Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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I think one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves as adults is, “after this week things will slow down and I’ll be able to get this or that done.” Nope, sorry, it doesn’t really work that way. It started for us when we were in school and had a big paper due. “As soon as I have this paper done I can get caught up on TV.” Then in college it was, “Boy, as soon as this test is over I can take a break and go out with my friends.” Along comes parenthood and its, “Once he’s sleeping through th...
Homecoming football games have been a decades long tradition for Hot Springs County High School, and this Friday night marks another as the Cats take on Moorcroft at 6 p.m. It’s interesting to look back on that history. For instance, in 1948 they sold Season Tickets for the five home games. You could pick one up for $3 for adults and $2 for students. If that was a bit out of reach, you could attend a home game for 75 cents for adults, students paid just 50 cents and children could get in for a...
There’s something to be said about a flag at half-staff. It certainly is noticeable when we see our stars and stripes flying not as high as they should. It gives us pause, time to think and to reflect. Though there is no doubt as to why our Broadway flag, as well as the magnificent display from the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department, was at half-staff for September 11 there are often times when the Flag is seen at this post and we may not know why. Thankfully, having search engines literally on hand, we can quickly look up why. Though w...
I believe fall is my favorite season of the year. I can pull out my sweaters and other snuggly, soft clothes, the air simply smells differently and for some odd reason, fall is when the “Betty Crocker” in me goes into full swing. Right now, the focus in my kitchen is zucchini. Zucchini cookies, zucchini bread, zucchini boats filled with sausage, onions and peppers, topped off with smoked provolone. I’m shredding zucchini to freeze for use this winter and making slices and dices of the green gian...
By Tuesday most residents in Hot Springs County probably realized the smoke from various fires in the state had worked its way to us. The biggies are the Fishhawk fire, which is on the North Fork near Cody, the Saddle Butte fire at Jackson Hole and the Pedro Mountain fire at Casper, east of Pathfinder Reservoir. Depending on wind direction, we could be having hazy days for days. This, of course is the result of a beautiful, wet spring and temperatures that didn’t really reach the triple digits, but the air was definitely dry. Consequently, gras...
It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you put in the love, patience and time. This past summer we chose to cut down the weeds in our back yard, till the soil and try our luck at planting an actual lawn. Who would’ve thought those initial steps would be the easy part? Though the grass is well established, it’s taken a few Saturdays of weeding to make sure it doesn’t get taken over. But, as a reward, I can look out the back door and see the results of that work, as well as understand why my gr...
Labor Day is certainly an interesting name for a holiday, considering how many people actually have the day off from work, but it’s not necessarily our own labors we are celebrating. Celebrated on the first Monday in September, Labor Day was begun with the growth of the trade union and labor movements; Oregon was the first to recognize it as an official public holiday in 1887. The day is set aside to celebrate labor, i.e. work, though picnics and relaxing during the three-day weekend have become more of the standards for celebration. Whether y...
There were a few mornings this week when we all awoke to temperatures in the 50-degree range. Some of our days were only in the 70’s, too, but have you noticed how much different 70 degrees is as we ease our way into September than it was going into May? In May, we couldn’t wait to get the shorts out when it hit 70, but this week I’ve been tempted to toss on a sweater here and there. I’ll admit my grasp of science isn’t always the greatest, so I’ve come to the conclusion that temperature...
We have come to the “Dog Days” of summer when the mornings are cool and the afternoons so hot you just want to sit on the porch with the pups and enjoy something cool to drink. It also marks the start of school and before long it will be crisp leaves, flannel shirts and football. These are some of the days we cherish the most as we kiss the beauty of summer good-bye. We really have been lucky in Hot Springs County this summer. Other than a few small grass fires here and there, and the current fire on the Arapahoe Ranch, we have had no maj...
The recent hailstorm and the damage it brought with it brought to mind similar storms I grew up with in the Nebraska Panhandle as a boy. They were a common occurrence, and farmers typically were happy to only lose one out of three crops to hail. But it had been years since I had been in a genuine “window buster.” So as I stood in our home and watched the roof of our garage take a beating, years slipped away and once more I watched baseball size ice balls fall to ground. I visualized the wheat fields with barely the occasional stems still standi...
Well, summer vacation has officially come to its close, though there’s still a few weeks left in the season itself, and Wednesday was certainly a rush at the schools with parent drop offs, kids finding classrooms and teachers working to get everything situated. I’ve heard some parenting advice two different ways. One is that it gets easier watching each successive child head to their classroom for the first official day. I’ve also been told that seeing the youngest head off on that new adven...
Well, we’re finally here. The final home stretch before we’re back to school schedules. It’s been a fun summer with plenty of activities for people to come out, show their support and pump up our community. But, that same energy we have for our town needs to continue well beyond the summer months. Sports are starting up with golf practice kicking off this week and football, cross country and volleyball on the horizon. While being able to make every game through the season is ideal, it’s also very difficult, but showing our Bobcats our support...
Well, the summer swimsuit body didn’t magically appear this year either, but I’m ready for flannel and sweatshirts with no problem. I sometimes wonder why we do this to ourselves, obsess over getting bikini ready. Sure, we can blame it on the media and all the super skinny models they have strolling the runway, on every page of the magazines we read and filling our screens with every commercial, but it really boils down to our self esteem. On the outside, most people see me as being confident an...
Summer is quickly coming to an end with just a few weeks left before the official start of school. There’s an old joke about being a teacher…"the best part is June, July and August"…but did you know our school teachers are already back at work? The staff for the Hot Springs County School District went back to work on Monday, having sessions on professional teaching and development, working on curriculum and getting their classrooms ready for the 2019-2020 school year. Many of the teachers spent their summer taking advanced education class...
By definition “grant” means to agree to give or allow. It can also be defined as a sum of money given by a government or other organization for a particular purpose. It is important to consider the meaning of the word grant when thinking about our Lights On Afterschool funding stream for HSCSD #1. Grants are one of the many ways that our federal government funds projects that provide benefits to the public service sector within local communities. Hot Springs County Lights On Afterschool Program is primarily funded through a competitive fed...
In addition to the fun, the competitions and the animals during the annual Fair Week, in the newspaper industry just how many pictures we can take in a week, a day, even an hour. This weeks is one of our busiest in terms of photos, and when it’s all done we have, literally, thousands to choose from. Add to that the long lists of results coming in, regular events happening around town, and all the other news going on in Thermopolis, and it’s easy to see just how quickly our pages fill up. Some might think that we’re partial to one person, busin...
Fair week is always a busy one for us here at the newspaper. We’re out shooting every event that goes on all the way through the Pageant Days parade, fire department open house, Folk Festival and everything in between. If you were at the pig wrestling the other night you may have seen me covered in slick, wet Bentonite as I shot all the teams from outside the fence. I thoroughly enjoy shooting the pig wrestling because it really shows how people of all ages can have a terrific time with a pit o...
Having had several severe thunderstorms this summer has taught us a lot. Some are good things like the fact that storms seem to miss us more than they hit us. Some are bad, like hail dents cars and destroys windows and roofs and siding and chops up crops in the fields. But one thing I learned was that people need to remember the basics. Phone apps and CodeRED messages and Sirens are great tools but they will never replace being aware of your surroundings and alert for signs of danger. Thunder is often the first clue we get. You are in the...
Change is inevitable. Changing weather, changing seasons, even changes in our surroundings, our beliefs and tastes. Change is also difficult. Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to step outside of your comfort zone to take on a new project or even a new haircut. Imagine what kind of courage it took for Easterners, so many decades ago, to decide to pack everything they could into a wooden wagon and head West. They were leaving behind everything they knew for a chance at something different. When you think about it, it’s a good thing our a...
This next week will be busy with the county fair. Vehicles will be going in and out of the fairgrounds, youth and adults will go before the judges with their exhibits, and be sure to hearing plenty of noise and some very distinct aromas at the grounds as the animals start pouring in. Having lived my life in rural communities, the fair was always something I looked forward to. In my younger days, of course, it was all about the rides and strolling through the animal exhibits. Though never an...
It took a persistent persuasion to convince my dad that he needed a break from caring for my mother in the nursing home, and that the semi-annual family reunion in Kansas (his born home) would be just the break he needed. Dad was never a talker, but he was unusually tight lipped on the journey to his childhood home, and I knew he was thinking about leaving Mom “unattended” even though it was doubtful that she knew who he was anymore. The family homestead was about ten miles outside what had become in the intervening years a ghost town with an...
It seems as if the population of Thermopolis has doubled in size. With the tourist season already well upon us, the recent hailstorms have brought even more people to town in the form of contractors, vehicle dent specialists, adjusters, roof repair teams and insurance representatives. The sudden inflow of people means there’s going to be more drivers out and about, most of which are unfamiliar with our streets — particularly the flagpole intersection at Fifth and Broadway — so be sure to give them a little leniency if they don’t make a turn li...
They say there’s no feeling like coming home again and for the Alumni of Hot Springs County High School, this weekend is their opportunity to wave the Bobcat banner once again. Sure, people root for college teams and professional teams, everything from football and basketball to cricket and polo, but nothing says pride like cheering for your home team. I guess that’s why I always look forward to this weekend and all the memories it brings with it. Of course, sometimes you have to introduce you...
The 4th of July is over and now begins the great race to the start of school. For parents, this is either a blessing or a curse, depending on how you feel about back-to-school shopping, and for kids, well, let’s just say they are probably not counting down the days. Between now and the first day of school there are a lot of events going on to help ease the pain of the start of school. For instance, this Friday and Saturday you can check out the ArtStroll downtown or maybe enjoy some barrel racing with Kick ‘em up Cans at the fairgrounds. The...
What a crazy couple weeks it’s been. Golf ball and pea size hail, fireworks, changes on the horizon for Hot Springs State Park, and losing phone and internet services. It’s enough to make you want to pull your hair out and second guess where you decided to live. But, in the chaos — the good and the bad — it’s good to see the response Thermopolis gives. There’s been plenty of praise for our fire department, not only for the show they put on but for their continued efforts to promote fire safety...
