Mice raid new Powell school

POWELL - Powell High School has a problem you wouldn't expect in a newly built school whose mascot is a panther.

Mice have invaded the building.

The unwelcome visitors are some of several issues district staff are experiencing with the new school, which cost more than $20 million to build and opened this fall.

Sand and dust also have seeped under doors and windows of rooms, including one of the maintenance rooms and the library.

The mice have been a problem for several weeks. The school's custodial staff has caught as many as five mice per night over the past few weeks, and, according to head custodian Mike Brooks, three were trapped in the same glue trap one morning.

The mice and sand problems can be attributed largely to the school being built on an open field on the outskirts of town, said Scott Campbell, coordinator of support services for the school district.

Brooks said he has used "a lot of steel wool" in an effort to block the mice's entry into the building.

Sand is also causing difficulties with the school's heating and cooling system, which uses water from wells drilled on the school site. The wells have been pumping more sand than anticipated, causing problems with the heating and cooling system filters.

Possible solutions include redrilling the wells.

Other problems with the air conditioning, plumbing and a gas leak have been corrected, Campbell said.

Canvassing board certifies Roscoe

CHEYENNE - The State Canvassing Board has certified Democrat Jim Roscoe as the winner in the House District 22 race.

The Canvassing Board, made up of four statewide elected officials, certified results Wednesday showing that Roscoe received 2,849 votes while Republican Charles Stough received 2,730.

House District 22 includes parts of Lincoln, Sublette and Teton counties. The canvassing board had ordered a special election last month in a single Alpine-area precinct because improper votes were cast there in the Nov. 4 general election. Eleven residents of Lincoln County from another House district had mistakenly cast ballots in the House District 22 race.

Road to receive improvements

GREEN RIVER - More than $1.5 million in improvements will be made to the road leading to the FMC plant near Green River.

The improvements are expected to include installing water and sewer lines, resurfacing the road near the plant and allowing for development of the area surrounding the plant.

Officials said the road improvement will benefit the town of Green River by attracting other projects.

New 153rd Airlift Wing commander

CHEYENNE - Col. Dennis Grunstad will take command of the Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing during a change-of-command ceremony Saturday in Cheyenne.

Grunstad is taking over command from Col. Harold Reed. Reed served as the wing's commander for the past five years.

Grunstad earned his Air Force commission in 1981. He has held numerous positions within the 153rd Airlift Wing including wing vice commander, operations group commander, operations support flight commander, chief pilot and flight commander.