Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Sorted by date Results 451 - 475 of 1462
CHEYENNE — While over 200 bills have passed through to the next house, one bill that failed last week created a lot of opinions on both sides was Senate File 145 on Election Runoffs. The bill essentially would require a runoff election if a candidate in a primary election did not received 50% of the votes cast. The bill failed on third reading in the Senate 14-15 with Sen. Ed Cooper (R-Ten Sleep) opposed. “I took a beating but it was the right for the time. I ended up voting against it and I took a lot of knocks for my vote from some fol...
CHEYENNE — The State Senate has moved forward on two pieces of firearms legislation. Sen. Ed Cooper (R-Ten Sleep) said Saturday in his weekly report that the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate File 81 – Second Amendment Preservation Act unanimously. The bill would invalidate certain federal laws that limit the right to bear arms. Cooper said that while the committee passed the bill Wednesday it was laid back on Committee of the Whole on Friday. “The bill as written is not passable,” he said. Suggestions were provided by law enforce...
WORLAND — The Worland Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission postponed action on a variance request from Veile Mortuary to construct a crematory next to the funeral home at 301 South Eighth. A public hearing was held during the board’s regular meeting Monday at city hall. Susan Hall said she “lives right next door” and was concerned about possible odors, but added, “but I know Clayton [Dragoo, Veile Mortuary owner] and he would not request anything that would harm the neighbors and neighborhood.” Regarding odor, Building Official Ra...
CHEYENNE — “We put together a pretty good budget,” Rep. Mike Greear (R-Worland) reported from Cheyenne Saturday. He said the House approved an amendment stopping phase 3 cuts that would impact in-home services, disability waivers and chiropractic Medicaid waivers. He said the cost is about $15 million but there are $13 million in federal matching funds with the programs. Greear said he supports cuts but noted that the CREG (Consensus Revenue Estimating Group) came back with estimates that revenues would be $84 million above and beyond the e...
Congratulations to the Worland Warriors on their 3A State Boys Basketball title. It is well-deserved. Congratulations also to speech champions Kim Sumida and Chase Johnson and state champion wrestlers Luke Goncalves and Lane McBee. It is a pleasure to be able to cover the achievements of our youth this year and every year. When a team wins a state title I find myself reminiscing about state championships I have covered, specifically when I covered sports for the Lovell Chronicle and the Basin Republican Rustler. The first state championship I...
CHEYENNE — Sen. Ed Cooper (R-Ten Sleep) supports the Senate bill designed to take a look at how state and local health orders will be handled in the future. Senate File 80 is one of four bills addressing health orders, with the other three bills originating on the House side. The Senate file states that no health order issued per state statute can become effective without at least 48 hours notice to the public and without the governor and Department of Health providing for public comment. The bill allows for a health order to become effective i...
WORLAND — Goshen HELP, a community action agency serving Carbon, Crook, Goshen, Niobrara, Washakie and Weston counties is seeking public input to prioritize assistance in Washakie County. According to Executive Director Kyle Borger, Goshen HELP is seeking input on how it should focus grant resources in Washakie County to address poverty. “We need your input whether you need help or not. Please take the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Washakie2021.” Borger said initially the community action agency provided rent and utility assis...
Last Tuesday night the Worland City Council got a small course in free speech and what is considered protected and not protected speech. In an era where people are offended by nearly everything the First Amendment is more important now than ever before. It comes under attack from all sides and all avenues – whether free speech, free press or freedom of religion. As has been written in this space time and again, there is a reason that these freedoms are listed first — first and foremost — these freedoms are key to our democracy. Part of that fre... Full story
CHEYENNE - Six bills sponsored or co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Greear (R-Worland) are moving through the State Legislature but his one constituent bill is receiving lots of debate. Greear said House Bill 73 regarding birth certificates-gestational agreements has "sparked a tremendous amount of debate." The main goal of the bill is to provide an avenue to get the biological mother of a baby delivered through a gestational carrier on a birth certificate without a lot of legal work. The bill requires...
WORLAND — After citing some frustrations with the fair board and board processes, Washakie County Fair Board Marty Cross submitted his resignation to Washakie County Commissioner Aaron Anderson, who was in attendance at Monday’s fair board meeting. Cross said he felt like the board was “spending like there is no tomorrow” and that the board needs to be good stewards of the money. He said the fair board funding is based on a mill levy that could change with the county valuation. After Cross left the meeting, Anderson clarified that the fair bo...
CHEYENNE — Leadership of the 66th Wyoming Legislature opened the session last Monday with speeches to encourage their fellow legislators. Among those was an impassioned speech by House Speaker Pro Tem, Rep. Mike Greear (R-Worland). He said, “We are one of the last true bastions of representative democracy here in Wyoming.” Greear said that each representative represents about 9,000 people, families, friends, neighbors and businesses that they do business with and it is those people the legislators are down in Cheyenne to represent. “We are task...
CHEYENNE — The State Senate is working on two resolutions during the early portion of the March in-person session for the 66th Wyoming Legislature. In his weekly interview, Sen. Ed Cooper (R-Ten Sleep) reported that Senate Joint Resolution 2 – Convention of States, passed out of the Minerals Committee on a 3-2 vote with Cooper one of the three voting in favor. The resolution requests Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments to the United States Constitution. The resolution calls for a convention of the states as provided und...
By KARLA POMEROY CHEYENNE — The Senate Judiciary Committee, after hearing emotional testimony voted unanimously to pass Senate File 66 – Slayer Rule Applied to Joint Ownership on Monday morning. Sen. Ed Cooper (R-Ten Sleep) is the main sponsor of the bill and opened the discussion stating that the bill comes from a tragic situation involving a Worland family. Cooper said in an earlier interview, that the current law states that “no person who feloniously takes or causes or procures another to take the life of another shall inherit from or ta...
In this edition of Things Make You Go Hmmm we look at a few bills before the Wyoming State Legislature and we’ll start with Senate File 17 which would stop the requirement of cities, towns and counties to publish minutes and salary notices in a newspaper of general circulation; and eliminate the requirement for school districts to publish warrants of over $500. The requirement for publication in a newspaper is for the public’s benefit. Cities, towns, counties and school districts are spending the public’s money and the public has a right to kno... Full story
WORLAND - Worland Middle School eighth grader Liette Brown had back surgery at a Shriners Hospitals for Children in Pennsylvania a few years ago and ever since she has been working to give back. She said she does one to two fundraising projects every year. The first project this year was collecting pull tabs. She said she got the idea from visiting a patient at a Shriners Hospitals for Children. She did research and found that they can get money from the pull tabs to help the hospital. "I...
WORLAND — Washakie County Health Officer Dr. Amber Moss requested a variance on statewide Health Order 4 requiring face coverings in public spaces to protect the public from COVID-19. The variance was approved and signed on Friday, Feb. 19 by State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist. The variance exempts individuals within Washakie County from the requirements in order 4 which states anyone over the age of 12 is required to wear a face covering outside of their home when in a business or government facility open to the public. On Wednesday, Feb....
WORLAND — Sen. Ed Cooper (R-Ten Sleep) hopes to redefine the slayer rule with a bill he is sponsoring in the upcoming March session. Cooper is sponsoring Senate File 66, Slayer Rule Applied to Joint Ownership. The bill has four other co-sponsors including Rep. Mike Greear (R-Worland) and Rep. John Winter (R-Thermopolis). Cooper said the current law states that no person who feloniously takes or causes or procures another to take the life of another shall inherit from or take by devise or legacy from the deceased person any portion of his e...
They say ignorance is bliss or what you don’t know won’t hurt you but when it comes to legislation, whether at the state or federal level, nothing could be further from the truth. We as citizens must arm ourselves with knowledge. We cannot depend on our legislators or Congressional delegates to tell us everything they are doing. We must be steadfast in checking out bills that are filed at the state and federal level. Case in point, a House Resolution that I have not heard anything about, especially in Wyoming, is the Sabika Sheikh Firearm Lic... Full story
WORLAND — The Worland Middle School Drama Department will present “The Enchanted Bookshop, the Musical” this Thursday and Friday at the school auditorium. Curtain opens at 7 p.m. both nights. Tickets are sold at the door. This year’s musical production is under the direction of Naomi Durrant. She said the play is about a struggling bookstore whose owner gets assistance from the characters in the books in the store. Durrant said some jewel thieves and a cat play important roles in the story as well. There are 30 students involved in the cast an...
WORLAND - Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) told Worland High School seniors in the AP history class that Vice President Kamala Harris has been invited to Worland. In his visit with students last Thursday, Feb. 18, at the Little Theatre, Barrasso relayed the story that two years ago then presidential candidate and now Vice President Kamala Harris came into the Capitol Building at the same time Barrasso was entering with Worland High School history teacher Randy Durr and his AP students. He took a...
WORLAND — The City of Worland approved an ordinance on first reading to develop a depreciation reserve rate for the Wyoming Boys School. The rate is similar to what the city established in 2019 with outlying water and sewer districts to develop a replacement fund for the lines that the city maintains. The Wyoming Boys School was not part of the original group approved in 2019. Mayor Jim Gill said they have had one meeting with Wyoming Boys School officials but have been unable to schedule any other meetings. He said they were notified that t...
WORLAND - Officials from the National Air Transportation Association visited with city officials and Worland Municipal Airport users during a meeting last Tuesday, Feb. 9, at the airport. Founded in 1940, NATA is the national association of aviation business service providers. Its mission is empowering members to be safe and successful aviation businesses. Per its website, "NATA is the leading national trade association representing the business interests of general aviation service companies...
WORLAND - Snow and cold hit the Big Horn Basin over the weekend with Arctic temperatures hitting this week. The National Weather Service reported a three-day total (Friday through Sunday) of two inches to more than a foot of snow fell in spots around the Big Horn Basin. Meteorologist Chris Jones of the NWS Riverton office reported that in Washakie County, Winchester saw about 3.5 inches, southwest of Worland reported two to four inches, Ten Sleep reported 7 to 10 inches and Big Trails five...
WORLAND — The funding for the local direct distribution to cities, towns and counties will have to wait until the Wyoming Legislature resumes work in March with the State House not taking action on Senate File 64. Earlier this month, the Senate voted to cut the annual payment for direct distribution from $105 million to $92.5 million, about a 20% cut in funding. Sen. Ed Cooper (R-Ten Sleep) said, “I didn’t care for it. I felt it was inappropriate the way it was written.” He said most departments got cut 10% for the biennium budget but because...
We adopted two cats recently from New Hope Humane Society. Earlier this year we had to say goodbye to our beloved Buddy after about five years and we needed to find another feline companion for Chuck. Well New Hope had two young cats available for adoption that were both perfect fits for us so my husband said “let’s get both.” This ranked up there in surprise remarks with the time he said yes to getting a third dog (when we adopted Shadow as a pup). But, hey, I like animals so who was I to argue. Well taking cats to the country and tryin... Full story