Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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by Kevin Killough On Oct. 4, Facebook had a global outage. For several hours, users around the world were unable to argue politics with complete strangers, let friends know their relationship status had changed or show pictures of their dinner. Many people, understandably, rejoiced in this moment of social media downtime. Yet, for the better part of the past year, many of those same people, even conservatives who claim to champion small government, were arguing that Facebook had become a prolific and indispensable monopoly that needed to be...
As the crew of the Independent Record was looking through our old newspapers for this week’s Blast from the past, memory after memory from previous Moonlight Madness celebrations jumped off the pages. Several of the little children dressed as princesses, pumpkins and ninjas that were in the photos over the years, have now graduated high school. A big part of Moonlight Madness for many years was the Pinata Bash, hosted by Las Fuentes Restaurant. Photos showed some of the first pinata bashes held at the restaurant that featured homemade paper m...
by CJ Baker Over the past several weeks, Congress battled over whether and how to raise the national debt ceiling. Failing to do so would risk defaulting on some of the more than $28.4 trillion the federal government has already been allowed to borrow — plus the billions of dollars that Congress has already committed to spending. Given the damaging repercussions that would come from a default, Congress has little choice but to formally raise the debt ceiling. As a result, Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate frequently try to u...
Suicide is Wyoming’s most persistent public health issue. And if anything, it’s getting worse. In 2004, the state possessed the nation’s fifth highest suicide rate, with about 17 deaths for every 100,000 residents. In 2019, Wyoming had the country’s highest rate, with 29.3 deaths per 100,000 people. Intuitively, we understand this. It’s an unfortunate reality in Wyoming that most people have been touched somehow by suicide. We’ve lost friends and co-workers, family and neighbors. Parents and children. Husbands and wives. To the people left...
A woman comes to the newspaper office and asks about an online story the paper published about another woman accused of killing her husband. She’s clearly agitated and almost in tears, hands shaking as they take a tissue out of her purse. Explaining she’d been the couple’s landlord for nearly a decade, the woman seemed desperate for details about what happened. “I can’t believe it,” she says. “I’m really in shock here.” Then she drops the other shoe. “We always thought he’d be the one to kill her,” the woman said, shaking her head. Thank...
As children, many of us are taught a simple golden rule - If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all. Many seem to have thrown that golden rule out of the window, backed up and ran over it. Constructive discussion and feedback are healthy in our society. However, name calling, personal attacks and intentional hateful comments are becoming more and more acceptable, especially on social media. Most of us have seen a post or comment that has turned into an all out word war. People reading a word war, even if they don’t have a str...
Hot Springs County School District students have returned to school and are settling into their daily schedules. This is such an exciting time for students, parents and teachers. For some students, it is also filled with anxiety and a little bit of fear. Parents, please be patient with your children as they get used to their new teachers, classmates and daily routines. Some kids, and even some parents, may be a bit distracted as they travel to and from school. It is important for all drivers to slow down in all school zones. Parents with...
The latest round of federal stimulus funding represents both an opportunity and a potential pitfall for Wyoming. The opportunity comes in the form of $1.2 billion in federal funds that don’t have to be spent for years, providing the state money to address critical needs, especially at a time when Wyoming’s traditional revenue sources have become less reliable. The possible pitfall stems from the fact that with so much money floating around, there’s a danger that state leaders don’t end up spending it effectively. One of the most importa...
A few weeks agao, news organizations reported incidents of vaccine mandates handed down in New York City and California. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced vaccine mandates for employees. The Department of Justice also recently announced its conclusion that federal law does not prohibit public agencies and private businesses from requiring COVID-19 vaccines, even those under emergency authorization. Then, President Joe Biden announced a vaccine mandate for all federal employees. If employees refuse the vaccine, they will face...
The Hot Springs County Fair starts Saturday with the youth horse show and continues through the next week. And this year, all events are a go. Along with all the livestock shows there will be pig wrestling, family fun night and the chili cook off will be going on. Finishing off fair week on Friday, this year the Judges Choice Bake Sale will be sold during a silent auction followed by the pre-sale buyers dinner and the junior livestock auction. Moving into Saturday and Sunday the town will be packed for the Gift of the Waters Pageant and...
The end of July and into August is packed with events in Hot Springs County. An event coming up the first weekend of August is the Gift of the Waters Pageant. The pageant celebrates a very important gift for Hot Springs County and past, present and future community members. In case you are one of the several residents who may not be familiar with the reason for the pageant, the following is taken from the pageant program and explains the history of the Big Spring and the reason for the Gift of the Waters Pageant. by Jessie L. Duhig Moccasined...
One of the most amazing things about living in our small town community is the way we pull together when tragedy strikes. Two Hot Springs County High School graduates were recently involved in two separate accidents that sent both of them to ICU units, one in Casper and one in Billings Trevor Stimpson, a class of 2019 HSCHS graduate, had an accident while enjoying a float on the Bighorn River. He had a seizure, fell out of his kayak and went under water. The friend that was with him struggled to get him out of the water and was ultimately helpe...
We are excited to see this page full of letters to the editor with our readers expressing their views on a variety of topics. As you read these letters, please remember that you also have the right to express your views. We welcome your opinions on issues affecting our community, our state and our country. Our readers include people with a variety of political beliefs, a wide range of ages and different lifestyles. Letters to the editor will all be printed as long as they meet the guidelines below and are not found to be libel in nature. So,...
The Hot Springs County High School parking lot was full of players and spectators for the Thermopolis 3-on-3 Saturday and Sunday. The event, sponsored by the Bobcat Booster Club, reportedly had around 100 teams that competed. This weekend, the Thermopolis Brewfest will be downtown and will feature family fun and several breweries offering up their beers for those 21 years and older. Next weekend there will be a WJRA rodeo at the fairgrounds with local youths and youths from around the state competing from bragging rights and awards. On...
On Sunday, May 16, 43 Hot Springs County High School gradutating seniors will receive their diplomas and wrap up their public school career. There will be an in person graduation held in the high school gymnasium at 2 p.m. The school district has announced that seating in the gym is intended for family and invited guests of the Class of 2021. If that does not include you and you would still like to celebrate the Class of 2021, don’t fret. There will be a Parade of Graduates taking place at noon on Sunday. Family, friends, neighbors and all c...
Where do you park a horse trailer, boat, camper or RV in downtown Thermopolis? We often have people in long vehicles park in front of the IR during business hours and see them do the same across the street in front of the Town Hall. Often, they travel in pairs and can take up as many as six to eight parking spaces. Customers of the IR and the Town Hall then have to park fairly far from our buildings, making it hard for some, especially senior citizens. Last summer, the driver of a truck pulling a horse trailer parked right in the lane of...
After experiencing a year of shutting down, covering up and staying home, it’s safe to say many of us are thankful that things are returning to normal. Last week the Hot Springs County Commissioners voted to disband the Incident Command Team that was formed in response to COVID. During discussion on the matter, commissioner Jack Baird said “Back to normal life.” Local events are being held and many are being planned throughout the summer. The 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend and the Brewfest is set for the foll...
When the final bell rang on this year’s legislative session, state leaders failed to turn in their assignment. Instead, they asked for yet another extension on work that was due a long time ago: addressing Wyoming’s school funding shortfall. The issue, at its essence, is this: Wyoming’s fossil fuel industry can no longer provide the revenue to sustain the state’s existing K-12 education system. State leaders know this, but have failed to devise a viable solution, whether that’s new revenue, sizable cuts or some combination of the two. Nor...
In the six years since former Gov. Matt Mead began championing expanding Medicaid in the state, much has changed – including the state’s financial house and the hearts and minds of some state senators and representatives. In opposing previous attempts to expand Medicaid coverage in the state expansion, many state lawmakers were fearful that the federal government would pull out of its 90% federal match for newly covered individuals, leaving Wyoming with the bill. The latest attempt at expansion ensures the state would withdraw from the fed...
Reading a newspaper is a good habit to get into that can provide much needed information about politics, economy, schools, entertainment, sports, businesses, commerce, etc. People who read newspapers enhance their knowledge about information while improving language and vocabulary skills. Public notices in newspapers provide a third-party, independent check to government transparency in a permanent record that can not be altered in the future. Newspapers offer readers a single, convenient location to find out a large variety of information...
Do you want to know what your city, county and school districts are up to? As a responsible taxpayer and citizen of your community, of course you want to keep an eye on what these governments are undertaking. Where do you go for that information? Do you spend your day logging into the county’s website to find what your county commissioners did about county roads at their last meeting, but can’t find anything about it in their meeting minutes? Next you switch over to the town’s website so you can read about changes in garbage pick-up days and r...
In case you’re unawares, this past Thursday the Wyoming Senate committee advanced Senate File 17, a bill that calls for removing some of the public notices that local governments are required to publish in newspapers. Instead, the bill calls for making cities and counties to provide said information on websites. It has the support of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association (WCCA), as well as the Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM). The argument is that this is a way for local governments to save on publishing costs amid ongoing b...
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, State Superintendent of Schools Jillian Balow, Sen. John Barrasso, Sen. Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Liz Cheney all seem to agree on at least one thing, the Biden Administration’s 60-day suspension of all federal leases and permits to drill on federal land will be devastating for Wyoming’s economy and people. They are calling the move a strike on the heart of Wyoming jobs, families and communities. Wyoming and other western states have oil and gas lease sales scheduled. Several of these lease sales will be held in the...
The editor of this paper felt like she heard a collective gasp last week as people read a letter to the editor on this page of the January 14 edition titled “Take down the Trump flags.” There has been a long standing letter to the editor policy at the Independent Record that allowed for strong censorship of the type of letters that were accepted for print on this page. Upon review of that policy at the beginning of 2021, a decision was made by the editor to allow for more open discussion on a larger variety of topics. Calling out elected off...
It has been a week and many are still trying to wrap their minds around what happened at our Nation’s Capitol January 6. For some it clearly marks the definition between “us” and “them”, while for others it shows, in glaring clarity, that our country must come together to heal what was becoming an ever-widening rift. Men scaled the walls of one of our most beloved institutions, while onlookers wondered who they were, which side they were on, and wondered what was going to happen next as reporters relayed whatever information they had at that mo...
