Illegal immigrant deportations up

DENVER - Federal agents say they deported more than 6,000 illegal immigrants from Colorado and Wyoming over the past 12 months, a 7 percent increase over the previous year.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday that almost 60 percent of those deported had been convicted of other crimes.

The report covers work by the agency's Denver office, which is responsible for Colorado and Wyoming. The report includes the federal fiscal year that ran from October 2007 through September 2008.

ICE says that nationwide, it deported 349,000 illegal immigrants in that time, a 20 percent increase over the previous 12 months.

Wyo sawmill may reopen

SARATOGA - Intermountain Resources is planning to reopen the Saratoga sawmill in southern Wyoming early next year.

Intermountain spokeswoman Nancy Fishering said the Montrose, Colo.-based company plans to make the mill as efficient as possible in order to survive in the poor national timber market.

Fishering said the mill reopening is set for some time in the first quarter of 2009.

The Saratoga sawmill has been mothballed since Louisiana Pacific closed it in 2003. It was then bought by Intermountain.

Fishering said the Saratoga mill is expected to be able to process 40 million board feet of timber per year. Most of the timber will be beetle-killed trees.

Snow, wind hamper travel

CHEYENNE - Snow and wind caused problems Thursday for travelers in eastern Wyoming.

Parts of Interstate 90 in Crook County were closed Thursday morning because of snow and slick roadways. Smaller highways in the Sundance, Newcastle and Lusk areas also were closed. No unnecessary travel was advised in the Moorcroft and Hulett areas.

About a foot of snow fell in Sundance, and 8 inches at Upton in Weston County.

Winds gusting up to 60 mph made travel difficult, especially for trucks and vehicles pulling trailers in southeast Wyoming.

Interstate 80 was closed between Cheyenne and Sidney, Neb., for part of the day because snow and high winds in the Nebraska Panhandle.

Douglas officer receives award

Sgt. Ronald Casalenda of the Douglas Police Department was inducted into the Richard LaMunyon Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) Hall of Fame on Saturday at the 2008 International Torch Run Conference in Dallas.

The hall of fame recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a sustained and significant contribution to the Torch Run and Special Olympics at the local, national and international levels, according to a release.

Casalenda has served as the director and co-director of the Wyoming LETR program since 2000. Under his leadership, the Torch Run program in Wyoming has tripled, both in funds and participants.

Casalenda was a member of the 2001 and 2003 Final Leg Teams in Anchorage, Alaska, and Dublin, Ireland, respectively.