A look back at the year in Hot Springs County

Here is a look at the second of the year in review in Hot Springs County. The first half ran in the December 27 issue.

July

July 5 — Local attorney Michael Messenger was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association convention in Cody on June.

Messenger is finishing his 43rd year as a practicing attorney, all of which have been in Thermopo- lis as he came here during the Pag- eant Day weekend in 1975. Except for four years as the Hot Springs Coun- ty and prosecuting attorney from 1978- 82, he said, he’s “al- ways been on the criminal defense side of that part of the law.”

July 12 — There has been much speculation over the last few years as to the fate of the Klink Building on the corner of Fifth Street and Broadway.

Amanda Moeller, CEO of the Economic Development Company (EDC), provided us withan inside peek at the building.

Two of the storefronts on the Broadway side of the build- ing were spruced up on the outside a few years ago, but on the inside there is still a lot of work to be done.

July 19 — The Hot Springs County Commissioners released their final budget after a brief public meeting at noon on Monday.

Total requirements for the 2018-2019 budget year is just shy of $12 million dol- lars, a $1.7 million dollar increase over last year. Just $1.5 million had to be moved from cash reserves to meet the required amount.

Most of the line items remained the same, such as the treasurer’s budget, assessor, county attorney, coroner, court house, road and bridge, fair, the health officer, library and planner.

July 26 — Tuesday evening at the Hot Springs County Government Annex, a draft report prepared by DOWL was presented in regard to alternative sources for water in the county. Many of those in attendance were members of the recently formed Hot Springs County Rural Water District Joint Powers Board.

Jeffrey Rosenlund with DOWL explained a study was done to develop an additional source water supply in the county and evaluate options to supply the districts around Thermopolis. There had been previous studies, he noted, and they wanted to capitalize on that information.

August

Aug. 2 — Hugo A. Luna pleaded not guilty — through an interpreter — to felony charges of first-degree attempted murder and kidnapping.

The charges stem from a Friday, April 13 incident, during which Luna allegedly attempted to kill a woman who he had been traveling with for several days. The woman was found along the side of the road, and upon being interviewed said she became suspicious of Luna when he wasn’t stopping in populated areas and did not allow her access to her phone. She also observed a mattress with blood on it in the sleeping area of Luna’s truck.

Aug. 9 — A total of five people have been arrested on drug-related felony charges, with one bust believed by Hot Springs County Sergeant Deputy Jeremie Kraushaar to be the biggest in the county for meth.

Kraushaar reported he had received information previously that Tyler Kihlstrom was returning from Utah with a large quantity of methamphetamine. The information was provided to Probation and Parole, which re- ported Kihlstrom had not appeared for his last scheduled appearance. That, Kraushaar said, provided him the authority to do a traffic stop and search on Kihlstrom’s vehicle on Aug. 1.

Aug. 16 — National FFA Organization announced on Friday, Aug. 4 that Jessie Pennoyer of Thermopolis was selected as a national finalist or the National FFA Proficiency Award in Beef Production-Placement. Pennoyer is one of only four people chosen to compete for this award at the national finals to be held at the 91st National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis Oct. 24-27.

The proficiency awards recognize outstanding stu- dent achievement in agribusiness gained through establishment of a new business, working for an existing company or otherwise gaining hands-on career experience.

Aug. 23 — The Hot Springs County Commissioners heard the results of the Big Horn Regional Southern Supply Level II Study on Tuesday afternoon which presented some interesting numbers should the town and county switch from surface based water to a well.

DOWL and WESTON completed the study, looking at two possible well options, Buffalo Creek Well #2 and the Lysite Mountain Well.

Aug. 30 — Though the Primary Election decided a lot of races locally and statewide, some on the town and county level are still undecided.

Primary Election results show Mike Chimenti won the Mayor of Thermopolis race with 449, but because this is a nonpartisan race the top two candidates will move on to the General Election. That means incumbent Mike Mortimore, who received the next highest number of votes with 273, will be on the General Election ballot.

Similarly, the Thermopolis Town Council race is also nonpartisan. Because there are two seats available, the top four candidates move on to the General.

Though incumbents John Dorman Sr. and Tony Larson received the most votes — Dorman with 584, Larson with 451 — candidates Krista Raymond, who received 339 votes, and John Fish, who received 284, will also be on the ballot for the General Election.

September

Sept. 6 — With the retirement of Fifth Judicial District Court Honorable Judge Robert E. Skar in October, a decision was made by Governor Matthew Mead to appoint attorney Bobbi Overfield to the fill the vacancy.

Born and raised in Riverton, Overfield grew up on the farm owned by her family, the Carl- sons. She attended the University of Wyoming, completing her undergraduate work in 1999 with a degree in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management, then earning her JD at the UW College of Law in 2002. She took a job the same year with Corthell and King, a law firm in Laramie, as the city prosecutor.

She explained the firm had a general practice and was contracted to do the city’s prosecution, similar to what is done in Thermopolis.

Sept. 13 — Will Farrell of Thermopolis, a two-time national college bull riding champion, will be among the eight former Chadron State College athletes inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame this fall. The ceremonies will be at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27 following the Eagles’ football game with New Mexico Highlands.

Fellow national bull riding champion Dustin Elliott, four football players and two basketball players are the other inductees. All were standouts at CSC around the turn of the century.

Sept. 20 — The THS Bobcat Golf Team attended the State 2A High School Golf Tournament last weekend in Newcastle and came home as the new State 2A Boys Champions.

The scoring conditions were way harder than when they played there three weeks ago, but they were harder for everyone, and by the end of the tournament the Thermopolis boys team of Hardy Johnson, Jeffry Clark, Will Clark, Kyle Roessing and Lee Grimm came out with a hard fought win.

Sept. 27 — AARP Wyoming announced Tuesday that Thermopolis resident Kay Bjorklund has been named the Andrus Award winner for the State of Wyoming.

Bjorklund was one of three finalists for the award, along with Jody Lowe of Laramie, and Judy Weickum of Cheyenne. In all, nine Wyomingites were nominated for the award with the finalists being announced in September through a series of videos on Facebook documenting the work of the finalists.

October

Oct. 4 — At Tuesday evening’s Thermopolis Town Council meeting, Byron Williams brought forth concerns regarding animals in the Grandview trailer park; Williams recently became an assistant manager for the park, and is concerned the police don’t want to enforce ordinances there.

Police Chief Steve Shay added Williams is speaking specifically to those ordinances regarding animals at large. He pointed out they do enforce the ordinances regarding vicious animals, but not those regarding dogs at large. He explained the ordinance states a dog has to leave a property to be considered “at large,” and trailer parks are considered as singular pieces of property with one owner and people lease or sublet space within the park to live.

Oct. 11 — According to a report released last Thursday by the Economic Analysis Division of the Wyoming Department of Administration and Information, Hot Springs County experienced a 12.3 percent increase in taxable sales from the second quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2018. The figures are based on sales and use tax collections.

Oct. 18 — During Tuesday nights meeting, the Thermopolis Town Council — with Mayor Mike Mortimore absent — approved the third and final reading of Ordinance 854, with an effective date of Nov. 1.

The ordinance amends Chapter 4 of the town code, updating fines and fees as well as providing definitions for “bit or bitten” and “dangerous animal” and adding language for domesticated animals which are bitten.

Among the fee changes is the increase from $5 to $50 per head of impounded animals and from $3 to $30 per head for sustenance of said animals.

Oct. 25 — Those who weren’t sure as to why there were so many sirens and lights in Thermopolis on Saturday night with no sign of fires or accidents, it was to welcome home our Thermopolis Cross Country runners from State competition in Sheridan, and to congratulate the girls team, which was named the Class 2A champions for Wyoming.

On top of being named state champs, three of our girls — Tahja Hunt, McKenna Bo- mengen and Olivia Weyer — were selected by the Wyoming Coaches’ Association as All-State in Cross Country.

November

Nov. 1 — Approximately 125 concerned citizens filled the basement of the Wyoming Pioneer Home last week as the Joint Appropriations Committee (JAC) once again put the facility on the chopping block to fulfill their budget cuts.

Department of Health Director Tom Forslund addressed the JAC, reminding them the Department of Health oversees five facilities in the State of Wyoming and were asked to cut $90 million from the Department’s budget.

Nov. 8 — Shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday night, unofficial election results were released from the Hot Springs County Clerk’s office.

Locally, we will be represented in House District 28 by John R. Winter who will begin as the junior legislator at the first of the year. Jack Baird will join Tom Ryan and Phil Scheel as the newest Hot Springs County Commissioner.

Jill Logan will be serving as the new Hot Springs County Attorney.

Jerimie Kraushaar won the sheriff’s position in spite of 696 write in votes.

Mike Chimenti is our new Mayor for Thermopolis.

Two incumbents retained their seats on the Thermopolis Town Council, John Dorman, Sr. and Tony Larson.

There will be two new faces on the Board of Trustees for Hot Springs County School District No.1, Rick Engelbrecht and Ronda Freel. They will be joined by incumbent Jennifer Axtell.

Nov. 15 — Thursday, Nov. 8, was an emotional day for Bobbi Overfield, as she was joined by colleagues, friends and family – many who were a surprise for her – during her official robing as District Judge of the Fifth Judicial District. Overfield officially began in the position in October, selected by the Judicial Nominating Committee (JNC) to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge Robert Skar.

Nov. 22 — The number of deer seen in town will start to decrease as the Thermopolis Police Department begins it’s regular culling of the animals.

Sergeant Pat Cornwell said the Wyoming Game and Fish provides the department with 30 permits, in order to cull 30 deer within the town limits. He added they are only allowed to cull does, and will perform the service on two separate occasions.

While culling, Cornwell said, the officers will not be in uniform and will likely be in their personal vehicles. They will also carry rifles, but will have badges for identification.

Nov. 29 — During their Tuesday, Nov. 20 meeting the Thermopolis Town Council, with Mayor Mike Mortimore absent, heard from Kevin Simpson about his concerns of the mess turkeys are making on a property he is caring for on Cedar Ridge.

Game warden Benge Brown provided some history of turkeys in the area. In the winter of 2007 or early 2008 the Game and Fish Department put turkeys in the lower part of Owl Creek but those animals later moved into town.

December

Dec. 6 — The Hot Springs County High School Drama Team took first place in 2A at the State Drama Festival this past week- end in Rock Springs. Twenty-four students traveled and com- peted against students from around the state of Wyoming.

In addition to the first place award, they also had six students receive All- State Medals and 19 students receive Honorable Mention awards.

Dec. 13 — The Wyoming Coaches Association recently named Thermopolis cross country coach Stephanie Metz and golf coach Joey Johnson as Coaches of the Year for the 2018 fall sports season.

Dec. 20 — The Hot Springs County Commissioners met on Tuesday afternoon with Ed Luhm, the incoming magistrate for Hot Springs County, parts of Park County and Washakie County.

Luhm, an attorney out of Worland, wanted to assure the commissioners he plans on advocating for a full-time magistrate for Hot Springs County.

He will have a large area to cover and does not feel the rights of those arrested will be served fairly if he is not able to get to Thermopolis in a speedy manner. His feeling is the efficiency of the system outweighs everything else.

Dec. 27 — The Hot Springs County Land Use Planning Commission heard a request for a land use change from Howard and Belenda Willson at their meeting on Wed., Dec. 19, asking for a 15-acre parcel of their property be changed from agricultural to industrial.

Presented as the “Willson Third Land Use Change,” the acreage in question has been industrial previously, then changed back to agricultural, making this the third requested change for the same plot.