Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
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Worland Mayor Jim Gill presented the Extra Mile Award to New Hope Humane Society Director Edie Claime during Tuesday night's regular meeting. In his presentation, Gill said, "Going the Extra Mile ... is a program to recognize special people, groups or businesses who have met the criteria of caring, sharing and donating their time to making our community a better place to live." He said Cliame "has done an incredible job to keep our pet community of cats, dogs and other animals cared for when...
What is a veteran? Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines a veteran as a person “who has served in the armed forces” or an alternative definition is an “old, experienced soldier, especially one who served in time of war.” My father was a veteran. I have aunts, uncles, cousins who are veterans. I am proud of their service. I am thankful for their service. During Veterans Day and on Memorial Day my thoughts go to those who have served since the Revolutionary War to today. I realize during the draft period in our nation’s history som...
What things do you hate? What people do you hate? One mild definition of hate is “intense dislike” and I think that’s what we use the word as when we say we hate broccoli or hate spiders. Perhaps hate is thrown around too much and we just don’t see hate as it really is, “intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger or sense of injury,” per Meriam Webster. I feel that is the most accurate definition of hate. I remember growing up and when we would use the word hate my mother would suggest that we didn’t hate broccoli and if w...
Wyoming Hunter Education Instructor Kody Outland is Wyoming's lone recipient of the International Hunter Education Association-USA Instructor of the Year Award for 2023. According to the IHEA website, "With over 45,000 volunteer hunter educators in the United States (the second largest volunteer corps to volunteer firefighters) vying for the award, this prestigious IHEA-USA Instructor of the Year Award presented by SIG SAUER honors only one hunter educator in each state for rising above and...
The Worland City Council approved on first reading Ordinance 871 regarding opening blocks at the Riverview Memorial Gardens with rate changes to be considered later. During the council meeting Oct. 17, the council approved the ordinance to open blocks 81 to 84, which have not previously been opened for purchase from the public. The blocks will have the same restrictions as Blocks 74 to 80, horizontal or upright family memorials or headstones are available. In an earlier meeting Public Works Superintendent Nick Kruger said the blocks are the...
Rain and snow blanketed the Big Horn Basin and Wyoming last week from 9 a.m. Wednesday to 9 a.m. Friday with records set in Worland. According to the National Weather Service Riverton office, in Washakie County, Winchester measured 1.47 inches in rain and north of Worland had .76 inches. The storm dumped .43 inches on Wednesday which broke a .36-inch record set in 2021. Another record was set on Thursday with .32 inches breaking a record set in 2021 of .31 inches. The rain also caused Lane 17 to be closed for one day due to flooding at the...
Next week residents in Washakie County have an opportunity to be involved in the discussion of two important topics — property tax rates and mental health. On Monday, State Rep. Martha Lawley (R-HD27, Worland) will be hosting a town hall meeting regarding property tax. Lawley has invited Wyoming Taxpayers Association Executive Director Ashley Harpstreith to visit about the Wyoming property tax structure and challenges facing Wyoming residents. Harpstreith and Lawley will also update residents on current legislative activities to address t...
On Wednesday, Sept. 20, I, along with other media, received in their inbox a press release from U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) asking the Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to keep the national parks and other public lands open “in the event of a government shutdown.” My comment to my co-workers was something to the effect that it appears the Republicans were already planning for a shutdown 10 days before the current appropriations bill runs out and the government shuts down … again. The last shutdown lasted more than 30 days...
Cody Regional Health and St. Vincent Healthcare, now part of Intermountain Health, have partnered to launch First Flight of Wyoming, “a flight program that will serve the needs of the Greater Wyoming Basin Region with high-quality, cost-effective transport services,” according to a press release. This service will be Wyoming’s only hospital-owned flight program in the Cowboy State, according to Keith Ungrund, president and chief clinical officer of First Flight of Wyoming. First Flight of Wyoming will go live on Oct. 1, with hours of opera...
The Worland City Council voted unanimously to enter into a contract with Eagle Engineering & Surveying for building official duties. The firm fills a vacancy left by the death of city employee Randy Adams who passed away earlier this summer. The motion followed a closed executive session for contract negotiations. In other business the council: •Approved a bid for two 2023 Ford F150 supercrew pickups for the Worland Police Department for $89,550 from Ken Garth Auto of Cheyenne. There were three other bids, one that did not meet s...
Saturday is the first official day of fall and this fall is proving to be just as busy and interesting as the summer was in Washakie County. In case you have missed it the past several weeks, school is in full swing in Washakie County and the Big Horn Basin and it is a busy two weeks in Washakie County with homecoming this week for the Ten Sleep students and homecoming next week for Worland students. Both schools have worked in events that can involve the public. Full stories on the activities can be found on A7 in this week’s issue. Some commu...
Last Tuesday, those attending the Worland City Council saw a balanced government at work. In dealing with a citizen request to close one block of a street off for a neighborhood block party, Mayor Jim Gill expressed concern about citizens making requests for street closures. Organizations and businesses have for years made requests regarding events, some open to the public and some strictly for that organization. There was concern about setting a precedent and about liability for a citizen requesting a street closure. After hearing from the cit...
About $5,000 was raised Saturday at a fundraiser to launch the Eden Rose Foundation established by the Lockard and Franzen families. The foundation was established in 2021 after the death of Tyler and Molly Franzen Lockard's daughter Eden Rose. According to information on the Eden Rose Foundation website, Eden Rose Lockard was born on Monday, June 7, 2021, at 7:31 a.m. to parents Tyler and Molly (Franzen) Lockard at a Wyoming regional health hospital. She was 39 weeks in utero, weighed 8...
In 2021, Lt. Ray Krogman's family reaped the benefits of a scientific recovery team that found the remains of Krogman more than 50 years after he disappeared over Laos in 1967. Next weekend, area residents can view a documentary about one organization committed to bringing service members home who have been killed or missing in action. Alan Brown of Worland said he watched the documentary about Project Recover, "To What Remains," while browsing on YouTube. He said initially he thought about...
The Washakie Hospital Foundation had a near record turnout for the 11th annual Badlands Poker Run to raise money for its cancer fund. Organizer Keith Van Brunt said there were 51 motorcyclists, 10 vehicles and several 2-up cycles who rode and drove to play poker, socialize and raise funds for are cancer patients. Foundation Board member Wally Wallace has participated in the Badlands Poker Run for all 11 years, the past eight as a board member. He said the board has been able to provide more...
How many dogs does it take to catch a one little mouse? The answer? More than three apparently. People who have read this column over the years know we used to have a dog, Sarah, who we dubbed the rat killer. She could sniff them out, catch and kill them. She passed the Rainbow Bridge a few years ago and we have not had a dog with those skills since. Apparently, Shadow has developed the skill to find the mice but not to catch them. I got home Monday night and let the dogs outside. I followed so I could take them for a walk and set the water in...
The 19th annual Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ and Bluegrass Festival brought in 27 barbecue teams to compete in the Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned contest with Colorado Bulldawg BBQ, Levi and Jessica Stoakes, winning top honors. Colorado Bulldawg BBQ won the event with 706.24 points, ahead of Piggin' Whiskey in second at 701.66 points and American Heroes (2022 and 2021 champions) with 700.53 points. Levi Stoakes said this is his first year cooking as the Colorado Bulldawg BBQ team from Windso...
A comment made to a board member turned into a lengthy discussion during last Thursday’s Hot Springs County School District No. 1 Board meeting. Board member Bethany Webber had a district patron express concern about turnover within the district and board member asked to have the issue on the agenda for “discussion and transparency.” Superintendent Dustin Hunt said the district is not out of line with other businesses in the area. He also added that transfers within the district are not considered turnovers. It was noted that the figures the p...
Worland Mayor Jim Gill notified the city council and others present that former Worland Mayor LaVertha Gotier passed away on Aug. 8. “She was quite a gal,” he said noting she was one of several people instrumental in getting the initial one-cent sales tax passed and did a lot of things for the city. “She is gone but not forgotten,” Gill said. Gotier served as Worland mayor from 2001 through 2004. She later ran for county commissioner in 2006 on the Democratic ticket. According to a Northern Wyoming Daily News article regarding her commiss...
For the 19th year there will be barbecue and bluegrass in abundance at the Washakie County Fairgrounds in Worland as the Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Championship & Bluegrass Festival gets underway Friday night. This year's music features three top bluegrass groups from around the country. The annual encore performance is Special Consensus, who returns from last year. Special Consensus "is a bluegrass band that has achieved a contemporary sound in their four decades of performing, making their music...
Did you see the news over the weekend? Did you pay attention to the attack on the First Amendment? It did not come from politicians or the government but rather from law enforcement. According to a story from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and more than 30 news media organizations are condemning last week’s police raid of Kansas’s Marion County Record during which law enforcement officers seized the newspaper’s electronic newsgathering equipment and reporting materials. The Rep...
The Washakie County Sheriff’s Office is planning on one final large-scale search for Breanna Mitchell, 28 of Worland. Mitchell went missing when her Ford Expedition got stuck off of the Nowater Road in the early morning hours of Saturday, July 22. Sheriff Austin Brookwell announced Tuesday that prior to the large scale search, “a private company, Find-911 out of Cody will assist Washakie County with searching out [in the Nowater badlands] before the final search. This company has K-9s, a drone and really advanced software to process the ima...
You are right. It seems that summer just started last week but here we are with school classes starting on Aug. 16 for both Worland and Ten Sleep and some neighboring communities. It is hard to believe that summer is basically over, although as I write this we still have two major summer celebrations left — this weekend’s Nowoodstock in Ten Sleep and next weekend’s Wyoming State BBQ Championship and Bluegrass Festival. Worland kindergarteners get a head start on the school year before everyone else, as Washakie County School District No. 1 has...
If you passed by Washakie Museum & Cultural Center Tuesday morning, Aug. 1, you would have seen a dozen or so people filling in cracks in the front sidewalk with red sand as the Red Sand Project made a stop as part of its 10-day, 1,500-mile trip to bring awareness to the crisis of the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIW/R) and human trafficking. Per its website, "Red Sand Project is a participatory artwork created by Molly Gochman that uses sidewalk interventions and...
What began as a search for a missing 28-year-old Worland woman turned into what was believed to be a recovery mission as Washakie County Search and Rescue spent three days draining a pond in hopes of finding Breanna Mitchell. Washakie County Sheriff Austin Brookwell said on Friday they brought in a cadaver dog from Park County Search and Rescue and the dog indicated on a spot near a pond where a bloodhound earlier in the week had also indicated Mitchell's presence. Due to the extreme heat, the...