Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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Freedom of the press, of speech, of religion, of assembly and to petition the government are woven, like stars in the flag, into the fabric of the First Amendment. The blood of patriots is the seed of the Republic. The founders and those who followed in their footsteps invested their lives in this country. They assured there would be freedom of religion, and from religion, so the government could neither bless nor ban what anyone believes, as occurs under radical theocracies and communist regimes. The founders secured freedom of speech, to...
Questions that often come up from time to time when you work in the newspaper industry are “How do you remain objective in your writing?” or “How do you keep from putting your personal opinion in a story?” With there being so much emphasis on bias in the national media, it can be easy to want to go after local outlets as well and accuse them of leaving out facts to satisfy our own agendas, or keep out our names and those of family members. At the Independent Record, our main priority is bringing you the news happening here in the county...
In the current political climate in the United States its sometimes hard to discern what is real and what isn’t. I don’t just mean the difference between real news and fake news, but all of the items tossed at us through social media that insist they are the “right” answer to everything. Most of us were required to take a government class in high school to prepare us for the scary world outside those four walls, but how many of us really remember what documents like the Constitution actually say? Chances are, you haven’t actually looked at a co...
On the front page of this edition, you might notice we toot our own horn a bit, as we’re partnering with Hot Springs Travel and Tourism to distribute our annual visitor guide. Though the guide is only put out once per year, it’s something we work on for more than just a few days. In our day-to-day, we might have an idea pop up or a picture taken that won’t see print until it’s in the guide. The partnership with Travel and Tourism is one of the bigger steps in that improvement process, as it helps to share the story of Thermopolis to more of...
There’s something to be said about a flag at half-staff. It certainly is noticeable when we see our stars and stripes flying not as high as they should. It gives us pause, time to think and to reflect. Though there is no doubt as to why our Broadway flag, as well as the magnificent display from the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department, was at half-staff for September 11 there are often times when the Flag is seen at this post and we may not know why. Thankfully, having search engines literally on hand, we can quickly look up why. Though w...
By Tuesday most residents in Hot Springs County probably realized the smoke from various fires in the state had worked its way to us. The biggies are the Fishhawk fire, which is on the North Fork near Cody, the Saddle Butte fire at Jackson Hole and the Pedro Mountain fire at Casper, east of Pathfinder Reservoir. Depending on wind direction, we could be having hazy days for days. This, of course is the result of a beautiful, wet spring and temperatures that didn’t really reach the triple digits, but the air was definitely dry. Consequently, gras...
Labor Day is certainly an interesting name for a holiday, considering how many people actually have the day off from work, but it’s not necessarily our own labors we are celebrating. Celebrated on the first Monday in September, Labor Day was begun with the growth of the trade union and labor movements; Oregon was the first to recognize it as an official public holiday in 1887. The day is set aside to celebrate labor, i.e. work, though picnics and relaxing during the three-day weekend have become more of the standards for celebration. Whether y...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
No doubt if you’ve glanced through the pages of this week’s edition you noticed one of our younger employees smiling back at you. Read a little bit more and you’ll see that in about a month we’ll be increasing prices for the Thermopolis Independent Record. It’s no secret that inflation affects everything you buy, from groceries to clothing. And while most of the time these products see price hikes on a weekly and even daily basis, most times without warning, we’re going on 16 years without a per paper price hike and providing ample time for yo...
A couple of days of sunshine are a welcome respite from the recent deluge of rain, but that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods yet. Keep in mind the ground is completely saturated at this time and the possibility of mud slides and rock slides in the canyon are a real possibility. Even our county roads could become dangerous with water running over them or beside them. As we do every year about this time, we need to be ever aware of our surroundings as things can change at any moment. Tuesday night a culvert on Cottonwood Creek Road became uns...
With Memorial Day weekend approaching, as with every year at this time, thoughts turn to the men and women who have fought for this country and gave their lives for it. It seems one can’t turn on the news or pick up a periodical these days without hearing of some new conflict overseas or even along our own borders, and while it is important to remember and pray for those who continue the fight, Memorial Day is not for them. This sacred day is for us to remember those who laid down their lives to defend our rights, our privileges. As an n...
On Sunday, we will be watching the graduating class of 2019 cross the boards into their new lives as high school graduates. These days we hear a lot of disparaging news about teens in our country – Tide pod eaters, drug users, drinkers, inexperienced theorists. What we see, however, are young people who are genuinely concerned with political issues, the future of our planet and making things better. The students we see wearing those caps and gowns are future doctors, scientists, educators and farmers, ranchers and veterinarians, mechanics a...
It seems like every week of the year gives us something to celebrate, whether it’s personal milestones such as birthdays or anniversaries, up to statewide and national celebrations May is no exception, recognizing our teachers, law enforcement and nurses nearly all at the same time. May 6-12 is both Nurse Appreciation Week and Teacher Appreciation Week. In the grand scheme of the job market, these can often be some of the hardest positions and the least recognized. Both require an extreme amount of patience and care shown fellow human b...
We have unfortunately been seeing a number of businesses in Thermopolis closing their doors of late. On social media we see posts from people who haven’t felt welcomed into our little community and have made the decision to leave. Our unemployment rate has gone down, but so has our population. What we’re seeing is not unusual for a lot of small towns across America. The question is, what do we do about it? When you ask folks what they would like to see in town, the most common answer is one of the fast food chains. Variety is the spice of lif...
It feels like spring has finally arrived. Leaves are sprouting from buds, plants are pushing through the ground and newborn animals are exploring this wide world. If you’ve been reading the paper or just taking a look around town, you know there’s a spring in our local businesses as well. Old buildings are getting new owners and new life, others thought dead are re-opening and well-established stores are getting new owners. It’s been really amazing these past few weeks to see and hear — even if they are just rumors to start — about the growi...
