Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
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The investigation into an accidental fire at the Green Hills Golf Course is still underway to determine the exact cause, according to Worland Fire Chief Chris Kocher. Kocher said Worland Fire was dispatched at 5:41 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9 to a structure fire. They were able to contain the fire, at the golf course maintenance building to the front portion of the building. He said there was a little bit of smoke damage to the second set of rooms but no smoke or fire damage reached the back...
Accolades were bestowed Tuesday at the Worland City Council upon Worland Police Sgt. Sean Duffy who retired from the force after 20 years and 2 weeks. Mayor Jim Gill said, "I'm extremely privileged and proud to recognize one of our officers. You've done a wonderful job for us over the many, many years and I can only say that your dad's (former mayor Dave Duffy) got to be looking down with a great deal of pride this evening." Chief Gabe Elliott said Duffy has been a pillar for the department and...
One of my all time favorite memes is the one that states, “My brain has too many tabs open; 4 of them are frozen and I have no idea where the music is coming from.” For this week’s column I am going to try and go through some of those tabs open in my brain and jot down some random thoughts so I can close them and open some more. 1. Who said NASCAR’s Championship Chase was boring? Last Sunday’s race as Kyle Larson dominated the final stage, the drama unfolding was who was going to advance to the playoffs and the Round of Eight. That question...
The Washakie County Fair Board, without an entertainment contractor, will be attending the Rocky Mountain Association of Fairs next month in Rapid City, South Dakota, in hopes of securing entertainment for the 2025 county fair. The board set the 2025 fair week dates as July 19 to 26 with the horse show starting things on Saturday, July 19 and the livestock sale finishing the week on July 26. Beth Shaffer, acting as chair at Monday night’s meeting, reminded the board that Daniel Kosel, who has been the musical entertainment contractor was no l...
A few weeks ago I wrote that words matter, referring to verbal words, and this week, as we observe National Newspaper Week I am going to discuss other words that matter — printed words in newspapers. This year’s theme is Tell Our Stories, meaning for us newspaper folk to tell why we got into this business and for me the theme says it all. That’s why I do this — to tell our stories. I started in Thermopolis at the Independent Record while a senior in a career class. Students were placed with businesses in areas where they had a potenti...
National 4-H Week kicked off in Washakie County Saturday with the annual community pancake breakfast. Wyoming 4-H is a positive youth development program administered by the University of Wyoming Extension and supported by a network of volunteers across the state. According to an Extension press release regarding 4-H week, 4-H helps young people build lifelong leadership skills through hands-on learning, mentorship and meaningful community engagement. With the support of Extension educators and...
Two fires burning in Wyoming, one to the east of Washakie County and one to the west have impacted residents over the past week. Sunday Worland and area residents saw smoke move in from the Fish Creek and Pack Trail Fires burning in Teton and Fremont counties. The Fish Creek Fire was at 87% containment on Monday afternoon and has burned 25,069 acres. Areas evacuated included Brooks Lake Road, Breccia Drive and U.S. Highway 26 (Togwotee Pass from milepost 30 to 44), Long Creek and Lava Mountain subdivisions, Triangle C Ranch. Due to wind Sunday...
Tuesday marked the centennial of the “Yellowstone highway” through Wind River Canyon. The Wyoming Department of Transportation conducted a small ceremony Tuesday morning. While I did not go to the ceremony, our reporter Sean Mortimer did but it made me think about the hundreds, if not thousands, of trips I have made through that canyon. One of the first memories was when the driver’s education teacher took us through the canyon. I was nervous, following a vehicle and I was going about 40 or 45 mph. The teacher suggested that I pass and I said I...
Apple Fest fundraiser this Saturday Circle J Ranch plays host to its annual Apple Fest fundraiser this Saturday in a day full of fruit, fun and music. At this Saturday’s Apple Fest, there will be more than 30 vendors, apples and pears from the ranch at the produce stand, music, face painting and children’s games and activities. The first Apple Fest was started by then camp director Breece Ferguson, who said they should invite friends over during harvest and “it has evolved to what we know now as our annual Apple Fest” current camp coordinator J...
You are probably thinking with that headline that I am going to talk about the importance of the written word and print newspapers. That is for another time, perhaps National Newspaper Week coming in a few weeks. But this week I want to talk about when you say something and try to walk it back or make excuses or clarify. It does not work. You said what you said and in my opinion 90% of the time, or more, people believe what they said they just did not think they would get push back from the comments. Perhaps the most notable is Republican...
While Congress was able to delay the U.S. Postal Service from removing both Regional Processing and Distribution Centers out of Wyoming it appears at an online meeting last Thursday that the Postal Service is still moving forward with the plan. During the Pre-Filing Conference to discuss the “Delivering for America Plan,” a plan to “transform the Postal Service’s processing and transportation networks,” a map for the new plans show Casper’s RPDC operations moving to Billings, Montana and Cheyenne’s operations to Denver, Colorado, leaving Wyomin...
During the annual audit report, James Seckman reported that the City of Worland had a good fiscal year that ended June 30. “You had a very good year. You have very healthy financial picture,” he said at Tuesday’s regular meeting of the city council. Clerk Tracy Glanz noted that the health of the general fund and enterprise funds of water, wastewater and sanitation were due to rate increases that went into effect in April 2023. Seckman said the budget improvement that was seen during the 2024 fiscal year over the 2023 fiscal year will “acce...
President Ronald Reagan. As with most presidents and politicians people love him or hate him. Politics aside, if you want to take a walk through your childhood (for Generation Xers or Boomers) then I would recommend the movie “Reagan” released in theaters last weekend. According to Newsweek, the movie beat box office expectations for the Labor Day Weekend, bringing in “an estimated cumulative total of $9.2 million, including projections for Monday.” The movie is a biopic of our 40th president, but it doesn’t feel like some mundane, boring biopi...
The filing period for special districts concluded Monday night with two candidates challenging incumbents for the three Washakie County School District No. 1 four-year seats. Washakie County School District No. 1 incumbents Johnathan Hake, Brett Argeris and David R. Tommerup have filed for reelection. Becky Dooley and Shane Seghetti have also filed and will be on the ballot Nov. 5. For Washakie County School District No. 2, the incumbents are all poised for reelection with no challengers. They are Shana Harstad, Jared Lyman and Erin K. Blutt....
So time to dole out some snickerdoodle cookies and a crumb from events over the past week. The first cookie goes to everyone who posted their dog photos to our Facebook page on Monday, International Dog Day. I had one reader and Facebook follower text me that we know what people care about … their dogs. As a dog lover I completely understand that. It was so fun to check out everyone’s dogs and the expressions on some of the dogs were priceless. Thank you to everyone who participated, it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the interaction. And spe...
Worland City Council member Rebecca George topped the ticket for the mayor's race in Tuesday's primary election. George received 534 votes. George said, "I would like to say thank you to the supporters during this election. I really appreciate it. We will continue and do this in the November election." Mayor Jim Gill received 402 votes to also advance to the Nov. 5 general election. "I feel honored the citizens of Worland hung with me to get me into the general election," he said. Bruce Nolting...
Next Tuesday voters around Wyoming will go to the polls to cast votes to decide party nominations for county and federal races and narrow the candidate pool of municipal nonpartisan races. Voters Tuesday in Wyoming will not be casting a ballot for presidential party nomination as Donald J. Trump and J.D. Vance have already been officially nominated at last month’s Republican National Convention for that party’s president and vice president. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz should receive the Democratic official nomination for president and vice pre...
Twenty years ago three Worland residents visited a barbecue festival in Denver, Colorado, and brought ideas and planning back to Worland and the Pepsi Wyoming BBQ Championship & Bluegrass Festival was born. This weekend, the committee celebrates the 20th anniversary with a slate of 30 cooks registered to compete in the Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned competition, as well as some long-time favorite activities and some new ones. The fun begins with the Brewfest tonight (Thursday) from 5...
Chubby Cheeks BBQ, a name synonymous with local barbecue, has been cooking up flavorful meat around Washakie County for about 32 years and owner and cook Lynn Murdoch will be ready to cook up a storm this weekend both as a vendor and competitor at the Pepsi Wyoming BBQ Championship & Bluegrass Festival. Murdoch said she and her dad Dave Murdoch began cooking for friends and family. She said when her dad started he did mostly roasts and "grilled things hot and fast." Later, she said she told him...
With the third consecutive headlining concert deemed a success the Washakie County Fair Board turned their attention to the 2025 concert during its Monday night meeting. Board member Beth Shaffer reported that despite slow advance ticket sales, more than 600 tickets were sold, bringing in $18,574 in revenue for the Thompson Square concert July 27. Board members noted that many people said since there was a fee to purchase tickets online through TicketLeap they opted to purchase tickets at the gate. Tamara Drake, who assisted in the office this...
The Worland City Council approved on first reading an ordinance that will eventually allow Bryant Funeral Home to install a crematory at 201 South Fifth. During the regular meeting Tuesday night, the council approved Ordinance 875 that will change the lot from central business to industrial zone. Crematories are only allowed in light industrial according to the city zoning matrix. The zone change comes on the recommendation of the Worland Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission, following two public hearings. The ordinance must pass second...
An amended complaint against the Wyoming Department of Family Services and Wyoming Boys’ School, along with 10 staff members was filed on Wednesday, July 31, in U.S. District Court, adding a fourth defendant to the civil suit. The original suit was filed in February of this year on behalf of Blaise Chivers-King, Dylan Tolar (by and through Debra Dever) and Charles “Rees” Karn. The complaint alleges “widespread abuses” including the use of restraints and solitary confinement. Karn of Cheyenne “suffers multiple disabilities, according to the comp...
Students for Washakie County School District No. 1 and No. 2 return to class next Wednesday, Aug. 14. Kindergarten students at Worland East Side Elementary will begin “Eagles First Flight” on Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to noon. Eagles First Flight helps kindergarten students become familiar with school and classroom routines, procedures and expectations before the first full day on Wednesday when the first graders join them at school. There will also be a parent meeting from noon to 12:30 p.m. at the East Side Gym next Tuesday, Aug. 13. Bef...
Four local law enforcement officers were honored at Tuesday's Washakie County Commissioners meeting for measures that saved a life of a Washakie County inmate. Detention Deputy Myron Chatwin, one year of law enforcement service; patrol deputies Travis Thatcher, 8 years experience; Chad Carlton, 12.5 years; and Worland Police Officer Reene Herrera, nearly one year; earned the Life Saving Medal from Washakie County Sheriff Austin Brookwell for an incident on June 7. Brookwell said an inmate...
Some years I can take or leave the Olympics or half-hearted watch. This year though I have enjoyed watching it more than in years past. I cannot tell you what has changed or why this Olympics is different than years past. What I can tell you is some of the fun moments I have enjoyed over the past week or so. Let’s start with the trampoline first. I wanted to watch that because I did not pay attention last time and I am amazed at the athleticism and artistry of these men and women. I remarked to my husband “just think if my high school wou...