Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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From NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Health, submitted by Jennifer Cheney, Community Prevention Specialist Community is not just a group of people; it is a feeling. It is a feeling of being connected to others, accepted for who you are, and supported by others. At its heart, community is all about connection. As social creatures, community is essential for human beings to thrive. In times of distress, being able to lean on a community can be an essential aspect of self-care. Community is important for so many reasons – it provides us with a...
by Dean Ridings, America’s Newspapers It’s no secret that recent years have been tough on small businesses and on newspapers. A bipartisan bill, the Community News & Small Business Support Act, that has been introduced in Congress would offer relief to both newspapers and local businesses. For too many newspapers, help can’t come soon enough. Economic challenges have resulted in too many communities seeing their local newspapers being forced to lay off staff, cut back on publication days or — worse yet — close. On average, two newspaper...
by Zac Taylor That small town with long streets phrase? It resonated July 3 at the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Park in Cody, as everyone there was able to walk right up to their state’s top leadership, in Cheyenne and Washington, D.C., to shake a hand and chat. For most of the politicians, elections are not yet breathing down their necks. It was simply a chance for people to look their political leaders in the face and talk. No surprise, I’d say that’s still the best way to communicate, especially when it’s people you may disagree with. And, yes,...
Beware clicking on the wrong Google link: A Powell business reported that an employee googled Amazon and click on the first link in the list. Unfortunately, it was a sponsored ad, not Amazon. The result was that a large screen, supposedly from “Microsoft Defender Security Notification,” appeared on the monitor, stating that “Access to this PC has been blocked for security reasons,” with a number to call Microsoft Windows Support. The ad is a scam, the notification is a scam, and the phone number is a scam. Fortunately the employee did not cal...
Scammers are targeting us all and they seem to be coming at us from every which way. There are lottery scams, package delivery scams, open enrollment for benefits scams, utility delinquency scams, identity theft scams and the list goes on and on. Several years ago, scammers primarily targeted senior citizens who they believed were the most vulnerable. They have advanced their scams to a point where each and every one of us is vulnerable. Their tactics have improved to a point where they are tricking people of every age and every walk of life....
by Bryan Golden Building mental and emotional walls is a common occurrence. We are used to living with physical walls so this progression is an easy transition. Furthermore, it’s a conditioned response that we learn from others as well as a result of our own experiences. There are a variety of reasons people build these virtual walls. They want to keep undesirable things out. They have a desire to prevent loss. They don’t want someone to leave. Walls may create a feeling of security. They offer a sense of protection. Walls are constructed as a...
The fourth annual WyoGives virtual event, hosted by the Wyoming Nonprofit Network, will commence at midnight on Wednesday, July 12th, and will unfold over an exhilarating 24-hour period. With over 300 nonprofits participating, some of them local, this year’s event promises to be the most impactful yet. Through the website platform at WyoGives.org, individuals can easily contribute to their favorite causes and organizations. The website allows donors to search for nonprofits based on cause, location, or name. Each participating nonprofit has a...
by Slim Randles Doc smiled and felt really good inside when he heard the familiar bird song. “Hey there, Wheezer,” he said, “happy nesting!” For some reason, this mourning dove with the speech impediment comes around to Doc’s back yard every spring, and Doc thinks that’s just all right. If ol’ Wheez didn’t have that distinctive voice, Doc would never know if this bird favored his yard or was just another bird looking for a home. Let’s face it, Wheezer looks just like every other dove in town. But he was back and flirting with a good-looking la...
This issue of the Independent Record has three full pages of public notices. Here is some information about why you should take the time to read them. An important premise found in federal, state, and local governments is that information about government activities must be publicized for people to make well-informed decisions. Public notices provide this sort of transparency and accessibility to citizens who want to know more about government actions. Public notices provides the opportunity for the public to influence governing bodies and...
by Marissia Schaefer, CNP Many of us have likely been educated on how to be healthier, which includes the foods we should consume, and the exercise we should complete on a daily basis, so we can achieve being ‘healthy.’ This information is important to know, but have you ever been educated about the risks that your current diet and habits of daily living impose on your health? An ‘unhealthy’ diet that is filled with excessive amounts of sugars, fast foods, fatty and processed foods, as well as alcohol can increase your risk of acquiring high ch...
Self-measured blood pressure monitoring kits are now available for checkout at the library in Thermopolis. The kits are offered through a collaborative pilot project involving the Wyoming Center on Aging (WyCOA) at the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming Department of Health’s Chronic Disease Prevention Program and the Hot Springs County Library. The kits, available in both English and Spanish, include an automated home blood pressure cuff; blood pressure logbooks; educational materials from the American Heart Association; information on what b...
Suicide is a serious public health problem that can have lasting harmful effects on individuals, families and communities. There are many factors that contribute to suicide. It impacts people of all ages and backgrounds. Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. Reports state it was responsible for over 48,000 deaths in 2021. The same year, an estimated 12.3 million adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million made a plan and 1.7 million attempted suicide. U.S. suicide rates are the highest they’ve been since World War I...
by Curstie Konold, MPH, CSW, QMHP Marrying a farm kid has shown me the immense amount of pride in being part of the Ag community. It is prevalent that the agricultural profession, while rewarding, is challenging. Running big dollar operations that are both physically and mentally demanding creates some serious strain on our mental health. Whether it’s a co-op employee spraying chemicals or spreading fertilizer for 70+ hours a week or a farmer during planting or harvest, the demand never truly stops. In my practice I talk a lot about focusing o...
The article to the right appeared on the front page of the June 24, 1993, Independent Record. Now, 30 years later, Hot Springs County School Board meetings are being videoed and can be viewed live or afterward by anyone who has the time and wants to watch them. Part of the reason the 1993 school board voted to limit use of video cameras during board meetings was because “the policy encourages members of the public and the board to talk without being worried about how they will look on videotape.” In 2023, many argue that people should be awa...
Tourist season has officially begun, here and around Wyoming. Nearly as soon as Yellowstone National Park (YNP) opened, reports began rolling in of encounters between visitors and the park’s buffalo. We are seeing some of this type of activity in our very own Hot Springs State Park (HSSP). Videos have circulated of a man wandering around among the herd and of people out of their vehicles taking pictures of the animals in close proximity. Signs, as seen to the right, are posted as your enter the HSSP buffalo pasture. Anyone who has been to Y...
by Bryan Golden Do you have problems, adversity, and obstacles in your life? If you said yes, then you are like everyone else. Even the most successful people are faced with challenges. What varies is how each person responds to their problems. Running away from problems is not only futile, it leads to a false sense of security. The erroneous premise is that your problems can be left behind by utilizing one or more strategies. The reality is, problems follow you until they are resolved. People attempt to run away in numerous ways. Although the...
Some of you may remember jamming out to School’s Out by Alice Cooper to celebrate the end of a school year and the long anticipated start of summer break. Most students, of any age, look forward to summer break like adults look forward to retirement. As community members, it is important we remember children will be out and about more often now than they have been, at all hours of the day. Be sure to watch for them playing, riding their bikes and walking/running to and fro. It is a great time for parents to give their children a reminder c...
On Monday, May 29, Memorial Day programs will be held at Monument Hill Cemetery, Riverside Cemetery and Park Street Bridge. The program at Monument Hill will begin at 11 a.m. and then they will travel to Riverside and then to the bridge. Memorial Day has its roots in Decoration Day, which dates back to the Civil War, when citizens placed flowers on the graves of those who had been killed in battle. After World War I, it came to be observed in honor of those who had died in all U.S. wars, and its name was changed. Memorial Day became an...
In last week’s Thermopolis Independent Record’s “On the record” section, there was a call regarding a profane flag flying but the deputy determined that it can remain up due to First Amendment protections. While the United States Constitution protects our freedom of speech, there are limits on obscene speech. The Wyoming Constitution also guarantees Wyomingites the right to free speech. However, obscenity is an exception. Wyoming Statute, WY Stat § 6-4-301, states “Obscene’ is material which the average person would find: (A) Applying contempor...
by Mark D. List, MD Is there something about your health you’d like to change? For most Americans, this question usually triggers a wide range of responses. In my practice, most responses usually center on wanting to lose weight, being more consistent with their exercise routine, or finally stopping smoking, drinking or vaping. What do these 3 lifestyle changes have in common? They are really, really hard to do. Behavioral modification of daily habits and routines is a very difficult process: humans tend to get stuck in our daily ruts and s...
The 2023 graduating class at Hot Springs County High School features 38 students with bright futures ahead of them. An insert in this paper is dedicated to them. On page 3 of this paper you will find ads congratulating some online and home schooled high school graduates. There may be some local students that are not featured on this page. We are unable to obtain a list of all local online and home schooled students so we had to rely on friends and family to place an ad to congratulate those students. We offer up a big congratulations to each an...
by Jill Kruse, DO The first successful organ transplant was a kidney transplant in 1954. The donor was the identical twin of the recipient. The new kidney worked for 11 months. This was long before any anti-rejection medications were available. Cyclosporine, the first anti-rejection medication, was approved for use in 1983. The use of anti-rejection medications has significantly increased how long transplanted organs will function. A transplanted kidney from a living donor will last on average 12-20 years. A kidney from a decease donor lasts...
by Amber Steinmetz, Cody Enterprise It’s that time of year once again. Last Friday, the East Entrance to Yellowstone Park opened for the season, signaling what we hope will be the start of a great tourist season. Last year was expected to be a banner one as the park celebrated its 150th anniversary, but the historic floods in June closed public access to the park and had many people changing their plans. Yellowstone had 3.3 million visits in 2022, down 32 % from 2021. All things considered, though, it went better than expected. On June 13, a...
by Andrew Ellsworth, MD Like a car racing along the interstate, exiting onto a highway, and finally reaching the family farm along a dusty gravel road, our blood circulates inside our bodies. There are the major blood vessels, such as the aorta running out of the heart, and there are the tiny capillaries allowing blood cells one at a time to carry oxygen and nutrients to all the cells in our bodies. The network of capillaries is so complex it is estimated there are over 40 billion in one person, and if stretched out in a single line they w...
I would like to say that Thermopolis has a Real Hometown hero in a gentle man who kept people coming to this small community year after year and telling their friends and family of the ‘Little Secret’ they discovered at the north end of the Wind River Canyon drive. (Another secret unto itself!) After being here for over 15 years and quietly watching him perform his daily duties, sometimes against extreme situations, dealing with weather, animals and yes, even other people, I would say he had a very stressful position for many years. When you ne...
