Yellowstone scales back search for canoeist

JACKSON — Yellowstone National Park is winding down search and recovery efforts for Kim Crumbo, 74, who had been on a four-night backcountry trip to Shoshone Lake with his brother, who died of hypothermia.

The National Park Service has been searching for Crumbo for nearly three weeks using helicopters, boats, sonar technology and ground crews, a news release said. Current weather forecasts call for deteriorating conditions over the upcoming week, including snow and freezing temperatures, but the park will continue limited search efforts as long as conditions allow.

After family reported the men overdue, search crews found the body of Mark O’Neill, of Chimacum, Washington, on the lake’s east shore Sept. 20.

“All of us at Yellowstone extend our deepest sympathies to the families, friends and colleagues of both Mark and Kim,” Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a statement.

A vacant campsite was found on the lake’s south side. What happened remains under investigation, the release said.

The men were experienced boaters and former National Park Service employees, and Crumbo is a former Navy SEAL who served in Vietnam.

———

Rock Springs backs Amtrak expansion

ROCK SPRINGS — The resolution to support the Amtrak Passenger Rail Expansion in the city of Rock Springs and Southwest Wyoming was approved at the Rock Springs City Council meeting on Oct. 5. 

Amtrak, a passenger railroad service, provides medium and long-distance inter-city rail service in the contiguous United States and to nine cities in Canada. 

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our commu\nity to bring back passenger rail service,” Rock Springs Mayor Tim Kaumo said. 

Kaumo said that it will benefit businesses and will “help stir up activity and sales tax generation.” 

The resolution details additional benefits of the Amtrak expansion like connecting major cities to smaller communities, providing alternate transportation options in areas without city bus services and providing a mode of transportation that is three times more efficient in greenhouse gas emissions compared to traveling by car. 

For those having to travel long distances, like students, Kaumo said that the reintroduction of Amtrak into the area would be immensely beneficial to them. 

“If you’re traveling back and forth from Salt Lake or Laramie for school, this could be a whole lot easier than driving on the interstate,” Kaumo said. ‘We know that very often the interstate gets shut down in the wintertime. For students to be able to jump on a train and travel back to Rock Springs safely would be great.”

———

Town council meeting interrupted by water main break

RAWLINS — Last week’s Saratoga Town Council meeting was briefly interrupted when a 10-inch iron water main in front of Town Hall ruptured at about 7 p.m. Tuesday.

This break acted like a pressure washer nozzle and liquified the road base around the break creating a 6-foot hole, said Public Works Director Jon Winter. Because of the pressure, it erupted through the 4 inches of asphalt, spreading water and mud across the parking area in front of the building.

Water did not enter Town Hall or any other building. The escaping water flowed to the corner street drains and as far away as the Bridge Avenue drain at the Wolf Hotel.

The water main break on East Spring Avenue resulted in a loss of pressure throughout the town for a couple of hours. After the damaged pipe was isolated, the town water system was repressured.

Properties that get their water from the Spring Avenue water main between South River Avenue and Third Street were cut off from water into the late evening, Winter said.

This line’s replacement is on the list of proposed projects that would be paid for with the Specific Purpose Tax funding. Replacing the water line was not discussed at the just-concluded council meeting.