The Galloway services will be held in the Afton Stake Tabernacle with a viewing from 10-10:45 a.m. prior to the service.  There will also be a viewing on Friday September 3, from 6-8 p.m. at the Tabernacle.

The Casteel Services will be held in the Afton 3rd Ward Chapel with a viewing from 10-10:45 a.m. prior to the services.  There will also be a viewing on Friday September 3, from 6-8 p.m. at the Schwab Mortuary in Afton.

The pilot told officers  that in an effort to climb too steeply, his rear-propeller driven aircraft, suffered a “prop strike” or an incident in which the propeller comes in contact with the runway.

At that point he reported the plane started shaking. He attempted to set it back down, but came down hard amid heavy vibration. The hard landing opened his canopy and the nose wheel of the aircraft broke off.

Amid the process, the pilot told officers that he believed some of the debris compromised his fuel line and  caused a leak.  He smelled the fuel and immediately exited the aircraft before it caught on fire.

According to Rick Sessions, Airport Manager, the accident caused a delay for a charter jet which was waiting to take off and also caused another aircraft to wait as they were attempting to gain clearance to land.

The Afton Fire Department responded to the scene and extinguished the blaze.

Although the pilot was uninjured, the incident was reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the aircraft was moved.

The incident is currently under investigation by the FAA.

The move makes a lot of sense from a couple points of views.  Utilizing their own television station and owning their own rights which they can then parlay to an entity such as ESPN, the Cougars could make more dollars just off of the Worldwide Leader for football then they get from the league’s television station, The Mtn., for an entire season.

For Cougar fans who have been miffed that Utah got the invite to a BCS conference and not them, it gives them a chance to look important on a national stage and schedule who they can and want to schedule.

Texas and Oregon are good starts for a schedule in 2011 and are already on board with Notre Dame supposedly also in the works.

Now about those other pesky ten games.

I believe the higher-ups within the school believe they can create and sustain a schedule that will be credible in the eye of the BCS should BYU have a good season.

But I have my own doubts.

The Cougars have exited through the door to independence like an inebriated bull in the proverbial china shop, both butchering the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and dealing a blow to the MWC in the process.  But it’s far from a death knell for the teams left behind.

And I’m sure those 16 teams will be glad to schedule them in the future right?

If you had any reservations about where the administration sits at UW, click here and read Tom Burman’s thoughts about the situation with the Casper Star-Tribune.

I had one person point out to me that BYU means sellouts, and schools like sellouts.

The last time Wyoming enjoyed a sellout because of the throng of BYU fans?  1990.

And I’m biting my tongue on the use of the word sellout.

The loyal conference part of me feels irritated that as soon as the league faced real opposition in the form of dollar signs, that two of its charter members would bolt for greener pastures like a scalded dog on the Fourth of July.

I’ve come in contact with people who assume that I hate BYU because of my allegiance to Wyoming which is not true at all.  I appreciate history, rivalries and adding to both.  I respect the team and its tradition.

And as a rivalry, the match up wasn’t exactly going UW’s way with two wins in the last ten meetings.  So as far as my cynical Cowboy roots go, it’s good riddance.  If you don’t want to be at the party, then you’re welcome to leave.  As much as fans in Provo have taken the opportunity to take shots at Laramie and never going there again, it might be hard for those same fans to realize that the feeling is mutual.

But when I’m “educated” that the other sports in their program will be just fine?  It smacks of justification.

BYU loves to tout the number of conference titles they accumulate.  I don’t blame them, they have by far the most championships in the MWC since the league was formed when you add up all the sports.
And when the kittens are playing a custom schedule with no conference ties and the fans are happy for the moment, it will seem like a great decision.

But when the team is playing Santa Clara in a gym roughly the size of where the Braves play, with fewer fans I might add, it might take some of the luster off of it.

R.I.P.
BYU vs Wyoming
Born: 1922
Died:     2010
Total Meetings: 76
UW Trails the Series
30-42-3
One More to Go
Dahl Erickson is an award winning writer for the Star Valley Independent and has been covering the University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference since 2003.

The WHP report noted his vehicle drifted off the right side of the roadway and struck a delineator post.
The vehicle continued off the roadway and struck a guardrail end and face, causing the vehicle to rotate clockwise and travel over the guardrail. The vehicle then re-entered the roadway and overturned two complete times.

The WHP reported Bassett, who was not wearing a seat belt, was totally ejected from the vehicle and the vehicle came to rest on its wheels in the middle of the roadway blocking both lanes of travel. The driver landed 35 feet from the vehicle in the roadway. He died at the scene of the accident.

WYO 89 was closed for three hours during the investigation.

Star Valley has looked ruthless and sharp on day two of the Cokeville Tournament, advancing to the finals by beating the home-town Panthers and the defending 4A Champion Green River Wolves.

The Lady Braves forced four games before falling to the savvy Hawks, but a great tournament showing appears to be showing signs of good things to come for this year’s team.

The Lady Braves opened up their season against the Alta Hawks of Sandy, Utah.  Star Valley looked overwhelmed early on but mid-way through the second game, the ladies found their stride as they battled to a 25-22 third game but still fell in a sweep.

The next match saw the spikers defeat Rich County, Utah in five games, and then close out their pool play with another five-game win over border war rival, Bear Lake.

At times, the Lady Braves were very impressive with their 2010 version.  Britney Titensor was a force as the outside hitter, with Lexy Erickson and Lachelle Winters also have stellar outings.  Hailey Wilkes also had a nice opening weekend on the front row.  Kassie Woodie was everywhere on the court as the setter, but also found ways to score.  Bailey Brog saw extensive time as the team’s new libero while Camilla Warren also seeing plenty of varsity minutes.

The SVHS Cross-Country team made their way to the Pocatello Invitational where they punched some solid times.

Jared Inskeep finished fourth overall while Joshua Call finished seventh to lead the way for the Braves.  Nathan Merrit and Ben Sabat finished just before and just after the 20-minute mark with Grant Cameron rounding out the top five varsity slate.

The Lady Braves were led by Hailey Ricks who finished third overall with a time of 21:37.  Brooke and Brittney Nethercott finished in the top-15 as well both timing in at 23:06.  Abby McArthur and Sydney Robinson rounded out the varsity five on the opening weekend.  Click here for race results.

Finally, the Braves had a two-part inter-squad scrimmage on Friday evening.  The sophomores capitalized on a few freshman miscues to win in a standard half of football, 16-0 which included two touchdowns and a safety.

After some pyrotechnics from Mother Nature that resulted in a 45-minute lightning delay, the Braves came out with their varsity and junior varsity units and went through a scripted scrimmage with various scenarios.

The first team offense was very impressive as they rarely had a missed pass and scored on all four drive situations afforded them by the itinerary and scored 27 points.  The touchdowns came on drives of 60, 80, 67 and 97 yards.  The 80-yard score came on one play, and the 97-yard drive came on the scenario of being backed up on the three-yard line and the offense responded with the long score.  Although the jerseys were not official numbers, the 80-yard score was an impressive run by Ridge Hillyard and Logan Abrams had multiple carries with large chunks of yardage.

The night closed out with John Strang making both a 47 and 52-yard field goals.

The scrimmage was Star Valley’s preferred option during “zero week” which will have some of the Braves’ opponents playing against class foes in exhibitions.  Jackson will take on Riverton while Cody and Powell will both travel to Montana to take on Big Sky foes.

Star Valley opens up against the Snake River Panthers next Friday, September 3, at 7 p.m. on Braves field to open up the regular season.  Star Valley is still winless in this relatively new rivalry, going 0-4 against the Panthers over the past four years.

The Independent strongly encourages fans to break out their cowbells and come and enjoy both the new concessions facility and the new paved area which have been added to the sports complex.

Della Mae Porter Gibbons, our beloved mother, grandmother, and sister, age 85, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010 at her home in Axtell, Utah, surrounded by her family.  She was the daughter of Wilford Austin Porter and Alice Elnora Johnson Porter.  She married Morris Stanley Gibbons in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple on May 21, 1946.   Together they toiled creating a productive ranch in Star Valley.  She was active in the LDS church where she served in many capacities always doing her best.  Several years were spent working in the Idaho Falls Temple which brought her great joy.  As a secretary for 48 years, she  worked for the Doyle Child/Tom Davis Insurance Agency.  She was a hard worker and  quick to give of her time and talent to others.  Enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Star Valley, she often walked to work.  Because of her love for fresh produce, gardening was a special hobby she fostered into her 80′s. She regularly nurtured all the sick calves back to health and was her husbands’ right hand man.
In her later years, she created many beautiful needle works of Brazillian Embroidery.  Being an avid reader kept her mind acute, and she was always looking for mental puzzles and word finds to sharpen her memory.  Managing all business affairs with ease, she was a remarkable business woman.  She is survived by her son Austin Gibbons (Merlyn Daughtery); daughters Lynnette Wolfley (Craig); and Gay Bastian (Bevan); sisters Louise Collins, Florence Seegmiller, Betty Pendelton; and brother Lynn Porter.
She is preceded in death by her parents; brothers Max and Melvin Porter; sister Eva Nyberg; husband, Morris; daughter, Patrice Moss; and grandson, Duane Moss. She has 20 grandchildren and 31 great-grand children.  Friends and family may call for a viewing on Friday, Aug. 27 from 6-8 p.m. at the Schwab Mortuary in Afton and Saturday, Aug. 28 at 10 a.m. before funeral services, in the Afton Third Ward Church. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010 at 11 a.m. in the  Afton Third Ward Chapel.

Dedicated band parents followed their musicians as they racked up the mileage on the family wagon to destinations such as Cody, Sheridan, Rock Springs and Cheyenne this summer as part of the Wyoming State Marching Band and their part in this year’s Rose Bowl parade.

According to SVHS Band and Choir Director, Kurt Sand, Dave Bellis of Worland is primarily responsible for the Wyoming High School All-State Marching Band which has been put together since 1991.  During that period of time, the group has performed in locations such as Washington D.C., Dublin, Ireland, Ediburgh Scotland, the Rose Bowl Parade.  The next trip is Bejing, China

Sand believes that the Star Valley musicians that attend make for a nice addition to the school’s classes.

“The kids that go to the All-State Marching Band experience, come back and are leaders in our program,” he said.  “They gain tremendous confidence and know how satisfying it can be to be part of an elite group that works really hard and performs really well.  They come back and make our program stronger.  In terms of student leadership and ability, they are leaders.”

This year, ten high school students and one middle school student will be part of the 2010 Rose Bowl edition.  The Rose Bowl annually pits teams from the Big Ten and PAC-10 conference as their first preference.

In other news in the music program, Sand stated that the SVHS marching band completed their camp approximately two weeks ago.  This year, the marching band will be performing the music written and performed by the group, Journey.

He also stated that pep band and marching band will perform throughout the fall with the choirs and jazz band performing later in the semester.  Sand will be handling all four choirs and all four bands this year and plans on some subtle changes.

“We’ll be tackling some music fundamentals in our choir program,” he stated. “ A process called Solfege which is learning a little more about music in terms of theory and sight singing.  Each note is sung to a specific syllable or the do, re, mi method.  I’ve visited with several other directors around the state and those who use this system have very successful choirs.  We have a great choir and I believe this will help us.  I believe it will improve our musicianship in our choir.”

In terms of encouraging students who are not involved with the program, Sand feels it benefits anyone at the secondary level.

“Make music part of your child’s high school experience,” he concluded.  We have a fine music program.  I hope people will support our fall musical as well which is “Bye, Bye Birdy”.  Auditions for that production will take place the first week of school with the performance taking place in November.”

School Board
There are three seats on the school board that are up for election in 2010.

The Area 2 seat, which is made up primarily of Fairview, Auburn, Grover and borders parts of Bedford, Thayne and Afton will be up for election.

Area 2 candidates for School Board include Alan Linford from Afton.

The Area 5 seat, which is made up of all areas north of Star Valley Ranch and Freedom is up for election.

Area 5 candidates for School Board include Donna Ivie of Etna and Tyler Brog of Freedom.

The third opening on the Lincoln County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees is an  at-large seat. Any individual that resides within the boundaries of Lincoln County School District No. 2 is eligible to run for the at-large position.

Candidates who have filed to run for the at large seat include John Wolfley of Etna, Stewart Petersen of Cokeville and Dave Johnson of Thayne.

Each Trustee term is four years.

Hospital Board
There are four seats on the hospital board that are up for election in 2010. Seven candidates have filed to run for positions on the board. Each seat is a four-year term.

Candidates do not have to live in specific areas within the North Lincoln County Hospital District to serve on the hospital board.

The list of 2010 candidates for the North Lincoln County Hospital Districe Board of Trustees is as follows: Ann Maki of Alpine; Marlowe Scherbel of Afton; Megan O’Rourke of Star Valley Ranch; Ed Bruce of Afton; Robert Hunsaker of Afton; Gerald Roberts of Thayne; and Kurt Garrard of Fairview.