Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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We’re all still a little shell-shocked from the fallout of the Great Recession. As for newspapers, in 2007 when our world economy was at its peak, so was newspaper pulp production. But by mid-2008 people had stopped spending money and you probably noticed a dearth of 18-wheelers on the highways. But despite the chorus of “print is dead” (led by our own industry) some strange facts have come to light. Pulp sales in the U.S. in 2014 finally surpassed that high water mark of 2007 and 2015 is expected to surpass that. Spending on direct mail also...
Held each year during the third week of October, National School Bus Safety Week is designed to promote and celebrate school bus safety at school across the country. School buses are used to transport precious cargo to and from school and school activities regularly. Designed for safety, with flashing lights, giant mirrors, high seat backs and that bright yellow color, school buses are used to transport over 25 million students nationwide each school day. Staff in the transportation department at Hot Springs County School District work to...
Back to school schedules are starting, families are getting back into a routine - but I am convinced that ranch kids have a somewhat different schedule than other kids. Instead of setting the alarm to simply wake up and get ready for school, their alarms are set several hours earlier to take care of ranch chores that must be done prior to school. Growing up, I remember having to be pulled out of bed to get my work done in the wee morning hours before the bus came. During high school years, I...
For many rural families, summer climaxes at fair time. “Why?” you may ask. Well, it’s not a simple answer. Imagine acquiring (purchasing, being gifted, etc.) a steer calf. This calf is not a pet but rather livestock that will be sold in less than a year’s time for the purpose of slaughter. Your task is to, on a daily basis, nurture this animal, feed it, and handle it to best prepare it for show. You may have a young lifetime of experience working with cattle, but this steer is yours and it is y...
Color, smiles, sun, and art were the main themes from a newbie’s perspective of Thermopolis’ Pageant Days and Folk Festival weekend. This past weekend was my first, ever, Pageant Days and Folk Festival experience and although it went by like a blur, it was enjoyable on many levels. As a reporter, I hit just about every event the weekend had to offer. Saturday morning began with excited runners jogging in place and prepping their mindsets with energetic music at the 5K/10K Pageant Run in HSS...
I've spent 36 years in the communications business and one thing I've learned from all that time is that communication breaks down. That lesson was brought home to me again this week as I watched the interaction between the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department and the Hot Springs County Rural Fire District. If you've read the story on our front page, you have pretty much the gist of the idea, but the break down between these two entities was a long time coming and could have so easily been avoi...
I saw an interesting photo on the Internet today. It was a picture of a couple lying on a beach, holding margaritas, and watching the sun go down. The caption on the photo read, “This could be us … if we didn’t own livestock.” It made me laugh a little because I thought to myself, “How true.” Agriculture producer’s lives revolve around seasons: planting season, calving season, harvest season, hay season, breeding season … the list goes on and on. Vacation season always lands in the middle of o...
This weekend marks one of the busiest of the summer for Hot Springs County, bringing in alumni, history buffs, horses, golfers and even a parachutist. Things kick off with former Golden Knight and double amputee, Dana Bowman dropping in to the football field as part of the Hot Springs County Library’s “Superheroes” summer reading program. Bowman arrives on scene at 11 a.m. on Friday. Hot Springs County High School alumni will begin arriving on Friday, too, with a plethora of activities going...
Andrew Arellanes died May 13, 2013. He was 17 years old, a star athlete on the Surprise, Ariz. high school football team and had good grades. Andrew died late at night from head injuries he received when the speeding pickup he was riding in the bed of made a sharp turn, tossing him from the truck onto his head on the pavement. Andrew was playing “Fugitive.” Fifteen-year old Ashlee Aguilera from Ft. Worth, Texas spent weeks in intensive care after being hit by a car in the dark while dashing acro...
This Sunday, June 14, is recognized as Flag Day across the U.S. Proclaimed first in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson, it did not become an official, yearly observance until President Harry Truman in 1949. The “stars and bars” have been held aloft by military and civilians since the Civil War, taken into battle, flown proudly over government buildings and draped in the windows of countless Americans since 1777. I’ve noticed recently there has been a good deal of hoopla over social media regarding...
We hear about it every day. A woman bought a car online and paid a $500 deposit only to find out the car never existed, and her money is gone. A man wired money to his son’s attorney only to find out his son hadn’t even been arrested, and his money is gone. A person bought a thoroughbred work dog only to find out the dog doesn’t exist, and their money is gone. Police chief Steve Shay explained it best. He said there is a high chance the people running internet and phone scams will never be caught. The reason? Local authorities don’t have th... Full story
"In every life a little rain must fall." ~ Longfellow Its been a long week in Hot Springs County, with rain every day, puddles and mud everywhere and lawns growing so fast it almost looks like a jungle out there. That rain put residents and travelers to the test over the weekend with mud and rock slides in Wind River Canyon closing us off from the rest of the world for a few days. "What happens to the mail?", "What if they can't get food to the grocery stores?", "What if we run out of gas?" You...
Grab your diploma, enjoy your accomplishment and buckle up for the ride that is your life. Congratulations. You graduated high school. Things get fun now. Really. Someday, who you were in high school will matter very little. The popular will lose their shine, the shy will come out of their shells and the geeks will take over the world. Whether you go to college or straight to a career, things will change. You will be making new friends, exploring new opportunities and working to become whatever...
It’s transcendence. Opening a book and recreating the way you look at the world is more than just a change of perspective – it’s an actual out of body experience. When I read a great book, I actually become the narrator. Although the narrator’s rationale and decision making may be off the beaten path for most readers, people who allow themselves to be consumed by a story reach almost a spiritual level. It’s similar to a dream, except the words don’t leave a person’s mind the moment their reading experience is done with. The philosopher M... Full story
By now we have all heard about the riots taking place in Baltimore. The police haven’t been enough to stop the rioting; the National Guard has been brought in; normal life in the streets has all but become impossible. It all started with the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who was arrested and taken into police custody. The death itself is still shrouded in mystery, but a few facts are clear. When Gray was arrested in Baltimore on April 12 he was struggling to walk. By the time he got to the police station a half an hour l... Full story
During a town council meeting Tuesday, a community member asked council members to consider making it legal to keep chickens in the backyards of residential homes in town. While this proposal may seem fantastic to some, and silly to others, the town council essentially agreed that they were going to wait to hear back from the community before they make a decision one way or the other. A petition will begin circulating soon, which will gauge the interest of people in Thermopolis to this possible new rule change. Mayor Mike Mortimore said that...
What was launched in February 2004 and claims to have more than one billion active users worldwide? Yes, the answer is Facebook, despite the fact many users have a love/hate relationship with the social networking site. There are no boundaries on this out of control time guzzler. Users can say what they want, express themselves through an unlimited number of selfies and even pretend to be a 14-year-old girl when in reality ‘Betty Sue Smith’ is actually a 43-year-old pedophile preying on our you...
