Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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If you are tempted to believe the abuse allegations against WBS’, please consider the total picture.WBS exists to help teenage boys change their behaviors so they can build decent, successful lives. The school is the last chance stop for kids who have been troubled and disruptive their whole lives. At WBS classroom disruption, tossing furniture, destroying equipment, hitting and cursing teachers, other students and staff is not allowed. If students choose to do such things they are isolated from others until behaviors stop. WBS provides high s...
I’ve lived in Thermopolis for about 18 years and I read the police report every week. Since we’ve had less police, we’ve had less crime - at least reported crime; but I believe if a real crime happened, it would be reported. Some people are under an assumption that police can prevent crime, but according to the constitution, they can’t do until a crime is committed. In our community we also have a Sheriff’s department which assists the city police occasionally, and also have a highway patrol when necessary. In the years I have been here we h...
We were fortunate enough to attend the Saturday parade in downtown Thermopolis. Not only was the parade one of the most outstanding we have ever witnessed, all the entries were very happy to be part of the event. The flags leading the parade brought tears to almost everyone’s eyes, hats off and hand over their hearts showing great pride in America. The other thing that made it wonderful was the attendance. It has been a long, long time since we have seen such a great crowd all the way through the route. Even the little children were very h...
Bravo to Sarah Castillo for her brilliant Thermop IR May 28, 2026, letter to the editor. Letters to the Editor in a local newspaper are vital to a community. Sarah’s eloquent points about community involvement are necessary and timely as we enter this season of national patriotic events. Sarah writes: “This conversation [local community involvement] is bigger than any one person, business, or denied opportunity.” Let me add, “and, this conversation belongs on the Opinion page of the Thermopolis IR”. Sarah’s letter is a victory for our entire...
Many communities proudly market themselves as champions of small business, entrepreneurship, and economic growth. They speak about opportunity, revitalization, and supporting those willing to invest in their communities’ future. But for many people trying to build something from the ground up, the reality often feels very different. Too often, “economic development” functions less as a pathway to opportunity and more as a selective system that favors familiarity, privilege, established names, and insider access. And that should concern every...
Approximately twenty years ago, heavy excavation equipment was driven directly onto the fragile geothermal areas in Hot Spring State Park, an action that caused extensive destruction to formations that had taken centuries to develop naturally. Much of that damage has never fully recovered and for more than two decades, the Rainbow Terraces, sacred ground to the Eastern Shoshone, Northern Arapaho, and other Indigenous nations; have suffered repeated and preventable damage under the management of Wyoming State Parks. The terraces are not only one...
For those of you who display the U.S. flag at your home, business or government building… please check the condition of the flag and replace the ones that are faded, torn or dirty. Memorial Day, Flag Day and Trailblazer Days are coming soon and it would be nice to see fresh flags all over town. Thank you from a grumpy old veteran. Jim Larson...
I am concerned about the ownership status of the islands in the Bighorn River in Hot Springs County. When I started fishing the Bighorn 20 some years ago everyone I asked said the islands were ‘owned’ by BLM and therefore access was public. I checked the BLM map and virtually all the islands were yellow, designating them as BLM and therefore public. Recently, some of the island ownership has been changed to private by adjacent landowners quietly using the ‘quiet title action’ process to privatize the islands. In the world of right and wrong,...
It’s a blessing when dog walkers clean up after their dogs, especially where children play. It’s a blessing when drivers stop at crosswalks, especially when children are present. It’s a blessing when smokers don’t lease cigarette butts and other trash on the ground. It’s a blessing when everyone strives to be civil, even when we disagree. Chuck Cooper...
We find ourselves, once again, at the beginning of our next mid-term election. We have become accustomed over the past year to extraordinary new lows of selfishness, lack of character and cowardly behavior in our politicians. Our administration exalts hate, cruelty and depravity as the new norms. Our politicians have become experts in creating fear and distrust in our hearts and everyday lives. Going through life with fear as our mainstay makes us smaller and contracted leading to insecurities that can hold us back from making thoughtful...
by District 20 Senator Ed Cooper Now that the session has wrapped up, it is a good time to take a look around and offer some thoughts on what we were able to accomplish on behalf of the people of Wyoming. This budget session, I was particularly proud of the renewed focus on issues that matter in Wyoming and in our small towns and counties across this state – particularly the counties I serve. We were able to keep our work local and steer clear of national issues that bring social media clicks but doesn’t benefit Wyomingites. This year, we broug...
Two years ago a man felt it was his right to run his snowmobileover a wolf, cause horrific injuries and suffering to another living being, tape shut the animal’s mouth, bring her into a bar, proudly display his behavior to everyone there, and after a long period of time--while this animal physically and psychologically felt the effects of these intentional actions--took the wolf outside and killed her. It needs to be recognized that the man felt pleasure while engaging in these ongoing behaviors. No society that supports--in any way--this k...
America is an idea. It belongs to No One and Everyone. No one in the United States is required to carry identification on them at all times. There is an inherent understanding that freedom exists for all who live here, whether born here or not, and that freedom is upheld by the Constitution and related laws and norms. As citizens, the trade-off for this freedom is that we have a civic duty to participate in our democracy. Participation by all creates the fabric that holds us together as a country. First among those civic duties is voting. The...
After watching and listening to two Thermopolis officer’s (a sheriff deputy and police officer) dash and body cams where one did weaponize his cruisers’ iron cowcatcher, used a PIT manuever grill gaurd to chase a man in a field, striking him hard enough to toss him over the hood - then calling “needed” backup since it didn’t faze the pedestrian - I won’t call Good’s light, WOKE-approved vehicle a weapon. The ICE agent was maybe swished a bit from the side, if touched at all, by her barely-moving-from-park SUV. He deftly fired one shot perfectl...
Back in 2017 while addressing a group in Laramie, my mentor, the late Al Simpson said: “Money’s dominance over politics is the number one problem our nation faces. It is a growing crisis that prevents us from tackling anything else. We have now reached a turning point: Either we are a country that makes decisions based on the common good, or one where the size of your wallet determines the worth of your ideas. Either we uphold the values of a representative democracy, or we allow greed and wealth to destroy the great American experiment in sel...
To the editor: It seems there is a lot of division and confusion around economic development currently in the recent Wyoming state legislative sessions. I don’t have all the data and I certainly haven’t been in on all the conversations, but I feel it is my responsibility to share my personal business experience and perspective. It is the voters that I want to share with. I have already shared with the legislators but it is your turn to speak to your legislators on this topic. Hopefully it will help steer our state to continued and greater suc...
I like the letters to the editor page here in the Thermopolis Independent Record! Internet quips are fun, but there’s nothing like a hometown newspaper’s letters to the editor page. My mother was a big time Republican, but it didn’t stop her from chuckling along to Will Rogers, the humorist who often joked about being a Democrat. And who doesn’t like Mark Twain - and a big whopper? So let’s talk about one, a whopper that’s as big as the sky! I love it, the arrows really make it, the whitewashed stone sign on Monument Hill, it’s been there my...
I had a friend come to visit. After a few trips through town, he asked, “When was the last time the city replaced a street ?” I said, “I don’t know, I’ve only been here for 76 years.” Mike Ramsey...
It is totally inappropriate to call someone hateful and ignorant, and then claim his arguments are not worth responding to. You have responded and here is my answer. You have drawn the conclusion that Islamophobia=Hate. It is only reasonable to be apprehensive of an ideology that calls America the Great Satan, and Israel the Little Satan. Mr. Lambrick, knowledge and love will win in the end; ignorance and hate will not. I invite you to get a copy of the Quran and read it for yourself. It does NOT teach the peace loving religion some say it...
It is totally inappropriate to call someone hateful and ignorant, and then claim his arguments are not worth responding to. You have responded and here is my answer. You have drawn the conclusion that Islamophobia=Hate . It is only reasonable to be apprehensive of an ideology that calls America the Great Satan, and Israel the Little Satan. Mr. Lambrick, knowledge and love will win in the end; ignorance and hate will not. I invite you to get a copy of the Quran and read it for yourself. It does NOT teach the peace loving religion same say it...
In reference to Joe Casciato’s December 4 letter to the editor: Someone wiser than me has said “It’s better to remain silent and have them think you are a fool than it is to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” This idea is in Proverbs in the Bible as well. It’s not worth anyone’s time to refute his arguments point by point, but it is a sad reflection of our current state of affairs that Mr. Casciato felt the need to say those hateful and unsupported opinions in a public forum, and for that forum to feel the need to repeat them. Knowledge a...
There are three great religions that arose within the western tradition, the Hebrew, Christian and Muslim religions. Mohammad records many stories about Jesus and his mother Mary in the Koran. Even though Jesus is never referred to as God, he is still held in the highest degree of honor and respect. In Islamic tradition it is not Mohammad who will return to earth but Jesus himself. Unless of course Mohammad is the Madhi, the Arabic name for the forerunner of the Messiah. But according to this tradition that would be the Prophet Elijah. The...
A call to all in authority in the U.S.A. 1. Remember your oath to the US Constitution and the Judeo-Christian principle it represents. 2. Islam is totally incompatible with our Constitutional Republican form of Government! 3. Islamic centers around the U.S.A. practice “Sharia Law” and are totally illegal under our Republican form of Government. State Constitutions also prohibit the practices that endanger the peace and safety of the state. 4. Our wise founders knew this and we have been blessed by God for it. 5. Proverbs 22:28 - “Remove not t...
To all whom may be concerned; In January of this year Michael and Michele Stevens representing Tipi Retreat asked for the opportunity to be reheard in regards to their former application for a land use change. They believed that they had evidence that satisfied the original concerns over their application and that they were never given the opportunity to be reheard and provide a avenue of remedy. Considering all that had taken place and the fact that this issue was still under litigation to continue to the Wyoming Supreme Court, we resolved...
Our President recently signed an executive order mandating 1 year in Prison for burning the American Flag. At first I had mixed feelings. I love our flag, but I thought, what about free speech? I have now decided to fully support the President as I believe He is right, and here is why; The US Flag is actually “property” that belongs to the American people. Thus it is really a crime to burn it. Flag Burning is intended to incite violence and is therefore illegal. So I thought, what if they make it illegal to burn the Book of Mormon, or the Kor...
