Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 3

GAS PRICES CLANCt U.S. $2,399 Casper Wyoming $2,240 iAfton Sourc pastXKlsjj- US artf ft entrsijrerfvpi. Gd buddy survey Saturday, April 4, 2015 Content Director David MaytVry can be reached at 307-265-0633. or david.mayoerryf tnb.com. A3 Wyoming man gets prison for unregistered shotgun UW is nearly finished with dean searches Officials expect to fill final positions in next two weeks Lillian Schrock 307-266)574, Laiian.Schrocktrib.com A federal judge sentenced a- 30-yeai -old Torrington man to 10 years in prison Tuesday for possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun.

U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson also ordered Erniliano Martinez to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. Martinez must also pay a $500 fine. Authorities charged Martinez in October.

He faced up to 20 years in prison but pleaded guilty in January as part of a deal with prosecutors. Martinez has previous been convicted of three felonies: use of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and theft. Follow crime and courts reporter Lillian Schrock on Twitter fflillieschrock. During a search for drugs in July, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, To-bacco, Firearms and Explosives discovered the 12-guage shotgun in a car belonging to Martinez's girlfriend, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. The shotgun was 1 inch shorter than the 18 inches required by law.

The gun was also not registered. Martinez told agents the shotgun was already cut down when he got it. Associated Press The University of Wyoming is expected to have all its dean positions filled within the next two weeks after entering the 2014-15 academic year with four openings. "I think the process has gone extremely well," said David Jones, UW's vice president for academic af fairs. "My hat is off to the various search commit tees.

They're the ones who do the heavy lifting The university filled the first open position in January, hiring Michael Pishko as the dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Pishko is the for mer director of the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing at Texas University in College Station, Texas. He currently holds several patents in the field of biomedical engineering. In early March, UW tapped Sanjay Putrevu as the new College of Business dean. Putrevu is slated to begin employment at UW on July 1.

He is currently a marketing professor at State University of New York at Albany and is a former associate dean of the School of Business there. More recently, UW named Klint Alexander the dew of the College of Law. Alexander is currently a senior lecturer in international law and politics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He is also a mem -ber of the Memphis-based law firm Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell Berkowitz. Alexander is also set to begin his UW career July 1.

That leaves UW's College of Education dean the only position left to be filled, and it is expected shortly. For Jones and those on each search committee, the task of hiring four new deans was a time intensive eh al lenge, but it speaks to the university's ability to bounce back from a challenging time that resulted from the short and rocky administration of former President Bob Sternberg. "I think with having so many at one time, there's been a concern because of everything the university has been through," Jones said. "I.think a lot of individuals might have shied away from this type of environ -ment, but what we have found is really quite the oppo -site. We've had strong pools of candidates and strong finalists.

It speaks to the resiliency of the university." It also signals the potential for some new direction Jones said. "It can kind of depend on the circumstances, but I'd say when you have new leadership and someone with a new vision or different ideas, it can be a fresh start," he said. "The future looks really great for the university." --r-i I I I i I I i 1 3 I I 1 Illlll mil-W ifw-mMiiTM-lrf. l-M fcjnr iut 1 1 I MKr i lir'-Tir-' itiiimmJI DAN CEPEDA, STAR-TVIBUNE A cluster of aspens is seen during a light snowfall Thursday afternoon on Casper Mountain. VCIVES Montana population declines; livestock attacks are also down Bunny, church focus of activities Only six of the animals were killed by landowners under a new state law that allows up to lOO wolves to be killed annually if they are considered a potential threat to livestock or humans.

The law had been criticized by wildlife advocates as the equivalent of a year-round hunting season. The wolf count is the number verified by Fish, Wildlife and Parks wolf specialists. Officials estimate the actual number to be 27 percent to 37 percent higher than the minimum count. That equates to more than 700 wolves statewide. Associated Press Gray wolf numbers in Montana declined 12 percent last year and livestock attacks by the predators hit an eight -year low, following several years of determined effort by officials to curb the state's wolf population.

A rniiiimiun of 554 wolves were counted statewide at the end of 2014, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Tliat includes 33 breeding pairs. Livestock attacks declined 46 percent from the prior year with the fewest recorded since 2006. Officials said 35 cattle, six sheep and one horse were confirmed killed. Montana's gray wolf population peaked at 653 animals in 2011.

That same year, Congress lifted federal protections for the animals across much of the Northern Rockies, opening the door to licensed hunting and trapping for the first time in decades. During this winter's harvest, which ended last month, hunters and trappers killed 206 wolves in Montana. Fifty-seven wolves were killed by wildlife agents in response to livestock attacks under a cooperative program between the state and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Idaho numbers increase after drop in hunting Last year, lawmakers voted to form a Wolf Control Depredation Board to kill wolves that attack wildlife.

The Legislature gave the board the same $400,000 in funding again for next year, although the board was slated to use only two-thirds of its funding this year. In March, state officials announced they had killed 19 wolves in northern Idaho to help increase the elk population there. The number of elk had dropped from 16,000 to roughly 1,000 over the last 25 years. The federal government reintroduced gray wolves to Idaho in the mid-1990s in an effort to restore their numbers and remove them from the endangered species list. killed roughly 250 wolves last year down by almost 100 from the previous year.

Still, the number of wolves does not approach the statewide peak of 856 wolves in 2009, when Idaho began to allow hunters and trappers to kill a limited number of wolves. Despite the growth in individual wolves, the new data shows that the number of packs has droppedby roughly 20 in the last two years to 104 packs. Additionally, the number of sheep killed by wolves dropped to its lowest level in a decade just over loo sheep compared with more than 400 wolves last year. Managing the wolf population has long been a topic of debate in Idaho. Ryan Struyk Associated Press The Idaho Fish and Game Department says the number of wolves in the state has reached its highest level since 2010, following a corresponding decline in wolves killed by hunters and trappers.

The department's data shows the state's wolf population grew by 13 percent last year. Roughly 770 wolves currently live in Idaho, according to the data released Friday well above the minimum of 150 wolves that keeps the animal off the fedeial endangered species list. Meanwhile, hunters and trappers Sally Ann Shurmur 307-2 66-0520, Salty 3nn. Shu rmur a ib.com Today's activities have a predictable mix of F.nster Bunny and church -related activities. Here is a sum mary, as provided to the Star -Tribune.

Bunny trails The Easter Bunny, in cooperation with Poverty Resistance, Food for Thought and the Casper Housing Authority, will host the annual Easter egg hunt from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Life Steps Campus Gym (building C), 1514 E. 12th St. The hunt is free, and participants will be divided into smaller groups to hunt.

Eggs and candy will be replenished after each group, so that everyone will get a share of goodies, hi addition to the hunt, face painting and other activities will also be available. The Easter Bunny will be in the Atrium riaza downtown from 10 to 11 a.m. for free pictures with children. Follow the trail to other downtown stores to enter a drawing for a boys or girls Easter basket. Easter egg hunt will be in the City Park across from the Elks Lodge, starting at 11 a.m.

For ages 1 or walking to 12. Open to the public. For more informa tion, call 234-4839. Skate with the Bunny from to 3 p.m. at the Casper Ice Arena.

Admission is only $4 per person ai id includes skating, games, candy and prizes. Spring fun The Eood for ThougM winter market is 9 a.m. to noon at the Ag Resource and Learning Center, 2011 Fairgrounds Road. An optional donation of canned soup or canned chili is requested to be used in Food for Thought food bags. The vendors at the winter market will have all things local honey, spices, jams, jellies, baked goods, meats, homemade soaps and lotions, handmade crafts and more.

Register for the Rec Center's girls Junior Olympic fast pitch soflball program from 10 a.m. to p.m. at Bush-Wells Sporting Goods, Fifth and Center streets, for a $40 discount. Tate Geological Museum's Saturday Club will look at giant insects from the Carboniferous Coal Age from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The Saturday Club usually meets on the first Saturday of each month.

The club has two age divisions, one for students age 8 and older, and the other for children age 5 to 7. There is no cost for children to attend the club. Senior dance at the Eagles Hall, 306 N. Durbin' St. Dance and listening music by SwingSounds Band from 7 to 10 p.m.

Potluck snacks at 8 p.m. and door prize drawings at 9 p.m. Adrrussion is $5 per person. Parking available in the north entrance parking lot, the south comer parking lot and across the street Please see WEEKEND, A4 WREREFOriTS Hivcrtcn man killed in truck rcHovsr RTVERTON A 57-year-old Riverton man died in a cement truck rollover in Fremont County. The Wyoming Highway Patrol says Daniel William Oberlie was the only occupant of the truck when It rolled at about 1:10 p.m.

Wednesday on State Route 135 outside Riverton. The truck went off the road slightly on the right but then overcorrected and went across the highway, where it rolled and came to rest on its roof. EfrKWWr Jawmirfa Utah triha's lesdsr removed from office ever Redskins gifts A Utah tribal leader has been ousted from office after being accused of Improperly accepting -gifts from Washington's NFL team, which has long been criticized for its name. Members of the council of the Cedar City-based Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah said Thursday that they voted unanimously to remove Chairwoman GariLafferty. They say Lafferty wrongly tied the tribe to the divisive Redskins name when she accepted a trip to Washington, D.C., and a signed football.

Lafferty said the team's Original Americans Foundation donated vans to the tribe after she responded to its survey on tribal needs. But she said the team never asked her to endorse the name. She maintains the dispute is about her leadership style. A foundation spokesman said it's an internal tribal issue, The tribe plans to elect a new leader from the council..