Holy marijuana, Batman! Nevada Highway Patrol pulled over and subsequently arrested a car containing a man and a woman from Minnesota who were carrying more than 100 pounds of marijuana.

A trooper stopped the car for a routine traffic violation on Interstate 80 by West Wendover. The driver and passenger, Kim Singrattana and Russell Castillo, 45 and 36 respectively, looked suspicious to the officer and he requested a search warrant. After releasing the suspects and obtaining a warrant to search the vehicle, he hit the pot mother lode – 103 pounds of the green stuff in separate one pound packages.

The tokin’ twosome were later found and arrested at a trucker’s lounge. They were charged with felony counts of trafficking a controlled substance, unlawful possession and intent to sell a controlled substance. Bail for the Minnesota pair is set at $60,000.

Popularity: 54% [?]

The following is a police blotter for the city of Elko. This list, which does not denote guilt (yet), includes the name, age and city of residence of the accused, their place of arrest, what they are charged with, and their bail.

Jan. 5

Dale Harvey Stevens, 44, Elko

Elko County Jail – Fugitive from justice; $15,000

Amanda Jo Greer, 24, Elko

Elko Police Department – Domestic violence; $3,137

Jeffrey Alan Warrren, 29, Elko

Idaho Street and East Jennings Way – Warrant and failure to use seat belt; no bail

Sammy Joslin Guilbert, 32, Winnemucca

Elko County Jail – Misdemeanor warrant; no bail

Jeffery Michael Brown, 52, Boulder City

U.S. Highway 93 near Wells – Lighted lamps required in mandatory daytime area, driving on suspended license and speeding; $796

Laura Gay Bennett, 46, Elko

422 Elko Estates – Warrant; $5,787

William Murphy Sheridan, 63, Ketchum, Idaho

U.S. Highway 93 near Wells – DUI-drugs, lighted lamps required, driving without a valid license, open container and warrant; $1,930

Dennis Wayne Martin, 49, Carlin

122 Eighth St. – Possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana; $1,374

Andres Alberto Goicoechea, 51, Elko

Interstate 80 eastbound east of Elko – DUI, open container and failure to maintain travel lane; $1,411

Russell Virgil Micheli, 49, Carlin

122 Eighth St. – Possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana; $1,374

Kerry Alan Hedley, 38, Elko

600 block of Douglas Street – DUI, domestic violence and suspended license; $4,436

Jamie Merie Hiles, 31, Elko

600 block of Douglas Street – Battery on an officer; $2,500

Jan. 6

Jerry David Stewart, 29, Elko

Ruby Vista Drive and Golf Course Road – Second offense DUI; $1,197

Brandon Dewayne Clark, 34, Albuquerque,. N.M.

Elko County Jail – Warrant; $2,500

Julian Blu Mitchell, 20, Elko

1805 Ruby View Drive, No. 22 – Unlawful possession for sale of a controlled substance, unlawful possession not for sale, drug paraphernalia, three counts child endangerment and minor possessing alcohol; $16,989

Callie Michelle Tregidja, 20, Elko

1805 Ruby View Drive, No. 22 – Unlawful possession for sale of a controlled substance, unlawful possession not for sale, drug paraphernalia, three counts child endangerment and minor possessing alcohol; $16,989

Jose DeJesus Ojeda-Martinez, 19, Stockton, Calif.

Interstate 80 near Elko – Trafficking 28 ounces or more of a controlled substance, possession of falsely obtained documents; $520,000

Juan Pablo Rodriguez-Castro, 25, Elko

12th and Silver streets -Two warrants; $976

Juan Carlos Leon-Quinonez, 22, Hunting Park, Calif.

Interstate 80 near Elko – Trafficking 28 ounces or more of a controlled substance and falsely obtained documents; $520,000

Popularity: 97% [?]

Hard work, scarce pay, lonesome nights, heartbreak and death — common themes of the blues and of the songs, poems and stories of the cowboy. Cowboy culture is a blend of traditions and influences — blues and other African American cultural traditions have been a major influence on the evolution of western music. The 27th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, January 24-29, in Elko, Nevada, will explore the connections between traditional cowboy and western music and traditional African American blues music.

Among the blues programs at the Gathering, legendary folk singer Ramblin’ Jack Elliott will perform music from his GRAMMY Award-winning album, A Stranger Here. After last year’s Gathering, Jack headed to Los Angeles to receive the GRAMMY Award for Best Traditional Blues Recording for his CD A Stranger Here. At this Gathering, Jack will share a sampling of this blues music—all pre-World War II tunes that Jack knew and loved. He will be joined by a few of the revered musicians featured on his award-winning album, including pianist Van Dyke Parks.

Zydeco music is a synthesis of traditional Creole, Cajun and African-American music including R&B, blues, jazz and gospel. Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie will perform their special brand of foot-stompin’ zydeco from the bayou country of southwest Louisiana. And Sourdough Slim and Robert Armstrong will present blues and old-time music reminiscent of the 1920s and 30s, including Jimmie Rodgers songs.

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is the nation’s largest annual celebration of cowboy culture. For six days in January the community of Elko welcomes thousands of cowboys and cowgirls, poets and musicians, artisans and scholars, rural and city people—all of whom share a love of the American West and the artistic traditions of ranching and cowboy culture. More than 60 poets and musicians from the U.S., Canada, Australia and Hungary will perform on eight stages at five different venues throughout Elko. Additional highlights include cowboys from Hungary, the Marshall Ford Swing Band (featuring Emily Gimble, granddaughter of Texas fiddle legend Johnny Gimble), songwriting legend Ian Tyson, the fiddlin’ Quebe Sisters, Wylie and the Wild West, and renowned cowboy poets Waddie Mitchell, Baxter Black and Wallace McRae. Tickets to the 27th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering can be purchased online at www.westernfolklife.org/cowboypoetrygathering or by calling 888-880-5885.

Popularity: 44% [?]

In a move that will increase the transparency of its records, the Bureau of Land Management published in last Wednesday’s Federal Register  a notice announcing a change in the way that the agency handles certain personal information relating to public land ranchers. With the change, which is consistent with a recent ruling of the U.S. District Court for Idaho, the BLM will post on a publicly accessible Website reports that include the official mailing addresses of nearly 18,000 BLM grazing permittees and lessees. Personal telephone numbers of and financial information about public land ranchers will not be made available on the publicly accessible Website.

The record system change, formally known as a notice of amendment to an existing system of records, seeks to balance mandates from two Federal laws with different purposes — the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) of 1966 (as amended), which calls for full or partial disclosure of certain government records, and the Privacy Act of 1974 (as amended), which establishes procedures governing the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personal identifying information about individuals.

Unless comments are received that would require a contrary determination, the change will take effect after a 40-day public comment period that began Dec. 29 and ends Feb. 7, 2011. Anyone interested in commenting on the amendment may do so by submitting written comments to BLM Privacy Office, 1849 C Street, N.W., Room 725 LS, Washington, D.C. 20240. E-mailed comments should be sent to privacy@blm.gov. Commenters should be aware that the entire content of their comments, including their personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. For further information, please contact Robert Roudabush, Division Chief, Rangeland Resources, Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C Street, N.W., Room 201 LS, Washington, D.C. 20240; phone number: 202-912-7222; e-mail: Rob_Roudabush@blm.gov.

Popularity: 38% [?]