Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
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In hopes of helping others in recovery, Worland resident Megan Lathrop recently started the recovery support group, “Reach for Recovery.” Lathrop said that she has been in recovery since 2019 and after finishing probation, she said, “I spent the next few years building back my life […] and getting back into the community.” While searching for support in the community, Lathrop said she found Worland to be lacking in recovery support groups not affiliated with other organizations. Because of this, Lathrop said she started Reach for Recovery...
State Rep. Martha Lawley (R-HD27, Worland) reported that the Wyoming House of Representatives found themselves working until nearly midnight last week in order to meet the session’s deadlines. While Lawley said it isn’t unheard of for the House to work long days during the budget session, this year’s session had a higher number of amendments than usual, and they oftentimes required thorough discussions. Despite the long week, Lawley said, “It really is a good process, I believe. I think one of the messages I would love for people back home to...
After the first week of her first budget session, Rep. Martha Lawley (R-HD27, Worland) said, “It’s been a really exciting, kind of high paced week. And in my view, it’s been a pretty good week.” Within the first week, the House saw the presentations of committee bills, personal bills and started initial discussions regarding the governor’s proposed budget. PERSONAL BILLS Lawley introduced House Bill (HB) 134, formerly known as HB 121, which makes amendments to the property tax deferral program. According to Lawley, HB134 is intended to help a...
During the Washakie County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 20, the commissioners interviewed six applicants for the vacant position of building maintenance manager. The position was previously held by Ryan Casad, who left the position at the end of January 2023. Previous manager Tom Schmeltzer has been temporarily filling the position. According to Washakie County Clerk Lily Rakness Parra, the commissioners selected Breck Buer for the position. Buer has been the owner of Buer Electric, and said he now hopes to be an asset to the county...
From the office of Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, Amy Crawford and Sherry Joslyn led the monthly Bighorn Basin Outdoor Recreation Collaborative (BBORC) meeting in Basin on Monday, Feb. 12. Rails-to-Trails project manager Kevin Belle was a guest speaker during the meeting and spoke about the Great American Rail-Trail, which plans to go through Worland. According to the Rails-to-Trails website, “The Great American Rail-Trail® is the nation’s first cross-country multiuse trail, stretching more than 3,700 miles between Washington, D.C., and Wash...
Inspired by Cheyenne Frontier Day’s Pick Up Man movement, mental health awareness events have made their way to the Big Horn Basin, including Worland. Hoping to spread the message and end the stigma of talking about mental health, a team of Worland residents are putting together a mental fitness fair. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 16 at the Worland Community Center and will include a free lunch sponsored by Range. Event organizer Kendra Ware said the fair will serve as an opportunity for people to learn about therapy, forms o...
After a lifetime of recreating in the Big Horn Basin, retired teacher John T. Rogers recently published his book, "My Various Nature Experiences." Containing stories that range from fishing and hunting trips to general observations of the world around him, Rogers said that by sharing his own stories, he hopes to inspire others to reminisce about their own past experiences and seek more opportunities to get outside. Long before writing about his adventures, Rogers said he grew up south of Byron....
Going into her first state legislative budget session starting on Monday, Feb. 12, State Rep. Martha Lawley (R-HD27, Worland), said, “I am excited for my first budget session. I have been working for months to prepare for this session and become more familiar with the details of our state budget. Fortunately, I have always loved to learn new things.” Although a budget session requires legislators to complete a balanced budget within 20 legislative days, legislators and committees additionally have the chance to present nonbudget bills that req...
Led by Cheer Coach Nickie Lloyd, the Worland High School cheer team attended the 2024 Wyoming State Spirit competition on Jan. 26 in Casper. According to Lloyd, 13 Worland High School students attended the competition, which they have been preparing for since October. Cheer teams across the state attended the competition, including the University of Wyoming cheer team. Teams that attended and competed in the 3A category with Worland included Buffalo High School, Powell High School and Lovell...
In light of the controversial Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rock Springs resource management plan, State Rep. John Winter (R-HD28), said that the state’s Federal Natural Resource Management Committee is sponsoring a bill for the upcoming budget session with the intention of putting a check on BLM and limit federal government overreach. The Natural Resource Protection Act reads as, “The federal government shall comply with federal law when administering federal lands; The federal government arbitrarily restricting significant amounts of fed...
While winter may have finally started, there are still a variety of opportunities in the community to keep bodies moving and staying active. Ranging from indoor to outdoor activities, for all skill levels and ages, the Worland and Ten Sleep communities have found ways to connect with one another regardless of the season. COMMUNITY CENTER The Worland Community Center, run by director Steve Hunt, has endless opportunities for involvement, and sees people ranging from youth to seniors. The...
Sheri Gunderson, Lila Jolley and Katie Kirby from the Washakie Prevention Coalition (WPC) attended the Washakie County commissioner meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 16 to discuss WPC work and events. They reported that their annual prevention night is on Saturday. Jan 20 in Ten Sleep and Thursday, Jan. 25 in Worland. According to Jolley, Worland’s prevention night will encompass wrestling, and girls and boys basketball. In Ten Sleep, prevention night will be at the basketball game, and will involve the WPC working with students of all ages. Leading u...
Born on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 2:01 a.m., Christopher John Banda became the first reported baby born in Worland of the new year. Erica Banda, Christopher's mother, said he was 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and 19.5 inches at birth. Banda shared that Christopher's birth took 12 minutes from start to finish, and that he arrived just one day before his due date. According to Banda, Christopher is her third baby born with the help of midwife Amy Borrelli. Christopher Banda is Erica and Daniel Banda's fourth...
At the Town of Ten Sleep council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 2, Nowoodstock organizer Pat O’Brien explained to council members how funding the music festival will change moving forward. According to Ten Sleep Mayor Ernie Beckley, groups such as the Wyoming Arts Council had to make financial donations to Nowoodstock through the Town of Ten Sleep, and the town was the, “financial sponsor.” Now, O’Brien said organizations can no longer donate to Nowoodstock through the town and that donations need to be given directly to an entity. Because of thes...
In the absence of former Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission (BAPC) members Scott Fritzler, Landis Benson and Mike Dykman who reached the end of their term limits at the end of 2023, the BAPC welcomed a new member to the commission, Worland resident Steve Siebert. Two seats still remain open on the board. Given that Fritzler and Benson were the board’s previous chairman and vice chairman respectively, the board additionally had to elect a new chairman and vice chairman. Nominations were made for board member Dan Fredrick as chairman a...
Washakie County 4-H volunteer Kathy Bush said that winning the Wyoming 4-H Northwest Region Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer award came to her as a surprise. According to a previous Northern Wyoming News article, the Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer award is one of two awards to which county 4-H programs may nominate volunteers. The award is given to an individual who has spent 10 or more years as a 4-H volunteer, like Bush. Bush, who has been volunteering for Washakie County 4-H for 33 years, said...
Washakie County Sheriff Austin Brookwell attended the Washakie County Commissioner meeting to inform the commissioners about a phone signal booster that he found to be beneficial after initial use and now hopes to install signal boosters on all vehicles. Brookwell said, “It would be super handy to have that extra boost of connectivity.” He said the signal boosters would allow for sheriffs to submit crash reports on scene and overall improve work operations, especially in badlands terrain. Brookwell used the weBoost signal booster, which is inte...
At a ceremony in Ten Sleep on Tuesday, Dec. 19, Washakie County School District No. 2 Superintendent Annie Griffin said, “At Ten Sleep Schools, we believe that it is important to recognize people in our community that continue to positively impact the lives of our students and community.” Because of this, Griffin and the Ten Sleep school board nominated community member and former front office and business manager Doris Anderson for the Champion of Education award. According to the Wyoming Ass...
During the Washakie County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 19, Jim Butterfield and County Attorney Anthony Barton spoke to the commissioners about dissolving the Cottonwood Grass Creek watershed improvement district (WID). Butterfield said, “I’m here again to ask that the WID be dissolved. There’s no activity, and no future activity. Hot Springs County should have already dissolved, and if not, they will shortly, because their county commissioners approved to dissolve it. That’s over 80% of the watershed.” The WID was initially...
Ten Sleep School administrative assistant Janet Collen said she spent most of her life in Ten Sleep, where she grew up on a small ranch outside of town and went on to graduate from Ten Sleep School. After returning to the school to work 14 years ago, Collen now finds herself retiring on Dec. 21, the final day of the semester. Before starting her job at Ten Sleep School, Collen said she had primarily worked in Worland and had to commute every day for work. Collen said she liked her jobs in...
During the creation of RT Communications now Range, Becky Dooley was hired in 1994 as the human resource coordinator and now at the end of 2023, Dooley will be retiring after 29 years with Range/RT Communications. Dooley, who said she is from Worland and has familial ties to the area dating back to 1898, said, "I was the only local manager that was hired [...] I felt very fortunate in that regard." Dooley found herself moving up the ladder as time went on and became the vice president and...
As the Bureau of Land Management develops their Resource Management Plan for the Rock Springs Field Office, they have received criticism and opposition from Wyoming residents across the state. BACKGROUND According to a notice published by the BLM on the Federal Register website, “The purpose of the Rock Springs RMP is to provide an updated, comprehensive, and environmentally adequate framework for managing and allocating uses of public lands and resources administered by the BLM Rock Springs Field Office. The Rock Springs RMP will address c...
Worland Mayor Jim Gill brought together representatives from organizations around the community to learn about how they can bring a mental health awareness movement to Worland. In attendance at a meeting on Nov. 30 were representatives from Washakie County School District #1, Bryant Funeral Home, the Washakie Prevention Coalition and others to hear about the mental health fair in Shell. Started by the Big Horn County Citizens for Economic Development, the Mental Health Awareness Committee set out to “help our neighbors, relatives and friends b...
During the commissioners meeting on Dec. 5, Interim Washakie County Planner Mike Robinson said that he recently spoke with the statewide flood insurance coordinator and will likely fill in the role of the floodplain administrator, a role that is typically held by the county planner. Robinson said in this administrator position, he would properly address development in the floodplain, which would result in the county and residents having access to flood insurance. Without an active floodplain administrator, this insurance is not available, accor...
Following her first interim session, State Rep. Martha Lawley (R-HD27, Worland) said, “I did not fully understand how busy [the interim] was. I knew how important it is, but it’s been really busy, and I’ve loved every minute of it. I really have.” Lawley, who is part of the Education committee and the Minerals, Business and Economic Development committee, said, “One of the purposes of the interim, as I said earlier, is for the committees to gain more insight and information about topics related to that committee’s work.” According to...