State news in short

Single-pickup rollover near Casper, Wyo., kills Montana woman

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) -- A woman from Montana's Fergus County was killed when her pickup truck rolled on Interstate 25 near Casper, Wyoming, the Wyoming Highway Patrol reported Monday.

The accident occurred at about 11 a.m. Saturday, 10 miles north of Casper, when Tana R. Whitney, 20, of Roy, Mont., lost control of the pickup truck she was driving as it crossed an icy bridge deck. The pickup continued to the end of the bridge deck where it then left the roadway, going into the median, and rolled twice.

Whitney was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle.

She was pronounced dead a short time later at a hospital in Casper, the Wyoming patrol said.

Police accuse man of brandishing gun in arrest on Sunday

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) -- A suspect is accused of pulling a gun on a Great Falls police officer Sunday as the man was being arrested in downtown Great Falls.

Police responded to a report of shots being fired Sunday at 3:17 a.m. Officers found Martin Hope, 46, in an argument with a woman behind the downtown Triple Crown Motor Inn.

While Officer Rob Beall was in the process of putting handcuffs on Hope, Hope pulled a 9mm pistol from his waistband, spun around and pointed it at Beall, according to police Sgt. Scott Van Every.

Other officers on the scene assisted Beall, and they were able to subdue and disarm the Hope. No one was injured.

Hope allegedly fired 14 rounds at the nearby Set Free Christian Fellowship before officers arrived. In all he fired 22 rounds, hitting a window in the Times Square complex and other downtown buildings, police said.

Hope is charged with felony counts of criminal mischief, assault on a police officer, criminal endangerment, desecration of a place of worship, unlawful possession of a firearm and a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon.

He is being held at the Cascade County Regional Jail on $105,560 bond.

EIS comment period extended

WEST GLACIER, Mont. (AP) -- Glacier National Park has extended the public comment period to Jan. 29 for a draft environmental impact statement on avalanche hazard reduction by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.

The extension was requested by BNSF.

The railroad wants to use artillery shells to trigger avalanches in the national park to keep snowslides from blocking the tracks.

The park service would prefer the railroad build snow sheds to protect the track. Park officials say blasting would have too much impact on visitors, wildlife and wilderness.

Varley tapped for MSU slot

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) -- John Varley, former director of the Yellowstone Center for Resources at Yellowstone National Park, has been named executive director of the Big Sky Institute at Montana State University.

Varley, 65, will begin a three-year appointment on Jan. 16, said MSU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs David Dooley.

Varley follows Lisa Graumlich, who resigned to become director of the School of Natural Resources at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Varley, who retired in February and moved to Bozeman, said, "I wasn't looking for another job. They thought I had some skills I could bring to MSU. It looked very exciting to me."

In his new position, Varley said he will look at the Big Sky Institute's educational and science mission.He will continue to help develop the concept of MSU as the University of the Yellowstone.