Top stories of 2024

The staff of the Basin Republican Rustler looked through the 2024 editions for what we thought were the top stories of the year:

January 

• Former Basin resident Josh King searched for a summer job in Switzerland. He became a night shepherd for Valais black-faced sheep. His one purpose for the job was to deter wolf attacks.  

February 

• Two bills before Wyoming legislators were designed to help local pharmacies. SF0100 sought prompt payment for insurance claims. The bill passed.  The second bill, HBO173,  related to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The purpose was to make sure insurance companies allow patients to choose their pharmacy. This bill did not make it to the House floor. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate. It did pass both the Senate and House. It was later vetoed by Gov. Gordon. 

Senior Ty Strohschein won the 175-pound title and Greybull-Riverside produced its best finish in the team standings since 2020 at the  State 2A Wrestling Championships in Casper. 

March 

• At the March 3 Big Horn County Fair Board meeting, the board learned of a contractor that could provide pigs for the county fair pig wrestling.  In 2023, no pig contractor was found. 

• A call for a special session for the 2024 state legislation was rejected. 

• The Riverside Academic Challenge team placed first in the state among small schools.   

Felony child abuse charges were filed against a Greybull couple who nearly starved the woman’s 4-year-old son to death. Tammy (Earl) Hannon, 24, the child’s biological mother, is facing a felony aggravated child abuse charge. Multiple counts were filed against her 36-year-old boyfriend, Ty Myers, including felony child abuse, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and violating the terms of his probation.  

April 

• Fred Sherburne, Craig Brown, Catarino Zapata and Logan Whipple were recognized for their efforts to save the life of an injured citizen in a vehicle on U.S. Highway 14. 

• Election hand counting was proposed by Sen. Dan Laursen R-Powell in Park County. It was rejected by the Park County commissioners.   The proposal was never brought before the Big Horn County commission. However, BHC County Clerk Lori Smallwood said a six-page memo was sent to Secretary of State Chuck Gray outlining concerns. The memo was from the County Clerks Association of Wyoming. Per Smallwood “If the mark (vote) is not in the oval area as it should be, the vote isn’t counted,” she said. “There is nothing subjective about it. A mark in the oval or not in the oval is read the same by the machine every time. If a person is looking and the X is to the right of the oval, they may count it or to the left they may not, totally up to however that board decides to interpret the mark. The machine doesn’t choose it only reads one way.”

• Riverside’s Johnna Clifford set a new school record in long jump, going 16 feet, 6 ½ inches. Tara Hopkin set the school record in 1994 at 16 feet, 6 inches. 

• Basin native Wenett Lyman Martin was selected for WCA Hall for Fame enshrinement. Martin started coaching in 1999. She retired so she could follow the final years for her daughter Piper’s high school career. 

• The Luke Bell Affordable Counseling Program was established to provide mental health care accessibility around the Bighorn Basin. 

• Burlington’s Sarah McNiven broke the school’s high jump record. McNiven cleared 5 feet, 3 inches on her first attempt. This broke the record of Michelle Fabricious from 2009. 

May 

• Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site opened an interactive cultural center. The center gives visitors an experience of living at the site 10,000 years ago as an indigenous person. 

• Travel’s economic impact for 2023 was up from previous years. The impact for 2023 was $40.1 million compared to 38 million in 2022. 

• Georgia Antley Hunt realized her dream of owning a successful racehorse. Hunt is part owner of Philippa and Nothing Like You. 

June 

• Riverside graduate Baylee Drewry was crowned Miss Wyoming. The daughter of Brandi and Scott Drewry will competes for the title of Miss America Dec. 31st – Jan. 5 in Orlando, FL.   

July 

• A Big Horn County Assessor’s Office report showed the combined value of all property compared to 2023. The 2023 valuation was $300 million compared to $276.7 million in 2024. 

• The first Stop Veterans Suicide Rally was held July 22 in Basin. The rally, sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 29, is held on the 22nd of each month, noon-1 p.m. at the corner of Fourth and C Streets.

• Basin resident Roxanne Brewer was one of the Wyoming delegates at the Republican National Convention. Brewer is the vice-chair of the Big Horn County Republicans. 

• Firefighters responded to a house fire on East Second Street in Manderson. High winds were a factor in the total loss. Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other properties. 

August 

• Ayden Skillman’s heart transplant was a success. Skillman of Greybull and formally of Basin, received a new heart in Denver. He suffered from a rare congenital heart condition called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. (Skillman has shown no signs of rejection since the transplant.)  

• Extremely dry conditions result in controlled and open burn bans July 29-31 and Aug. 6. 

• Construction inflation has impacted the town of Basin’s sewer project. Even with a grant from USDA, the town is about $1.5 million short of the updated cost. 

• Six counties in Wyoming are dealing with wildfires impacting 629,000 acres. Converse, Crook, Johnson, Sheridan and Weston counties lost livestock, fences, wildlife and grazing land.  

September 

• Write-in votes in the primary election have added candidates to the general election ballot. Mike Dellos will appear on the Basin Town Council ballot. Thea Saunders, Sharon Sanford and Howard Applegarth will be on the ballot for Manderson Town Council. 

• The Big Horn Basin Dinosaur & Geoscience Museum has secured a cast of Allosaurus eggs and a juvenile Allosaurus skeleton.  

• Camp Bethel celebrated it 80th anniversary. 

• A Greybull man, Anthony Fuentes, has been sentenced for supplying drugs that led to the death by overdose of Jordan Jackson.  The sentencing was a landmark case because the dealer was charged for manslaughter in addition to distribution. 

• Big Horn County farmers produced a record sugar beet harvest. Growers in the Western Sugar Cooperative planted 14,439 acres and would likely harvest 458,000 tons of beets. 

October 

• Forest fires raged in Wyoming. The Elk Fire near Dayton and the Pack Trail and Fish Creek Fires near Dubois consumed over 120,000 acres. 

• Riverside Schools hosted a Military Appreciation game. The schools, American Legion Post 29 and Auxiliary Unit 29 recognized military personnel and their families. 

• Burlington High School students posted the top ACT scores in the state. This is the third year in a row the students have led the state in ACT scores and the eighth time in the past 12 years.  

• A mobile MRI trailer made its first stop at Three Rivers Health. 

November 

• A Basin man was appointed to the Veterans Commission. Bobby Werner was appointed by Gov. Mark Gordon to serve a three-year term. 

• Big Horn County native Dasha Kelso is a member of the Flathead Hotshots which battled the Elk Fire near Dayton. She graduated from Greybull High in 2017. 

• Manderson Police Chief Brandon Kidgell was charged with six misdemeanors. 

December 

• Big Horn Co-op announced the closure of retail stores in Greybull, Basin, Worland, Buffalo and Powell at the end of the month.  The farm store in Riverton will stay open as weill the convenience store in Worland, the tire store in Powell and the headquarters near Greybull. 

• The Big Horn County Citizens for Economic Development conservation guide is nearing compilation. 

• Big Horn Co-op shareholders and former employees responded to the restructure and closures. 

• The Basin Town Council supported exploring a motocross track in town. 

• A district judge sided with Clayton Draggoo, the owner of Atwood Family Funeral Directors. The dispute was between Draggoo and the Wyoming State Board of Funeral Service Practitioners regarding his license for funeral and cremation services. 

• Hyattville native Allison Greer embarked on her dream to travel to 48 states. She and her dog are travelling in a converted bus.