Thanks a million

"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 suddenly think of a million things you can't do without if, perchance, you're cut off from civilization.

Even here at the Independent Record we were scrambling to make alternative arrangements to have the paper printed, not knowing if we'd be able to get to Riverton and back like we normally do.

You'll notice, there's no Extra in this week's paper, including the TV Guide, because we had to print elsewhere, but everything should be back to normal next week.

Luckily, we have some amazing people around here that jumped in with both feet to ensure we didn't stay cut off for long.

Let's all extend a hearty "thank you" to the WYDOT crews who worked through their own holiday weekend to move tons of debris off the road.

And while we're at it, the Sheriff's department deserves a pat on the back for helping out with the flooding in the county, the police department was on scene in East Thermop when the water came pouring down Spring Creek and Emergency Management personnel stepped up to coordinate it all.

Search and Rescue crews were called to action along with Road and Bridge, each one giving up family time to keep us safe.

Dispatch deserves a standing ovation for keeping everyone headed in the right direction and for answering the same question a million and two times, "Is the canyon open yet?"

How fortunate we are to be surrounded by these remarkable people.

So while I sit here, happily sipping my pomegranate green tea that arrived at the grocery store without delay, I say "Thank You!"