The News Editorial: An Easter thought, but first …

Easter is on Sunday and while I was thinking of an Easter type column there is something else I just have to say first.

Kudos to the Wyoming Legislature leadership, specifically Speak of the House Albert Sommers and Senate President Ogden Driskill for saying no to a special session. Many legislators, including our local legislators, are clamoring for a special session in light of recent vetoes by Governor Mark Gordon, specifically one on property tax and vetoing the bill that would have repealed gun free zones.

First, special sessions should be for emergencies only. The repeal of the gun free zones is not an emergency. It is a bill that has come up in the Legislature every year and it will be back, perhaps this time with some local control included.

There are several bills that do provide some property tax relief that have been signed by the governor.

SF 54 would have provided a 25.6% exemption of the fair market value of a single-family residential structure. The bill would have meant a loss of revenue of nearly $47 million, $14.9 million in school foundation fund and $32 million in ad valorem tax and that was the governor’s concern that led to the veto.

The legislative leadership estimated cost of a special session would be $350,000. This is not the best use of our taxpayer money. The cost would likely not be far off as the seven-day special session in 2021 cost the state taxpayers $233,000, according to a Casper Star-Tribune article. This cost was $33,000 per day, up from what legislators had originally estimated at that time would only be $25,000 per day. Costs included legislators’ salaries, legislators’ per diem, mileage, part-time session staff and “logistics.”

OK, now that I got that off my mind on to Easter.

I was looking back at some past Easter columns and came across the one in 2020 where Easter events were cancelled. Four years later the American Legion is celebrating with its 105th annual Easter Egg Hunt. Kudos to them for volunteering to scatter candy in three baseball fields. It is a lot of work for a hunt that is over in about 10 to 15 minutes. If you have ever just sat back and watched a hunt, it is quite entertaining. Kids start running every which way, some running over a batch of candy as they spotted a different batch ahead of them.

The Aquatic Center has an egg hunt as well in the water (on Saturday), which brings a different twist of kids scrambling for eggs but is also entertaining.

Ten Sleep will have its annual egg hunt with special eggs equaling special prizes.

Years ago when I worked for the Lovell Chronicle, the Byron Lions Club would actually cook and dye real eggs to hide. That was a lot of work. Cowley had the Easter Bunny come and some kids were just as scared of the bunny as others are with Santa Claus.

I personally loved to hunt for eggs and was usually the first child up on Easter morning and would be scoping out the hiding places. My goal was to find the most eggs, which was pretty easy and my brother and sister’s goals were just to find their Easter baskets.

But, Easter is not just about egg hunts it is about celebrating our Savior, Jesus. Many churches will be having special services including the community-wide Good Friday service at noon. There are sunrise services with some churches also having breakfast to celebrate Christ’s resurrection.

No matter how you celebrate may you have a blessed Easter weekend.