Cheyenne City Councilman Jim Brown (Amy Richards/TSM)

The Cheyenne City Council held a work session on the proposed Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Friday.  Mayor Rick Kaysen told the council that the total General Fund Budget as proposed for FY 2013 is $49,560,879 a 1.8 percent decrease from the original  FY 2012 budget.

Kaysen said a challenge in the FY 2013 Budget was the loss of approximately $1.1 million from the state as a direct distribution. In addition to the reduced amount, the 2012 budget session of the Wyoming Legislature added language that limited the use of the direct distribution funds. Councilman Jim Brown said it’s an “austere” budget, but he is pleased with it. Councilman Jack Spiker says he is concerned the budget cuts a little too much in some areas such as in the Cheyenne Police Department.

Riverton, Wyoming (Courtesy Riverton Chamber of Commerce)

Riverton’s water supply is being cut by nearly 40 percent because of drought conditions. Doug Randall reports. Charges are pending against several individuals after Wyoming Game and Fish Department game wardens conducted increased law enforcement efforts on southwest Wyoming crucial big game winter ranges, before the May 1st antler season opener. Click past the jump to listen to Wyoming Radio News.

YouTube

A small group of seniors at Cascade High School in Clayton, IN celebrated their upcoming graduation with a prank, covering school doors, offices and windows with more than 12,000 colorful Post-It notes.

But the school superintendent apparently didn’t think it was so funny — he suspended almost 60 students, and a janitor accused of helping during the prank could lose her job.

Five seniors and one junior were suspended for two days, and superintendent Patrick Spray also recommended the custodian be fired. Dozens of outraged students took to the school gym to stage a sit-in protest — which resulted in scores of more one-day suspensions.

“Disrupting the school day and causing a disruption during the school day is not justified,” Spray said. “It’s part of every school’s code of conduct, and I believe it’s very consistent.”

Kim Rouse, the custodian whose job is at risk, said she didn’t let the students in the building as Spray believes, but is “overwhelmed with all the kids’ support. That does help me a lot.”

Watch a news story about the episode below.

[RTV6]

jar0d, flickr

Researchers now say they can tell whether people are depressed without even talking to them first — all they have to do is watch how those individuals use the internet.

In a study conducted at Missouri University of Science and Technology, researchers watched the internet habits of more than 200 students who were later tested for signs of depression.

The researchers then cross-referenced the information, and found that the depressed group had markedly different ways of using the internet than everyone else.

Specifically, those who were depressed frequently switched among applications, used email and chat programs more often, watched more online videos, and played more online games. Study researcher Sriram Chellappan said the haphazard nature of the students’ internet usage may indicate trouble concentrating — a characteristic associated with depression.

Chellappan said he’d like to use his findings to develop software that could analyze internet usage patterns to predict the onset of depression, adding that such software may be useful to counselors on college campuses.

[LiveScience]

Deputy Chance Walkama, Sheriff Danny Glick (Doug Randall/TSM)

The Laramie County Sheriff’s Department recognized several agency members for outstanding service on Friday. That included a Purple Heart Award for Deputy Chance Walkama, who was shot by a suspect at the Fairfield Inn last November.

Walkama has since recovered and is back on active duty at the department. Sheriff Danny Glick recalled that Walkama had refused pain killers at the hospital and continued to be concerned about his fellow deputies and even the man who shot him. Glick said Walkama’s performance made him proud to lead such a group of people. Other award recipients were recognized for such things as saving the lives of prisoners who attempted to commit suicide at the jail as well as long-time service to the department. Glick himself received an award for 30 years of service at the award ceremony.

(Justin Sullivan/Getty)

Wyoming Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) voted with the majority this week to pass a bill that reauthorizes the 1994 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).  Grocery store workers in Wyoming and Colorado have reached a contract agreement. Doug Randall has the details on that story. Click past the jump to listen to Wyoming Radio News.

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Everyone’s been buzzing about Facebook’s IPO for weeks. But as shares of the social networking site began trading on Friday, analysts warned that not everyone should jump into the fray.

“Yes, it’s the biggest investing storyline of the year, but I would tell the average investor: stay away from Facebook,” said Andrew Tonner, financial editor of the Motley Fool. “Sit on the sidelines. Having interest in the IPO doesn’t necessarily mean you need to participate in it.”

Facebook’s stock offering, initially priced at about $38 a share, is expected to raise $16 billion and value the company at $104 billion. But for investors, experts say there are dangerous risks, pointing to recent technology IPOs like LinkedIn, Zynga, Pandora and Groupon in which only one — LinkedIn — has recently traded above its IPO price.

Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments in Chicago, said there was “no way” she’d buy Facebook shares as an individual investor on the first day of trading. “The institutions have gotten there first,” she said. “And we’re getting their sloppy seconds.”

As of this writing, shares of Facebook are trading at just under $41 — about 7.5 percent higher than the opening price.

Watch Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ring the NASDAQ bell from the company headquarters on Friday.

[ABC News]

Councilman Jimmy Valdez (Amy Richards/TSM)

Cheyenne Ward 1 Councilman Jimmy Valdez says he is running for a fourth  term on the city’s g0verning body. Valdez, a local businessman, says if he is re-elected he would like to work for better planning of city projects as well as completion of those which have already been started. He cites the city’s legal battle to obtain a part of the Hollywood Video parking lot as the sort of situation that should be avoided.

Valdez says rather than the current situation, where city officials are invoking eminent domain and awaiting the outcome of a November court hearing on the issue, planners should have dealt with the issue ahead of time or had an alternative plan available. He says another example of unfinished projects is the tennis courts in Martin Luther King Jr. Park, which remain uncompleted despite the project having been started several years ago. Valdez has commented that he feels the city treats that park differently than parks in other areas of the city.

jimmywayne, flickr

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday re-affirmed it’s decision to deny a re-hearing on a Preliminary Permit Application for Colorado Millionaire Aaron Million’s Flaming Gorge Pipeline Proposal. Governor Matt Mead signed a Memorial Day Proclamation Thursday urging residents to take a moment on Monday May 28 to remember those who have served this country and those who have sacrificed their lives, as well as their families. Click past jump to listen to Wyoming Radio News.

(Courtesy of http://www.courts.state.wy.us/)

An attorney for a Sheridan teenager serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for a 2009 home invasion killing urged the Wyoming Supreme Court to find the teen’s sentence unconstitutional. Doug Randall has the story.  The Wyoming Department of Health is changing the way substance abuse and suicide prevention funding is managed and distributed across the state.  Click past the jump to listen to Wyoming Radio News.