Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 239
Worland United Methodist Church members recently reminisced about the church's historical Christmas celebrations. Arla Kaye Kapptie, Kathy Morrison, Martha Cork, Donna Harrington and Charlene Hamilton have all been involved in the church for most of their lives, with 85-year-old Cork stating she's gone to the same church since she was born. Kapptie, now 82, has much the same story and she led the conversation about the tradition. After Harrington reminded her, Kapptie said that growing up in...
Speaking with Wyoming House District 28 Representative John Winter (R-Thermopolis) on Dec. 13, he was pleased to be named the Chairman of the Wyoming House Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee for the upcoming 2025 legislative session. Winter, who has served as a member of the committee since first elected in 2019, said, “I’ve been in that committee the whole time I’ve been in this position, and it’s a big honor for me. I’m looking forward to working with the committee members. We’ve got a lot of things to address,...
The Washakie County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees held its last meeting at the old Ten Sleep School on Dec. 9 and are set to start the spring 2025 semester in the new school. Groathouse Construction is scheduled to finalize construction projects at the campus this month, and staff and students will soon be moving their things to the new building. During her report, Superintendent Annie Griffin said, “We will be moving our offices on Dec.18. We will begin moving our weight room over this week, but it will not be available until January...
For those in the spirit of giving this holiday season, think about New Hope Humane Society's "Paws to Help" program, a way to provide lasting support to animals without a home. Volunteer Deb Coronado said, "The animals here are often neglected and forgotten; it takes a lot to provide for them, and we rely on the passion of animal lovers to help. Community donations help our animals to live comfortably until they get adopted; for those pets we have who aren't suitable for adoption, donations...
The Nov. 25 meeting of the Washakie County School District No.1 Board of Trustees was the last meeting for Jonathan Hake, who will be replaced next month by Becky Dooley, who was elected during last month’s general election. Towards the end of the meeting, longtime trustee Don Bryant took a moment to thank Hake for his four-year term on the board; he congratulated Hake for his service to the community and said Hake was great to work with. Bryant led the trustees and administrators gathered in the Administration Building in a standing ovation t...
The Battle of the Basin welding competition returned on Nov. 22 to offer local high school welders a chance to measure and showcase their skills, and it's gotten bigger and better in its second year. The competition was hosted last year in Ten Sleep by welding teacher Jason Thoren at Thoren's welding shop. There were welders from Ten Sleep, Greybull, Shoshoni and Worland competing for prizes with a $10 entry fee. Thoren said, "I had been talking to Brian [Aagard] since last year, and he wanted...
Washakie Medical Center (WMC) CEO Lisa Van Brunt announced at the Nov. 26 hospital board meeting that on Rural Hospital Day Nov. 21, the Chartis Center for Rural Health bestowed two awards on WMC. The hospital received the Outcomes and Quality awards — two of the three categories the Chartis Center tracks, with the third being Patient Perspectives. Chartis tracks data in these categories among all rural and critical access hospitals in the country, and WMC had the honor of being recognized as being in the top 25th percentile in the ...
The Wyoming Game & Fish Department will be hosting a meeting welcoming hunters, landowners and wildlife enthusiasts to come and share their thoughts on the issue of managing mule deer with local Game & Fish representatives. The meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Washakie County Fairgrounds on Tuesday, Dec. 3. This meeting is part of a series called Mule Deer Community Conversations that are being held in response to a 2023 hunter attitude survey conducted by the Game & Fish, which indicated that many Wyomingites wished to have more...
Although the Hot Springs County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees typically approves administrative contracts for renewal in the month of February, they addressed it early this school year at the Nov. 14 meeting and renewed contracts for three administrators. Following a return from executive session to discuss the contracts, Superintendent Dustin Hunt's contract was approved to be extended until 2030. Business Manager Jessica Benefiel and High School Principal Catelyn Deromedi both had...
Following presentations by psychiatrist Kent Corso and Marine Corps veteran/suicide attempt survivor Shawn Moore, the PROSPER (Proactive Reduction Of Suicides in Populations via Evidence-based Research) meeting held on Nov. 14 opened to questions from the audience. To open, Megan McCoy told Moore, “I appreciate you sharing your story; I know that’s not easy. I try to share my story about recovering from drug addiction, reliving those moments and those difficult times, and it doesn’t seem to get easier, no matter how many times I do it. So thank...
A meeting last week in Worland began with a somber question to those attending: How many of you know somebody who has committed suicide? Every one of the 15 guests - including this reporter - raised their hand. There is very little data available regarding suicide in Washakie County; the Wyoming Department of Health omits counties who report fewer than five suicides per year, and Washakie County has reported less than five suicides every year since this data has been collected. At the state...
A meal of turkey, ham, potatoes and gravy and all the usual fixings is planned for Thanksgiving, Nov. 28 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the back gym at the Worland Community Center. “Many people are alone on Thanksgiving; maybe they couldn’t travel to be with family, maybe they don’t have families, whatever the reason. I’ve also talked with multiple people, for example an elderly couple who stated, ‘It’s just us, we don’t want to make a big meal, and there’s no restaurants open.’ The thought was that there’s a need in our community, so let’s...
Washakie County Attorney Anthony Barton said in an interview on Nov. 15 that there currently are no candidates who have expressed interest in filling the vacant position of Washakie County Deputy Attorney, left open since the departure of Amy Smith at the end of September. Barton said, “She was good; she was motivated and she was smart, and we got along well. But, you know, people come and go, and that’s just the nature of the business, right? Amy was nice about it too; She told me she was wanting to move months before she did, she kept me app...
At the monthly board meeting, the Wyoming School Boards Association (WSBA) delegate from Ten Sleep – board member Bill Murphy – requested advice from Superintendent Annie Griffin on how to proceed with voting on resolutions at the upcoming WSBA Conference in Casper on Nov. 20-22. The issues under scrutiny in these resolutions include staff carrying of firearms, a relevant topic for Ten Sleep’s school district. Considering discussion following the 2024 Legislative Session over House Bill 0125, a bill that failed to pass that would have repea...
Unofficial results from Tuesday’s General Election showed Washakie County School District No. 1 Board incumbents Brett Argeris and David Tommerup keeping their seats as four-year term members. First-term incumbent Jonathan Hake was unseated by newcomer Becky Dooley. Tommerup, who has served as chairman for multiple terms, received the most votes with 2,165. Following him were Argeris with 1,767 and Dooley with 1,622. Hake lost by 19 votes with 1,603. Shane Seghetti received 733 votes, and 27 write-in votes were cast. In a questionnaire p...
If you have ever seen retired Washakie County Sheriff Steve Rakness walking around Worland with a heavy rucksack on his back, know that he's not crazy; he's getting ready for something important to him; honoring and helping veterans who have since hung their rucksacks up. He said, "Veterans are serving all over the world as we speak, and have served. So it's a way to honor them and say that you're not forgotten. We're still supporting you and we support what jobs you do. So, think of us because...
The volunteers behind the Worland FurBall fundraising event are trying out a fun new fundraising event this Saturday that dog lovers won't want to miss. All proceeds from the event go toward New Hope Humane Society in Worland. Deb Coronado said, "My partner in planning, Suzie Shelhammer, was the originator of the FurBall, and for the last 10 or so years she has always wanted to do small dog races. We haven't had the chance to put things all together until this year, so we are giving it a try. It is not an easy task to add something new, but we...
Washakie County results for federal offices in the Nov. 5 General Election were strongly in favor of Republican officials. The smallest margin of victory was for the presidential candidate, where Donald Trump won 79% of votes in the county, but did win the presidency. The Republican Presidential ticket of Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance received 3,125 votes, while the Democratic ticket of current Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz received 656 votes. The Libertarian ticket of Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat received 60 votes, and 3...
During the Oct. 22 meeting of the Washakie Medical Center Board of Directors, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Brandy Kottman spoke about the impact that Hurricane Helene — a particularly intense tropical storm that devastated the United States’ southeast coastal region — had on the medical industry across the country, including Worland’s hospital. North Carolina was one of six states most affected by the hurricane, and the state’s Department of Health and Human Services reports 98 storm-related deaths resulting from Helene and the extreme f...
At the Washakie County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees meeting on Oct. 28, Superintendent Tawn Argeris used his time during his report to celebrate high school Cross Country Coach Tanya Kienlen and her boys team. Worland High School’s boys cross-country team won the 3A State Championship in Cheyenne on Oct. 26, propelled to victory by one point over Buffalo with a first-place finish by senior Trajn Swalstad. This is the first cross-country state title in the history of Worland High School. Kienlen added that her girls team placed f...
Worland's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) instructor Justin Jacobs began his class in mid-June of this year, and thanks to his journey in the sport, he's able to call for help from some of the greatest BJJ martial artists in the country. On Oct. 1, Jacobs offered a class taught by his instructor, Rafael Lovato Sr., who made the drive from his home in Oklahoma City to Worland to help his student in training the next generation of martial artists. Jacobs said, "It was quite the honor to have him come...
Hot Spring County High School Principal Catelyn Deromedi announced during the Oct. 17 meeting of the Hot Springs County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees that juniors at HSCHS had the highest performance of all districts in Wyoming on the ACT in spring of this year, with an average composite score of 21.8. Deromedi expressed thanks to her students and staff at the high school for their continued efforts to take their standards of education to new heights. According to the results posted by the Wyoming Department of Education, this is an...
Worland LDS Church's addiction recovery program I attended a meeting on Oct. 8 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Worland. A member had reached out to me after reading the column I wrote about my recovery from addiction, and I became interested in writing about the recovery group at the LDS Church. Given that October is Substance Abuse Prevention Month, it’s a great time to shine a light on those who are working toward recovery and are willing to speak on it. The meeting follows a recovery program created by the LDS C...
In the upcoming general election, Nov. 5, Erin Blutt, Shana Harstad and Jared Lyman are running unopposed for their respective four-year terms on the Washakie County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees. The incumbent candidates each spoke with Northern Wyoming News to discuss their reasons why they are running for reelection. ERIN BLUTT, BOARD CHAIRMAN Why are you running for reelection? “I’m seeking reelection to continue the work that we’ve been doing that has led to Ten Sleep Schools having the highest WYTOPP testing scores among small s... Full story
Results are in for the spring 2024 WY-TOPP (Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress) standardized test, and Ten Sleep School has a lot to celebrate. WY-TOPP is an annual standardized test taken by students in every school district in Wyoming, used to gauge students’ growth and proficiency in the areas of math, English language arts (ELA) and science. Grades 3 through 10 are tested in math and ELA, and grades 4, 8 and 10 are additionally tested in science. Based on performance, scores are categorized either below proficient, proficient or a...