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It was pretty hard not to notice the increase in traffic through Hot Springs County during eclipse time, but the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) has released numbers that will give an accurate accounting of just how many vehicles there were. The state, overall, experienced historic traffic volumes on Monday, Aug. 21, the day of the eclipse – 494,000 vehicles, a 63 percent increase. In Hot Springs County, on WY 120W (Thermopolis to Cody), the five-year average on Wednesday, Aug. 1... Full story
Hot Springs County School District #1 Board of Trustees met Aug. 15, the last meeting before the start of the new school year. Laurie Graves, principal at Ralph Witters Elementary, gave a presentation to the board on how summer school went this year with the recent financial cutbacks. Graves said it was a little different, but Kinder Camp had a good three days focused on letter and word recognition. There was a 90 percent attendance rate for the little ones, which is a great turn out. First through fourth grades had almost a 100 percent...
NW BOCES students and staff joined together on Monday to watch the eclipse. Several visitors and community members all over the county paused to watch the amazing sight of the total eclipse, just as hundreds of thousands did across the state and country....
On Aug. 14, an officer spotted a vehicle pulling a trailer fail to stop at Sixth Street and Shoshoni. The officer later observed the vehicle make an unsafe/unlawful lane change, as the driver did not utilize his turn signal. The officer performed a traffic stop, informing the driver, identified as Corey Bloom, of the traffic violations. During the stop, the officer noted a distinct odor of burnt marijuana, though the smell was not consistent. The officer also asked why there was no registration... Full story
Mud slinging, engines revving, screaming fans – it was a typical night at Hot Springs County Fairgrounds as the Demolition Derby hit the field. After four main heats, the Herbie Derby and the Truck Derby, it came down to the final heat with Pat King, Stephen Flinn, Kyle Larson, Deven Scherf, Zack Larson, Wyatt Ramsey, Kyle McIntosh, Kurt Shaffer, Luke Mead and Chase Mead. The survivors were first place, Wyatt Ramsey; second place, Zack Larson; third place, Stephen Flinn and fourth place, D...
On the Record policy It is the 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. Sheriff’s office Tuesday, Aug. 15 6:30 p.m. Report of suspicious activity in the Spring Creek area. It was a verbal disagreement and the parties were separated. Wednesday, Aug. 16 8:24 a.m. Report of juveniles on four-wheelers in the Sage Valley area. The juveniles were on their own property and were...
Though a break was scheduled so those summoned for jury duty in a case against Joshua Hoyer could enjoy the eclipse, the trial was cancelled in light of a plea offer. It is important to note that, as of Tuesday afternoon, this offer had only been presented and there was no signed order from the judge. Hoyer was charged with possession of methamphetamine, delivery and possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. However, a plea agreement would dismiss the possession and delivery charges, should he plead guilty to possession with...
With school back in session, the People for People Backpack program is ready to kick off another year of helping fight hunger for the school children in Hot Springs County. The program is aimed toward helping children who may not have enough to eat over the weekend by providing bags of food the children can easily prepare for themselves or their siblings on Fridays as they leave school. Once each month, Food Bank of the Rockies makes a stop in Thermopolis at the Episcopal Church to drop off...
Those who have called into the law enforcement center the past few weeks might have heard a different voice answering their calls, that of Amé Longwell. Longwell has already made a name in the community, as she provided carriage rides in Thermopolis. Born and raised here, she moved back to town after managing a couple ranches in Colorado and became owner of Black Mountain Shires, raising horses that weighed up to 2,000 pounds each and were up to 19 hands high. The breed is one out of England,...
Hot Springs County High School is planning a special Dinner and Walk In Movie Night event for high school students and their parents on Friday, Aug. 25. The event provides and exciting way to start the school year and an opportunity to interact with staff. Dinner will be served at 7 p.m., featuring a menu of pulled pork sandwiches, Hessenthaler corn and chips. The movie will begin at 8 p.m., at the football field. The film, “The Princess Bride,” is a fairy tale adventure, told from the perspective of a grandfather reading to his grandson. It...
Jessica Lippincott and London Jenks prepare a weather balloon for launch at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. The activity was among the happenings in Thermopolis Monday prior to the solar eclipse. Once the balloon was filled and the data collection equipment attached, those attending had an informal launch countdown....
The solar eclipse Monday was, in many ways, a first-time experience all over town. While the event itself was “once in a lifetime,” it also brought high sales numbers to local businesses and restaurants, created a multitude of RVs, campers and tents in our town and the campgrounds at Boysen and in the canyon, and brought an enormous amount of traffic. The number of vehicles coming in, out and through Thermopolis was incredible. Even more so, there were only a few minor accidents — though there was an unfortunate incident in which a dog was s...
Rarely in life are we blessed with truly “tingly” moments. Not those hair raising moments, but the ones that are breathtaking. I know some folks around here couldn’t understand what all the “hub-bub” was about, why people were coming across vast oceans to our little town to see an eclipse. For some, it was going to be an inconvenience they didn’t want to deal with. We’re pretty set in our ways and having that many people coming to town was a bit scary for some. I can’t tell you how many times...
People who study cultures have often written and maintained the “territoriality” of groups they study. That seems to me to be a very elitist way of saying there’s no place like home. That was brought “home” to me by a recent visit by my sister-in-law and my niece. They were very pleased with themselves for having driven nearly the width of the country from their home in Georgia to California to Oregon to here from whence they would continue their travels on the way to Minnesota and home again. While I admired the energy of my eighty-ye...
A Presidential Disaster Declaration has made 10 Wyoming counties, including Hot Springs County, and three Montana counties eligible for disaster assistance. Park and Fremont counties and the Wind River Reservation within Fremont County were declared as primary natural disaster areas and the surrounding 11 counties as contiguous disaster areas due to severe storms and flooding that occurred June 22-27. Under this designation, eligible producers with operations in any primary or contiguous county can apply for Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency...
The 16th Annual Fall WYO Quarter Horse Ranch Sale is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 9 at the Hot Springs County Fairgrounds. The sale is set to begin at 1 p.m., with a performance preview at 9 a.m. The day before, on Friday, Sept. 8, there will be a “Parade of Geldings” preview, beginning at 7 p.m. at the fairgrounds. Carole Smith noted for sale there will be 32 broke geldings, 32 started two-year-olds, eight yearlings and 27 weanlings. Smith further added the two-year-olds, yearlings and weanlings are all home raised. The sales regularly bring...
Hot Springs County High School senior Jared Little finishes a mural at Ralph Witters Elementary, where he spent his younger school years. Little feels RWE was a big part of his life and the mural is an opportunity for him to give back....
Several youth placed at the Wyoming Junior Rodeo Association Finals in Glenrock last weekend. Jase Longwell won first in the year end all-around for Senior Boys, and Logann Farrell won first in the all-around for Peewee. Both won saddles. Among the additional results were: Senior Girls Emme Norsworthy - Saturday, barrels 10th 20.52, poles fourth 23.16; Sunday, barrels ninth 20.65, poles sixth 28.30. Weekend average ninth in barrels, fourth in poles. Year end ninth in barrels, fourth in poles. Se... Full story
New high school freshmen had a good rolling start on Tuesday with the help of some mentors from the upper class. Lots of teamwork, learning and fun was the highlight of the day....
Several new teachers have joined Hot Springs County School District #1 this year. This week, the Independent Record is featuring the new teachers at Ralph Witters Elementary. Watch for stories on the the new teachers at Thermopolis Middle School and Hot Springs County High School in feature issues. Jessica Carswell Joining the team at Ralph Witters Elementary is K-2 Special Education Teacher Jessica Carswell. Carswell grew up in Thermopolis, and after high school earned her undergraduate degree...
Erin Dyok looks to knock a frisbee into a goal during the Gottsche open house for the eclipse....
Willow Moore took advantage of the variety of cookies available during a fundraiser lunch Sunday afternoon at the Hot Springs County Senior Center....
The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) has several projects in mind over the next five years for Hot Springs County. Using funding from the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), WYDOT is able to do capital improvement project state wide. Determining which projects are most needed comes down to input from the public, engineers, the Wyoming Transportation Commission and WYDOT. In 2018, East River Road will be seeing 4.3 miles of new guardrail installed and WY 20-789, Thermopol...
Captured the moment the moon began to move out of the path of the sun during Monday's celestial 2017 total eclipse event....