GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) – The family of an 8-year-old girl killed in a crash south of Gillette is suing a trucking company.      Relatives of Katelynn Hecht are suing Newcastle-based Grizzly Services, Inc., saying the company is responsible for the July, 2008, crash on Wyoming Highway 50.      Katelynn was riding in a Dodge pickup truck with her family when the pickup, driven by her grandmother, tried to pass two tractor-trailers. One of the tractor-trailers turned left, causing the pickup to roll into a ditch.      A Wyoming Highway Patrol report says the grandmother told investigators she didn’t see the tractor-trailer’s turn signal until it was too late. The lawsuit, however, claims there was no turn signal.      Grizzly Services President Bob Wright declined to comment.      —      Information from: The Gillette News Record – Gillette, http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com … Read entire article »

GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) – A judge has sentenced a former Campbell County cemetery supervisor convicted of defrauding the district out of more than $17,000 to pay fines and restitution.      District Judge Dan R. Price II on Thursday spared Christina Maycock of any jail time. He gave the 62-year-old a suspended prison sentence and ordered her to pay $3,000 in fines and more than $17,000 in restitution.      A jury in May found Maycock guilty of a felony charge of obtaining property by false pretenses.      Prosecutors say Maycock falsely claimed she was married from 1993 to 1999 to obtain a family rate on insurance premiums from the cemetery district. Court records show the Maycocks divorced in 1971 and remarried in 1999.      Defense attorney Hardy Tate says Maycock will probably appeal her conviction.      —      Information from: The Gillette News Record – Gillette, http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com … Read entire article »

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Sarah Palin has endorsed Wyoming gubernatorial candidate Rita Meyer in the Republican primary.      In a Facebook posting Thursday, the former vice presidential candidate said “Meyer is ready to put her years of valuable public service to good use.”      Meyer was elected Wyoming state auditor in 1996. She is seeking to replace Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal and faces four other candidates in the Aug. 17 primary.      In her endorsement, Palin said Meyer has a “unique blend of steel magnolia and mama grizzly.” … Read entire article »

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – Arch Coal says it reversed losses from a year ago during the second quarter thanks to strong global markets and a nearly 40 percent jump in sales.      The St. Louis miner, one of the world’s biggest coal producers, said Friday it expected an even stronger performance for the remainder of the year, and raised the lower end of its adjusted annual earnings guidance by a dime, excluding non-cash charges.      Arch posted net income of $66.2 million, or 41 cents per share, during the April-through-June period. A year ago, Arch lost $15.1 million, or 11 cents per share, on the weight of a 20 percent drop in sales and production cutbacks.      Revenue rose to $764.3 million versus $554.6 million a year ago.      The company easily topped Wall Street expectations. … Read entire article »

GREEN RIVER, Wyo. (AP) – New state regulations to inspect boats for exotic mussels is permanently in effect and wildlife officials have conducted more than 21,000 checks so far.      The emergency inspections to prevent the mussels from getting established in state waters began in May and became permanent this week. State lawmakers passed a law this year requiring the inspection of boats entering Wyoming park lakes and reservoirs. Inspectors are examining boats for quagga and zebra mussels.      The mussels been found in reservoirs in Colorado, Utah and Nevada. They breed quickly and can jam up waterworks and hurt fisheries.      Boaters are required to buy permits that cost between $5 and $30 to support the program.      —      Information from: Casper Star-Tribune – Casper, http://www.trib.com … Read entire article »

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – A group of people who own mineral rights in eastern Wyoming say they’re planning to sell those rights to oil developers in a public auction.      Energy companies have been snapping up federal, state and private leases in eastern Wyoming amid speculation that new drilling techniques could cause the Niobrara Shale to become a significant source of oil.      Typically the companies negotiate individually with private mineral rights owners.      But one owner of mineral rights, Ben Massion, says holding an auction could help establish fair prices for oil rights.      So far, Massion and others want to offer the rights to drill on 14,000 acres. Massion says the auction approach isn’t about greed but intended to facilitate business decisions.      —      Information from: Casper Star-Tribune – Casper, http://www.trib.com … Read entire article »

     MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) – A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is arbitrarily excluding “critical habitat” that could be occupied by the elusive Canada lynx.      U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled Wednesday the agency excluded large swaths of Western habitat from protection when it recommended in 2009 that 39,000 square miles in Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington be designated as critical habitat.      The agency had argued that it excluded some habitat in the West because there was no evidence that lynx were reproducing there. But Molloy said the absence of that evidence is not necessarily cause for exclusion, especially if the area hasn’t been surveyed for breeding animals.      Several environmental groups filed suit in U.S. District Court in 2009, saying more designated habitat is needed in Colorado, Montana and Idaho.      —      Information from: Missoulian, … Read entire article »

     LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) – Albany County authorities have recovered the body of a 67-year-old Casper man who fell into Tunnel Creek while fishing.      The Sheriff’s Office found the body of Dennis Barber on Thursday, two days after he had fallen into the northern Albany County creek. The Sheriff’s Office issued a release saying the death was accidental.      Barber was fishing with his brother Tuesday morning when the brother, Robert Barber, realized that Dennis Barber had disappeared. Robert Barber had to walk several miles to find help.      The Sheriff’s Office says several water gates had to be temporarily shut to reduce the flow of the swift-moving creek to enable the search. … Read entire article »

     FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – President Barack Obama has signed a bill he says will address the unique public safety challenges facing American Indian tribes.      Obama signed the Tribal Law and Order Act on Thursday.      The measure provides for the appointment of special U.S. attorneys to ensure violent crimes in tribal communities are prosecuted. It also revamps training for reservation police, expands the sentencing authority of tribal courts from one to three years, addresses jurisdictional issues and improves the collection and reporting of Indian crime data.      Democratic U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who authored the bill, says millions of American Indians have lived far too long with unacceptable levels of violent crime.      Tribes hailed the signing as a reaffirmation of the federal government’s trust responsibility to ensure their communities are safe. … Read entire article »

     CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – A Canadian woman injured by a bear that ripped into a campground on the northern edge of Yellowstone National Park says she survived by playing dead as the animal bit her arm.      A Michigan man in the same campground was killed. Montana wildlife officials identified the man killed in the early Wednesday mauling as 48-year-old Kevin Kammer, of Grand Rapids.      Deb Freele of London, Ontario, described her attack from the West Park Hospital in Cody. Doctors there are treating her for multiple bite wounds to her left arm.      The 58-year-old Freele says she thought the bear was going to kill her, but says it left her alone after she played dead.      Authorities say 21-year-old Ronald Singer, of Alamosa, Colo., was treated for injuries at the Cody hospital and released. … Read entire article »