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Articles written by Jurri Schenck


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  • Public meeting set for Monday to discuss shooting complex proposal

    Jurri Schenck|Apr 25, 2024

    The Hot Springs County Shooting Complex Committee is seeking public comment on Monday, April 29 from 6-8 p.m. at the Thermopolis Fire Hall at 400 South 14th Street. There will be an explanation of the HSC Proposal for the State Shooting Complex. Along with Hot Springs County, eight other counties in Wyoming, including Uinta, Campbell, Natrona, Park, Laramie, Fremont, Platte and Sheridan, turned in letters of intent and have been approved to proceed through the selection process. The Wyoming...

  • WYDOT seeks grant for feasibility study of alternative routes of Wind River Canyon Corridor

    Jurri Schenck|Apr 25, 2024

    The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) is applying for a two-year feasibility study to explore the possibility of alternative routes into and out of the Big Horn Basin, which would be a redundancy for the traffic through Wind River Canyon. This study will guide WYDOT’s resilience planning decision for the Wind River Corridor responding to various closure and travel delay risks it frequently faces, from rockfalls and landslides, to inclement weather and crashes. According to WYDOT o...

  • Commissioners receive update, funding request for Safe Haven

    Jurri Schenck|Apr 25, 2024

    At the April 16 Hot Springs County Commissioners board meeting, the commissioners voted and passed the approval of the Revenue and Expenditures Report. Karina Rice of the Crisis Prevention & Response Center for Washakie County and Kelli Bloedel of Safe Haven in Hot Springs County presented themselves to the board and informed them that the state is making their organizations regional and they were asking for funding from the county. The county commissioners have funded the Safe Haven program...

  • Election education presentation offered to public

    Jurri Schenck|Apr 18, 2024

    Hot Springs County Clerk Becky Kersten will hold an Election Education presentation on Thursday, April 25 at 6 p.m. at Big Horn Federal. The event is co-sponsored by the HSC Democrats and the HSC Republicans. It is open to the public. Kersten said, “The purpose is to get out some of the information on the legislative changes that will be affecting our voters for the 2024 elections.” The Primary Election will be held on August 20 from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. The General Election will be November 5 f...

  • State parks commission discusses HSSP proposals

    Jurri Schenck|Apr 18, 2024

    The State Parks and Cultural Resources Commission met virtually over Google Meet on April 11 at 9 a.m. to address proposals for concession operations at Hot Springs State Park. President Dr. Robert Tyrrell asked Deputy Director Nick Neylon to go over the Request For Proposals (RFP) process and said there were three RFPs submitted. Wyo Parks Concessions & Revenue Manager Stephanie Dillmon identified the three RRPs anonymously, labeled each by letters and gave their scores. Proposal A was scored...

  • Chamber discusses upcoming events

    Jurri Schenck|Apr 18, 2024

    At the April Thermopolis-Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, they held their annual board meeting with the reading of their mission statement and discussing fundraising ideas. Some of those ideas included a lemonade stand activity for kids to learn business, senior picture banners, and a potential talent show. In old business, for the nomination committee, the board provided a slate for their election. The slate includes Falina Hill, Bradyn Harvey, and Jolie Nicodemus. Also, the chamber’s April L...

  • Robertson opens Broadway Hair Studio

    Jurri Schenck|Apr 18, 2024

    Julie Robertson's Broadway Hair Studio located at 316 Broadway Street, Suite 3 is open and taking appointments. The studio operates Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. by appointment only, including evenings. Robertson has been doing hair for 31 years. Originally from Thermopolis, most of her career was in Northern California, but she moved back to Wyoming two years ago where her family roots come from. Opened in February, Broadway Hair Studio has a wide variety of products and...

  • Town holds public hearing for nuisance property violation appeal

    Jurri Schenck|Apr 11, 2024

    At the April 2 Thermopolis Town Council board meeting held at Town Hall, Mayor Adam Estenson and the council held a public hearing at the request of property owner Allen Webber, from Casper, for an appeal to a nuisance violation for 117 Fremont Street. Webber did not appear for his requested public hearing. An unidentified subject attempted to represent the property owner. This subject was later identified by town officials as property tenant Paul Mathewson. However, Mayor Estenson said, “I d...

  • Town considers transfer station location alternative

    Jurri Schenck|Apr 4, 2024

    The Town of Thermopolis Landfill is at the end of its life cycle and for many years town officials have been trying to plan for the transition to a transfer station. Previous town administration planned to have a transfer station located on land just north of Thermopolis and had explored the idea of privatizing garbage collection. Thermopolis Mayor Adam Estenson gave his current perspective on how the town is planning to handle its trash and the preparations for a transfer station. Recently,...

  • Circus coming to town in July

    Jurri Schenck|Apr 4, 2024

    At the March Thermopolis-Hot Springs County Chamber of Commerce board meeting held at Big Horn Federal, CEO Meri Ann Dorman announced the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus will return with their Big Top on July 7 with two show times, 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. They will set up near the Hot Springs State Park headquarters. This circus was last presented in Thermopolis two years ago. Long-term substitute teacher Riley Jeff and the high school FFA students presented a skit discussing the rise in land...

  • Muench visits India on cultural immersion trip

    Jurri Schenck|Apr 4, 2024

    Recent Thermopolis high school graduate Lauren Muench joined a 10-person team to go on a mission to India from February 10 to March 11. Some of the locations Muench visited were Ahmedabad, Gujarat and Kota, Jaipur and Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Muench explained, "Because India is a closed country, we weren't allowed to do traditional 'missions' work. It was more like a cultural immersion trip. We spent quite a bit of time visiting friends of the missionaries there and drinking Missoula chai. It was...

  • Hospital board hears update on clinic expansion project

    Jurri Schenck|Apr 4, 2024

    At the March Hot Springs Health board meeting held in the conference room, Scott Alwin gave the CEO report and said, “The walk-through for the clinic expansion project was held on March 13. We have bid submissions for the project that are due April 25, so we look forward to having them come in this month.” Alwin added, “We have a couple of providers who will be out late March through mid-May due to medical leave and parental leave, and we’re thankful that Tara Blumenshine has agreed to offer h...

  • Governor vetoes one property tax relief bill while signing others

    Jurri Schenck|Mar 28, 2024

    The Wyoming Legislature recently passed five property tax bills and Governor Mark Gordon has signed HB0003, “Property tax exemption for long-term homeowners,” HB0045, “Property tax exemption-residential structures and land,” and SF0089, “Veterans ad valorem exemption-amount” into law. Originally presented to Governor Gordon were five bills, three of which were modifications to existing law, and the other two were new bills. House Bill 3 passed, which is a new exemption and was for senior citi...

  • Town council approves motorcycle awareness parade

    Jurri Schenck|Mar 28, 2024

    The Thermopolis Town Council held a brief meeting at Town Hall on March 19. During citizen participation, Frank Davis presented a request for a Motorcycle Awareness Parade on May 4 at noon. Davis said the parade path would begin at the old Shopko building to Canyon Hills Road to 14th Street, a right onto Broadway, a left turn at 6th Street, to Park Street, to Hot Springs State Park, and go through the park, then right to East Broadway, a right at 4th Street, left on Arapahoe to 6th Street, then...

  • Nail spa opens downtown

    Jurri Schenck|Mar 28, 2024

    Sean Kruse and his fiance Michelle Dang opened The Polish Nail & Spa for business on March 19. They are located at 110 North 5th Street. Kruse moved to Thermopolis about five years ago after he left Aberdeen, South Dakota where he worked as a store manager at Walmart for 30 years. Kruse is also the Deputy Assessor for Hot Springs County. Just before he left for Wyoming, Kruse met Michelle Dang and immediately fell in love. For the past five years, their long-distance relationship blossomed and...

  • Cutting club celebrates 35 years of dedication to their sport

    Jurri Schenck|Mar 21, 2024

    The Central Wyoming Cutting Club (CWCC) celebrated its 35th anniversary last Saturday with a banquet at Hot Springs Hotel.Original members James Johnson, Martin Bader, Melody Robinson and Mel Dahl were recognized during the event. Current club president Hayden Heaphy sat down with the founders, along with director Bruce Keller, and spoke about the importance of all the original founding members and their anniversary. Original founding member Martin Bader was unable to attend. Heaphy said,...

  • Lost Coal District book released

    Jurri Schenck|Mar 21, 2024

    Author Lea Cavalli Schoenewald’s newest book “Lost Coal District of Gebo, Crosby and Kirby” will be available at a book signing event to meet the author at Storyteller on Saturday, March 23 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at 524 Broadway. The book is described as, “Forging America’s fuel, Henry Cottle registered the first mining claim in what would become northern Hot Springs County in the late 1880s. Henry Monro and Frank Porter’s Cedar Mountain Cowboy Mine followed in 1898. In 1906, Burlington...

  • Hospital board hears various reports

    Jurri Schenck|Mar 21, 2024

    At the February Hot Springs Health board meeting held at the conference room, CEO Scott Alwin introduced their new lab director, Kylee Brink. Alwin said, “She’s been a faithful employee for several years and over the past year has shown dedication, growth, diligence and dedication to quality and improved performance in our lab. Additionally, she brought the laboratory through a successful Clia survey with monumental improvements compared to the previous surveys.” Alwin added that he has resta...

  • Mayor explains decision-making process regarding released body cam footage

    Jurri Schenck|Mar 14, 2024

    At the March 5 Thermopolis Town Council meeting held at Town Hall, Mayor Adam Estenson made a statement regarding the released body cam footage of Sergeant Mike Mascorro related to the incident on April 28. He said, "It was my decision to release only portions of that footage...The intent was to include pertinent footage to cut down on the amount of viewing time because it's the duration of the day in different segments as the camera is turned on and turned off throughout the day, which is stand...

  • GIS update presented

    Jurri Schenck|Mar 14, 2024

    At the March 5 Hot Springs County Commissioners board meeting held at the annex building, the commissioners voted and passed the approval of the warrant register for $440,306.21 and payroll for $202,778.42. Brian Clarkson and Maddie Ross of Ardurra gave the Geographic Information System (GIS) update and said they have scheduled time with the commissioners on April 16 to go over GIS in detail. Ross also said they worked on an online application for the Planner to categorize parcels by their...

  • Travel and tourism meeting

    Jurri Schenck|Mar 7, 2024

    At the February Hot Springs County Travel & Tourism board meeting, Treasurer Audra Dominguez was not able to attend. Therefore, Chairman Carl Leyba and Director Jackie Dorothy went over the financial report. The most recent lodging tax deposit was for $13,386.76, which was $3,689.40 more than the previous year or a 38% increase. This was also a recording breaking amount for the month. The board then reviewed the financial statements and budget. After discussion, the board voted and passed the...

  • Town holds brief meeting

    Jurri Schenck|Mar 7, 2024

    At the February 20, the Thermopolis Town Council meeting, Town Clerk/Treasurer Tracey Van Heule presented a budget adjustment, which included some salary adjustments and other to satisfy auditors in their accounting. The council voted and passed the approval of the budget adjustment. During citizen participation, Meri Ann Dorman, representing Main Street Thermopolis, presented a request for street closure for their Brewfest event on June 1. The closure would be on Broadway Street between 4th...

  • Water is the lifeblood of agriculture

    Jurri Schenck|Feb 22, 2024

    The Owl Creek Irrigation District (OCID) is constructing a new pumping station. Matt Brown is part of those leading the effort in its construction. Brown said that the OCID is a taxable entity which enables them to pursue grants. The OCID is made up of three areas, which include the upper area, the middle area, and the lower area, which is from Mike Messenger's property to the Big Horn River. The pumping plant where the new project work is being done supplies water to the lower area. Brown...

  • Property tax ballot initiative signatures campaign

    Jurri Schenck|Feb 22, 2024

    The organization BCR Initiatives is spearheading a ballot initiative and signature campaign for exempting 50% of the assessed value of residential property tax of owner-occupied homes statewide. BCR stands for Brent (Bien), Cheryl (Aguiar), and Rich (Weber) who are leading the effort. They are currently collecting signatures from voters from all over the state and verifying them by comparing them to voter rolls. Chairman Brent Bien explained the background of how and why their organization and...

  • Council provides status update on policy review, body cam footage

    Jurri Schenck|Feb 15, 2024

    At the February 6 Thermopolis Town Council meeting held at Town Hall during citizen participation, Tonya Petty presented herself to the council and said, “Months ago, after the special prosecutor’s report came out, you stated that policies and procedures were being reviewed by an outside source. Is that a correct statement? Was that to update and improve upon them or just to review them for that specific case?” Mayor Adam Estenson replied, “Seeing that the review is still in place, we’re n...

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