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There are two days left to cast a vote in the 2012 election. Today, residents can register and vote in advance at the county clerk’s office, 200 S. Willow St.

On Election Day, voters must go to their neighborhood polling place and can register before casting a ballot. A higher-resolution version of the above map, including the entire county, can be found here. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

In town, there are four places to vote. Residents east of Redmond Street vote at Senior Center; those between Glenwood and Redmond vote at the Rec Center; everyone between Glenwood and Highway 89 votes at the Fair Building; and neighborhoods farthest west vote at the Presbyterian Church.

Only a photo ID is required to register. While a Wyoming driver’s license is preferred, other states’ are accepted, too. The clerk’s office is closed Tuesday.

Posted under County Government, Politics, Town Government, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: campaign 2012

No need to wait until Aug. 21 to vote in the primary election — anyone may register and vote in advance right now, right up to the primary day.

Simply stop by the clerk’s office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Teton County administration building, 220 S. Willow St. (the same building where you register a car or pick up stickers for license plates).

The only requirement is a photo ID. No proof of residency is necessary. While a Wyoming driver’s license is preferred, other states’ are accepted, too.

And as a sage man often reminds us, you need to have lived here only a minute to vote.

This way, come Aug. 21, you won’t be caught backpacking in the Winds or working a double shift without having cast a ballot.

The field for Town Council just got a little less crowded. Councilor Greg Miles is dropping out of the race, narrowing the field to eight candidates for two seats. (The top four will advance from the primary.)

Miles announced his intention at last night’s council meeting and also posted a message to friends on Facebook, saying he is stepping aside to “allow some new ideas to come forward.” Miles said he wants to support his wife, Melinda Binks, who is producing a TV show in Los Angeles, and looks forward to working in the private sector again as a housing developer.

Posted under County Government, Politics, Town Government, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: campaign 2012, greg miles

Two weeks after a federal wildlife manager said he planned to kill them, wolves are still roaming the south end of Jackson Hole near residential areas and ranches.

Mike Jimenez, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said there are just two wolves — one white and one black, possibly a mating pair. The predators remain comfortable on the periphery of the Indian Trails, Indian Springs and Cottonwood Park neighborhoods and even south Wilson, near Fall Creek Road, he said.

Because the wolves often are in these areas, Jimenez has been unable to fly in a helicopter and shoot them with darts.

“It’s just not a place we can do anything,” he said. There have been no reports of wolves harassing pets, people or livestock since an Indian Trails homeowner posted a video Feb. 23 of wolves crossing his backyard, Jimenez said.

Jimenez has been tracking the wolves from the ground and by airplane. The animals have ranged from the southern end of the valley, near the South Park elk feedground, across Highway 22 to the north and as far west as Wilson. Their behavior is consistent with wolves establishing a home territory, he said.

“We know where they are, but they’re in small pockets at the far end of a field, or in someone’s backyard, and that’s not an appropriate spot” to capture and euthanize them, he said.

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Posted under Environment, Politics, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: conservation, cowboys, development, wildlife, wolves

Despite pleas from the community, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will not relocate wolves from the edge of town and instead will euthanize them once captured.

Mike Jimenez, the service’s wolf recovery coordinator for Wyoming, said Tuesday he has fielded calls from concerned residents who wish to see the wolves released elsewhere. Jackson Hole homeowners even have pledged money to cover the agency’s costs.

But Jimenez said relocating the predators isn’t feasible, won’t work and won’t benefit wolves in the long run. Killing the wolves is a pre-emptive move to avoid potential conflicts, he explained.

“They’d be home before I’d get home,” he said of the three or four wolves roaming the west edge of town and South Park.

“We did this for years and years in the early days,” Jimenez said of relocation. The wolves would “take off on their own and end up hunting on their own, by people and livestock. It didn’t go well.”

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Posted under Environment, Politics, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: conservation, wildlife, wolves

Depriving comedians and headline writers of quality material, the Wyoming House of Representatives defeated today the so-called “doomsday bill” that would have created a task force to plan for the failure or shutdown of the federal government.

The bill failed on a 27-30 vote, with three legislators excused. Rep. Ruth Ann Petroff, R-Jackson, voted for the bill, while Reps. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, and Jim Roscoe, D-Wilson, helped kill it.

The legislation made national headlines over the last week as observers chuckled at some of the more outlandish provisions, including Wyoming instituting a draft, forming an army and ordering an aircraft carrier. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Dave Miller, R-Riverton, who has a libertarian bent.

On Friday, the House sunk Miller’s battleship by removing the aircraft carrier provision, dashing Wyoming Public Radio news director Bob Beck’s dream of becoming admiral of the Wyoming Navy.

Comics, take heart. The House did advance today the bill calling on Congress to declare New York’s Central Park a wilderness area, thereby delivering a gift to the New York tabloids. Petroff voted in favor, with Gingery and Roscoe opposing.

To follow the action from the Legislature (today is the last day for bills to pass house of origin), search hashtag #wyleg on Twitter or follow @ButterBob.

Posted under Economy, Humor, Politics, Republican Party, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: boondoggles, jim roscoe, keith gingery, Media, ruth ann petroff