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By DAVID MARTIN Editor Supply chain problems and inflation are impacting capital construction projects throughout the county and have resulted in Green River’s long-planned wastewater treatment plant being pushed backed. According to Mark Westenskow, public works director for the city, bids for the wastewater treatment project came in with materials’ pricing increased by between 30-50% from when initial estimates were made. Westenskow said the increased costs have caused the city to seek add...
Fallout from the Green River Chamber of Commerce purchasing campaign signs a week before the special general-purpose tax election Nov. 2 continues as the Sweetwater GOP has opted to end membership with the chamber. The Green River Chamber of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment prior to press time. The Sweetwater GOP’s chairwoman, Elizabeth Bingham, said the decision did not relate to the chamber paying for signs supporting the general purpose tax election Nov. 2. “That would mea...
It wasn’t until 1955 when hunters could harvest the historic wild turkey in Wyoming. Hunters’ interest has continued to gain momentum since. With both fall and spring seasons to chase gobblers, hunters’ stealthy pursuits provide excellent food for their families and mementos of feathers, beards and spurs to commemorate the hunt long after. It all started in 1935, when the Wyoming Game and Fish Department swapped sage grouse with New Mexico for 15 Merriam’s turkeys – nine hens and six toms. The imports were released on the George Waln Ranch on...
A Lady Wolf will be playing soccer for Casper College after she graduates in May. Kiley Strange signed a letter of intent to play for Casper College last week with family and coaches by her side. Strange said she is extremely excited for the opportunity, saying she will stay in state for her first two years of college. During those two years, she plans to study business, saying she wants to be an entrepreneur, but doesn't know what she wants to do beyond that. She also said she doesn't plan to...
The Green River Chamber of Commerce issued a statement Monday clarifying its role in the production of signs it claims were intended to encourage people to vote in the special general-purpose tax election Nov. 2. “First and foremost, the board’s position is to be a neutral party in these matters,” the press release states. The chamber board claims it was neither for or against the proposal, but only wanted to educate people about the upcoming election and the proposed use of the addit...
Kemmerer will be the site of the Natrium nuclear reactor demonstration project. The town was named Tuesday in a statement issued by TerraPower, the company behind the Natrium plant design. Along with the Sweetwater County location, other potential sites considered included facilities near Glenrock and Gillette. The news comes as a bittersweet development for leaders in Sweetwater County. Although Wyoming will benefit from the project, Sweetwater County’s benefits will likely be somewhat muted in comparison to Lincoln County. Commissioner Roy L...
It isn’t hard to feel as though I’m beating a dead horse with continued coverage of the fallout from the special tax election Nov. 2. The vote is in and it wasn’t even close. People did not like the idea of the general sales tax or how it was presented to them, then voted accordingly. Yet, even weeks after the election ended, many unanswered questions regarding election signs purchased by the Green River Chamber of Commerce remain. What didn’t help was the fact that the chamber initial...
The Green River City Council agreed to add more than $10,000 to the water improvement project on Indian Hills Drive to accommodate for additional materials. The change order was approved unanimously. Mark Westenskow, director of public works, said the additional costs came from additional piping and valves needed for the current project and future water service project planned for the area. He said the current inflationary problems impacting construction projects didn’t play much of a factor i...
The Green River Chamber of Commerce claims it didn’t intend to promote support for the failed 1% general purpose tax proposal. Last week’s special election resulted in a massive defeat for the proposed tax, with 5,359 voting against it and 1,300 voting for it. The chamber issued a one-paragraph press release Monday afternoon stating the chamber was asked to help encourage voters to show up at the polls last week. “Specifically the Chamber was asked to provide signage on the proposed gener...
Sweetwater County School District No. 2 is one of six school districts included in a lawsuit aiming to overturn health orders related to COVID-19. According to the Casper Star-Tribune, the suit was filed last Tuesday in U.S. District Court for Wyoming and centers on a Laramie High School student who was arrested for trespassing after refusing to comply with the school’s mask mandate. Grace Smith and her father Andy are joined by 17 other guardians of Wyoming students ranging in age from 4 to 17...
Dealing with the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a high number of emergency room visitations has put Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County at a “crisis level” as it struggles to cope with a nursing shortage. The hospital has seen a slowed number of COVID-19 inpatients in the last week. Deb Sutton, the public information officer at the hospital, said MHSC has had between 15 and 18 inpatients throughout November, which has included between four and eight COVID-19 pat...
Wyoming will see a federal oil and gas lease sale in early 2022 due to a federal court ruling that ended the Biden administration's 2021 moratorium. But the size of the lease sale will be much smaller than industry, and state leaders, hoped for. The Bureau of Land Management will defer 264 lease parcels initially considered for the sale, it said, and will instead offer a total 195 parcels. The parcels struck from the sale represent about 382,882 acres of Priority Habitat Management Areas for...
GILLETTE — Six officers were assigned to the commission chambers Tuesday for the Campbell County Commission’s regular meeting after the county sheriff had been asked to provide extra security. The request was made because of behavior at the previous commission meeting when some people were asked to leave because they were being disruptive. A group of library protesters showed up, as they have for the last few months, over concerns about library books. But on Tuesday, their signs were placed against the walls and chairs. And they were quiet for...
RIVERTON — An attempt to tighten Wyoming’s loosened gambling regulations during the special legislative session failed last week when the House opted not to introduce a corrective bill. Senate File 1019 and its counterpart, House Bill 1019, sought to correct what their language called a “scrivener’s error,” or unintentional drafting mistake dating back to the 2021 session –– when legislators tried to repeal a sunset date for gambling regulation but instead, by an apparent omission that State Sen. Affie Ellis, R-Cheyenne, called an error –– r...
A number of signs supporting Tuesday’s general purpose tax caused concern at the Sweetwater County Clerk’s Office as some residents believed the signs to violate Wyoming’s electioneering laws. The signs started appearing in Rock Springs and Green River late last week, reading “Created to Support Public Safety & Economic Development,” then urging residents to vote Nov. 2. “I have had people calling me all day,” Sweetwater County Clerk Cindy Lane said Friday. The issue callers have had with the...
Sweetwater County voters have spoken and they do not want a 1% sales tax. Tuesday's special election resulted in a massive loss for tax, with unofficial tallies showing 5,359 against and 1,300 for the tax, out of 6,662 total ballots received. "I think voters spoke clearly that this general purpose tax proposal is something they're not willing to support," Sweetwater County Commission Chairman Randy Wendling said. Wendling said the commissioners gave residents a chance to have their voices heard...
What does it say about a special legislative session when the most memorable moment of the first week was a former House speaker dropping a couple F-bombs to disparage another lawmaker? Perhaps it’s a sign that everyone involved in this lame effort to show the federal government it can’t push Wyoming around should just go home before the state wastes any more money. This special session to fight a federal COVID-19 “vaccine mandate” has already cost taxpayers at least $100,000. Lawmakers who demanded a public forum in which to grandst...
Solid waste rates charged to Green River residents will increase in 2022 according to Michelle Foote, site manager for Wyoming Waste Systems. Through the city’s contract with Wyoming Waste Systems, the company can increase its prices based on increases in the Consumer Price Index, an average of costs consumers pay for goods and services. Between Sept 2020 and Sept. 2021, the CPI rose 5.4%. Additionally, Foote said Solid Waste District No. 1, which landfills garbage from the city, also plans t...
As election day looms closer for a 1% general purpose sales tax in Sweetwater County, efforts to sway voters are intensifying. Signs paid for by the Sweetwater GOP urging votes against the tax can be seen in Green River and Rock Springs while a mailer aiming to educate residents about the tax was sent out this earlier this week. In Green River, opinions vary about if the tax should be approved and if it’s needed in the first place. “No, probably not,” Kent Neil, a resident walking his dog at Expedition Island Monday, said. “We’ve got plenty of...
A 36-year-old Green River woman is in the Sweetwater County Detention Center following an incident where she is alleged to have attacked her boyfriend and damaged his home and property. Lynae Lee Hall was arrested Oct. 17 and charged with one felony charge and two misdemeanors. The felony aggravated assault and battery charge carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000, while the misdemeanor for domestic battery, second offense, carries a maximum...
Wyoming’s oil and gas industry continues to show signs of recovery from the 2020 pandemic shockwave that drove the price of oil below $0 per barrel, spurred layoffs and stalled production. At least 18 rotary rigs were active in the state during the second week of October compared to one rig during the same week in 2020, according to Enverus, which tracks rig data on a weekly basis. Wyoming saw a rig count of zero for the first time in its history in June 2020, then again in August 2020. Most of the drilling activity is targeting oil in the s...
Green River residents will receive mailers aimed to educate them on the need for a 1% sales tax increase this week, beginning efforts to inform voters before the Nov. 2 special election. Steve Core, communications administrator for the city, said the mailers were part of a multi-pronged strategy including digital outreach and a column to be submitted to the county’s publications. According to Core, the city has been an active participant throughout the process and said the plan amongst the g...
Zombies seem to be a bit passé these days, don’t they? Sure, AMC’s “The Walking Dead” is going strong in its final season, but the mindless, reanimated corpses seemingly everywhere in the mid to late 2000s gave way to the sparkly vampires and teen werewolves of the early 2010s, which itself has given way to the current infatuation with comic book superheroes. Even Capcom’s Resident Evil, which has often involved its characters surviving a zombie outbreak, has shied away from using zombies in...
The sixth-penny general purpose tax election will continue as is. The Sweetwater County Commissioners initially planned a discussion for amendments, alternatives or a rescission of the ballot question during their Tuesday meeting. However, after an executive session regarding the special election prior to the discussion, the commissioners voiced their support for the election and the need for a 1% general purpose tax, then voted unanimously to provide information to residents about the tax....
October is a month dedicated to the spooky, the grotesque and the scary and the video game industry certainly doesn’t have a shortage of titles focusing on those themes. This month, I thought it might be fun to focus on some of the games that have had the largest impacts on the industry and we’re starting with one that people who don’t play video games have likely heard of. The Mortal Kombat franchise has left an impression on the video game industry since its introduction in 1992. Ever wonde...
