Van rolls, kills 1, ejects 11

WOLCOTT JUNCTION - A 16-year-old girl was killed and all 11 other occupants were ejected from the vehicle when a van hit a patch of ice and rolled on Interstate 80 just east of Walcott Junction on Sunday, according to a release from the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

The wreck killed Rachealyn Tishie of Sanders, Ariz. She died Monday at Wyoming Medical Center. Another passenger, Andre Branch, was taken by Life Flight helicopter to United Medical Center in Cheyenne. He was in serious but stable condition Thursday afternoon.

The driver, Kelvin Taylor, 43, of Cleveland, Miss., was hospitalized at Carbon County Memorial Hospital on Sunday and has since been discharged. Citations are pending against Taylor, according to the Highway Patrol.

The other nine occupants of the vehicle suffered minor injuries or were treated and released from Carbon County Memorial Hospital. The passengers were part of a group selling magazines door to door.

No one in the van was wearing a seatbelt, according to the Highway Patrol.

Boy, 12, survives multiple dog attack

GILLETTE - A 12-year-old boy survived an attack by two dogs after he climbed into a fenced-in yard to retrieve a ball, police said.

The boy, whose name was not released, was treated for bites to his neck, arms and the back of his head, but none of the injuries was serious, Campbell County Sheriff Bill Pownall said. Both dogs were current on their shots.

The attack occurred Saturday when the boy climbed the fence and was initially approached by the black and white Great Dane and a brown Labrador retriever mix in what appeared to be a friendly manner, Pownall said. But the dogs soon started attacking, knocking the boy down.

The boy curled into a fetal position and began to scream, Pownall said. A neighbor responded and fended off the dogs with a stick until police arrived and contained the dogs.

The dogs' owners were not home at the time. The dogs have been quarantined, Pownall said.

Officials seek kin of man killed in wreck

A one-car crash on U.S. Highway 14E claimed the life of a Gillette man Wednesday and authorities are asking for help in locating his next of kin.

Russell R. Watson, 44, was killed when the Chevrolet Geo Metro he was driving drifted to the right side of the roadway while going around a curve, according to a release from the Wyoming Highway Patrol. Watson overcorrected and the vehicle skidded across both lanes in the westbound barrow ditch. The vehicle rolled one time and Watson was ejected from the car.

Watson was not wearing his seat belt. Alcohol is being investigated in the crash. Anyone with information about Watson's next of kin is asked to contact the Sheridan County Coroner at (307) 674-6329.

Yellowstone garbage compost fees to raise

WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. - Officials in Yellowstone National Park have agreed to pay $50 more for every ton of garbage delivered to the compost plant here as part of an effort to keep the facility financially afloat.

The new fee is $175 a ton.

Steve Iobst, the park's maintenance chief, said the higher fee will be paid retroactive to Feb. 21.

The West Yellowstone/Hebgen Basin Solid Waste Management District's plant has been plagued by operational problems since it opened in July 2003, in part because of park garbage that couldn't be composted and clogged machinery.

Officials are working to solve the problems, including a campaign this summer to get tourists to sort more garbage.

Gallatin County Treasurer Anna Rosenberry said even with the increased fee, all scenarios over the next six years suggest the plant will lose money.