Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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by Trudy Lieberman, Rural Health News Service A few months ago came some alarming health news. “Diabetes nation? Half of Americans have diabetes or pre-diabetes,” screamed a Los Angeles Times headline. WebMD weighed in with “Diabetes a Concern for Half of Americans.” NBC News announced, “Half of Americans Have Diabetes or High Blood Sugar.” What was missing from these stories was the fact that the definition of who has the disease has been expanding, and a new disease called pre-diabetes has arisen from the changing definitions. That means,...
by Tim Summers, State Director AARP Wyoming When someone says they are family, it carries weight. It means that you have a bond, a harmony and a responsibility for other people. It does not have to be by blood, but by conviction of a kinship. There is no greater demonstration of what family means than being a caregiver. In Wyoming, more than 66,000 people personally exemplify being family each day by taking care of a loved one, whether it be their child, parent, friend, spouse or any other person that they consider family. Someone so important...
Last week, movie nominations were announced for the annual Academy Awards and Wyoming was prominent in both the nominees and the passed over movies. But first, on a recent dark and cold night (-13), I was being forced to watch “American Idol” by my wife Nancy and, as is normal in our household, I was leafing through a magazine and checking items on my iPad. The latter drives her crazy for some reason. “You need to pay attention to what’s on TV,” she might say lovingly (or not so lovingly.) While leafing through an issue of Time, it was hard not...
By Trudy Lieberman, Rural Health News Service Early in December a reader who lives in the foothills west of Denver sent me an email. “It’s scary when you go into any healthcare facility and don’t know whether to bring your check book, loan application papers, or bankruptcy processing papers,” he said. “Nobody seems to care or be concerned about it.” He wanted to know why we aren’t told all costs up front so we can make informed decisions. He had a point. When we go in for a procedure, most of the time we don’t know the total price or even what...
by Daryl L. Hunter The delisting of the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear is imminent and this we should celebrate (“dancing’’). Now that our happy dance is complete, we must insure the grizzlies’ recovery is permanent. To insure “continuity of achievement,” the grizzlies need a firewall to protect the success of this achievement from human foible. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) was formed in 1983 to help ensure recovery of viable grizzly bear populations and their habitat in the lower 48 states through interagency coordinatio...
by Bryan Golden Among other things, the holidays are a time of giving and receiving gifts. The question most often asked of people is, "what did you get?" Much less frequently asked is, "what did you give?" Invariably, the inquiries concern material gifts. Purchasing a gift can certainly be thoughtful and a wonderful gesture, especially when it's backed up by your actions. However, the most valuable presents are those that aren't sold in stores. When you give your love, your time, help someone in need, aid another in solving a problem or overco...
When a major illness or injury leaves someone in need of long-term, nearly round-the-clock care, it’s often up to a family member to step in and provide it. But research shows that the role of caregiving can lead to its own health issues, creating a significant amount of stress and strain for the caregiver. “That stress can come in many forms,” says Marylee MacDonald (www.maryleemacdonald.org), a caregiver advocate and writer whose debut novel, “Montpelier Tomorrow,” was inspired in part by her experience helping care for her son-in-la...
Director, Wyoming Dept. of State Parks and Cultural Resources Hot Springs State Park is a world-class natural, cultural and recreational resource. The landscape setting, intact river and spring water systems, history, and authentic surrounding community provide unparalleled beauty and recreation opportunities. Master Plans are important tools the parks industry uses to engage the public in setting the best future direction for individual state parks. In 1916, the first master plan was developed for Hot Springs State Park. Following this plan...
The last couple of weeks have brought unexpected and unwelcome news to millions of seniors and disabled people on Medicare. Their already high out-of-pocket costs are going to get higher. For some, premiums for Medicare Part B coverage that pays for doctor and outpatient services will go up as much as 52 percent. For everyone Part D premiums, which cover drug benefits, will increase an average of 13 percent, and everyone will see their annual Part B deductible rise from $147 to $223. These are not trivial amounts considering that half of all...
by Joey Johnson, University Extension Educator More than 6 million young people across the country will celebrate National 4-H Week, an annual celebration of 4-H during the first full week of October. Hot Springs County 4-H will leverage National 4-H Week this year to showcase the great things that 4-H offers young people and highlights the incredible youth in the community who work each day to make a positive impact on the community. This year Hot Springs County 4-H took part in the Thermopolis Octobrewfest Saturday, Sept. 26. 4-H members...
by Sue Blakey, Director Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation This week, Thermopolis citizens, almost by accident, created an old-fashioned “Chautauqua.” What’s a Chautauqua? Its history actually goes back to the 1820s, when the first American Lyceum was founded by a traveling lecturer and teacher, Josiah Holbrook. He believed education was a lifelong experience, and he hoped the traveling lyceums would provide lectures, dramatic performances, class instructions and debates to remote rural American communities. For nearly 50 years, these...
U.S. Constitution Week is the commemoration of America’s most important document. It is celebrated annually during the week of Sept. 17-23. The week is kicked off by Constitution Day Sept. 17. On that day in 1787, the U.S. Constitution was signed by 39 men who changed the course of history. Thermopolis Middle School fifth grade teacher Jessie Rode asked her students to write a short paragraph about what the Constitution means to them. TMS fifth graders recently started a unit to learn about the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution is the law. I...
Suicide continues to plague Wyoming. Year-in-and-year-out our state has one of the nation’s highest rates of suicide, often times leading the United States. Despite numerous efforts by state, city, and volunteer groups our state’s rate of death by suicide continues to grow. This can no longer be acceptable. September is Suicide Prevention Month and September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day. During the month there will be numerous opportunities and trainings to equip each of us with a better understanding of suicide and how we can beat thi...
8 has been interesting. We welcomed in the New Year with an ice jam which had the potential to create great damage and evacuations, but fortunately a temperature increase during the second night, to -15, reversed the growth of the jam and the day was saved. Memorial Day weekend it rained…and rained and rained. Flash Flood Warnings were issued from both sides of our county, and several occurred. The heavy rains which were seen here in Hot Springs County were also seen in the Wind River high country, soaking into the snowpack. Predictions for...
Each day comes bearing gifts. But not in the way you might think. I wake in anticipation of the presents they have left for me this time. “They” are not leprechauns or Santa’s elves. The gifts in question come from my kids. Yeah, I find it hard to believe myself. When I enter the kitchen each morning, I’m guaranteed at least one cardboard pizza round left over from the last night’s midnight feast. Pizza cardboard is much too valuable to toss in the trash, if they could locate the trash (which I’m not sure they could). They also leave me ch...
Earlier this year the House of Representatives passed legislation that’s supposed to fix once and for all the formula the government uses to pay doctors who treat Medicare patients. The Senate is expected to agree. The so-called doc fix legislation has been a political hot potato since the late 1990s when Congress tried to slow down healthcare costs by cutting doctor payments. The docs complained when Medicare tried to cut their payments, and 17 times Congress stopped the cuts. This time was different, though. Democrats and Republicans came tog...
When I first started a garden in the Thermopolis area many years ago, I eagerly planted my favorite perennials in the fall for spring blooming. All winter long I imagined a beautiful garden come spring, only to have my expectations dashed by the local deer population, which apparently loved my perennials as much as I did. So, I started looking around the area and questioning local residents to find out which perennials survive the local conditions. My surveys and in-garden experiments have resulted in a select group of local deer-resistant...
Mid-summer is a time to enjoy the bounties of your beautiful gardens, but the enjoyment comes at a price. Lawns, trees, flowers and vegetables are well-established and blooming. The abundance of vegetables and fruits of the gardens is peaking, veggies are ripening daily. You might experiment with some new recipes or go to a Farmers’ Market to try different produce not in your garden. However, nothing good comes without some good old-fashioned elbow grease. Here are some mid-summer chores to keep your yard and gardens beautiful and p...
A blank page can be daunting. Especially first thing on a Monday morning, which is how I usually start my week. As a columnist, it’s my job to fill the page with something – or nothing. Yeah, nothing. You read that right. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. Readers tell me they enjoy this column because I write about nothing, and they can relate to that. Most of us have a familiarity with nothing. We all have personal experience with the lack of something – which in essence is nothing – depending on your thesaurus. Because I write for...
Did you know our local Red Dirt Master Gardeners are not a garden club? The Master Gardeners are actually part of the University of Wyoming, Cooperative Extension Service (CES). The University of Wyoming (UW) is one of 106 land-grant colleges in the United States created by the Morrill Act of 1862. As a land-grant college, UW has three missions: teaching, research and extension. The CES was authorized by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 in the states having landgrant colleges as a unique partnership among the U.S. Dept of Agriculture, the land-grant...
The overwhelming conclusion to be drawn is that Wyoming’s newspapers are still the No. 1 source for news and consumer information according to results from a Pulse Research survey. “Unfortunately, many businesses have the misperception that ‘print is dead,’ said an executive summary of the results written by John Marling of Pulse Research. “The research facts clearly show that newspapers are alive and can deliver the Wyoming market for all consumer shopping categories, public notices and election decision making. Wyoming’s publishers...
It may seem a little out of season to you that I am writing a branding column considering branding season is, for the most part, over; but for those lucky few that have been recently invited to a late-season branding I offer you a piece of advice. I somewhat recently attended a neighbor’s branding. For those of you who understand the seasons of cattle management, you know what I was getting into. For those of you who don’t, let me explain: Cattle have an average gestation length of 280 day...
Many gardeners have honed their tips and tricks over the years and the Red Dirt Master Gardeners offer the following ideas. Sonja Becker’s favorite tool is the hula or stirrup hoe, named for its shape. The movable “scuffer” is easier to maneuver than a standard hoe. Use in garden rows and around plants to eliminate weeds fast. Cindi Dragon sprinkles chopped flowers and leaves of “feverfew” on cabbage plants. Feverfew repels white butterflies which, in turn, prevents green worms that devour cabbage. Judy Harvey sweetens tomatoes with sugar. Pl...
Not long ago my husband showed up with a sandwich for lunch that he bought at a local supermarket. I thought it was going to be our usual: turkey and provolone with lettuce on a hard roll, always plenty for both of us. At $6.50, how could you go wrong? This time the sandwich was different. It now cost $9.50 and was piled high with turkey and cheese on a roll that was much bigger than what we were used to. In short, it was awful—enough meat and cheese for four people on squishy bread that tasted more like a morning sweet roll. But the bigger s...
A night dedicated to fresh flowers will be held at the library on Monday June 29th at 6:30. Please, bring a vase, your fresh flowers, or use flowers provided by the library as Shelly Burrows from The Shoppe teaches us how to create amazing arrangements in the latest styles for any occasion. Call me at 864-3104 to sign up. On Monday July 6 the library will host a unique program for us to learn more about the ancient art of fiber spinning from three internationally recognized authorities. The presenters will discuss their efforts to preserve...
