JOHN MORGAN Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Sunday, January 8, 2006 12:00 am
The southern end of Lake DeSmet in Sheridan was covered with ice Jan. 1.
A group of about 30 brave or crazy people stood half-naked, waiting to jump into the frigid water for the annual Polar Bear Plunge, but had to delay their freezing dip in order to move around to the still-liquid north end of the lake.
"It's fun," said Dan Kunkel of Big Horn, who was taking his third-ever plunge. "It's adrenaline that keeps me coming, that's about it."
Just after 1 p.m., the goose bump-covered group of young and old all ran together into the lake, got really cold and wet, and ran back to the shore a few seconds later.
"I'm down from Anchorage (Alaska) visiting my in-laws, so this is warm," Clint Spence told the Sheridan Press. "We went swimming in the ocean this summer, and I think it was colder than it is right now."
Flushed with cash
Two Lander Police officers chased a suspect down an alley Dec. 21 after a break-in at the Dairyland restaurant and cornered him into a bathroom at Mr. D's grocery store.
The suspect, a 25-year-old Riverton man, locked himself in the bathroom and was heard "flushing the toilet like a madman," according to Lander Police Chief Dave Hockett.
Police unhooked the clogged toilet and had to break it in order to recover "a big wad of cash" totaling $150, reports The (Riverton) Ranger.
The man was jailed for burglary.
Hunters rescue trapped bull elk
A group of deer and elk hunters eager to harvest some trophy animals had a change of heart in October when they came across a magnificent bull elk that was trapped in the cellar of an abandoned, rotten homestead, writes the Buffalo Bulletin.
Arvada outfitter Cole Benton recalled how he and the three hunters from California decided they would give the bull another chance at life rather than just "shoot the fish in the barrel."
The men spent several hours knocking down some of the wooden beams and creating an opening for the elk to use, but the animal just stayed put. Hooking a rope around its antlers and tugging only made the animal dangerously aggressive, Benton said.
Benton and the men left the elk in the hole for the night and called the local game warden, but when they returned the next day, the bull had walked out on its own and was nowhere to be seen.
Lovell ice fishers break through lake
Four ice anglers had to pull a pickup out of the mostly frozen Deaver Reservoir on Jan. 2 after the pickup broke through the frozen surface into about three feet of water.
"The rest of the lake has about 14 inches of ice," Lee Wardell said. "We hit one pocket where there's only about 2 inches."
Wardell, Jerae DuFloth, Mike Schwope and Frank Willis were able to get the truck out of the lake in about four hours, reports the Lovell Chronicle.
Police blotter
Guns are dangerous: Cody Price, 18, of Thermopolis was treated for a gunshot wound to the hand Dec. 22 after he took a .22 rifle from an 8-year-old boy with whom he was hunting rabbits. His hand went over the end of the barrel as it went off, writes the Thermopolis Independent Record.
Christmas peepers: A Lovell woman reported to police that three male juveniles were peeping into her daughter's window on Dec. 25. An officer told the juveniles to stay off the woman's property and sent letters to their parents, tells the Chronicle.
Pit bull takes down deer: Pinedale police and a Game and Fish Department official responded Dec. 22 to a call of a gold-colored pit bull that killed a deer in someone's yard. The two went to the dog owner's house and found bloody paw prints in his yard. The man said to just shoot his dog if they saw it. As they were leaving, the dog returned, covered in blood. According to the Sublette Examiner, the dog began growling at the men. They called the owner, who let the dog inside his house. Because it was in a controlled environment, the man was told to take care of his dog however he saw fit and was issued a citation for the dead deer.
It's not like they'll miss it: Former guests at a Teton Village hotel reported to Jackson police that their $25,000 diamond tennis bracelet disappeared from their room the previous week but they didn't realize it was gone until they returned home, reports the Jackson Hole News & Guide. They said they suspect a maid stole it while they were in the room watching TV.