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Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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It seems like this year has been the “Year of the Detour” when driving around Thermopolis, with work being done to replace water transmission lines and the renovations happening outside Gottsche and the hospital. It seems like almost daily one’s route has to change to get to a destination, particularly on the south side of town. A return to our regular routes is on the horizon, though, and even though delays happened — both early on and recently — with the water line project, adjustments were made to the timeframe and additional crews wer...
After observing two different elderly folks fall last week — up the stairs at our post office — I feel compelled to say something. Who in the world decided to make the last step only one-fourth the size of the others? At least paint it orange or hang some warning sign. This is dangerous and someone is going to break a hip!...
We have hit that time of year when some days it feels as if Mother Nature is having some kind of psychotic episode – freezing in the morning and roasting in the afternoon. That’s the wonderful thing about Wyoming. It also makes it difficult to decide what to wear for the day, whether its sweater and boots weather in the morning or jeans and a t-shirt in the afternoon. I’ve lived in a few places in my life and it seems like the contents of my closet have been different everywhere I’ve been. F...
Monday is the start of Homecoming Week for the Thermopolis Bobcats. A time when alumni return home to see the parade and cheer on our volleyball players and football team. Gone are the days of the snake dance through downtown and the burning of the effigy at the flagpole with the cheerleaders, the band and almost the entire town, but we have to understand today’s Bobcats have their own idea of fun and we should be joining in just as we did decades ago. Have you ever seen a “Mangeant”? It takes a lot of courage and self confidence for these...
Everyone who has lived here through a summer knows how crazy the traffic can get during tourist season. While here at the Independent Record we provide stories about what’s going on in town, often times those visiting for a few days during the summer months are sharing their own stories. One recent example is a story written by Joshua Berman about his family’s finding Thermopolis while on a trip around Yellowstone to avoid the typical tourist traps like Yellowstone. But it doesn’t end there...
“We the people.” These three words form the beginning of one of the most important documents in our country’s history, the U.S. Constitution. September 17 marks Constitution Day, commemorating the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution by 39 men on Sept. 17, 1787. While the Declaration of Independence was adopted in July of 1776, it was the U.S. Constitution that set forth the supreme laws of these United States and recognized all who were born in the country or by naturalization as citizens, laying the groundwork of what our count...
One of my favorite times of the year is here...football season! Although I love sitting on Sunday and watching my Broncos, I’m really talking about all the youth football we have around here. This last weekend was so fun. I had the chance to shoot the little guys playing rec football as well as the older kids with the middle school and the high school athletes on Friday night. It really gave me a perspective on how the game is played. The rec kids are having so much fun, learning as they go, a...
The newspaper industry let out a huge sigh of relief this past week as the U.S. International Trade Commission overturned an administrative decision imposing tariffs on Canadian newsprint that went into effect in January. That tariff could have ultimately caused newspapers across the country to raise their prices by nearly double or create layoffs of reporters, photographers and other staff to make up for the cost. Small, weekly newspapers such as ourselves, would have felt the pinch, possibly to the point of putting us out of business....
Tuesday marks the 17th anniversary of one of the most horrific attacks on U.S. soil, a day that will forever stir memories and emotions when someone mentions the date — 9/11. It’s weird to think that many of our high school upperclassmen weren’t even born when the news came over of the planes striking the two towers of the World Trade Center, only learning of it through textbooks and what their parents have told them. Though a time of extreme fear for our country, it was also a period when we ca...
A poem I once read and taught from spoke to the heart about a trip by the poet to the home of his youth. In it he spoke of how much smaller than his memories were the realities of the mountains, now barely hills, the river, now barely a creek, and the schools which seemed so large as he started his education, and now seemed so small as he returned from the city in which his life now unfolded. In celebration of last Memorial Day, my spouse and I drove to Torrington to visit Mom and Dad’s grave. I think of my parents often, and their r...
With the Primary Election behind us, it seems the hot topic still on the table is water, particularly whether we continue to use surface water or explore sinking a well at other sites to start using ground water. However, another water project has certainly seen some prominence in the past couple months — the water line rehabilitation project. The project began as an already large undertaking, incorporating Hot Springs State Park, Fifth Street, Seventh Street, and small portions of Warren Street and Sixth Street. However, there’s been ple...
The 2018-2019 school year and activities lie just around the corner. It is easy to see the hard work and dedication of student-athletes and coaches during the school year, yet those involved with sports know that the majority of program improvement must take place in the off-season. Thermopolis is in a unique situation of competing at high levels with low student enrollment, which causes for some extra hurdles to success. First, student-athletes must be involved in multiple sports/activities/clubs in order for those programs to be in the...
Having toured much of the state recently, one can readily observe the pall of smoke blanketing our state from the (mostly) California wildfires. The wildfires, producing smoke, ash and other particulates, are one way that Mother Nature and Father Time redistribute the earth’s natural resources – just look at your windshield each morning to see the evidence of this redistribution. All that dust comes from somewhere, not just our often windy weather. Though tragic through the loss of life and property, the wildfires do have a beneficial eff...
I could tell this last weekend that there was a touch of fall in the air. Not because it was cooler outside or getting dark a little bit earlier, but because I had the urge to bake. There's nothing like the smell of fresh baked anything, whether its pie, cake, cookies, whatever. So I tried out a new recipe on Sunday for apple pie bites. The premise is an apple pie in a cookie sized bite. There are none left. I was very lucky to grow up in a multi-generational home with a grandmother who taught...
The graduating Class of 2032 started kindergarten Wednesday. The newest little sparks of flame that make up the Thermopolis Bobcats began their journey with new backpacks, crayons and glue sticks just like countless alumni that came before them. There is a difference, though. These days they’ve gone beyond “The Three R’s”, reading, writing and ‘rithmetic, to computers and robotics and common core. Every child has the same opportunity in the Hot Springs County School District to not only receive the best education possible, but to leave those ha...
I live in Evanston, Wyoming, but my husband and I spend a lot of time in your town due to the low population, the good elevation and the hospitality given to me especially when I assisted one of your local deceased residents during her time of need. Recently it became news to me that “if in the country” there is *no* leash law for dogs, some who have a history of attacking behavior with no accountability by the sheriff’s department on the owner. I’m aware of a recent incident at a business, a local and visitor destination for those visitin...
This election season certainly had an abundance of candidate to choose from, but with the increase of people running for office it seems the amount of mudslinging — in public, at forums and especially online — did as well. While that is typical of election season, there were some comments that stepped a bit too far over the line. But, as of Tuesday, we made it. The votes were cast and most of the local positions have been decided. For those who won their races, best wishes to the coming yea...
What an issue it’s been This week, we’re sure you’ll notice the paper is quite a bit larger than our weekly publication. That’s because we’re providing our readers with a final look at the candidates who are in this year’s elections. Whether running in contended races or not, we’re hoping this section provides you with new information or refreshes your memory about the multitude of local candidates we have this year. This past week has been a crazy one for us, working with the deadlines we set to make contact with those running for office, give...
Most people you talk to will say this political season has been completely exhausting. Yes, it has been exhausting, but it has also been refreshing. Refreshing in that this little community has stepped up their game, coming to the table and not only running for elected offices, but talking openly and honestly about their hopes for the future of Thermopolis and Hot Springs County. It doesn’t matter where you go, you’re going to hear someone talking about this candidate or that one. Dis...
Its actually rather typical that young people begin getting a little more rambunctious as summer starts drawing to a close, but it seems like this year it has gotten out of control, moving into the realm of destruction. Generally, its small things like vehicles being egged or planters knocked over, but this year they’re hitting us all with complete disregard. Fish feeders in the State Park, which were put up to help pay for some extra things in the park – destroyed. It wasn’t enough to just pry the money out of them, they went the extra mile...
Wondering who to vote for? Here’s what I’ve always told candidates. If you run, don’t do negative advertising, mailers or letters. They will and should come back to cost you votes. Here’s been my formula for how I choose a candidate. To vote, disregard those who focus on negative rhetoric. Look at the person’s own background and ideas. Whatever a person has done before they will keep doing, especially after they win. Blaming another person or distracting by pointing out another’s flaws can become a habit and wastes time. Something positive co...
One of the political races that has seen more commentary than others is the five-candidate race for Hot Springs County Sheriff. In the various campaigns and forums, a topic that sees a lot of discussion is what is being done about the drug problem in Hot Springs County, and rightly so. If there’s one problem that doesn’t seem to have a solution, it’s drugs. As soon as one method of dealing with the issue is found, dealers and users seem to find 10 other ways to get around the law. It can feel...
It seems that more and more political signs continue to pop up all over town, supporting one candidate or another for local, state or federal offices. But though the lawn decorations have been going up since candidates announced they are running, the past couple weeks have seen incidence of signs being marred or even yanked out of yards and placed in dumpsters. While hoping everyone shares your opinion, no matter the topic, is something of pipe dream, it doesn’t have to get to the point where vandalism or worse crimes come into play. Not o...
Vandalism is not protected by the government. Free speech, freedom of the press and the right to protest is. To the woman who vandalized my place, please come and talk to me and I will drop this....
As I get older, I realize more and more how everything eventually comes full circle in your life. This weekend is a prime example for me. I remember as a kid, selling programs at the Gift of the Waters Pageant for 50-cents through the Girl Scouts. Granted, at the time it was one of those fun things, meeting people from all over the world, but honestly, other than the fancy Native dancers, I didn’t get much out of it. Later on, it was the Saturday parade. This was the only parade the Wildcat Band...
