Articles from the April 26, 2017 edition


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  • Tax payoff date extended

    David Martin, Editor|Apr 26, 2017

    It isn’t a secret that sales tax revenues in Sweetwater County have continually declined during the past few years. Both the Green River and Rock Springs municipal governments have had to cut their budgets due to reduced sales-tax revenue, however sales tax isn’t only impacting cities in Sweetwater County. Reduced sales tax income has also resulted in a change to when the county can end its specific use sales tax. In 2012, county voters approved a 1 percent specific purpose sales tax, com...

  • Official abstains from vote

    David Martin, Editor|Apr 26, 2017

    A county voucher approved to pay a company owned and operated by a Sweetwater County Commissioner illustrates how a politician’s personal business can get involved with the politician’s public office. Last week, the commissioners voted to approve a voucher submitted by Alpha Petroleum, a company owned and operated by Commissioner John Kolb, for $967.83. The voucher was approved with a 4-0 vote, with Kolb abstaining. Kolb’s company specializes in petroleum contracting work. According to Gene Lege...

  • GR man will serve jail time

    Stephanie Thompson, People Editor|Apr 26, 2017

    A man who was accused of sexual intrusion and hitting the victim in the face will serve a year in jail. Austin W. Pacheco, 24, of Green River, recently appeared in the Third District Court of Judge Richard Lavery at a change of plea and sentencing hearing to first-degree sexual assault, third-degree sexual assault, battery and reckless endangering. The sexual assault charges are felonies, while the battery and reckless endangering charges are misdemeanors. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the...

  • Hospital district in good fiscal health

    David Martin, Editor|Apr 26, 2017

    Castle Rock Hospital District’s financial health continues to improve, with the district $150,000 higher than it was at this time last year. “We’re doing well by any measure,” Chief Financial Officer Todd Toolson said during the district board of trustees meeting Tuesday night. Toolson said the hospital district’s days of cash on hand, a measure of funding reserves calculating how long the district could survive without any income, are expected to be at 67 days by the end of April, the distr...

  • Daggett County Sheriff resigns from office

    Staff Report|Apr 26, 2017

    Daggett County Sheriff Jerry Jorgensen resigned from his post Sunday after an investigation into allegations of prisoner mistreatment at the Daggett County Jail. According to a media release from the Daggett County Sheriff’s Office, Jorgensen’s resignation was voluntary. “Sheriff Jorgensen’s resignation was completely voluntary. It came because of his desire to help the county move forward in the process with Utah Department of Corrections to return inmates to the Daggett County Jail,” the release stated. “He felt a clean break with a new sheri...

  • Fronzen in place

    Apr 26, 2017

  • Amy Elizabeth Miller

    Apr 26, 2017

    Amy Elizabeth Miller, 47, of Rock Springs, passed away April 15, 2017, at her home. She had been a resident of Rock Springs for the past eight years and former resident of Billings, Mont. She was born on June 11, 1969, in Mansfield, Ohio, the daughter of Kenneth Newman and Nancy Jean Hicks. Miller attended schools in Ohio and was a Willard High School Graduate with the class of 1987. She married Lee Michael Miller in Billings Nov. 27, 1992. Her interests included spending time with her family,...

  • Lavanetta (Neta) Forbes Waters

    Apr 26, 2017

    Lavanetta (Neta) Forbes Waters, 78, of Rock Springs, passed away April 17, 2017, at the University of Utah Medical Center. A lifelong resident of Rock Springs, Waters had been in ill health the past three months. She was born on Nov. 13, 1938, in Rock Springs, the daughter of Jackson R. and Kathryn "Katie" Medill Forbes. Waters attended school in Rock Springs and was a 1957 graduate of the Rock Springs High School. She went on to college and obtained her bachelor's degree in mathematics from...

  • Michelle Nuttall

    Apr 26, 2017

    Michelle Nuttall, 46, of Rock Springs, passed away April 22, 2017, at Intermountain Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, Utah. She had been a resident of Rock Springs since 2005 and former resident of Gillette. She was born March 7, 1971, in Denver, the daughter of Jim and Lila Nelson Turner. Nuttall attended schools in Batesville, Ark., and was a 1989 graduate of the Batesville High School. She married Terry Nuttall in Lake Village, Ark., Feb. 25, 1999. Her interests included spending time with her...

  • Michael Allen Cheeseman

    Apr 26, 2017

    Michael Allen Cheeseman, 66, of Rock Springs passed away April 18, 2017, at Sageview Care Center. A longtime resident of Rock Springs, Cheeseman died following a lengthy illness. He was born Oct. 19, 1950, in Washington, D.C., the son of Robert James Cheeseman and Shirley Catherine Dowden. Cheeseman attended schools in Alamagordo, N.M., and later obtained his G.E.D. He was a United States Navy veteran. Cheeseman was employed as an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas. He was an artist and enjoyed...

  • Notes from Town Square: Our heritage and the 844

    Brie Blasi, Green River Historic Preservation Commission|Apr 26, 2017

    As many people saw (or heard), the Union Pacific’s “Living Legend” 844 steam engine barreled into downtown Green River town once again last Wednesday. Although the 844 has made many appearances in Green River over the years, it always draws a crowd. If you didn’t get a good look at it while it overnighted in Rock Springs or stopped in Green River, you’ll have a chance to see it on its return trip Thursday at approximately 1:30 p.m. Even if you missed seeing it, chances are you heard its famously resounding horn as it announced its arrival....

  • Our View: We need a great bison barbecue

    Apr 26, 2017

    Great ideas tend to come out of nowhere. They’re the sort of inspirations that strike like lightening and linger on afterward. Recently, an idea came to our attention that could be something the local chambers of commerce, Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism and maybe both cities should look into. Certain regions of the U.S. are known for large gatherings where people cook a local specialty. New England is known for its clam bake and some locations in Alaska host a salmon bake. Green River even hosts is own cajun shrimp boil during the a...

  • The devil and Donald Trump, a political analogy

    Tom Gagnon, Guest Columnist|Apr 26, 2017

    Jabez Stone was a New Hampshire farmer. The time was before the Civil War. Things weren’t going well for him. Boulders emerged in his fields, his potatoes got the blight, his corn went to the borers, his horse got spavins, his wife and children were sick, and he couldn’t afford to feed them. Working hard in his field he broke his expensive and new plowshare. Emotionally struck, he swooned down to the earth on his hands and knees and cried, “I vow it’s enough to make a man want to sell his soul to the devil!” Soon a tall, thin man alighted...

  • Letter: Energy assistance program on the chopping block

    Apr 26, 2017

    Dear Editor, Are you aware that the proposed federal budget calls for the elimination of the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP)? This is the program that keeps many Wyoming residents warm in the winter. Earlier this year, the State of Wyoming legislature eliminated its usual additional funding for this program. Between the federal and state budget cuts, this translates to zero help for people in need of winter home heating assistance. I recently spoke with Brenda Ilg about this issue. Ms. Ilg is the LIEAP program manager for the...

  • Letter: Trump was a good choice for President

    Apr 26, 2017

    Dear Editor, I was going to laugh at Tom Gagnon’s op-ed piece bashing Trump and Wyoming for voting for him, but then I realized it wasn’t satire. It was apparently an article written in all seriousness. It was interesting that he glossed over The Clinton imperfections as allegations with no specifics. He then went on to detail many of the supposed imperfections and wrong-doings of President Trump as if they were all fact. Some may be. But, even if they are they pale in comparison to Bill Clinton’s extra-curricular activities inside the White...

  • GR students attend Earth Day event

    Stephanie Thompson, People Editor|Apr 26, 2017

    Bus load after bus load of kids were dropped off at Expedition Island for the city's Earth Day celebration. Students from kindergarten through sixth grade hurried into the pavilion for a chance to complete numerous Earth-Day related projects. The pavilion was packed to capacity with children going from booth to booth completing projects. One booth encouraged children to bring an old T-shirt, which was used to make a T-shirt bag or converted into a tank top. The students learned where to cut the...

  • Residents have fun at dance

    Stephanie Thompson, People Editor|Apr 26, 2017

    About 100 residents recently attended a dinner and dance event at the senior center. Friday night the Golden Hour Senior Center's dining room was packed with residents ready to eat a delicious meal, which was then followed by dancing. "I thought the dance went really well," marketing and activities coordinator Barbara Bates said. This time the event did have one minor glitch. Bates said the vocalist they had scheduled to perform couldn't make it because she was sick. However, one of the members...

  • GR fourth graders turn into wax

    Stephanie Thompson, People Editor|Apr 26, 2017

    The Jackson Elementary School gym was lined with students dressed like historical Wyoming figures. The fourth-grade students, who were portraying the historical figures, were not moving because they were pretending to be made out of wax. Next to the students, were posters filled with information about the person, place, animal or thing they were dressed up to be. Fourth-grade teachers Maria Anderson, Amy Gilmore, Joe Morgheim, Sarah Wright instructed their students look through their Wyoming...

  • Students fare well at state art symposium

    Staff Report|Apr 26, 2017

    Staff Report Green River High School art teachers Denise Mosley, Shane Steiss and Sonja Higgins are impressed with how their students did at the Wyoming High School State Art Symposium. “We had another great year with some talented artists who took 153 pieces to display at the Casper Events Center this past weekend,” Mosley said. Green River artists were among 75 other high schools who displayed 4261 pieces of art ranging in size from small drawings to 10 foot tall sculptures. “As a school we were awarded 52 ribbons for our work,” Mosley...

  • Wolves stay strong at home meet

    Pete Rust, Contributor|Apr 26, 2017

    Nine teams from Southwest Wyoming came to host Green River for competition on the Wolves' home turf. Teams participating came from Rock Springs, Evanston, Lander, Pinedale, Lyman, Big Piney, Hanna-Elk Mountain, Farson/Eden and Encampment. The teams competed last Friday in strong winds and cold weather not the ideal weather for great times and distances. Green River's exceptional performances on the day came from top four finishers Lauren Hoyt, who placed fourth in the 100 meters, Mariyah Brady,...

  • Girls breeze past RS

    Stephanie Thompson, People Editor|Apr 26, 2017

    The Green River High School Lady Wolves Soccer team took a bite out of their biggest rivals for another win. On Saturday the Lady Wolves traveled to Rock Springs to take on the Lady Tigers. It was a close, tough game, but in the end the Lady Wolves came out on top 2-1. Head coach Tracy Wyant said the team worked hard all week to prepare for the game and it paid off. “We want to be diversified in our attack,” Wyant said. “When we have opportunities we want to capitalize on them.” Prior to goin...

  • Stoeger signs with LCCC

    David Martin, Editor|Apr 26, 2017

    Green River High School senior Taylor Stoeger has decided to continue playing soccer at the junior college level, recently signing with Laramie County Community College. During a short letter-of-intent signing ceremony Thursday, Stoeger’s soccer coach, Tracy Wyant, joked about not wanting Stoeger to go. “I think maybe we should hold her back,” Wyant said. Wyant said Stoeger has been a leader, captain and play maker for the Lady Wolves, serving as a core member of her team. Wyant said the team...