Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
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BUFFALO —A federal lawsuit that seeks to prevent the U.S. Forest Service from dropping aerial fire retardant into U.S. waterways could endanger Johnson County residents' lives and property, a local leader said last week. Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics filed the lawsuit in Montana U.S. District Court in October last year. The suit accuses the Forest Service of violating the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the discharge of pollutants into U.S. waterways without a permit. The suit claims that fire retardant has been i... Full story
WORLAND — All three incumbents running for re-election for the Washakie County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees won their races on Tuesday along with a newcomer who won her first term on the board. That’s according to unofficial election results. Worland-area Washakie County voters granted Don Bryant (1,641 votes), Sarah Lungren (1,182 votes) and Terri Logan (874 votes) additional terms on the school board. Kathy Mercado won her first term with 1,426 votes. “I’m really looking forward to collaborating with everyone on the board as we f...
WORLAND — It wasn’t a secret to Wyoming’s agriculture community that thousands of tunnels, ditches and canals were creeping up in age — the majority exceeding being older than a century or more — but the 2019 tunnel collapse in Goshen County that left thousands without irrigation during the most critical part of the growing season served as a wakeup call. That’s the impetus for numerous meetings being held statewide to assess producers’ thoughts on aging critical irrigation infrastructure. On July 17, 2019, heavy rains and resulting flooding ca...
WORLAND — Washakie County and Wyoming voters will cast their ballots on Tuesday at the very latest. Some have already voted or will vote before the 7 p.m. absentee ballot deadline on Tuesday. As of Oct. 26, 390 of the 567 absentee ballots sent to Washakie County voters have been returned. Wyomingites will decide on three contested statewide races, although those outcomes were realistically determined in August with the state leaning heavily Republican. The same holds true at the local level in Washakie County as most contested races were e...
NORTH WASHAKIE COUNTY - It was a brisk evening as the fire trucks and ambulances began arriving to the scene just off a major highway in Washakie County. Two minivans carrying a combined 14 passengers had collided. One passenger lay in the roadway, apparently having flown through a front windshield. Of the 14 passengers, two died at the scene. Choreographed chaos ensued. EMTs and firefighters began assessing the situation. They worked to get the victims out of the vehicles and onto backboards....
WORLAND — The occupants of a home in Worland made it out safely after the building caught fire last week, according to the Worland Volunteer Fire Department. According to a press release, 911 dispatchers received a call at roughly 10:16 a.m. on Oct. 18, for a report that a home at 220 Robertson was on fire. The caller, Marisha Stimpson, told the dispatcher that everyone residing at the house safely made it out. Fire Chief Chris Kocher and Worland Police arrived within moments of the 911 call at 10:18 a.m. and where heavy smoke was venting from...
WORLAND — Wyoming author B.E. Brown has wanted to be a writer since she was old enough to start talking. She wrote her first story in the fifth grade. In 2011, she published her first book, “In the Absence of Light.” In her 14 years living in Worland, Brown has published four books. They can be found at the Worland branch of the Washakie County Library and on shelves at Black Sheep Boutique. “It’s been amazing,” Brown said. “Being a small independent author and having local support has been amazing. A night clerk at a local hotel, Brown...
WORLAND — Motorists heading through the area of Washakie 10 and US 20 on Tuesday evening need not be alarmed if they see a slew of first responder vehicles in the area responding to a major crash. They’re just getting ready for the real thing. It’s part of a joint exercise between numerous first-response agencies in the area including Cody Regional Ambulance, Washakie Medical Center, Washakie County Sheriff’s Office the Worland Fire Department, Guardian Flight, Ten Sleep Ambulance, Manderson Fire, Washakie County Emergency Management, Cloud Pea...
WORLAND — The Worland City Council, during their regular meeting on Tuesday, approved a set of road closures for the Halloween holiday. Worland-Ten Sleep Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ruth Dugger requested that the city block off the portion of Ninth Street from Big Horn Ave north to the alley for the chamber’s Trunk-or-Treat event. Specifically, the road will be closed from 4 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 31 as the council approved the closure. Dugger said the chamber has in the past reserved the parking lot between Worland City Hall and the Wor...
WORLAND — Before pickups carrying hunters’ big game harvest become a regular sight in Ten Sleep, hunters will have an opportunity for fellowship, food and an overall good time. In its 27th iteration this year, Ten Sleep Hunter Fest will kick off Friday at 11 a.m. and run through 2 p.m. The free event, sponsored by the Worland-Ten Sleep Chamber of Commerce, is held on Pine Street between Dirty Sally’s and the Ten Sleep Senior Center. Event organizer Bill Fuchs said the event always takes place on Oct. 14 as the following day always marks the d...
WORLAND — The Worland Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission explored several loopholes in city ordinances that currently allow people to stay in recreational vehicles on city streets indefinitely. Monday’s discussion, which came during the board’s regularly scheduled meeting, stemmed from several instances of people taking up residence in recreational vehicles throughout Worland. “They’re all over the place,” Worland Building Official Randy Adams said, citing several examples. Currently, definitions in city code forbid people from parkin...
2th annual pumpkin drop looks to be a smash By ZACH SPADT Staff Reporter WORLAND - Orange thumbs from around the state and region will descend on Worland this weekend to compete for bragging rights and cash. The event, of course, is the 11th annual Wyoming State Champion Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off and Pumpkin Drop. Event organizer and giant pumpkin grower Jay Richard said the event attracts growers from as far away as Nebraska and Colorado. The event, hosted by the organization Wyo Giants, kicks...
WORLAND — Worland residents would be allowed to have chickens within the next month if a proposed ordinance passes the city council on its third and final reading. On Tuesday, city council members unanimously passed Ordinance 856 on second reading. Should the ordinance pass its third reading during the council’s Oct. 4 meeting, it would take effect on Oct. 14 and replace the current more restrictive ordinance. So far, the council has not made any amendments to the ordinance during its first two readings. If the ordinance passes in its current f...
WORLAND — On June 30, authorities were called to a residence north of Worland for a report that a man threatened another man with a gun. An affidavit filed in Washakie County Circuit Court states the incident stemmed from a dispute between Donald Orr and his then-ex-girlfriend. Court documents state the ex-girlfriend’s father was helping her move out of the home north of Worland. The affidavit states Orr pointed a gun at the woman’s father at some point. He claimed he was shooting at a small animal. Orr was charged with and pleaded guilt...
WORLAND — The Worland Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission will once again take up the issue of a proposed crematory in a dispute that has lasted well over a year. During the board’s regularly scheduled Monday meeting, members agreed to hold an appeal hearing for the crematorium located at Veile Mortuary on 301 South Eighth Street in Worland. The hearing is set for 3 p.m. Oct. 26. Veile Mortuary owner Clayton Draggoo approached the Worland City Council last February 2021 regarding the facility. The council sent him to the BAPC and the BA...
WORLAND — As Washakie County officials continue to search for a new planner following David Anderson’s resignation from the position, county commissioners have found someone to temporarily take over planning duties. On Tuesday, the Washakie County Commission asked Mike Robinson to take over some of Anderson’s duties. Robinson accepted. Robinson currently serves on the Washakie County Planning Commission and said temporarily stepping into the planner role would help the commission become better acquainted with rules and regulations. With no on...
WORLAND - Congressional staffers got a firsthand look at industry in the Big Horn Basin - namely agriculture - during a tour in August. Staffers representing Congress members throughout the country met up with county commissioners from Big Horn, Washakie, Park and Hot Springs County for a four-day tour that took them from a bentonite mine to the crown jewel of Wyoming's state park system. According to the itinerary, staffers touched down at the Cody airport the evening of Sunday, Aug. 14. From...
WORLAND — Washakie Medical Center has a new board member. The Washakie County Commission recently appointed Worland resident Chuck Glade to the hospital’s oversight board. Located in Worland, Washakie Medical Center is a county-owned building operated by Banner Health. Glade grew up in a farming community “even smaller than Worland” roughly 50 miles west of Des Moines, Iowa. He’s called Worland home since 1976, nearly half a century. “I’m a small-town kind of guy,” Glade said. Glade said he was encouraged to seek a spot on the board after a f...
WORLAND — Citing fears that a new quarter-cent sales tax would “torpedo” other continuing taxes on the ballot this fall in Washakie County, the Washakie County Commission declined to take up a ¼-cent sales tax to help fund the ambulance service. No commissioners moved to put the issue to a vote during the body’s regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, August 23. Stressing that the figure is a rough estimate, Commission Chairperson Aaron Anderson said the 1/4 -cent tax would raise around $31,000 each month. Currently the county is in the proc...
WORLAND — Worland City Council members during their regular meeting on Tuesday, August 16 moved forward with the preliminary phases of a bike trail project at Riverside Rotary Park. Specifically, council members voted unanimously to apply for a grant on behalf of Ten Sleep Nowood Trailbreakers (TNT). TNT President CJ Grimes said the project would include extending a gravel trail at the park. In addition, the project would also involve installing some terrain features, which could be fun for all ages. Grimes said other communities throughout W...
WORLAND - He spent his summers traveling from Billings to Wyoming and worked at his grandfather's vet clinic. When he finished his medical training, he wanted to end up back in Worland. "That was the goal the whole time - to end up back here," Dr. Steven Asay said. "I'm happy to be back here." Asay earlier this month was appointed to serve as Washakie County's Public Health Officer. He says the job is to identify any problems that pose risks to members of the community. In the position, he will...
WORLAND — There will be the Wyoming music staples like Jalan Crossland and the Patti Fiasco. Then there will be the twin brothers who weren’t born when such acts got their respective starts. And that’s for years been the theme at the annual party at Ten Sleep’s Vista Park — Nowoodstock For more than two decades, people from Wyoming and surrounding areas have made the pilgrimage to the small town of just over 300 years for a few days of music, dancing, fellowship, good food — and perhaps an adult beverage or four. This year’s party on the...
WORLAND — Washakie County Planner David Anderson last month announced his resignation. His final day on the job was Wednesday, Aug. 10. He began working for Washakie County Nov. 1, 2012. “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve you and Washakie County in this capacity and I appreciate the support you have given me throughout my time in this position,” Anderson wrote the Washakie County Commission. Anderson is taking an engineering position with BL Engineering. He will remain a part-time employee with the county to perform inspe...
WORLAND — There was only one school district that could pull Annie and Robert Griffin away from their positions as educators in rural Sheridan County. And when that position came open, there was no debate between the respective Tongue River Elementary principal and Tongue River High School social studies teacher. Annie Griffin recently began serving as the Washakie County School District 2 superintendent. Robert will take the reins as principal in Ten Sleep in the coming weeks. The Griffins have family in the Ten Sleep area and have visited f...
WORLAND - "It's not about fighting the enemy. We're brothers and sisters - and we rely on each other," said Wyoming National Guard Staff Sgt. Brant Knight. Knight, of Worland, serves as a recruiter for the National Guard. He recently received the Army Achievement Medal for his service as a recruiter. According to the medal citation, "Knight dominates the recruiting market and statistically is one of the top recruiters in the nation." High school students, and school administrators throughout...