School board meets virtually because of unmasked attendees

SHERIDAN — People opposing mask orders put in place by Sheridan County School District 2 Board of Trustees resulted in school officials moving the in-person meeting to a virtual and call-in format Tuesday.

After SCSD2 Superintendent Scott Stults announced the format change because unmasked meeting attendees refused to leave the meeting room, one leader of the Free Our Faces group, her two sons and other unmasked audience members placed copies of a 135-page lawsuit against, among many others, Stults, the SCSD2 board and the Sheridan Police Department.

The group filed out after the announcement of the virtual meeting, and at the bottom of the stairs inside the SCSD2 Central Office, Tiffany Leimback and Shelta Rambur, cofounders of the Free Our Faces group, announced over social media the lawsuit — which they said would be filed later this week — as well as a local civil suit.

“One thing that we’re super excited about, that we got in — I didn’t get it on Live because it happened so freakin’ fast — but y’all, we just served Sheridan County School District No. 2 with a federal lawsuit. Wooooo!”

Shelta Rambur continued by saying she didn’t appreciate Trustee Wayne Schatz “throwing the papers at me. That was really childish.”

Schatz, when given the papers by Rambur at the conclusion of the delay Monday evening, threw the stack of papers on the trustee desk, which can be seen by one of at least 10 videos captured by attendees during the course of the meeting delay Monday.

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Douglas residents killed in plane crash

DOUGLAS — Well-known retired Douglas teachers Don and Cindy Sutphin died in a plane crash around 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31, outside of Harrison, Nebraska. 

The reason for the Beechcraft P35 Bonanza crash is listed as unknown at this time. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they are investigating the crash. 

“We will have a preliminary report out on the accident within two weeks. The cause of the crash will come in the final report, which could take one to two years,” NTSB Media Relations contact Eric Weiss said Monday. 

The Sutphins both taught at Douglas High School for many years and raised their children here, as well as owning The Auto & Bike Shop on E. Richards for many years. 

Don served on the Converse County Airport Board previously and was known as an accomplished small plane pilot. Friends said he recently purchased the Beechcraft plane and had made at least one previous longer flight in it before the one last weekend. 

The couple was reportedly returning to Douglas from Ohio where they had been visiting family when the accident happened.

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Rawlins Youth Crisis Center abruptly closes

RAWLINS — The Carbon County community got an unexpected pre-Halloween trick late last week when the Carbon County Youth Crisis Center in Rawlins was abruptly closed.

The closure also was news to the Carbon County Commission, which announced the move in a Friday press release. The closure is effect “until further notice,” according to the release.

The crisis center is operated by Cathedral Home for Children of Laramie, which informed the county Thursday the closure is immediate, said County Attorney Ashley Mayfield Davis.

Commissioners also weren’t given any notice by CHC of any potential issues that would result in withdrawal as operator of the Crisis Center. As a result, the commissioners didn’t have an opportunity “to develop a transition plan for the Crisis Center,” according to the release.

Because operation of the facility requires licensing from the state Department of Family Services, it had to close.

This Crisis Center was used as a place of residence for children who could no longer live at home and as a place of confinement for juvenile defendants rather than housing them with adult prisoners in the county Jail next door. There was also no information in the press release about how many young people were in residence in the center at the time of its closure and where they were placed when the Center closed.

“Cathedral Home for Children will continue offering diversion services in Carbon County through Dec. 10, 2021,” the press release says. However, what services would be provided and where they would be offered wasn’t addressed.