Sorted by date Results 1551 - 1575 of 2479
While school districts in the county grapple with the possibility of funding cuts, the cities are breathing a sigh of relief. Since June, sales tax revenues collected has increased from previous months. At the beginning of May, collections for the 2012 specific purpose sales tax, commonly referred to as the sixth penny tax, were listed at $1.06 million. In June, those receipts increased to $1.3 million and remained at that level throughout the summer months. Revenues jumped to $1.8 million at...
The Green River Police Department is investigating several burglaries occurring within the city during the past several weeks. Burglaries recently occurred at Castle Rock Veterinary Center and Club 86, both of which were reported Oct. 25. The Green River Fraternal Order of Eagles, American Legion, The Hitching Post and the Embassy Tavern have all been burglarized during the past few months. Similar burglaries have been reported in Kemmerer, Evanston and Laramie, as well as other locations across...
A few more elk have been reportedly poached, with two cow elk killed in Hunt Area 100, about a mile and a half north west of Exit 136 on I-80, along Black Butte Road. The two elk were found and reported Oct. 25 and were believed to have been shot early that morning or the night before. “Both elk carcasses were less than 100 yards from the road; one was easily visible on top of a small hill and the other was a short distance away in some brush,” Andy Roosa, a game warden with the Wyoming Dep...
Braving cold temperatures and high winds, a group of Boy Scouts learned about ham radio Saturday morning. Situated by the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce, Rick Breininger of the Sweetwater Amateur Radio Club spoke with Scouts about ham radio and its importance in emergency management during the 60th Annual Jamboree on the Air. The jamboree allows scouts to earn a radio merit badge and contact other Scouts across the U.S. Breininger said he hopes scouts may develop an interest in ham radio and...
The Sweetwater County Fire Department, along with firefighters from other jurisdictions, battled a 400-acre wildland fire east of Rock Springs Sunday evening. According to Mike Bournazian, the county's fire warden, the fire was located along the railroad tracks between Interstate 80 mile markers 152 and 158. It started when a railroad crew was cutting rail as part of the track maintenance. "Even with all their precautions in place, it only took one spark in 50 mph winds with low relative humidit...
More instances of poaching have occurred during the past week in Southwest Wyoming, with three more elk reportedly poached near Little Mountain. According to information from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Game Warden Gary Boyd is seeking information regarding the elk kills, which took place sometime around Oct. 10 in Elk Hunt Areas 30 and 31. “One trophy-class, mature bull elk was shot and left on Sage Creek and two cow elk were shot and left near Firehole Canyon. All three elk were s...
One of the aspects of living in Sweetwater County is the inevitable challenge of eating at a restaurant within a month of it opening. For that month or so, service to any brand-new eating establishment is similar to what one expects in Salt Lake City or Denver, with wait times of about half an hour from when the party arrives to when they’re seated. As we all know, that’s a rarity for any restaurant in Rock Springs or Green River, let alone any location in Wyoming outside of Jackson Hole or Che...
Students upset with enforcement of Green River High School’s dress code voiced their disapproval to the Sweetwater County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees last week. Samantha Hardin, a junior at GRHS, said dress code enforcement has become a growing problem for students, saying girls throughout the school have been told to cover up and wear different clothing. She said students face detention for failing to adhere to those requests. She said the issue has been most prevalent for girls w...
A series of discussions between school district officials and residents regarding the proposed closure of Jackson Elementary School Tuesday resulted in other options being brought to the table. Many of those options, according to Superintendent Donna Little-Kaumo, aren’t great replacements. According to information presented to residents, other options that could make up $1.4 million the district would save by closing the Jackson building include killing the art, music and physical education p...
Celebrating the county’s sesquicentennial anniversary, residents gathered in front of the Sweetwater County Courthouse Tuesday evening for the unveiling of a monument dedicated to the county’s 150th year. Brie Blasi, executive director of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum, said the county’s 150th anniversary is a very special event, which attracted people from South Pass City, the county’s first county seat, as well as residents from throughout Sweetwater County. “I’m happy so many people...
“I couldn’t believe someone would do that,” Green River Fire Chief Mike Nomis said. “It’s disappointing.” The fire department was recently used by a scammer, who called residents and claimed to be soliciting donations to the department. The GRFD does have a foundation, which Nomis said only solicits through the mail. They never call residents. “That’s the only time we solicit for donations,” Nomis said. Scams are nothing new for residents of Green River and Sweetwater County. Residents have re...
For some, terror comes in the form of the eldritch horrors imaged by H. P. Lovecraft or the most grotesque creatures dreamed up in Hollywood, while others may fear abduction by aliens and the unknowable body experiments they conduct. For my two-year-old nephew, terror comes in the form of the Toast Ghost, the spirit of a piece of toast my nephew presumably ate at some point. Toast Ghost floats around my sister’s house at night, keeping my nephew awake with the horrible sounds of crunching b...
A group of middle-school aged library patrons played a card game Thursday, helping bring the Halloween spirit to the Sweetwater County Library. The patrons played Werewolf, a game that challenges players to deduce which players are the werewolves in the group. Players are handed cards detailing their role as a villager or a werewolf. The werewolves choose a villager as their victim each night with the villagers attempting to root out the werewolves during the day. Library employees spun a story...
The Green River High School football team brushed themselves off following a defeat from the Evanston Red Devils and scored a commanding 26-7 victory in Powell Friday night. Green River dominated the much of the game, but had some difficulties scoring off of their possessions. The Wolves led the game 7-0 at the half, but had its defensive line completely shut down Powell's running game. Powell's offensive line struggled with snapping the ball, forcing them into making several offensive errors....
Dear Editor, I am writing in response to the Sweetwater County Commissioners and their uncalled for comments toward the former board members of the hospital board. When Commissioner (John) Kolb publicly calls these honorable, unpaid servants corrupt, while the other commissioners sit silently, this is uncalled for. Many of the Sweetwater County Commissioners have known the hospital board members for years and know that Mr. Kolb’s comments were unwarranted. I have personally known Artis Kalivas for over 50 years and he has done nothing but h...
For anyone whose read the columns I’ve written on the page over the past year, it’s easy to say I’ve developed a fascination with YouTube, arguably the internet’s most popular video hosting website. There’s a lot to see on almost any topic a person can think of. Want to check out what the street food scene looks like in Bangkok or Los Angeles? What about watching a man build a primitive hut with only the most basic of tools? Want to take a tour of a hand-made Christmas putz in the middle of...
Facing another round of budgetary cuts from the Wyoming Legislature and declining enrollment in its elementary schools, a Green River school was recommended for closure Tuesday evening. Superintendent Donna Little-Kaumo recommended closing Jackson Elementary School to the Sweetwater County School District No. 2 board, saying a combination of the building’s condition and the lower student population make it the best candidate for closure. A final decision won’t occur until November, with the dis...
Irene Richardson, Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County’s interim CEO since February, was officially promoted to the position Wednesday after a unanimous decision by the hospital’s board of trustees. Richardson, a Green River native, has worked at the hospital since 1985, originally starting as a cash posting clerk. She became the senior budget and cost accountant two years later. In 2008, she was promoted to materials management director. She later became the hospital’s controller befor...
A late change of plea hearing Friday morning resulted in a trial for George Maestas being cancelled. His trial was scheduled to start Tuesday. Maestas, 68, pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated homicide by vehicle and one count of driving while under the influence of a controlled substance resulting in serious bodily injury. The three charges combined could result in a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison and a maximum fine of $25,000. Maestas plead without making a plea agreement...
A pair of poached elk discovered on Little Mountain has resulted in the Wyoming Game and Fish Department seeking help to identify the culprits. The elk were poached in Hunt Area 31 on Little Mountain sometime between Oct. 4-6. “The first elk discovered was a cow that was shot and left on the east side of Little Mountain, south of Rock Springs,” Game Warden Gary Boyd said in a media release. “The cow elk had a GPS collar on it and was collared as part of the D.E.E.R. Project going on in the a...
One hundred fifty years is a milestone worth celebrating and the Sweetwater County Historical Museum, with help from the Sweetwater County Commissioners, are commemorating the county’s inception Oct. 17. The county was originally known as Carter County, named for Judge William Alexander Carter, by the Dakota Territorial Legislature. When the Wyoming Territory was formed in 1869, the legislature changed its name to Sweetwater County, named for the Sweetwater River. The county’s original bou...
A new police K-9 and some upgraded extraction equipment were possible through $5,000 donations from the Green River Assembly of God Church. Pastor Nathan Bloomfield said the church’s board of directors wanted improve the community in some way. He said the church already had the funds available and sought places to make donations. The day he walked into the Green River Police Department was considered divine intervention by Chief Chris Steffen. Steffen said Bloomfield approached the department sh...
One of the many duties journalists have to the communities they serve is to hold lawmakers and officials accountable for their actions. A few weeks back, Stephanie Thompson wrote an article about a few comments Sweetwater County Commissioner John Kolb had made regarding former members of the Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County. A week after that story was published, I wrote an editorial that appeared under the “Our View” section of this page, criticizing him for rehashing the past and cla...
Youth sports offer many different benefits to not only the young people participating, but to the young adults that mentor and officiate. Building character in young adults is a culmination of important life lessons and officiating can be a great way to help develop character. Young adults, as officials, learn to be confident in tense situations, think and react quickly on their feet, and they begin to assume more responsibility in their life as they schedule to work and earn an income. Being an official is also a mentor role to the...
