Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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A major part of tourism in Thermopolis has finally received the go-ahead to open their doors, although there are some restrictions still in place. Hellies TePee Pool and Star Plunge were allowed to do a ‘soft opening’ the last week in May with several precautions in place, including no use of jetted hot tubs or locker rooms and open to members only. Starting last June 6, the pools were opened to the public. While social distancing is still required, the locker rooms have reopened and lim...
The Hot Springs County Commissioners approved an addendum to a hangar lease at the airport, which allows a small portion of land to be added to a lease in order to place a propane tank on the property. According to FBO Nate Messenger, there were 140 operations at the airport during the month of May, including two air ambulances. He indicated fuel sales are up quite a bit from April, as well. A new seal coat for the runway is expected to begin sometime toward the middle of this month. Once the...
Although the school year has been an odd one to say the least, the Hot Springs County School District still took the time to honor parents and staff as well as announce the Teacher of the Year for 2020 via their webpage. Throughout the year, the district names four Champions for Children based on nominations with the final, Teacher of the Year, named by a select committee. The four candidates and Champions for Children this year were Mary McGillivray, Carrie Ryan, Cassie Hetzel and Lyle Wiley....
The decision was made during Tuesday’s county commissioners meeting to move ahead with a “soft” re-open of the Hot Springs County Courthouse, beginning today (Thursday). The courthouse was closed down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to help slow the spread of the virus and the public was allowed in only if absolutely necessary. Now, the public may use the main courthouse entrance that faces Arapahoe Street. Signage will ask about any illness, fever or other symptoms before entry... Full story
A rather unique way of letting the seniors of the Class of 2020 know they were being thought of during the strangeness of graduating during a pandemic was something of a secret – secret adoption, that is. The idea started with the Campbell County Adopt a Senior page on Facebook, followed by the Natrona County Adopt a Senior page and then got picked up by a number of counties in Wyoming, including Hot Springs County and the Big Horn Basin. Local mother of a senior graduate, Christine Johnston, h... Full story
Activities Director for the Hot Springs County School District, Brandon Deromedi, presented the district’s plan for summer workouts for fall sports last week, including weight room and open gym plans. Deromedi and the district proposed their plan to the State Department of Health and are waiting for final approval on some items. Having received permission to begin phase one, starting June 1, the weight room will be opening following recommended guidelines. There will be a maximum of 16 a... Full story
Hot Springs County Recreation District Director, Anja Abbott, informed the Hot Springs County School District’s Board of Directors they have managed to cut about $45,000 out of their budget. Abbott said they are trying to cut the little stuff here and there in order to get the budget in line. This year, they are requiring ever group asking for funds to do a presentation, even if they’ve been getting money from the Rec District for years. Abbot said they have decided to wait to send any funding u...
Spring and summer not only bring flowers and green grass, in Wyoming they also bring road construction. Thermopolis will be spending most of its summer under construction with the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) working its way down Sixth Street on both the northbound and southbound sides. For the next two weeks, concrete work will continue on both sides of the highway. From Canyon Hills Road to Amoretti, work will be on the southbound lanes only. When that is completed, the work... Full story
The Hot Springs County Commissioners had an update last week from the COVID-19 unified command team, consisting of County Health Officer, Dr. Vernon Miller, Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Gordon and Hot Springs County Public Health Nurse Manager Tricia McPhie. With approval from the state, restaurants, churches, hair salons and other limited businesses are now able to be open with certain safety measures in place. The command team has been hearing a lot of push to get the swimming pools...
The graduation ceremony for this year's Hot Springs County High School seniors is going to be one to remember. "Our Class of 2020 seniors will have the most memorable graduation in 100 years," said high school principal Breez Daniels. "This is the 100th Commencement at Hot Springs County High School, an important milestone for our community." Daniels said the seniors voted to have a Senior Parade of Cars – one car per senior with their immediate family in the car with them. Seniors will line up... Full story
From the time they are freshmen, students at Hot Springs County High School want to leave their mark, literally, on their alma mater. English teacher Noni Weber started a tradition a few years ago, allowing students to paint a brick on her classroom wall when they graduate. "I have freshmen who come in and right away want to paint their brick," Weber said. "Part of the deal is they have to graduate before they earn their brick. It may be a small thing, but for some students that's an incentive...
Several Hot Springs County School District seniors signed letters of intent for the colleges they will be attending in the fall. Ashley McPhie has signed a letter of intent to continue her academic and athletic career at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, MT. McPhie will join the women's basketball team for the Battlin' Bears. She led the state in three-point baskets made (51) for the 2019-2020 season and finished the season second in the state in three-point percentage. She averaged 14 points...
It has taken a few decades, but Mother Nature has reclaimed an area of land which was once a flourishing community filled with families and homes, churches, barrooms and a booming coal mine – Gebo. All that remains now are the shells of a few stone houses on “Rock Row”, the scattered bits and pieces of the lives of some 2,000 residents and patches of shiny black coal here and there. It all began when the railroad made its way into Hot Springs County in the mid-1900’s. Mining claims were filed th...
An emergency meeting of the Hot Springs County School District Board of Directors resulted in all schools within the district remaining closed through the end of the current school year. The Friday afternoon meeting was done electronically and streamed live on the district’s webpage as well as their Facebook page to ensure as many people as possible could watch as the board made its decision. While regular classes are not being held in the buildings, the district will continue with the d... Full story
The Hot Springs County Commissioners approved a purchase by Anthony Fruciano, head of maintenance, to help with installation of new plexiglass shields at counters in the courthouse. Fruciano requested $250 from emergency funds in order to purchase a miter saw for the project, which, going forward would make things safer for both the employees at the courthouse offices and the public. The remainder would come out of his regular maintenance budget. The commissioners briefly chatted with Fruciano a...
Like all of us, the Help Center at Common Ground has had to adapt to the emergence of COVID-19. “We are still providing our usual services,” said coordinator Ron Philips. “We just work on a ‘by appointment’ basis. We take all possible precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.” Help Center services include free boxes of food, assistance with utility bills, rent and other needs, as well as free FAXing, copying and internet access. “GED tutoring and testing have been put on hold until el...
Five hundred miles east of Tierra del Fuego, at the tip of South America, lies a series of mostly flat islands, dotted here and there with a few hills and small mountains where the wind blows consistently between 25 and 35 m.p.h. every day. Why in the world would someone want to go there, much less have it on their bucket list of places to visit for the last five or six years? Penguins. "I had been trying to get down to the Falkland Islands for a number of years," said local photographer Jeb Sch...
Locally born and raised in Thermopolis, Levi Shinkle has announced he will be running for House District 28 on the Democratic ticket. According to Shinkle’s website, “Wyoming’s boon-and-bust economy means every few years, our legislators have the same conversation about the budget, about education spending, even about selling off some of our public lands. It’s time for new voices, new ideas, and new approaches to make sure the Wyoming we pass on to our children is one we can be proud of.” That i...
Not many people can say they have spent 26 years doing a particular job these days much less doing it in the same town all that time. Pastor Harvey Seidel and his wife, Lois, came to Thermopolis in April 1994 to become the new pastor at First Baptist Church, and after 26 years behind that pulpit, he is retiring. “When we came our church was an older congregation,” Seidel said. “Pastor Pulis had been here 40 years and it was hard to follow a man who pastored that many years.” Before coming...
While some parents and students are adjusting well to the new adapted learning plan Hot Springs County School District #1 is using during this school closure, others are having a rough time with how everything works. The district’s adaptive learning plan was approved by the state in late March and went into effect April 3. The main instruction mode for those students in Kindergarten through fourth grade include using digital, online learning methods as well as instructional packets. For g...
Unemployment rates across the country have been skyrocketing and Wyoming is not immune to the trend being generally associated with the spread of COVID-19 and the oil industry. Wyoming had more than 6,000 new claims for unemployment last week, and increase of 160 percent from the week before. Restaurant workers have been hit hard as well, along with construction and mining. The unemployment numbers released by the state are only available through February, showing an unemployment rate of 4.5... Full story
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, churches have been required to shut their doors, but that has not stopped some from using a little ingenuity and an online presence to keep the faith. During this Easter Season, many are live-streaming their services while others are pointing parishioners toward the internet for services provided by their Diocese. St. Francis Catholic Church and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church both suggest internet services. For the Catholic Church, diocesecheyenne.org is where you... Full story
In keeping with the Wyoming State Governor’s recommendation of no more than 10 people in a meeting, the Hot Springs County Commissioners had each of their department heads submit typed reports for their meeting rather than coming in person. Nate Messenger, FBO for the Hot Springs County Airport noted there were 68 total operations at the airport for the month of March, including 21 single engine piston craft and three air ambulances. Messenger said fuel sales this month were the slowest t...
With the announcement from District 20 Wyoming State Senator Wyatt Agar that he will not be seeking reelection this year, Linda Weeks has put her name in as a candidate to replace him. "I have never aspired to be a candidate and have spent a great deal of time considering whether I should run," Weeks said. "But after 12 years of helping behind the scenes in the political arena, it's time for me to step up to serve the State of Wyoming, and most importantly, the constituents of District 20....
Thermopolis has been chosen as one of just three Wyoming towns to participate in the Main Street Façade Improvement Grant Program through Main Street America. Thermopolis joins the Laramie Main Street Alliance and Downtown Rock Springs in receiving grants up to $25,000 for improving downtown facades. Wyoming Main Street manager, Linda Klinck said, “Wyoming Main Street is excited for this opportunity for the Main Street programs in Laramie, Rock Springs and Thermopolis. “The Main Street appr...
