CHEYENNE – A Cheyenne Animal Shelter employee’s allegation that former shelter President Bob Fecht had a young dog pepper-sprayed earlier this year sparked protests, calls for resignations and City Council action.
It was also voted the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s top story of 2018.
The controversy started in September when the shelter’s former Community Cat Program Coordinator Jay Klapel accused Fecht of having an 8-month-old pit bull mix named Tanner pepper-sprayed a day after the dog bit an employee.
Fecht and shelter board members called the attack a vicious mauling and denied any abuse.
But over the next month, dozens of people protested the shelter; thousands of people signed a petition calling for Fecht’s resignation; and the mayor and the shelter’s liaison to the Cheyenne City Council also pushed for leadership changes.
The Cheyenne Police Department also forwarded misdemeanor animal abuse charges for Fecht and two animal control officers who participated during the pepper-spraying, but the Laramie County district attorney ultimately declined to pursue charges.
Fecht later resigned, and the City Council approved changes to its contract with the shelter for animal control services that require the shelter to undergo nonprofit governance training, commission a third-party review of shelter policies and draw up a crisis management plan.
The shelter named former shelter board member Phil Kiner as a temporary shelter president, and officials have not yet named Fecht’s permanent replacement.
2. Secretary of State Ed Murray resigns amid sexual misconduct allegations
Wyoming Secretary of State Ed Murray resigned in February following two separate allegations of sexual misconduct from a former co-worker and former Gov. Mike Sullivan’s daughter.
Murray was accused in December 2017 of wrestling Colorado resident Tatiana Maxwell to the carpet and performing a sexual act that did not involve intercourse about 35 years ago at a local law firm where she was an intern.
Murray called the accusation “baseless” and “unequivocally false.”
About a month later, Theresa Sullivan Twiford accused Murray of forcibly kissing her in 1988 when she was babysitting for the Murrays on New Year’s Eve. Murray said he had “no recollection” of the incident.
In February, he announced he was resigning to “fully focus on what is most important in my life: my marriage, my family and my health.”
The announcement also put an end to rumors that Murray would pursue a run for governor in 2018.
In March, Gov. Matt Mead selected Republican Ed Buchanan to serve the remainder of Murray’s term as the state’s chief election official.
Buchanan won his first elected term in November.
3. Mark Gordon elected Wyoming governor, county voters support LCCC mill levy
Republican Mark Gordon easily defeated Democrat Mary Throne and other challengers in November’s general election, but the victory was nonetheless one of the biggest stories of the year.
Gordon will replace current Gov. Matt Mead in January following a contested primary election that saw a Republican mega-donor, an energy attorney and a local businessman all throw their hats in the ring.
In his victory speech, the current state treasurer promised to work to get the state’s finances on track, in part by keeping up with Mead’s efforts to diversify the state’s economy through the ENDOW initiative.
Gordon will be inaugurated Jan. 7, the day before state lawmakers begin their 2019 general session.
Also in the November general election, Laramie County voters approved a single-mill levy to support the local community college – an effort that officials say will help them renovate the existing Fine Arts Building and add on a brand-new auditorium.
“We feel incredibly relieved and very appreciative to the voters of Laramie County for supporting this project,” Laramie County Community College President Joe Schaffer said at the time. “Voters really stepped up and showed their commitment to LCCC.”
The entire project is set to cost $14 million, $7 million of which will come from a matching grant approved by the Wyoming Legislature.
The other half will come from $6 million in Laramie County property taxes and a $1 million commitment from the LCCC Foundation.
4. Mother acquitted of charges related to son’s death
Sabrina Thurin, known in court documents by her maiden name, Sawicki, was acquitted in the spring of killing her 16-month-old son following a trial that lasted nearly two weeks.
The verdict of “not guilty” to a single count of first-degree murder came back in front of a packed courtroom at the Laramie County Governmental Complex.
Thurin was charged in 2017 after her son died at Children’s Hospital Colorado from a brain injury. An autopsy report stated the boy died from abusive head trauma, colloquially known as “shaken baby syndrome.”
At the trial, Laramie County District Attorney Jeremiah Sandburg and his team sought to prove that Thurin “purposely and with premeditated malice … (killed the boy) by violently shaking him and slamming his head against an unyielding object.”
Doctors, friends, family, first-responders, experts and investigators all testified during the two-week trial, and the jury ultimately decided not to convict.
5. Buffalo Bills pick former UW quarterback Josh Allen seventh overall in NFL draft
This year marked the first time in history that a University of Wyoming football player was among the top 10 NFL draft picks, and all Cowboys fans were happy to celebrate.
The Buffalo Bills picked quarterback Josh Allen seventh overall in the draft this year.
Allen told WyoSports he had a “good sense” from the Bills and was “blessed and humbled to be picked by them.”
Allen was the third player from UW to be a first-round selection, and the first since 1976, when running back Lawrence Gaines and defensive back Aaron Kyle went to the Detroit Lions and the Denver Broncos, respectively.
Allen was rumored to be considered for a No. 1 pick by the Cleveland Browns, but the night before the draft, Yahoo! Sports published tweets from Allen in 2012 and 2013 when he was in high school in Firebaugh, California, that contained racially insensitive and offensive language.
But Allen said he had spoken with the Bills about the tweets before the draft and took responsibility.
“They trusted my judgment,” he said. “They did their due diligence in talking to my coaches and teammates.”
6. Cheyenne secures commercial flights after short time without service
Local officials were elated earlier this year when American Airlines announced it would start providing once-daily nonstop service between Cheyenne and Dallas/Fort Worth this November, marking the latest provider to try its hand at operating out of Cheyenne Regional Airport.
The announcement came five months after Great Lakes Airlines announced it would halt services out of Cheyenne, leaving airport officials scrambling to fill the void.
The new service is similar to American Eagle flights that operated from Cheyenne to Dallas/Fort Worth from 2010-12.
That service ended after American Airlines’ former parent company, AMR Corporation, filed for bankruptcy in 2011. US Airways then purchased American Airlines and ended the flights from Cheyenne to Dallas.
But Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce CEO Dale Steenbergen said he was “hopeful” it would work out this time around.
“The economy in Cheyenne is better than it was when the airlines left … especially the energy industry and military community,” he said.
7. Bells of Balangiga return to the Philippines
After two decades of lobbying by Philippine leaders, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis came to F.E. Warren Air Force Base last month to send the Bells of Balangiga home.
For years, the two church bells used by Philippine revolutionaries to signal an ambush of occupying U.S. soldiers in September 1901 have served as a memorial to the 48 Americans killed in the surprise attack.
But Mattis, who recently stepped down from his defense secretary post, said at the November ceremony it was time to move on.
“History teaches us that nations with allies thrive,” he said. “History also teaches us that all wars end. In returning the Bells of Balangiga to our ally and our friend, the Philippines, we’ve picked up our generation’s responsibility to keep the respect between our peoples.”
But Wyoming leaders and veterans groups like the American Legion saw the return as a desecration of a war memorial.
In an August joint statement, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Mike Enzi, all R-Wyo., said moving the bells would establish a “dangerous precedent” for the future.
8. Eight houses damaged in Laramie County tornado
Eight homes northwest of Cheyenne were damaged in May when a tornado touched down near Federal.
Wind speeds in the storm reached up to 135 miles per hour, striking Mountain Shadow Lane and Horse Creek Road.
While there were no injuries or deaths, many homes were completely destroyed, and people are still suffering the consequences.
In November, one family was still living in a hotel on the west edge of Cheyenne with their two 90-pound Siberian Huskies.
“Our insurance completely totaled the house,” said Chad Gifford, a catastrophe claims adjuster.
He said the builders couldn’t reuse the foundation, and the costs have exceeded the insurance policy limits.
“We don’t know what else to do at this point,” Gifford said. “We’re hoping to raise about $100,000 (on a GoFundMe page) to pay additional construction costs and (buy) appliances for the home.”
9. Bare-knuckle boxing makes public return after 129 years
Cheyenne was the host of the first legal, regulated and sanctioned bare-knuckle fight in the U.S. since 1889, drawing thousands of raucous spectators to Cheyenne Ice and Events Center in June.
The event was featured on pay-per-view TV, and only three of 10 fights on the card went the full distance. Referees or doctors deemed the rest unsafe for the fighters to continue.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship promoter David Feldman said he planned to bring another bare-knuckle card to Wyoming, but he hoped the event would open the door for commissioners in other states.
“This isn’t the death match some people thought they were going to see,” he said after the fight. “It was a great, entertaining night of fights.”
The ninth fight of the night seemed to be the highlight, with Tony Lopez and Joey Beltran fighting it out until the end.
Beltran walked away the winner, with a broken right hand and two sets of stitches running vertically between his eyebrows.
“I wanted to be a part of something new and something historic,” he told WyoSports. “This was that.”
10. TIE: Students walk out of class to protest violence
Hundreds of Laramie County students participated in a March national school walkout to support school safety.
Many of the students at Laramie County School District 1’s four high schools said they marched to show solidarity with 17 people who died in a Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Marissa West, a junior at Cheyenne’s South High, stood next to posters with photos of the people who died in that tragedy and said, “The whole entire protest that we’re having today is just a beginning. This is an issue in America, and these are the 17 victims that were lost in the Florida shooting, and it was devastating.”
Some students attended the demonstrations to address their desire to create new gun laws or better enforce existing ones. Others said they marched to protest the failure of Parkland law enforcement to protect the students.
Each of the different schools chose different protest methods.
At Triumph, students walked out to the outdoor basketball court and observed 17 minutes of silence before returning to class.
At Central High, teens remained in the commons area and made pledges to be kinder to others.
At South High, hundreds of people filtered out behind the school to read the names of those who died in the Parkland shooting and observed a 17-second moment of silence.
At East High, students created a memorial in the school’s commons area by placing 17 empty desks in a circle, each with an orange carnation resting on top.
10. TIE: Great Lakes suspends flight operations
Great Lakes Airlines announced in March it would suspend all flight operations, temporarily leaving Cheyenne’s regional airport without commercial air service.
The locally based airline announced without warning to airport or local officials on its website and Facebook page that it would cancel all future flights on March 26. At the time, Great Lakes offered just one flight a week from Cheyenne to Denver International Airport.
Cheyenne Regional Airport Director Tim Barth said he tried several times to contact Great Lakes officials following their announcement, but his inquiries went unanswered.
“If there is any disappointment, it is that they didn’t tell us, because we had a relationship with them for years,” he said.
Barth said he wasn’t surprised by the announcement, however, and the airport was eventually able to secure flights with American Airlines.
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