News briefs from around the state

From Wyoming News Exchange newspapers

New design picked for Powell’s iconic mural

POWELL (WNE) — Downtown Powell will soon get a fresh new look, as the city’s longstanding mural of the city’s namesake, explorer John Wesley Powell is set to be replaced with a colorful rendition of Heart Mountain. 

The artwork currently adorning the Powell bean mill along Coulter Avenue was installed in 1997, and the materials are showing their age. 

That’s why Powell Mayor John Wetzel called for a revamp last spring — and why Plaza Diane Community Center for the Arts put out a call for new designs in September. 

The process culminated with the selection of a design from Jeremiah Howe of Powell. It depicts a Heart Mountain sunset beneath a starry night sky and above a field of barley, with text that notes the city’s 1909 founding and welcomes visitors to town. 

In the news release, Wetzel embraced the new look. 

“I am super excited to see this mural design enhance Powell’s cityscape with bright colors that represent the vibrancy of the community itself,” the mayor said. 

The Park County Travel Council awarded a $32,200 grant to help pay for the new mural, with the city chipping in another $15,000. Leaders previously estimated that another $15,000 worth of support would need to be raised from the community to complete the project. Thanks to in-kind donations, including equipment from Ryno’s Rentals, the need is down to about $10,000. 

The new 53-foot-high mural will be installed in the same spot on the historic bean elevator, which is owned by Treasure Valley Seed. The company has been supportive of the revamp and has offered to add nighttime lighting. 

Installation of the new mural is planned for next spring.

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Police investigate single Taco Bell hot sauce packet delivered to woman’s home

GILLETTE (WNE) — Police are investigating after Taco Bell hot sauce packets were sent to a woman whose personal information was recently compromised.

A 43-year-old DoorDash driver said someone made an order Saturday night for a home in the 400 block of Clarion Drive containing a single Taco Bell hot sauce packet. She believed the order may have been sent as a prank, said Deputy Chief Brent Wasson, and she called the police.

During the investigation, officers spoke with the 44-year-old woman who lives at the home, who said this was the third time she had received a DoorDash delivery of Taco Bell hot sauce. She did not know who made the orders, but thought it was suspicious.

The woman had reported on Friday that an unknown person accessed her personal information and opened a credit card in her name. The suspect tried to use the card at multiple locations, totaling $3,800. She was able to contact her bank and the charges were stopped before she was out any money, Wasson said.

She also said that her daughter, age unknown, had received texts from unknown numbers asking for her name. She blocked the numbers, which appeared to be fictitious and internet-generated, Wasson said.

The investigation continues.

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75-year-old arrested Thanksgiving Day bound over on drug charges

GILLETTE (WNE) — A 75-year-old Gillette man arrested on drug charges Thanksgiving Day has been bound over to District Court.

Dickie F. Sandy waived his preliminary hearing Nov. 30, binding him over to District Court for possession with intent to deliver meth and possession of meth and liquid meth, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor counts of cocaine and amphetamine pill possession, according to court documents.

A Sheriff’s deputy, who recognized Sandy from his past work with a Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation task force, spotted Sandy driving down West Second Street in a gold Chevy pickup truck Thanksgiving morning.

Based on his time with Wyoming DCI, the deputy suspected Sandy of distributing drugs in Gillette.

The deputy saw Sandy pull into the north Shell Food Mart, which he suspected as a way of evading him, then caught up to him again later that afternoon. After tailing Sandy while suspecting him of driving evasively after making several stops, waiting for the deputy to leave and continuing on.

The deputy eventually stopped the pickup truck outside of the Kwik Shop on Gurley Avenue.

While the deputy wrote up a warning to Sandy for driving with snow obscuring his truck’s license plate, another deputy arrived with a K-9 which indicated drugs were in the pickup.

A search of the truck yielded 3 amphetamine pills, also known as Adderall, two syringes with liquid meth weighing about 0.71 grams, about 17.5 grams of crystal meth and about 1.5 grams of cocaine, as well as a variety of drug paraphernalia, according to court documents.

Possession with intent to deliver meth carries a punishment of up to 20 years, a $25,000 fine or both.