Freudenthal to undergo shoulder surgery

CHEYENNE - Gov. Dave Freudenthal is scheduled to undergo surgery on his right shoulder next week.

The governor's office says Freudenthal will undergo arthroscopic surgery on Monday to repair a worn rotator cuff.

The outpatient procedure will be conducted at the Orthopedic Center of the Rockies in Fort Collins, Colo. The governor's office said Freudenthal's Cheyenne doctor referred him to the center.

Secretary of State Max Maxfield will serve as acting governor while Freudenthal is in surgery.

Freudenthal will likely return to Cheyenne on Monday evening and resume his regular duties the first week of December.

The 58-year-old Freudenthal is in his second term as Wyoming governor.

Laramie Airport building business park

LARAMIE - The Laramie Regional Airport is moving ahead with construction of a business park.

The Professional Airpark and Research Center is being built on land between the airport and Highway 130. It already has one building and one tenant, Delta Nu.

Airport board chairman George Krell says the airport is working to attract more tenants. He says three other tenants are thinking about moving to the business park and says there are plans to subdivide the property.

Krell says the airport board also is considering the idea of including a spaceport that could be used eventually for horizontal takeoff vehicles. Although he says development of space travel has accelerated recently, he says that starting such a venture in Laramie would be a long way off.

Laramie County Community College helps foundation

CHEYENNE - Responding to stock market losses, Laramie County Community College has agreed to help support the college's fundraising foundation for the first six months of next year.

College trustees voted 4-2 on Wednesday to pay $167,500 to cover operational costs of the Laramie County Community College Foundation. The money will come from college reserve accounts.

A memo sent to college trustees says the foundation has seen a decline in the value of its assets because of the falling stock market. Foundation President Bill Scribner and foundation Executive Director Angela Glode asked the trustees for short-term help.

Scribner says that keeping the foundation operating will allow it to raise $800,000 in matching funds from the state.

Newcastle man gets prison in child porn case

CHEYENNE - A federal judge in Cheyenne has sentenced a Newcastle man to serve 15 years in prison on a conviction of distribution of child pornography.

Judge Alan B. Johnson sentenced Casey Ballieu, 38, of Newcastle on Thursday. The judge also ordered Ballieu to pay a $1,000 fine and serve 20 years of supervision after his release from prison.

According to a criminal complaint, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began investigating Ballieu after a woman reported that he had sent a photographic image of a young child to her cellular phone.