Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Washakie County officials (left to right) County Assessor Kathy Treanor, Commissioners Fred Frandson and Terry Wolf (not pictured), County Attorney John Worrall, County Treasurer Doris Kern, Coroner Jeff Lapp, Sheriff Steve Rakness, and County Clerk Mary Grace Strauch are sworn-in by Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Bobbi Overfield on Tuesday morning. Not in the picture is District Court Clerk Suzann Whitlock.
Judge Bobbi Overfield administers the oath of office to county officials on Tuesday.
WORLAND – The Washakie County Commission met Tuesday for the first meeting of the year, hearing department reports, recapping events of 2018 and minor upgrades to county properties.
Commission members Terry Wolf and Fred Frandson were sworn-in at a ceremony in the morning, with Frandson appointed commission chairman before convening department reports.
Washakie County Ambulance Director Luke Sypherd reported to the commission that the county ambulance service answered 963 requests in 2018, with 746 patients transported for medical services.
Sypherd also reported that the ambulance service had passed an inspection by the Wyoming State Office of Emergency Medical Services in December.
The service is currently seeking to fill the position of ambulance captain, to take over basic crew managerial duties currently filled by Sypherd.
Washakie County Emergency Management Director Jeff Schweighart reported that reports had been filed with the state regarding a recent county exercise to test emergency response times.
The December exercise, paid for by a Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) Grant, took place north of Worland in the vicinity of the town sewer lagoon property. In the planning stages for nine months through the Local Emergency Planning Commission (LEPC), the exercise tested local first responders in their ability to effectively communicate in the case of a large-scale hazardous materials emergency.
The exercise included members of local law enforcement, fire district, HAZMAT response teams, Wyoming Department of Transportation, BurlingtonNorthern-Santa Fe Railroad, the Red Cross, and evaluators from surrounding counties.
The commission also discussed with Schweighart the need to evaluate and inventory the county's decontamination trailer, which is currently stored at the Washakie County Fairgrounds.
OTHER BUSINESS
The commission also approved an estimated $1,400 in repairs to a county vehicle belonging to the Maintenance Department, and approved having the county health department seek bids for new flooring in the medical clinic.
