Man dies after methane fume exposure in Carpenter

Wyoming News Briefs

Wyoming News Exchange newspapers
Posted 6/8/18

A 52-year-old man died and three others were exposed to methane fumes Tuesday following a workplace incident at a Carpenter dairy farm.

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Man dies after methane fume exposure in Carpenter

Wyoming News Briefs

Posted

CARPENTER (WNE) – A 52-year-old man died and three others were exposed to methane fumes Tuesday following a workplace incident at a Carpenter dairy farm.

Laramie County Sheriff’s Department deputies were called at about 9:50 a.m. to Burnett Dairy Farm, where they found three men suffering from methane inhalation, according to a news release from the sheriff’s department. Another man, later identified as Erasmo Baeza Gonzalez, fell into a well shaft while working in a well house on the farm.

Investigators were told Gonzalez, two electrical contractors and the property owners were working in the well house Tuesday morning when Gonzalez slipped and fell into the 10- to 12-foot shaft into a pool of water.

Deputies determined toxic methane fumes likely seeped into the bottom of the shaft in water that drained off manure piles on the farm.

When Gonzalez fell, he immediately succumbed to methane fumes, became unconscious and slipped underwater, causing him to drown, according to the news release.

When two other men tried to pull Gonzalez out, they were exposed to toxic methane fumes and fell as well. A third man helped pull the two attempted rescuers out but was unable to grab Gonzalez.

The three men were transported to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center – two by ambulance and the third by helicopter.

As of Tuesday evening, one was released from CRMC and the other two were admitted, according to Laramie County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Don Hollingshead.

The incident is also under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Black bear euthanized in Cody

CODY (WNE) – A black bear created a commotion in Cody and sent Wyoming Game and Fish Department biologists scrambling over the weekend.

The large boar was reported Sunday morning at a residence on Sheridan Avenue after it killed three chickens. The bear then moved southwest through town until officials caught up with it at the First Presbyterian Church at 2025 23rd St.

 The bear was chemically immobilized and examined, said Tara Hodges, public information and education specialist for the Game and Fish’s Cody Region.

“It was a 9-year-old male in poor physical condition,” Hodges said, adding that the bear did not have teeth.

Game and Fish biologists ultimately decided to euthanize the animal.

“We make these decisions on a case-by-case basis,” Hodges said. “There are a variety of reasons we take into consideration; one of those is physical condition.”

On Friday afternoon, a black bear was seen running west on the BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) tracks adjacent to U.S. Highway 14-A, traveling in front of a train. The bear was moving slowly and engineers on the train slowed to allow it time to move out of the way. The Game and Fish was notified, but the bear left the tracks near the former Heart Mountain Relocation Center, which ended the search.

It’s possible the bear reported on Friday was the same one captured on Sunday in Cody, but Hodges said the department has no way to confirm that.

$54 million pipeline headed to Converse County

DOUGLAS (WNE) – There will be two Natural Bridges in Converse County next year. 

One will be a locally famous county park. The other will be a brand new $54 million natural gas pipeline. 

The 35-mile Natural Bridge Pipeline will begin at the Wyoming Interstate Company Compressor Station Interconnect in eastern Douglas. From there, it will roughly mimic WYO 20/26’s path to Natrona County, en route to Black Hills Energy’s facilities in Casper. 

Black Hills hopes to break ground on the project in April 2019 and to have the pipeline operational that winter. 

In the past, the Riverton-Lander area provided large quantities of natural gas. With that region’s supply in decline, Black Hills Energy requires a new pipeline to continue providing customers with fuel. 

The pipeline will not be providing Douglas or Glenrock residents with gas but will transport natural gas to customers elsewhere. 

The company will not raise rates for Converse County customers in order to offset costs of the project, Black Hills Energy Community Affairs Manager Norman Long said. 

In a public statement, the company said that they are “not proposing to charge a separate rate with the proposed project.” 

However, BHE anticipates filing a base rate review to the Wyoming Public Service Commission in the second quarter of 2019. If approved, the new rates would be effective in early 2020. 

The company says this filing will propose recuperation of project costs and will present revenue requirements for the project. 

As a public, regulated utility, Black Hills Energy doesn’t have the power to raise rates on a whim.

Any rate increase would be in response to a variety of factors, and would not be in relation to the pipeline specifically, according to Long.

Casper man dies in crash near Douglas

DOUGLAS (WNE) – A Casper resident died in a fatal crash on WYO 59 June 2. 

At 5:43 a.m., Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers were dispatched to the area for a two-vehicle collision near milepost 27. 

A 2017 Ford F-250 pickup was traveling southbound on WYO 59 when the driver, identified as Terry Jackson, 48, failed to negotiate a right curve on the highway, causing the vehicle to drift over the center lane line. 

A 2011 Volvo combination unit was traveling north on HWY 59 in the passing lane. The front driver’s side of the Ford pickup sideswiped the Volvo and collided with the driver’s side drive axles of the combination unit. 

After the collision, the semi entered the northbound right of way and rolled onto its side. 

The driver of the Ford pickup succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the crash. Jackson was wearing his seat belt at the time of the collision. 

There were two other occupants within the Ford pickup. They have been identified as Mathew Adamson, 35, and 28-year-old Sean Dolan. They also reside in Casper. 

Adamson and Dolan were wearing seat belts and were not transported to the hospital. 

The driver of the Volvo has been identified as 37-year-old Casper resident Veronica Mojica. She sustained injuries and was transported by ambulance to Converse County Memorial Hospital where she was hospitalized. 

Mojica was wearing her seat belt at the time of the crash. 

This is the 40th fatality on Wyoming’s highways in 2018 compared to 46 in 2017, 25 in 2016, and 53 in 2015 to date.

Commissioners approve $600K for Cheyenne air service

CHEYENNE (WNE) – The Laramie County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an unconditional pledge of $600,000 to help subsidize a new commercial airline at Cheyenne Regional Airport.

The funds will be combined with another $600,000 from the Cheyenne City Council, $200,000 in federal funding and, possibly, $580,000 from the state’s Air Service Enhancement Program once a carrier contract is solidified. The Cheyenne Regional Air Focus Team, a private fundraising group, has also raised $103,250 toward the effort.

Fundraisers now have more than $2 million that may be used to attract an airline to offer commercial service here – the overwhelming majority of which is public funding.

CRAFT is also requesting another $100,000 from the Cheyenne-Laramie County Economic Development Joint Powers Board.

“A lack of reliable air service has been identified as one of the top barriers to economic diversification in Wyoming,” said CRAFT President Wendy Volk. “Businesses are reluctant to relocate to a large rural state like Wyoming without passenger air service.”

The subsidy, known as a minimum revenue guarantee, is an effort to bring commercial service back to Cheyenne Regional Airport at a critical time following the March shutdown of Great Lakes Airlines.

The airport was already facing public pressure to draw new options before the once-a-week service to Denver International Airport ended, with $18 million in taxpayer-funded projects, including a new terminal, scheduled for completion this fall.

CRAFT documents suggest funding a minimum revenue guarantee for a leisure route to Las Vegas or Phoenix would cost $2.6 million to $3.3 million, while a business hub to Dallas/Fort Worth would cost up to $4 million.