Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
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WORLAND – According to reports released by the Office of the Secretary of State, Wyoming Election Division and the Office of the County Clerk for Washakie County, voting numbers for both the state primary and general elections were up over previous years, with 74 percent of registered state voters turning out to the polls. The state notes a total voting-age population of 442,832 for 2018, with 266,464 registered voters. Of those voters, only 139,809 (52 percent) voted in the primary election. For the general election, held Nov. 6, registered v...
WORLAND – The Washakie County Commission will meet Tuesday to hear regular department reports and revisit with the Road and Bridge department regarding limiting access to two county roads. Previously, the commission discussed a plan to restrict two heavily-trafficked county roads to local-only traffic. The two roads in question, Washakie Ten and the Lower Nowood Road west of Ten Sleep, have seen much recent damage due to heavy out-of-state and semi-truck traffic, and residents have expressed their concerns to the commission regarding high r...
THERMOPOLIS - The Thermopolis Police Department will restart a deer management program again this year, after taking a year off in 2017. Originally, the program began to mitigate vehicle/deer accidents and property damage in-town. “We had reached a manageable population level, and took a year off, after six years of the program, but predators are pushing them back toward town,” explained Sergeant Pat Cornwall. Off-duty police officers will be harvesting deer at the outskirts of Thermopolis in an attempt to keep the deer numbers down. The tow...
WORLAND – As colder temperatures blanket the Big Horn Basin, Worland Fire District Chief Chris Kocher would like residents to think about preparations and safety for winter. “We’ve seen a lot of chimney fires [in the past] but with new technology and more people using pellet stoves, we need to stress carbon monoxide monitoring,” said Kocher. While the county offers a smoke detector program free of charge, Kocher recommends everyone purchase and maintain a carbon monoxide detector for their home, and do an annual check on their smoke detecto...
TEN SLEEP – Veterans of all military branches and conflicts reaching back to World War II lined the wall of the gymnasium at the Ten Sleep School on Monday, in observance of Veterans Day, before an audience of teachers, family members and students. After the presentation of the Colors and brief musical numbers by the school's elementary students, students and staff presented a variety of traditional observances for those in attendance. First up was senior Zayne Cooper, who explained the h...
THERMOPOLIS – Wyoming Governor Matt Mead appointed Thermopolis attorney Bobbi Dean Overfield to be District Court Judge for the Fifth Judicial District in August, serving Big Horn, Hot Springs and Washakie counties. Overfield fills the vacancy occurring with the retirement of Judge Robert E. Skar, also of Thermopolis in October. On Thursday, Governor Mead was in attendance in Thermopolis at the Hot Springs County courtroom when the Wyoming Supreme Court held a special session to swear-in and h...
TEN SLEEP – The Town of Ten Sleep awarded a bid to fix the town’s lagoon, which has breached its original bentonite liner, during Wednesday’s town council meeting. Bornhoft Construction of Riverton won the bid, at a total of $675,225. Two other bids were received, each in excess of $1 million. The leak was discovered this summer, and town engineer Lidstone and Associates recommended replacement rather than repair to the facility. After securing a State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) emergency loan, the town started advertising the proje...
WORLAND – Washakie county voters went to the polls Tuesday, electing new members to the county’s two school boards, and cementing county seats for incumbents who ran largely unopposed. For Washakie County School District No. 1 (Worland) new board member Sarah Lungren was elected with 1,981 votes. Current board member Don Bryant was re-elected with 1,984 votes, along with Terri Logan with 1,647 votes and Duane Whitlock with 1,805 votes. Anna Venable lost her bid for re-election with only 1,279 final votes. All terms are four years. For Was...
WORLAND — This year, the Worland community garden had another successful year, thanks in part to Action Resources International and a support from the AmeriCorps VISTA program. Located across from the baseball fields at Newell Sargent Park in Worland, the University of Wyoming Washakie County Extension garden, which began four years ago, grows melons, pumpkins, tomatoes, sunflowers, and a variety of herbs for local consumption. Working with local charities and relief organizations, Extension Educator Caitlyn Youngquist supplies harvest foods t...
WORLAND – Voters on Tuesday in Washakie County will decide whether to continue a lodging tax. Washakie County already charges 4 percent to visitors for lodging, with revenues going toward the county Visitor’s Council for advertising and tourism initiatives. According to the question on the ballot, voters will vote for or against continuing a lodging tax “of 4 percent upon lodging of 30 days or less, in hotels, motels, tourist courts, trailer parks, campground, dude ranches, and outfitters, and similar establishments providing accom...
WORLAND – A measure on Tuesday’s ballot could allow South Worland Water Users to join the Washakie Rural Improvement and Service District, after a nearly year-long effort to combine the two groups. A petition to join the Washakie Rural system was certified by the county clerk’s office on April 27, with more than 80 percent of voting members of the South Worland users joining the petition. A proposal by the South Worland Water Users Corporation to join the Washakie Rural Improvement and Service District was met with a vote to approve by the c...
WORLAND – Thanks to a drug-free community grant, three area students will be attending a national convention of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America in the Washington, D.C., area in February. On Tuesday, Washakie County Youth Alternatives Administrator Sheri Gunderson and Washakie County Youth Alternatives Program Director Sarah Garcia notified the Washakie County Commission of the convention, to be held Feb. 4-7 in National Harbor, Maryland. Two students from Worland High School will be selected to attend, and on the recommendation o...
WORLAND – The Washakie County Commission met Tuesday to hear regular department reports, and finalized a contract to continue air medical services for the county with Guardian Flight, now part of the AirMedCare Services. Holly Anderson with AirMedCare gave a presentation to the commission at 11 a.m. and accepted a check for $42,188 to cover all 8,500 residents of Washakie County for air medical services, including in 38 states that operate in AirMedCare network. As explained by Anderson, the cost of the service without the agreement with the c...
WORLAND – Chief Gabe Elliott with the Worland Police Department shared Halloween safety tips on Monday, in advance of the holiday on Wednesday, when trick or treaters are expected on the streets of Worland and Ten Sleep. For home owners, Chief Elliott recommends making sure the path to your door is clear, and welcome trick-or-treaters with your porch lights on. Do not give homemade or unwrapped treats to children. Pay attention to what’s happening in your neighborhood and report any suspicious or criminal activity to the Worland Police Departme...
WORLAND – The Washakie County Commission will meet today to hear regular department reports, and move forward with a contract to continue air medical services for the county with Guardian Flight, now part of the AirMedCare Services. Holly Anderson with AirMedCare will give a presentation to the commission at 11 a.m. The original, one-year contract with Guardian was expected to expire within weeks. Previously, County Attorney John Worrall explained that the county’s goal, ultimately, is to avoid any lapse in coverage for county residents cov...
County Clerk Mary Grace Strauch reports that there are currently 3,927 registered voters in the county, and, so far, 362 absentee ballots have been sent out and 203 have been returned. Absentee voting continues until Nov. 5. Strauch also reminds voters that registration is best done at the office of the clerk or city, as there is no verified way to register or vote online, despite many online organizations that offer the services. Voters can still register to vote until Oct. 22, but after that date, all new registrations must vote on the same...
WORLAND – Big Horn Federal Savings Bank in Worland, located at 1006 Big Horn Avenue, is still in a temporary facility while the former bank building was removed this summer and replaced with a new, upgraded and larger building. Construction is scheduled to be completed by November, by Hughes Truss of Worland, and the bank operations should be fully moved in by January. “The new building should be a pretty good deal,” said Branch Manager Tad DeBolt. “We’re going to have a larger building and technology to prepare us for the next 20 years of...
WORLAND – In response to some public concern and outcry, Washakie County Commissioner Fred Frandson reiterated on Wednesday that the county has no plans to close two heavy-traveled roads, but rather to restrict them to local-only traffic. The two roads in question, Washakie Ten and the Lower Nowood Road west of Ten Sleep, have seen much recent damage due to heavy out-of-state and semi-truck traffic, and residents have expressed their concerns to the commission regarding high rates of speed along those roads. “There’s still residential life on t...
WORLAND – After a recommendation by the county attorney, Washakie county commissioners voted on Oct. 2 to move forward with a contract to continue air medical services for the county with Guardian Flight, now part of the AirMedCare Services. "AirMedcare is in the process of entering into a new agreement with the county, very similar to the agreement with Guardian, except the terms are better and I've recommended the county move forward with it," said County Attorney John Worrall. "In a sense, we...
WORLAND – The Wyoming Water Development Commission, with sponsorship by the Washakie County and South Big Horn Conservation districts, kicked off a two-year watershed study last week with public meetings in Basin and Worland, to inform the public of the mechanizations and impacts of the study. Officially titled the Middle Big Horn Watershed Level 1 Study, the project physically includes an area of the Middle Big Horn River Watershed in Big Horn, Washakie, Hot Springs and Park counties. According to the WWDC, the watershed “includes the primary...
WORLAND – Washakie County Commissioners met Tuesday to hear department reports, and gave a brief update on a plan to restrict two county roads to local traffic only, enforced by ordinance. As explained last month by Commissioners Aaron Anderson and Fred Frandson, Washakie 10 (east of Worland) and Lower Nowood Road (west and northwest of Ten Sleep) are currently suffering from over-use by out-of-area semi-trucks and tourist traffic, along with frequent non-residents that break the speed limit, endangering residents of those corridors. Under t...
TEN SLEEP – The Ten Sleep Town Council will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. to hear regular department reports and get an update on the town’s ongoing U.S. Department of Agriculture project to upgrade the town’s lagoon. Going forward, Mayor Jack Haggerty recommends that the town use tax revenues to replace sidewalks and gutters, and make the town’s sewage lagoon more efficient. The town would like to implement a Green Energy Plan to transition to lagoon to some solar power, to offset costs and ultimately save money. On Jan. 16, the Washakie County...
WORLAND – The Washakie County Commission will meet Tuesday to hear regular department reports and hold a budget hearing to add a Prevention Management grant to the annual operating budget. The $218,000, two-year grant, obtained through the office of Prevention Management, will go toward funding suicide prevention and substance abuse education in the county. Previously, the county was one of three state recipients of a national Drug–Free Communities Support Program grant, awarded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adm...
WORLAND – The Washakie Prevention Coalition held a lunch meeting on Thursday, to discuss a new grant to combat substance abuse, and look at ways to combine forces and grant opportunities to offer area at-risk youth pathways to healthy choices. The coalition, a group of business, health, educational and legal professionals, meet regularly to discuss community solutions to the growing substance abuse problems with youth and young adults, and seek solutions. The group was formed earlier this year. At Thursday’s meeting, representatives from the...
WORLAND – After 40 years of practicing law and serving as a county, circuit and district judge, Judge Robert Skar is retiring this week, to spend time on his hobbies and travel the United States. A graduate of the University of Wyoming and having grown up in Cody after moving from Detroit as a teenager, Skar started practicing law in Casper, before being appointed Big Horn County Judge in 1999. In 2000, the Legislature converted the county courts to a circuit court system and Skar, who r...