Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
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WORLAND – Seventh and eighth graders at Thermopolis Middle School are feeding their school with a new vocational learning course called "farm to school." Becky Martinez, a vocational teacher at the middle school, teaches farm to school, a first-year course that is designed "to try and get people to eat local produce that we have available," Martinez said. She added that the program is about educating students on where their food comes from. This year, Martinez has taken the 22 students who take...
WORLAND – The Worland City Council approved on first reading an ordinance updating options for payment for streets and sidewalks improvements. Ordinance No. 837 was approved unanimously on first reading Tuesday night. The ordinance reads, “The City of Worland may be responsible for paying the costs involved in replacing the double gutter, curb and gutter and sidewalk, including ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant wheelchair ramps, at the corners of corner lots located within the City of Worland. This responsibility applies only wit...
WORLAND – A new Homeland Security and emergency management director will start mid-November after the Washakie County Commissioners approved a motion to hire an area resident. Jeff Schweighart, who grew up in Thermopolis, accepted the commissioners’ offer via telephone at Tuesday morning’s scheduled commissioner meeting. Currently Schweighart resides in Meeteetse. Washakie County Commission Chair Aaron Anderson discussed commute and a timeline for relocation and it was decided Schweighart will have until the end of the year to relocate, granted...
WORLAND – "It's a time to get family together and revitalize tradition," Ed Keller said of his family's generation-old recipe for making sugar beet syrup. Last Saturday a conglomerate of family members and friends got together and spent the day joking and laughing while partaking in their tradition. The Keller's have had the sugar beet recipe in their family for generations and while they haven't made a batch since 2001, Keller said they plan to do it every year now. The efforts to keep the t...
WORLAND – Hospital renovations and security were discussed at the Washakie Medical Center Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday night. Brad McCaslin, with Banner Health Development and Construction, gave an updated schedule for hospital renovation completion dates and discussed a minor setback. Bathrooms in the patient rooms are non-compliant according to state regulations. Regulations require sinks and toilets to be 30 inches apart and upon inspection, it was discovered they were ranging from 25 to 27 inches apart. McCaslin said the sinks w...
WORLAND – For the past 46 years, Amalia "Milly" Snider has been an integral element to Washakie Medical Center Banner Health in Worland. Snider has spent her nearly five-decade career as a certified nurse's assistant and credits a love for people as the reason she stayed. "That's what it's all about. (Have) patience in us, love one another and we'll take care of everybody." She lovingly calls Washakie Medical Center "her beautiful Hollywood Hospital," and said her career in the medical field w...
WORLAND – Starting this week, teachers will have weekly meetings with their students at East Side Elementary School as part of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. Last Friday, Principal Kenneth Dietz held an assembly where students watched a skit performed by East Side fifth graders and the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program was shared. "Backed by 35 years of research and successful, worldwide implementation, the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is a long-term, system-wide program for c...
WORLAND – The first-grade students at East Side Elementary school were in a frenzy Wednesday afternoon reading and sharing pages of their own personalized version of the "I Like Me!" book. They made up a fraction of the first graders in Washakie County School District No. 1 that will receive their own personalized copy of the book from the Worland Kiwanis Club. West Side Elementary students received their copy last Thursday and South Side Elementary will receive their copies today, with a t...
WORLAND – The Washakie County Commissioners will have a conference call Tuesday to discuss Homeland Security upcoming reports and hiring a new Homeland Security Director. The conference call is set for 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon at the scheduled Washakie County Commissioner meeting with Guy Cameron and others for upcoming reports due for Homeland Security. This follows the resignation of previous Homeland Security Director Mike Orona. Orona turned in a letter of resignation effective Oct. 13. Orona took over for Kimball Croft, who went to P...
WORLAND – The Washakie County Solid Waste Disposal District (WCSWDD) gave updates on scale house construction at their scheduled meeting on Monday evening. Last month, the landfill received two bids for the concrete work portion for the scale house construction. Work began mid-September with Big Horn Redi Mix for $19,970.80. WCSWDD Chair Travis Filler said they started framing for concrete work and they hoped to have it dry by Tuesday. At Monday night’s meeting the WCSWDD board approved a motion for additional concrete work for an add...
WORLAND – Over 42 residents attended the Worland political forum/ debate and focused most of the questions toward school and council candidates. Candidates from State Senate District No. 20, Worland City Council, a mayoral candidate and Washakie County School District No. 1 introduced themselves to the audience at the forum on Wednesday night at the Worland Community Complex Center. Keith McDonald, organizer of the event and a mayoral candidate, moderated the event. Originally, the Northern Wyoming Daily News reported that WCCC Executive D...
WORLAND – Four parents attended the Standard Protocol Response (SPR) meeting last Thursday evening at East Side Elementary School. Principal Kenneth Dietz said the protocol is an action-based program and “is a classroom response for students and teachers in respect to an incident, intruder or threat at the school.” He added. “The (protocol) unifies code language for all school and law enforcement.” Following a short video on SPR and its origins, Dietz went over the four actions students experience with this protocol. SPR is founded on four a...
WORLAND – An eight-month review of Guardian Flight program was given at the Washakie County Commissioner meeting on Tuesday morning. Shannon Pollock, with Guardian Flight, met with the commissioners and went over response times and reflected on eight months of service in Washakie County. Guardian Flight is an air ambulance service in Washakie County. They are contracted with the county until 2020 for $25,000. Pollock said transport volume has been good and the location is good. Since the contract started last year in November, the base o...
WORLAND – The public is invited to view patient rooms, nurses’ station and labor and delivery suites at the Banner Health Washakie Medical Center open house on Thursday. The patient rooms, nurses’ station and labor and delivery suites are part of the first phase of construction and interested residents can view them from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday. Banner Health Public Relations Director/Critical Access and Rural Facilities Sara Quale said the renovations include structural changes with an emphasis in infection prevention and safety, as well as ae...
WORLAND – An empty aircraft departed the Worland Municipal Airport at 12:29 p.m. on Friday afternoon, signaling the end of an era. During that time, Airport Manager Lynn Murdoch and two Great Lakes Aviation employees watched as flight No. 2956 departed. The flight was the last flight out of Worland with essential air service. No commercial flyers were on board. What this means for Worland The last flight concluded events that occurred months ago. In May, the City of Worland received the o...
WORLAND – A political candidate forum/debate has been scheduled for Wednesday at the Worland Community Center Complex starting at 6 p.m. with Worland mayor, city council, District No. 1 school board candidates and state legislative candidates invited to attend the event. Organizer and mayoral candidate Keith McDonald said he organized the event, but the event is sponsored by 10 local businesses. WCCC Executive Director Steve Hunt will be the moderator for the forum. “Originally, I had challenged my opponent Jim Gill to a debate and he res...
WORLAND – Mike Neufer is running for a seat on the Worland City Council, and the Ward 3 write-in candidate has the public’s support. Neufer received three write-in votes in the Aug. 16 primary election, enough to make him eligible as a candidate. Neufer said he’s lived in Worland most of his life, and while he hasn’t been out going door-to-door campaigning; he’s received encouragement from the community, and ultimately, Worland residents helped him accept the nomination to run for council. It was a surprise to find out he had been written in, b...
WORLAND – The Washakie County burn regulations are helping, according Washakie County Fire Warden Chris Kocher. Kocher, reflecting on the burn regulations six months after the burn regulations have been in effect, said, “I think having the burn regulations in place helped … They are certainly not perfect but it’s given us an opportunity to move in a positive direction.” After a period of educating people on how to follow the burn regulations, Kocher said having the regulations did help reduce some of the smoke in the area now that burning i...
WORLAND – Five special education paraprofessionals and several coaches were approved at the Washakie County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees meeting on Monday night. Superintendent David Nicholas said the hires were necessary because of student needs, and the board approved five special education paraprofessionals and one swim paraprofessional. Angela Leone was hired as the part-time special education paraprofessional at West Side Elementary, Diane David was hired as full-time special education paraprofessional at South Side Elementary,...
WORLAND – Last week Worland children and families were challenged to remain “screen free” from 4 to 8 p.m. with Public Health’s “Screen Free Week” campaign. Washakie County Public Health challenged families with children age 3 to eighth grade to remain screen free from the week of Sept. 12 – 16 from 4 – 8 p.m. Nursing Manager Amanda Heinemeyer with Public Health said they received about 70 passports back from children and said families really enjoyed the program. Willing participants picked up a Screen Free Week Passport at Public Health t...
WORLAND – The Worland mayor and city council discussed the street committee report at the council’s scheduled meeting on Tuesday evening. Months ago, a street improvement committee of three council members, one from each ward, was put together to look costs for street improvement with the city curb and gutter loan. Keith Gentzler, Dennis Koch and Michelle Rideout met and got estimates with help from City Building Inspector Nick Kruger from McClellan and Macqueen and Schneider Construction. For a 45-foot lot it’s going to cost over $1,800 with...
WORLAND – "I never thought I would come to America and never go back. As a little kid, you don't think much of it," Worland High School teacher Jesus Davila said. Jesus Davila moved to Worland in 2001 with his family from Melchor Muzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico, and now teaches math in the halls he once learned in. "In the 1990s, my uncle who lives in Eagle Pass, Texas came here to do work in the beets field," Davila said, and his father came to the states for a season to do migrant work. That was t...
WORLAND –Worland High School guidance counselor and history teacher Randy Durr was honored by Rocky Mountain College for his service contributions to athletics. Durr received the William 'Bill' Woolston Distinguished Service Award from his alma mater Rocky Mountain College on Sept. 9. The award is given to a person who has significantly contributed to RMC through service to the college's athletics program. Woolston was a major contributor to the athletics program and gave back to the college f...
WORLAND – A national wildlife organization started an initiative to reverse the declining numbers of hunters and increase access. The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) recently launched “Save the Habitat, Save the Hunt.” A national “initiative with the effort to reverse the trends of declining hunter numbers, habitat loss, and loss of access for outdoor recreationists,” Regional Director with National Wild Turkey Federation Jason Tarwater said. The organization was founded in 1973 and has since helped restore turkey numbers to nearly se...
WORLAND – Hedge Music is going back to the start. Owner Dan Frederick said Hedge Music originally started in Powell in 1975. "It's kind of funny. Hedge Music started out with a band director (Paul Hedge)," Frederick said, and added Hedge's original idea was repairing instruments for students. Hedge Music in Worland started after Frederick and his wife Cathy moved to Worland in 1981. They opened a store on Big Horn Avenue in 1983 after a location change. From there, the Worland store morphed i...