Wyoming
They Have No Basis: Rock Springs City Attorney Fires on Unfounded Corruption Claims – SweetwaterNOW
ROCK SPRINGS — The Rock Springs City Attorney has become annoyed with continued, baseless allegations of corruption within the city.
“I, along with these other individuals, swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and uphold the law, which I have done,” City Attorney Richard Beckwith said at Tuesday night’s Rock Springs City Council meeting. “And I would be more than happy to sit down in a court of law and swear to that under oath. Anytime.”
Discussion initially started when Shirley Cukale, a resident who often approaches the Council during the public comments portion of its meetings, questioned the Council about the city’s request for proposal process works. Cukale has alleged corruption occurring within the city, though hasn’t brought forward any information to the Council supporting her allegations.
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“Nobody has given me evidence,” Mayor Max Mickelson said Wednesday morning. “If someone had evidence and didn’t bring it forward to me … I would be frustrated.”
Cukale alleged former Rock Springs Mayor Tim Kaumo had gotten some city contracts and claimed Councilwoman Jeannie Demas did not abstain from votes involving Kaumo as she had previously served with him on the Council during Kaumo’s most-recent period as mayor. Mickelson immediately responded to Cukale, saying Kaumo has retired and no longer works for JFC Engineering. Cukale doubled down on her allegations involving the former mayor, even claiming she spoke with an unnamed prosecuting attorney about charging him and alleging nothing came of that discussion.
Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe told SweetwaterNOW he does not recall speaking with Cukale regarding corruption allegations but if there was a specific allegation that had some validity, he would contact the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. He said people claiming corruption happens and isn’t new to him. If he receives a claim about specific incidents, he contacts law enforcement for an investigation.
“When I heard about the Kaumo bid allegations, I contacted DCI to investigate,” Erramouspe said
Kaumo and the city were investigated by the Wyoming DCI and the FBI in a corruption probe near the end of Kaumo’s third term as mayor, which led to him initially being charged with six misdemeanor counts of official misconduct and one misdemeanor count of conflict of interests in 2022. Kaumo pled guilty to one count of official misconduct and one charge of conflict of interest in 2023 and was ordered to pay $5,000 in fines.
Mickelson said the city’s processes were investigated as part of that probe, to which Cukale shook her head in disagreement.
“That’s not true,” she claimed.
“It is true,” Mickelson responded.
Cukale continued making accusations against Kaumo and JFC Engineering’s contracts until Mickelson cut her off again.
“You’re certainly entitled to your opinion,” Mickelson said.
Not only the city, but all of the citizens of Rock Springs deserve much more than what you are giving them with these false accusations of corruption. They have no basis. You have no evidence and I am personally sick of it.
Richard Beckwith, Rock Springs City Attorney
Beckwith then spoke and addressed Cukale and Councilman Rick Milonas and recent claims of corruption. Near the start of the year, comments Milonas allegedly made about city employees while at a local grocery store were publicly questioned by Mickelson, with Milonas publicly saying he wasn’t sure if city employees were corrupt or not.
Beckwith said the FBI and Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation thoroughly investigated the city’s procurement process and didn’t find evidence of wrongdoing by the committee in that investigation. Beckwith said he fully cooperated with and participated in the investigation.
“I, myself, was personally questioned for several hours, as were the other two individuals sitting with me at this table right now,” Beckwith said. “I would ask (Cukale) and I would ask Mr. Milonas, that if you have any evidence at all that any one of us three have been involved with any corruption at all, we’d like to hear it now. Or if you have any evidence at all that the procurement process was legally fouled in any way at any time by any one.”
Beckwith further said unless Milonas and Cukale are willing to appear in court and swear under oath, that they stop wasting the city’s time with the allegations.
“Not only the city, but all of the citizens of Rock Springs deserve much more than what you are giving them with these false accusations of corruption. They have no basis. You have no evidence and I am personally sick of it,” Beckwith said.
The expansion would open the spigot for 550,000 barrels per day of crude, the company says. Although the crude would mostly pass through eastern Wyoming, the venture opens opportunities for Wyoming oil producers in the region for more transportation access to U.S. refineries and shipping ports, according to Bridger and local industry officials.“It would be the biggest project in our history, if it comes to fruition,” Bridger Pipeline spokesperson Bill Salvin told WyoFile on Friday. “We are, however, in the really early stages of the project. But we’re very excited about it.”Industry trade groups speculate the Bridger Pipeline Expansion is part of a competitive scramble to fill a gap left by TC Energy’s Keystone XL project. That company, in 2021, abandoned the controversial project in the face of major opposition and protests. It would have transported Canadian tar-sands oil into the U.S. market via a route extending through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Among many challenges for Keystone XL was acquiring new rights-of-way easements. Though the Bridger Pipeline Expansion proposal requires some new rights-of-way, that’s not the case for the 210-mile Wyoming segment, according to Salvin.“All of that distance is within, or parallel to, existing pipeline corridors,” Salvin said.
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The Wyoming segment would pass through Crook, Weston, Niobrara, Goshen and Platte counties.Bridger Pipeline, a subsidiary of Casper-based True Companies, submitted a notice of intent to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in January and noted it will formally initiate environmental applications to the agency. Salvin told WyoFile he’s uncertain about the full spectrum of regulatory requirements in Wyoming.However, the company regards the Cowboy State as a great fit for the project, he said. “This [project proposal] just highlights how important the region is and how Wyoming is a very good place for energy projects like this.”Reached for comment, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming said the proposed pipeline only stands to benefit Wyoming producers and the state.“Investments like these, along with continued growth in areas like the Powder River Basin, show Wyoming will continue to play an important role in the nation’s energy markets,” PAW Vice President and Director of Communications Ryan McConnaughey told WyoFile. “Connecting in Guernsey allows product to be transported to refining hubs like Cushing, Oklahoma.” WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
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LARAMIE — Nasir Meyer converted a three-point play with 35 seconds remaining to give Wyoming Cowboys men’s basketball the lead for good, and Wyoming held Air Force Falcons men’s basketball scoreless over the final two minutes to secure a 66-62 victory Saturday night.
The win marked the 13th home victory of the season for Wyoming, which improved to 16-13 overall and 7-11 in conference play.
“Air Force deserves all the credit and let’s talk about a team that has every reason not to fight, but thats why they are Air Force and the cadets and I have a lot of respect for them,” Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks said. “They were not going to quit, and I didn’t drive that message home enough and hats off to Air Force because they deserved to win. We snuck away with a win. Adam Harakow showed when we need him and he was massive for us. Simm-Marten was made big plays and Naz was clutch for us late.”
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Wyoming shot 35% from the field and went 7 of 28 from 3-point range, making just two from beyond the arc in the second half. Air Force shot 49% overall and 44% from 3, hitting eight shots from long distance. The Cowboys made 13 of 16 free throws (81%) and scored 22 points off 15 Air Force turnovers while holding a 39-36 edge in rebounding.
Damarion Dennis led Wyoming with 16 points and three assists, going 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Meyer finished with 14 points and tied a career best with eight rebounds. Adam Harakow added 14 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting, his first double-figure scoring game since the first meeting with Air Force. Simm-Marten Saadi had nine points in 13 minutes, and Kiani Saxon grabbed seven rebounds.
Air Force opened with back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 6-0 lead. Meyer scored Wyoming’s first basket, and Leland Walker added a 3-pointer to make it 8-5 with 16 minutes left in the first half.
Wyoming responded with a 9-0 run over nearly four minutes, with Saadi and Harakow each connecting from beyond the arc to give the Cowboys an 11-8 lead with under 14 minutes remaining. Air Force regained a 12-11 advantage as Wyoming went scoreless for more than two minutes.
Harakow’s second 3-pointer pushed the lead to 22-16 with nine minutes left in the half, and Wyoming used a 6-0 run while holding the Falcons without a field goal for more than four minutes to build a 28-18 lead with six minutes remaining. The Cowboys closed the half on a defensive stand, keeping Air Force scoreless for the final two minutes to take a 35-25 lead into the break. Wyoming scored 15 first-half points off turnovers.
The teams traded 3-pointers early in the second half, and Air Force cut the deficit to 40-31 with under 17 minutes left before trimming it to seven 90 seconds later. Walker answered with a 3-pointer to make it 43-33 with 15 minutes to go.
Air Force used a 9-0 run during a stretch in which Wyoming went more than 3 1/2 minutes without a point to pull within one with nine minutes left. The Falcons later tied the game at 51-51 with 5:30 remaining after forcing six straight missed shots.
A pair of free throws by Meyer and a basket from Saadi gave Wyoming a 57-53 lead with under four minutes to play. Air Force answered with three consecutive 3-pointers from Kam Sanders to take a 62-59 lead with two minutes left.
Meyer scored with 90 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one. On the next trip, he converted an and-one to give Wyoming a 64-62 lead with 35 seconds left. The Cowboys added late free throws to close out the 66-62 win.
Sanders led Air Force with 16 points and nine rebounds, going 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Eli Robinson added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Wyoming closes its home schedule Tuesday against Nevada Wolf Pack men’s basketball at 8 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Cowgirls.
The 2-time defending champ Tongue River girls, along with both teams from Big Horn will represent Sheridan County in the small school version of March Madness.
Click here to see results from the regional tournaments.
2A Boys:
First Round:
Thursday, March 5th: (All games played at Casper College)
(#2E) Big Horn vs. (#3W) Shoshoni – Noon
(#1W) Thermopolis vs. (#4E) Sundance – 1:30pm
(#2W) Wyoming Indian vs. (#3E) Wright – 6:30pm
(#1E) Pine Bluffs vs. (#4W) Rocky Mountain – 8pm
Friday, March 6th: (All games played at Ford Wyoming Center)
Consolation Round:
Big Horn/Shoshoni loser vs. Thermopolis/Sundance loser – Noon LOSER OUT!
Wyoming Indian/Wright loser vs. Pine Bluffs/Rocky Mountain loser – 1:30pm LOSER OUT!
Semi-Finals:
Big Horn/Shoshoni winner vs. Thermopolis/Sundance winner – 6:30pm
Wyoming Indian/Wright winner vs. Pine Bluffs/Rocky Mountain winner – 8pm
Saturday, March 7th:
Friday Noon winner vs. Friday 1:30pm – Noon at Ford Wyoming Center Consolation Championship
Friday 6:30pm loser vs. Friday 8pm loser – 3pm at Natrona County High School 3rd Place
Friday 6:30pm winner vs. Friday 8pm winner – 7pm at Ford Wyoming Center Championship
2A Girls:
First Round:
Thursday, March 5th: (All games played at Casper College)
(#2W) Wyoming Indian vs. (#3E) Big Horn – 9am
(#1E) Sundance vs. (#4W) Shoshoni – 10:30am
(#2E) Tongue River vs. (#3W) Greybull – 3:30pm
(#1W) Thermopolis vs. (#4E) Pine Bluffs – 5pm
Friday, March 6th: (All games played at Ford Wyoming Center)
Consolation Round:
Wyoming Indian/Big Horn loser vs. Sundance/Shoshoni loser – 9am LOSER OUT!
Tongue River/Greybull loser vs. Thermopolis/Pine Bluffs loser – 10:30am LOSER OUT!
Semi-Finals:
Wyoming Indian/Big Horn winner vs. Sundance/Shoshoni winner – 3:30pm
Tongue River/Greybull loser vs. Thermopolis/Pine Bluffs loser – 5pm
Saturday, March 7th:
Friday 9am winner vs. Friday 10:30am winner – 9am at Ford Wyoming Center Consolation Championship
Friday 3:30pm loser vs. Friday 5pm loser – 10:30am at Ford Wyoming Center 3rd Place
Friday 3:30pm winner vs. Friday 5pm winner – 5:30pm at Ford Wyoming Center Championship
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