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PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID GILLETTE, WY PERMIT NO. 5105
The Campbell 00 $1. County Observer
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Volume 4 • Issue 36
September 5 - 12, 2014
Cemetary Staff Honored to This Week’s www.campbellcountyobserver.net June 17 - 24, 2011 Help Bring Closure to Family “If it doesn’t have to do with Campbell County, we don’t care!” Highlights
n June 18th this year, the University of North Texas Health Science Center notified the Campbell County Sheriff’s office that an association was noted between the genetic data obtained from an unidentified female discovered in Campbell County in 1983 and DNA samples submitted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The DNA samples came from the parents, sister and daughter of Mary Lynn Andersen who was reported missing in 1986. Andersen’s family had last heard from her in 1982 while she was living in Gillette. Next week Andersen’s remains will be reunited with her family. “For the staff this is a big deal for us. She was unidentified since 1983 and to
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finally be able to put a name to her and get her back where I think she belongs” ---Campbell County Cemetery district sexton Darin Edmonds. Edmonds said his staff is honored to be working with the Campbell County Sheriff’s office in helping bring Andersen’s family some closure. “Her family has probably been desperately looking for closure since 1983. We take a lot of pride in being able to help with that closure. Early next week we are, after getting all the necessary permits, going to disinter Mary Andersen’s remains and return them to the family in Minnesota”. --- Edmonds Mary Andersen sometimes went by her married name Mary Shondel. Her death remains under investigation. The Campbell County Sheriff’s office requests that anyone with any information about Anderson or her death please contact the Sheriff’s office. On August 10, 1983, the body of an unidentified female homicide victim was discovered in the state gravel pit on North Highway 59 by state highway department employees. The female’s remains were sent to the Wyoming Cleaning State Crime Lab, where & it was estimated that the Restoration female’s death had occurred approximately one year prior to the discovery of her body. On June 18, 2014, the University of North Texas Health Science Center notified the CCSO that an association was noted between the genetic data obtained from the unidentified female discovered in Campbell County in 1983 and DNA samples submitted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which came from the parents, sister, and daughter of Mary Lynn Andersen, who was reported as a missing person by the Becker County Sheriff’s Office in
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Mary was age 23 when her body was found. She is pictured above with her daughter. Her daughter is now 34. Detroit Lakes, Minnesota in 1986. Mary’s family last heard from her in 1982, when she was living in Gillette. Mary traveled frequently and had occasional contact with her family. She wasn’t reported missing until her family hadn’t heard from her for several years. Mary had epilepsy and had grand mal seizures as often as once a week. She did not drive or hold down a job because of her epilepsy. Mary was 5’6”, weighed about 120 pounds and had brown hair and brown eyes. Mary spent about a week in the hospital in Gillette in October of 1982, and she may have arrived in Gillette as early as May of 1982. The CCSO is working with Mary’s family to learn as much as possible about her associations and the places she may have frequented in Gillette. Mary was killed sometime after October 18, 1982 and buried in a shallow grave in the gravel pit where her body was found in August 1983. Mary sometimes used her married name, Shondel, and may have come to Gillette with her husband, Herb Shondel. Herb passed away in 2002. The CCSO requests that anyone with any information about Mary or her death please contact the Sheriff’s Office.
Campbell Co. School District First Day Enrollment Statistics
First Day Enrollment School as of 10 a.m. Buffalo Ridge 490 Conestoga 441 Cottonwood 264 4-J 37 Hillcrest 434 Lakeview 465 Little Powder 27 Meadowlark 274 Paintbrush 422 Prairie Wind 492 Pronghorn 455 Rawhide 226 Recluse 33 Rozet 356 Sunflower 418 Wagonwheel 409 CCHS 1609 Sage Valley 1025 Twin Spruce 901 Westwood 120 Wright Junior/Senior High 220 Campbell County Virtual School 31 TOTAL 9149
Gonorrhea Case Reports Spiking in Wyoming With a significantly increased number of reported gonorrhea cases this year, especially in Campbell County, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) is reminding residents that preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases remains important. “So far this year 19 cases of gonorrhea have been reported just in Campbell County with 56 cases reported across Wyoming,” said Courtney Smith, communicable disease surveillance manager with WDH. “Because approximately 60 cases of gonorrhea are typically reported statewide each year, we think this level of activity is something to
be concerned with.” Tai Cooper, communicable disease prevention manager with WDH, said gonorrhea is transmitted through unprotected sexual activity. “If left untreated, gonorrhea can cause serious health complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility in women. It’s essential that anyone infected get tested and properly treated.” “If you are at risk of infection from a sexually transmitted disease it is important that you get tested because many people who have gonorrhea or other STDs do not show or feel symptoms,” Cooper continued. To learn more about the risk factors for
gonorrhea infection, please visitwww. knowyo.org or discuss with a medical professional. WDH offers free gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis B and C and HIV laboratory testing and treatment for those at risk of infection. To get a voucher for free testing, visit www. knowyo.org or text “know” to 91011. Vouchers can be printed from the website (text vouchers can be shown on phones) and taken to local clinics. “If someone finds out they are infected, it’s important to ensure their partners are also tested and treated,” Cooper said. “We realize that may not always be easy. There is help available to get through that task.”