Council begins survey process

CHEYENNE - Communities that want to preserve their old school and government buildings can now take the first step to get some state financial help.

The Wyoming Business Council announced last week it is ready to survey community enhancement needs, the first step to determine a community's readiness to put into effect those enhancements.

The Legislature last winter passed a law authorizing the Business Council to allocate $7.5 million in grants and loans for the new program. It came about because of the need to help cities and towns, particularly small towns, to maintain their old school buildings so they can continue their historical role of serving as community centers.

The Business Council survey addresses improvements to historic buildings, cultural and civic facilities, parks and recreation, landscaping and streetscapes, or community centers. Communities are asked to relate all the enhancement needs to an economic or community development plan, the council said in a release.

The assessment is available on the Community Development Center section of the Wyoming Business Council's Web site at www.wyomingbusiness.org.

Assessments are due by Aug. 1. The Business Council will then compile the information for presentation to legislative committees by Sept. 1.

Health officials urge precautions

CHEYENNE - Health officials are urging people to take precautions against hantavirus, an often deadly infection spread by exposure to mouse feces and urine.

The virus seems to be infecting Wyoming residents with increasing regularity, although the number of cases remains low.

Cases were documented in Fremont County in 1993, Lincoln County in 1999, Natrona County in 2002 and in Big Horn County in 2003, followed by two cases in Laramie County last year.

The disease is fatal up to half of the time, although both of last year's victims survived.

The Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department urges people to watch out for areas where wintering mice may have left behind feces, urine, nesting material and mouse carcasses that might have contaminated dust with the virus.

Precautions include airing out suspect rooms or buildings before going into them, and spraying suspect dust or dirt with a solution of 1 cup of bleach per gallon of water.

F.E. Warren gets wind turbines

CHEYENNE - F.E. Warren Air Force Base broke ground Thursday on construction of two wind turbines that will be able to provide power for more than 500 households.

The Air Force expects to complete the $2.2 million project by September, said Lt. Col. Joe Ballard, commander of the 90th Civil Engineering Squadron.

Ballard said the wind power will allow the base to become more self-sufficient and further insulate it from attacks to broader power supplies.

The base will retain conventional electric service if the wind turbines are not generating power.

Planner scraps pheasant farm idea

CHEYENNE - An aspiring pheasant farmer has stopped building his pen and canceled his first order of chicks until a court decides whether the farm would violate the rules of his subdivision.

Chris Olsen signed a court order last week agreeing to suspend his farm dealings until a June 10 hearing.

Two of his neighbors in the Monterey Ranchettes sued Olsen, saying the pheasant farm would violate the subdivision's covenants. Olsen planned to raise the chicks for release on a commercial hunting farm he owns.

"He canceled his first order and agreed not to order more, which is what we were hoping for," said Gay Woodhouse, the attorney representing plaintiffs David Kilpatrick and Nikki Malcom.

Olsen's attorney, Daniel White, refused to comment and advised Olsen not to comment, either.

But Olsen also countersued, claiming in a May 20 court filing that Kilpatrick and Malcom violated the covenants by keeping "junked or unlicensed vehicles" on their property and by building structures that were outside the covenants.

Businesses balk at board's bid

LARAMIE - Downtown businesses are apprehensive of a proposal that would give the Jubilee Days board of directors more control over the street dances that take place three nights during the celebration.

Board members asked the City Council to give them more control over alcohol sales, entertainment scheduling and other aspects of the dances, which take place July 7, 8 and 9. Jubilee Days runs from July 1-10.

"Businesses would have to go through us if they want to participate," said Joe Rodriguez, former Jubilee Days chairman.

Typically, Jubilee Days organizers get a permit that allows them to sell alcohol and allows partygoers to have open containers in a cordoned-off area downtown. Many downtown bars within the dance zone also apply for permits, allowing them to sell alcohol outdoors; some even schedule their own bands and other entertainment.

That, Rodriguez said, creates confusion. Jubilee Days loses business to the bars, and competing bands sometimes have to play over each other.

"It isn't our intent to stop businesses from participating," Rodriguez said. "Our intent is to cooperate with them, using a cost-sharing arrangement. Those businesses benefit directly from what we do in the downtown area."

Forum targets air quality

PINEDALE - An air quality forum, "Clean Air Every Day," will be held Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Sublette County Library and is free and open to the public.

The forum will focus on the Clean Air Act, federal agency responsibility and public involvement. It will be hosted by the Upper Green River Valley Coalition and the Wyoming Outdoor Council, and will include air quality experts and opportunity for extensive public comment and discussion.

Experts from the Environmental Protection Agency, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and others will be at the forum.