Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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As you flip through the pages of this week’s edition of the Independent Record, you’re sure to notice that the Thermopolis Bobcats had an incredible week and we sure are proud of these young people. The boys basketball team played a scorcher against our age-old rival, Worland, and came out on top. The wrestling team took a 15 man team to their regional contest, came home with first in 2A and all 15 of the young men are now qualified for state. The robotics team had their state competition over the weekend and not only did well on their own...
Reflecting on Rex’s Ramblings in last week’s Thermopolis Independent Record, I was the same age and, like in Rex’s article, in the military. The 507th Paratroopers were based in Alliance, Nebraska. We lived on the last street in town; beyond that was an endless prairie of tall, dry grass. Three of us boys were searching for treasures in the prairie and found a small box of matches. Tall, dry grass, small boys and matches spell — well, you guessed it. We touched a small flame to the dry grass; it flared rapidly. We jumped on the fire and put...
I think I’ve finally reached a turning point with my oldest. I don’t mean he seems to be listening more or fighting less with his brother. This is a bit more subtle — the taste buds. Like many kids I’m sure, Mike used to eat just about everything as long as it was coated in ketchup. It was getting to the point where I had considered starting a massive tomato plantation and manufacturing my own to save on costs and trips to the grocery store. But one day, out of the blue, he declares almost...
As your newspaper, one of our primary responsibilities is to make sure people can read about and enjoy what is happening in our community. Pictures, editorial content and advertisements all go to meet this goal. While it would be nice to be all-knowing so nothing got missed, the reality is that we don’t know everything that’s going to happen in a given week, and unfortunately that leads to us and our readers missing out on seeing some great things, particularly at the schools. Many activities happen at the regular morning assemblies at the mid...
Its out there, I know it is. Elusive Spring. Understandably, its hard to believe we are just a few short weeks from what the calendar tells us is the first day of spring. After all, I still have ice in my driveway and snow in my backyard, but its coming. Eventually. Spring fever hit me a couple of weeks ago and I found myself on the Internet pouring over seed catalogs and bulb companies, looking for something bright, beautiful and easy to grow. OK, I may have over done it. Soon there will be...
When I was 4 or 5, we lived in a civilianized army mustering point in Great Bend, Kansas after Dad returned from the war. That development existed during WWII for those with dependents before shipping out to basic training points. It had rows of 5 apartments circled around a small convenience/grocery store. Our row was immediately adjacent (barely 15 feet or so) from a couple of sections planted in wheat. Our back yard was a mixture of weeds and scrub grass, and in late August was so dry the weeds would break off if they were stepped on. For...
Perhaps Wyoming’s State Appropriations Committee is learning you don’t mess with our elderly. Last week, in a last minute, last ditch effort, Representative Donald Burkhardt of Carbon County introduced a bill that would have eliminated state funding for the Wyoming Pioneer Home. HB0295 went immediately to the Appropriations Committee where, fortunately, it died, not getting out of the Committee of the Whole. This is the third attempt at either closing the doors to the facility or selling it off to a private company in three years. This time the...
“Ten years” were the two words I both fell asleep ad woke up thinking. It’s hard to believe this time 10 years ago I was standing in a church repeating wedding vows. But that’s the funny thing about time. It can go by in an instant yet leave you with memories that last forever. In that 10 year span I’ve seen plenty. Two kids born with issues that sent them to ICU just hours after I saw them, loss of family, friends and other loved ones, changes on the political scene I never imagined. And don’t...
As a newspaper, our primary goal is to inform our readers of what’s happening in the world, not just locally but on the state and, if necessary, national level. In recent weeks, we’ve been keeping you updated on what’s happening in the Legislature. However, it is this same Legislature that has made not one, but three attempts at keeping us at doing our jobs when it comes to keeping our town and county leaders accountable. The first of these attempts came from House Bill 146, which would take out requirements that names be published with the s...
The possibility of there being drugs in our school system should be a worry for everyone in Hot Springs County. If we think back, at the same age, we thought we were “ten foot tall and bulletproof” and no one could touch us because we were smarter than the adults. We know better now. But I also want to say how very fortunate I am to get to coach some of the best kids in the district. I don’t want everyone to think all the kids are smoking and drinking and partying every weekend. It is liter...
Imagine how hard it must be to look for “something” when you really have no idea what that “something” looks like. Take the situation at our high school and the JUUL. Do you know what it is? Do you know what it looks like? This takes the proverbial needle in a haystack to a completely different level when you’re not even sure what that needle looks like. As parents and grandparents we are often woefully behind the times when it comes to the latest trends with teens. We’re fairly on-point when it comes to things we can see, like telling tha...
This past weekend was the 2019 Wyoming Press Association Winter Convention in Cheyenne. The annual event is something I look forward to every year, and not just for the opportunity to stay in a fancy hotel and eat catered meals for a couple days. Each year, I and the rest of the staff at The Independent Record go through the articles we’ve written and the photos we’ve taken, submitting them to various categories for a chance at the Pacemaker awards given out every year. Additionally, there are...
If you are the mother or father of a high school athlete here in Wyoming, this message is primarily for you. When you attend an athletic event that involves your son or daughter, cheer to your heart’s content, enjoy the camaraderie that high school sports offer and have fun. But when it comes to verbally criticizing game officials or coaches, cool it. Make no mistake about it. Your passion is admired, and your support of the hometown team is needed. But so is your self-control. Yelling, screaming and berating the officials humiliates your c...
Harold Junior Bendlin, 80, passed away Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at Central Wyoming Hospice in Casper. A rosary is scheduled for Friday evening at St. Francis Catholic Church. A Mass of Christian Burial is planned for Saturday. Times had not been set at press time. A full obituary will run in next week’s Thermopolis Independent Record.... Full story
When the New Year rolls in, it’s often accompanied with the hope that this year will be better than the last. Unfortunately, a new year doesn’t mean all the bad news from the previous gets suddenly whisked away and we start over with a clean slate. It seems lately that there’s been more and more bad news in the national and, unfortunately, quite a bit on the state and local level. There’s trouble in the schools, on the borders, at the capitol. But, as the saying goes “things are always the darkest before the dawn,” and we can help bring that...
Recently I received a Christmas card from Marty (Martin when not in the wrestling room). Marty was assigned to me as a project. He was about 6’2” and weighed in at 185 lbs. He was a senior, and in three years of wrestling, he had won an average of two matches per year. Oh, and by the way, he was the only black student in the reservation school at which his mother taught, and he was in the Special Education program. We worked to provide Marty moves that would be effective for him. Repetition of a few moves helped him to be more successful, and...
Earlier this week Thermopolis and Hot Springs County experienced a changing of the guard of sorts with the swearing in of all the new folks elected last November. With this new year we are also looking at a new chance to come together for the betterment of our community. We have new people in top positions in law enforcement. New judges donning black robes. While the faces aren’t new, there has been some shuffling of those in charge or working in different departments in the courthouse and Town Hall. No community is perfect, but with these c...
Since 2008 when the big banks were bailed out there’s been some very interesting things that have taken place in this country. I would like to take some time and speak from a voice that I like to call the voice of truth. The voice of truth knows no bounds and it doesn’t stay confined to a box, it speaks wildly from the soul of the earth, from the dirt, the dust and the ash. This country has lost its backbone and the only person to blame is the ones that have allowed it to happen. I blame it on the generation after the baby boomers. The generati...
The IR wrote about updates to the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, Thermop Spark, WY Business Council & Thermop Main Street all whom are working on pro- grams to promote Thermopolis-with the result of getting grants for flowerbeds, lighting & a sign? Good start. But I have a suggestion. Thermopolis needs a THEME to make the lighting & signs more worthwhile. People come here for the WATER. Every new development/mural/billboard/remodel job/ or online presence we carry out should focus on fun with water, & a smattering of dinosaurs as well....
The planet is coming back around on its annual journey, to those glorious days when we get a little bit more sun and still have some light to drive when the workday is over. It also means the snow we received over the holidays is now turning to slush and making the streets and highways a bit more difficult to drive on. But don’t let that stop you from going out and taking advantage of the longer days. With some snow still on the ground it’s a good opportunity to put up a snowman, igloo or oth...
What a week it’s been. Aside from the dump of snow we got for the New Year, as well as the resulting drifts, here at The Independent Record we’ve had a storm of a different kind. Last week, a town employee presented us with Contribution Report documents regarding a political candidate and accused us of making illegal campaign contributions. The accuser also feels a local business made illegal contributions as well. The Independent Record has not, did not and will not make campaign contributions to any candidate. The small business being acc...
I want to complain about the snow removal on our street. Richards Street, between 9th and 10th has a pile of snow in the middle of the street since the snow in late November. It is blocking people’s ability to get from one side of the street to the other without having to go down or up the next block. It blocks part of the LDS church. Maybe the city doesn’t care about its residents in this part of town?...
I’m proud to say, I’m not a quitter. That’s why you won’t hear me say anything about New Year’s resolutions. Why start something I know I’ll never finish? Let’s face it, I love my chips, sweet tea and chocolate way too much to give them up for a measly 10 pounds. There would have to be something really serious involved for me to pass on cheesecake, too. I suppose I could vow to do something simple that doesn’t include depriving myself, like reading a book a week for the year. Fifty-two books...
In a few short days we will be faced with a book filled with blank pages – 2019. Each new year is our chance to leave behind the previous year and fill those blank pages with new memories. Some of us will make resolutions with the finest of intentions, like losing weight, stopping smoking or even making amends with family and friends. Of course, there is also the portion of us that, while we may have good intentions, will let those resolutions slide before January is even over. We need to keep in mind that forgetting about our New Year’s res...
This past week we had one of those experiences that renewed my faith in those around me. We were driving through the canyon just after sunset. I hit a large rock I did not see, which tore a large hole in my front right tire. I was only about two yards away from the canyon wall, but was fortunate in being able to bring the car to a stop without hitting anything. After stopping the car, we also were fortunate to have a turn out on the opposite side of the highway. We got out of the car to begin the process of changing the flat tire. Three angels...
