Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 337
We read in the Independent Record that the county commissioners have given permission for archery hunting in the gravel pit on Webb Road. We would like to take this opportunity to explain why the pit is, (and has been for 7 years) posted NO TRESPASSING. In 2018 the COUNTY APPROACHED US about obtaining ownership of some property we owned on both the east and west sides of the railroad track. One of the commissioners came to our home to discuss this. At that time, we explained that we had no interest in getting rid of the property. He asked us wh...
I want to extend my gratitude and appreciation to all who volunteer their time to clean up along our highways, trails and waterways in Hot Springs County and throughout our great state. The number of orange garbage bags staged alongside the road for pickup is an obvious reminder of how much trash is tossed, blown and scattered along our roads. Sadly, it is only a matter of days before what was clean once again becomes the travelers trash can. Stewardship of our land and resources we hold dear here in Wyoming requires personal responsibility...
Thank you to the county and the county workers that are working so hard to improve Coyote Run Road. All of us residents greatly appreciate the money, time and effort going into our road. On behalf of all residents of Coyote Run, thank you! Larry Alwin...
To Hot Springs County School District #1: I am a mother with a child currently enrolled in 2nd grade at Ralph Witter’s Elementary, soon to be in 3rd grade. I’ve always appreciated the educators in our district and beyond. They do a job that takes patience and perseverance, while maintaining a positive atmosphere. Teaching is what I believe to be the most important job in our society. Shaping the young minds of the future. However, there is a disconnect from personal to professional in our district, not with our educators but with the adm...
It must be that time of year again. The cookie-monsters are back tearing up the ground on public land. Both ends of the north-south road at the east end of the buffalo pasture seem to be one of the targeted areas. Another is a flat area off Centennial road not far above east river road. There the grass was coming in nicely for a while. Then, after some wet weather, it was all torn up by people spinning “ cookies”. It ripped up the grass leaving a mud hole. After drying there are now rough ruts to deal with. This is the type of behavior tha...
Let’s drop the F-bomb. Yes, I’m talking about FRAUD. As someone who works at your local bank, you would be amazed at the number of times we’ve intercepted an attempted scam. It feels like in today’s world, encountering fraud in some form is almost a universal experience. The other day a representative from my credit card fraud department called me. I had potentially fraudulent charges totaling over $800! I was incredibly grateful for their vigilance and their efficiency in resolving the incident and returning my life back to normal. This exampl...
We would like to express our gratitude to our fire department for their good work on Saturday morning. Our chicken house caught fire and was threatening to burn down the garage as well. We called 911 and things got rolling. The response time to the 911 call was awesome, and the crew handled the situation efficiently and just did a very good job all around. The chicken house was lost, but the garage was spared with only minor damage. Thanks also to the power company for coming out right away and repairing the overhead power line that got burned...
I’m relatively new, only been here for 5 years, I have no school age kids, I moved here to be a neighbor, whatever we decide to do, I’m for it, I trust my neighbors. I do want to say that if I did have a young family and I drove through Thermopolis and saw the town, the drive getting here, and then the High School, I would be like, “Wow, what a great place to raise kids!” I don’t understand the politics, you probably can learn everything directly from the internet now, that’s possible, I guess. It just seems like the idea that you would build...
Campers, rock hounds, hunters, and fisherman, this is a short letter, it needs no explanation. You are about to lose your public land. Lets just call it the Putin plan where billionaires own everything. You give billionaires a huge tax windfall. You sell the public land to the billionaires to pay for the loss in taxes. Now they own the land, you don’t! Sincerely, Keith Becker...
Each day, degreed social workers with bachelors, master’s and doctorates in social work, help millions of Americans navigate life’s challenges. There is only a handful of degreed social workers in Hot Springs County currently with the hopes to one day increase this. Social workers work in many areas of our society—in hospitals, medical community, schools, social service agencies, and libraries to name a few. Many other professions would benefit from having a social worker’s perspective be a part of their agency. Driven by empathy, social...
I have had the joy of having my child in a RWE Kindergarten class this year. I should say I have had the joy of having my child in three kindergarten classes. These three women have created the most wonderful kindergarten team I have ever seen. When I heard that two teachers were being unnecessarily reassigned next year, I was devastated! Why would the school district feel this is an appropriate move? I would like to point out some reasons why I feel this is a disastrous move. First, creating a team is hard work. There can be conflict of person...
As a concerned citizen, I understand that the decision is out about the shooting of a mentally ill person in Thermopolis that resulted in death. Patrick LeBrun wrote the decision, but there’s several things that were left out. I don’t understand why there was so many shots fired even when the victim was still on the ground and couldn’t do anything. I also don’t understand why other methods weren’t used to detain Jared, who was a long time resident of Thermopolis and graduated from the high school there with virtually no record of criminal...
Because National Martin Luther King Day is the 20th of this month, I asked one of my sons what he can remember about Martin Luther King’s dream, and he immediately responded “I saw it fulfilled when I was in Milwaukee. I saw little children of all races happily playing on the playground at a park!” His dream that one day people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by their character lives on! We can live with people of different sociology; we can be non-judgmental, and we can treat everyone as a brother or sister because we all a...
I was so happy to read that the fluoride ordinance was passed. I’ve read quite a few times that fluoride was a by-product of a manufacturing process and not a favorable addition to our drinking water. I’ve hoped for years that it would no longer be added to our water and finally it has happened. Thank you to all the supporters for getting this accomplished. Linda Kalli...
Last Tuesday night, the Thermopolis Town Council passed an ordinance on its third reading to remove fluoride from our municipal drinking water. Beginning December 12th, fluoride will no longer be added to our water supply. As your mayor, I want to provide clarity about this decision, its implications, and how we can ensure continued dental health for our community. The debate over water fluoridation centers on balancing risk and reward. Fluoride has undeniably played a significant role in reducing tooth decay, especially in children. However,...
If you would like to know where the officer involved shooting of a man with mental illness stands, as I do, you should contact the attorney at the Fremont County Attorney’s Office. I understand they’re going to review the DCI case. I personally would like to know why the officers involved didn’t take more time and get more backup? Why so many shots were fired and where they all hit? What was done to de-escalate the situation? Will there be a public hearing of any kind held? If you have questions you would like answered, please contact the F...
I am a native Wyomingite who grew up in Lusk, attending grade school and acquiring my family values in the 1960s. Like many (if not most) Wyoming children of my generation, my family took me on family trips to Thermopolis where I was deeply impacted by the hot springs, the buffalo herd, the Swinging Bridge, Roundtop, and the utterly unique landscape of this particular place (not to mention the journey here through the Wind River Canyon or over the Bighorns from Buffalo). I went out into the World, again, like many Wyominites of my generation....
In August, I, as Chair of the Hot Springs County chapter of Moms for Liberty, approached the Hot Springs County School District with an offer to provide copies of the U.S. Constitution for distribution to our eighth graders on Constitution Day, September 17th. The pocket Constitutions are provided gratis by the 917 Society, a non-profit educational organization. The offer was turned down, for reasons that varied over time, such as: The booklets contain a QR code. It does. And the problem is? The booklets contain an oath. Guilty as charged....
As the mayor of the Town of Thermopolis, I have the privilege of seeing firsthand the power of community and the important role each citizen plays in shaping our local government. One of the most important aspects of our Constitutional Republic is the First Amendment, which guarantees us the freedoms of speech, press, religion, assembly, and the right to petition our government. These freedoms form the bedrock of our nation, and while we are grateful for them, we must also recognize the responsibilities they place on each of us as individuals....
As we approach another election we must realize that this election, more than any other, there will be no winners, regardless of who is elected. You don’t have to be religious to agree with Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” I regret I have not always lived with this verse in mind. Chuck Cooper...
I recently read the article in the Travel and Tourism section of the paper where Jim Matthewson told the story of a man who was visiting our town to consider locating his business here. He was impressed with the Hot Springs State Park and the downtown area. Jim saw this man the next day and he informed Jim he would not be locating his business here after seeing some of the neighborhoods. He cited the reasons being “there is no pride of place here.” This mad told Jim it appeared the town had no compliance officer to protect the property values....
We have the best Fire Department around! Saturday we were bringing a stack of straw from Worland and at the Kirby area, the straw got hot and caught fire. A good samaritan from Worland called the fire department. The Sheriff’s Department and a Highway Patrolman stopped the traffic. It only took minutes to burn the truck, trailer and straw. They kept working until the fire was clear out. A neighbor even brought a tractor over to help. We want to thank all of you who helped and helped save the countryside from burning more than it did. My wife a...
I just hiked to the top of Roundtop this morning. With each step, I marveled again at the amazing effort it took to build the trail. I have hiked both the old trail and the new one many times and I appreciate the new trail more each time I use it. I went back to read an article in the IR - Grand opening of new Roundtop Trail from the Saturday, May 19, 2022 issue. It is amazing that the trail was built by a 4-person team, doing all the work by hand. They moved rocks weighing up to 4 tons. When nothing else worked, they used black powder to...
It was truly sad to read of the devastation the animals are causing to the Hessenthalers corn crop. They have worked very hard to bring their delicious corn to Thermopolis tables for 39 years. What a treat this has been. The animals have been a problem all along to deal with but the deer and antelope this year are devastating. I like animals but we need to ask ourselves - are deer and antelope more important than people? This problem needs to be dealt with immediately. The Game and Fish Dept. needs to help with this problem. The animals can...
The ESSER Funds were issued to local school districts out of various COVID Relief funds. For the ESSER 3 funds, or the ARP, HSCSD#1 had to have a written plan which included public meetings to see how the community wanted to spend the funds. The primary purpose of the funds was to help open schools safely after COVID and then to help with the learning loss that occurred during closures. HSCSD#1 applied for $3.2 million. Solution Tree is a vendor who provides consultants to schools to teach them about the PLC Model. The PLC model is about a...