Staring almost certain death in the face, an elk hunter from Buffalo narrowly avoided becoming prey to an aggressive grizzly bear in the Tetons recently.

Gary Kramer, 47, was hunting elk on Pacific Creek in the Teton Range late last month when he heard an "explosion of noise" from the trees and saw a huge grizzly charging straight at him.

"I can't fully describe the feeling I had," Kramer told the Buffalo Bulletin. "I raised my rifle and yelled at the top of my lungs."

The bear stopped its charge 15 feet from him and moved to the side, but kept staring intently. Kramer backed away down an incline and out of sight.

The bear suddenly gave a loud roar and charged at Kramer again, stopping less than 10 feet from him.

"It came over the incline so fast I couldn't believe it," he said. "It was absolutely terrifying. I was so close I could almost reach out and touch it."

The bear changed its mind and went back over the bank, and Kramer was able to return to camp without further incident.

If the bear was trying to scare Kramer away from its territory, it worked. Kramer doubts he will ever return to the area and now will probably hunt in the Big Horns, which is not a part of grizzly habitat.

Trooper dives into truck bed before crash

A Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper investigating a crash on Wyoming Highway 789 near Lander was nearly a victim himself when another vehicle came upon the treacherous conditions and lost control.

Trooper Ted Wilson was standing between two vehicles off the side of the road Oct. 5 when a Jeep Liberty hit the slippery road, locked up its breaks and came straight at him.

"I really don't know how I didn't get hit," Wilson told the Lander Journal. "I didn't see it coming, but heard it coming. I can't explain it, but I felt it coming and I knew I didn't want to be pinched between the vehicles."

Wilson dove into the bed of a Toyota pickup just before the Jeep slammed into a Ford Expedition that had stopped to help and ricocheted into a patrol vehicle. Both drivers of the Toyota and the Ford were transported to the Lander Valley Medical Center.

Man suffers pool cue injury in Rock Springs

Rock Springs emergency personnel responded Oct. 6 to a man lying in the street in front of a bar with what appeared to be a gunshot wound, but upon further investigation it turned out to be a case of aggravated assault with a pool cue.

The victim, Clemente Reyna Soto of Arizona, was treated at Sweetwater County Memorial Hospital for lacerations across the head and eye. The case is still under investigation, writes the Rock Springs Daily Rocket-Miner.

Platte County plans mass vaccinations

Platte County Public Health officials are hoping to hit two birds with one stone this Tuesday when they attempt to vaccinate a large number of county residents for the flu in a limited time.

"We want as many people as possible to come in a short period of time," said Cherie Wilson, LPN and Public Health All Hazards coordinator. Wilson hopes the exercise will iron out any kinks in an immediate mass immunization, should Platte County become the epicenter of a natural or man-made disaster.

The vaccinations will take place from 1 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, tells the Platte County Record Times. After the first 400 shots are given out for free, the price will raise to the normal fee of $18.

Wilson students bike to school together

Students at Wilson Elementary School and their parents hopped on bicycles Oct. 5 for Bike to School Day, swarming the area with their two-wheeled transportation and taking advantage of the "warmer than usual" 50-degree weather, reports the Jackson Hole News & Guide.

"You have to have support from the parents," said volunteer Karen Saner. "They have to be willing to let them bike to school. But there's no reason kids shouldn't be riding their bikes to school."

Bike to School Day coordinator Holly Pratt counted 175 bikes lined up outside the school, out of a total 210 students.

Police blotter

Bad place for a snow fort: Gillette police confronted two boys, 14 and 12, and two girls, 13 and 12, who were all sitting on top of the Campbell County parking garage throwing snowballs at cars Oct. 8, writes the Gillette News-Record. The kids admitted to hitting at least three vehicles, but did no damage. They were told to leave and that they would be ticketed for trespassing if they came back.

Strippers strip down bar: A group of male strippers, apparently rowdy after an Oct. 8 performance in Glenrock, were said to have torn a urinal from the wall of a bar's restroom before leaving town in a silver van, tells the Glenrock Independent. Warrants are out if the suspects ever return to town.

Assistant State Editor John Morgan can be reached at (307) 266-0614 or john.morgan@casperstartribune.net.