Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 239
Earlier this month, Judy Blackburn's dog Haley fell ill, and she and her husband were scratching their heads trying to understand what was wrong. Haley, being only a 2.5-year-old Catahoula and Terrier mix, was by all means healthy prior to her sickness. In an interview on July 26, Blackburn said, "About four weeks ago, we just noticed that she was losing her energy. She started sleeping a lot, and she lost her appetite. She wasn't doing very well. Then, three weeks into her sickness, she just...
Audra Neighbors, a senior at Worland High School, attended her first hospital board meeting on July 23. Neighbors was appointed an ex officio member of the board, which does not grant her the ability to vote on board matters, but in all other capacities she is considered a member. This position was held by Rivers Carrell before her, and board President Dean Carrell expressed that he would like to maintain an ex officio member representing Worland High School to offer interested youth an...
The Washakie County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees approved their 2024-2025 fiscal year budget at the July 17 meeting. The district has approved $20,717,012 in appropriations, an increase of $57,637 from the prior year. This includes $15 million in capital construction amid the ongoing project of constructing a new school building. The district’s business manager Rachel Casteel explained the increase, saying, “The increase is primarily due to our salary schedule increase of the base from $43,000 to $44,000. Our building support expense...
Thompson Square, comprised of singer/songwriters Keifer and Shawna Thompson and their band, will be headlining the Washakie County Fair with a performance on Saturday, July 27 at 7:30 p.m. Based out of Nashville, Tennessee, Keifer said, "We don't make it out your way very often, so we're looking forward to that!" Shawna, during their interview with Northern Wyoming News on July 12, said that they had been married for 25 years, after dating for three years when they met in Nashville in 1996....
The Washakie Museum held a Paleontology Symposium on Saturday, July 6 that hosted presenters from across the country, and one from Belgium. Each presenter is a respected member of the scientific community, having published work relating to the paleontological phenomena found in the Big Horn Basin. Many of them have made their entire careers studying the ancient history of the Big Horn Basin, which is unique among fossil sites for having well-preserved specimens of both flora and fauna - not...
The Washakie County Library is currently in the process of receiving a grant of federal funds in an amount of just over $1 million for a project to expand the children’s center at the library. Library Director Karen Funk said the need for the library expansion comes from an influx in use seen by both children and adults at the library that is currently hurting their ability to provide space for both groups. Currently, the children’s center is a sliver of a room at the north end of the building with a maximum occupancy of 22 people, housing som...
Get ready for live, authentic country music when Tris Munsick and The Innocents take the stage at the Washakie County Fair on Thursday, July 25 for a set listed from 9 p.m. until midnight. Entry is free. Munsick, a lifelong country musician who grew up in rural Sheridan County is excited to bring his band to play in Worland this summer. "The last four or five years we've been playing out of the state more and more, but there's nothing like playing to Wyoming folks; they're our kind of people,"...
Being the week of the Fourth of July, Worland Fire Chief Chris Kocher advises extra caution this year. “We are expecting to stay drier and hotter than average ... There is heavy loading of readily available fuel; it’s a time when everyone needs to be cautious, whether they’re off-roading out in the badlands or shooting off fireworks,” said Kocher. With dry conditions at present, Kocher advises that it doesn’t take much to start a fire right now. He cited a fire that occurred on June 25, when someone launched a firework from the roadway o...
If you are a fan of live gospel music, Big Praise will have you covered this summer with two upcoming performances at the Washakie County Fairgrounds. Big Praise is a nondenominational Christian band founded on the message of the bible verse Psalm 95:1, which says, "Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation." Kelly Schauble, a singer in the band who represented them in an interview said, "We have been together for six years, and basically, we are a...
The June 24 meeting of the Washakie County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees began with the presentation of the annual Bell Ringer Award to photographer James Yule. Presented to a community member each year who makes a difference within the schools, Yule was selected as the recipient of the Bell Ringer Award for the time he has spent over the years photographing school events. Chairman David Tommerup read aloud a statement saying, "I can't think of anyone else who devotes so much of their...
After 12 years at Hot Springs County School District No. 1, Curriculum & Professional Learning Community Specialist Breez Daniels submitted and was granted a resignation from the district during the June 20 meeting of the Board of Trustees. According to her profile on the district’s website, “In 22 years as an educator, Daniels has taught grades K-5, as well as 8th-9th grade reading strategies and social studies in a large junior high… Named Wyoming Elementary/Middle Schools Principal of the Year and National Distinguished Principal in 2016,...
The Worland Speech and Debate Team is currently in Des Moines, Iowa, competing in the 2024 National Speech and Debate Tournament. Bus driver Dave Wiley departed with speech and debate competitors from Worland, Thermopolis, Rawlins and Laramie on June 15. Of the busload of students, 10 are from Worland; eight qualifiers and two supplemental entries. Coach Rick Dorn said, "That's a new thing that the National Speech and Debate Association started offering, you get up to two spots to let kids go ex...
Dan and Maureen (Tolman) Flannery weren't expecting to begin a new adventure in Wyoming at this stage in life, but three historic wooden buildings later they don't seem to regret their decision. Now based in Illinois, the home state of her actor and English teacher husband Dan, Maureen works as a poet, often drawing inspiration from her upbringing in Worland and her family's sheep ranch in Ten Sleep. She is an award-winning poet, having written 10 books of poetry including over 500 poems...
The Arapaho Ranch, with its headquarters six miles west of Thermopolis, has long been a symbol of Native American culture in the West, but new developments are making the ranch a place for hands-on education in history, science, agriculture and art. According to arapahoranch.org, the ranch's website, it was originally established in 1867 on 75,000 acres outside Thermopolis and it grew to become the largest sheep ranch in Wyoming by 1918. The ranch fell victim to the Great Depression and went...
Washakie County School District No. 2’s ‘Annual Leave’ policy came under review by the board of trustees during their meeting on June 10, sparked by a grievance from Technology Director Boyd Whitlock. Earlier in the school year, Whitlock suffered a broken ankle that rendered him unable to work for an extended period. Whitlock anticipated that he would get to use his sick days while recovering with a broken ankle, but found that he had to use his annual vacation days up first. He said, “I have 78 days of accrued sick time, and to have to use...
Worland Community Garden Manager Ivy Asay discussed new goals and the upcoming expansion project for the little plot at Newell Sargent Park. The community garden is run by a Community Garden Board, and according to their Facebook page they, “grow food for local non-profits and service organizations, and host educational programs.” Asay said, “Last year we were able to donate 3,864 pounds of produce, which was our best season yet, but our goal this year is to break 4,000 pounds.” She continu...
Maintenance and construction updates provided by Washakie Medical Center Plant Operations Manager Steve Weicki were the prominent topic of business during the hospital’s board of directors meeting May 28. During his report he announced that the hospital’s new MRI machine, its components and its containing room would be fully assembled by June 17, and then the process of calibrating the machine would begin. “The first part of July everything should be getting signed off on and back up and running, and we’ll say goodbye to the mobile MRI trailer,...
Science teacher Donna Hunter retired from Washakie County School District No. 1 at the close of the 2024 school year, marking an end to 30 years of teaching in Worland. Hunter grew up in the small town of Overgaard, Arizona, where she graduated high school in 1983. After high school she got an associate's degree from Northland Pioneer College in Show Low, Arizona, and lived and worked in Arizona until 1989 when she moved to Wyoming. She obtained a bachelor's degree in education from the...
Two Hot Springs County High School teachers spoke on the topic of salaries and benefits, stating that they appreciate the board’s efforts to keep salaries competitive with districts in neighboring communities, but expressed that more work needed to be done. London Jenks, a chemistry, physics and computer science teacher in Thermopolis, said that there are currently seven open positions in the state that would increase his pay, including one in Carbon County that would amount to a base pay increase of over $15,000. Lyle Wiley, an English, p...
Wyoming's U.S. Congressional Representative Harriet Hageman was a special guest during the annual Memorial Day service held at the Riverview Memorial Gardens cemetery in Worland and at the Ten Sleep Cemetery on May 27, and she delivered a very reflective speech. She began, "I want you to know what an incredible honor it is to represent you in Congress; I've been there for a little over a year and a half now, and I have learned a lot to say the least, but to be able to come back to Wyoming, to...
During the May 20 meeting of the Washakie County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees, the Master Teacher Award was presented to Rick Dorn, a social studies teacher at Worland High School. The Master Teacher Award is given annually by the board to a teacher in Worland's school district who goes above and beyond their duties as a teacher, making the extra effort to connect to their students. Dorn was selected by the board because, "His dedication to students is unmatched. He has left an...
Safe Community Day this Saturday, June 1 will give the community a chance to get up close with first responders and the equipment that they use to save lives. Kami Neighbors of Washakie County Emergency Management said, “It’s a chance for the public to come and meet our first responders and other agencies in our community that help keep our community safe. Typically, these are people that you meet when you’re having a bad day. Instead, we want you to meet them in a fun, safe environment.” Safe Community Day is hosted by Washakie County Emergen...
Following an executive/closed session during the Washakie County School District No. 2 board of trustees meeting on May 13, the board approved hiring several classified staff as well as extra duty assignments. The following classified staff were approved for the 2024-2025 school year: Galen Beamer, bus driver; Ernie Beckley, bus driver; Halli Caines, paraeducator; Crystal Cooper, paraeducator; Kady Gossens, head cook; Aaron Keyes, maintenance/transportation supervisor; Karen Krahn, custodian; Barb Lee, part time paraeducator; Mitzi Love, full t...
Wyoming Senior Citizens Inc., based out of Riverton, is looking for volunteers for their programs in the Big Horn Basin area. Volunteer opportunities are for people age 55 or older who would like to work with either children or the elderly. Executive Director Herb Wilcox said the private, nonprofit organization was founded in Riverton in 1975 with the goal of aiding senior citizens in maintaining their independence. Wilcox said the company’s mission statement is, “To help seniors remain independent living with dignity for as long as pos...
The annual Wyoming SkillsUSA competition took place in Casper April 22-24, where students with skills in various arts and trades have an opportunity to win scholarship money by competing against students from across Wyoming and neighboring states. This year, Worland took a team of 34 students to the competition competing in 12 categories, up from seven students the year before. Welding teacher Brian Aagard, who coached the SkillsUSA team for the first time last year, said, "The school as a whole...