Man pleads not guilty to sexual assault

A former assistant manager at a Casper grocery store pleaded not guilty on Friday to three counts of second-degree sexual assault of a minor and one count of third-degree sexual assault.

Jason Hanson, who was 26 at the time, was arrested in mid-June after a 17-year-old girl reported he had relations with her and with another minor on separate occasions, according to a police affidavit.

Each second-degree sexual assault of a minor carries up to 20 years in prison.

His trial is set to begin Dec. 8.

District sets groundbreaking for CY

The Natrona County School District will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the new CY Middle School at 10 a.m. Thursday, according to a release from the district.

Participants are asked to enter the site from Wyoming Boulevard, across from the westside Walmart and Wolf Creek Subdivision, and follow the balloons to parking and the event.

For more information, call Jenni Luckett at (307) 253-5380.

Special Olympics needs volunteers

Special Olympics Wyoming is in need of volunteers for its fall tournament, scheduled for Oct. 15-17 in Casper. Volunteers should be interested in helping with registration, timing events, keeping score, hosting the hospitality area and various other duties.

Special Olympics Wyoming is a nonprofit organization that provides year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympics-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

For more information, call (307) 235-3062.

Science Zone hosts Penny Fest

The Science Zone will hold Penny Fest in the parking lot of the Sunrise Shopping Center and inside the center at the Science Zone from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today.

Festivities will include geyser eruptions, mass bubble blowing, physics and liquid nitrogen demonstrations and refreshments. The Zone will also open its new exhibit, "Everything Science."

Admission to the event is free.

Board retreat rescheduled

The Natrona County School Board rescheduled an upcoming retreat, according to a release.

The board will meet at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 11 at the Best Western Ramkota, 800 N. Poplar St., to discuss enrollment.

The meeting was originally scheduled for Monday.

Time running out to view paper exhibit

"Pulp Function," a survey of contemporary paper art at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, will close Friday.

The exhibit explores all aspects of paper as a medium for art, including vessels, jewelry, clothing, furniture, books and sculpture, according to a release.

The Rocky Mountain Invitation Exhibition ends on Saturday. The exhibition - which features painting, watercolor, basketry, sculpture, printmaking, wood turning, ceramics and pastel drawings - concludes when the works are auctioned off during Cirque du Nicolay, the NIC's annual dinner and auction gala.

The museum will be closed to the public Sept. 27-28.

For more information, call the NIC at (307) 235-5247.