Two Idaho men banned from park

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - Two Idaho men were fined and banned from the park for illegally removing a bighorn sheep skull and horns.

Travis G. Wall, 31, of Rigby, Idaho, and Tate W. Carter, 38, of St. Anthony, Idaho, pleaded guilty recently to misdemeanor federal Lacey Act wildlife violations.

Wall and Carter received a 90-day suspended jail sentence and were placed on probation for three years. They were banned from the park for two years.

An investigation revealed Carter first discovered the skull while visiting with a school group and asked a ranger if they could take it.

After being told it was illegal to remove such items, Carter attempted to obtain a permit to take the skull. When the permit request was rejected, both Carter and Wall returned to the park in August 2002 and took the skull and horns, rangers said.

Fritz Cubin released from hospital

Fritz Cubin, husband of U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin, was released from the hospital Saturday where he was treated for resistant staff meningitis.

Cubin had been in the Wyoming Medical Center for about three months, according to his wife, Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo.

The congresswoman said her husband has shown great courage and resilience in battling his health problems and thanked those who prayed for him.

Fritz Cubin has suffered from autoimmune disorder and complications from pneumonia for several years.

Nursing home bill refuted by family

CHEYENNE - The estate of former Wyoming congressman Teno Roncalio is fighting a claim that it owes money for his nursing home care.

Attorney William Bagley answered a complaint filed last month against the estate by Life Care Center of Cheyenne. The nursing home contends it is owed $5,800 from Roncalio's estate.

Roncalio, a Democrat who served 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, died in March after a lengthy illness that put him in the care of the nursing home in December 2002.

Roncalio's son, John Roncalio, refuted the bill, and according to court documents, understood that his father's obligation had been covered when he checked out of the facility last May.

A chief complaint was that the family had not received adequate explanation from the nursing home about the bill, he said.

Sacagawea dollar may be state coin

CHEYENNE - A bill that could be introduced during next month's legislative session would designate the Sacagawea golden dollar as Wyoming's state coin.

The bill is sponsored by Sen. John Hines, R-Gillette, and Rep. Randall Luthi, R-Freedom.

Hines said a man in his district serves on a national committee that helps select coin designs. "He was interested in seeing if this could happen in Wyoming, and I said we can try," Hines said.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., also helped get Sacagawea's likeness chosen for the coin design.

UW professor wins teaching award

LARAMIE - The American Philological Association has presented its 2003 Excellence in Teaching Award to Philip Holt, a professor in the University of Wyoming's Department of Modern and Classical Languages.

Founded in 1869, the association is the principal learned society for classical studies in North America. Selection criteria include excellence in teaching of classics to undergraduate students and design and successful implementation of new courses and programs.

Holt received his bachelor's degree in 1969 from St. John's College in Annapolis, Md., and doctorate in 1976 from Stanford University.