Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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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...
July 4 is here, a day filled with barbecues, heading to the lake and of course, fireworks. And while there is plenty of fun to be had, it’s also a time for reflection. Independence Day commemorates the Declaration of Independence, a day when the original 13 colonies stated that they were no longer subject to the rule of Britain. Though not the first step toward becoming our own country, it certainly was the most significant. In today’s world, 243 years following the signing of that document granting our freedoms, it’s not hard to imagine the f...
Without a doubt, the political climate in our nation has been rocky at best over the past 10 years. Left, right, Republican, Democrat, it matters not which side of the aisle you’re on there is unrest in our country over which side is right. I have seen burning effigies of presidents. I have seen giant balloons depicting a presidential baby. Rumors and innuendo about both parties have run rampant during this last decade. In polite society we were taught not to discuss two things: religion and p...
Sometimes its good to let the mind meander back to the “good ol’ days” when life was more simple. It shows us how far we have come, how much we have progressed and allows us to dream about what the future may hold. In the good ol’ days summers were filled with children riding their bikes downtown, Crazy Days when all the business people dressed up in costumes and brought their best bargains out on the street, parades that had dozens of tissue covered floats and streets lined with people to enjoy the show. Our busy lives have taken away the sim...
If you were anywhere around town this past weekend, you knew where all the action was, as the Hot Springs County Fairgrounds was again home to the Thermopolis Cowboy Rendezvous PRCA Rodeo. As much fun as the rodeo is each year — it always has a way of taking me back to rodeos with my folks when I was a kid — the true spectacle is watching how our local fairgrounds transforms into a spectacle of people from all over North America, and the parking lot takes on the look of a bazaar with all of the...
This past week there’s been a lot of talk about marketing Thermopolis on more than just the local level, hitting the international market and partnering with other communities in the Bighorn Basin. Though these are viable options and could be the economic boon we’re looking for, they should be pursued with a sense of caution and the understanding that they won’t be financially lucrative right away, perhaps not even within the first year. During the monthly meeting of Hot Springs Travel and Tourism, Mathias Jung with Rocky Mountain Inter...
How do you experience your world? Is the glass half full or half empty? Do you observe the worst in a situation or the best? Do you justify identifying only negatives by claiming you are being realistic? Two people can experience the exact same event and yet have radically different perceptions. Why do some people always escape unscathed regardless of what befalls them while others seem to be problem magnets? Perception defines reality. Perception is controlled by attitude. You control your attitude. Therefore, you control your reality. Since...
This weekend marks a very special day for millions of men across the world – Father’s Day. Its sometimes hard for us to come up with just the right words to tell our fathers how much they have meant to us as we’ve gone from taking our first steps to heading off to college or starting a family of our own. Sure, you could go with the same ugly tie or more tools, even stuff for his master grilling on Saturdays, but what do those really say? Your dad was the one who taught you to be silly because he was more than willing to act like a little kid w...
