Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
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National Newspaper Week 2017 ends today. This year’s theme is “Real Newspapers … Real News.” There’s been a lot of talk this year, thanks mostly in part to President Donald Trump, about “fake news.” So what is real and what is fake and can we differentiate between the two. The chairman of this year’s National Newspaper Week, Tom Newton, says Americans can know the difference. He stated in his opening for NNW, “This year’s theme for National Newspaper Week – ‘Real Newspapers … Real News’ – couldn’t be more fitting to frame the question:...
I’ve been reading a lot of odds and ends in the last month or so, I suppose because Celia and I have been so busy that I just grab what reading I can fit in. That trend is unlikely to change soon: We plan to go to Jackson Hole at the end of the week to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary and then a week after that to another big occasion (I won’t reveal the details, because I want to write about this event in next week’s column). My daughter gave me some short books when I was in Seattle and I found a couple of them to be quite inter...
It’s about time people started defending the national anthem. I know you’re a bit puzzled by that statement. But not that long ago, in fact right after 9/11, despite all the patriotism across the country, there was a movement to change the national anthem from the “Star Spangled Banner” to “God Bless America.” There was no outcry about the importance of the national anthem or the words to the “Star Spangled Banner.” The outcry was regarding religion and people not wanting God to be a part of the national anthem. They weren’t necessarily defen...
Maybe it’s the rain, maybe it’s the fact I’m taking a few days vacation later next week, maybe it’s because of all the weird stuff that’s been happening, or maybe it’s because that’s just how my mind works but I have a lot of issues running through my head and rather than pick one to write an entire column, I’m going to write snippets. It boggles the mind that four Bostonians would think “Racism is as American as Baseball” would be an anti-racism message. Ask 10 people on the street what that even means and you’ll get 10 different answers. Gu...
I’ve mentioned in earlier columns that I delivered the Northern Wyoming Daily News for four years. That period began on June 1, 1956 (when I was 12 and headed into the eighth grade) and ended on June 1, 1960. For some reason I recently started thinking about June 1, 1956, and trying to remember how things were different back then. Then I realized that the best record of that difference was the paper I delivered the morning of the initial day of June, 1956. So, I went to the local library and reviewed in detail the microfilm version of the p...
Football season is here. One of my favorite times of the year. I love watching college football and the NFL. But, no matter how many games I watch and no matter how my favorite teams do, I remember it’s just a game. It’s a game where players and coaches are trying their best. They all have one goal in mind – to win. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s no excuse to berate or belittle players or coaches. One Texas A&M fan, so angered at the Aggies colossal collapse of a 34-point lead last weekend, wrote a hate-filled, racial le...
After the great eclipse trip, my next trip (only four days later) was considerably longer, to Seattle, to visit my daughter and her family. Celia and I have five children between us and they are scattered all over the country. The closest one is in Sheridan, then in Logan, Utah. There’s a big jump to the next furthest away, to Seattle (almost a thousand miles), followed by Murray, Kentucky, and New York City. I suppose we’re typical of most American families, in that most of our kids have moved a long ways away and some not so far. When I han...
I hate spiders. Yes, I know hate is a strong word but it fits. I really do hate spiders. Yes, I know they can be beneficial. I hear it from my husband all the time. My reply to him. They aren’t beneficial in my house. But for him I try and give the spiders a fighting chance. When I see a spider I tell them to get out of the house. I give them about the time it takes for me to squish them. If they want to survive, they have to move quickly. It’s not my fault the spiders don’t heed my warnings. Having lived alone prior to getting married I have...
When we first thought about the coming eclipse, my wife and I felt that the experience of an eclipse was over-hyped and that we could enjoy it as much on TV as seeing it live. And we sure didn’t want to drive through areas that promised to be chaotic. As the time grew near, however, we became more interested and tried to figure out if we could get to the total eclipse area without fighting brutal traffic. We came up with a plan: We’d go to Ten Sleep and then south on Highway 434 (the Upper Nowood Road) toward Lost Cabin and Moneta. But we were...
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” I wonder if the Founding Fathers could imagine the current state of our country when they wrote the Constitution and selected freedom of religion, speech and press as the No. 1, the most important, right for the citizens of a brand new country. I doubt they could ima...
I'm excited for Monday. I don't normally, OK I never say I'm excited for a Monday. But, I am this time because it is solar eclipse day. I won't be traveling to Thermopolis to view the eclipse in totality. I'll be watching from home, where I will have my camera (complete with solar eclipse filter) set up on a tripod to try and capture this historic moment. I'll have 99.4 percent totality at the house. I'm happy with that. I was a young child during the last solar eclipse, 1979, and I remember...
Last week I wrote about life lessons I learned at area county fairs. Well I learned something else, or rather came to a realization. I realize that the Washakie County Commissioners have some decisions to make regarding the fairgrounds. I’ve spent the most time this summer on the fairgrounds, compared to the two previous fairs and the 2.5 years I’ve been here. This year at the demolition derby, I attempted to sit in the grandstands to photograph. I have done this in Big Horn County for a number of years. But, there’s a problem. First is the d...
If we need to know whether municipal landfills must be tested for groundwater contamination or if hunters with physical disabilities can hunt from stationary vehicles or whether importers can bring one-hump camels into the state, the answers should not be buried in government regulations. Regulations should be easily available, understandable and assist us in complying. When rules and regulations are obscure, overly complicated or difficult to find, state government is not doing its job. Rules t...
You can learn a lot at county fairs if you just sit back, watch and contemplate. Friday morning on my drive to Basin for the Big Horn County beef show I was contemplating what to write for this week’s column and my mind was full of several topics, including county fairs. We’ve been busy this week covering all three fairs. I have covered horse shows, a rabbit show, swine show, flower show and beef show. As I think back on these shows and the judges’ comments there are some life lessons that can be learned. —Hard work is rewarded. When watchin...
I usually send in my column on Friday, for publication on the following Tuesday morning. From the moment I hit “Send” on my computer, I’ve got one week to submit another column. That one week limit is usually not onerous, but it is a persistent responsibility that can become onerous, when, as with the coming column, I don’t have a full week. I sent a column in on Friday, July 21, knowing that the following Tuesday (July 25) I would be starting a Wyoming Humanities tour to Lander, Centennial and Encampment, meaning that I only had three days to...
It is fair time in the Big Horn Basin. Park County is wrapping up its fair week and the rest of the Big Horn Basin is gearing up for a full week of fair fun with Washakie County, Big Horn County and Hot Springs County all scheduling their fairs this week. Washakie County has already had plenty of fair judging with the shooting sports, fabric and fashion judging and the horse show this past week. The bulk of fair judging and festivities is this week. While it is true that much of the fair in our three small counties in the Basin are geared...
This last Saturday (July 15) the Washakie Museum held its annual Washakie Museum Paleontology and Archaeology Symposium. I’ve attended these through the years, and they’ve been wonderful sessions. I learned that the Big Horn Basin is considered to be a kind of heaven for geologists, and what remarkable, cutting edge work has been done here. Some 144 people attended. The usual suspects (museum aficionados) were there, plus a lot of people I didn’t know. I guessed that this last category consisted mostly of people involved with archa...
Have we as a society become too dependent on the internet? You all know where I’m going with this right? At least those of you who lost internet connection for most of the day on Thursday do. There are more and more things that are internet-based and thus without the internet we can be at a loss to get some tasks completed. I was at the county clerk’s office Friday and she was getting a copy of the marriage license that was issued Thursday. “I had to do it old school,” she remarked. That’s right, apparently those records are entered through a...
Reunions, people love them or hate them. I truly enjoy family reunions, but to be honest I have yet to attend any of my class reunions. The difference? Good question and I'm not sure I have a great answer except that I truly did not like high school and am OK with moving beyond high school and not looking back. That said, there are a few members of my class that I keep in close touch with, and there are many of my Class of 1986 classmates whom I am Facebook friends with and we keep in touch...
In September I wrote a column "What were we thinking" after we adopted a puppy from a friend who could no longer keep her. And this weekend, as near as I can figure, Shadow will turn 1 this weekend. We got her at the age of 9 weeks and doing the math backward I came up with around July 9 for her date of birth. It's been an amazing and challenging experience with a puppy. I'm not sure we'll be doing that again any time soon - or ever again. But she is the smartest dog we've had and her tiny eyes...
It is almost the Fourth of July but for some this will be a four-day week and fireworks galore. The BLM, city and county have graciously allowed fireworks out at the gravel pit again for every day through the Fourth of July. This allows people who can't shoot off fireworks at their own residence a safe place to shoot them off. The area is also great for another reason, there are no neighbors or dogs. If your dogs do not like loud noises, or you do not know if they do, do not take them with you....
OK so let’s be honest and realistic with ourselves about health care and health care acts. First, let’s admit there are some good things about the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and there are some things that are not good at all. Second, let’s admit that the American Health Care Act (GOP House version) and the Better Care Reconciliation Act (GOP Senate version) is not as horrible as some people have perceived and that just as with the Affordable Care Act, both have some good things and some bad things in them. Third, let’s admit that having...
Most people know that the majority of women are multi-taskers. There are several things running through our mind at any given moment. This is why, for example in our newsroom, my one reporter (yes the one who is a woman) and I can have a conversation in the morning and pick up the conversation again in the afternoon out of the blue. We both know exactly what conversation we are starting up again, while everyone around us (yes the men) are lost. So today I want to take you into a glimpse of a...
It’s summer time, while not officially until June 21, school is out, tourists are passing through, and snow melt runoff is in full swing with a vengeance. What do all these have in common — one simple message, safety first. There are more pedestrians and bicyclists out and about on the streets in Worland but also on the highway. Be aware. Remember that while Wyoming has a law prohibiting texting and driving, any driver distraction is not a good thing. As a driver you need to keep your mind and your eyes on the road, not dipping that fry in ket...
Friday morning, more than most weeks, I was struggling for a column idea, so this week you get a few short columns all in one. 'NOT REAL NEWS' FEATURE With all the talk now about "fake news" the Associated Press has a weekly roundup of "Not Real News: A look at what didn't happen this week." It's stories that have circulated on social media by fake news sources or satirical sources that people take as fact. I can tell I haven't been on Facebook as much as some people because I was not familiar...