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Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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I am writing to bring attention to what I believe is the inherent cruelty and danger associated with animal circuses. In my opinion, the use of wild animals in circuses not only perpetuates the exploitation and suffering of animals but also poses significant risks to the safety of the audience members. According to my research, animals in circuses are often subjected to brutal training methods, confined to cramped and unnatural living conditions, and forced to perform tricks that go against their natural behaviors. I believe this exploitation...
I am writing in response to the recent decision to deny the Stevens family the right to operate The Tipi Retreat business on their property based on zoning laws. I respect that laws must be enforced, and I am very much a follower of laws. However, I find it incredibly ironic that someone can buy a parcel of land at the bottom of Lane 12, and build a junkyard on that property while that land is zoned as what I assume is agricultural. When I look on the Wyoming Cadastral for that parcel of land, I see the mailing address is for a human at an...
On Friday, June 14, we celebrate Flag Day. Ever since September 11, 2001, we have seen more American Flags displayed at any time since World War II. Yet, if we asked the average citizen as to how Flag Day came about, they most likely would draw a blank. I thought I would take this opportunity to write this letter with the help of information from the Northwestern University Alumni Magazine, about how Flag Day came about in the hope readers would enjoy learning about something that has long been forgotten. It all started with Bernard J. Cigrand...
Governor Mark Gordon, As you know, President Biden’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced last week its intention to end all future coal leasing in the Powder River Basin– a decision in pursuit of the Biden Administration’s anti-American, anti-energy “climate crisis” agenda. The BLM’s Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) refers to the shuttering of the nation’s largest coal producers as “the no-leasing alternative,” which the agency chose while rejecting the slate of other alternatives before it (including “no ac...
Hello fellow Thermopolis residents! Most of you know me as well as my Service Dog Maui. I thought I would write this Letter to the Editor as a way to help you understand service dogs and the laws around them, specifically the ADA (American Disability Act). The questions that should be asked if it is not obvious a dog is a SD are: is the dog a service animal and required for a disability? The second question is: what work or task has the dog been trained to perform? Dogs who are wearing guide or mobility harnesses or observed directly helping...
In my opinion, we have very serious school issues here in Hot Springs County. First of all, let’s look at what happened at last week’s School Board Meeting. Those of you fortunate enough to view it before the School Board took it down should be appalled at the behavior of certain members of our HSCSD #1 board. Board Trustee Bethany Webber brought up an issue and other board members met her with accusations, belittling and intimidation towards Bethany afterward. Very hard to watch. We are constantly being told to bring anything to the board and...
School bullying is plaguing our children with ill health, causing depression, headaches, poor grades, along with the inability to focus on school work and becoming anti-social, not wanting to be part of school activities. We need more education in our schools for our children about the impact school bullying is having on fellow students along with procedures that can be taken when someone is being traumatized due to school bullying. It should never be ignored. Schools can offer citizenship awards and incentives to encourage wellness between...
Looking at the article about ‘Hot Springs State Park proposals’ in the April 18 issue of the Thermopolis Independent Record, I have some questions. I see that the contract was awarded to the bidder who scored 5,213 points out of a possible 6,000. I am curious to know what the criteria was for earning all 6,000 points; why did this bidder score so high? Was the state’s process weighted to give preference to an applicant who would propose such sweeping changes? Did the state parks commission automatically give preference to a proposal which...
As far as I know, Harriet Hagman’s visit for a Town Hall meeting was well known before the Republican Convention April 18-20 and there was a good informational notice in the I.R. Congresswoman Hageman’s meetings are very informative and a great insight into D.C.’s goings on. Yet...I find it curious and sad that so many of our “community leaders” neglected to appear or show the courtesy to attend Harriet’s town hall here. She has worked hard to represent Wyoming and the citizens of Hot Springs County…especially after the Liz Cheney debacl...
The petition at the Hot Springs County Senior Center is simply to put the question of a special district on the ballot. Then if Democracy works correctly, people vote for or against it in the August primary. This petition is only to get the word out there, get it on the ballot and the voters say yes or no in August. A district would affect only property owners. If you don’t own property, you don’t pay a thing. Property owners would pay $1.59 per month on a $100,000 home and, in my opinion, that is not much. Once it gets on the ballot, it is the...
When I moved to Shoshoni, Wyoming in 1981, the town was well known for the fantastic milkshakes and malts served at the Yellowstone Drug Store. The Yellowstone Drug Store is no longer open for business, but that’s not to say Shoshoni isn’t well known for other things. A quick visit to Wikipedia.com reveals; “The town has gained notoriety as a speed trap due to numerous references citing its aggressive enforcement of traffic laws. According to available data, the town has a 32% ticket to resident rate, suggesting a disproportionate number of tr...
To Commissioner Galovich et al.: It’s come to my attention that County Commissioners have decided that if Hot Springs County’s bid for the shooting complex is successful that it will be sited west of the Red Lane neighborhood. This was also where you were going to site the trash transfer station. My question is why are you intent on sitting noisy, noxious enterprise above a quiet housing area? I’ve heard that a rifle shot fired from the proposed site is no noisier that the train going by. While that may be true the train goes through a few t...
Last week’s paper reported that the Hot Springs County Republican Party passed three resolutions. The first, requiring a return to hand counting ballots for all elections in Wyoming, should be summarily dismissed. All studies show that the error rate for voting machines is much lower than hand counts of ballots. Hand counting ballots would make Wyoming elections less secure. If you have questions regarding the safety of our voting machines and elections processes, please visit with our County Clerk who can outline all of the election p...
The recent lawsuit against the Boys’ School is a blow to youth welfare in our state and cruel, destructive slander against some of our neighbors, in my opinion. As a former employee at WBS, I saw firsthand how dedicated WBS staff are to helping young men. The alleged physical abuse is so out of character for the men primarily mentioned as to be laughable if not so vicious. Those dorm staff put themselves in harms way each day, take grotesque verbal abuse and physical attacks, but still are dedicated to giving young offenders a last chance to b...
I am disappointed with the way the Town of Thermopolis released the officer cam video of April 28, 2023, regarding the officer-involved shooting. The video was narrated by the Town and stated the officer had permission to cite or arrest. This is misleading at best. I refer you to the October 12, 2023, Independent Record article in which the Wyoming DCI Special Agent report is given in its entirety. Clearly, the officer in question did not have permission to illegally break down a door without a warrant, as laid out in the DCI investigation....
A Visitor From The Past: by Thelen Paulk I had a dream the other night, I didn’t understand. A figure walking through the mist, with flintlock in his hand. His clothes were torn and dirty, as he stood there by my bed. He took off his three-cornered hat, and speaking low, he said: “We fought a revolution, to secure our liberty. We wrote the Constitution, as a shield from tyranny. For future generations, this legacy we gave. In this, the land of the free and home of the brave. “The freedom we secured for you, we hoped you’d always keep. But tyran...
Well the statistics are in from the Wyoming Department of Education for the 2022/2023 school year. How did our School District really do, not what we are told by our school administrators? Ralph Witters Elementary: School performance rating / small school decision – meeting expectations Achievement Target Level – below target Achievement Normal Category – below average Thermopolis Middle School either meets or exceeds expectations in all categories Thermopolis High School was overall categorized as meeting expectations although in the categ...
by Leyann Gomez Sharon Hall, Scott Brown, and Raelene Wood along with other folks of Lovell hosted the Wyoming Republican Party’s quarterly meeting at the Community Center. All of the counties were represented. Saturday’s session got off to business despite snowy conditions for attendees from Worland and Thermopolis with a tricky drive. National Committeeman Corey Steinmetz read a polished letter from Senator Barrasso to the gathering. State Committeewoman Carla Klopfenstein from Sheridan read a letter from Congresswoman Harriet Hageman, who ha...
The purpose of this letter to the editor is to clarify several points about our rights under the constitution. The First Amendment reads “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” What does this mean? England has a church religion, the Church of England. The United States does not allow for such a state faith. This law, however, has been interpreted by some as the “freedom from religion,” or the separation of church and state. Recently, our current President spoke from the pul...
I would like to address a few behaviors that have bothered me for some time. First is drivers spinning “cookies” on roads and parking and pullout areas. This tears up the surface, and these areas become mud holes in wet weather. In some places this occurs off-road and destroys vegetation as well. As a related item, some drivers pull off the road to test their 4WD vehicles in snow and mud. Ruts in the soil never go away. Another item is littering in general, especially by recreational target shooters. Please pick up your spent cartridge cas...
At the December School Board meeting I had requested to speak on a few Academic issues but was told that I could only speak on ‘agenda items’. I was told that although the Board Meeting was open to the public it was “Not a Public Meeting” whereas State Statute 16-4-403 states that all meetings are public meetings. Surprising that after being on the board for so many years they did not know that. OK, then public media will have to be our means of informing the public on issues. First of all, let me say that anyone with moderate internet researc...
Weston county hosted the latest quarterly state GOP meeting recently in historic and scenic Newcastle. The Friday evening dinner was a chuckwagon style affair followed by a local singer with a great voice. A “refugee” from California had the crowd laughing at his simple Will Rogers style of humor & stories. There was a competitive Jeopardy style contest based on quotes from an array of our nation’s forefathers. Saturday was down to business for each county’s Republican Chairman and State Committeeman and woman. Approximately twenty of the cou...
This is a follow up to my letter to the editor that ran in the October 5 issue. Let us love in deed and truth Truth in in The Word “Censure not Censor” To ‘censor’ means to remove, block, or interfere with the communication of another. To ‘censure’, on the other hand, means “to find fault with and criticize as blameworthy.” When I wrote to “Censure in love”, my intent is not to Censor others, or prohibit their opinion, because it is judged objectionable, but to be true to the “Truth in The Word”. I ask all, to show kindness and love in wh...
The October 5th Edition of the Thermopolis Independent Record was full of useful, timely information and should there be a statewide or national award for local news reporting of newspapers of our subscription size, I would suggest the October 5th Edition be submitted for consideration. We learned that we have a recognized prodigy debate coach in Lyle Wiley teaching in our High School, meaning our community is unique in having a gifted potential advisor on all community decision making processes, and we should invite his critique and continued...
The October 5th Edition of the Thermopolis Independent Record was full of useful, timely information and should there be a statewide or national award for local news reporting of newspapers of our subscription size, I would suggest the October 5th Edition be submitted for consideration. We learned that we have a recognized prodigy debate coach in Lyle Wiley teaching in our High School,meaning our community is unique in having a gifted potential advisor on all community decision making processes, and we should invite his critique and continued...
