Game and Fish sets controlled burn

A controlled burn on Saturday in the Bates Creek area 20 miles south of Casper is likely to cause thick, visible smoke, according to Robin Kepple of the Wyoming Game & Fish Department.

Kepple said the burn is part of the Bates Creek Watershed Restoration Project with the goal to remove conifer trees and old sagebrush.

Several thousand acres will be burned, which could last up to a week, Kepple said.

Man arrested for driving on golf course

Casper police officers arrested a man suspected of driving his car through a fence, skidding on the Municipal Golf Course and ultimately hitting a telephone pole on Thursday evening.

Skylar Burchfield, 20, told police officers he fell asleep in his car when he drove onto the golf course, according to a police affidavit. He then said he only woke up after he hit the telephone pole.

Witnesses at the scene told officers they saw the car enter the golf course near 18th and Oakcrest streets, accelerate, slide through the fairways, turn east, go back through the fence near Oakcrest and hit the pole, the affidavit continued.

Damage to the golf course could be more than $1,000, according to officers.

Burchfield could face charges of reckless driving, reckless endangerment and property damage.

County holds 'Wyoming Reads' celebration

Natrona County will hold its fourth annual "Wyoming Reads" celebration on May 19, according to a media release.

The celebration will be held in each of Wyoming's 23 counties this year. The program is modeled after "Casper Cares, Casper Reads," which began in Natrona County in 1999 and was expanded statewide as "Wyoming Reads" in 2006.

During the celebration, 7,200 first graders will receive one of the following books:

* "Once I Ate a Pie" by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest

* "My Big Dog" by Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel

* "Gorgonzola, a Very Stinkysaurus" by Margie Palatini

* "Vulture View" by April Pulley Sayres and Steve Jenkins

* "Max's Words" by Kate Banks

* "Friday My Radio Flyer Flew" by Zachary Pullen

John Jorgensen established the Sue Jorgensen Library Foundation in 1996 and founded the "Casper Cares, Casper Reads" festival to honor his late wife's commitment to literacy and children.

For more information on Wyoming Reads, please visit www.natronacountylibrary.org/wyreads.html.

Curious George at the library

Children attending the library's bilingual storytime, at 10:30 a.m. on May 16, will have an opportunity to meet and take pictures with Curious George. Bilingual storytime includes stories in Spanish and English, and is helpful both for Spanish-speakers and those learning Spanish in school. This event is sponsored by the Natrona County Public Library and school district's Title III office.

For more information, call 577-READ ext 122.