Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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Not only does the calendar say so, all we have to do is look outside to see touches of green and watch as the robins and rabbits are dancing and romancing, ready to welcome their babies. It's also time for the Hot Springs County Senior Center to begin our season of fun times, great food and enjoying one another’s company. Come join us. We’ve already enjoyed our first mystery trip and had a great meal in March. We have enjoyed so many wonderful outings and trips together over the past few years. I want to share with you places we’ve been and thi...
I don’t want to say it too loud, considering we still have plenty of weather on the horizon, but I think I might be able to claim a successful gardening adventure this year. Like many, I have high hopes of having a beautiful, blooming garden filled with all the colors of summer, butterflies flitting around and birds dropping by for a rest, but unfortunately I’m on my third try to get herbs to grow in my kitchen window. That hasn’t stopped me, however, from planting a ton of tulips last fall...
In Wyoming we really have just three seasons, not four – fall, winter and construction season. In Hot Springs County we do manage to sneak in another one, rockslide season. Things have been heating up in the rockslide arena the last couple of weeks with a huge boulder dropping onto the highway from above one evening and then a good slide near the dam on Tuesday morning. If you’ve lived in this area for any length of time, you’ve probably been through Wind River Canyon hundreds of times in all kinds of weather, but rockslide season can be the m...
Every so often without warning, a long ago and far away memory pops up to bring back feelings that have hibernated for decades. That song that reminds you of the first time you fell in love, the time you said the worst possible thing at the worst possible time, meeting the parents of the girl (or boy) you’d like to know better, a teacher that made you think there might be some hope for you after all, and a lot of other things you wish you had done differently…better. The weather lately has brought to mind a picture of Dad welding and ere...
Though I’ve called Thermopolis and Wyoming home for the past three years, I am a native Nebraskan and so the reports I’ve seen from friends and family across social media this past week have been, to say the least, increasingly disturbing. I, like much of my immediate and extended family, grew up on the western end of the state so most of the accounts have been about having to dig out vehicles and clear heavy loads from sidewalks. But those on the east side have faced losses of homes and other p...
A major step towards governmental transparency happened this past week, as Governor Gordon signed into law Senate File 57. This establishes a deadlines for when public records must be made available and sets up a governor designated ombudsman to receive complaints regarding violation of the Public Records Act. The law doesn’t take effect for a few more months, but when it does it will provide the public with more power to hold their government accountable. We regularly publish public notices, such as meeting minutes, notices of sales and, in t...
I am writing this letter in the hope that I can save you from losing money and being bullied, terrorized and humiliated. I was scammed. I am not proud of it. I thought I was pretty intelligent and knew what to look for. Most important, the IRS and Social Security Administration will not call you on the phone. I was told my identity was stolen and my Social Security number and ID had been involved in a major crime in Texas. They would need to reissue a new SS number and that my assets (checking, savings, 401K, and IRA) would be frozen. They coul...
For government to be of, by and for the people it must be out in front of the people. The theme for Sunshine Week 2019 is simply, “It’s your right to know.” The reason it’s your right to know is that it’s your government. From the courthouse, to the statehouse to the White House, it is your right to know what government is up to. Every deliberation by city council, county commission, the General Assembly or U.S. Congress is the people’s business. Every penny spent by local, state and federal government is your money. Every document held in the...
As I was growing up we ate a lot of traditional Irish dishes, I just had no idea they were Irish, I just knew they were really good. On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone becomes Irish and not only imbibes in green beer, but they eat corned beef and cabbage, something they probably wouldn’t touch the rest of the year. Granted, most Irish dishes are primarily potatoes, cabbage and lamb or goat (we skipped the goat at our house) and are generally pretty bland, but there were a few I loved as a kid and...
In like a lion, out like a lamb. We’ve heard that old saying forever in reference to how the weather is going to be during the month of March. With that in mind, it looks like we’ll be going out like a lion this year. Sure, it was cold last Friday as March arrived, but there was no storm to go with the freezing temps, so chances are we’ll get hit at the end of the month with a snowstorm. Old wives' tales generally have a touch of the truth to them, like ‘snakes don’t come out until after the first thunderstorm.’ If you do a little research, i...
I realize that scam attempts have been discussed at several places and in several ways around town, but I would like to write about it once again. [Monday] night a friend lost thousands of dollars due to a Social Security scam. If someone call saying they are from the Social Security Administration, they are scamming you. I almost got caught up in the same scam. If someone says you won money but have to pay an administrative fee first, you are being scammed. If someone claims they are a relative and need bail money, you are being scammed....
I am a retired teacher who, along with my daughter, went to the school board meeting to propose her child be homeschooled a half-day Monday-Thursday. Our first grader was refused essentially on the Principle of Precedents (another term for status quo or bias based on social, legal or political situations in order to protect conventional agreements & conformities). However, change happens whether we want it or not. Making rulings specifically so that they don’t “have to open a door that other parents will want to open also”, is unacc...
Last Thursday the 2019 general session of the Wyoming Legislature adjourned, giving our representatives a break from the bustle in Cheyenne though the interim will keep them plenty busy with committee meetings until the budget session in 2020. Though we’ve brought coverage of the general session and comments from our local reps over the past several weeks, chances are if you’re not keeping up with the session on your own these stories might leave you with more questions than answers. While the...
This past Sunday, what could’ve been a deadly incident was averted thanks to the vigilant and valiant effort of law enforcement — and not just one agency. It took the combined efforts of local and state agencies to keep the peace in our streets. The incident calls to mind a common theme heard during the election season — a desire for law enforcement agencies to work together toward a common goal rather than butting heads all the time. And this week’s stopping of a potential Sunday shooter is just the latest example of what our officers can do...
Fake news! This is a phrase we’re hearing all the time now and Thermopolis became the victim of some online fake news recently. A self-proclaimed history buff who is an employee of a country radio station in Cheyenne, recently posted on the station’s website that Thermopolis should cover up the “swastikas” on one of our downtown buildings. This is how things start. One person reports on something they know absolutely nothing about and people across the country suddenly think our little town is...
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...
