Week of July 25, 2024
Fair pictures, new EV charging station, political profiles and...
During fair week, Breck Buer says you might see him picking up fairgrounds trash in the morning and playing guitar on stage in the evening. An electrician, a musician and a dedicated Christian, Buer is Washakie County’s head of maintenance. Buer hails from a tiny town in northwestern South Dakota called Buffalo. After attending electrician school in Rapid City, Buer initially took a job in Jackson, Wyoming, but came to Worland in 1998, soon after his father moved here. He found work with Jadeco Electric and married a local gal. “I met my...
The Washakie Museum & Cultural Center, which also serves as the Washakie County Visitor Center, officially opened its two new electrical vehicle (EV) charging stations during a ribbon cutting July 17. Museum Board member George Sheaff stated, "Advanced technology and service enabled us to move forward with this project. It has been a part of our future planning for about three years. Our board of directors and staff at the Museum are very proud to present Worland its first EV charging station."...
The Washakie County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees approved their 2024-2025 fiscal year budget at the July 17 meeting. The district has approved $20,717,012 in appropriations, an increase of $57,637 from the prior year. This includes $15 million in capital construction amid the ongoing project of constructing a new school building. The district’s business manager Rachel Casteel explained the increase, saying, “The increase is primarily due to our salary schedule increase of the base from $43,000 to $44,000. Our building support...
On March 16, a grassroots committee hosted the Worland Mental Fitness Fair at the Worland Community Center. Members of the panel were Dr. Ralph Louis, psychologist from Oxbow Center in Basin; Janae Harman, owner of Family Circle Counseling in Worland; Mary Johnson, CEO of Oxbow Center in Worland; and Carol Bell, provisionally licensed therapist at Foundations Counseling in Cody. The panel answered prepared questions that came from the committee and from similar events in Shell, Greybull and Cowley. The Northern Wyoming News will be covering...
Where do you currently live and how long have you lived in Washakie County? I was born and raised in Ten Sleep and I have lived here my whole life, outside of the two years I went to college in Powell and three years in Spearfish, South Dakota. I graduated from high school in Ten Sleep, and all of my children have as well. Why are you running for Washakie County Commissioner? I have had the honor of serving as a Washakie County Commissioner for the last 16 years. I love this job, and I am...
Where do you currently live and how long have you lived in Washakie County? My wife and I both have lived in Worland all of our lives. We were both born in the library (old hospital). Why are you running for Washakie County Commissioner? I have wanted to run for county commissioner for the last, I believe, 10 years. The only problem was I was the maintenance man for the county. And I liked my job too well to just quit my job. I couldn't be a maintenance man for the county and be a county...
Where do you currently live and how long have you lived in Senate District 20? I currently reside outside of Ten Sleep. I was born in Thermopolis up on Hospital Hill for those of us that remember. My family first came to the southern Big Born Basin in 1906. We have been continuously involved in agriculture here from that time. I was raised in Worland on sheep and sugar beets, finishing high school in Ten Sleep. My grandsons recently graduated fourth generation from Ten Sleep Schools. This is...
Where do you currently live and how long have you lived in Senate District 20? My wife of almost 20 years and our two boys live in Basin. In 2020-21, in light of the widespread unconstitutional COVID restrictions and vaccine mandates, our family was faced with the harsh reality of the loss of my 25-year aviation career or conceding my deepest principles of personal freedom. Blessed with the opportunity, my wife set out on a two-week road trip with our oldest son through three states, speaking...
Chronicling the stories of Washakie County and...
With a strong turnout, the Washakie County Fair kicked off with a cornhole tournament on July 20 at the Washakie County Fairgrounds. Thirty-eight teams competed. Winning the first ever Washakie County Fair cornhole tournament were Jim McBride and Nick Donnell. The other placing teams were, in second place, Cole McKinnon and Chad Baumann; third place, Fabian Deniz and Michael McKinnon; fourth place, Richie Velasquez and Mike Neufer; fifth place, Jamie Baumann and...
Fair week wraps up in the next few days. Hopefully you have ventured out to the Washakie County Fairgrounds to check out the hard work from the youth and from many adults in the community who have entered projects in open class. What you have missed is the horse show, cornhole tournament, the 4-H judging but you can still check out all the projects on display; you missed the swine show, dog show and public style revue where 4-H members modeled their sewing projects; you missed the goat and sheep show, open class exhibit judging, the cat show...
