Daily Archives: January 9, 2012

Duty calls: Volunteering was start to public office for several women legislators

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Duty calls: Volunteering was start to public office for several women legislators.

Rep. Cathy Connolly, D-Laramie, said she was involved in her community as a parent whose son went to the alternative high school.

Rep. Cathy Connolly, D-Laramie, said she was involved in her community as a parent whose son went to the alternative high school.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Like many other women who run for elected office, Rosie Berger’s entry into politics was preceded by volunteer work.

As a business owner, it was important for Berger to be involved in her community of Big Horn.

In 2002, she participated in the Leadership Wyoming training program, enhanced her skills and learned more about the cultures, businesses and people across the state.

“I am a strong proponent of volunteer work. Start with what you are trained in and share your expertise. Then you can branch out and volunteer in an area you are unfamiliar with, but believe in the project,” Berger said.

When a seat opened in the Wyoming House, Berger ran for election and won.

A Republican, she is now co-chairman of the state’s Joint Appropriations Committee. She was recently elected chairwoman of the Council of State Governments-West.

Berger also is a founder of the Wyoming Women’s Legislative Caucus, a networking organization that encourages more women to run for the state House and Senate. And she is a spokeswoman for the Leap Into Leadership training program primarily for women.

The caucus is entering its sixth year of operation, while the leadership program is entering its fifth year.

Women such as Berger are hoping to help and to inspire other women to run for public office.

Currently only 15 percent of the 90 legislative seats are held by women — the lowest ratio in years. One woman serves in the Senate and 13 in the House.

Rep. Sue Wallis, R-Recluse, was raised in a politically oriented family and lively discussions were common around their dinner table.

Her father and mentor is former state Rep. Dick Wallis, a former Joint Appropriations Committee chairman.

Wallis said her parents challenged their children to find solutions to problems rather than just complain.

“We were always encouraged to be engaged and felt like we were empowered to go out and figure out ways to change things that were wrong,” she said.

Over the years, Wallis said she learned how to pick her battles and look for places where she could make a difference.

“Running for office seemed like an opportunity to make a difference,” said Wallis, a member of the Joint Appropriations Committee.

Rep. Mary Throne, D-Cheyenne, also had a relative in the Legislature who served as a role model. Her cousin, the late Lynn Dickey of Sheridan, also served in the state House.

“It was something I watched her doing and wanted to do someday when the timing was right,” Throne said. “And I’ve been a political junkie ever since I can remember.

“When I decided to run, it was a confluence of personal, professional and political timing,” she added. “I tell people they have to seize the opportunity when it comes along.”

Throne is the House Minority Leader. She said she believes in diversity in the Legislature. An attorney, she is the only working mother in the Legislature with children still living at home.

Rep. Cathy Connolly, D-Laramie, said she was involved in her community as a parent whose son went to the alternative high school. She was chairwoman of the parent-faculty group.

The University of Wyoming professor also was a member of the board for the Safe Project and was involved in social justice issues.

Connolly said Sue Iberra, chairwoman of the Albany County School District Board, asked her to run when Jane Warren of Laramie decided not to seek re-election.

“I felt it was time for me to step up.

“Wyoming is a small enough state that if you see something that could be done better, you have an obligation to do it. We live in a state where that can happen,” Connolly said.

The women lawmakers speak highly of the legislative caucus.

An informal organization, it allows women legislators to connect with each other.

It is easier for a woman to approach another woman to talk about a bill or to invite her to lunch than it is to approach a man, Connolly said.

“It’s not like we think alike about issues. You will find some of the most conservative people in the Legislature are women,” she said.

The women’s caucus members also encourage other women regardless of political party to consider running for elective office so more women’s voices can be heard.

Rep. Elaine Harvey, R-Lovell, said she never considered running for elected office while earning a spot on the Children’s Resource Center Board. CRC is part of the pre-school system for developmentally disabled children.

Facing serious financial problems, the officers formed an association involving 14 similar resource centers, all nonprofits.

Harvey became the association’s lobbyist.

“I lobbied for three years, and every year I loved the process and the people and the fact that a mom from Lovell, Wyoming, could go down there and make a difference,” Harvey said.

“It left me feeling awestruck and feeling the process does work for the people, and I had a yearning to become a part of that,” she added.

Harvey ran for the House and won and has never regretted her decision.

She is now chairwoman of the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee.

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Filmmaker asks Wyoming residents for pictures, footage of Cheney for documentary

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Filmmaker asks Wyoming residents for pictures, footage of Cheney for documentary | The Republic.

CASPER, Wyo. — A filmmaker is asking Wyoming residents for footage or still pictures of former Vice President Dick Cheney for a documentary.

R.J. Cutler of Actual Reality Pictures placed ads in the Casper Star-Tribune asking for residents’ help, the newspaper reported Sunday (http://bit.ly/x7mMX8).

Cheney lived in Wyoming as a teen and attended the University of Wyoming. He represented Wyoming in Congress from 1979 to 1989.

He was also President Gerald Ford‘s chief of staff in 1975-77. He served as secretary of defense for President George H.W. Bush and was elected vice president on President George W. Bush‘s ticket in 2000 and 2004.

Actual Reality is looking for images that government archives and stock film companies don’t have, said Ryan Gallagher, an associate producer at the company.

He says it’s too early to offer any details.

“Maybe somebody has a home video somewhere that we haven’t heard about and that we’d just like to see,” he said.

The company hasn’t gotten much response, Gallagher said.

The documentary is scheduled to air on Showtime next fall, and it’s too early to offer any details, he said.

Actual Reality also produced “The Warm Room,” about President Bill Clinton‘s 1992 campaign, and “American High,” which followed 14 Illinois high school students through their senior year in 1999-2000.

“American High” won an Emmy, and “The War Room” was nominated for an Oscar.

 

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Lack of snow sends Yellowstone wolf pack wandering

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Lack of snow sends Yellowstone wolf pack wandering.

DOUG SMITH/Yellowstone National Park Members of Mollie's pack trudge through snow in Yellowstone National Park in early December. The pack, the largest in the park, has moved out of its traditional Pelican Valley this winter and relocated to the area of Specimen Ridge. Read more: http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/lack-of-snow-sends-yellowstone-wolf-pack-wandering/article_a726467a-3a77-11e1-9fbb-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1izDIUKV2

DOUG SMITH/Yellowstone National Park Members of Mollie's pack trudge through snow in Yellowstone National Park in early December. The pack, the largest in the park, has moved out of its traditional Pelican Valley this winter and relocated to the area of Specimen Ridge. Read more: http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/lack-of-snow-sends-yellowstone-wolf-pack-wandering/article_a726467a-3a77-11e1-9fbb-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1izDIUKV2

BILLINGS – Usually content to stay in Yellowstone National Park’s remote Pelican Valley, where they specialize in killing bison, Mollie’s wolf pack has migrated more than 20 miles to the Lamar Valley this winter, probably in search of food, and killing other park wolves along the way.

Their excursion isn’t uncommon. The wolves have explored the region as far back as 2000, and the pack’s founders came from the Lamar Valley, said Doug Smith, the park’s wolf biologist.

What is different is the extent to which they’ve migrated – all the way to the valley’s lower reaches, near the mouth of Slough Creek. Also unusual is the reason they’ve left their interior haven just north of Yellowstone Lake – a lack of snow. And the wolves have stayed longer than they typically do. Usually, they only visit the region for a few days. This time, they’ve already been there for more than two weeks.

Yellowstone has received little snowfall this season. The park opened only one entrance to snowmobiles in mid-December because other roadways were still bare or mostly clear of snow. Only late last week did the park finally allow snowmobile travel.

Snow is important to Mollie’s pack for hunting.

“Bison are the hardest prey for wolves to kill, so they need a little help from the snow,” Smith said.

Deep snow helps weaken bison, making it harder for them to feed and move. Wolves will also chase bison into deep snow, where they’re easier to attack without the wolves being kicked or charged.

The 19-member Mollie’s pack, the largest in the park, has become well-known for its adaptations to killing bison. To bring down the 1,000- to 2,000-pound beasts, Mollie’s has nurtured some of the park’s largest wolves. But even large wolves are no match for bison when there is little or no snow, like this year. And last year’s deep snow helped Mollie’s cull many of the weak bison from Pelican Valley, Smith said.

“So the bison that are there now are the cream of the crop,” he said.

Despite the lack of snow, the interior region’s elk have already left, so they are no longer an available food source.

***

Mollie’s pack traveled north, past the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Mount Washburn to reach Specimen Ridge, which overlooks the Lamar Valley and its large herds of bison and elk. Because Specimen Ridge is the traditional home range of the eight-member Agate Creek pack, the intruders had to carve out some room.

“They’re throwing their weight around,” Smith said.

Smith’s team had radio collars on two of the Agate Creek pack members. Both were killed in mid-December when Mollie’s pack arrived, including the alpha male and a yearling male. That makes it difficult for Smith to keep track of the Agate Creek pack. And it makes no sense for his team to fly, dart and collar other wolves as they typically do at this time of year until there’s enough snow on the ground to slow the wolves down, making them easier to track.

“So the beginning of my winter is not starting off well,” Smith said.

This intrusion north isn’t the first this year for Mollie’s pack. In early December, the pack moved into the Hayden Valley, just south of Canyon Village, and killed the alpha male of the 10-member Mary Mountain pack.

Seeing the opening, one of the subordinate males from Mollie’s pack shadowed the Mary Mountain pack for two weeks, keeping its distance. Eventually, the male was admitted to the pack, despite his relatives’ role in the death of the alpha male.

“That’s one of the joys of studying wolves,” Smith said. “They’re hard to predict.”

Mollie’s pack may also have been more restless this winter because of the absence of two wolves. One, a male, was killed when it was kicked in the ribs by a bison or elk. The pack’s alpha female has disappeared and a new female has stepped in to fill the void.

With the deaths, the park’s wolf population unofficially numbers about 100 animals – comprised of 10 packs and eight breeding pairs. Last year, the wolf population stood at 97. The numbers seem to have stabilized, Smith said.