Week of February 20, 2025
Week of February 20, 2025
High school FFA Chapter activities National FFA Week is February 15-22 and our local high school chapter is celebrating with a variety of activities. Thermopolis FFA Chapter events for National FFA week include dress up days, an appreciation breakfast, dodgeball and more. They wrap up their events by partnering with P6 Station on Saturday, Feb. 22. FFA members will take over P6 and all tips will go to them for traveling expenses. Dine in from 4-8 p.m. or take out from 4-9 p.m. Their popular...
From Wyoming News Exchange newspapers Fifth shooting victim dies CODY (WNE) — Olivia Blackmer, 7, the sole survivor of the February 10 murder-suicide carried out by her mother that left her three sisters and mother dead, died Saturday. According to a Gofundme page organized for Olivia’s father and step-mother, Olivia was life-flighted to a neurology department in Salt Lake City after the events of February 10. She received extensive treatment over the course of multiple days in an attempt to save her life. However, Olivia succumbed to her...
At the first February Thermopolis Town Council meeting, the council voted and passed the approval to appoint Jerry Williams as the official Municipal Court Judge. Williams had been acting as a temporary judge since the passing of Judge Ron Jurovich. During citizen participation, Meri Ann Dorman, representing Main Street Thermopolis, requested street closure and the use of the Old Fire Hall for Brewfest on June 7. The event will occur from 4-8 p.m. Setup will be at noon and the street closure...
Members of the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department held their annual awards banquet last week . The Firefighter of the Year award was given to Firefighter Mark Nelson, left. The award is voted on by the membership and is was awarded by the Thermopolis Rotary Club reprentative Kerri Manig. Years of service awards were also given out including 5 years - Ana Mosser, 15 years - Ken Smith, 20 years - Mark Brawley, 35 years - Jerry Williams, 40 years - Mark Nelson. Special recognition to Past Fire...
On February 8 in Alabaster, Alabama at the 2025 Limitbreakers, International, Invite Only Strongman Competition, Thermopolis’ Porshia Birdsley took first place in the U64 Woman division.Worth noting, the woman that took second place was New Zealander’s Meg Latta who is the World’s 2nd Strongest U64 Woman. Latta traveled to the United States from New Zealand for the competition.Birdsely said, “It was a huge accomplishment to beat her as she is a long time Pro Athlete in the sport.”The...
On February 13, Malta Lodge #17 hosted Past Masters' night honoring all the living past Masters of the Lodge. Of the 16, eight attended. There have only been approx 100 Masters of Malta Lodge in the 120 years of its existence. Left to right are Eric Kay, Tom Smith, Tree Henderson, John Brooks, Dennis Wilson, Mike Messenger, Doug Becher, Tim Lippincott and Chuck Morris. Morris is a local, but was a past Master in...
The Hot Springs Health Foundation will host its first fundraising gala on Saturday, March 1 at the Hot Springs County Fairgrounds. The festivities begin with a cocktail hour at 4:30 pm, followed by dinner at 6 pm. The event will feature a silent and live auction, games, live music, a bar hosted by One Eyed Buffalo, and dinner catered by We Got Your Six Portions. All proceeds from the 2025 Gala will directly benefit the new spinal surgery service at Hot Springs Health. This is in partnership with Premier Bone and Joint. “We are excited to...
Last week, Water Development Project Manager George Moser held a public hearing and presented the recommendations for the WWDC Study - Hot Springs County Supply Evaluation - Level II Study. The event, held at the county annex, was well attended with various members of the community and representatives of different related agencies. Moser was joined by Jeff Rosenlund of DOWL and Ben Jordan, a geologist, where they gave the presentation together. The presenters reviewed some of their past...
At the February 13 Thermopolis-Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce board meeting held at Big Horn Federal, during old business, CEO Meri Ann Dorman discussed the State/Local Civics Bee which will be held on April 6 at 2 p.m. Dorman said that they are still looking for additional judges. At this time they have received about 18 essays from the region, including Thermopolis, Riverton, Lander and Burlington, from schools and homeschool groups. Dorman added that Thermopolis Middle School will complete...
At the February 4 Hot Springs County Commissioners board meeting held at the annex building, Ardurra’s Brian Clarkson and Maddie Ross gave the Geographical Information System (GIS) update. Regarding the work completed or in progress done, they said they ran automated parcel updates for ArcGIS Online data on each Monday of the month. They also drew and attributed 2024 septic permits, uploaded documents to AWS, and appended new permit locations to ArcGIS Online data. Ross also said they drew...
Mid Winter Blues Bash A Mid Winter Blues Bash will be held on Sunday, Feb. 23 from 4:30-7 p.m. at the Community Hall, 631 Big Horn. Dinner will be served at 5 with speakers beginning at 5:30. The mental health and community resource fair will include speakers from a variety of service providers. The event is free and all are welcome. Sponsored by Hot Springs County Democrats and Hot Springs County Prevention Coalition. Government 101series The Learning Center is sponsoring a three part series about how our town government works. Local...
The Learning Center is offering three classes free of charge to the Hot Springs County community beginning on Monday, February 24 at 6 p.m. The first class is “How does our Town Government work?” featuring Mayor Adam Estenson, Assistant to the Mayor Jim Jeunehomme and Town Clerk Tracey Van Huele. This class will take place at the Town Hall, 420 Broadway. Light refreshments will be served. Lifelong Thermopolite Barbara Rice came up with the idea for a class centered around local governance after hearing from a number of people who don’t...
The Hot Springs County High School Bobcat basketball team began their final round of conference play last week, with games at home and away. Location was not a factor, however, as the Bobcats came away with wins against both Shoshoni and Greybull. Coming off of wins against Big Piney and Kemmerer in the preceding week, the Cats remained the number one ranked team in 2A, and sat atop the 2A Northwest Quad, with an overall record of 15-3, and an in-quad record of 3-0. The Cats had defeated both...
Last Saturday, 8th grade Bobcats boys basketball team A faced off with Rocky Mountain. Gavin Livingood goes up to attempt a basket off the...
Last Saturday, Thermopolis Wresting Club swept the completion at the Worland Wrestling Tournament, bring home the team championship. Thermopolis scored an impressive 777.5 points, beating Riverton USA Wrestling by 183.5 points. Second place Riverton had 594 points with the home team from Worland coming in third with 392 points. Individual results of those placing in the top six or scoring team points are: 6U 40 - Ridge Deromedi, 3rd, 10.5 points; Oliver Turbyfill, 5th 6U 43 - Odin Galovich, 1st, 24 points; Levi Gard, 2nd 6U 45 - Tytus Bowker,...
The Hot Springs County High School Lady Cats basketball team began the second round of conference play last week, coming away with two important wins as the post-season looms large. Just one more week remains in the regular season. Coming into the weekend, the Lady Cats sat in second place in the 2A Northwest, with an overall record of 9-9, and an in-quad record of 2 -1. Coming off a split weekend last week, with a win against Big Piney and a loss to Kemmerer, the Lady Cats continue to be ranked number four in the 2A. On Friday night, the...
The Hot Springs County High School wrestling teams were on the road last week to compete in four duals, one at Worland, followed by three at Buffalo. The matches would provide significant experience in preparing for the regional tournaments, which take place this weekend. First up for the Cats and Lady Cats were the Warriors of Worland on Thursday night. The Lady Cats got things off to a great start, with freshman Izzie Hetzel taking revenge for some early season losses against Quintana of the Lady Warriors. Coach Travis McDermott said,...
Last Saturday, the 1890's Riders hosted a Valentines Dance at the VFW. Elizabeth Williams holds baby Jason up to kiss the pink dinosaur, along with Bobbie Haagensen on the...
Local FFA Chapters held their annual Agriscience Fair at the high school February 12. Thermopolis Middle School Big Springs Chapter members, top, Brooklyn Piles and William Hensley describe their research project in animal systems division 2 to judges Jon Anderson, Dawn Peil and Sash Moline. Left, Thermopolis High School FFA Chapter member Bridger Peil explains his project. The Wyoming State FFA Agriscience Fair is set for Monday, Feb. 24 at 9 a.m. at the Worland High School. Winners will be...
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...
The IR Community Chatter columns that appear on this page are submitted to us by a variety of local community members. Recently, we were asked if our Community Chatter is affiliated with one that has been started by a local resident and appears online. The short answer is no. For several years we have been using the Community Chatter heading for community generated guest submissions. They come from a variety of sources and involve many different topics. We don’t own rights to the name Community Chatter. We just want to clear up any...
by Debra Johnston, MD Recently, I had a gentleman come for an annual wellness visit. He hadn’t had one for quite some time, and I could tell he was a little uncertain about what to expect. He was patient while we reviewed his family history, and tolerant while we talked about diet and exercise, but he’d had enough when I asked about the last time he’d been to the dentist and the eye doctor. “What is this about?” he asked me, somewhat exasperated. I suppose people don’t usually expect to go to their primary care doctor and have her...
by Laura Phagan, HSH After working for Hot Springs Health for five years, Mackenzie Engel was ready for a challenge and decided earning a certificate to enhance her skills was the best way to do it. Her only setback was the distance to a local college to earn that certificate while also being a full-time employee and a mom. So, when the offer to complete the clinical medical assistant certification through the National Healthcareer Association, Engel made the easy decision to enroll. Since its inception, the NHA has awarded more than one...
Tonyia Humble-Plewinski passed away unexpectedly February 7, 2025. Tonyia was born in Long Beach, Calif., on January 22,1964, to Shirley Nitcy & Richard Humble. Tonyia spent most of her childhood in Long Beach, Calif. Tonyia and her mother Shirley moved to Big Timber, Mont., to reside with Shirley's parents, Ira and Ollie Adams when she was a young teen. Tonyia spent most of her time with friends outdoors fishing and rockhounding. Tonyia also had a strong love for animals. As a young adult...
Robert "Bob" Stanley Plewinski passed away January 14, 2025. Bob was born in Buffalo, N.Y,, on March 30, 1947, to Alex Plewinski and Elizabeth Grobelski. Bob joined the Marines in 1968 and served from 1968-1970 during Vietnam where he earned the rank of Lance Corporal. Upon returning home, he was an electrician at Republic Steel in Buffalo, N.Y. He moved to Maryland where he worked for PA Portner remodeling houses, he truly was a jack of all trades. Bob had a love for music and carpentry that...
Franklin Delano Cole, 88 of Thermopolis, Wyo., passed away at home peacefully on February 13, 2025. He was born November 25,1936, in Thermopolis to Benjamin H (Happy) Cole and Ida A Nelson. The family moved to Santa Rosa, Calif., where he graduated high school. His enthusiasm for aviation led him to enlist in the Air Force from 1956 to1960, and with the help of the GI Bill he earned his private pilot license after an Honorable Discharge. He met Donna G Brizendine in Santa Rosa and they married...
Joseph Russo, 73, of Thermopolis, Wyo., died Wednesday, February 12, at Hot Springs Health in Thermopolis, Wyo. Born in Wilson, Pa., he was a member of St. Francis Church and the Knights of Columbus. Surviving are daughter, Amy Jay Nowak and husband, Christopher; granddaughter, Francesca, of Harrisburg, Pa.; son, John Ringo Russo, of Houston, Texas; nephew, Robert Leroy Christman II, of Stroudsburg, Pa.; wife, Jan, of Thermopolis, Wyo., and her sons, William Johnson and wife, Shay, their...
On the Record policy It is the Thermopolis Independent Record’s policy that all people arrested or cited under the “Accidents,” “Sheriff’s office” or “Police department” in the On the Record section are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. We print the names of all people upon their initial arrest. Sheriff’s Office Monday, Feb. 10 1:32 p.m. Deputies performed a traffic stop on a 36-year-old female in the 300 block of S. 6th Street for numerous traffic offenses. This female was cited for driving with a...
