Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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by Mark Dykes Following a ruling Monday afternoon, there will be no new trial in a case against Matthew Schwan. After a three-day trial, on March 15 Schwan was found guilty of aggravated homicide by vehicle. The charge is from a May 14, 2016 incident during which Reilly Schwan was struck by a vehicle driven by Matthew following a night of drinking with others and an extensive argument between the couple. A motion for a new trial and evidentiary hearing was filed in the case. In that motion,...
Releases from Boysen Dam to the Wind River are currently at 5,500 cubic feet per second (cfs). Based on current operating projections and the expectation of near record runoff, Boysen Reservoir will be lowered approximately another ten feet to near elevation 4,700 feet in May. Once the snowmelt runoff begins, Boysen Reservoir will be managed to fill the reservoir to an elevation of 4724.5 feet in July. As the reservoir experiences peak run-off, releases from Boysen Dam to the Wind River are...
by Mark Dykes Following a three-day trial, and about three hours of deliberation, a jury returned a verdict of guilty to the charge of incest in a case against Justin Spence. The charge states he molested a juvenile on July 4 or 5, 2014. In a trial that had already seen plenty of emotional testimony, when the verdict was read tears were shed by Spence himself, as well as by both those supporting him and those on the opposing end. It was a long road to the verdict, as the trial had seen a couple...
by Mark Dykes May 1 was the first day for Lisa Pierce as the new director at the Hot Springs County Senior Services Center. Outgoing director Chanda Waddell, who will still be at the facility through the month, explained her husband Lance got a job in Fort Wayne, Ind., so they are moving there. Waddell, who has been director of the facility for the past 2.5 years, feels like she learned a lot while in the position, and she is leaving a cohesive, driven and skilled team. She added she has no...
by Mark Dykes The costs paid by East Thermopolis, for the Thermopolis Police Department to provide services, could see an increase in the near future. During Tuesday night’s meeting, Thermopolis Police Chief Steve Shay noted the contract with East Thermopolis will expire at the end of next month. The total budget, including police, dispatch, corrections and animal control, is $1,145,990. Of that, the East Thermopolis contract makes up $22,680. Shay said a contract would need to be in place f...
by Mark Dykes Recently Dean Runyan Associates released a report to the Wyoming Office of Tourism regarding Wyoming travel impacts from 2000 to 2016. The study is designed to look at and document the economic significance of the travel industry in Wyoming. Included are detailed estimates of travel spending, the employment and earnings generated by this spending, and travel-generated tax receipts for each of Wyoming’s 23 counties from 2000 to 2016 are shown in this report. Spending by domestic a...
After about three hours of deliberation Wednesday afternoon, a jury returned a verdict of guilty on charges of strangulation of a household member and domestic battery, in a case against Darren Dumas. The charges state he beat Christy Dumas from Sept. 23-26, and impeded her breathing on Sept. 26. According to court documents, the couple had been arguing beginning Sept. 23, and Darren smashed Christy’s cell phone against the wall and her tablet against her head. Among the injuries Christy r...
Saturday was a big day, for human and dinosaur alike, at the Red Rock Business Park south of town for the official groundbreaking at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center's new planned location. Following the ceremony, Thermopolis Middle School was the site for a casual luncheon followed by a workshop led by project architects to seek community input. Center Executive Director Angie Guyon said the project is still six months out from developing a plan and determining what kind of contractors,...
Monday afternoon, trial again got underway in a case against Justin Spence. The trial has already seen a few delays, the most recent of which happened in December due to a procedural issue. Spence is on trial for incest, a felony which alleges on July 4 or 5, 2014, he molested a juvenile female. During opening arguments, prosecuting attorney Marcia Bean said the case began with the alleged victim’s birth and her growing up. At that time, Spence came to live with her family, and she came to d...
Senate District 20 representative Wyatt Agar will be keeping busy with committee meetings during the interim. A member of two joint committees — Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions, and Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs — Agar stated both will meet three different times to discuss topics outlined by management council. Agar’s first Corporations meeting is May 18 and 19, and they will be discussing utilities, including electricity generation and ratemaking. “We are in...
Risen Son Christian School Principal Cameron Simeral visits with students donating at the school's spaghetti dinner fundraiser. Among other activities at the event, donations could be made to extend the time Simeral must spend on the roof of a building this Friday, and what equipment he gets to take. Overall, the fundraiser generated an estimated $21,600....
This weekend, I had the fortunate chance to be part of history in Thermopolis as I attended the groundbreaking for the Wyoming Dinosaur Center’s new location on Saturday. Having a love of dinosaurs that goes back as far as I can remember, and having two boys, I find just about any reason to make a trip over to the center. Every time I’m there I think about the center’s future, and I can’t wait to see the actual construction start south of town and, of course, to walk through those new doors f...
Last week, members of the Wyoming Joint Judiciary Committee travelled to Thermopolis for a meeting during the interim. House District 28 Representative Nathan Winters explained this first meeting is where the committee begins to lay out its scope for the upcoming interim meetings. The Legislature, he noted, has worked diligently during this past session, and last week's meeting brought in several people who were beneficial to the committee's discussion. Among those attending were Michael Blonige...
by Mark Dykes The Hot Springs County High School track teams continued to show improvement last week during the triangular at Worland, where Ten Sleep was also a competitor, as members of the girls team saw 13 personal records, and the boys team saw another 10. Coach Ernie Mecca said it's atypical to see so many personal records at this point in the season. He credited the performance to Thermopolis having a fairly inexperienced team with students who take great pride in their accomplishments,...
Coming off multiple personal records at the Worland triangular, the Bobcats kept up the momentum into the weekend, at the Roy Peck Invite at Riverton and set another 20. Coach Ernie Mecca said it was another decent day, weather-wise, and he’s excited about the improvement of this young team. He noted the girls nearly swept the 800 meters, taking the top four places and sixth. Jules Ward placed first with a time of 2:30.74, followed by Chandra Maddock at 2:32.18, Haley McDermott at 2:32.35 and M...
The Thermopolis Middle school track team saw two meets this past week, at the triangular in Worland on April 20, and a meet in Cody April 22. Coach Stephanie Czarobski reported at the triangular Wyatt McDermott broke the seventh grade boys mile record by four tenths of a second, coming in at 5:32.4 compared to the previous record of 5:32.8. McDermott also placed first in the triple jump, with a distance of 30’4”. Additional highlights from the triangular are: Sixth Grade Girls Shot put —Azurdey...
Tuesday evening, the Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees approved an amendment to the capital budget.Chief Financial Officer Shelly Larson said budget amendments typically happen this time of year. Larson explained there was a surgeon’s headlight budgeted at $25,000, and was reduced to $3,000, reflecting a doctor’s preference for a light which comes in at a much lower cost. Also, a neoprobe was removed from the current year budget; the device, used in breast biopsies, com...
Monday saw the start of the trial in a case against Darren Dumas, who is charged with strangulation of a household member and domestic battery. The strangulation charge stems from Sept. 26, while the battery charge is from Sept. 23-26, and it is alleged he beat and strangled Christy Dumas. Court documents indicate the couple had been arguing Sept. 23, and he smashed her cell phone against the wall and a tablet against her head. Also, it’s alleged he hit, slapped and punched her between Sept. 2...
Tuesday evening, Thermopolis Town Council, with Mayor Mike Mortimore absent, approved providing support for Thermopolis to become a Certified Local Government (CLG). Mari Ann Rush, who was present at the meeting, said among the benefits of being a CLG is additional federal and state funding options. She noted they are not going out and getting the money, but being certified allows them to pursue those options as needed. She was not asking for a resolution or ordinance to be a CLG, simply for...
On Friday, April 7, Jayson Zimmerman opened the American Red Cross office serving Hot Springs and Washakie counties. Zimmerman, a Red Cross volunteer and member of the disaster action team, said the office will operate on an “as needed” basis with no set hours. The office is located south of the main offices in Central Bank and Trust, and Zimmerman pointed out there is handicap accessibility during the bank’s normal hours. Kent Cordingly, branch president of the bank, said Zimmerman appro...
Thursday evening, the Thermopolis-Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce conducted its annual meeting. Board President Greg Willson went over the goals of the Chamber and what they want to accomplish. He described the chamber as the “touch point” for the community, and they should think of themselves that way. He further explained the chamber should be the spot for information not only for tourists, but those considering moving here and business owners that want to learn more about other bus...
by Mark Dykes Tuesday afternoon at the Hot Springs Travel and Tourism board meeting, the board expressed interest in keeping the Hessenthaler billboard south of town, and gave Director Amanda Moeller authority to negotiate a contract with the Thermopolis-Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce. The issue of the billboard has been under discussion between the two groups for the past few months. According to information presented by Phillip Scheel, the chamber is leasing the ground for the billboard from...
Last Thursday at Worland, the Thermopolis track team competed in the D & D Invite. Coach Ernie Mecca said the girls 4x800 relay team of Chandra Maddock, McKenna Bomengen, Haley McDermott and Jules Ward was the third such team to automatically qualify for state, with a first place time of 10:21.52. On top of that, Mecca noted the team is just 12.5 seconds from breaking a 31-year-old school record, so that's a target for them. Another highlight at the end of the day came when Ward crossed the...
Last Friday and Saturday, sixth grade student Roedy Farrell and eighth grade student Logan Cole competed at the Heartland National Duals in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Farrell said his interest in wrestling stemmed from his dad, Will, who is a volunteer coach for the middle school wrestling program. Farrell noted his dad wrestled, which sparked his own interest in the sport and saw him hitting the mat at six years old. The boy further noted even when he loses a match he has a smile on his face....
In the course of a year, Thermopolis is home to a multitude of events, and attendees might get a chance to see a quite prominent feature at them, with the smoking house hosted by the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department. Firefighter Forrest Coleman-Weisz said the inflatable house is set up at least three times a year — during Fire Prevention Week, the department’s open house and the health fair — but there is the potential to use it much more during the year. Currently, the department is borro...
