Week of October 24, 2024
Hot Springs County resident Cody Dyan Stewart, 35, was arrested last Friday and charged with one count of alleged felony theft and eleven counts of alleged felony forgery. On Thursday, October 17, the Thermopolis Police Department Chief Pat Cornwell met with members of the Thermopolis High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) Alumni Association. They reported to Cornwell that they believed the treasurer of the organization had allegedly taken approximately $21,000.00 from the organization over the last three years. Stewart allegedly forged...
A six-month-old baby girl from Thermopolis is in the running to win Jessica Alba’s Baby of the Year competition, benefiting the Baby2Baby organization. Aaila, the daughter of Nathan and Nichole Gurtler, is the only Wyoming baby left in her group. She is currently in 3rd place. She has to reach 1st place before Thursday, October 24, at 8 p.m. MT to enter the quarterfinals. One vote is free, just follow the link and then tap the vote button. Voting can be done here: http://babyoftheyear.org/2024/aaila The Baby of the Year will star in an ad...
A special prosecutor has been named to review the officer involved shooting that resulted in the death of Thermopolis resident Jared Gottula during a welfare check at his home on September 9. Fremont County Attorney Patrick LaBrun has stated that he has received the majority of the report compiled by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). LaBrun will review the report and determine if the two officers involved, one a Thermopolis Police Officer and one a Hot Springs County Sheriff’s Deputy, were justified or should be charged...
On October 15, the Thermopolis Town Council held a brief meeting at Town Hall. The council voted and passed the approval of the 24 hour alcohol beverage sales catering permit for Double D LLC for use at the Hags & Bags Purse auction. During citizen participation, Kim Bartlett presented some of concerns about the pending transfer station. She said, “I apologize. I did miss the transfer station meeting a couple of weeks ago, but as an impacted or potentially impacted property owner, I did want...
Moonlight Madness is returning to the streets of downtown Thermopolis on Thursday, October 24. A variety of activities will be offered that you and your family can participate in. Carnival games for prizes, Mason’s tacos, costume contests for both people and pets, a pinata bash, a photo booth and more will be happening downtown. Some businesses will be open late and offering up treats for children who want to Trick or Treat. Many of them will also be serving up warm beverages and other tasty treats so be sure to stop in. In case of...
The Hot Springs County Republican Party hosted a School Board Candidates forum at the fair building on Sept. 30. In the general election, there are four seats open for the Hot Springs County School District #1 Board of Trustees. This is part three of the forum coverage. Part one and two ran previously in the IR. A special general election section will be printed in next week’s IR with info on our local candidates and state candidates. There are two incumbents currently running for reelection,...
On Sunday, Oct. 20, Par 6 Indoor Golf held their grand opening in addition the five-year anniversary of P6 Station Pizzeria was celebrated. Owner Ryan Shaffer explained why he decided to create this sporting opportunity. He said, "In Wyoming, we don't have a lot of months to play golf. My older two kids are on the golf team and I help volunteer with the golf team. If we want to get better, if we want to have more opportunities for these kids to go play in college or just to keep their swing,...
The Wyoming Water Development Commission is holding a public meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the annex building to evaluate options for providing water to Hot Springs County residents. Please join them to learn about the Hot Springs County Water Supply Level II Study. Updates at the meeting will include information about possible water supply options based on well siting and access. The purpose of this study is to evaluate existing and potential water supplies for Hot Springs County...
From Wyoming News Exchange newspapers Juvenile shot on Hamilton Way; Police located suspect CASPER (WNE) — A minor was shot in the early hours of Saturday morning on the 3200 block of Hamilton Way, just north of its intersection with Sun Drive, in Casper. Officers were called to the incident due to a traumatic injury report and found “a chaotic scene with multiple juveniles and young adults,” according to a press release issued by Casper Police Department on Monday. The victim, who was not identified in the release, sustained “an...
HSC Library October schedule The Hot Springs County Library will be hosting cribbage games beginning October 28 for ages 14 and up on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month from 4-6 p.m. Harvest Dinner The Saint Francis Harvest Dinner has been set for Sunday, Oct. 27 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Parish Fellowship Hall, John Paul III Center at 808 Araphoe. The menu includes roast beef, turkey and all the trimmings. Tickets are $15 for adults, ages 11-16 $10, ages 6-10 $5 and 5 and under eat for free. Tickets can be purchased from Mary Hart at...
The Bobcat varsity football had a tough assignment last weekend – take down the number one ranked Mountain View Buffalos. In what would prove to be a challenging, yet rewarding game at Leroy Hayes Field, the Cats emerged victorious on Friday night. With significant contributions from up and down the roster, the Bobcats came away with a 13 to 6 victory. The Buffs came into Thermopolis with an undefeated record, having pretty much sailed their way around the 2A West Conference, and were looking...
The Hot Springs County High School cross country team hosted a 2A Regional meet at the Thermopolis Golf Course last Thursday. The Cats finished in second place, with a team score of 47 – just 13 points back of the team from Wyoming Indian High School. Once again, the Bobcats had seven runners entered. Junior Jadeth Elder finished in 2nd place, with a time of 18:15.08 – just behind Howard McNiven of Burlington. McNiven was the 2023 state champion. Junior Cole Keller finished 7th, with a...
The Lady Cats volleyball team faced off with Shoshoni (8-18-1, 0-5) this past Friday in Shoshoni, and then played at home against 1st place Greybull (17-10-3, 4-1) on Saturday. Both matches were conference games. The Lady Cats had defeated Shoshoni earlier in the season, and had fallen previously to Greybull by two games to one. In a near repeat of the earlier contest, the Lady Cats, again dominated Shoshoni – going 3 and 0 (25-13, 25-18 and 25-15). Shannon Hill coach said, “The games in Shoshoni were good for us. We found some...
Jackie Dorothy takes a photo of Julie Enis, Carol Vicklund, Char Bartlett and Marilyn Vass during the Hags-N-Bags Halloween Purse Auction last weekend at the HSC Fair Building. All proceeds from the event went to the T-Town Cancer Crusaders to be distributed...
Sheriff Jerimie Kraushaar and deputy Sean Kaplan help Caden Metz, along with his sister Ada, and mom, Stephanie, pick a pumpkin at the Sheriff's pumpkin patch outside the Law Enforcement Center last...
Jessi Moore fills her tray during the Golden Age Soup Supper fundraiser at the Hot Springs County Senior Citizens Center last Friday evening. Proceeds from the event went to the HSC Senior Center building...
Alex O'Brien and his daughter, Willow, enjoyed themselves during the free fly fishing clinic held last Saturday in Hot Springs State Park. The event was hosted by the Thermopolis chapter of Trout...
Taysen Neeff pounds in the nails for his string art project last week at the Hot Springs County Library. The workshop was free and for 2nd through 4th...
The 1890s Riders recently held a Halloween party at the VFW. In costumes, Clarissa Lanik in white poses afraid of Makayla Moore in a blue wig who uses a pretend knife to look...
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....
Visitors often say one of the best things about our community is the welcoming, friendly people they find here around town and at our local businesses. One person recently said about Thermopolis, “The townspeople (Thermopolites?) are nice, helpful, friendly and simply great people.” That is a wonderful compliment for the residents of our little town. Recently though, our community members have been struggling to be civil and decent to one another. They may still be being nice and friendly to visitors, but to their own neighbors there has...
by Bryan Golden Do you know anyone who always seems to have bad luck? Nothing ever goes right for them. Conversely, have you observed people who always wind up OK despite what befalls them? What differentiates these two types of people? Their attitude, thoughts and actions are as different as day and night. You are a magnet. Your attitude, thoughts and actions determine what you attract. Like attracts like. If you are negative, rude and inconsiderate, this is what you will attract. If you are positive, upbeat, courteous, caring and...
Raymond "Ray" A. Smith was born on March 15, 1939, in Kirby, Wyo., to Gordon and Ellen (Cusack) Smith and was called Home on October 13, 2024, after a short stay at Hot Springs Health in Thermopolis, Wyo. Ray dedicated a majority of his life to the JC Penney Corporation, which included managing the "Mother Store" in Kemmerer, Wyo., as well as transferring to many different stores across the country, including Fairbanks, Alaska, and Honolulu, Hawaii. During his time with JC Penney, he had the...
Nancy Madrigal, born on November 29, 1949, in Thermopolis, Wyo., passed away on October 12, 2024, at the age of 74. She spent most of her life in Lander, Wyo., working in the school district's special education department and the Wyoming State Training School, before returning to Thermopolis. Nancy loved crafting, spending time outdoors, bowling, traveling, and tending to her garden and plants. She was an animal lover, especially devoted to her two dogs, Mitzi and Molly. Always one to step in...
Edward Junior "Jr" Matheson, 81, passed away after a tragic fatal car accident south of Worland due to a medical emergency on October 16, 2024. He was born on September 17, 1943, in Ogden, Utah, to Edward and Leona Kay (Arnce) Matheson. Ed was raised in Gillette, Wyo., graduating from Campbell County High School in 1962, then served four years in the U.S Navy. As a young boy Ed worked for Highway Services Gas Station for his sister Jane and Einar Lodahl and always enjoyed visiting with his...
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, Oct. 14 9:28 a.m. Report of vandalism to private property where several “no trespassing” signs were damaged and/or stolen in the East River Road area. Tuesday, Oct. 15 6:03 p.m. A...