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2022 - A look back at the year in Hot Springs County

There were many memorable things that happened in Hot Springs County in 2022. The following is a look back at an important or unique story from each week of the year.

January

January 6

The Hot Springs County Commissioners held a public hearing at the Annex Building on December 21 to address the request for a land-use change for the Steven's property and their Tipi Retreat business.

County Planner Bo Bowman introduced the application to the commissioners and said that the property is located at the end of Coyote Run and has been operating as a lodging business using 12 tipis. Bowman added that the land use planning commission considered the matter on July 21. They recommended to the county commissioners as in favor of granting the land-use change. Bowman noted that there were concerns about a private easement and potential traffic issues.

During some discussion with Bowman, commissioner Jack Baird said, "We want growth in Hot Spring County. But we also have a responsibility of safety that we come to granting these land use changes. And this does not fall in the safe category. I mean, the tipis are a great idea. They're not in the right location, in my opinion. It isn't because of the neighbors complaining. It is purely safety. That's my two cents."

January 13

Two residential fires happened in Thermopolis last week that displaced at least one homeowner and left a dog dead.

One of the fires was located at a residence on Circle Drive and started Friday, January 7 at 11:56 p.m. The other fire was at a residence on Lane 5 and started Saturday, January 8 at 8:16 p.m.

Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mark Collins said the cause of the fires has not been determined. An investigator from the property owners insurance companies would investigate to determine why they started.

January 20

Bulow and Haines have been doing comedy for a combined 13 years. Two years ago they teamed up to do comedy fundraising shows. Bulow is the "Hunting and Fishing Comedian" whose clean family-friendly comedy reflects the way of life of hunters, fishermen, dog owners, and the spouses who put up with them. His real-life stories about his (mis)adventures in the great out-of-doors appeal to all audiences.

The event is benefiting the Hot Springs Foundation, which was created by the Thermopolis-Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce and has its own board members with the mission to benefit the citizens and economy of Hot Springs County.  

January 27

At the January 18 Thermopolis Town Council meeting held at Town Hall, Officers Mike Mascorro and Kylar LaBoy were sworn in by Town Attorney Mike Messenger. Mascorro was promoted to Sergeant and LaBoy was enrolled as a new officer. Mascorro's family performed a ceremony of pinning the bars to his collar lapel and replacing a new badge on his chest.

February

February 3

At the January Hot Springs Health board meeting for the growth report, CEO Margie Molitor announced that she is retiring on July 1 and they are beginning the process to find her replacement. Molitor has been working in health care for forty years with five and a half years in her position as CEO.

Molitor added they are still looking for a new CFO and a CRNA.

February 10

Tipi Retreat owners file lawsuit naming county commissioners as defendants 

The Tipi Retreat LLC, Michele and Michael Stevens, plaintiffs, through counsel Hathaway & Kunz LLP, filed a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment, Injunctive Relief, and Petition for Judicial Review against defendant, Hot Springs County Board of County Commissioners, a Wyoming governmental entity. The suit was filed with the Hot Springs County Fifth Judicial District Court on January 19.

The Stevens' are challenging the decision made by the county commissioners to not approve a request for a land use change from agricultural to commercial. The plaintiffs claim infringement upon their constitutionally protected property rights. Michael Stevens had originally applied for a bed-and-breakfast permit. He was later advised that the Planning Commission would require a land use change from agriculture to commercial for the Tipi Retreat development.

February 17

A picture of Thermopolis Middle School students participating in an air rifle unit caused online controversy after it recently went viral, prompting its removal from a Hot Springs County School District No. 1 social media page.

The photo is of fifth and sixth grade TMS students working on their marksmanship with air rifles as part of the physical education program.

The post accumulated more than 66,000 shares and 6,000 comments, including a mix of support and criticism of children being taught marksmanship skills in school.

February 24

The Bobcat wrestling team came home from the 2A Regional tournament winning second overall as a team, earning three championships, three top four placings and qualifying 14 wrestlers for state in Casper next weekend.

Will Ward, at 113 lbs., captured the championship and his first All-Conference award. Wyatt McDermott, at 138 lbs., won his second regional title and fourth All-Conference award. Roedy Farrell won his third regional title and third All-Conference award. Austin Barral earned his second All-Conference award by earning pins in his first two matches. Brothers Brody and Jarek Sorensen brought home 3rd and 4th. 

March

March 3

Thermopolis Middle School eighth grade Bobcats basketball team finished their season last weekend going into the tournament ranked number one and coming out conference champions.

For the championship match up the Cats faced Shoshoni. Tough defense kept a twenty point scoring margin. The Cats held Shoshoni to zero points in the second quarter and took an eleven point lead going into the half. The Cats pushed Shoshoni with their press and were successful to celebrate with an eighth grade Conference Title. The final score was Thermopolis 45, Shoshoni with 24. 

March 10

Some of Wyoming's finest artists were recognized during the 2022 Governor's Capitol Art Exhibition reception in the Wyoming State Capitol Extension on February 24. Jeb Schenck was selected as one of the featured artists.

His photo of Joey Littlebird, a Sergeant in the Marines, participating in the Warrior Honor Dance at a Fort Washakie Pow Wow was included in the exhibit.  

March 17

Bobcat Speech and Debate are the 2022 1A/2A State Champions for the third consecutive year.

Individually, Jean-Luc Willson had an impressive showing earning 3rd in Lincoln-Douglas Debate (overall), he is 1A/2A Lincoln-Douglas Champion, he was a semifinalist in Extemporaneous Debate (overall) and is 1A/2A Extemporaneous Champion.

Willson also has the honor of being named a Student Forensics Ambassador by the WHSFA. Only six students were chosen for this award from the whole state.

Josiah Butler earned 3rd in Lincoln-Douglas Debate (overall), 2nd in 1A/2A Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Super Congress (overall) and 2nd in 1A/2A Congress. Julia Quintanilla was a semi-finalist in Drama (overall) and 2nd in 1A/2A Drama. 

March 24

Town engineer Anthony Barnett presented a memorandum from Engineering Associates that was created by Heath Overfield. Over-field provided updates on the Solid Waste Transfer Station.

First, they received the most recent version of the Cease and Transfer Funding Application from DEQ. Also, they are working on a rough site plan to help them determine the scope of the transfer station construction project and anticipated construction costs.

The engineers have started investigating the cost and timeline for installing an additional left-turn lane on the highway for access to the transfer station. This was requested by the HSC Commissioners and Overfield said it "seemed to be in everyone's best interests for traffic safety at the WYDOT STIP meeting last fall." Overfield also said regarding the construction of this lane will cost roughly $400,000.

March 31

Hot Springs County High School senior Jean Luc Willson recently won a full-ride scholarship to the University of Wyoming (UW).

The university awards about 100 scholarships every year. As part of the application process, UW first looks at the student's GPAs and ACT scores. Willson said they look for an ACT score around 32 and a GPA of about 3.9 or 3.8.

UW Admissions put the applicants in a selection pool where they then have to do essay questions for a second phase. The school then narrows down the applications into a smaller groups, which leads to in-person interviews.

April

April 7

A public meeting was held on March 31 at the Fire Hall to discuss the possibility of creating the Bighorn River Blueway Trail for recreationists and citizens. Christy Fleming of the Bighorn Canyon National Park Service gave the presentation. Fleming is also a representative of the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) during the public meeting to gain support for the blueway trail, address concerns, and see what the public thinks about the idea. 

April 14

Thermopolis High School FFA and Big Springs middle school members competed at State Convention last week and brought home an impressive list of awards. For Thermopolis High School, the chapter was named a three star chapter, the highest level available.

Hallie Martienz, Eli McCumber, Allyssa Talyor, William Clark, James Christensen, Jason Bowman, Cadence Steadman and Garret Titmus were awarded their State FFA Degrees. 

April 21

The Hot Springs County Senior Center director Trenda Moore reported they purchased the Shopko Building in an online auction held Thursday, April 14. Moore said, "It will be the center's new home."

Moore added that they have high expectations with the purchase as they are nearing their 50th anniversary. They have a three to five-year plan before things come full circle. This plan was requested for one of their grants.

April 28

Recently, the Hot Springs County assessor's office mailed out estimated tax assessments for 2022 to property owners, with many seeing a noticeable increase. There has been discussion and questions throughout the community as to the cause of the increase.

Hot Springs County assessor Dan Webber provided some answers and insights into the matter and said, "The process really starts out with me setting a fair value on every property in the county. The term fair value is different for different classes of property. Residential, commercial, industrial, all those types of property are valued at market value. We're trying to value them at what a knowledgeable buyer would be willing to pay for that property. Agriculture land is actually different. It's valued for its productive capability. Typically that's a lower value than market value. But at the end of the day, what this office is trying to do is not set taxes, but to value all property at its fair value."

May

May 5

At the April Hot Springs County Travel and Tourism meeting held at the Quality Inn, treasurer Audra Dominguez gave the financial report and said that March's lodging tax revenue was $9,569.22, which was a 25% increase over the previous year. It was the highest-earning March, with the exception of 2014/15. In 2014/15, the lodging tax was $11,312.51 but that was due to the workers helping clean the flood of the Wind River Canyon. She said this year's lodging tax revenue comes strictly from tourism spending, as there is no construction going on in the area.

May 12

At the May 5 Hot Springs County Land Use Planning Commission held at the Annex building, the commission continued their discussion of the Red Rim Ranch Subdivision application. The application was previously discussed at the April 20 meeting where public comments were given.

At this meeting, there were no formal public comments. However, the planning commission did ask questions of both the applicant Brian Hayek and residents of the Red Rim area, particularly those who live on Lane 14.

The planning commission was evaluating the application to see if they would recommend or not a land-use change to the Hot Springs County Commissioners. The change would be from agricultural to residential for a potential 88 single-family lots of a housing subdivision.

The meeting's attendance was significant, with all seats taken and some standing. Many of the attendees were residents of Lane 14. In the April 20 meeting, the most common issue of opposition to the development was over the roads and the amount of potential traffic on them. The roads are gravel or dirt roads and they suffer from significant erosion from use. If they were bladed and made smooth, the washboard and other erosion issues would return after just two to three days of use.

The planning commission asked about the roads and specifically inquired about residents from Lane 14. Multiple residents voiced their concerns, but the most significant item about the Lane 14 road was its easements. There was uncertainty if the applicant Brian Hayek had all the proper easements for that road that would be legally satisfactory for him to use it. Several people who were in the conversation said Hayek does not have all the easements in order. 

May 19

The trail development of Roundtop is complete and there will be a Grand Opening on May 21.

Todd Thibodeau is the team leader of four members who did the hard work. The trail building work started on March 22 and they hope to be done by May 20. The nature of the work entails digging with pickaxes, using a Punjab gas-powered jackhammer, and a device called a come-along that helps move huge rocks that easily weigh tons. And, when necessary, they drill holes or cores into the rock and explode black powder when nothing else works to break apart the stone.

The trail is about three feet wide and 3,600 lineal feet from the bottom to the top. Some of the trail's walls the team built can be as high as eight feet. The trail starts at the Freudenthal family memorial and winds its way to the top with several switchbacks. 

May 26

At the May 17 Hot Springs County Commissioners meeting, County Assessor Dan Webber came to present the 2022 Abstract for the Board of Equalization. The commissioners then recessed and reconvened the meeting under the Board of Equalization. Webber said that the locally assessed value of properties in Hot Springs County is $59,988,460 and that is the number on those estimates.

Webber added, "It's up roughly $7 million. It was in the $52 million range last year. We got through the 30-day appeal period. We did not have an appeal, so you won't have to do any hearings this year. And really, to be honest, there weren't a whole lot of questions. I think the article that we put in the newspaper was probably helpful in explaining to people what was going on with those notices and I think there were a couple of articles in there beforehand from the local realtors. I think that people were expecting to see what they saw. There really weren't a whole lot of complaints." Webber noted that the re-port does not include minerals.

June

June 2

Hot Springs Health CEO Margie Molitor passes the torch to the new CEO Scott Alwin starting July 1. Molitor has served in her position for the past six years and has said about her experience, "It's been amazing. I mean, my experience here at Hot Springs Health has been extraordinarily positive." Molitor sums up what she is most proud of in two words, "growth and culture."

June 9

At the May 25 Hot Springs County Travel & Tourism public board meeting and yearly budget work session tourism director Jackie Dorothy reported that they continue to see growth in lodging with another record-breaking month from March revenues.

This lodging tax revenue is from hotels, R.V. parks, and vacation rentals and brought in over $15,000, the highest amount received in the past eleven years for the early spring.

June 16

Barrie Lynn Bryant, a 27 year resident of Kirby, has been awarded a $24,473 grant by the Wyoming Arts Council for photography. Bryant will produce a documentary photography field work and teaching project that aims to assess, reveal, and offer solutions to pressing needs within Bighorn Basin communities.

Along with completing his own photographs, Bryant will also teach four separate documentary photography courses at the libraries in Worland, Thermopolis, and Greybull and in the Meeteetse Museum.

June 30

Teacher Britton Van Heule recently received two awards, one from the Hot Springs County School District for Teacher of the Year and the other from the Wyoming Association for Career and Technical Education (WACTE) Teacher of the Year.

Van Heule is thankful for the support from the other teachers, administration, and community. He said, "It makes me want to keep doing what I'm doing. Basically. just keep moving forward... I mean, it's nice to be recognized. We put in a lot of time and effort. Teaching is not a nine-to-five job." 

July

July 7

The Wagonhound Off-road event will be held July 29-31. Event representative Travis Winger said, "Wagonhound, in general, is a collaboration between Central Wyoming 4x4, which is a local nonprofit road organization here. I'm the vice president of that. We've got several members locally and we've worked with a local landowner for probably six to seven years now to try to get this park established."

The developed trails are on private land of about 2,000 acres. Winger said the activity on the trails is meant to be used responsibly.

The park is open for the majority of the summer and is shut down during the winter and during the hunting season.  

July 14

At the July 5 Hot Springs County Commissioners meeting held at the Annex building, a public hearing was held to address the Red Rim Ranch Subdivision application, represented by developer Brian Hayek. The request was for the approval of a preliminary subdivision plat to divide 385 acres into 88 single-family residential lots and a land-use change from Agricultural land use category to Residential land use category.

July 21

The Hot Springs County Sheriff's Department has a new K-9 unit with Deputy Shayna Cox and a one and half-year-old German Shepard named Riggs. Cox said that she and Riggs went through about three weeks of training working every day. Riggs was supplied by a company called MAKOR K9 of West Virginia. Cox explained, "The guy that sold the dog to us came down and trained with me, brought the dog, delivered it, and trained with me. We finished a little bit early, so it would have been 21 days." Cox said they finished training in about 18 days.

July 28

Derek Ransom is providing a free kids exercise program for youth ages 7 and up at High Country Behavioral Health at 121 S. 4th Street. Ransom said, "What I'm doing is an athletic-based youth training program. We do a lot of basic functional movements, and then we really try to target those that need this type of diversity in their life and need the benefits of physical activity.

August

August 4

The Hot Springs County School Board's discussion of school safety on July 19 opened with Superintendent Dustin Hunt pointing out that the school district had planned to conduct a complete safety audit just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

While the pandemic shut down any such audits, Hunt has since reached out to the state, and the Department of Homeland Security, to finally obtain a safety audit, reviewing the district's facilities, practices and drills.

Those agencies have referred the district to other personnel in turn, while Hunt has reached out to Kevin Mitchell, executive director for the Wyoming Association for School Administrators.

Hunt has requested a rewrite of the district's crisis manual, citing its thickness and length of "a couple of hundred pages" as hindering its ability to be used as a quick reference tool in case of an actual emergency. 

August 11

The 2022 Junior Livestock Auction and Judges' Choice Bake Sale at the Hot Springs County Fairgrounds Friday night brought in a record breaking $218,963.26, up from $203,104.50 last year. Along with the live and online auction for sheep, swine, goats and beef, baked goods were offered up in a silent auction.

August 18

Unofficial results came in late Tuesday night for local Hot Springs County 2022 Primary Election races.

In the race for Hot Springs County Commissioner, incumbent Tom Ryan was the top vote earner with 935 votes. Paul Galovich received 873 votes compared to incumbent Jack Baird's 835 which will send Galovich to the General Election in November with Ryan. Joe Martinez received 672 votes.

For Thermopolis Mayor, incumbent Mike Chimenti received 528 votes and Adam Ryan Estenson received 500. Both will advance to the General Election.

In the race for Thermopolis Town Council, all four candidates will move onto the General Election. In the Primary, John Dorman, Sr. received 580 votes, Tony Larson received 455 votes, Rachel Hughes received 431 votes and Bradyn Harvey received 362 votes.

In the race for the House District 28 seat, Republican John R. Winter received 1,511 and Democrat Kimberly Bartlett received 65 votes. The race will be decided in November's General Election.

August 25

The United States Postal Service cordially invites you to attend the dedication ceremony naming the Thermopolis Post Office, the Robert L. Brown Post Office Building. The event will be held on August 26 at the Hot Springs County High School Auditorium, 415 Springview Street. A reception will follow the ceremony.

Brown's career with the U.S. Postal Service spanned 44 years, including 18 years as the postmaster. Former Postmaster Robert Brown passed away on September 11, 2020.

September

September 1

Mack's Market now offers two new self-check stations for customers without eliminating any staff positions. Owner Eric Mackay said regarding the decision-making in these new additions, "It actually isn't a new idea. It's been something that has been in the grocery industry for probably the last maybe 15 to 20 years, with a lot of prevalence. And it's been an idea that keeps coming back. But these particular units were ordered about probably three years ago. It was actually before COVID-19."

Regarding feedback from customers, Mackay said, "There's people that love it and absolutely think it's the greatest thing in the world. And there's people that hate it and think that it is the absolute worst thing in the world. So there's not a lot of middle ground."

September 8

The Thermopolis High School Alumni Association is making major changes for future reunion gatherings. There will no longer be an organized association that will plan events for the weekend of reunion. Reunion will still be held the third weekend of July but it will be up to each individual class to make their own plans. The live band and picnic hosted by the association will no longer be held.

On reunion weekend, the third weekend in July, the classes will be able to make their own plans for dinner, fun, gatherings, etc.

The restaurants and bars around town are still happy to accommodate the many groups.

 September 15

The Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame (WCHF) has selected 36 inductees for the Class of 2022 including Larry Bentley and the late Ramul Dvarishkis of Hot Springs County, Region 8.

The WCHF State Board of Directors voted on the nominees from across the state during its annual meeting May 1.

Regional committees in ten different areas of Wyoming researched and scored over 70 nominations and sent the top picks to the WCHF State Board of Directors.

September 22

On September 16-17, remote control airplane pilots and enthusiasts from throughout the region gathered at the Hot Springs County Airport to fly their model planes. Twenty-one pilots came from Riverton, Billings, and elsewhere to participate. The weather was pleasant, and many pilots commented it wasn't too hot. The planes used either combustion engine propellers or jet engines. Contest directors, Art Mulkey and Dennis Rollins, both from Billings, described the event as their "butterfly event," instead of it being a competitive contest. Mulkey said, "We just all gather and enjoy the day flying, and hopefully we will have some great weather. The facility we have here is pretty awesome. We don't very often get the chance to fly off a full-scale airport."

September 29

The Wyoming Highway Patrol has issued a report with details of Saturday's fatal head-on vehicle collision south of Thermopolis in Wind River Canyon.

The report states, on September 24, a fatal crash occurred at milepost 121.4 on US 20. Around 10 a.m., Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers were notified of a motor vehicle collision.

Driver inattention is being investigated as a possible contributing factor in the crash, which closed Wind River Canyon highway for hours.

October

October 6

The Chamber of Commerce held their annual banquet at the Fair Building this Saturday, October 1.

The 2021 Business of the Year award winners were Thermopolis Petro & Tire and Kirby Creek Mercantile.

The 2021 Non-Profit Organization of the Year award winner was the Hot Springs County Museum & Cultural Center.

The 2021 Citizen of the Year award winners were Lloyd & Joan LaFave and Ray & Carol Shaffer. 

October 13

Dust off your brooms and get ready for the Hags-N-Bags Halloween Purse Auction on Saturday, October 22 at the Fair Building. All proceeds will be for T-Town Cancer Crusaders. Come celebrate Halloween and raise funds for local cancer patients to help with hotel, meals, fuel, and other travel expenses for oncology appointments. They will have dinner and auction new and gently used purses.

Event volunteer Bridget Bury said that the Hags-N-Bags event started with a sorority group of girls under a different name and held it for a couple of years but then stopped. Bury said, "We had so much fun when we went to both of those events that when they stopped it, my aunt, Dolly Daniels, and I decided we would take over." Bury and Daniels held one event about three or four years ago and then couldn't again because of Covid. Now they are holding their second event.

October 20

The Fifth Judicial District Court out of Park County has entered summary judgment in favor of Neil Schlenker, Chris Davidson, Steve Harper, Dalin Winters, Clifford Alexander, J.O. Sutherland, Daniel Greet, John K. Johnson, and Tri County Telephone Association, together with its affiliated companies, dismissing the class action lawsuit filed against those defendants and pursued by Joe Campbell, Barbara Campbell, and William (Bill) Loveland.

In their lawsuit, the Campbells and Loveland made accusations that TCT was acquired through a scheme of fraud, deceit, and collusion.

October 27

An open house will be held at Safe Haven, 426 Big Horn St., Saturday, October 29 from noon-5 p.m.. Kaitlin Stone is the new executive director of This nonprofit organization had been part of the Self Help Center out of Casper, but they are their own organization now. Stone moved to Thermopolis in July from the Portland area. However, she is originally from Cody. Stone said, "It was like coming home."

Stone described Safe Haven and said, "The quick answer is that we provide support to survivors of violent crimes, specifically domestic violence, and sexual assault. We can work with survivors also of elder abuse, child abuse, neglect, stalking, and bullying. But sexual assault and domestic violence are the two most common."

November 

November 3

Kent and Stacy Hessenthaler are long-time Thermopolis figures known for their sweet corn and pumpkins. Kent retired from teaching high school math and Spanish about five or six years ago. "Time runs together and as you get older, you know that," said Kent. However, more changes are coming for the Hessenthalers as they have decided to stop planting pumpkins, but they will continue farming their sweet corn.

The Hessenthalers have been producing pumpkins for the past 30 to 35 years. Each year they grow between 500 to 1,000 pumpkins totaling about 6,000 pounds of produce. 

November 10

Unofficial results have been released for the 2022 Hot Springs County General Election. In Hot Springs County, there were a total of 2,213 votes cast.

A new Mayor will be the taking over for the Town of the Thermopolis. Adam Ryan Estenson received 650 votes winning over incumbent Mike Chimenti who received 552 votes.

For the Thermopolis Town Council race, Rachel Hughes received 612 votes to edge out incumbent Tony Larson with 598 votes. John Dorman, Sr. received 748 votes and will retain his seat on the council.

In the eight person race for three seats on the Hot Springs County School District Board of Trustees, there will be one new board member. Incumbents Sherman Skelton, with 1,054 votes, and Jennifer Axtell, with 1,031 votes, will retain their seats on the board. As the next highest vote earner with 921, Bethany Rose Webber will be joining the board.

In the race for the Wyoming House District 28 seat, it looks as though incumbent John R. Winter (R) will retain his seat. Winter received a total of 1,582 votes in Hot Springs County, with Kimberly M. Bartlett (D) receiving 590 votes.

Results of the county commissioner race show incumbent Thomas J. Ryan retaining his seat with 1,407 votes and Paul M. Galovich received 1,517 votes to secure his seat. 

November 17

A District Judge has ruled in favor of the Hot Springs County Commissioners.

District Court Judge Bill Simpson ruled on the Tipi Retreat, LLC, with Michele and Michael Stevens v. the Hot Springs County Board of County Commissioners on November 8. The order is granting the defendant's motion for partial summary judgment.

Earlier this year, The Tipi Retreat LLC, Michele and Michael Stevens, plaintiffs, through counsel Hathaway & Kunz LLP, filed a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment, Injunctive Relief, and Petition for Judicial Review against defendant, Hot Springs County Board of County Commissioners, a Wyoming governmental entity. The suit was filed with the Hot Springs County Fifth Judicial District Court on January 19.

The Stevens' suit was challenging the decision made by the county commissioners to not approve a request for a land use change from agricultural to commercial. The plaintiffs claim infringement upon their constitutionally protected property rights. Michael Stevens had originally applied for a bed-and-breakfast permit. He was later advised that the Planning Commission would require a land use change from agriculture to commercial for the Tipi Retreat development.

According to the recent partial summary judgment document, "The Court finds Hot Springs County's Land Use Plan and Development Regulations properly establish enforceable zoning regulations with identifiable standards to control and regulate land use development, including the Plaintiff's land uses. Further, neither the local land use plan statute, Wyoming Stat. 9-8-301, nor the statute authorizing counties to adopt zoning regulations, Wyoming Stat. 18-5-201, requires that zoning regulations be adopted separately from a land use plan. The zoning regulations, or development regulations, in this case, are not invalid because they appear in the same document as the County's visionary goals. Finally, because Hot Springs County had legally existing zoning regulations in effect when the Plaintiffs began their development project, the County did not violate their constitutional due process rights when it denied their development permit." 

November 24

Wyoming Whiskey is celebrating 10 years since its first small batch of bourbon by having an anniversary party on December 3. The party will be at the new location of their Satellite Store at 120 East Main Street in Kirby, the former site of Kirby Bar and Grill.

Justin Beasley and After the Rodeo Band will provide Live music. Food will be provided by We Got Your Six Portions and specialty cocktails will be available. Also, there will be samples and sales of the 10-Year-Anniversary Edition Bourbon. The festivity will include drawings and giveaways.

Also, according to Retail and Event Manager Amanda Moeller, the Wyoming Whiskey Satellite Store will be closed for moving and cleaning to their new location on November 19-23. They will reopen on November 25, Black Friday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. December 5, Wyoming Whiskey will be closed.

December 

December 1

The Bobcat Roundtop yearbook captured the Golden Pony and All-State Honors with a first place champion ranking in 1A/2A at the 2022 Wyoming Student Media Association (WYSMA) Convention held at the University of Wyoming. The Bobcats won these honors with last year's book, which was published through Jostens with the theme - Caution: Organized Chaos.

Lyle Wiley expressed pride in the work of his Bobcat Yearbook staff. "These students work hard juggling a number of important skills to produce a quality book for our community. They take photos, design pages, interview others, write stories, and do it all on a printing deadline," said Wiley. 

December 8

Thermopolis Police Officer Dood Jaussaud has restored a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air and converted it into a police car. Jaussaud explained that he has been planning this for a long time and said, "I've actually wanted a cop car before I even applied for the sheriff's office and started in law enforcement. When my grandpa passed away, we went to a car show the day after his funeral. I took his truck, my red truck that I have, was his little truck. They were raffling off a police department car in Mills, Wyo. So I tried to get it. Then I thought, well, that'd be a really cool idea to find my own. So I've been waiting to do it for a while. That's what kind of sparked the idea."

Jaussaud described his appeal of the 1957 Bel Air and said, "I like the wings on the back. Pretty unique cars. I've been looking for it forever. I finally found one in Columbus, Mont. I get in the truck, I drive up there, I buy this car, I bring it home, and it needs a lot of work. It needs bodywork, it's rusty. And we put three motors in it, and all three of them turned out to be bad. We spent hours and hours doing motor swaps, finally put a motor in it that worked well."

December 15

Wyoming Pioneer Home resident Bobbie Butler recently turned 100 years old and a birthday party was held in her honor with family and friends attending. Bobbie was born in Oakley, Kansas, but grew up in Neosho, Missouri. She remembers being a young girl and traveling for about a month to Neosho in a horse-drawn covered wagon with her family, which included nine kids and her parents Jim and Hazel White. Bobbie was named after her uncle Bob. She had six sisters and two brothers.

December 22

Hot Springs County Search and Rescue has a new side-by-side vehicle with snow tracks. Search and Rescue member Casey Freund, said the Polaris Ranger Crew 1000 Northstar edition vehicle was approved by the County Commissioners in 2021. The cost to the county was $23,061.99. The tracks were paid for out of the private fund for the Search and Rescue, which is from donations made to the organization. Freund added that their Poker Float refund raiser earns them money from the community to pay for the tracks. The cost of the tracks was approximately $4,500.

This new vehicle has extra room in it for passengers who needed rescue. Search and Rescue recently did a training mission in the Buffalo Creek area. Freund said, "We taught the people that showed up to the training how to install the tracks and the side-by-side. And then we took it for a training mission in the snow just so people could see how to operate it."

Not much time passed before they had a need to use the new vehicle. Freund added, "And then yesterday we got a call out for a rescue mission out in the Owl Creek Mountain range for hunters out there. Their side-by-side had a mechanical failure. I don't remember what broke, but something broke and they were stranded. And the only way that we were able to make it out there is because we did have this new side-by-side. It was perfect."

December 29

At the December 20 Thermopolis Town Council meeting held at Town Hall, during citizen participation Dan Wychgram presented a request regarding their potential signing a letter of support for the Hot Springs County Commissioners for their application for a Wyoming Business Council Business Readiness Community Grant. Wychgram asked that if the council signs the letter that they have a condition that the commissioners do not grind up the asphalt of the runway of the old airport as that would negatively affect his proposal to them for a resident park that would have high-end residents who would use the airport property.

Part of the discussion, which lasted more than one hour, was from consultant Jackie Dorothy representing the commissioners who asked for the signing of a letter of support.

There was much back and forth from various people with Wychgram and Dorothy.

One item discussed was that if the Town of Thermopolis would provide sewer and water for the county, the cost must be completely covered by the county. Also, the annexation of the property into the Town might also be required as well as contractual agreements between the Town and the County.

Dorothy added that even though she mentioned a hotel and or a convention center, the main goal is to have the old airport designated as a business-ready lot, meaning for any business, not just what she said is "her passion".

Dorothy also said there is a need for these types of properties, as Yellowstone Park and Teton Park are overflowing with tourists who do not have enough lodging. 

In the end, Mayor Mike Chimenti said that the old airport runway is under the county's jurisdiction and that the Town of Thermopolis has no say in what to do with the property. The council voted and passed the approval to sign the letter of support for the grant.

 

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