Reporter's Notes

McLaughlin suspended

Pinedale attorney Ken McLaughlin was suspended by order of interim suspension from the Wyoming Supreme Court on Sept. 21.

The suspension is effective pending resolution of a formal charge against McLaughlin by the Wyoming State Bar.  The basis of the formal charge is confidential at this point until and unless a public discipline ultimately results.

Bar counsel for the Wyoming State Bar will continue to investigate the matter and bring it before the Board of Professional Responsibility for adjudication.

Paradise travel

Traffic counts on Paradise Road (CR-136) have continued to increase with natural gas development on the Pinedale Anticline.

Traffic on Paradise near the Highway 351 junction in October of 2003 was 738 vehicles per day, which increased to 1,038 vehicles per 24 hours in the May 2005 traffic count conducted by the Wyoming Department of Transportation. On the other end of Paradise, near Boulder, the count was 548 vehicles per 24 hours in 2003, which rose to 709 in August of this year.

APHIS rescue

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service sent 50 veterinarians and wildlife experts to Mississippi and Louisiana to rescue household pets, zoo animals and livestock in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Along the way, they rescued some 300 stranded citizens, as well.

Working with private-sector groups, APHIS employees helped save some 10,000 animals in the aftermath of the flooding of New Orleans, and provided veterinary services at shelters where the animals are kept until their owners are located.

APHIS performed other animal rescue operations, including delivering fresh water and bales of hay to starving cattle and assisting in the rescue of eight dolphins that were found swimming in the flooded streets of Biloxi, Miss., after their enclosure was destroyed during the hurricane. APHIS also rescued a group of mice from Tulane University that represented years of cancer research.

Correction

Last week’s Examiner article on the Marbleton Town Council proceedings incorrectly referred to Marnie Ball rather than Melanie Ball. Although both ladies were present at the meeting, it was Melanie who requested the variance to locate a second mobile home in Marbleton, not Marnie. Examiner reporter Cat Urbigkit regrets the error.

Budd to wildlife trust

Lander’s Bob Budd will soon become the first executive director of the recently created Wyoming wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Account Board.

The seven-member board, appointed by the governor and approved by the Wyoming Senate, is charged with administering grants under the wildlife and natural resource funding act, created last year by the Wyoming Legislature.

For the last 12 years, Budd, 49, has served the Nature Conservancy as director of land management and project manager of the Red Canyon and Winchester ranches. Before joining the Nature Conservancy, he worked 15 years with the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, first as its executive secretary, then as its executive director.