KDLY/KOVE

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – The University of Wyoming has canceled a speech by former 1960s radical William Ayers after it raised a slew of objections from citizens and politicians.      Ayers was scheduled to speak next Monday on the Laramie campus about social justice issues and education.      He was invited by the UW Social Justice Research Center.      In a statement released by the university, UW President Tom Buchanan thanked the center for reconsidering its invitation to Ayers. Buchanan says academic freedom is a core principle of higher education, but he says the visit by Ayers would have adversely affected the public’s confidence in the university.      He noted that the Ayers invitation had caused intense controversy.      Ayers is an education professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. … Read entire article »

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) – State regulators say they’re trying to balance industry concerns and fend off federal regulation as they consider changes to rules and regulations for oil and gas development.      Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Supervisor Thomas Doll held a public discussion Tuesday on the proposed rules. One of the more contentious issues is hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.      The commission is considering several detailed rules for fracking, including requiring companies to disclose the chemicals they use in fracking fluids.      Companies guard their fracking formulas as proprietary information and say they process has proved to be environmentally safe.      Critics say the state currently doesn’t require enough information from companies to determine whether fracking is problematic.      —      Information from: Casper Star-Tribune – Casper, http://www.trib.com      (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.) … Read entire article »

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Laramie County officials are considering building a new juvenile detention center.      The county’s Juvenile Services Joint Powers Board voted this week to recommend building the new center and Laramie County commissioners are expected to vote on the plan April 6.      Officials say the 24-bed facility could be built for $7.5 million at the Archer Complex. Commissioners have approval from the governor’s office to use $4.5 million in federal stimulus funds for the project and the rest of the cost could be covered with county bonds.      The county has been using the Jeffrey C. Wardle Academy to detain juveniles since 2001.      —      Information from: Wyoming Tribune Eagle – Cheyenne, http://www.wyomingnews.com … Read entire article »

GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) – A man who pleaded no contest to aggravated vehicular homicide after a hit-and-run crash that killed a woman from Wright has been sentenced to a year in jail.      A judge sentenced 46-year-old man Raymond Potts of Hardin, Mont., on Friday to four to 12 years in prison but then suspended that in favor of a 12-month jail sentence.      The jail term is to be followed by six months at a halfway house and 12 years of probation.      Prosecutors say Potts ran over 46-year-old Raylene Fischer in May 2008 along Wyoming 387. Investigators believe Fischer was walking home from a bar.      Prosecutors say Potts told officers he had been drinking at a lounge and remembered hitting something but thought it was an antelope.      —      Information from: The Gillette News Record – Gillette, http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com … Read entire article »

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – The final group of Wyoming Army National Guard soldiers wrapping up yearlong deployments in the Middle East have arrived in the United States.      A Guard spokeswoman says the Cheyenne-based 115th Fires Brigade arrived Tuesday at Fort Hood, Texas, to undergo the military’s demobilization process. The group of about 100 Guard members is expected to fly from Texas to Cheyenne on Friday.      About 400 Guard members from the 2nd Battalion, 300th Field Artillery arrived at Fort Hood over the weekend and are expected to travel to Casper on Thursday.      Another 100 members of the 960th Brigade Support Battalion arrived in Casper on Saturday.      Roughly 700 Wyoming Guard members left in April for tours in Kuwait or Iraq. No Wyoming members were killed during the deployment, which marked the largest single-unit deployment in the Wyoming Guard’s history. … Read entire article »

The Wyoming Highway Patrol’s efforts in enforcement and education, and other safety initiatives resulted in the traffic deaths dropping in 2009. The state had 134 traffic fatalities, a 16-percent decrease from 2008 which had 159 deaths. The total number of crashes involving a fatality also dropped to 116 in 2009, a 17-percent decrease from 2008’s figure of 140 fatal crashes. Several factors went into the decreases including a reduction in the number of commercial carrier crashes, multivehicle crashes and alcohol-related crashes, said Col. Sam Powell, of the Wyoming Highway Patrol. The variable speed limit signs along I-80 between Rawlins and Laramie also have helped because the speed limit can be lowered if there are severe weather conditions. “These results are promising because they show we’re on the right path,” said Col. Sam Powell, … Read entire article »