Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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One of my favorite times of the year is here...football season! Although I love sitting on Sunday and watching my Broncos, I’m really talking about all the youth football we have around here. This last weekend was so fun. I had the chance to shoot the little guys playing rec football as well as the older kids with the middle school and the high school athletes on Friday night. It really gave me a perspective on how the game is played. The rec kids are having so much fun, learning as they go, a...
Tuesday marks the 17th anniversary of one of the most horrific attacks on U.S. soil, a day that will forever stir memories and emotions when someone mentions the date — 9/11. It’s weird to think that many of our high school upperclassmen weren’t even born when the news came over of the planes striking the two towers of the World Trade Center, only learning of it through textbooks and what their parents have told them. Though a time of extreme fear for our country, it was also a period when we ca...
I could tell this last weekend that there was a touch of fall in the air. Not because it was cooler outside or getting dark a little bit earlier, but because I had the urge to bake. There's nothing like the smell of fresh baked anything, whether its pie, cake, cookies, whatever. So I tried out a new recipe on Sunday for apple pie bites. The premise is an apple pie in a cookie sized bite. There are none left. I was very lucky to grow up in a multi-generational home with a grandmother who taught...
This election season certainly had an abundance of candidate to choose from, but with the increase of people running for office it seems the amount of mudslinging — in public, at forums and especially online — did as well. While that is typical of election season, there were some comments that stepped a bit too far over the line. But, as of Tuesday, we made it. The votes were cast and most of the local positions have been decided. For those who won their races, best wishes to the coming yea...
Most people you talk to will say this political season has been completely exhausting. Yes, it has been exhausting, but it has also been refreshing. Refreshing in that this little community has stepped up their game, coming to the table and not only running for elected offices, but talking openly and honestly about their hopes for the future of Thermopolis and Hot Springs County. It doesn’t matter where you go, you’re going to hear someone talking about this candidate or that one. Dis...
One of the political races that has seen more commentary than others is the five-candidate race for Hot Springs County Sheriff. In the various campaigns and forums, a topic that sees a lot of discussion is what is being done about the drug problem in Hot Springs County, and rightly so. If there’s one problem that doesn’t seem to have a solution, it’s drugs. As soon as one method of dealing with the issue is found, dealers and users seem to find 10 other ways to get around the law. It can feel...
As I get older, I realize more and more how everything eventually comes full circle in your life. This weekend is a prime example for me. I remember as a kid, selling programs at the Gift of the Waters Pageant for 50-cents through the Girl Scouts. Granted, at the time it was one of those fun things, meeting people from all over the world, but honestly, other than the fancy Native dancers, I didn’t get much out of it. Later on, it was the Saturday parade. This was the only parade the Wildcat Band...
This week, with all the political hubbub going around, take a break and take in the annual Hot Springs County Fair. Fair gets underway with the Pee Wee and 4-H and FFA Youth Horse Show this weekend, and there’s certainly plenty to see and do over the next few days. Of course, there will be plenty of critters to see when the fair buildings are open, but it’s also important to support our local youth as they show their skills and knowledge about their animals during the week’s shows. There...
We’ve been talking around the office this week about businesses which have come and gone here in Thermopolis and its funny how I remember so many of them, but most I couldn’t tell you exactly which storefronts they were once in. For instance, we had a bakery on the south side of Broadway. They would decorate their windows with delightful goodies every week, but the best were the holiday displays of treats they featured. My favorite was Easter. They would fill the windows with these amazing hollo...
Well, the PRCA Rodeo and fireworks show have come and gone, and both drew a crowd, but the summer activities here in Thermopolis are far from over. Coming up next for big events we’ve got the reunion weekend, providing a chance for classmates to get together and reminisce about school and share memories of our town, while also visiting about what they’ve been up to since graduation. Always a busy place, the fairgrounds will be active in the last couple weeks of July with the WJRA Rodeo, 4-H...
What a show our volunteer firemen put on every year. Whenever I see fireworks it always takes me back to two times in my life – my grandfather and Disneyland. When I was growing up, grandpa used to order in fireworks from some company out of state. I was always so excited to see that huge box arrive. It was like opening a pirate’s treasure chest with all the things that sizzle and boom. Come 4th of July, since we lived on a corner, grandpa and my mom would set the fireworks off in the int...
This past weekend saw the annual PRCA Rodeo, and Thermopolis truly shined in terms of showing off our town. The nightly performances at the fairgrounds were well-attended, with supporters of breast cancer awareness Friday night and an amazing tribute to our Armed Forces Saturday. At the Chuck Mead Memorial Pack Horse Race the crowd cheered on everyone, whether local or not, and encouraged them through the challenges of capturing their horses, securing the packs and leading the animals in the...
Some time ago, I was surprised by a question from a young friend (actually a teenager): What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in the loooong life you’ve lived? Before I considered the question, I informed my young friend that long had only four letters and none were to be stressed. Only then did I wonder at the nature of the question from one so young. I’ve spent the largest part of my life dealing with the young, and I couldn’t remember ever being queried in such a serious manner by one so young. Frankly, I was at a loss for a moment...
Recently, my oldest son started playing tee ball through the Hot Springs County Rec Department. It’s been a learning experience on many levels. I’ve had to remind myself that I am not a coach, and Mike’s been learning about the game – although he isn’t quite ready to let go of the bat when running to first base – and more importantly about being a good sport and teammate. With the whirlwind of the 2018 election just really starting to get a good spin on it, we can take some of those lessons abo...
“Inside every old person is a young person wondering what the heck happened.” I do think about this on occasion, like getting out of bed in the morning, knees popping, or when I try to do something I’ve done all my life and suddenly realize its not as easy as it used to be. I’m looking out the office window this morning and started thinking about what I would have been doing 40 years ago at this time. Wildcat Band. We were up and on the streets at 7 a.m., marching and twirling flags, blowing...
Thermopolis was recently designated as an “opportunity zone.” In essence, this means people – whether they live here or not – can invest money from the sale of companies into our community if they so choose. True, to be designated an opportunity zone it does mean our community is in something of an economic “low spot.” That is an unfortunate reality, but rather than making that a focus point let’s instead concentrate on the word “opportunity.” There are plenty in Thermopolis if you take the t...
Its time to pull out the shorts and tank tops! No, wait, jeans and a sweatshirt. Oh, let me grab my raincoat while I’m at it. Fickle Mother Nature in the spring, letting us wonder until the last minute what we need to bring with us when we leave the house in the morning. Having been born and raised here, I have realized keeping at least a sweatshirt and probably a rain jacket in my car year-round is a sound idea. And while we may be a tad frustrated at picking out a cute outfit the night b...
Sixty years ago (Oh my gosh, can it be that long ago?), Cody hosted Torrington in the state championship 3A football game in a November blizzard, 38” deep snow and 10 degree temperature. Most who braved the conditions have ever after described the conditions as the worst ever for a championship game. As a Blazer, I was doubly miserable because though we had the better team, the conditions took us out of our game. There were a total of two passes thrown that day...both incomplete. The canyon was closed and we spent a miserable night in Thermopol...
You can go on the internet and find a special day or special week for almost anything these days, from National Hamburger Day to National Coloring Book Day, but for all of us, one of the most important should be Teacher Appriciation Week. Let’s face it, without a teacher you wouldn’t be able to read this. Without a teacher, I wouldn’t be able to write this. I have had four special educators in my life that I appreciate on just about a daily basis, not just for what they taught me in the class...
May is officially here, and among the various celebrations coming in the next few weeks graduation and the end of the school year are certainly among the more prominent. Since I’m still 12 years off from celebrating my own kids’ graduation, I typically enjoy attending ceremonies for the children of friends and family. But, before all the festivities begin it’s good to hear what senior students are going to be up to next year. That’s what I got when I attended the signing day this week. Watching...
I’m going to give you a little tip. Go see the high school Drama Club’s spring production, “The Villian Wore a Dirty Shirt” tonight or Friday night. Director Mary McGillivray has once again taken our super talented kids and created an evening that will have you laughing, groaning (at the awful puns), hissing the bad guys and cheering on the hero. Poor sheriff Jack B. Nimble (Tyler Kay) just can’t talk to girls even though he’s in love with Sweet Sally (Shianne Yarrington) and instead mak...
This past week saw members of the Wyoming Tourism Board visiting for a familiarization tour and their regular board meeting. During a dinner with our visitors, a comment I heard over and over was that we have a real gem here in Thermopolis, a “hidden treasure.” This next week, our town will be home to the Wyoming State Chamber of Commerce. As they will also be receiving a tour of the businesses and other locales in the county, I expect many will have the same opinion of our town as a hidden tre...
Occasionally thoughts more profound than, “What’s for dinner?” and “Are you washing clothes tomorrow?” cross my mind. I visualize happenings such as running into an acquaintance who asks, “What do you think about eternity?” or “What are we going to do about the at-risk dams around the country?” It’s at times like these that I remove my glasses, making sure I point at least one bow at the person who would dare ask such a question on a nice spring day, and reply, “Now there’s a question for one to ponder.” I do that in hopes that by the time I...
I finally finished a project last weekend that has taken me literally two years to accomplish. I now have a “Heritage Wall” in my home filled with a panoramic photo of Gebo surrounded by photos of my Burnell and Stewart relatives. Its good, sometimes, to remember where you came from. While going through the old family album to pick out the photos I wanted to use I found a photo of my grandfather with his first car near the tunnels in the canyon. Although in his 20s, the photo brought back mem...
Over the spring break, my wife and two sons took one heck of a road trip, travelling from Thermopolis down to Arizona to visit their aunt Mandie. Everyone was excited about the trip, even me as it meant a little peace and quiet around the house and time to get some long put off projects done. Of course, four days into the experience I had run out of things to do and was wanting — just a little bit — for the return of my two young men and our regular WWE matches in the living room. Likewise, eve...
