to a beggar.

Edwards will receive a $150 gift card to bookshop.org for her first-place win in the statewide contest. Edwards beat out Cheyenne’s Evangeline Schon, who took second place, and Maile Lovato, who snagged third. Second-place winners receive a $100 gift card and third-place winners receive a $50 gift card.

For more information about the Wyoming Center for the Book, visit thinkwy.org/programs/center-for-the-book.

This story was published April 25, 2024

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Sick skier saved in high-elevation, backcountry search and rescue

SUBLETTE COUNTY (WNE) — A female skier amid a multi-week trek across the Wind River Mountain Range became severely ill near Downs Mountain and needed to be rescued from an elevation of 13,355 feet, deep within the Bridger-Teton wilderness. The call came into Sublette County dispatch just past sunset on Monday, April 15. A Garmin spot-activated, with a man advising that his 29-year-old skiing partner was experiencing pain.

Because all motorized vehicles are prohibited in wilderness areas, Tip Top Search and Rescue (TTSAR) first had to obtain special permission from the Bridger-Teton Pinedale Ranger District to utilize both air and ground assets to respond to what TTSAR coordinator Kenna Tanner called, “an increasingly life-threatening situation” and to “beat an incoming weather event.”

A plan was put into place for early the next morning: Teton County Search and Rescue would provide air assistance while TTSAR volunteers responded on the ground using snowmobiles via the Upper Green River Valley.

At 7 a.m., on April 16, Teton County Search and Rescue launched its helicopter with a plan to fly straight to the skier’s camp but inclement weather and low-lying cloud coverage ultimately prohibited access by air. The helicopter returns to its hangar in Jackson to await a potential break in the weather.

Meanwhile, TTSAR’s volunteer snowmobile team continued the long trek to the skier’s campsite deep in the wilderness.

Hours later, as the snowmobile team neared the area, a much-needed break in the weather allowed Teton County Search and Rescue’s helicopter to launch a second time and make a successful landing near the sick skier at 10:25 a.m. on April 16. She was transported by air from the mountain to St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson. The snowmobile team reached the campsite at 11:30 a.m., where they loaded up all of the skiers’ gear and brought the other skier back to Pinedale. From Pinedale, the man was able to get a ride to Jackson and reunite with his partner as she underwent necessary medical care.

Tanner said, “This was a time-critical mission and wouldn’t have been successful without the partnership with our neighboring agencies and the knowledge and skills of our volunteer members. Many thanks to all involved in getting this female out of the mountains and to medical help.”

A total of five volunteers assisted in the field while three people operated the Incident Command Center in Sublette County.

For more information about Tip Top Search and Rescue, volunteer opportunities or to donate, visit https://www.tiptopsar.com/

Story Published April 25, 2024

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Powell Amish community to build school

POWELL (WNE) — The Powell Amish community has grown to 15 families and now has enough children to create a school.

On Tuesday the Park County commissioners approved the construction of a private school on land owned by the community near Lane 10 on Road 6 south of Powell.

Heart Mountain School board member Allen Graber said the 15 students will attend school from ages 6-14 — eighth grade — at which point in their community he said "real life starts."

At that point youths may work for a local farmer or rancher, or work in one of the cottage industries the community runs.

But before that, once the building is finished, they'll be able to learn in a school that can handle 20-22 students and one to two teachers. And the building of the school won't add any vehicle traffic, as students will reach the school via horse and buggy or bicycle, or use any electricity.

The community members started arriving in the area three years ago and member John Hershberger said it's been a good fit for them and they’ll even offer rides to people they see watching the buggy go by. Graber agreed the Powell community has been a good fit.

“We appreciate the welcome here,” he said.

There were no public comments received regarding the proposed schoolhouse, which sits on a nearly 40 acre parcel of land south of the Shoshone River. The building floor plan shows a 30-foot-by-32-foot classroom and a slightly larger mudroom.

The school will operate September-April according to the documents provided to the county.

This story was published April 25, 2024