NMSU RODEO
Third Round
As we entered the last performance of the third round Friday night, we had the potential for eight NMSU contestants to make the championship round. When it was all over, three made it.
The biggest blow occurred when Means & Garza, last years National Champion Team Ropers were flagged out with an illegal head catch.
Then Mirabal & Shelley were 15 flat with a leg, placing them 13th, one hole out of the championship round.
Jonna Bizzell was sitting great with two goats down in 13.8, but her horse went left while she was dismounting and took her out contention.
Clay Acuna, a senior, will come back sitting 8th in the tie down roping.
Dean Daly, a freshman and recipient of the G.B. Oliver,Jr. Memorial Scholarship, will get his saddle bronc sitting in 6th place.
Bailey Gow, a junior, will run her 4th barrell pattern sitting in 5th place.
Jim Dewey Brown
Wednesday, during the NIRA board meeting (made up of students and coaches from each region), NMSU Coach Jim Dewey Brown was elected President of the NIRA. Students and coaches from all over recognized Coach Brown's knowledge of rodeo, fairness and leadership skills by electing him to this important position.
But that wasn't all.
During the performance Wednesday night, it was announced that Jim Dewey Brown was selected as the NIRA "Coach of the Year" for 2007!
Here's how it was done:
The lights were turned off in the Casper Events Center, and then a spotlight was shown on the center of the arena, and there was the NMSU rodeo team formed in a circle. The announcer started listing all of Brown's accomplishments for the year, and included things that the individual students had written about him. Then the Commissioner of the NIRA, John Smith and Coach Brown entered the circle where he was presented with the 2007 Coach of the Year Buckle. I just wish all the Aggie Rodeo fans could have seen it.
Wednesday was a spectacular day and night for NMSU, Coach Brown and NMSU Rodeo. It certainly demonstrated how far the rodeo program has advanced under Coach Brown's leadership.
New Mexico Rodeo Council
The New Mexico Rodeo Council sent a check to help defray the travel expenses of the CNFR qualifiers from NMSU. The check arrived after Coach Brown had left for Casper, but Faculty Adviser Dr. Allison brought the money and distributed it to the student athletes during the Sunday evening dinner we hold with the team each year. The students will be sending their CNFR picture along with a great big thank you letter from Coach Brown to the council.
Thank you New Mexico Rodeo Council.
Note: I probably won't be posting on this weblog again until I get back Monday night. But you can check at www.cnfr.com for the final results.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
FLE
Judge postpones hearing for agent accused of killing Mexican man A judge on Friday postponed a hearing in which prosecutors were to present evidence telling him why a U.S. Border Patrol agent should be charged with murder for killing an illegal immigrant during a confrontation in January. Judge David C. Morales continued the preliminary hearing until Aug. 6 after Agent Nicholas Corbett's attorney said he had not received usable audio recordings of witness statements. Attorney Sean Chapman said he also had not received all the transcripts of witness statements. Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer filed a range of charges against Corbett, including first- and second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide. But the prosecutor left it to Morales to decide which charge is supported by the evidence. Investigators say Corbett, 39, shot Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, 22, on Jan. 12 as he tried to capture Dominguez, his two brothers and a sister-in-law outside Naco. The shooting drew condemnation from Mexico's government. Corbett says he acted in self-defense....
Guardsmen on border accused of running smuggling ring Three National Guardsmen assigned to the Texas-Mexico border were accused of running an immigrant smuggling ring after 24 immigrants were found inside a van that one of them was driving, a U.S. attorney said Monday. The three, arrested late Thursday and Friday, were arraigned Monday on a federal charge of conspiring to transport illegal immigrants. Pfc. Jose Rodrigo Torres, 26, and Sgt. Julio Cesar Pacheco, 25, both of Laredo, and Sgt. Clarence Hodge Jr., 36, of Fort Worth, were arrested near Laredo. A Border Patrol agent found 24 illegal immigrants inside a van Torres was driving along Interstate 35 near Cotulla, Texas, about 68 miles north of the border, prosecutors said. Torres was in uniform at the time of his arrest Thursday. The van was leased by the National Guard, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Prosecutors accused Hodge of helping Torres pass through a Border Patrol checkpoint on the highway by making it look like the two were conducting Guard business. Pacheco was accused of recruiting soldiers to transport the migrants for $1,000 to $3,500 a trip. He and Hodge were arrested Friday....
Arizona-Mexico Discussion Focuses on Border Violence For more than 50 years the governments of Arizona and its Mexican neighboring state, Sonora, have gathered regularly to strike agreements, pledge cooperation and bask in border bonhomie. But meeting here over two days, as border violence and drug trafficking have swelled and the United States Senate considers the most significant changes to immigration law in 20 years, a deep sense of urgency, even anxiety, hung over the proceedings. While describing cooperation between the two states as good, Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, a Democrat, said she remained concerned about an increase in drug seizures along the border and the recent spate of violence. Most alarming, Ms. Napolitano said, was a firefight last month among rival drug cartels and the police in the Sonoran city of Cananea, about 100 miles south of here. Nearly two dozen people were killed....
FBI Name Check Cited In Naturalization Delays Jin Ju Yoo, a stay-at-home mother who immigrated from South Korea in 1990 and applied for U.S. citizenship in 2002, would seem a minimal security risk. So say friends in Clarksburg, Md., where Yoo, 36, plays drums at a Presbyterian church and raises three children with her husband, a flooring contractor. Her husband and children are citizens. The would-be American is still waiting for approval, however, because the FBI has not completed a security check of her name against its more than 86 million investigative files. Neither the bureau nor the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency will say why. Since 2005, the backlog of legal U.S. immigrants whose applications for naturalization and other benefits are stuck on hold awaiting FBI name checks has doubled to 329,160, prompting a flood of lawsuits in federal courts, bureaucratic finger-pointing in Washington and tough scrutiny by 2008 presidential candidates. At a time when Congress is intensely focused on border security, the growing backlog is one of the most visible signs of the U.S. immigration system's breakdown, current and former government officials said....
Judge Orders FBI to Turn Over Thousands of Patriot Act Abuse Documents Just one day after a news that an internal audit found that FBI agents abused a Patriot Act power more than 1000 times, a federal judge ordered the agency Friday to begin turning over thousands of pages of documents related to the agency's use of a powerful, but extremely secretive investigative tool that can pry into telephone and internet records. The order for monthly document releases commencing July 5 came in response to a government sunshine request by a civil liberties group, which sued in April over the FBI's foot-dragging on its broad request. The April request from the Electronic Frontier Foundation asked the FBI to turn over documents related to its misuse of National Security Letters, self-issued subpoenas that don't need a judge's approval and which can get financial, phone and internet records. Recipients of the letters are forbidden by law from ever telling anyone other than their lawyer that they received the request. Though initially warned initially to use this power sparingly, FBI agents issued more than 47,000 in 2005, more than half of which targeted Americans. Information obtained from the requests, which need only be certified by the agency to be "relevant" to an investigation, are dumped into a data-mining warehouse for perpetuity. An Inspector General report in March found rampant errors in the small sample of NSLs examined and systemic underreporting of the powers usage to Congress. The report also found that agents issued more than 700 "expedited" letters, some containing materially false sworn statements. These letters had no legal basis and essentially asked companies to turn over data by pretending there was an emergency in order to get the data necessary to get a proper NSL. One former FBI agent says its clear the FBI violated the law....
New FBI rules urge stronger review to protect privacy The FBI is warning its agents to protect privacy rights by carefully reviewing all personal data collected from Americans in terror investigations and to remember that such evidence may not remain secret. The warning was given in draft FBI guidelines to be issued to correct abuses of so-called national security letters, or NSLs, that were revealed in a Justice Department audit three months ago. The letters allow investigators to subpoena records, without court approval, in terrorism and spy cases. But the stern reminder has not appeased civil-liberties advocates, who want Congress to rein in the FBI's power to obtain consumers' telephone, Internet, and financial records. "The government should have never had such expansive power to begin with," Caroline Fredrickson, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's legislative office in Washington, said yesterday. "Current and past administrations have demonstrated that government power exercised in secret will always be abused."....
Military personnel prime targets for ID theft U.S. military personnel have emerged as prime identity theft targets. The Department of Defense since the late '60s has used Social Security numbers for everything from dog tags to chow-line rosters. Now, data thieves and con artists have begun to increasingly target military personnel, data security experts say. "Thieves know this is the Achilles' heel of the system," says Todd Davis, CEO of identity theft detection firm Lifelock. Data thieves in the past year have grabbed computers containing sensitive data for nearly 30 million active and retired service members from four Veterans Affairs offices. That's a big portion of the more than 100 million personal records reported lost or stolen in the USA since 2006, based on a USA TODAY analysis of data compiled by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse....
Nifong defense: Too busy to supply evidence The district attorney in charge of the Duke University lacrosse rape case told the North Carolina State Bar he failed to turn over evidence favoring the defense because he was busy campaigning for office, a disciplinary panel was told Thursday. Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong told bar investigators that as he faced "an unprecedented number of challengers" in his first election campaign, "I was not always able to give the case my full attention." Nifong cited his campaign in a letter to the bar as one of several reasons that "may possibly have contributed to my inadvertent failure to provide the evidence in question." Portions of the letter were read aloud at the third day of a trial in Raleigh that will determine if Nifong will lose his license to practice law. Earlier in the day, defense attorney Brad Bannon said he had deciphered 1,844 pages of raw DNA data to discover what Nifong had withheld — that the DNA of multiple unidentified men was on the accuser and her underwear. That finding eventually prompted Nifong to hand the investigation over to State Attorney General Roy Cooper, who declared David Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty innocent of all charges and denounced Nifong as a "rogue prosecutor." None of their DNA had been found on the accuser....
ACLU presses case to unseal Bush papers The American Civil Liberties Union renewed its challenge Thursday against the Bush administration's filing of secret materials to a federal appeals court that will rule on its warrantless surveillance program. The government has filed the papers with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the ACLU wants those documents unsealed. The court is considering the administration's appeal of a Michigan federal judge's decision last year that the program was unconstitutional because it violated privacy and free speech rights and the separation of powers. The government has said the case involves state secrets and disclosure would threaten national security. Under the program, the National Security Agency monitors international phone calls and e-mails to or from the United States in which one party is believed to be linked to terrorism. "It would be completely improper - not to mention unprecedented - for important constitutional issues to be decided on the basis of secret arguments," Jameel Jaffer, lead ACLU attorney in the case, said in a statement....
Lab managers accused of security breach Officials with the contractor that runs Los Alamos National Laboratory sent top-secret data regarding nuclear weapons through open e-mail networks, the latest potentially dangerous security breach to come to light at the birthplace of the atomic bomb, two congressmen said. The breach was investigated by the National Nuclear Security Administration, which rounded up laptop computers from Los Alamos National Security LLC's board members and sanitized them. But NNSA and lab officials who subsequently appeared before a congressional committee investigating security problems at the nuclear weapons lab never mentioned it, according to a letter the congressmen sent Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. Reps. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who heads the panel's oversight subcommittee, called that "unacceptable" and demanded an explanation. "This facility's mind-bogglingly poor track record makes me repeat my question: What do we do at Los Alamos that we cannot do elsewhere?" Stupak said Thursday. The northern New Mexico lab has been plagued by security lapses, from missing data storage devices to the Wen Ho Lee case to the discovery of classified data on a computer found during a drug bust at a former lab contract worker's trailer....
Don't Fall for Jury Duty Scam The phone rings, you pick it up, and the caller identifies himself as an officer of the court. He says you failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant is out for your arrest. You say you never received a notice. To clear it up, the caller says he'll need some information for "verification purposes"-your birth date, social security number, maybe even a credit card number. This is when you should hang up the phone. It's a scam. Jury scams have been around for years, but have seen a resurgence in recent months. Communities in more than a dozen states have issued public warnings about cold calls from people claiming to be court officials seeking personal information. As a rule, court officers never ask for confidential information over the phone; they generally correspond with prospective jurors via mail....
Update....Prosecutor in Duke Rape Case Found Guilty of Ethics Breaches A disciplinary hearing panel found Michael B. Nifong, the Durham County district attorney, guilty today of ethical violations arising from his pretrial statements and handling of DNA evidence while pressing a false accusation of sexual assault against three former Duke University lacrosse players. Six of the charges involved “dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation,” the most serious of the accusations against Mr. Nifong. The three-member panel now enters a penalty phase in the five-day ethics trial, which could result in Mr. Nifong’s suspension or disbarment later today. In tearful testimony on Friday, Mr. Nifong said he will voluntarily resign from office but insisted he did not lie about evidence, the most serious charges against him. When asked what he thinks happened in the case, he said, “a nonsexual assault, an intimidation — something happened to make everybody leave that scene very quickly.” The remark outraged the lacrosse parents, defense attorneys and supporters watching the ethics hearing. Roy A. Cooper, North Carolina’s attorney general, has said there is no credible evidence of any crime....
Judge postpones hearing for agent accused of killing Mexican man A judge on Friday postponed a hearing in which prosecutors were to present evidence telling him why a U.S. Border Patrol agent should be charged with murder for killing an illegal immigrant during a confrontation in January. Judge David C. Morales continued the preliminary hearing until Aug. 6 after Agent Nicholas Corbett's attorney said he had not received usable audio recordings of witness statements. Attorney Sean Chapman said he also had not received all the transcripts of witness statements. Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer filed a range of charges against Corbett, including first- and second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide. But the prosecutor left it to Morales to decide which charge is supported by the evidence. Investigators say Corbett, 39, shot Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, 22, on Jan. 12 as he tried to capture Dominguez, his two brothers and a sister-in-law outside Naco. The shooting drew condemnation from Mexico's government. Corbett says he acted in self-defense....
Guardsmen on border accused of running smuggling ring Three National Guardsmen assigned to the Texas-Mexico border were accused of running an immigrant smuggling ring after 24 immigrants were found inside a van that one of them was driving, a U.S. attorney said Monday. The three, arrested late Thursday and Friday, were arraigned Monday on a federal charge of conspiring to transport illegal immigrants. Pfc. Jose Rodrigo Torres, 26, and Sgt. Julio Cesar Pacheco, 25, both of Laredo, and Sgt. Clarence Hodge Jr., 36, of Fort Worth, were arrested near Laredo. A Border Patrol agent found 24 illegal immigrants inside a van Torres was driving along Interstate 35 near Cotulla, Texas, about 68 miles north of the border, prosecutors said. Torres was in uniform at the time of his arrest Thursday. The van was leased by the National Guard, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Prosecutors accused Hodge of helping Torres pass through a Border Patrol checkpoint on the highway by making it look like the two were conducting Guard business. Pacheco was accused of recruiting soldiers to transport the migrants for $1,000 to $3,500 a trip. He and Hodge were arrested Friday....
Arizona-Mexico Discussion Focuses on Border Violence For more than 50 years the governments of Arizona and its Mexican neighboring state, Sonora, have gathered regularly to strike agreements, pledge cooperation and bask in border bonhomie. But meeting here over two days, as border violence and drug trafficking have swelled and the United States Senate considers the most significant changes to immigration law in 20 years, a deep sense of urgency, even anxiety, hung over the proceedings. While describing cooperation between the two states as good, Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, a Democrat, said she remained concerned about an increase in drug seizures along the border and the recent spate of violence. Most alarming, Ms. Napolitano said, was a firefight last month among rival drug cartels and the police in the Sonoran city of Cananea, about 100 miles south of here. Nearly two dozen people were killed....
FBI Name Check Cited In Naturalization Delays Jin Ju Yoo, a stay-at-home mother who immigrated from South Korea in 1990 and applied for U.S. citizenship in 2002, would seem a minimal security risk. So say friends in Clarksburg, Md., where Yoo, 36, plays drums at a Presbyterian church and raises three children with her husband, a flooring contractor. Her husband and children are citizens. The would-be American is still waiting for approval, however, because the FBI has not completed a security check of her name against its more than 86 million investigative files. Neither the bureau nor the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency will say why. Since 2005, the backlog of legal U.S. immigrants whose applications for naturalization and other benefits are stuck on hold awaiting FBI name checks has doubled to 329,160, prompting a flood of lawsuits in federal courts, bureaucratic finger-pointing in Washington and tough scrutiny by 2008 presidential candidates. At a time when Congress is intensely focused on border security, the growing backlog is one of the most visible signs of the U.S. immigration system's breakdown, current and former government officials said....
Judge Orders FBI to Turn Over Thousands of Patriot Act Abuse Documents Just one day after a news that an internal audit found that FBI agents abused a Patriot Act power more than 1000 times, a federal judge ordered the agency Friday to begin turning over thousands of pages of documents related to the agency's use of a powerful, but extremely secretive investigative tool that can pry into telephone and internet records. The order for monthly document releases commencing July 5 came in response to a government sunshine request by a civil liberties group, which sued in April over the FBI's foot-dragging on its broad request. The April request from the Electronic Frontier Foundation asked the FBI to turn over documents related to its misuse of National Security Letters, self-issued subpoenas that don't need a judge's approval and which can get financial, phone and internet records. Recipients of the letters are forbidden by law from ever telling anyone other than their lawyer that they received the request. Though initially warned initially to use this power sparingly, FBI agents issued more than 47,000 in 2005, more than half of which targeted Americans. Information obtained from the requests, which need only be certified by the agency to be "relevant" to an investigation, are dumped into a data-mining warehouse for perpetuity. An Inspector General report in March found rampant errors in the small sample of NSLs examined and systemic underreporting of the powers usage to Congress. The report also found that agents issued more than 700 "expedited" letters, some containing materially false sworn statements. These letters had no legal basis and essentially asked companies to turn over data by pretending there was an emergency in order to get the data necessary to get a proper NSL. One former FBI agent says its clear the FBI violated the law....
New FBI rules urge stronger review to protect privacy The FBI is warning its agents to protect privacy rights by carefully reviewing all personal data collected from Americans in terror investigations and to remember that such evidence may not remain secret. The warning was given in draft FBI guidelines to be issued to correct abuses of so-called national security letters, or NSLs, that were revealed in a Justice Department audit three months ago. The letters allow investigators to subpoena records, without court approval, in terrorism and spy cases. But the stern reminder has not appeased civil-liberties advocates, who want Congress to rein in the FBI's power to obtain consumers' telephone, Internet, and financial records. "The government should have never had such expansive power to begin with," Caroline Fredrickson, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's legislative office in Washington, said yesterday. "Current and past administrations have demonstrated that government power exercised in secret will always be abused."....
Military personnel prime targets for ID theft U.S. military personnel have emerged as prime identity theft targets. The Department of Defense since the late '60s has used Social Security numbers for everything from dog tags to chow-line rosters. Now, data thieves and con artists have begun to increasingly target military personnel, data security experts say. "Thieves know this is the Achilles' heel of the system," says Todd Davis, CEO of identity theft detection firm Lifelock. Data thieves in the past year have grabbed computers containing sensitive data for nearly 30 million active and retired service members from four Veterans Affairs offices. That's a big portion of the more than 100 million personal records reported lost or stolen in the USA since 2006, based on a USA TODAY analysis of data compiled by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse....
Nifong defense: Too busy to supply evidence The district attorney in charge of the Duke University lacrosse rape case told the North Carolina State Bar he failed to turn over evidence favoring the defense because he was busy campaigning for office, a disciplinary panel was told Thursday. Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong told bar investigators that as he faced "an unprecedented number of challengers" in his first election campaign, "I was not always able to give the case my full attention." Nifong cited his campaign in a letter to the bar as one of several reasons that "may possibly have contributed to my inadvertent failure to provide the evidence in question." Portions of the letter were read aloud at the third day of a trial in Raleigh that will determine if Nifong will lose his license to practice law. Earlier in the day, defense attorney Brad Bannon said he had deciphered 1,844 pages of raw DNA data to discover what Nifong had withheld — that the DNA of multiple unidentified men was on the accuser and her underwear. That finding eventually prompted Nifong to hand the investigation over to State Attorney General Roy Cooper, who declared David Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty innocent of all charges and denounced Nifong as a "rogue prosecutor." None of their DNA had been found on the accuser....
ACLU presses case to unseal Bush papers The American Civil Liberties Union renewed its challenge Thursday against the Bush administration's filing of secret materials to a federal appeals court that will rule on its warrantless surveillance program. The government has filed the papers with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the ACLU wants those documents unsealed. The court is considering the administration's appeal of a Michigan federal judge's decision last year that the program was unconstitutional because it violated privacy and free speech rights and the separation of powers. The government has said the case involves state secrets and disclosure would threaten national security. Under the program, the National Security Agency monitors international phone calls and e-mails to or from the United States in which one party is believed to be linked to terrorism. "It would be completely improper - not to mention unprecedented - for important constitutional issues to be decided on the basis of secret arguments," Jameel Jaffer, lead ACLU attorney in the case, said in a statement....
Lab managers accused of security breach Officials with the contractor that runs Los Alamos National Laboratory sent top-secret data regarding nuclear weapons through open e-mail networks, the latest potentially dangerous security breach to come to light at the birthplace of the atomic bomb, two congressmen said. The breach was investigated by the National Nuclear Security Administration, which rounded up laptop computers from Los Alamos National Security LLC's board members and sanitized them. But NNSA and lab officials who subsequently appeared before a congressional committee investigating security problems at the nuclear weapons lab never mentioned it, according to a letter the congressmen sent Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. Reps. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who heads the panel's oversight subcommittee, called that "unacceptable" and demanded an explanation. "This facility's mind-bogglingly poor track record makes me repeat my question: What do we do at Los Alamos that we cannot do elsewhere?" Stupak said Thursday. The northern New Mexico lab has been plagued by security lapses, from missing data storage devices to the Wen Ho Lee case to the discovery of classified data on a computer found during a drug bust at a former lab contract worker's trailer....
Don't Fall for Jury Duty Scam The phone rings, you pick it up, and the caller identifies himself as an officer of the court. He says you failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant is out for your arrest. You say you never received a notice. To clear it up, the caller says he'll need some information for "verification purposes"-your birth date, social security number, maybe even a credit card number. This is when you should hang up the phone. It's a scam. Jury scams have been around for years, but have seen a resurgence in recent months. Communities in more than a dozen states have issued public warnings about cold calls from people claiming to be court officials seeking personal information. As a rule, court officers never ask for confidential information over the phone; they generally correspond with prospective jurors via mail....
Update....Prosecutor in Duke Rape Case Found Guilty of Ethics Breaches A disciplinary hearing panel found Michael B. Nifong, the Durham County district attorney, guilty today of ethical violations arising from his pretrial statements and handling of DNA evidence while pressing a false accusation of sexual assault against three former Duke University lacrosse players. Six of the charges involved “dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation,” the most serious of the accusations against Mr. Nifong. The three-member panel now enters a penalty phase in the five-day ethics trial, which could result in Mr. Nifong’s suspension or disbarment later today. In tearful testimony on Friday, Mr. Nifong said he will voluntarily resign from office but insisted he did not lie about evidence, the most serious charges against him. When asked what he thinks happened in the case, he said, “a nonsexual assault, an intimidation — something happened to make everybody leave that scene very quickly.” The remark outraged the lacrosse parents, defense attorneys and supporters watching the ethics hearing. Roy A. Cooper, North Carolina’s attorney general, has said there is no credible evidence of any crime....
NEWS ROUNDUP
Pebble Beach Golf Project Hits the Rough A high-profile golf project backed by Hollywood star Clint Eastwood has hit a hazard. The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday voted 8-4 against the plan, which would have allowed the construction of an 18-hole golf course, a driving range and rental cottages on California's Central Coast. The proposed development would affect more than 100 acres of undeveloped land in the Del Monte Forest. Environmentalists said it would devastate the five remaining stands of old-growth Monterey pines left in the world. The 1976 Coastal Act prioritized public recreation over private development, created protection for nesting birds and other animals, and gave the commission authority to enforce the law. Anthony Lombardo, an attorney representing the Pebble Beach Co., which spearheaded the plan, said the project's fate is not clear.The company, whose co-owners include Eastwood, golf legend Arnold Palmer and former Major League Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, already owns four golf courses at Pebble Beach, including the Pebble Beach Golf Links, which hosted the 2000 U.S. Open Championships. The existing coastal plan in Monterey County allows for a golf course on the land, but Lombardo said he was not sure Eastwood and his partners would come back to the commission with a revised plan. "The company is disappointed that the commission didn't see the benefits of developing 100 acres and offering 1,000 acres in open space for the public," said Lombardo. Opponents also said the development would threaten California red-legged frog and the endangered Yadon's piperia, an orchid....
Ruling limits eminent domain The New Jersey Supreme Court handed opponents of eminent domain a victory Wednesday, ruling in a case involving Paulsboro that government may not seize land solely on the basis of its not being "fully productive." The case went to the heart of the fear held by some about eminent domain: That government can seize property simply because it envisions a better use for it. "The New Jersey Constitution does not permit government redevelopment of private property solely because the property is not used in an optimal manner," Chief Justice James Zazzali wrote for a unanimous court. Overturning lower-court decisions in the matter of Gallenthin Realty Development Inc. vs. the borough of Paulsboro, the court concluded that the state constitution overrides the borough's expansive interpretation of its power to redevelop. "Because the New Jersey Constitution authorizes government redevelopment of only "blighted areas' we conclude that the Legislature did not intend (a section of the law) to apply in circumstances where the sole basis for redevelopment is that the property is "not fully productive,' " Zazzali wrote. "Blight," the court said, "presumes deterioration or stagnation that negatively affects surrounding areas." At issue in the Paulsboro case was a 63-acre tract of land, mostly wetlands, that the borough wants to include in a broader waterfront redevelopment plan....
Property Owners Win One Opponents of eminent domain finally have something to celebrate. After a public campaign, Target Corp. has decided not to build a store on condemned property in Arlington Heights, Ill. Five years ago, the Village trustees declared the International Plaza shopping center and other properties blighted, setting the stage for condemnation under eminent domain. The business owners who were to lose their stores fought the "blight" designation in court but failed. Yet they didn't give up. They and their supporters held protests at trustee meetings. They were aided by the Sam Adams Alliance and Foundation, which launched a letter, telephone and flyer campaign that threatened to boycott Target if the company went through with its plan to occupy property seized by the government. In late May, the Alliance triumphantly announced, "Target backed out of their contract with the Village. International Plaza tenants have saved the property from eminent domain abuse, at least for the time being". The Village attorney said pending lawsuits by tenants of the shopping center were one reason for Target's decision. It's only a reprieve. The trustees smell big bucks, so they may try to find another major chain to be the principal retailer in the 35-acre development area. In the past, several retailers have been more than willing to build on stolen property. So the residents of Arlington Heights and the Sam Adams Alliance may need to launch another campaign....
Piñon expansion has a new enemy Another opponent to the Army’s plans to expand Fort Carson’s Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site surfaced Thursday. The Washington, D.C.-based National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Piñon Canyon as one of the nation’s 11 most endangered historic sites in an announcement Thursday. The group, which has 270,000 members, says Army plans to add more than 400,000 acres to its training lands in southeast Colorado would “close off a scenic and culturally rich landscape from public access, damage valuable historic sites and harm the regional agricultural and tourism economy.” Jim Lindberg, a Denverbased spokesman for the group, said the timing of the National Trust announcement wasn’t intended to coincide with a planned U.S. House vote on the expansion proposal. They understand the politics, though. “We’re not afraid of controversy when we think something important is at stake,” Lindberg said. The group’s opposition could become moot when the House votes on a measure that would block the Defense Department from spending money on anything related to expanding its 235,000-acre site, which is 150 miles southeast of Colorado Springs. The House was scheduled to take up the issue Thursday, but put it off until at least today....
Kilimanjaro not a victim of climate change, UW scientist says The shrinking snowcap atop Mount Kilimanjaro has become an icon of global warming. Pictures of the African peak, which has lost 90 percent of its ice cover, were featured in Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." Greenpeace activists once held a satellite news conference on the summit to sway participants in an international climate conference. But most scientists who study Kilimanjaro's glaciers have long been uneasy with the volcano's poster-child status. Yes, ice cover has shrunk by 90 percent, they say. But no, the buildup of greenhouse gases from cars, power plants and factories is not to blame. "Kilimanjaro is a grossly overused mis-example of the effects of climate change," said University of Washington climate scientist Philip Mote, co-author of an article in the July/August issue of American Scientist magazine....
Improving and Restoring Working Landscapes Between pristine nature and the urban cityscape lies the working landscape, an area of increasing importance, because of the host of ecosystem services it provides. A special issue devoted to the working landscape and its conservation can be found in the latest Rangelands. On rangelands, ranching is the key to conserving working landscapes. Ranchers like to produce livestock products, but the ecological benefits are valuable as well. How can this value be harnessed to support and motivate the worker and thereby support working landscapes? Conservation easements are one method, and two of the articles in the issue cover the many options that easements offer the rancher and how the relationship with the easement holder can be a long-term, collaborative process. Other highlights from the issue include an update on the Rowe Mesa Grassbank, a creative effort to conserve New Mexican working landscapes. There is also an article that illustrates the rich history of rancher interactions with the land and describes the motives and outside influences that have affected those interactions in the Altar Valley of Arizona. Looking back to America’s beginnings is a discussion of Native American working landscapes in California and the importance of traditional knowledge....
Food Before Fuel Feel like you're getting squeezed by prices at the gas pump? Get ready to experience that same feeling at the grocery store. As ABC News reported recently, average food retail prices of across the United States have risen by 4 percent during the past year alone. Beleaguered American consumers must now pay record gas prices to get to the grocery store, where they again meet sticker shock. And who is to blame? Not grocery stores or food producers, but Congress. Food prices today are rising steeply because Congress decided to link the price of food with the price of oil. As a result, now whenever the price of oil increases, food prices follow. Worse still, Congress is currently contemplating further tightening this link. Let us explain. This mess started in 2005, when Congress passed that year's Energy Policy Act, which mandated the incorporation of 7 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol into the American fuel supply in an effort to reduce gasoline consumption. Ethanol production, suddenly buttressed by a federally guaranteed demand for its product, overnight became an extraordinarily profitable venture. Invariably, a market disruption of this magnitude is at once unpredictable and consequential. Congress likely did not then foresee that the artificial demand for ethanol created by this mandate would cause a sharp increase in the price of groceries. Such, however, is the nature of meddling in the market. Before the 2005 Act, the American farmer sold corn that was for the most part eaten, either by people here and abroad or by livestock. But the new ethanol mandate suddenly gave American corn growers a vast new customer base -- everyone who owns a car. Of course, a precipitous increase in demand will have an effect on price; accordingly, a bushel of corn that cost $2.00 two years ago, costs close to $4.00 today. The effects of this price increase have been profound. As it turns out, corn is integral to a huge array of groceries. Corn syrup is widely used as a sweetener, because sugar is too expensive and there are health fears about artificial substitutes. And, of course, corn goes into lots of baked goods. Of particular significance, corn is the primary feed for livestock; there are no substitutes with a comparable nutritional value. Consequently, as the price of corn increases, it costs more to feed cows, pigs and chickens. These costs are then passed along to the consumer, who pays more for dairy, meat, eggs, and all the derivatives thereof. Unfortunately, the collateral damage wrought by ethanol mandates does not end there. With corn hovering at record prices, farmers have found it more profitable to grow corn, thus leaving less land available for the production of other grains, reducing their supply. The prices of grains and grain byproducts, like bread or pasta, increase accordingly....
Federal Study on Piping Water to Clark County Released The federal government is out with the latest scientific look at the plan to pipe water from central Nevada to Clark County. And as you might expect -- both sides in this ongoing debate are claiming the report supports their side. This report is known as "BARCASS." It's a three-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey that takes the closest look yet at both water supply and flow patterns in central Nevada. And it will be at the center of the debate as Southern Nevada seeks approval to draw even more water. Water... it is the lifeblood of the west. The Southern Nevada Water Authority has already won approval to pump water from what's called the Spring Valley in rural White Pine County. But now the battle is moving east to the Snake Valley, which sits on the border between Nevada and Utah. Snake Valley rancher Dean Baker told the I-Team in an earlier interview residents there don't see themselves as the solution to growth in Southern Nevada. "We would rather have our lifestyle," said Baker....
The legend of Bear Trap Cave: Claw marks inside reveal struggle by grizzly to escape Some stories are based in truth. Some legends are real. Some near mythic locations exist. Bear Trap Cave is one of those places. The cave is located near Custer and west of Bear Mountain Lookout in what is now the Jasper Fire burn. It's a popular spot for Black Hills cavers, or people who enjoy crawling underground and exploring dark caverns. But most people have never heard of it, or only know of the legend. Carl Clements, 85, remembers learning about the cave. Clements remembers a cave in Gillette Canyon that he visited in the 1950s that was apparently the final resting place of a large bear, perhaps a grizzly. He said he was working for the Forest Service a half-century ago when an old man who scratched out a living by cutting wood for posts high in the hills offered to show him a cave. The cave had been the final resting place of a bear, Clements said the old man told him....
Pebble Beach Golf Project Hits the Rough A high-profile golf project backed by Hollywood star Clint Eastwood has hit a hazard. The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday voted 8-4 against the plan, which would have allowed the construction of an 18-hole golf course, a driving range and rental cottages on California's Central Coast. The proposed development would affect more than 100 acres of undeveloped land in the Del Monte Forest. Environmentalists said it would devastate the five remaining stands of old-growth Monterey pines left in the world. The 1976 Coastal Act prioritized public recreation over private development, created protection for nesting birds and other animals, and gave the commission authority to enforce the law. Anthony Lombardo, an attorney representing the Pebble Beach Co., which spearheaded the plan, said the project's fate is not clear.The company, whose co-owners include Eastwood, golf legend Arnold Palmer and former Major League Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, already owns four golf courses at Pebble Beach, including the Pebble Beach Golf Links, which hosted the 2000 U.S. Open Championships. The existing coastal plan in Monterey County allows for a golf course on the land, but Lombardo said he was not sure Eastwood and his partners would come back to the commission with a revised plan. "The company is disappointed that the commission didn't see the benefits of developing 100 acres and offering 1,000 acres in open space for the public," said Lombardo. Opponents also said the development would threaten California red-legged frog and the endangered Yadon's piperia, an orchid....
Ruling limits eminent domain The New Jersey Supreme Court handed opponents of eminent domain a victory Wednesday, ruling in a case involving Paulsboro that government may not seize land solely on the basis of its not being "fully productive." The case went to the heart of the fear held by some about eminent domain: That government can seize property simply because it envisions a better use for it. "The New Jersey Constitution does not permit government redevelopment of private property solely because the property is not used in an optimal manner," Chief Justice James Zazzali wrote for a unanimous court. Overturning lower-court decisions in the matter of Gallenthin Realty Development Inc. vs. the borough of Paulsboro, the court concluded that the state constitution overrides the borough's expansive interpretation of its power to redevelop. "Because the New Jersey Constitution authorizes government redevelopment of only "blighted areas' we conclude that the Legislature did not intend (a section of the law) to apply in circumstances where the sole basis for redevelopment is that the property is "not fully productive,' " Zazzali wrote. "Blight," the court said, "presumes deterioration or stagnation that negatively affects surrounding areas." At issue in the Paulsboro case was a 63-acre tract of land, mostly wetlands, that the borough wants to include in a broader waterfront redevelopment plan....
Property Owners Win One Opponents of eminent domain finally have something to celebrate. After a public campaign, Target Corp. has decided not to build a store on condemned property in Arlington Heights, Ill. Five years ago, the Village trustees declared the International Plaza shopping center and other properties blighted, setting the stage for condemnation under eminent domain. The business owners who were to lose their stores fought the "blight" designation in court but failed. Yet they didn't give up. They and their supporters held protests at trustee meetings. They were aided by the Sam Adams Alliance and Foundation, which launched a letter, telephone and flyer campaign that threatened to boycott Target if the company went through with its plan to occupy property seized by the government. In late May, the Alliance triumphantly announced, "Target backed out of their contract with the Village. International Plaza tenants have saved the property from eminent domain abuse, at least for the time being". The Village attorney said pending lawsuits by tenants of the shopping center were one reason for Target's decision. It's only a reprieve. The trustees smell big bucks, so they may try to find another major chain to be the principal retailer in the 35-acre development area. In the past, several retailers have been more than willing to build on stolen property. So the residents of Arlington Heights and the Sam Adams Alliance may need to launch another campaign....
Piñon expansion has a new enemy Another opponent to the Army’s plans to expand Fort Carson’s Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site surfaced Thursday. The Washington, D.C.-based National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Piñon Canyon as one of the nation’s 11 most endangered historic sites in an announcement Thursday. The group, which has 270,000 members, says Army plans to add more than 400,000 acres to its training lands in southeast Colorado would “close off a scenic and culturally rich landscape from public access, damage valuable historic sites and harm the regional agricultural and tourism economy.” Jim Lindberg, a Denverbased spokesman for the group, said the timing of the National Trust announcement wasn’t intended to coincide with a planned U.S. House vote on the expansion proposal. They understand the politics, though. “We’re not afraid of controversy when we think something important is at stake,” Lindberg said. The group’s opposition could become moot when the House votes on a measure that would block the Defense Department from spending money on anything related to expanding its 235,000-acre site, which is 150 miles southeast of Colorado Springs. The House was scheduled to take up the issue Thursday, but put it off until at least today....
Kilimanjaro not a victim of climate change, UW scientist says The shrinking snowcap atop Mount Kilimanjaro has become an icon of global warming. Pictures of the African peak, which has lost 90 percent of its ice cover, were featured in Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." Greenpeace activists once held a satellite news conference on the summit to sway participants in an international climate conference. But most scientists who study Kilimanjaro's glaciers have long been uneasy with the volcano's poster-child status. Yes, ice cover has shrunk by 90 percent, they say. But no, the buildup of greenhouse gases from cars, power plants and factories is not to blame. "Kilimanjaro is a grossly overused mis-example of the effects of climate change," said University of Washington climate scientist Philip Mote, co-author of an article in the July/August issue of American Scientist magazine....
Improving and Restoring Working Landscapes Between pristine nature and the urban cityscape lies the working landscape, an area of increasing importance, because of the host of ecosystem services it provides. A special issue devoted to the working landscape and its conservation can be found in the latest Rangelands. On rangelands, ranching is the key to conserving working landscapes. Ranchers like to produce livestock products, but the ecological benefits are valuable as well. How can this value be harnessed to support and motivate the worker and thereby support working landscapes? Conservation easements are one method, and two of the articles in the issue cover the many options that easements offer the rancher and how the relationship with the easement holder can be a long-term, collaborative process. Other highlights from the issue include an update on the Rowe Mesa Grassbank, a creative effort to conserve New Mexican working landscapes. There is also an article that illustrates the rich history of rancher interactions with the land and describes the motives and outside influences that have affected those interactions in the Altar Valley of Arizona. Looking back to America’s beginnings is a discussion of Native American working landscapes in California and the importance of traditional knowledge....
Food Before Fuel Feel like you're getting squeezed by prices at the gas pump? Get ready to experience that same feeling at the grocery store. As ABC News reported recently, average food retail prices of across the United States have risen by 4 percent during the past year alone. Beleaguered American consumers must now pay record gas prices to get to the grocery store, where they again meet sticker shock. And who is to blame? Not grocery stores or food producers, but Congress. Food prices today are rising steeply because Congress decided to link the price of food with the price of oil. As a result, now whenever the price of oil increases, food prices follow. Worse still, Congress is currently contemplating further tightening this link. Let us explain. This mess started in 2005, when Congress passed that year's Energy Policy Act, which mandated the incorporation of 7 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol into the American fuel supply in an effort to reduce gasoline consumption. Ethanol production, suddenly buttressed by a federally guaranteed demand for its product, overnight became an extraordinarily profitable venture. Invariably, a market disruption of this magnitude is at once unpredictable and consequential. Congress likely did not then foresee that the artificial demand for ethanol created by this mandate would cause a sharp increase in the price of groceries. Such, however, is the nature of meddling in the market. Before the 2005 Act, the American farmer sold corn that was for the most part eaten, either by people here and abroad or by livestock. But the new ethanol mandate suddenly gave American corn growers a vast new customer base -- everyone who owns a car. Of course, a precipitous increase in demand will have an effect on price; accordingly, a bushel of corn that cost $2.00 two years ago, costs close to $4.00 today. The effects of this price increase have been profound. As it turns out, corn is integral to a huge array of groceries. Corn syrup is widely used as a sweetener, because sugar is too expensive and there are health fears about artificial substitutes. And, of course, corn goes into lots of baked goods. Of particular significance, corn is the primary feed for livestock; there are no substitutes with a comparable nutritional value. Consequently, as the price of corn increases, it costs more to feed cows, pigs and chickens. These costs are then passed along to the consumer, who pays more for dairy, meat, eggs, and all the derivatives thereof. Unfortunately, the collateral damage wrought by ethanol mandates does not end there. With corn hovering at record prices, farmers have found it more profitable to grow corn, thus leaving less land available for the production of other grains, reducing their supply. The prices of grains and grain byproducts, like bread or pasta, increase accordingly....
Federal Study on Piping Water to Clark County Released The federal government is out with the latest scientific look at the plan to pipe water from central Nevada to Clark County. And as you might expect -- both sides in this ongoing debate are claiming the report supports their side. This report is known as "BARCASS." It's a three-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey that takes the closest look yet at both water supply and flow patterns in central Nevada. And it will be at the center of the debate as Southern Nevada seeks approval to draw even more water. Water... it is the lifeblood of the west. The Southern Nevada Water Authority has already won approval to pump water from what's called the Spring Valley in rural White Pine County. But now the battle is moving east to the Snake Valley, which sits on the border between Nevada and Utah. Snake Valley rancher Dean Baker told the I-Team in an earlier interview residents there don't see themselves as the solution to growth in Southern Nevada. "We would rather have our lifestyle," said Baker....
The legend of Bear Trap Cave: Claw marks inside reveal struggle by grizzly to escape Some stories are based in truth. Some legends are real. Some near mythic locations exist. Bear Trap Cave is one of those places. The cave is located near Custer and west of Bear Mountain Lookout in what is now the Jasper Fire burn. It's a popular spot for Black Hills cavers, or people who enjoy crawling underground and exploring dark caverns. But most people have never heard of it, or only know of the legend. Carl Clements, 85, remembers learning about the cave. Clements remembers a cave in Gillette Canyon that he visited in the 1950s that was apparently the final resting place of a large bear, perhaps a grizzly. He said he was working for the Forest Service a half-century ago when an old man who scratched out a living by cutting wood for posts high in the hills offered to show him a cave. The cave had been the final resting place of a bear, Clements said the old man told him....
FLE
FBI Finds It Frequently Overstepped in Collecting Data An internal FBI audit has found that the bureau potentially violated the law or agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years, far more than was documented in a Justice Department report in March that ignited bipartisan congressional criticism. The new audit covers just 10 percent of the bureau's national security investigations since 2002, and so the mistakes in the FBI's domestic surveillance efforts probably number several thousand, bureau officials said in interviews. The earlier report found 22 violations in a much smaller sampling. The vast majority of the new violations were instances in which telephone companies and Internet providers gave agents phone and e-mail records the agents did not request and were not authorized to collect. The agents retained the information anyway in their files, which mostly concerned suspected terrorist or espionage activities. But two dozen of the newly-discovered violations involved agents' requests for information that U.S. law did not allow them to have, according to the audit results provided to The Washington Post. Only two such examples were identified earlier in the smaller sample. FBI officials said the results confirmed what agency supervisors and outside critics feared, namely that many agents did not understand or follow the required legal procedures and paperwork requirements when collecting personal information with one of the most sensitive and powerful intelligence-gathering tools of the post-Sept. 11 era -- the National Security Letter, or NSL. Such letters are uniformly secret and amount to nonnegotiable demands for personal information -- demands that are not reviewed in advance by a judge. After the 2001 terrorist attacks, Congress substantially eased the rules for issuing NSLs, requiring only that the bureau certify that the records are "sought for" or "relevant to" an investigation "to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities."....
Repeal Second Amendment, Analyst Advises The Second Amendment guarantees the right of an individual to own guns and for that reason should be repealed, according to a legal affairs analyst who opposes gun ownership. "The Second Amendment is one of the clearest statements of right in the Constitution," Benjamin Wittes, a guest scholar at the center-left Brookings Institution, acknowledged in a discussion Monday. "We've had decades of sort of intellectual gymnastics to try to make those words not mean what they say." Wittes, who said he has "no particular enthusiasm for the idea of a gun culture," said that rather than try to limit gun ownership through regulation that potentially violates the Second Amendment, opponents of gun ownership should set their sights on repealing the amendment altogether. "Rather than debating the meaning of the Second Amendment, I think the appropriate debate is whether we want a Second Amendment," Wittes said. He conceded, however, that the political likelihood of getting the amendment repealed is "pretty limited." Wittes said the Second Amendment guarantee of the right to bear arms meant more when it was crafted more than 200 years ago than it does today. Modern society is "much more ambivalent than they [the founders] were about whether gun ownership really is fundamental to liberty," he said. "One of the things that they believed was that the right of states to organize militias, and therefore individuals to be armed, was necessary to protect the liberty of those states against the federal government," Wittes said. "This is something we don't really believe as a society anymore." But challenging the Second Amendment on the basis that society's circumstances have changed since the drafting would similarly open up to question all other constitutional rights, according to Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett, who also participated in Monday's discussion....
Terrorists claim CIA files seized Terrorist groups, including Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees, have seized large quantities of CIA security files stored at major compounds of militias associated with the U.S.-backed Fatah organization of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, terror leaders told WND today. The terror leaders claimed the files contain, among other information, details of CIA networks in the Middle East. "The CIA files we seized, which include documents, CDs, taped conversations and videos, are more important than all the American weapons we obtained the last two days as we took over the traitor Fatah's positions," said Muhammad Abdel-El, spokesman for the Hamas-allied Popular Resistance Committees terror group. The Committees has been accused of carrying out anti-U.S. attacks, including a 2003 bombing of an American convoy in Gaza that killed three U.S. contractors. Hamas has the past few days taken near-complete control of the Gaza Strip, advancing on the vast majority of Fatah security buildings and positions in the northern, southern and central sections of the territory....
Federal Court Rules in Favor of 'Enemy Combatant' A federal appeals court today ruled that the U.S. government cannot indefinitely imprison a U.S. resident on suspicion alone, and ordered the military to either charge Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri with his alleged terrorist crimes in a civilian court or release him. The opinion is a major blow to the Bush administration's assertion that as the president seeks to combat terrorism, he has exceptionally broad powers to detain without charges both foreign citizens abroad and those living legally in the United States. The government is expected to appeal the 2-1 decision handed down by a three-judge panel of the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which is in Richmond, Va. The appeals panel said President Bush overstretched his authority by declaring Marri an "enemy combatant," because the Constitution protects both U.S. citizens and legal residents such as Marri from an unchecked military and from being detained without charges and a fair trial. The court rejected the administration's claim that it was not relevant that Marri was arrested in the United States and was living here legally on a student visa. "The President cannot eliminate constitutional protections with the stroke of a pen by proclaiming a civilian, even a criminal civilian, an enemy combatant subject to indefinite military detention," the panel found. "Put simply, the Constitution does not allow the President to order the military to seize civilians residing within the United States and detain them indefinitely without criminal process, and this is so even if he calls them 'enemy combatants.' "....
Ruling on detainees reignites debate The decision by US military judges Monday to dismiss the war crimes charges against two detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has reignited a debate over how to try those accused of terrorism, prompting members of Congress to challenge the Bush administration over a legal system they say denies proper rights to detainees and has yet to bring a single case to trial. In dismissing the charges against detainees from Canada and Yemen, the judges ruled that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 lacked jurisdiction because that law limits cases to those who are deemed "unlawful enemy combatants." Because a tribunal had officially deemed both men enemy combatants, the letter of the law did not allow the detainees to go to trial, the judges determined. Prosecutors say they hope to try about 80 of the 380 detainees still at Guantanamo, but all such cases are now on hold. There long have been bipartisan calls to shut down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, but congressional efforts instead have aimed at fixing a legal system there that some consider broken, but inevitable. Members of Congress who have opposed the commissions act renewed their calls for a new system, either demanding that the detainees be moved to US federal courts or that the law be rewritten to grant detainees important rights, such as habeas corpus. Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and chairman of the Judiciary Committee and an outspoken opponent of the Military Commissions Act, said yesterday that legislation he and Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, have sponsored to restore habeas rights will be taken up by the committee this week. Both senators have argued that the law is dangerous because it suspended habeas corpus, or the right of detainees at Guantanamo to challenge their detention in federal courts....
FBI Finds It Frequently Overstepped in Collecting Data An internal FBI audit has found that the bureau potentially violated the law or agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years, far more than was documented in a Justice Department report in March that ignited bipartisan congressional criticism. The new audit covers just 10 percent of the bureau's national security investigations since 2002, and so the mistakes in the FBI's domestic surveillance efforts probably number several thousand, bureau officials said in interviews. The earlier report found 22 violations in a much smaller sampling. The vast majority of the new violations were instances in which telephone companies and Internet providers gave agents phone and e-mail records the agents did not request and were not authorized to collect. The agents retained the information anyway in their files, which mostly concerned suspected terrorist or espionage activities. But two dozen of the newly-discovered violations involved agents' requests for information that U.S. law did not allow them to have, according to the audit results provided to The Washington Post. Only two such examples were identified earlier in the smaller sample. FBI officials said the results confirmed what agency supervisors and outside critics feared, namely that many agents did not understand or follow the required legal procedures and paperwork requirements when collecting personal information with one of the most sensitive and powerful intelligence-gathering tools of the post-Sept. 11 era -- the National Security Letter, or NSL. Such letters are uniformly secret and amount to nonnegotiable demands for personal information -- demands that are not reviewed in advance by a judge. After the 2001 terrorist attacks, Congress substantially eased the rules for issuing NSLs, requiring only that the bureau certify that the records are "sought for" or "relevant to" an investigation "to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities."....
Repeal Second Amendment, Analyst Advises The Second Amendment guarantees the right of an individual to own guns and for that reason should be repealed, according to a legal affairs analyst who opposes gun ownership. "The Second Amendment is one of the clearest statements of right in the Constitution," Benjamin Wittes, a guest scholar at the center-left Brookings Institution, acknowledged in a discussion Monday. "We've had decades of sort of intellectual gymnastics to try to make those words not mean what they say." Wittes, who said he has "no particular enthusiasm for the idea of a gun culture," said that rather than try to limit gun ownership through regulation that potentially violates the Second Amendment, opponents of gun ownership should set their sights on repealing the amendment altogether. "Rather than debating the meaning of the Second Amendment, I think the appropriate debate is whether we want a Second Amendment," Wittes said. He conceded, however, that the political likelihood of getting the amendment repealed is "pretty limited." Wittes said the Second Amendment guarantee of the right to bear arms meant more when it was crafted more than 200 years ago than it does today. Modern society is "much more ambivalent than they [the founders] were about whether gun ownership really is fundamental to liberty," he said. "One of the things that they believed was that the right of states to organize militias, and therefore individuals to be armed, was necessary to protect the liberty of those states against the federal government," Wittes said. "This is something we don't really believe as a society anymore." But challenging the Second Amendment on the basis that society's circumstances have changed since the drafting would similarly open up to question all other constitutional rights, according to Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett, who also participated in Monday's discussion....
Terrorists claim CIA files seized Terrorist groups, including Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees, have seized large quantities of CIA security files stored at major compounds of militias associated with the U.S.-backed Fatah organization of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, terror leaders told WND today. The terror leaders claimed the files contain, among other information, details of CIA networks in the Middle East. "The CIA files we seized, which include documents, CDs, taped conversations and videos, are more important than all the American weapons we obtained the last two days as we took over the traitor Fatah's positions," said Muhammad Abdel-El, spokesman for the Hamas-allied Popular Resistance Committees terror group. The Committees has been accused of carrying out anti-U.S. attacks, including a 2003 bombing of an American convoy in Gaza that killed three U.S. contractors. Hamas has the past few days taken near-complete control of the Gaza Strip, advancing on the vast majority of Fatah security buildings and positions in the northern, southern and central sections of the territory....
Federal Court Rules in Favor of 'Enemy Combatant' A federal appeals court today ruled that the U.S. government cannot indefinitely imprison a U.S. resident on suspicion alone, and ordered the military to either charge Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri with his alleged terrorist crimes in a civilian court or release him. The opinion is a major blow to the Bush administration's assertion that as the president seeks to combat terrorism, he has exceptionally broad powers to detain without charges both foreign citizens abroad and those living legally in the United States. The government is expected to appeal the 2-1 decision handed down by a three-judge panel of the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which is in Richmond, Va. The appeals panel said President Bush overstretched his authority by declaring Marri an "enemy combatant," because the Constitution protects both U.S. citizens and legal residents such as Marri from an unchecked military and from being detained without charges and a fair trial. The court rejected the administration's claim that it was not relevant that Marri was arrested in the United States and was living here legally on a student visa. "The President cannot eliminate constitutional protections with the stroke of a pen by proclaiming a civilian, even a criminal civilian, an enemy combatant subject to indefinite military detention," the panel found. "Put simply, the Constitution does not allow the President to order the military to seize civilians residing within the United States and detain them indefinitely without criminal process, and this is so even if he calls them 'enemy combatants.' "....
Ruling on detainees reignites debate The decision by US military judges Monday to dismiss the war crimes charges against two detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has reignited a debate over how to try those accused of terrorism, prompting members of Congress to challenge the Bush administration over a legal system they say denies proper rights to detainees and has yet to bring a single case to trial. In dismissing the charges against detainees from Canada and Yemen, the judges ruled that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 lacked jurisdiction because that law limits cases to those who are deemed "unlawful enemy combatants." Because a tribunal had officially deemed both men enemy combatants, the letter of the law did not allow the detainees to go to trial, the judges determined. Prosecutors say they hope to try about 80 of the 380 detainees still at Guantanamo, but all such cases are now on hold. There long have been bipartisan calls to shut down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, but congressional efforts instead have aimed at fixing a legal system there that some consider broken, but inevitable. Members of Congress who have opposed the commissions act renewed their calls for a new system, either demanding that the detainees be moved to US federal courts or that the law be rewritten to grant detainees important rights, such as habeas corpus. Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and chairman of the Judiciary Committee and an outspoken opponent of the Military Commissions Act, said yesterday that legislation he and Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, have sponsored to restore habeas rights will be taken up by the committee this week. Both senators have argued that the law is dangerous because it suspended habeas corpus, or the right of detainees at Guantanamo to challenge their detention in federal courts....
Thursday, June 14, 2007
NEWS ROUNDUP
Google and Intel pledge to go green Google and Intel are leading an initiative backed by several big technology companies to reduce the amount of power wasted by personal computers. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative aims to make computers 50 per cent more power efficient by 2010. The companies say that achieving this goal would save an amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to that released by 11 million cars in a year. The commitment, which is supported by Dell, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft, is part of a larger campaign to educate consumers about technology industry-related carbon dioxide emissions, which according to Gartner, the technology analysts, account for 2 per cent of the global total – a percentage on par with aviation. "We aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions in an amount equal to shutting down 20 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants," Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, said. Urs Holzle, senior vice president of operations at Google, said: "Today, the average desktop PC wastes nearly half of its power and the average server wastes one-third of its power." The plan would save an estimated $5.5 billion in energy costs and would, its proponents say, increase the cost of a computer by only about $30 per unit. Reduced running costs would pay for the extra outlay within a couple of years, they say....
Forest Service to sell land only to select group of ranchers In a deal to appease up to 40 western North Dakota ranchers, the U.S. Forest Service quietly agreed to sell them 5,200 acres to offset the amount of land the agency gained from its purchase of a historic Badlands ranch. Real estate agents question whether it's legal, saying the sale should be open to everyone. The decision to sell federal land in Billings County - and only to ranchers there - is not the same pitch the Forest Service made when it sought to buy the 5,200-acre site adjacent to Theodore Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch site, where the former president ranched more than a century ago. The Forest Service had said it would balance the $5.3 million acquisition of the historic Blacktail Creek Ranch by selling 5,200 acres of the 1.2 million acres it owns throughout the state. erry Clement, owner of West Plains Realty in Dickinson, said selling just to Billings County ranchers could be illegal. "It doesn't sound like legally they can do that - I would think that they would have to open it up for everybody because it is public land," he said....
Army mum on how many people are willing to sell for training site The Army says it has been contacted by several people willing to sell land for a controversial expansion of a southeastern Colorado training site, but officials won't say how many have stepped up or how much land they offered. The Army wants to nearly triple the size of the Pinon Canyon maneuver site, from 368 square miles to more than 1,000 square miles, saying the land is needed to accommodate expected growth at Fort Carson and changing training needs. Opponents, including some ranchers, worry the Army will use eminent domain to force landowners to sell. The Army told Sen. Wayne Allard last week it had found at least some willing sellers and did not expect it would have to force any transactions. Army spokeswoman Mary Ann Hodges declined to release any details about the willing sellers. The Army "has been informally contacted by several potential willing sellers; however, it is too early in the acquisition process to discuss specific land owners or acreage," she said in an e-mail to The Associated Press this week. Hodges said the Army Corps of Engineers will formally identify and contact willing sellers as the process unfolds, but she said those sellers would not be publicly identified....
Editorial - Pinon Canyon details? THE ARMY has been its own worst enemy from a public relations standpoint in the delays and incompleteness of information released so far about Fort Carson expansion plans for Pinon Canyon. We are keeping an open mind on the actual merits of whether the Army should or should not proceed with the plan to enlarge the existing 238,000-acre Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site northeast of Trinidad. On the one hand, we recognize the importance for our national security of training troops who put their lives on the line in defense of the United States around the world. On the other hand, we empathize with the residents of Southeastern Colorado who could be adversely affected by the expansion. Until just recently, we've known only in broad terms that the Army intends to add more than 400,000 acres that eventually would expand the Pinon Canyon site to a total of more than 650,000 acres. Only now, 18 months into the process, has the Army released what purports to be an official map of the proposed boundaries. In relation to the existing site, the three expansion areas involve 103,000 acres to the south, 305,000 acres to the west and 5,400 acres on the northern tip of the current training site. The ranchers involved and the public in and around Trinidad and other affected communities have a right to know even more details. This is especially true of private property owners, some of whose families homesteaded the area generations ago. They deserve to know if their farms, ranches and homes are targeted for expansion and how many years it might take....
Landowners miffed about Army's Pinon Canyon plan If there are ranchers in southeast Colorado ready and willing to sell their land to the Army for its expanded Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, they aren’t mentioning it to their neighbors. More than 100 landowners or their representatives met tonight to show their opposition to the Army’s plan to acquire 408,000 acres straddling U.S. 350 between Trinidad and La Junta. Many area ranchers were told last week there are enough "willing sellers" to expand the Army training site without forcing involuntary sales. That was news to Tony Hass. "I’ve contacted about 70 people in the last week and I haven’t run into one of these willing sellers yet," said Hass, owner of the 14,000-acre Walkin’ Y Ranch near Thatcher. "The Army hasn’t contacted anyone I know or made any offers." Hass organized toinght's meeting at the peach-colored Hoehne Community Center following a boisterous and often uncivil public hearing in nearby Trinidad on June 7. ...
Rancher shoots wolf in cattle herd A Bitterroot Valley rancher who lost several calves to wolves spent the night in his car to guard his herd and shot a wolf as it moved among his cattle. "There were all these black shapes, cows running everywhere," said Ed Cummings, who was awakened at 4:30 a.m. on June 5 by his dog's growling. "And right in the middle of them, just sort of trotting around, is this wolf." Cummings lost his shoe while trying to get out of the car, keep an eye on the wolf and grab the rifle he'd borrowed. "I didn't make a very good shot, but I hit it," he said Monday. Federal officials shot another wolf the next day. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks issued Cummings a permit to kill two more wolves, although he does not need permission to shoot those attacking, chasing or harassing his livestock. Vivaca Crowser, information officer for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said other cows on Cummings' property were killed June 6 and 7. Officials with the federal Wildlife Services agency attributed the deaths to wolves. Meanwhile, about 30 miles southwest of Dillon, Wildlife Services officials have confirmed wolves killed six sheep Friday and Saturday....
Wolves hot topic at Draper The number of wolves in Wyoming has grown 20 percent annually since wolf reintroduction 12 years ago. “This year it (wolf numbers) grew a little more rapidly,” wolf project leader Mike Jimenez of Jackson said June 5 during a talk at the Draper Museum of Natural History. The impact of wolves on big game and livestock is a major issue. They are “hunters of opportunity” and tend to key in on one group. “They kill what's available and then what's vulnerable,” Jimenez said. Wolves follow elk herds to low elevations in the winter. As the elk move back to higher elevations in the spring ranchers move in their livestock. But rather than follow the elk herds back to the high country, wolves stay low and hunt the livestock, he explained. If a wolf pack is threatening or killing cows, Game and Fish agents are authorized to kill wolves. “If you look at what's really responsible for wolf mortality, it's us as an agency,” Jimenez said. “We do kill wolves that cause problems.” Every year G&F officials kill 15 percent of Wyoming's wolf population, most of which are problem animals. The only time a civilian can legally kill a wolf is when the observe a wolf “in the act” of killing livestock. “Wolves do kill livestock,” Jimenez said. “It's a serious concern.”....
The Big Timber Race: A New Approach to Paddling As Big Timber Creek crashes down the eastern flank of the Crazy Mountains, water spurts through narrow slots and sprays across shallow, steep rock chutes before gushing over lofty waterfalls into roiling, foamy pools. The quintessential mountain creek provides challenging and unique kayaking, and a recent race there drew in 40 boaters from locales as far away as Colorado and Canada. With an average elevation drop of 720 feet per mile, the Big Timber Race — according to organizers — is the steepest kayaking race in the world. The Headwaters Paddling Association (HPA) organized the inaugural race and took a new grassroots approach to the event. Much of the perimeter of the Crazy Mountains is characterized by a checkerboard ownership of private and National Forest land. Concerned about kayakers’ reputations and access to the creek, the HPA opened a dialogue with the landowners and modeled the Big Timber Race as both a celebration of the creek and an awareness raiser to build a respectful relationship between the landowners and the kayaking community....
Family Forestry There is a crisis brewing in America’s vast forest lands, but it has little to do with the health of the woods: the acreage is essentially the same as it was a century ago, and there is over 30 percent more wood volume per acre than in 1952. At stake are large tracts of private forest that are at risk of falling into mismanagement, subdivision or being sold for development. “It’s a ticking time bomb” said Brett J. Butler, a research forester with the United States Forest Service Family Forest Research Center in Amherst, Mass. He says the situation could jeopardize things like the wood used to build homes, jobs, and clean water and fresh air. Nearly 60 percent of the nation’s forests are privately owned, the majority by families and individuals and most of these owners are 55 or older. A huge swath of forest land is about to change hands as aging landowners pass the land to heirs or buyers. “Without a doubt, it is the largest intergenerational transfer of forest land in our nation’s history,” said Al Sample, president of the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, a nonprofit environmental policy research organization, “and we are not ready for it.”....
Major increase in fuel standards in the works The Senate is weighing the first major increase in federal fuel economy standards since Congress first responded to the oil crisis of the 1970s, part of a new energy bill that Democratic leaders hope to pass in the next few weeks. The measure would raise fleetwide fuel economy standards by 35 miles per gallon by 2020, up from the 25 miles per gallon average now for cars and trucks. The standards would rise an additional 4 percent every year until 2030. But lawmakers must first overcome stiff resistance from U.S. automakers, who claim the new standards are impossible to meet and could cripple an already ailing industry. Michigan lawmakers plan to offer amendments to weaken or kill the new fuel efficiency standards. The bill also would require U.S. drivers to use more than five times as much renewable biofuels as they do today -- 36 billion gallons annually by 2022. The bill would be a boon to Midwest corn farmers, but it also requires that 60 percent of the new biofuels be made from cellulosic materials like switchgrass and agricultural waste. The measure would increase energy efficiency standards for dishwashers, refrigerators and other appliances, and set "green building" standards for all new federal buildings. Lawmakers also plan to make price-gouging by oil companies a federal offense. The Senate will consider a plan by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, that would require utilities to get at least 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources....
Spotted owl lands targeted The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to shrink critical habitat for the northern spotted owl by 1.6 million acres across its range in Washington, Oregon and California. The service says the proposed rule change, announced Tuesday, reflects a "more current assessment" of the owl's habitat needs across the three states and an ability to map more precisely than in the past the areas where the best owl habitat is located. The rule drops critical habitat designation for some high-elevation forests and for land at Fort Lewis, where no owls have been found. It reduces protection for owls on Bureau of Land Management forests in western Oregon. It adds land elsewhere, reducing the total acreage protected from 6.9 million acres to 5.3 million acres. The proposal comes six weeks after the agency released a draft recovery plan for the owl that downplays the impact of logging on the species' continued survival. The recovery plan identifies competition from the larger and more aggressive barred owl as the greatest threat to the spotted owl's recovery....
Wyoming man injured by Grand Teton grizzly A grizzly bear attacked a man today, causing moderate injuries, after the man apparently surprised a female bear and three cubs feeding on an elk carcass. Dennis VanDenbos, 54, of Lander, was walking alone near the Jackson Lake Lodge at about 6 a.m. when he noticed the sow and her cubs within 10 feet of him, according to park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs. After yelling at the bears in an attempt to frighten them off, VanDenbos dropped down on his stomach as one of the bears attacked him. Shouts from a nearby witness drove the bear away. VanDenbos suffered puncture wounds and lacerations on his backside and was taken to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson for treatment, according to the park service. Skaggs said the injuries "were not life-threatening." Park officials said they planned to take no action against the bear. Skaggs said VanDenbos "just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and startled a bear that was on a kill."....
A world without oil Scientists have criticised a major review of the world's remaining oil reserves, warning that the end of oil is coming sooner than governments and oil companies are prepared to admit. BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, published yesterday, appears to show that the world still has enough "proven" reserves to provide 40 years of consumption at current rates. The assessment, based on officially reported figures, has once again pushed back the estimate of when the world will run dry. However, scientists led by the London-based Oil Depletion Analysis Centre, say that global production of oil is set to peak in the next four years before entering a steepening decline which will have massive consequences for the world economy and the way that we live our lives. According to "peak oil" theory our consumption of oil will catch, then outstrip our discovery of new reserves and we will begin to deplete known reserves. Colin Campbell, the head of the depletion centre, said: "It's quite a simple theory and one that any beer drinker understands. The glass starts full and ends empty and the faster you drink it the quicker it's gone."....
Burros are reinvading Big Bear Wild burros have been spotted in Big Bear’s residential neighborhoods and along roads and highways. Several burros have been injured and killed along Highway 38. Burros returning to urban areas is dangerous for the animals and people. Burros were rounded up and adopted out in the late 1990s for their protection. Drought conditions are suspected for bringing the animals back to town. How burros originally made their way to Big Bear Valley isn’t exactly known. Some say the animals escaped from movie shoots in the 1900s. The burros could have escaped from mining operations or been released from the fox farms. However, folks who grew up in the fox farm era in the Valley say that burro meat was a diet staple for foxes and humans....
Judge tosses '81 law protecting right to farm A Panhandle judge has thrown out a 1981 state law designed to protect agricultural interests, from giant cattle feedyards to chicken coops, against nuisance lawsuits from neighbors upset about dust, smell or other unpleasantness. The Texas Right to Farm Act was among several similar measures enacted across the country to prevent lawsuits being brought by suburban newcomers against existing facilities. It has remained in place for more than a quarter-century, and the Texas Supreme Court enforced it in a lawsuit out of McCulloch County in 2003. The act went into limbo a week ago when state District Judge David Gleason in Randall County ruled in favor of a northern Panhandle family who claim dust and fecal matter from a nearby feedlot have rendered their century-old homestead in Hansford County uninhabitable. The owners of the feedlot are considering an appeal. "This has the potential of being a huge issue for agriculture," said Joe Maley, director of organization for the Texas Farm Bureau. Maley said he learned only Wednesday of the two-page summary judgment by Gleason....
New EWG Web site lists 'shielded' payment recipients The Environmental Working Group has unveiled a new Web site that purports to reveal the names of at least 350,000 persons who previously have not been identified as recipients of federal farm subsidies. The EWG, which has listed the names of thousands of other farmers and landowners and their payments on the Internet in recent years, says it hopes the new site will lead Congress to enact “broad reforms” of federal farm programs as it begins to write the 2007 farm bill. It says the 350,000 names have been the recipients of almost a third of the $34.75 billion in farm program benefits paid to farmers between 2003 and 2005. The EWG first went public with its lists of farm payment recipients in November 2001. In a press release distributed on the new Web site, EWG indicated it will continue its propaganda campaign against payments to the 20 percent of U.S. farmers who produce 70 to 80 percent of the nation’s row crop commodities. Until now, Cook said, the 350,000 new names have benefited from layers of partnerships, joint ventures, limited liability corporations, cooperatives and other business structures. The new site was developed from previously unpublished USDA records that were compiled under a provision of the 2002 farm bill....
Google and Intel pledge to go green Google and Intel are leading an initiative backed by several big technology companies to reduce the amount of power wasted by personal computers. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative aims to make computers 50 per cent more power efficient by 2010. The companies say that achieving this goal would save an amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to that released by 11 million cars in a year. The commitment, which is supported by Dell, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft, is part of a larger campaign to educate consumers about technology industry-related carbon dioxide emissions, which according to Gartner, the technology analysts, account for 2 per cent of the global total – a percentage on par with aviation. "We aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions in an amount equal to shutting down 20 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants," Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, said. Urs Holzle, senior vice president of operations at Google, said: "Today, the average desktop PC wastes nearly half of its power and the average server wastes one-third of its power." The plan would save an estimated $5.5 billion in energy costs and would, its proponents say, increase the cost of a computer by only about $30 per unit. Reduced running costs would pay for the extra outlay within a couple of years, they say....
Forest Service to sell land only to select group of ranchers In a deal to appease up to 40 western North Dakota ranchers, the U.S. Forest Service quietly agreed to sell them 5,200 acres to offset the amount of land the agency gained from its purchase of a historic Badlands ranch. Real estate agents question whether it's legal, saying the sale should be open to everyone. The decision to sell federal land in Billings County - and only to ranchers there - is not the same pitch the Forest Service made when it sought to buy the 5,200-acre site adjacent to Theodore Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch site, where the former president ranched more than a century ago. The Forest Service had said it would balance the $5.3 million acquisition of the historic Blacktail Creek Ranch by selling 5,200 acres of the 1.2 million acres it owns throughout the state. erry Clement, owner of West Plains Realty in Dickinson, said selling just to Billings County ranchers could be illegal. "It doesn't sound like legally they can do that - I would think that they would have to open it up for everybody because it is public land," he said....
Army mum on how many people are willing to sell for training site The Army says it has been contacted by several people willing to sell land for a controversial expansion of a southeastern Colorado training site, but officials won't say how many have stepped up or how much land they offered. The Army wants to nearly triple the size of the Pinon Canyon maneuver site, from 368 square miles to more than 1,000 square miles, saying the land is needed to accommodate expected growth at Fort Carson and changing training needs. Opponents, including some ranchers, worry the Army will use eminent domain to force landowners to sell. The Army told Sen. Wayne Allard last week it had found at least some willing sellers and did not expect it would have to force any transactions. Army spokeswoman Mary Ann Hodges declined to release any details about the willing sellers. The Army "has been informally contacted by several potential willing sellers; however, it is too early in the acquisition process to discuss specific land owners or acreage," she said in an e-mail to The Associated Press this week. Hodges said the Army Corps of Engineers will formally identify and contact willing sellers as the process unfolds, but she said those sellers would not be publicly identified....
Editorial - Pinon Canyon details? THE ARMY has been its own worst enemy from a public relations standpoint in the delays and incompleteness of information released so far about Fort Carson expansion plans for Pinon Canyon. We are keeping an open mind on the actual merits of whether the Army should or should not proceed with the plan to enlarge the existing 238,000-acre Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site northeast of Trinidad. On the one hand, we recognize the importance for our national security of training troops who put their lives on the line in defense of the United States around the world. On the other hand, we empathize with the residents of Southeastern Colorado who could be adversely affected by the expansion. Until just recently, we've known only in broad terms that the Army intends to add more than 400,000 acres that eventually would expand the Pinon Canyon site to a total of more than 650,000 acres. Only now, 18 months into the process, has the Army released what purports to be an official map of the proposed boundaries. In relation to the existing site, the three expansion areas involve 103,000 acres to the south, 305,000 acres to the west and 5,400 acres on the northern tip of the current training site. The ranchers involved and the public in and around Trinidad and other affected communities have a right to know even more details. This is especially true of private property owners, some of whose families homesteaded the area generations ago. They deserve to know if their farms, ranches and homes are targeted for expansion and how many years it might take....
Landowners miffed about Army's Pinon Canyon plan If there are ranchers in southeast Colorado ready and willing to sell their land to the Army for its expanded Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, they aren’t mentioning it to their neighbors. More than 100 landowners or their representatives met tonight to show their opposition to the Army’s plan to acquire 408,000 acres straddling U.S. 350 between Trinidad and La Junta. Many area ranchers were told last week there are enough "willing sellers" to expand the Army training site without forcing involuntary sales. That was news to Tony Hass. "I’ve contacted about 70 people in the last week and I haven’t run into one of these willing sellers yet," said Hass, owner of the 14,000-acre Walkin’ Y Ranch near Thatcher. "The Army hasn’t contacted anyone I know or made any offers." Hass organized toinght's meeting at the peach-colored Hoehne Community Center following a boisterous and often uncivil public hearing in nearby Trinidad on June 7. ...
Rancher shoots wolf in cattle herd A Bitterroot Valley rancher who lost several calves to wolves spent the night in his car to guard his herd and shot a wolf as it moved among his cattle. "There were all these black shapes, cows running everywhere," said Ed Cummings, who was awakened at 4:30 a.m. on June 5 by his dog's growling. "And right in the middle of them, just sort of trotting around, is this wolf." Cummings lost his shoe while trying to get out of the car, keep an eye on the wolf and grab the rifle he'd borrowed. "I didn't make a very good shot, but I hit it," he said Monday. Federal officials shot another wolf the next day. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks issued Cummings a permit to kill two more wolves, although he does not need permission to shoot those attacking, chasing or harassing his livestock. Vivaca Crowser, information officer for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said other cows on Cummings' property were killed June 6 and 7. Officials with the federal Wildlife Services agency attributed the deaths to wolves. Meanwhile, about 30 miles southwest of Dillon, Wildlife Services officials have confirmed wolves killed six sheep Friday and Saturday....
Wolves hot topic at Draper The number of wolves in Wyoming has grown 20 percent annually since wolf reintroduction 12 years ago. “This year it (wolf numbers) grew a little more rapidly,” wolf project leader Mike Jimenez of Jackson said June 5 during a talk at the Draper Museum of Natural History. The impact of wolves on big game and livestock is a major issue. They are “hunters of opportunity” and tend to key in on one group. “They kill what's available and then what's vulnerable,” Jimenez said. Wolves follow elk herds to low elevations in the winter. As the elk move back to higher elevations in the spring ranchers move in their livestock. But rather than follow the elk herds back to the high country, wolves stay low and hunt the livestock, he explained. If a wolf pack is threatening or killing cows, Game and Fish agents are authorized to kill wolves. “If you look at what's really responsible for wolf mortality, it's us as an agency,” Jimenez said. “We do kill wolves that cause problems.” Every year G&F officials kill 15 percent of Wyoming's wolf population, most of which are problem animals. The only time a civilian can legally kill a wolf is when the observe a wolf “in the act” of killing livestock. “Wolves do kill livestock,” Jimenez said. “It's a serious concern.”....
The Big Timber Race: A New Approach to Paddling As Big Timber Creek crashes down the eastern flank of the Crazy Mountains, water spurts through narrow slots and sprays across shallow, steep rock chutes before gushing over lofty waterfalls into roiling, foamy pools. The quintessential mountain creek provides challenging and unique kayaking, and a recent race there drew in 40 boaters from locales as far away as Colorado and Canada. With an average elevation drop of 720 feet per mile, the Big Timber Race — according to organizers — is the steepest kayaking race in the world. The Headwaters Paddling Association (HPA) organized the inaugural race and took a new grassroots approach to the event. Much of the perimeter of the Crazy Mountains is characterized by a checkerboard ownership of private and National Forest land. Concerned about kayakers’ reputations and access to the creek, the HPA opened a dialogue with the landowners and modeled the Big Timber Race as both a celebration of the creek and an awareness raiser to build a respectful relationship between the landowners and the kayaking community....
Family Forestry There is a crisis brewing in America’s vast forest lands, but it has little to do with the health of the woods: the acreage is essentially the same as it was a century ago, and there is over 30 percent more wood volume per acre than in 1952. At stake are large tracts of private forest that are at risk of falling into mismanagement, subdivision or being sold for development. “It’s a ticking time bomb” said Brett J. Butler, a research forester with the United States Forest Service Family Forest Research Center in Amherst, Mass. He says the situation could jeopardize things like the wood used to build homes, jobs, and clean water and fresh air. Nearly 60 percent of the nation’s forests are privately owned, the majority by families and individuals and most of these owners are 55 or older. A huge swath of forest land is about to change hands as aging landowners pass the land to heirs or buyers. “Without a doubt, it is the largest intergenerational transfer of forest land in our nation’s history,” said Al Sample, president of the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, a nonprofit environmental policy research organization, “and we are not ready for it.”....
Major increase in fuel standards in the works The Senate is weighing the first major increase in federal fuel economy standards since Congress first responded to the oil crisis of the 1970s, part of a new energy bill that Democratic leaders hope to pass in the next few weeks. The measure would raise fleetwide fuel economy standards by 35 miles per gallon by 2020, up from the 25 miles per gallon average now for cars and trucks. The standards would rise an additional 4 percent every year until 2030. But lawmakers must first overcome stiff resistance from U.S. automakers, who claim the new standards are impossible to meet and could cripple an already ailing industry. Michigan lawmakers plan to offer amendments to weaken or kill the new fuel efficiency standards. The bill also would require U.S. drivers to use more than five times as much renewable biofuels as they do today -- 36 billion gallons annually by 2022. The bill would be a boon to Midwest corn farmers, but it also requires that 60 percent of the new biofuels be made from cellulosic materials like switchgrass and agricultural waste. The measure would increase energy efficiency standards for dishwashers, refrigerators and other appliances, and set "green building" standards for all new federal buildings. Lawmakers also plan to make price-gouging by oil companies a federal offense. The Senate will consider a plan by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, that would require utilities to get at least 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources....
Spotted owl lands targeted The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to shrink critical habitat for the northern spotted owl by 1.6 million acres across its range in Washington, Oregon and California. The service says the proposed rule change, announced Tuesday, reflects a "more current assessment" of the owl's habitat needs across the three states and an ability to map more precisely than in the past the areas where the best owl habitat is located. The rule drops critical habitat designation for some high-elevation forests and for land at Fort Lewis, where no owls have been found. It reduces protection for owls on Bureau of Land Management forests in western Oregon. It adds land elsewhere, reducing the total acreage protected from 6.9 million acres to 5.3 million acres. The proposal comes six weeks after the agency released a draft recovery plan for the owl that downplays the impact of logging on the species' continued survival. The recovery plan identifies competition from the larger and more aggressive barred owl as the greatest threat to the spotted owl's recovery....
Wyoming man injured by Grand Teton grizzly A grizzly bear attacked a man today, causing moderate injuries, after the man apparently surprised a female bear and three cubs feeding on an elk carcass. Dennis VanDenbos, 54, of Lander, was walking alone near the Jackson Lake Lodge at about 6 a.m. when he noticed the sow and her cubs within 10 feet of him, according to park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs. After yelling at the bears in an attempt to frighten them off, VanDenbos dropped down on his stomach as one of the bears attacked him. Shouts from a nearby witness drove the bear away. VanDenbos suffered puncture wounds and lacerations on his backside and was taken to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson for treatment, according to the park service. Skaggs said the injuries "were not life-threatening." Park officials said they planned to take no action against the bear. Skaggs said VanDenbos "just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and startled a bear that was on a kill."....
A world without oil Scientists have criticised a major review of the world's remaining oil reserves, warning that the end of oil is coming sooner than governments and oil companies are prepared to admit. BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, published yesterday, appears to show that the world still has enough "proven" reserves to provide 40 years of consumption at current rates. The assessment, based on officially reported figures, has once again pushed back the estimate of when the world will run dry. However, scientists led by the London-based Oil Depletion Analysis Centre, say that global production of oil is set to peak in the next four years before entering a steepening decline which will have massive consequences for the world economy and the way that we live our lives. According to "peak oil" theory our consumption of oil will catch, then outstrip our discovery of new reserves and we will begin to deplete known reserves. Colin Campbell, the head of the depletion centre, said: "It's quite a simple theory and one that any beer drinker understands. The glass starts full and ends empty and the faster you drink it the quicker it's gone."....
Burros are reinvading Big Bear Wild burros have been spotted in Big Bear’s residential neighborhoods and along roads and highways. Several burros have been injured and killed along Highway 38. Burros returning to urban areas is dangerous for the animals and people. Burros were rounded up and adopted out in the late 1990s for their protection. Drought conditions are suspected for bringing the animals back to town. How burros originally made their way to Big Bear Valley isn’t exactly known. Some say the animals escaped from movie shoots in the 1900s. The burros could have escaped from mining operations or been released from the fox farms. However, folks who grew up in the fox farm era in the Valley say that burro meat was a diet staple for foxes and humans....
Judge tosses '81 law protecting right to farm A Panhandle judge has thrown out a 1981 state law designed to protect agricultural interests, from giant cattle feedyards to chicken coops, against nuisance lawsuits from neighbors upset about dust, smell or other unpleasantness. The Texas Right to Farm Act was among several similar measures enacted across the country to prevent lawsuits being brought by suburban newcomers against existing facilities. It has remained in place for more than a quarter-century, and the Texas Supreme Court enforced it in a lawsuit out of McCulloch County in 2003. The act went into limbo a week ago when state District Judge David Gleason in Randall County ruled in favor of a northern Panhandle family who claim dust and fecal matter from a nearby feedlot have rendered their century-old homestead in Hansford County uninhabitable. The owners of the feedlot are considering an appeal. "This has the potential of being a huge issue for agriculture," said Joe Maley, director of organization for the Texas Farm Bureau. Maley said he learned only Wednesday of the two-page summary judgment by Gleason....
New EWG Web site lists 'shielded' payment recipients The Environmental Working Group has unveiled a new Web site that purports to reveal the names of at least 350,000 persons who previously have not been identified as recipients of federal farm subsidies. The EWG, which has listed the names of thousands of other farmers and landowners and their payments on the Internet in recent years, says it hopes the new site will lead Congress to enact “broad reforms” of federal farm programs as it begins to write the 2007 farm bill. It says the 350,000 names have been the recipients of almost a third of the $34.75 billion in farm program benefits paid to farmers between 2003 and 2005. The EWG first went public with its lists of farm payment recipients in November 2001. In a press release distributed on the new Web site, EWG indicated it will continue its propaganda campaign against payments to the 20 percent of U.S. farmers who produce 70 to 80 percent of the nation’s row crop commodities. Until now, Cook said, the 350,000 new names have benefited from layers of partnerships, joint ventures, limited liability corporations, cooperatives and other business structures. The new site was developed from previously unpublished USDA records that were compiled under a provision of the 2002 farm bill....
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
College National Finals Rodeo Underway
CASPER, Wyo. --- The Casper Events Center was full of rodeo action for the beginning of the 59th annual College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR).
Ted Bert, a senior at Cal Poly State University won the first round of bull riding here with an 83-point effort on Triple V Rodeo’s bull Red Deer. This is Bert’s 2nd CNFR qualification and he is hoping to leave Wyoming this year with a championship saddle. He finished 8th in the bull riding here last year and 9th in the steer wrestling. The all-around hand is focusing on bull riding this year.
Kristi Lee from Sam Houston State University won the first round of breakaway roping. Her 2.2-second run was three-tenths of a second faster than any other competitor. There were 3 2.5 second runs that followed. Kelsey Johnson from Cal Poly State University; Lainey Kyle from Western Texas College; and Samantha Miller from Vernon College all tied for second.
Saddle bronc riding and bareback riding will be completed here on Monday. Frank McKay from Treasure Valley Community College leads the saddle bronc riding with an 81-point marking. Joe Gunderson from South Dakota State University leads the bareback riding with 85 points.
Competition continues here on Monday with all slack beginning at 7 a.m. The first round of steer wrestling, tie-down roping, team roping, goat tying and barrel racing will be completed then.
CASPER, Wyo.---The following are results from Bulls Broncs and Breakaway at the College National Finals Rodeo, June 10, 2007, courtesy of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Compete results are available at www.cnfr.com.
Breakaway Roping: (first round is complete) 1, Kristi Lee, Sam Houston State University, 2.2 seconds. 2-4, Samantha Miller, Vernon College; Kelsey Johnson, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo; and Lainey Kyle, Western Texas College; 2.5. 5, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University; 2.6. 6, Adrienne Vought, University Tennessee – Martin, 2.7. 7-9, Brook Chester, New Mexico State University, Brandi Guttormson, Panhandle State University; and Kelsy Friskup, Western Texas College, 2.8.
Bareback Riding: (first round leaders) 1, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 85 points. 2, Matt Smith, Panola Jr. College, 84. 3, Chad Mask, West Texas A & M University, 81. 4, Bud Munns, Utah Valley State College, 80. 5-7; Todd Bledsoe, University of West Alabama; Steven Dent, Ranger College; and Ty Kenner, Eastern Wyoming College, 78. 8, Teddy Athan, West Hills College, 77.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round leaders) 1, Frank McKay, Treasure Valley Community College, 81. 2, Brandon Bates, University of Tennessee – Martin, 80. 3, Slade Hughes, Utah Valley State College, 78. 4/5, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, and Wyatt Smith, Central Wyoming College, 77. 6, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 76. 7/8, Marty Eakin, Western Texas A & M University, and Trey Broussard, Wharton County Junior College, 75.
Bull Riding: (first round is complete) 1, Ted Bert, Cal Poly State University, 83 points. 2, Thad Newell, Bacone College, 81. 3, Casey Sisk, West Texas A & M University, Eastern New Mexico University, 82.5. 4/5, Beau Schroeder, McNeese State University, and Cooper Link, Missouri Valley College, 76. 6-9, Harve Stewart, Tarleton State University; Sticks Muscat, Sheridan College; Taylor White, Utah Valley State College; and Bryce Brown, Cochise College; 74.
College National Finals Rodeo, Slack results
The following are preliminary results from the College National Finals Rodeo, June 11, 2007, courtesy of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Compete results are available at www.cnfr.com.
Breakaway Roping: (second round leaders) 1, Callie Albrecht, Sam Houston State University, 2.0 seconds. 2/3, Carly McCumber, Sam Houston State University, and Brittany Brown, Dickinson State University, 2.8. 4/5, Ashley Moreau, Sam Houston State University, Jacquelene Jacobs, Troy University, 3.1. 6, Amy Walker, University of Montana Western, 3.2. 7/8, Kristi Lee, Sam Houston State University and Cee Cee Tryan, Montana State University, 3.5.
Bareback Riding: (first round winners) 1, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 85 points. 2, Matt Smith, Panola Jr. College, 84. 3, Tilden Hooper, Panola Jr. College, 82. 4, Chad Mask, West Texas A & M University, 81. 5, Bud Munns, Utah Valley State College, 80. 6-8; Todd Bledsoe, University of West Alabama; Steven Dent, Ranger College; and Ty Kenner, Eastern Wyoming College, 78. (second round leaders) 1, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 80. 2, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 78. 3/4, Dusty Gracia, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and Jared Smith, Ranger College, 77. 5/6, Derik Page, Utah State University – Uintah, and Jared Keylon, Fort Scott, Community College, 74. 7/8, Colter Davis, University of Montana Western, and Lee Dunford, Missouri Valley College, 70.
Goat Tying: (first round winners) 1, Nikki Steffes, University of Wyoming, 5.9 seconds. 2, Brooke Inlow, Fort Hays State University, 6.3. 3, Kayla Nelson, University of Wyoming, 6.4. 4/5, Jaclyn Ferguson, Central Washington Univerisity, and Teddi Winfrey Northwestern Oklahoma State University, 6.5. 6-8; Shaylee French, University of Montana Western; Jonna Bizzell, New Mexico State University; and Stephanie Jacks, Hill College, 6.8.
Tie-Down Roping: (first round winners) 1, Boyd Quinely, University of Tennesse – Martin, 8.8 seconds. 2, Wacey Walraven, New Mexico State University, 9.3. 3, Ted Walker, Idaho State University, 9.6. 4, Brady Threadgill, Weatherford College, 9.7. 5, Billy Brunson, University of Arkansas – Monticello, 10.0. 6, James Johnson, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, 10.1. 6, Josh Graff, Montana State University, 10.2. 8, James Mitchell, West Texas A & M University, 10.3.
Steer Wrestling: (first round winners) 1, Rogern Nonella, West Hills College, 5.0 seconds. 2-4; Jake Treat, University of Wyoming; Jake Shaw, Missouri Valley College; and Nolan Conway, Central Arizona College; 5.1. 5/6, Trevor Cox, Tarleton State University, and Wyatt Smith, Central Wyoming College, 5.3. 7, Sean Santucci, Walla Walla Community College, 5.6. 8, Blaine Konkel, Montana State University, 5.7.
Team Roping: (first round winners) 1, Dakota Shipp, and Kory Bramwell, Ranger College, 5.5 seconds. 2, Tyler Laridsen and Josh Fillmore, Lamar Community College, 6.2. 3, Eddie Hawley and Josh Graff, Montana State University, 6.3. 4, Casey Halderman, Wharton County Community College and Justin Hendrick, Sam Houston State University, 6.5. 5, JR Lund, and Alex Watson, University of Montana Western, 6.6. 6, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University and JW Townsend, New Mexico Junior College, 6.8. 7, Wyatt Althoff and Harley Martin, Central Arizona College, 7.0. 8, John Reese and Chase Whittaker, Utah State University – Uintah, 7.6.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round winners) 1/2, Jesse Kruse, University of Montana, and Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 82. 3, Frank McKay, Treasure Valley Community College, 81. 4, Brandon Bates, University of Tennessee – Martin, 80. 5, Slade Hughes, Utah Valley State College, 78. 6/7, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, and Wyatt Smith, Central Wyoming College, 77. 8, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 76. (second round leaders) 1, Jesse Kruse, University of Montana, 81. 2, Rowdy Rathmell, Hill College, 79. 3, James Irish, Univerisyt of Montana Western, 76. 4, Wyatt Smith, Central Wyoming College, 75. 5/6, Nick Rydalch, Utah Valley State College and Levi Bunch, New Mexico State University, 74. 7/8, Dean Daly, New Mexico State University and Steven Dent, Ranger College, 73.
Women’s Barrel Racing: (first round winners) 1/2, Jordan Hodges, University of Wyoming, and Robin Webb, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 14.15. 3, Alicia Sandoval, New Mexico Junior College, 14.17. 4, Whitney Gibson, Vernon College, 14.28. 5, Krista Minow, National American University, 14.33. 6, Nadine Kern, Salt Lake Community College, 14.39. 7, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 14.47. 8, Jaymie Leach, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 14.59.
Bull Riding: (second round leaders – only two qualified rides) 1, Beau Schroeder, McNeese State University, 78. 2, Josh Verberg, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 69.
CNFR second round results
CASPER, Wyo.---The following are second round results from the College National Finals Rodeo, June 12, 2007, courtesy of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Compete results are available at www.cnfr.com.
Breakaway Roping: (second round winners) 1, Callie Albrecht, Sam Houston State University, 2.0. 2, Lacey Jones, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 2.4. 3, Katie Jones, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 2.5. 4, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University, 2.7. 5/6, Brittany Brown, Dickinson State University, and Carly McCumber, Sam Houston State University, 2.8. 7, Kirby Eppert, Tarleton State University, 2.9. 8, Brandi Guttormson, Panhandle State University, 3.0.
Bareback Riding: (second round winners) 1, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 80 points. 2/3, Bud Munns, Utah Valley State College, and Ty Kenner, Eastern Wyoming College, 79. 4, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 78. 5-7, Jared Smith, Ranger College; Tilden Hooper, Panola Jr. College; and Dusty Gracia, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, 77. 8/9, Morgan Wilde, Idaho State University and Chad Mask, West Texas A & M University, 75.
Goat Tying: (second round winners) 1, Stephanie Jacks, Hill College, 6.1 secodns. 2-5; Jacque Murray, South Dakota State University; Kayla Nelson, University of Wyoming; Nikke Steffes, University of Wyoming; Teddi Winfrey, Northwest Oklahoma State University, Shannon Jones, Cuesta College; and Kassi Venturacci, University of .6. 8-10; Taryn Krantz, Tarleton State University; Sarah Guenzler, Montana State University and Jonna Bizzell, New Mexico State University, 7.0.
Tie-Down Roping: (second round winners) 1, Payden Emmett, National College, 8.2. 2, Clay Turner, Arkansas State University, 8.5. 3/4, Justin Viles, University of Wyoming, and Spence Barney, Northeast Texas Community College, 9.3. 5, Brady Woodward, Weber State University, 9.4. 6, John Bankhead, Sam Houston State University, 9.5. 7, Clint Carpenter, Southeast Oklahoma State University, 9.6. 8, Sam Levine, University of Montana Western, 9.7.
Steer Wrestling: (second round winners) 1, Seth Murphy, Dickinson State University, 4.0 seconds. 2, Nolan Conway, Central Arizona College, 4.3. 3-5; Chad Edwards, Walla Walla Community College; Stan Branco, West Hills College; and David Bufkin, Northeast Texas Community College; 4.6. 6, James Dassel, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 4.8. 7, Jake Mitchell, West Texas A & M University, 5.0. 8, Nick Guy, National American University, 5.2.
Team Roping: (second round winners) 1, JR Lund and Alex Watson, University of Montana Western, 6.0. 2/3, Quincy Kueckelhan and Joe Harrison, Northeast Texas Community College; and JoDan Mirabel and Aaron Shelley, New Mexico State University; 6.5. 4, Chance Parker and Hugh Bragg, Southern Arkansas University, 6.7. 5, Cody Tew, Weatherford College and Matt Robertson, Tarleton State University, 6.9. 6, Cee Cee Tryan, Montana State University and Sam Levine, University of Montana Western, 7.5. 7, Clint Keller and Tyler Ethridge, Troy University, 7.7. 8, Devon Porter, Sam Houston State University and Kyle Beasley, McNeese State University, 7.8.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (second round winners) 1/2, Jesse Kruse, University of Montana, and Cort Scheer, Garden City Community College, 81. 3, Rowdy Rathmell, Hill College, 79. 4/5, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, and Matthew Oros, Cochise College, 78. 6/7, James Irish, University of Montana Western, and Chase Miller, Ranger College, 76. 8-10; Ben Londo, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo; Wyatt Smith, Central Wyoming College; and Marty Eakin, West Texas A & M University, 75.
Women’s Barrel Racing: (second round winners) 1, Annelle Williams, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 13.86. 2, Whitney Gibson, Vernon College, 13.98. 3, Alicia Sandoval, New Mexico Junior College, 14.00. 4, Tanaye Carroll, Northeastern Junior College, 14.09. 5, Jordan Hodges, University of Wyoming, 14.11. 6, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 14.20. 7/8, Matea Gabiola, Treasure Valley Community College and Courtney Sokol, Texas A & M University, 14.21.
Bull Riding: (second round winners) 1/2, Beau Schroeder, McNeese State University, and Dustin Jenkins, University of Montana, 78. 3, Seth Glause, Central Wyoming College, 4, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 75. 5, Taggert Elliott, College of Southern Idaho, 69. 6, Josh Verburg, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 69.
CNFR Arena Records Tested
CASPER, Wyo. --- The Casper Events Center was on fire Tuesday night at the College National Finals Rodeo. Two arena records were tied, while others were tested.
Freshman team ropers Dakota Shipp and Kory Bramwell roped their steer in a blistering 4.7 seconds to take the lead in the third round.
Shipp and Bramwell, both of Ranger College, were 5.5 seconds on their first steer and a no time on their second. They will now have to wait and see if they might qualify for Saturday night’s finals on two runs.
In the barrel racing, Robin Webb took advantage of her position at the top of the ground. Her time of 13.81 was not only the fastest of the rodeo, but also tied the arena record. Her time tonight helped propel Webb, of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, to the top of the average standings with a total time of 42.69 seconds on three runs.
Rodeo action continues on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
CNFR first performance results
CASPER, Wyo.---The following are results from the first performance at the College National Finals Rodeo, June 12, 2007, courtesy of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Compete results are available at www.collegerodeo.com.
Bareback Riding: (third round leaders) 1/2, Jared Keylon, Fort Scott Community College, and Jared Smith, Ranger College, 76 points. 2, Matt Smith, Panola College, 75. 4/5, Colter Davis, University of Montana Western and Morgan Wilde, Idaho State University, 72. 6, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 71. 7, Kyle Labrucherie, West Hills College, 65. (total on three) 1, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 234 points. 2, Jared Smith, Ranger College, 229. 3, Jared Keylon, Fort Scott Community College, 226. 4, Colter Davis, University of Montana Western, 215. 5, Morgan Wilde, Idaho State University, 212. (on two) 6-8; Matt Smith, Panola Jr. College, Tilden Hooper, Panola Junior College and Bud Munns Utah Valley State College, 159.
Tie-Down Roping: (third round leaders) 1, Tyler Theil, National American University, 8.8 seconds. 2, Cody Prescott, Southern Arkansas University, 8.9. 3, Clay Kobza, Eastern New Mexico University, 9.8. 4/5, Chase Johnston, Colorado State University, and Adam Mueller, National American University, 12.0. 6, John Bankhead, Sam Houston State University, 12.7. 7, Brady Threadgill, Weatherford College, 19.2. (total on three) 1, Tyler Theil, National American University, 30.2. 2, Cody Prescott, Southern Arkansas University, 34.1. 3, John Bankhead, Sam Houston State University, 35.3. 4, (on two) Wacey Walraven, New Mexico State University, 18.7. 5-7; Boyd Quinley, University of Tennesee – Martin; Ben Mayworth, Troy University and Quincy Kueckelhan, Northeast Texas Community College, 20.9.
Breakaway Roping: (third round leaders) 1/2, Brittany Brown, Dickinson State University, and Chennell Brewer, Montana State University, 2.8. 3, Brook Chester, New Mexico State University, 3.2. 4, Ashley Moreau, Sam Houston State University, 3.4. 6/7, Jena Bubak, College of Southern Idaho, and Adrienne Vought, University of Tennessee – Martin, 3.8. 8, Katie Jones, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 4.0. (total on three) 1, Katie Jones, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 9.5. 2, Ashley Moreau, Sam Houston State University, 9.8. 3, Adrienne Vought, University of Tennesee – Martin, 10.7. 4, Brittany Brown, New Mexico State University, 18.3. (on two) 5, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University, 5.3. 6, Kristi Lee, Sam Houston State University, 5.7. 7, Brandi Guttormson, Panhandle State University, 5.8.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (third round leaders) 1, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 79 points. 2, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, 77. 3, Marty Eakin, West Texas A & M University, 76. 4, Townsend Prince Central Wyoming College, 74. 5, Ty Atchison, University of Tennessee – Martin, 73. 6, Elliot French, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 69. 7, Nick Rydalch, Utah Valley State College, 66. (total on three) 1, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, 232 points. 2, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 228. 3, Marty Eakin, West Texas A & M University, 226. 4, Stephen Atchison, University of Tennesee – Martin, 211. (on two) 5, Jesse Kruse, University of Montana, 163. 6, Wyatt Smith, Central Wyoming College, 152. 7, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 150.
Steer Wrestling: (third round leaders – five times) 1, Chad Edwards, Walla Walla Community College, 3.8 seconds. 2, Nolan Conway, Central Arizona College, 4.6. 3, James Dassel, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 7.1. 4, John Martin, Sam Houston State University, 8.3. 5, Colt Becht, Missouri Valley College, 13.8. (total on three) 1, Nolan Conway, Central Arizona College, 14.0. 2, Chad Edwards, Walla Walla Community College, 14.6. 3, James Dassel, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 23.4. 4, Colt Becht, Missouri Valley College, 13.8. (on two) 5, Jake Shaw, Missouri Valley College, 10.5. 6, William Pearson, University of West Alabama, 11.3. 7, Taylor Nahrgang, University of Montana – Western, 12.2.
Goat Tying: (third round leaders) 1, Shannon Jones, Cuesta College, 6.4 seconds. 2, Kelly Koeppen, Panhandle State University, 6.5. 3, Martha Beagley, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 6.9. 4, Megan Sutfin, University of Idaho, 7.4. 5, Callie Albrecht, Sam Houston State University, 7.5. 6, Ashley Crowder, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 8.0. 7, Taryn Krantz, Tarleton State University, 9.4. 8, Amanda Stigall, Murray State College, 10.6. (total on three) 1, Martha Beagley, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 21.9. 2, Kelly Koeppen, Panhandle State University, 22.0. 3, Megan Sutfin, University of Idaho, 22.6. 4, Taryn Krantz, Tarleton State University, 23.9. 5, Kirsty Robinson, New Mexico Technical College, 29.0. 6, Ashley Crowder, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 29.8. 7, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 36.8.
Team Roping: (third round leaders) 1, Dakota Shipp and Kory Bramwell, Ranger College, 4.7 seconds. 2, Turner Harris and Chase Carson, Dickinson State University, 7.4. 3, Garrett Boekenoogen, Fresno State University, and Joe Nash, Feather River College, 15.4. 4, Courtney Dobson, Weber State University and Clint Arave, Idaho State University, 17.0. 5, Kelsey Johnson and Lee Whitney, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 21.1. 6, Tyler Thiel, National American University, and Seth Murphy, Dickinson State University, 22.2. (total on three) 1, Kelsey Johnson and Lee Whitney, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 45.6. 2, Courtney Dobson, Weber State University and Clint Arave, Idaho State University, 48.3. 3, Tyler Thiel, National American University and Seth Murphy, Dickinson State University, 61.6. (on two) 4, Dokota Shipp and Kory Bramwell, Ranger college, 10.2. 5, Justin Lund and Alex Watson, University of Montana Western, 12.6. 6, Cee Cee Tryan, Montana State University and Sam Levine, University of Montana – Western, 15.2.7, Bradley Johnson, Eastern Wyoming College and Chase Johnston, Colorado State University, 16.4.
Women’s Barrel Racing: (third round leaders) 1, Robin Webb, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 13.81 seconds. 2, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 14.08. 3, Krista Minow, National American University, 14.19. 4, Candice Foster, Oklahoma State University, 14.23. 5, Mary Owens, Troy University, 14.25. 6, Jaymie Leach, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 14.42. 7, Lindsey Loiseau, South Dakota State University, 14.46. (total on three) 1, Robin Webb, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 42.69. 2, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 42.75. 3, Krista Minow, National American University, 43.00. 4, Jaymie Leach, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 43.29. 5, Candice Foster, Oklahoma State University, 43.70. 6, Mary Owens, Troy University, 43.85. 7, Lindsey Loiseau, South Dakota State University, 43.87.
Bull Riding: (third round – no qualified rides – total on two) 1, Beau Schroeder, McNeese State University, 154. 2, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 149. 3, Taggert Elliott, College of Southern Idaho, 142. (on one) 4, Ted Bert, Cal Poly State University, 83. 5, Thad Newell, Bacone College, 81.
Team Standings: (men’s) Ranger College, 640 points. 2, Utah Valley State College, 305. 3, Cal Poly State University, 273. 4, Central Arizona College, 240. (women’s) 1, University of Wyoming, 405. 2, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 285. 3, Sam Houston State University, 250. 4, New Mexico State University, 213.33.
All-Around Standings: (men’s) 1, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 190 points. 2, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 140. (women’s) 1/2, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University, and Callie Albrecht, Sam Houston State University, 120.
National Champs Hope for Repeat Titles at CNFR
Casper, Wyo. --- The 2007 College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) is more than half-way through and competition continues to heat up.
Three past national champions competed at the Casper Events Center on Wednesday night’s performance and are hoping to visit the winner’s circle again. They all have the potential to qualify for Saturday night’s championship round, which will feature the top 12 contestants in each event.
Jerad Schlegel, the 2006 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) bareback riding champion spurred his way to an 80-point ride atop Burch Brothers horse named Thunder Bay. The junior from Vernon College is leading the third round of competition and is currently tied for third place in the average. With two more performances left before the finals, Schlegel is in prime position to defend his title.
Goat tying continues to be tough as nine cowgirls finished under 7.0 seconds. Lacey Curr of National American University and Shannon Jones of Cuesta College are currently tied for first place in the third round with 6.4 second runs. Stephanie Jacks from Hill College who won the national title in 2005 took the lead in the overall standings with a total time of 19.6 seconds on three runs.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s Cole Edge recorded the fastest time of the week in steer wrestling with 3.6 seconds. The senior now sits third overall with 16.7 on three head.
Second-Generation cowboy Trell Etbauer was busy here on Wednesday. The Panhandle State University senior competed in steer wrestling and saddle bronc riding. In addition, he was the hazer for new leader Edge in steer wrestling, helping line out the steer for Edge to be successful.
Etbauer earned the steer wrestling title in 2005. He is currently fifth overall in steer wrestling and fourth in saddle bronc riding. He is in position to qualify for the finals in two events and could earn the prestigious all-around title.
Rodeo action continues Thursday night at 7 p.m.
CNFR second performance results
CASPER, Wyo.---The following are results from the second performance at the College National Finals Rodeo, June 13, 2007, courtesy of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Compete results are available at www.collegerodeo.com.
Bareback Riding: (third round leaders) 1, Jerad Schlegel, Vernon College, 80 points. 2/3, Jared Keylon, Fort Scott Community College, and Jared Smith, Ranger College, 76 points. 4, Matt Smith, Panola College, 75. 5, Dusty Gracia, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, 74. 6/7, Colter Davis, University of Montana Western and Morgan Wilde, Idaho State University, 72. 8/9, Chad Mask, West Texas A & M University, and Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 71. (total on three) 1, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 234 points. 2, Jared Smith, Ranger College, 229. 3/4, Chad Mask, West Texas A & M University, and Jerad Schlegal, Vernon College, 227. 5, Jared Keylon, Fort Scott Community College, 226. 6, Dusty Gracia, Southwest Oklahoma State University, 225. 7, Colter Davis, University of Montana Western, 215. 8, Morgan Wilde, Idaho State University, 212.
Tie-Down Roping: (third round leaders) 1, Ben Mayworth, Troy State University, 8.4 seconds. 2, Tyler Theil, National American University, 8.8. 3, Cody Prescott, Southern Arkansas University, 8.9. 4, Coby Hadley, Weber State University, 9.0. 5, Boyd Quinley, University of Tennesee – Martin, 9.4. 6, Billy Brunson, University of Arkansas – Monticello, 9.6. 7, Clay Kobza, Eastern New Mexico State University, 9.8. 8, Brock Palmer, Walla Walla Community College, 10.0. (total on three) 1, Boyd Quinley, University of Tennessee – Martin, 28.1. 2, Ben Mayworth, Troy State University, 29.3. 3, Tyler Theil, National American University, 30.2. 4, Billy Brunson, University of Arkansas – Monticello, 31.0. 5, Clay Acuna, New Mexico State University, 33.2. 6, Cody Prescott, Southern Arkansas University, 34.1. 7, John Bankhead, Sam Houston State University, 35.3. 8, Wacey Walraven, New Mexico State University, 41.4.
Breakaway Roping: (third round leaders) 1, Kristi Lee, Sam Houston State University, 2.6. 2-4, Jacque Murray, South Dakota State University; Brittany Brown, Dickinson State University; and Chennell Brewer, Montana State University, 2.8. 5, Brook Chester, New Mexico State University, 3.2. 6, Ashley Moreau, Sam Houston State University, 3.4. 7, Alexis Dekay, University of Wyoming, 3.5. 8-11, Kassi Venturacci, University of Nevada – Las Vegas; Natasha Parker, University of West Alabama,; Gloria King, Treasure Valley Community College; Amy Walker, University of Montana Western, 3.6. (total on three) 1, Kristi Lee, Sam Houston State University, 9.8. Katie Jones, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 9.5. 3, Ashley Moreau, Sam Houston State University, 9.8. 4, Cee Cee Tryan, Montana State University, 10.1. 5, Adrienne Vought, University of Tennesee – Martin, 10.7. 6, Brittany Brown, New Mexico State University, 18.3. 7, Jacque Murray, South Dakota State University, 19.1. 8, Kassi Venturacci, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 19.7.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (third round leaders) 1-3, Cort Scheer, Garden City Community College; Steven Dent, Ranger College; Chase Miller, Ranger College; 79 points. 4, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, 77. 5, Marty Eakin, West Texas A & M University, 76. 6, Rowdy Rathmell, Hill College, 75. 7, Townsend Prince, Central Wyoming College, 74. 8-12, Seth Glause, Central Wyoming College; Central Wyoming College, Ty Atchison, University of Tennessee – Martin; James Irish, University of Montana Western; Charles Brunson, Tarleton State University; and Trell Etbauer, Panhandle State University, 73. (total on three) 1, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, 232 points. 2, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 228. 3, Marty Eakin, West Texas A & M University, 226. 4, Seth Glause, Central Wyoming College, 217. 5, Trell Etbauer, Panhandle State University, 215. 6, Stephen Atchison, University of Tennesee – Martin, 211. (on two) 7 Jesse Kruse, University of Montana, 163. 8, Cort Scheer, Garden City Community College, 160.
Steer Wrestling: (third round leaders – five times) 1, Cole Edge, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 3.6 seconds. 2, Chad Edwards, Walla Walla Community College, 3.8. 3, Nolan Conway, Central Arizona College, 4.6. 4, Trell Etbauer, Panhandle State University, 5.9. 5, Trevor Cox, Tarleton State University, 6.5. 7, James Dassel, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 7.1. 8, John Martin, Sam Houston State University, 8.3. (total on three) 1, Nolan Conway, Central Arizona College, 14.0. 2, Chad Edwards, Walla Walla Community College, 14.6. 3, Cole Edge, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 16.7. 4, Trell Etbauer, Panhandle State University, 19.0. 5, Trevor Cox, Tarleton State University, 22.0. 6, Taylor Nahrgang, University of Montana Western, 22.8. 7, Tait Kvistad, South Dakota State University, 23.1. 8, James Dassel, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 23.4.
Goat Tying: (third round leaders) 1/2, Lacey Curr, National American University, and Shannon Jones, Cuesta College, 6.4 seconds. 3/4, Sarah Mulholland, Central Wyoming College, and Kelly Koeppen, Panhandle State University, 6.5. 5, Kalli Collins, Cal Poly State University, 6.6. 8/9, Megan Corey, New Mexico State University; and Casi Sharp, Texas A & M University, 6.8. (total on three) 1, Stephanie Jacks, Hill College, 19.6. 2, Kayla Dobbins, Central Wyoming College, 21.2. 3, Jessica Painter, National American University, 21.3. 4, Martha Beagley, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 21.9. 5, Kelly Koeppen, Panhandle State University, 22.0. 6, Lacey Curr, National American University, 22.2. 7, Megan Sutfin, University of Idaho, 22.6. 8, Amber Overstreet, University of Montana Western, 23.1.
Team Roping: (third round leaders) 1, Dakota Shipp and Kory Bramwell, Ranger College, 4.7 seconds. 2, Chance Parker, and Hugh Bragg, Southern Arkansas University, 6.0. 3, Nathan McWhorter, Northeast Texas Community College, and Scott LeDoux, Hill College, 6.1. 4, Odo Grandi, and Ted Walker, University of Idaho, 6.2. 5, Turner Harris and Chase Carson, Dickinson State University, 7.4. 6, John Reese, and Chase Whittaker, Utah State University, 8.7. 7, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University and JW Townsend, New Mexico Junior College, 12.2. 8, Mitchell Barney, and Coleman Proctor, Northwest Oklahoma State University, 12.3. (total on three) 1, Chance Parker and Hugh Bragg, Southern Arkansas University, 25.6. 2, Nathan McWhorter, Northeast Texas Community College and Scott Ledoux, Hill College, 38.5. 3, John Reese, and Chase Whittaker, Utah State University, 40.4. 4, Kelsey Johnson and Lee Whitney, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 45.6. 5, Mitchell Barney and Coleman Procter, Northwest Oklahoma State University, 46.8. 6, James Mader, Tarleton State University, and JW Townsend, New Mexico Junior College, 46.9. 7, Courtney Dobson, Weber State University and Clint Arave, Idaho State University, 48.3. 8, Tyler Johnson, and Justin Binder, Northwest Oklahoma State University, 54.9.
Women’s Barrel Racing: (third round leaders) 1, Robin Webb, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 13.81 seconds. 2, Alicia Sandoval, New Mexico Junior College, 13.85. 3, Nellie Williams, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 13.89. 4, Codi Fuller, University of Idaho, 13.90. 5, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 14.08. 6, Krista Minow, National American University, 14.19. 7/8, Tanaye Carroll, Northeastern Junior College and Whitney Gibson, Vernon College, 14.21. (total on three) 1, Alicia Sandoval, New Mexico Junior College, 42.02. 2, Whtney Gibson, Vernon College, 42.47. 3, Jordan Hodges, University of Wyomibng, 42.61. 4, Robin Webb, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 42.69. 5, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 42.75. 6, Krista Minow, National American University, 43.00. 7, Tanaye Carroll, Northeastern Junior College, 43.03. 8, Jaymie Leach, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 43.29.
Bull Riding: (third round ) 1, Mac Erickson, University of Montana Western, 82.0. 2, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 79. 3/4, Seth Glause, Central Wyoming College, and Logan Allen, Ranger College, 78. 5, Beau Schroeder, McNeese State University, 71. 6, Craig Begay, Central Arizona State University, 66. (total on three) 1, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 228. 2, Seth Glause, Central Wyoming College, 226. 3, Beau Schroeder, McNeese State University, 225. 4, Taggert Elliott, College of Southern Idaho, 142. 5, Craig Begay, Central Arizona College, 139.
Team Standings: (men’s) Ranger College, 690 points. 2, Southern Arkansas University, 300. 3, Northeast Texas Community College, 395. 4, Utah Valley State College, 285. (women’s) 1, University of Wyoming, 385. 2, Sam Houston State University, 270. 3, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 225. 4, Vernon College, 195.
All-Around Standings: (men’s) 1, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 210. 2, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 180. . (women’s) 1, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University, 140. 2, Jacque Murray, South Dakota State University, 115.
CASPER, Wyo. --- The Casper Events Center was full of rodeo action for the beginning of the 59th annual College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR).
Ted Bert, a senior at Cal Poly State University won the first round of bull riding here with an 83-point effort on Triple V Rodeo’s bull Red Deer. This is Bert’s 2nd CNFR qualification and he is hoping to leave Wyoming this year with a championship saddle. He finished 8th in the bull riding here last year and 9th in the steer wrestling. The all-around hand is focusing on bull riding this year.
Kristi Lee from Sam Houston State University won the first round of breakaway roping. Her 2.2-second run was three-tenths of a second faster than any other competitor. There were 3 2.5 second runs that followed. Kelsey Johnson from Cal Poly State University; Lainey Kyle from Western Texas College; and Samantha Miller from Vernon College all tied for second.
Saddle bronc riding and bareback riding will be completed here on Monday. Frank McKay from Treasure Valley Community College leads the saddle bronc riding with an 81-point marking. Joe Gunderson from South Dakota State University leads the bareback riding with 85 points.
Competition continues here on Monday with all slack beginning at 7 a.m. The first round of steer wrestling, tie-down roping, team roping, goat tying and barrel racing will be completed then.
CASPER, Wyo.---The following are results from Bulls Broncs and Breakaway at the College National Finals Rodeo, June 10, 2007, courtesy of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Compete results are available at www.cnfr.com.
Breakaway Roping: (first round is complete) 1, Kristi Lee, Sam Houston State University, 2.2 seconds. 2-4, Samantha Miller, Vernon College; Kelsey Johnson, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo; and Lainey Kyle, Western Texas College; 2.5. 5, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University; 2.6. 6, Adrienne Vought, University Tennessee – Martin, 2.7. 7-9, Brook Chester, New Mexico State University, Brandi Guttormson, Panhandle State University; and Kelsy Friskup, Western Texas College, 2.8.
Bareback Riding: (first round leaders) 1, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 85 points. 2, Matt Smith, Panola Jr. College, 84. 3, Chad Mask, West Texas A & M University, 81. 4, Bud Munns, Utah Valley State College, 80. 5-7; Todd Bledsoe, University of West Alabama; Steven Dent, Ranger College; and Ty Kenner, Eastern Wyoming College, 78. 8, Teddy Athan, West Hills College, 77.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round leaders) 1, Frank McKay, Treasure Valley Community College, 81. 2, Brandon Bates, University of Tennessee – Martin, 80. 3, Slade Hughes, Utah Valley State College, 78. 4/5, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, and Wyatt Smith, Central Wyoming College, 77. 6, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 76. 7/8, Marty Eakin, Western Texas A & M University, and Trey Broussard, Wharton County Junior College, 75.
Bull Riding: (first round is complete) 1, Ted Bert, Cal Poly State University, 83 points. 2, Thad Newell, Bacone College, 81. 3, Casey Sisk, West Texas A & M University, Eastern New Mexico University, 82.5. 4/5, Beau Schroeder, McNeese State University, and Cooper Link, Missouri Valley College, 76. 6-9, Harve Stewart, Tarleton State University; Sticks Muscat, Sheridan College; Taylor White, Utah Valley State College; and Bryce Brown, Cochise College; 74.
College National Finals Rodeo, Slack results
The following are preliminary results from the College National Finals Rodeo, June 11, 2007, courtesy of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Compete results are available at www.cnfr.com.
Breakaway Roping: (second round leaders) 1, Callie Albrecht, Sam Houston State University, 2.0 seconds. 2/3, Carly McCumber, Sam Houston State University, and Brittany Brown, Dickinson State University, 2.8. 4/5, Ashley Moreau, Sam Houston State University, Jacquelene Jacobs, Troy University, 3.1. 6, Amy Walker, University of Montana Western, 3.2. 7/8, Kristi Lee, Sam Houston State University and Cee Cee Tryan, Montana State University, 3.5.
Bareback Riding: (first round winners) 1, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 85 points. 2, Matt Smith, Panola Jr. College, 84. 3, Tilden Hooper, Panola Jr. College, 82. 4, Chad Mask, West Texas A & M University, 81. 5, Bud Munns, Utah Valley State College, 80. 6-8; Todd Bledsoe, University of West Alabama; Steven Dent, Ranger College; and Ty Kenner, Eastern Wyoming College, 78. (second round leaders) 1, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 80. 2, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 78. 3/4, Dusty Gracia, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and Jared Smith, Ranger College, 77. 5/6, Derik Page, Utah State University – Uintah, and Jared Keylon, Fort Scott, Community College, 74. 7/8, Colter Davis, University of Montana Western, and Lee Dunford, Missouri Valley College, 70.
Goat Tying: (first round winners) 1, Nikki Steffes, University of Wyoming, 5.9 seconds. 2, Brooke Inlow, Fort Hays State University, 6.3. 3, Kayla Nelson, University of Wyoming, 6.4. 4/5, Jaclyn Ferguson, Central Washington Univerisity, and Teddi Winfrey Northwestern Oklahoma State University, 6.5. 6-8; Shaylee French, University of Montana Western; Jonna Bizzell, New Mexico State University; and Stephanie Jacks, Hill College, 6.8.
Tie-Down Roping: (first round winners) 1, Boyd Quinely, University of Tennesse – Martin, 8.8 seconds. 2, Wacey Walraven, New Mexico State University, 9.3. 3, Ted Walker, Idaho State University, 9.6. 4, Brady Threadgill, Weatherford College, 9.7. 5, Billy Brunson, University of Arkansas – Monticello, 10.0. 6, James Johnson, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, 10.1. 6, Josh Graff, Montana State University, 10.2. 8, James Mitchell, West Texas A & M University, 10.3.
Steer Wrestling: (first round winners) 1, Rogern Nonella, West Hills College, 5.0 seconds. 2-4; Jake Treat, University of Wyoming; Jake Shaw, Missouri Valley College; and Nolan Conway, Central Arizona College; 5.1. 5/6, Trevor Cox, Tarleton State University, and Wyatt Smith, Central Wyoming College, 5.3. 7, Sean Santucci, Walla Walla Community College, 5.6. 8, Blaine Konkel, Montana State University, 5.7.
Team Roping: (first round winners) 1, Dakota Shipp, and Kory Bramwell, Ranger College, 5.5 seconds. 2, Tyler Laridsen and Josh Fillmore, Lamar Community College, 6.2. 3, Eddie Hawley and Josh Graff, Montana State University, 6.3. 4, Casey Halderman, Wharton County Community College and Justin Hendrick, Sam Houston State University, 6.5. 5, JR Lund, and Alex Watson, University of Montana Western, 6.6. 6, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University and JW Townsend, New Mexico Junior College, 6.8. 7, Wyatt Althoff and Harley Martin, Central Arizona College, 7.0. 8, John Reese and Chase Whittaker, Utah State University – Uintah, 7.6.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round winners) 1/2, Jesse Kruse, University of Montana, and Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 82. 3, Frank McKay, Treasure Valley Community College, 81. 4, Brandon Bates, University of Tennessee – Martin, 80. 5, Slade Hughes, Utah Valley State College, 78. 6/7, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, and Wyatt Smith, Central Wyoming College, 77. 8, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 76. (second round leaders) 1, Jesse Kruse, University of Montana, 81. 2, Rowdy Rathmell, Hill College, 79. 3, James Irish, Univerisyt of Montana Western, 76. 4, Wyatt Smith, Central Wyoming College, 75. 5/6, Nick Rydalch, Utah Valley State College and Levi Bunch, New Mexico State University, 74. 7/8, Dean Daly, New Mexico State University and Steven Dent, Ranger College, 73.
Women’s Barrel Racing: (first round winners) 1/2, Jordan Hodges, University of Wyoming, and Robin Webb, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 14.15. 3, Alicia Sandoval, New Mexico Junior College, 14.17. 4, Whitney Gibson, Vernon College, 14.28. 5, Krista Minow, National American University, 14.33. 6, Nadine Kern, Salt Lake Community College, 14.39. 7, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 14.47. 8, Jaymie Leach, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 14.59.
Bull Riding: (second round leaders – only two qualified rides) 1, Beau Schroeder, McNeese State University, 78. 2, Josh Verberg, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 69.
CNFR second round results
CASPER, Wyo.---The following are second round results from the College National Finals Rodeo, June 12, 2007, courtesy of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Compete results are available at www.cnfr.com.
Breakaway Roping: (second round winners) 1, Callie Albrecht, Sam Houston State University, 2.0. 2, Lacey Jones, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 2.4. 3, Katie Jones, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 2.5. 4, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University, 2.7. 5/6, Brittany Brown, Dickinson State University, and Carly McCumber, Sam Houston State University, 2.8. 7, Kirby Eppert, Tarleton State University, 2.9. 8, Brandi Guttormson, Panhandle State University, 3.0.
Bareback Riding: (second round winners) 1, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 80 points. 2/3, Bud Munns, Utah Valley State College, and Ty Kenner, Eastern Wyoming College, 79. 4, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 78. 5-7, Jared Smith, Ranger College; Tilden Hooper, Panola Jr. College; and Dusty Gracia, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, 77. 8/9, Morgan Wilde, Idaho State University and Chad Mask, West Texas A & M University, 75.
Goat Tying: (second round winners) 1, Stephanie Jacks, Hill College, 6.1 secodns. 2-5; Jacque Murray, South Dakota State University; Kayla Nelson, University of Wyoming; Nikke Steffes, University of Wyoming; Teddi Winfrey, Northwest Oklahoma State University, Shannon Jones, Cuesta College; and Kassi Venturacci, University of .6. 8-10; Taryn Krantz, Tarleton State University; Sarah Guenzler, Montana State University and Jonna Bizzell, New Mexico State University, 7.0.
Tie-Down Roping: (second round winners) 1, Payden Emmett, National College, 8.2. 2, Clay Turner, Arkansas State University, 8.5. 3/4, Justin Viles, University of Wyoming, and Spence Barney, Northeast Texas Community College, 9.3. 5, Brady Woodward, Weber State University, 9.4. 6, John Bankhead, Sam Houston State University, 9.5. 7, Clint Carpenter, Southeast Oklahoma State University, 9.6. 8, Sam Levine, University of Montana Western, 9.7.
Steer Wrestling: (second round winners) 1, Seth Murphy, Dickinson State University, 4.0 seconds. 2, Nolan Conway, Central Arizona College, 4.3. 3-5; Chad Edwards, Walla Walla Community College; Stan Branco, West Hills College; and David Bufkin, Northeast Texas Community College; 4.6. 6, James Dassel, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 4.8. 7, Jake Mitchell, West Texas A & M University, 5.0. 8, Nick Guy, National American University, 5.2.
Team Roping: (second round winners) 1, JR Lund and Alex Watson, University of Montana Western, 6.0. 2/3, Quincy Kueckelhan and Joe Harrison, Northeast Texas Community College; and JoDan Mirabel and Aaron Shelley, New Mexico State University; 6.5. 4, Chance Parker and Hugh Bragg, Southern Arkansas University, 6.7. 5, Cody Tew, Weatherford College and Matt Robertson, Tarleton State University, 6.9. 6, Cee Cee Tryan, Montana State University and Sam Levine, University of Montana Western, 7.5. 7, Clint Keller and Tyler Ethridge, Troy University, 7.7. 8, Devon Porter, Sam Houston State University and Kyle Beasley, McNeese State University, 7.8.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (second round winners) 1/2, Jesse Kruse, University of Montana, and Cort Scheer, Garden City Community College, 81. 3, Rowdy Rathmell, Hill College, 79. 4/5, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, and Matthew Oros, Cochise College, 78. 6/7, James Irish, University of Montana Western, and Chase Miller, Ranger College, 76. 8-10; Ben Londo, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo; Wyatt Smith, Central Wyoming College; and Marty Eakin, West Texas A & M University, 75.
Women’s Barrel Racing: (second round winners) 1, Annelle Williams, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 13.86. 2, Whitney Gibson, Vernon College, 13.98. 3, Alicia Sandoval, New Mexico Junior College, 14.00. 4, Tanaye Carroll, Northeastern Junior College, 14.09. 5, Jordan Hodges, University of Wyoming, 14.11. 6, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 14.20. 7/8, Matea Gabiola, Treasure Valley Community College and Courtney Sokol, Texas A & M University, 14.21.
Bull Riding: (second round winners) 1/2, Beau Schroeder, McNeese State University, and Dustin Jenkins, University of Montana, 78. 3, Seth Glause, Central Wyoming College, 4, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 75. 5, Taggert Elliott, College of Southern Idaho, 69. 6, Josh Verburg, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 69.
CNFR Arena Records Tested
CASPER, Wyo. --- The Casper Events Center was on fire Tuesday night at the College National Finals Rodeo. Two arena records were tied, while others were tested.
Freshman team ropers Dakota Shipp and Kory Bramwell roped their steer in a blistering 4.7 seconds to take the lead in the third round.
Shipp and Bramwell, both of Ranger College, were 5.5 seconds on their first steer and a no time on their second. They will now have to wait and see if they might qualify for Saturday night’s finals on two runs.
In the barrel racing, Robin Webb took advantage of her position at the top of the ground. Her time of 13.81 was not only the fastest of the rodeo, but also tied the arena record. Her time tonight helped propel Webb, of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, to the top of the average standings with a total time of 42.69 seconds on three runs.
Rodeo action continues on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
CNFR first performance results
CASPER, Wyo.---The following are results from the first performance at the College National Finals Rodeo, June 12, 2007, courtesy of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Compete results are available at www.collegerodeo.com.
Bareback Riding: (third round leaders) 1/2, Jared Keylon, Fort Scott Community College, and Jared Smith, Ranger College, 76 points. 2, Matt Smith, Panola College, 75. 4/5, Colter Davis, University of Montana Western and Morgan Wilde, Idaho State University, 72. 6, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 71. 7, Kyle Labrucherie, West Hills College, 65. (total on three) 1, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 234 points. 2, Jared Smith, Ranger College, 229. 3, Jared Keylon, Fort Scott Community College, 226. 4, Colter Davis, University of Montana Western, 215. 5, Morgan Wilde, Idaho State University, 212. (on two) 6-8; Matt Smith, Panola Jr. College, Tilden Hooper, Panola Junior College and Bud Munns Utah Valley State College, 159.
Tie-Down Roping: (third round leaders) 1, Tyler Theil, National American University, 8.8 seconds. 2, Cody Prescott, Southern Arkansas University, 8.9. 3, Clay Kobza, Eastern New Mexico University, 9.8. 4/5, Chase Johnston, Colorado State University, and Adam Mueller, National American University, 12.0. 6, John Bankhead, Sam Houston State University, 12.7. 7, Brady Threadgill, Weatherford College, 19.2. (total on three) 1, Tyler Theil, National American University, 30.2. 2, Cody Prescott, Southern Arkansas University, 34.1. 3, John Bankhead, Sam Houston State University, 35.3. 4, (on two) Wacey Walraven, New Mexico State University, 18.7. 5-7; Boyd Quinley, University of Tennesee – Martin; Ben Mayworth, Troy University and Quincy Kueckelhan, Northeast Texas Community College, 20.9.
Breakaway Roping: (third round leaders) 1/2, Brittany Brown, Dickinson State University, and Chennell Brewer, Montana State University, 2.8. 3, Brook Chester, New Mexico State University, 3.2. 4, Ashley Moreau, Sam Houston State University, 3.4. 6/7, Jena Bubak, College of Southern Idaho, and Adrienne Vought, University of Tennessee – Martin, 3.8. 8, Katie Jones, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 4.0. (total on three) 1, Katie Jones, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 9.5. 2, Ashley Moreau, Sam Houston State University, 9.8. 3, Adrienne Vought, University of Tennesee – Martin, 10.7. 4, Brittany Brown, New Mexico State University, 18.3. (on two) 5, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University, 5.3. 6, Kristi Lee, Sam Houston State University, 5.7. 7, Brandi Guttormson, Panhandle State University, 5.8.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (third round leaders) 1, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 79 points. 2, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, 77. 3, Marty Eakin, West Texas A & M University, 76. 4, Townsend Prince Central Wyoming College, 74. 5, Ty Atchison, University of Tennessee – Martin, 73. 6, Elliot French, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 69. 7, Nick Rydalch, Utah Valley State College, 66. (total on three) 1, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, 232 points. 2, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 228. 3, Marty Eakin, West Texas A & M University, 226. 4, Stephen Atchison, University of Tennesee – Martin, 211. (on two) 5, Jesse Kruse, University of Montana, 163. 6, Wyatt Smith, Central Wyoming College, 152. 7, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 150.
Steer Wrestling: (third round leaders – five times) 1, Chad Edwards, Walla Walla Community College, 3.8 seconds. 2, Nolan Conway, Central Arizona College, 4.6. 3, James Dassel, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 7.1. 4, John Martin, Sam Houston State University, 8.3. 5, Colt Becht, Missouri Valley College, 13.8. (total on three) 1, Nolan Conway, Central Arizona College, 14.0. 2, Chad Edwards, Walla Walla Community College, 14.6. 3, James Dassel, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 23.4. 4, Colt Becht, Missouri Valley College, 13.8. (on two) 5, Jake Shaw, Missouri Valley College, 10.5. 6, William Pearson, University of West Alabama, 11.3. 7, Taylor Nahrgang, University of Montana – Western, 12.2.
Goat Tying: (third round leaders) 1, Shannon Jones, Cuesta College, 6.4 seconds. 2, Kelly Koeppen, Panhandle State University, 6.5. 3, Martha Beagley, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 6.9. 4, Megan Sutfin, University of Idaho, 7.4. 5, Callie Albrecht, Sam Houston State University, 7.5. 6, Ashley Crowder, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 8.0. 7, Taryn Krantz, Tarleton State University, 9.4. 8, Amanda Stigall, Murray State College, 10.6. (total on three) 1, Martha Beagley, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 21.9. 2, Kelly Koeppen, Panhandle State University, 22.0. 3, Megan Sutfin, University of Idaho, 22.6. 4, Taryn Krantz, Tarleton State University, 23.9. 5, Kirsty Robinson, New Mexico Technical College, 29.0. 6, Ashley Crowder, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 29.8. 7, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 36.8.
Team Roping: (third round leaders) 1, Dakota Shipp and Kory Bramwell, Ranger College, 4.7 seconds. 2, Turner Harris and Chase Carson, Dickinson State University, 7.4. 3, Garrett Boekenoogen, Fresno State University, and Joe Nash, Feather River College, 15.4. 4, Courtney Dobson, Weber State University and Clint Arave, Idaho State University, 17.0. 5, Kelsey Johnson and Lee Whitney, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 21.1. 6, Tyler Thiel, National American University, and Seth Murphy, Dickinson State University, 22.2. (total on three) 1, Kelsey Johnson and Lee Whitney, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 45.6. 2, Courtney Dobson, Weber State University and Clint Arave, Idaho State University, 48.3. 3, Tyler Thiel, National American University and Seth Murphy, Dickinson State University, 61.6. (on two) 4, Dokota Shipp and Kory Bramwell, Ranger college, 10.2. 5, Justin Lund and Alex Watson, University of Montana Western, 12.6. 6, Cee Cee Tryan, Montana State University and Sam Levine, University of Montana – Western, 15.2.7, Bradley Johnson, Eastern Wyoming College and Chase Johnston, Colorado State University, 16.4.
Women’s Barrel Racing: (third round leaders) 1, Robin Webb, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 13.81 seconds. 2, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 14.08. 3, Krista Minow, National American University, 14.19. 4, Candice Foster, Oklahoma State University, 14.23. 5, Mary Owens, Troy University, 14.25. 6, Jaymie Leach, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 14.42. 7, Lindsey Loiseau, South Dakota State University, 14.46. (total on three) 1, Robin Webb, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 42.69. 2, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 42.75. 3, Krista Minow, National American University, 43.00. 4, Jaymie Leach, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 43.29. 5, Candice Foster, Oklahoma State University, 43.70. 6, Mary Owens, Troy University, 43.85. 7, Lindsey Loiseau, South Dakota State University, 43.87.
Bull Riding: (third round – no qualified rides – total on two) 1, Beau Schroeder, McNeese State University, 154. 2, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 149. 3, Taggert Elliott, College of Southern Idaho, 142. (on one) 4, Ted Bert, Cal Poly State University, 83. 5, Thad Newell, Bacone College, 81.
Team Standings: (men’s) Ranger College, 640 points. 2, Utah Valley State College, 305. 3, Cal Poly State University, 273. 4, Central Arizona College, 240. (women’s) 1, University of Wyoming, 405. 2, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 285. 3, Sam Houston State University, 250. 4, New Mexico State University, 213.33.
All-Around Standings: (men’s) 1, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 190 points. 2, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 140. (women’s) 1/2, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University, and Callie Albrecht, Sam Houston State University, 120.
National Champs Hope for Repeat Titles at CNFR
Casper, Wyo. --- The 2007 College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) is more than half-way through and competition continues to heat up.
Three past national champions competed at the Casper Events Center on Wednesday night’s performance and are hoping to visit the winner’s circle again. They all have the potential to qualify for Saturday night’s championship round, which will feature the top 12 contestants in each event.
Jerad Schlegel, the 2006 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) bareback riding champion spurred his way to an 80-point ride atop Burch Brothers horse named Thunder Bay. The junior from Vernon College is leading the third round of competition and is currently tied for third place in the average. With two more performances left before the finals, Schlegel is in prime position to defend his title.
Goat tying continues to be tough as nine cowgirls finished under 7.0 seconds. Lacey Curr of National American University and Shannon Jones of Cuesta College are currently tied for first place in the third round with 6.4 second runs. Stephanie Jacks from Hill College who won the national title in 2005 took the lead in the overall standings with a total time of 19.6 seconds on three runs.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s Cole Edge recorded the fastest time of the week in steer wrestling with 3.6 seconds. The senior now sits third overall with 16.7 on three head.
Second-Generation cowboy Trell Etbauer was busy here on Wednesday. The Panhandle State University senior competed in steer wrestling and saddle bronc riding. In addition, he was the hazer for new leader Edge in steer wrestling, helping line out the steer for Edge to be successful.
Etbauer earned the steer wrestling title in 2005. He is currently fifth overall in steer wrestling and fourth in saddle bronc riding. He is in position to qualify for the finals in two events and could earn the prestigious all-around title.
Rodeo action continues Thursday night at 7 p.m.
CNFR second performance results
CASPER, Wyo.---The following are results from the second performance at the College National Finals Rodeo, June 13, 2007, courtesy of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Compete results are available at www.collegerodeo.com.
Bareback Riding: (third round leaders) 1, Jerad Schlegel, Vernon College, 80 points. 2/3, Jared Keylon, Fort Scott Community College, and Jared Smith, Ranger College, 76 points. 4, Matt Smith, Panola College, 75. 5, Dusty Gracia, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, 74. 6/7, Colter Davis, University of Montana Western and Morgan Wilde, Idaho State University, 72. 8/9, Chad Mask, West Texas A & M University, and Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 71. (total on three) 1, Joe Gunderson, South Dakota State University, 234 points. 2, Jared Smith, Ranger College, 229. 3/4, Chad Mask, West Texas A & M University, and Jerad Schlegal, Vernon College, 227. 5, Jared Keylon, Fort Scott Community College, 226. 6, Dusty Gracia, Southwest Oklahoma State University, 225. 7, Colter Davis, University of Montana Western, 215. 8, Morgan Wilde, Idaho State University, 212.
Tie-Down Roping: (third round leaders) 1, Ben Mayworth, Troy State University, 8.4 seconds. 2, Tyler Theil, National American University, 8.8. 3, Cody Prescott, Southern Arkansas University, 8.9. 4, Coby Hadley, Weber State University, 9.0. 5, Boyd Quinley, University of Tennesee – Martin, 9.4. 6, Billy Brunson, University of Arkansas – Monticello, 9.6. 7, Clay Kobza, Eastern New Mexico State University, 9.8. 8, Brock Palmer, Walla Walla Community College, 10.0. (total on three) 1, Boyd Quinley, University of Tennessee – Martin, 28.1. 2, Ben Mayworth, Troy State University, 29.3. 3, Tyler Theil, National American University, 30.2. 4, Billy Brunson, University of Arkansas – Monticello, 31.0. 5, Clay Acuna, New Mexico State University, 33.2. 6, Cody Prescott, Southern Arkansas University, 34.1. 7, John Bankhead, Sam Houston State University, 35.3. 8, Wacey Walraven, New Mexico State University, 41.4.
Breakaway Roping: (third round leaders) 1, Kristi Lee, Sam Houston State University, 2.6. 2-4, Jacque Murray, South Dakota State University; Brittany Brown, Dickinson State University; and Chennell Brewer, Montana State University, 2.8. 5, Brook Chester, New Mexico State University, 3.2. 6, Ashley Moreau, Sam Houston State University, 3.4. 7, Alexis Dekay, University of Wyoming, 3.5. 8-11, Kassi Venturacci, University of Nevada – Las Vegas; Natasha Parker, University of West Alabama,; Gloria King, Treasure Valley Community College; Amy Walker, University of Montana Western, 3.6. (total on three) 1, Kristi Lee, Sam Houston State University, 9.8. Katie Jones, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 9.5. 3, Ashley Moreau, Sam Houston State University, 9.8. 4, Cee Cee Tryan, Montana State University, 10.1. 5, Adrienne Vought, University of Tennesee – Martin, 10.7. 6, Brittany Brown, New Mexico State University, 18.3. 7, Jacque Murray, South Dakota State University, 19.1. 8, Kassi Venturacci, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 19.7.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (third round leaders) 1-3, Cort Scheer, Garden City Community College; Steven Dent, Ranger College; Chase Miller, Ranger College; 79 points. 4, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, 77. 5, Marty Eakin, West Texas A & M University, 76. 6, Rowdy Rathmell, Hill College, 75. 7, Townsend Prince, Central Wyoming College, 74. 8-12, Seth Glause, Central Wyoming College; Central Wyoming College, Ty Atchison, University of Tennessee – Martin; James Irish, University of Montana Western; Charles Brunson, Tarleton State University; and Trell Etbauer, Panhandle State University, 73. (total on three) 1, Taos Muncy, Panhandle State University, 232 points. 2, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 228. 3, Marty Eakin, West Texas A & M University, 226. 4, Seth Glause, Central Wyoming College, 217. 5, Trell Etbauer, Panhandle State University, 215. 6, Stephen Atchison, University of Tennesee – Martin, 211. (on two) 7 Jesse Kruse, University of Montana, 163. 8, Cort Scheer, Garden City Community College, 160.
Steer Wrestling: (third round leaders – five times) 1, Cole Edge, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 3.6 seconds. 2, Chad Edwards, Walla Walla Community College, 3.8. 3, Nolan Conway, Central Arizona College, 4.6. 4, Trell Etbauer, Panhandle State University, 5.9. 5, Trevor Cox, Tarleton State University, 6.5. 7, James Dassel, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 7.1. 8, John Martin, Sam Houston State University, 8.3. (total on three) 1, Nolan Conway, Central Arizona College, 14.0. 2, Chad Edwards, Walla Walla Community College, 14.6. 3, Cole Edge, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 16.7. 4, Trell Etbauer, Panhandle State University, 19.0. 5, Trevor Cox, Tarleton State University, 22.0. 6, Taylor Nahrgang, University of Montana Western, 22.8. 7, Tait Kvistad, South Dakota State University, 23.1. 8, James Dassel, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 23.4.
Goat Tying: (third round leaders) 1/2, Lacey Curr, National American University, and Shannon Jones, Cuesta College, 6.4 seconds. 3/4, Sarah Mulholland, Central Wyoming College, and Kelly Koeppen, Panhandle State University, 6.5. 5, Kalli Collins, Cal Poly State University, 6.6. 8/9, Megan Corey, New Mexico State University; and Casi Sharp, Texas A & M University, 6.8. (total on three) 1, Stephanie Jacks, Hill College, 19.6. 2, Kayla Dobbins, Central Wyoming College, 21.2. 3, Jessica Painter, National American University, 21.3. 4, Martha Beagley, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 21.9. 5, Kelly Koeppen, Panhandle State University, 22.0. 6, Lacey Curr, National American University, 22.2. 7, Megan Sutfin, University of Idaho, 22.6. 8, Amber Overstreet, University of Montana Western, 23.1.
Team Roping: (third round leaders) 1, Dakota Shipp and Kory Bramwell, Ranger College, 4.7 seconds. 2, Chance Parker, and Hugh Bragg, Southern Arkansas University, 6.0. 3, Nathan McWhorter, Northeast Texas Community College, and Scott LeDoux, Hill College, 6.1. 4, Odo Grandi, and Ted Walker, University of Idaho, 6.2. 5, Turner Harris and Chase Carson, Dickinson State University, 7.4. 6, John Reese, and Chase Whittaker, Utah State University, 8.7. 7, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University and JW Townsend, New Mexico Junior College, 12.2. 8, Mitchell Barney, and Coleman Proctor, Northwest Oklahoma State University, 12.3. (total on three) 1, Chance Parker and Hugh Bragg, Southern Arkansas University, 25.6. 2, Nathan McWhorter, Northeast Texas Community College and Scott Ledoux, Hill College, 38.5. 3, John Reese, and Chase Whittaker, Utah State University, 40.4. 4, Kelsey Johnson and Lee Whitney, Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, 45.6. 5, Mitchell Barney and Coleman Procter, Northwest Oklahoma State University, 46.8. 6, James Mader, Tarleton State University, and JW Townsend, New Mexico Junior College, 46.9. 7, Courtney Dobson, Weber State University and Clint Arave, Idaho State University, 48.3. 8, Tyler Johnson, and Justin Binder, Northwest Oklahoma State University, 54.9.
Women’s Barrel Racing: (third round leaders) 1, Robin Webb, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 13.81 seconds. 2, Alicia Sandoval, New Mexico Junior College, 13.85. 3, Nellie Williams, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 13.89. 4, Codi Fuller, University of Idaho, 13.90. 5, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 14.08. 6, Krista Minow, National American University, 14.19. 7/8, Tanaye Carroll, Northeastern Junior College and Whitney Gibson, Vernon College, 14.21. (total on three) 1, Alicia Sandoval, New Mexico Junior College, 42.02. 2, Whtney Gibson, Vernon College, 42.47. 3, Jordan Hodges, University of Wyomibng, 42.61. 4, Robin Webb, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 42.69. 5, Bailey Gow, New Mexico State University, 42.75. 6, Krista Minow, National American University, 43.00. 7, Tanaye Carroll, Northeastern Junior College, 43.03. 8, Jaymie Leach, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, 43.29.
Bull Riding: (third round ) 1, Mac Erickson, University of Montana Western, 82.0. 2, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 79. 3/4, Seth Glause, Central Wyoming College, and Logan Allen, Ranger College, 78. 5, Beau Schroeder, McNeese State University, 71. 6, Craig Begay, Central Arizona State University, 66. (total on three) 1, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 228. 2, Seth Glause, Central Wyoming College, 226. 3, Beau Schroeder, McNeese State University, 225. 4, Taggert Elliott, College of Southern Idaho, 142. 5, Craig Begay, Central Arizona College, 139.
Team Standings: (men’s) Ranger College, 690 points. 2, Southern Arkansas University, 300. 3, Northeast Texas Community College, 395. 4, Utah Valley State College, 285. (women’s) 1, University of Wyoming, 385. 2, Sam Houston State University, 270. 3, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 225. 4, Vernon College, 195.
All-Around Standings: (men’s) 1, Taylor White, Utah Valley State College, 210. 2, Steven Dent, Ranger College, 180. . (women’s) 1, Jamie Mader, Tarleton State University, 140. 2, Jacque Murray, South Dakota State University, 115.
NMSU RODEO
COLLEGE NATIONAL FINALS RODEO
There are 378 student-athletes competing here, from 11 Regions and 142 institutions of higher learning.
These are the NMSU results from the first round, showing student, event, time/score, and placement if any. Points are only awarded for 8 places, and only for those students designated as a team member (NMSU has 17 CNFR qualifiers, but only the 10 designated team members can score points).
There are three full rounds, with the top 12 contestants in each event brought back Saturday night for the Championship Round.
Brooklyn Chester, Breakaway, 2.8 seconds, 7th.
Chad Steele, Bulls, NS
Darren Albrecht, Bulls, NS
Clay Geronimo, Bareback, NS
Nathan Brown, Saddle Bronc, NS
Dean Daly, Saddle Bronc, 72
Bailey Gow, Barrells, 14.47, 7th.
Clay Acuna, CR, 10.9
Chance Means, CR, 10.6
Wacey Walraven, CR, 9.3, 2nd.
Bailey Gow, Goats, 7.1
Megan Corey, Goats, 7.5
Jonna Bizzell, Goats, 6.8, Split 6th-8th
JoDan Mirabal-Aaron Shelley, TR, 27.5 (three loops)
Chance Means-Matt Garza, TR, 8.1
COLLEGE NATIONAL FINALS RODEO
There are 378 student-athletes competing here, from 11 Regions and 142 institutions of higher learning.
These are the NMSU results from the first round, showing student, event, time/score, and placement if any. Points are only awarded for 8 places, and only for those students designated as a team member (NMSU has 17 CNFR qualifiers, but only the 10 designated team members can score points).
There are three full rounds, with the top 12 contestants in each event brought back Saturday night for the Championship Round.
Brooklyn Chester, Breakaway, 2.8 seconds, 7th.
Chad Steele, Bulls, NS
Darren Albrecht, Bulls, NS
Clay Geronimo, Bareback, NS
Nathan Brown, Saddle Bronc, NS
Dean Daly, Saddle Bronc, 72
Bailey Gow, Barrells, 14.47, 7th.
Clay Acuna, CR, 10.9
Chance Means, CR, 10.6
Wacey Walraven, CR, 9.3, 2nd.
Bailey Gow, Goats, 7.1
Megan Corey, Goats, 7.5
Jonna Bizzell, Goats, 6.8, Split 6th-8th
JoDan Mirabal-Aaron Shelley, TR, 27.5 (three loops)
Chance Means-Matt Garza, TR, 8.1
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
NMSU RODEO - END OF SEASON STANDINGS
National
Men's Team
2. NMSU
Women's Team
1. NMSU
GRAND CANYON REGION
Men's Team
1. NMSU
Women's Team
1. NMSU
Men's All-Around
3. Chance Means
4. Matt Garza
5. Tony Steele
6. Chad Steele
8. JoDan Mirabal
10 Tanner Crofts
Women's All-Around
1. Bailey Gow
3. Jonna Bizzell
4. Brittany Striegel
5. Staci Stanbrough
6. Julie Etchegaray
7. Brooklyn Chester
Saddle Bronc Riding
2. Dean Dailey
3. Tanner Crofts
4. Charles Allen
5. Nathan Brown
8. Daniel Etsitty
Bareback Riding
2. Tanner Crofts
5. Daniel Etsitty
6. Clay Geronimo
9. Chauncy Kirby
Bull Riding
2. Chad Steele
3. Daren Albrecht
5. Tony Steele
8. Daniel Etsitty
Tie Down Roping
1. Chance Means
2. Clay Acuna
3. Wacey Walraven
5. JoDan Mirabal
7. Ty Winterton
8. Tyson Runyan
10 Matt Garza
Steer Wrestling
3. JW Nicholson
4. Tanner Robinson
5. Frank Krentz
7. Chad Steele
Team Roping Header
1. Chance Means
3. JoDan Mirabal
4. Tony Steele
5. Aaron Moyers
8. Daniel Scalva
8. Jared Gonzales
Team Roping Heeler
1. Matt Garza
3. Aaron Shelley
4. Casey Felton
Barrell Racing
1. Bailey Gow
2. Staci Stanbrough
4. Brittany Striegel
5. Callie Rios
7. Ana Estrada
8. Julie Etchegaray
Break Away
2. Brooklyn Chester
4. Tori Bilberry
5. Jonna Bizzell
6. Dusti Franklin
7. Joni Brakebill
8. Megan Wilkerson
9. Staci Stanbough
10 Bailey Gow
Goat Tying
1. Megan Corey
2. Jonna Bizzell
3. Bailey Gow
4. Brittany Striegel
6. Julie Etchgaray
8. Brooklyn Chester
9. Kayla Goode
10 Amanda Suits
National
Men's Team
2. NMSU
Women's Team
1. NMSU
GRAND CANYON REGION
Men's Team
1. NMSU
Women's Team
1. NMSU
Men's All-Around
3. Chance Means
4. Matt Garza
5. Tony Steele
6. Chad Steele
8. JoDan Mirabal
10 Tanner Crofts
Women's All-Around
1. Bailey Gow
3. Jonna Bizzell
4. Brittany Striegel
5. Staci Stanbrough
6. Julie Etchegaray
7. Brooklyn Chester
Saddle Bronc Riding
2. Dean Dailey
3. Tanner Crofts
4. Charles Allen
5. Nathan Brown
8. Daniel Etsitty
Bareback Riding
2. Tanner Crofts
5. Daniel Etsitty
6. Clay Geronimo
9. Chauncy Kirby
Bull Riding
2. Chad Steele
3. Daren Albrecht
5. Tony Steele
8. Daniel Etsitty
Tie Down Roping
1. Chance Means
2. Clay Acuna
3. Wacey Walraven
5. JoDan Mirabal
7. Ty Winterton
8. Tyson Runyan
10 Matt Garza
Steer Wrestling
3. JW Nicholson
4. Tanner Robinson
5. Frank Krentz
7. Chad Steele
Team Roping Header
1. Chance Means
3. JoDan Mirabal
4. Tony Steele
5. Aaron Moyers
8. Daniel Scalva
8. Jared Gonzales
Team Roping Heeler
1. Matt Garza
3. Aaron Shelley
4. Casey Felton
Barrell Racing
1. Bailey Gow
2. Staci Stanbrough
4. Brittany Striegel
5. Callie Rios
7. Ana Estrada
8. Julie Etchegaray
Break Away
2. Brooklyn Chester
4. Tori Bilberry
5. Jonna Bizzell
6. Dusti Franklin
7. Joni Brakebill
8. Megan Wilkerson
9. Staci Stanbough
10 Bailey Gow
Goat Tying
1. Megan Corey
2. Jonna Bizzell
3. Bailey Gow
4. Brittany Striegel
6. Julie Etchgaray
8. Brooklyn Chester
9. Kayla Goode
10 Amanda Suits
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