Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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At the May 3 Hot Springs County Commissioners meeting held at the Annex building, Brian Clarkson from T-O Engineers provided an update on the GIS report via speakerphone. Clarkson said they are continuing the mapping of the county road easements and right-of-way descriptions to link to historical documents. They are also performing updates and expansions on the Road and Bridge Online Applications for their maintenance. Regarding anticipated work, Clarkson said they will incorporate land-use...
At the April 19 Thermopolis Town Council meeting held at the Town Hall, representatives from the Farmer’s Market requested street closure and access to the Town Hall bathrooms per their usual operation. The market will begin on June 11 and end on October 1 and will be on 5th Street next to the Bicentennial Park. Set up will be at 7:30 a.m. and pack up will be done by 12:30 p.m. It will be open to the public from 8 a.m. until 12 noon. The council voted and passed the approval of the requests. T...
At the April 20 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 tou...
At the April 21 Thermopolis-Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce meeting held at Big Horn Federal, president Howie Samelson gave the annual report and described their chamber’s mission. Samelson said the chamber, “is organized for the purpose of acting as the community resource source, promoting economic growth and tourism as a community resource.” They also reviewed the statistics of their growth and showed a 30% increase in memberships since 2013. The chamber members then voted for the 2021 best...
At the April Hot Springs Health board meeting, Chief Clinical Officer Scott Alwin gave the quality report and said they have received three applications for the hospital’s summer internship program. Currently, there are two open spots. However, there was a discussion about opening a third spot depending upon if all three students meet the criteria for the positions. The applications will be reviewed and interviews will be held in May. Alwin also reported that they are modifying processes r...
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 cla...
At the April 20 Land Use Planning Commission meeting held at the Annex building, Hot Springs County Planner Bo Bowman presented two applicants for their requests for land-use changes for their properties. The first on the agenda was SonRise Operations LLC represented by Douglas Lindenmood, who requested a land-use change from agricultural to commercial for approximately 3.87 acres, to allow a meat processing facility. There were three conditions for his approval. One is that the commercial use...
At the April 19 Hot Springs County Commissioners meeting held at the Annex, Elyse Dufour presented herself on the phone to the commissioners as they addressed an update to her application for a land-use change for her property. On November 16, the commissioners held a public hearing on the change. At that time, the commissioners put a requirement forth for Dufour that involved her getting a permit from DEQ for the septic system, which she has obtained. Dufour also agreed to cap the RV...
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." The purchase still has yet to close, however, it should in about 30 days. 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....
Porshia Birdsley recently competed in the Cheyenne Colt Breaker's Strongman competition, which is part of the all-around the world competitive powerlifting. Birdsley took first place in the women's lightweight category of under 165 pounds of body weight. There were eight other girls in her category. Birdsley explained that every Strongman competition has five events that use different implements and tests of strength. Powerlifter and strongman athlete Chad Lowery encouraged Birdsley when he did...
At the first April Hot Springs County Commissioners meeting held at the Annex building, Brian Clarkson of T-O Engineers gave the GIS (Geographic Information System) report and said they have continued mapping the county road easements and right-of-way descriptions to link to historical documents. They previously met with Bo Bowman of the county’s planning department for a work session and they scanned documents from land-use change files. This includes continuing to incorporate land-use change r...
At the April 5 Thermopolis Town Council meeting held at Town Hall, Mayor Mike Chimenti held a public hearing for the retail liquor license transfer from Elle’s Restaurant and Bar to 7 Lazy S Cafe and Bar, LLC. There were no public comments. The council then voted and approved the transfer of the liquor license. Town engineer Anthony Barnett said they had a prebid event for the silo painting project and that he recommended Carr Coatings, LLC. The council voted and approved the bid. Barnett also d...
Property owner John Waid has been working on remodeling a series of apartments located at 327 Arapahoe. Waid started the renovation and remodeling in February and anticipates he will be done in about 30 days. The work includes new flooring, drywall, and ceilings. Also, he is cleaning up the sinks, stoves, and other items. Waid also said that rental properties are difficult to find in Thermopolis and that many people have been searching for somewhere to rent, some for months. Waid said three of...
Charlie and Kim Smith are expanding their 7 Lazy S Restaurant business to include a new bar and to add dinner to their menu. Kim said, "We're getting super excited. We're going to do a hard opening Monday, April 18, where we'll be open for dinners. The hours for dinner will be 4:30-9 p.m." 7 Lazy S Restaurant is located at 109 S 6th St. Kim estimates the bar will be open from 10 a.m.-10 p.m., but the exact times are still to be determined. Kim said about their dinner menu, "We will have some...
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. Dusty Lewis, opened the...
Stevie Ann Jellis opened The 307 Pit gym and fitness facility on April 1, located at 735 South 6th Street. They are an Official Hammer Strength Training and Life Fitness Center. The 307 Pit is a high-quality, first-class facility with the same equipment used by professional athletes, nationally ranked colleges, and Olympic athletes. The 307 Pit is brand new, always clean and its equipment is well maintained at all times. The facility has the only 24/7 hr access in Thermopolis, with constant...
At the March 29 Hot Springs Health board meeting, CEO Margie Molitor was out of town and was unable to attend. Therefore, Chief Clinical Officer Scott Alwin gave the growth pillar report and said he welcomed the new Chief Financial Officer Kevin Benson. Alwin then asked Verlene Luna to discuss the new same-day access program for the clinics. Luna said, “We really have been working with established patients from some of our more productive physicians to get them in quicker. So if, for i...
For the past two years, property prices and their availability in Hot Springs County have experienced a significant change. There is a very high demand of buyers seeking to purchase properties here in Hot Springs County and yet there is now a low supply. Cenus data shows Wyoming’s population grew by 1,536 people between July 2020 and 2021. That’s an increase of 0.3%, above the nationwide average of 0.1% in the same time period. Based on real estate sales and availability, Hot Springs County is...
Val Curley and her business Paws for a Moment provide a house and pet sitting service for residents here in Thermopolis. Curley started her business about four or five months ago. For dog walking, at this time, Curley charges $20 for half an hour. However, rates can be discussed. Curley could be described as a “pet whisperer” as she has a heart that connects with an animal. She doesn’t see them just as property, but as animals of value and worth. Curley described that she can quickly bond with t...
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 t...
At the March 15 Thermopolis Town Council meeting held at Town Hall, Hot Springs County Emergency Planner Bill Gordon presented information on the Hazard Mitigation Plan. This plan was last approved in 2016 but now has been updated and reviewed. It’s 546 pages. However, there is a portion of the plan as an annex just for Hot Springs County, about 38 pages. Gordon mentioned there is a chart of 10 pages to pay attention to that shows the efforts being done by various agencies and its new items. T...
Mark and Liz Dean have purchased the tannery portion of the business from Merlin's Hide Out. The front part of the building and the store are still owned by Merlin's Hide Out and they are separate entities. Kirby Creek Tannery currently has three full-time employees and a few others that are seasonal. Liz provided a tour of the tannery and she described the different stages involved. When a hide comes into the shop, they get fleshed and then salted so they are dry before the tanning process...
A Uhaul Authorized Dealer is back in Thermopolis with their office located at Discover Thermopolis at 541 Broadway. Howie Samelson is managing. They officially started on March 1. Samelson said, "It's a service the town's needed... and is to fill a little niche to keep people shopping in Thermopolis, make it more convenient for them." There has been about a one-year lull since the previous Uhaul dealer stopped their service. At this time they have two trucks that have come inbound and they just...
At the March Travel and Tourism board meeting, treasurer Audra Dominguez presented the financial report. For the month of February, they collected $13,611.70 in lodging tax revenue, which is a change of 84% compared to the previous year. The board has never seen numbers this high before. Additionally, there are no local construction projects going on and therefore these numbers reflect actual tourism dollars. As a reminder, lodging tax revenue is collected by hotels, motels, or short-term...
Hot Springs State Park has a frisbee/disc golf course just north of the Chamber of Commerce Building that is open year-round for play. For those interested in getting the discs to play, stop by the Chamber to play for free. The frisbee golf course is 9 holes with baskets. The sport started about 50 years ago when players would throw the discs at tree stumps but now they have baskets. The course has every hole as a par three, it’s just like golf. If you land the disc in the basket on the first t...
