Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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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...
Dear Hot Springs County Community: I am writing this letter to the editor to share what has been put on my heart by the Holy Spirit. We are blessed to have been a part of this community since April 2005. Yes, we do consider our selves to be new comers, but have always felt welcome. Having been adopted as “strays” with no blood family ties in Wyoming. We have tried to be a positive addition to this wonderful Wyoming city/ town. Volunteering, lending our hands and hearts to those in need, and putting our efforts into groups, clubs and boa...
The following is a letter submitted to the Hot Springs County Commissioners. Dear Commissioners: I had the great pleasure of attending the recent Gottsche Fundraising Event at your Fair Building on Saturday, September 16th. My congratulations to all of the organizers and volunteers for a job well done. It was an excellent event which I hope to enjoy in years to come. I was shocked when I and others were leaving the building after 9:00pm to see how dark and dangerous the parking lot was. The single light over the door was totally insufficient...
On August 15, I wrote a letter to the Hot Springs County Commissioners requesting them to do what I believe is right and moral concerning Michael and Michele Stevens’ Tipi Retreat on the Stevens’ property. The courts had remanded the case back to the County Commissioners. I feel this essentially gave the County Board of Commissioners another chance to do what I believe is the right thing. The August 15 meeting agenda included an item called “Approval of Specific Findings by Board Upon Remand by District Court”. The day before the meeting...
In last week’s Thermopolis Independent Record’s “On the record” section, there was a call regarding a profane flag flying but the deputy determined that it can remain up due to First Amendment protections. While the United States Constitution protects our freedom of speech, there are limits on obscene speech. The Wyoming Constitution also guarantees Wyomingites the right to free speech. However, obscenity is an exception. Wyoming Statute, WY Stat § 6-4-301, states “Obscene’ is material which the average person would find: (A) Applying contempor...
I would like to say that Thermopolis has a Real Hometown hero in a gentle man who kept people coming to this small community year after year and telling their friends and family of the ‘Little Secret’ they discovered at the north end of the Wind River Canyon drive. (Another secret unto itself!) After being here for over 15 years and quietly watching him perform his daily duties, sometimes against extreme situations, dealing with weather, animals and yes, even other people, I would say he had a very stressful position for many years. When you ne...
I am concerned with the teens in our county. It seems this suicide trend is just that, a trend toward destruction. This little note is worthy of publication. A pastor was asked to speak to an audience of 150 teens. He pulled out a crisp $20 bill and asked, “Who wants this $20 bill?” All 150 teens nodded. He said, “I am going to give this money to someone, but first....” He then proceeded to crumple up the bill and asked the crowd again if anyone wanted it. All 150 hands went up in the air. The pastor then dropped the money on the floor and sto...
We’d like to respond to and expound upon the article about the HSCRWJPB meeting on April 20th to clarify Owl Creek Water District’s (OCWD) position and provide some important information. We are also concerned that some of the language used, without providing this information, could make one think that OCWD’s level 2 study is a “bad thing” in conflict with the JPB’s effort to apply for the Lysite Wells. For example, the word “sabotage” used in the article could convey a negative perception. We can assure you that Owl Creek is not trying to sabo...
Thank you to all the supporters of the Limited Urban Agriculture program. From the local 4H and FFA, the Wyoming University extension office and the individual members of the community who supported and gave wisdom toward this effort. We have partnered this proposal with the hope that people and organizations within this community would step up while lending their strengths to the effort, and they have. We’d also like to thank the city council and the mayor for their receptivity to this process. This plan was examined, scrutinized and a...
I’ve fact checked just three items Hageman had listed in her lengthy article, and each one is false. Although President Joe Biden tapped into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) he did NOT sell the oil to China. The SPR is a reserve of crude oil maintained by the United States government for emergency situations. The President CAN authorize the release of oil from the SPR to alleviate a supply shortage or price spike. The SPR has been tapped multiple times in the past by previous administrations for various reasons. Regarding selling SPR o...
At the next city council meeting our new city council is poised to pass an ordinance to allow farm animals in town. Residents of Thermopolis your voices need to be heard. At my parents’ ranch we had all these animals and more. People that were acquainted with my mother (Ellen) knew she was to the ranch what Noah was to the Ark. She had chickens, goats, ducks, geese, pigs and whatever else she could coax in. During lambing and calving seasons, she would leave the ranch in her pickup and show back up with bum lambs and calves riding next to her....
