Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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Social Studies teacher Steven Soderstrom comes to us from Colorado, although he is originally a Worland native. Soderstrom teaches tenth grade as well as eighth grade social studies. Previously, he taught in Spearfish, South Dakota and Rifle, Colo. He attended Black Hills State University where he majored in social studies with a history minor and played football for the Yellow Jackets from 2010 to 2014. He is helping with the high school football team here, too. “I’m excited to be back in Wyo...
Two years ago, Thermopolis claimed a victory for vehicular safety when Hot Springs County High School won over Worland High School in the Battle of Belts competition. The “battle,” which was used to make students, staff and parents more aware of their seatbelt habits and improve them if they could, was planned to be a two-year event with Thermopolis working to defend its title in 2018. However, it looks like the local high school will retain the sparkling award — which resembles a WWE champ...
Hot Springs County School District’s Board of Trustees discussed starting a program for three-year-olds at their meeting last week. Amy Ready, who coordinates the early childhood program for the district, said surveys had been sent out to the caregivers and child care providers in the community to get their feedback on the possible start of such a program. There are, of course, pros and cons to the move, and a big part of the discussion is not wanting to create competition or bad feelings with t...
The Wyoming Department of Education released the ACT data for students who took the test this spring. Those students who took the statewide test were juniors this spring, incoming seniors this fall. State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jillian Balow, said, “The ACT is a college readiness exam that opens doors for Wyoming students through the Hathaway Scholarship. “By 2020, 65 percent of all jobs will require training beyond high school according to the Georgetown Center on Education and...
With the new school year comes new staff members. Here are some of the teachers joining Hot Springs County School District #1. Amanda Bridges Amanda Bridges is joining the Ralph Witters Elementary team this year as a third grade teacher. From Denver, Bridges is a 2018 graduate of the University of Wyoming with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Literacy. Having spent some time in Wyoming, she knew she wanted to stay because she fell in love with the state and the people. As for her...
Though enrollment numbers in the school district are up compared to the end of the 2017-18 school year — 674 compared to 650 — there was a decrease of 26 students, compared to the 700 at the start of the 2017-18 year. The majority of grades showed lower numbers from year to year, with the only increases in Grades 1, 7, 9 and 12. Enrollment numbers from the start of the 2018-19 school year, as well as the beginning and end of last year, are as follows: Grade 0: Aug. 22, 2018 — 51; May 25, 2018 — 69; Aug. 24, 2017 — 68 Grade 1: Aug. 22, 2018...
Now that the kids are back in school, it might be a good idea to brush up on your knowledge about driving in school zones. Of course, just about everyone is aware of the 20 mph speed limits in school zones, and there are a few of them throughout town to help students get to school safely. However, if you happen to speed through one of those school zones, Wyoming Statute 31-5-301(b)(i) will mean a fine anywhere from $52 to $450 or more, depending on your speed. If you drive through one of the...
With the 2017-18 school year underway, there are plenty of new staff members joining the district. Curt Myer Hot Springs County School District has a new Dean of Students with the move to principal by Catie Deromedi. Curt Myer, a Ten Sleep native and University of Wyoming graduate will be taking on the Dean's duties, splitting his time between the high school and the middle school. Myer has previously taught P.E. and health at the University of Wyoming Prep School in Laramie and not only...
The old joke about the best three things about being a teacher – June, July and August – is pretty outdated these days. No longer do teachers take the summer off, only to return to their classrooms a week or two before classes start to decorate the bulletin boards and make seating charts. These days, teachers spend their time facilitating the summer Lights On programs, providing summer school instruction, working in their classrooms, collaborating with their grade level and content team mem...
Ralph Witters Elementary (RWE) will be having new student registration on Tuesday, Aug. 7, from 9 a.m. until noon at the RWE office for students kindergarten through fourth grade. If you have any questions about registration, please call the RWE office at 864-6561....
With the start of school just around the corner, it is time once again for the People for People Backpack program to get rolling. The program is a group of volunteers in the community dedicated to stopping hunger for local children by filling backpacks with food that are distributed on Friday’s so they have something to eat over the weekend. Many of our youngsters depend on the school lunch program to get their nutrition, and the backpack program ensures there are simple things the students can fix themselves to eat. There are plenty of o...
Hot Springs County School District’s Board of Trustees approved the budget for the upcoming 2018-19 school year at their July 17 meeting. Looking at the historical figures from the general fund, there is less than a 1 percent increase overall in expenditures, transfers and reserves for the upcoming year, making a total budget of $11,296,283. Enrollment at this point appears as though it will be down about 2.46 percent or a total of 16 students overall. When enrollment is down the cost per s...
Last Friday saw another four inductees into the Hot Springs County High School Bobcat Hall of Fame. From left: Ron Hayes holding a picture of inductee Todd Gentzler, Rhianna Goffena with a picture of the 1928 football team, inductee Dana Bjorhus and Joyce Karren with a picture of inductee John Kormylo....
The Hot Springs County School District is following through on their committment to keeping our children safe at school. One of the items that was on their list was a walk-through of the buildings with the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department to ensure they know where everything is in each of the buildings. Maintenance Supervisor Jere Apland took the firefighters through the high school at the end of May. During the tour, Apland showed the firemen where all the keys are to certain parts of the building as well as taking them through to look...
The following students were named to the Hot Springs County High School Honor Rolls for the second semester of the school year: Superintendent (4.0): Naomi Bishop, McKenna Bomengen, Ashley Brawley, KyAnn Calhoun, Jasmine Collins, Stormy Cox, Oran Coyne, Brianna DeVries, Kolby George, Hannah Hu, Tahja Hunt, Deven Jaussaud, Kelly Johnson, Tyler Kay, Barbara Kissel, Dakota Leonhardt, Daniel Leonhardt, Haley McDermott, Ashley McPhie, Breeze Petty, Lane Randall, Lauren Reed, Hyrum Rich, Mary Ryan, Dayna Sandberg, Noah Schwalbe, Reagan Severance,...
Thermopolis Middle School has released the A & B Honor Rolls for this year. Those who had straight A’s were recognized during the school’s awards ceremonies. 5th Grade: Christian Arends, Kaylee Bazzle, Trenton Bledsoe, Gage Bowman, Nevaeh Brill, Aspen Brooks, Jason Capelle, Sophia Conrad, Joseph Crow, Tymber Eckley, Jonathan Freeman, Jordan Kelly, Dennis Korte, Rylee McConkie, Brianna Muller, Hayden Overfield, Sydney Peterson, Brody Potter, Brooke Richter, Michael Sinchetru, Jade Snyder, Brody Sorensen, Zane Stam, Lauren Thomas, Benjamin Wea...
Students at Risen Son Christian School were selected as winners of the Jessie Thompson Writing Award including Sydney Shaffer first, Amelia Roberts second and Trenton May third....
The Hot Springs County School District is losing an educator this year who has spent 34 years with the district, teaching everything from first grade to online courses at the high school, Ronda Freel. Freel started out at the Hamilton Dome school teaching third and fourth grade from 1984 to 1991. She worked her way up to being lead teacher at the Dome until classes had shrunk so much they were down to a single classroom. “It was awesome out there,” Freel said. “We were our own little community. Everyone came to all the programs and thing...
Friday at Thermopolis Middle School, staff honored the seventh and eighth graders with various awards, along with presenting the eighth grade with certificates of completion. Those receiving certificates of completion are: Austin Barral, Kaitee Barton, Caydence Becher, Jason Bowman, Kamry Bowman, Autumn Brawley, Mariah Brooks, Tristin Brown, Michelle Burgess, Josiah Butler, James Christensen, Cole Christiansen, Johnnie Christman, William Clark, Ayden Cox, Adley Coyne, Rylen Davis, Shauna...
Editor's note: Among the lists presented to The Independent Record, some did not list the award or the full names of the students. Attempts were made to gather this information with no response. Ralph Witters Elementary celebrated the successes of its students last Thursday at the auditorium. Among those presented were awards for improvement in various subjects as well as classroom performance, attitude and personality. Most Improved Awards First Grade: Reading Colton Blakesley, Math Hunter...
Caps went up and confetti came down with the presentation of the Hot Springs County High School Class of 2018. During the ceremony, Salutatorian Shianne Yarrington and Valedictorians Haley McDermott, Mary Ryan and Stormy Cox gave advice to their classmates, entertained the audience and provided some humorous comments about the class. See their speeches on Page 12....
Hot Springs County High School seniors were awarded with $519,826 in scholarship monies on Tuesday night, including $82,610 from local scholarships. School scholarships included: Mary Ryan, University of Wyoming Trustees Emmie Coyne, Wyoming Scholar, Hathaway Merit Honors Haley McDermott, Wyoming Scholar, Hathaway Merit Honors Eric Range, UW Hathaway Merit Opportunity Wyatt Wright, UW Hathaway Merit Honors Cade Zupan, UW Hathaway Merit Performance Andrew Yarbrough, Horatio Alger and Lakeland...
At a special meeting of the Hot Springs County School District Board of Trustees Monday night, the resignation of Laurie Graves, Ralph Witters Elementary principal was accepted. “I have had truly mixed emotions,” Graves said. “It took a lot of time to make this decision.” Graves will be taking a principal’s position at Meadowlark Elementary in Buffalo. The move will put her in closer proximity to her husband who lives in Sheridan and to her elderly parents. “It will be a tough good-bye here,” she said. “I love the staff. We have created a...
Parents and members of the community were invited to a public informational meeting at the auditorium on Monday to hear about the safety measures that are in place and the next steps in the process. “We built these buildings so the students could learn,” Superintendent Dustin Hunt said. “We need to keep students and staff safe while they’re in here.” The purpose of the meeting was to primarily deal with active shooter situations and what the district has done to be prepared. The first line of d...
Hot Springs County High School students brought home 14 blue ribbons from the 50th Wyoming High School Art Symposium, as well as the school's first ever Congressional Award, won by Stormy Cox. Only 24 pieces from the 5,000 submitted are chosen for a Congressional Award. In addition, Cox's work will be transported to Cheyenne and displayed in the capitol building over the summer. Cox also received three blue ribbons. Other blue ribbon recipients were Chauncey Morris with three, Mya Holman with...
