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Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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Wyoming legislators have been working this fall on further erosion of public notices in newspapers. This time the target is the publication of the salaries of local government employees. A bill changing state law so that those no longer have to be published is in the works. A committee passed it in September. As it stands now, our taxpayer-funded municipal governments, county governments and public school districts must, at the very least, publish a list of positions and how much the people who hold them are paid. In some cases the actual...
It’s a battle that’s been waged for a long time now and it doesn’t show any signs of letting up. There’s a movement amongst state legislators to have the legal notices published by municipal and county governments in their local newspapers instead published solely on their governmental websites. At a time when the state and its city and county governments have been hit hard by a sluggish minerals industry and the impacts of a pandemic, it makes sense to cut costs wherever they can be cut -- at least that’s the surface argument. There’s s...
The late Jack Johnson’s obituary in your Aug. 27 edition gave a fine summary of a life well lived. Jack would have liked that modest treatment. I’m not going to let that modest recollection happen. I hope Hot Springs County citizens don’t either. Jack’s dedication to the county in which he spent a lifetime should earn him a plaque in the courthouse Hot Springs County Hall of Fame. The biggest reason is the Grass Creek Road, the public’s only guaranteed access to national forest lands in the county and the H Diamond W 4-H Youth Camp area. In...
I was out of town the weekend of Oct. 3 and unable to attend the Chamber of Commerce banquet. It was such a surprise to see my name in the newspaper on Thursday. I understand that the Chamber and Pastor Sam were responsible for my selection for the President’s Award. I am both humbled and honored by the selection. There are so many great people who live in this area who could receive this honor and to be included among them is amazing. Years ago, Sharon and I chose Thermopolis in which to retire. We’ve heard it said that if you live in The...
A candidate forum was recently held in Hot Springs County. A letter to the editor printed on this page questions why the candidate forum was not live streamed. That is a good question. We went in search of an answer for the letter writer as well as the rest of the community. According to a representative of one of the forum sponsors, an attempt was made to have it live streamed as in the past and this year, due to circumstances beyond their control, it was not feasible. If you missed the candidate forum, there is still a way to get information...
I am writing to express my concern that the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce and County Farm Bureau Federation did not live stream their sponsored Meet the Candidate Forum on September 28. As we all know, there is a very important election this November. While many people out there may only be concerned about the presidential elections, we do need to pay attention to our local political candidates here at home. The people of Hot Springs County are a hard-working group. Unfortunately, responsibilities to family, work, school and our beloved farms...
Well here we are in the midst of another Homecoming Week for the Thermopolis Bobcats, one that is a bit different than students and alumni have experienced before. Yes, some of it is due to the pandemic, fewer events going on to keep folks safe, but there is also something that hasn’t been talked about too much that deserves celebration this weekend – the 100th Anniversary of Bobcat Football. We’ve watched the ups and downs of the program, seen coaches come and go, but one thing has remained consistent, the heart of the Bobcat players. Just for...
by Kelly Evans-Hullinger, M.D. It is a classic presentation: The middle-aged man who develops a painful, swollen, great toe the morning after indulging in a steak dinner with a few beers. The savvy clinician will immediately identify this diagnosis, and I imagine much of the general public might recognize it as well. It’s “The Gout.” Gout is a unique type of inflammatory arthritis in which a substance called uric acid, accumulating in too-high amounts in the bloodstream, forms crystals within a joint. The presence of those microscopic cryst...
The 2020 Bobcat Homecoming week activities will be held throughout next week. In the three schools of Hot Springs County School District, various dress up days are being scheduled. Other activities include a movie that can be watched from the football field, a parade and the high school Mardi Gras Festival. This year there are fewer activities than usual because of COVID restrictions. Fans and businesses can still support the Bobcats by decorating, attending the parade downtown Friday, Oct. 2 at 11 a.m. and the home football game Friday night...
Why chickens? How can something that brought so much joy, delight, health and life to our property and neighborhood, be so easily done away with because of an archaic* code? As I explored the issue, I took it upon myself to study it out and present the chicken issue to the council. I was immediately met with resistance, though I had prepared for a yes, and had the information all available, they proceeded to make this simple issue extremely complicated and confusing. The current town council has already spent more time and resources on...
Looking out the window or walking outside you can’t help but see and smell the smoke coming from the wildfires in California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and other points west of us. We have been exceptionally lucky in Hot Springs County this fire season that we haven’t had anything nearly as devastating as what we’re seeing along the coast. Could you imagine what orange skies would look like over us like they have in San Francisco? As Wyomingites I think we can give ourselves a little pat on the back for understanding the extreme fire dange...
The editorial that appears to the right of this editorial ran in the September 13, 2001 Thermopolis Independent Record following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In reprinting this past editorial, we hope to remind readers of the feelings that spread throughout the nation, including Hot Springs County, after the attacks. Nearly 3,000 people were killed and injured during the attacks that created outrage nation wide. Phrases like “If there is one thing Americans have shown in the past when they are under attack, it has been a stubborn, almost h...
Scams have been circulating for many years but it seems there are always new ones popping up to try to scam people out of their money. The following is information from the Hackers Brief, put out by the CyberWyoming Alliance, on some scams circulating Wyoming. Solar Stimulus Scam Warning: Watch out for fraudsters with unfounded claims on how much solar panels will save you. If a high pressure sales person contacts you, this may be a clue that it is a scam. If you are interested in solar panels, the FTC provides guidance at h...
by Kenneth A. Bartholomew, M.D. Albert Einstein conducted thought experiments to figure out theoretical problems. Let’s do one of our own. Suppose that you fell and broke your left leg and had to be in a cast for eight weeks. Would you expect your left leg to be as strong as your right leg when the cast was removed? Of course not. You know that muscle that is not exercised gets smaller and softer. Secondly, would you expect that, by sitting in a recliner for the next two months, your left calf would magically grow back and strengthen to w...
As if things weren’t hard enough for Wyoming’s small businesses, news comes that there are plans to claw back a chunk of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds legitimate businesses have used as a lifeline to keep their employees on the payroll. When Congress passed PPP, the legislation made it clear that these loans would ultimately be forgiven if businesses used them for approved purposes, mostly payroll. And, the law ensured — in writing — that any forgiven amounts would not be taxable, meaning that businesses could use all those funds...
What makes a community? Downtown Thermopolis, as well as all over town, has a vibrant business community with much to offer visitors and locals. There is no more important link to the vitality of a town than its business proprietors. Many fall prey to the ease and effective delivery of products from behemoths like Amazon, despite the full realization that the end game for its founder, Jeff Bezos, is elimination of every other business on Earth. This begs the questions, “when all the businesses are gone, where will I work and how will I pay f...
We are entering the “dog days of summer”, when temperatures soar and parents are more than ready to send their progeny back to school. Of course, going back to school this year is going to be interesting to say the least. Everything is going to look different than before, with all of the sanitizing that’s going on, the social distancing in the classrooms and trying to get first graders to wear a mask without chewing on them or using them as sling shots. There will be all kinds of new guidelines for school as well as for sports and activities, b...
August 11, 2020 came this week. August 11 is a very important day in Hot Springs County history. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the day when the Kates Basin Fire blew up. That day two other things happened that we must never forget. The summer of 2000 was a big wildfire season. Crews were stretched thin trying to keep pressure on 60 big fires that were raging in the west. On July 30, the Thermopolis Fire Department was involved with federal crews brought in from around the country tackling a wind driven fire up on Enos Creek, west of...
The year 2020 has several reasons it has left it’s mark on our county, state, country and world, some of them not so pleasant. Last Friday, here in Hot Springs County, we had a ray of sunshine come bursting through the clouds. With a similar number of animals and baked goods auctioned off Friday night at the Junior Livestock Sale and Blue Ribbon Bake Sale, this years sale brought in a whopping $180,195 compared to $123,146 last year. Despite struggling through a pandemic, the support shown for our youth by businesses and private individuals f...
There is still time to enjoy the tail end of Hot Springs County Fair at the fairgrounds. Today, July 30, and Friday, August 31, the fair building is open for public viewing from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The swine show kicks off at 8 a.m. Thursday. Later in the day tempt your taste buds with an array of delicious chili’s served during the cook off at 5 p.m. The beef show then starts at 6 p.m. the 4-H and FFA Round Robins start at 10 a.m. on Friday. The ever popular Judges’s Choice and Junior Livestock Sale wraps of the fair Friday night at 7 p.m. On Sat...
As we deal with a world wide pandemic, many Americans have turned on the people out there risking their lives as our first responders. Everyone from our police and firefighters to the medical staff deserve a big thank you from the country. I feel blessed to live in our small town where when everything goes wrong, they help make it come out alright. Our family found ourselves in a medical crisis during in the birth of my granddaughter in 2017. My daughter went into labor at home and it was happening quick. The police officer and ambulance crew...
The Hot Springs County Fair kicks off on Saturday, July 25 with the Horse Show beginning at 8 a.m. All events will be held at the HSC Fairgrounds. Starting on Monday, a variety of other animal shows and fun events will be held throughout the week. See the fair schedule ads on page 6 and B2 for a complete list of fair events. Although social distancing regulations have caused a few changes, there is still something for everyone at the fair. This year in place of the pig wrestling there will be an Ag Olympics where teams of six test their skills...
Greetings HSCSD #1 Patrons, I am writing with an update to our SMART Start Back to School plans for school this fall. HSCSD #1 is planning on as normal a start to the school year as possible, but will follow direction from local and state officials as the year progresses. There are many questions about what school will look like in the fall in regard to the current pandemic. The information that I share I want to stress is preliminary, and based on current recommendations. District Smart Start Plans are due to the Wyoming Department of...
Well, the Farmer’s Almanac warned us there would be heat. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we’re going to get a break from the furnace for a while, either. This makes it hard to decide what to do. Do you stay at home with the air conditioner and binge watch your favorite show on Netflix? Do you pack up the camper and head to the mountains where it’s cooler? Sit in a kiddie pool in the backyard with the sprinkler pouring over you? Float the river or head to the lake? As long as you stay hydrated and slather on the sunscreen, any of those o...
Simple concepts to follow when driving Time to bring back driver’s education? I think we could reduce the number of auto accidents by employing three simple concepts as follows. 1. Always use turn signals when changing lanes and approaching a turn. 2. When making a right turn, go from the right lane or turn lane and then turn into the right lane. Change to the left lane, if needed, after signaling and making sure it is safe to do so. For left turns, go from the left lane or turn lane and turn into the left lane. Change to the right lane, if n...
