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Several individuals and businesses that have consistently given back to the Green River community were honored at this year's Green River Chamber of Commerce Awards Luncheon. "Community isn't just somewhere we live, it's something that we can build together," Joe Olivas said during the event. The annual luncheon, hosted last Wednesday, brought together a crowd to celebrate the award recipients and recognize the work they've done to help build the community. Distinguished Citizen Arguably the...
The hospital is looking to make improvements to the obstetrics suite to help with an increased number of patients, and is hoping for the county's help with funding for the project. Representatives from Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, including CEO Irene Richardson, first presented the idea for the capital project to the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners at their March 18 meeting. They discussed it in further detail again during the April 15 meeting, where the commissioners...
"I have never heard someone say so many wrong things one after the other consecutively in a row." This quote from the series "Schitt's Creek" may be redundant, but it gets the point across, and it pretty well sums up how I felt when I heard Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent comments on autism. Not only were his comments wrong, they were dangerous. As someone who knows and loves many people with autism, and someone who has somewhat recently realized I'm neurodivergent myself, I was both angry and...
Local protests regarding national issues continue to take place in Sweetwater County. Last Saturday, residents of both Green River and Rock Springs gathered along Dewar Drive in Rock Springs once again to protest actions by the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency. The protest followed on the heels of a similar demonstration on April 5, and was one of many that took place as part of ongoing national protest efforts led by groups like 50501, which stands for "50...
After a contentious year in the Wyoming Legislature, representatives from Sweetwater County continued some of the session's main debates back at home. Sweetwater County's legislators participated in a Legislative Recap Panel hosted by the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce at Young at Heart Community Center last Thursday night. Legislators Laura Taliaferro Pearson, Bob Davis, Marlene Brady, John Kolb, Darin McCann, Scott Heiner, Cody Wylie, Stacy Jones and J.T. Larson all took part in the panel,...
Just as the sun was coming up Tuesday morning, School Bus 174 stopped on its way to Monroe Elementary School so students could wave to the Easter Bunny. The Easter Bunny, in this case, was 86-year-old Verna Trujillo, who has been waving to students nearly every day for the past six months. Miss Verna, as the students call her, loves to dress up in fun and festive costumes to stand out on her porch amidst her large inflatable decorations and wave to the school bus drivers and the students as...
In the early 1990s, Ashton Jasperson would grab his bike, grab a shovel, and make himself a racetrack in the hills around Green River. Now, in Ashton's memory, kids throughout Sweetwater County will have a chance to race BMX. Ashton's family recently came together to donate multiple bikes to the Southwest Wyoming BMX Club to help start what will now be known as the Ashton Jasperson Bike Loaner Program. "That's going to allow us to not charge for bike rentals, so we'll be able to just loan a...
After their recent production of the well-known musical "Cabaret," the Western Wyoming Community College Theater program is back with another show connected to 1930s Berlin, but this time with music that may be a little less familiar. People might have heard some of the songs in "Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill: A Musical Voyage," such as "Mack the Knife," "Speak Low," and "The Threepenny Opera." However, they may not be as familiar with Kurt Weill himself, the man behind the music. "There's...
Sweetwater County residents will soon be receiving their 2025 Notice of Value on their properties, and have a number of options available to apply for property tax relief. Sweetwater County Assessor Dave Divis said that residents will be receiving their Notice of Value "within the next few days." The assessor asks residents to review the information. Anyone who disagrees with the value of their property has 30 days from the date mailed to discuss the value with the assessor and provide...
The dream of turning the old Washington Elementary building into a transitional home for single mothers and their children is continuing to move forward. Debra Moerke, the founder of the McKenzie Home Project, spoke to both the Green River City Council and the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners this week to give an update on the project's latest developments. The project started three years ago, with Moerke's own life experiences and grief helping inspire the idea. From first...
William Duncan of Green River recently pleaded "not guilty" to six counts of alleged sexual exploitation of children, two counts of allegedly aiding a child's violation of the law, and one count of alleged rude/insolent/angry touches without injury. Duncan was arrested by the Green River Police Department on a warrant for these counts on March 10. Duncan entered a plea of "not guilty" during his arraignment on Monday, March 31 in the Third Judicial District Court of Judge Suzannah Robinson. His...
April is a month full of awareness for important causes, many of which were recognized by the city and county this week with special proclamations. National Library Week, National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month all take place in April. Proclamations recognizing these causes were read at the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners meeting and the Green River City Council meeting. National Library Week...
The school district will be transitioning to the leadership of the new superintendent, Dr. Scott Cooper, over the next few months. Sweetwater County School District No. 2 began the process of looking for a new superintendent after the current superintendent, Craig Barringer, announced his retirement in January. Barringer will remain with the district until his contract ends on June 30. In looking for the next Superintendent of Schools, the SCSD No. 2 Board of Trustees worked with the Wyoming...
Unrest connected to incidents happening at a national level continues to be felt throughout Wyoming and Sweetwater County, from concerns over local access to Social Security to Tesla-related vandalism to changes in town hall formats following protests. Social Security access Last week, Sweetwater County residents became concerned over whether or not the Rock Springs Social Security office would close, although it was later confirmed that the office will remain open. On Thursday, March 20, an...
The causes of the deadly Interstate 80 tunnel accident on February 14 are starting to be better understood, thanks to the official investigation being conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB released preliminary information from their investigation into the accident last week, explaining how the crash began and what vehicles were involved. The accident began around 11:33 a.m. on Friday, February 14, when a Toyota Tundra pickup truck spun to the left and struck a metal...
A chorus of both cheers and boos echoed in the Small Hall at the Sweetwater Events Complex last Saturday afternoon when U.S. Representative Harriet Hageman stood up in front of the crowd. The mixed responses continued as she addressed the hundreds of people who gathered for her town hall event, with supporters praising her work and cheering her words while protestors raised signs and yelled out disagreement. "I'm perfectly happy to have all of you here, but you're not going to do heckler speech...
The city of Green River has been making decisions in an effort to keep multiple things moving forward, from permits and grants to studies and events. During this week's City Council meeting, the council approved decisions and had discussions concerning the new Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Killdeer Wetland Project, a planned study looking for water leaks under city roads, and ongoing planning for the upcoming Flaming Gorge Days. As the new Wastewater Treatment Plant continues to be built,...
Last Saturday afternoon I sat in a room full of our own community members and listened to them yell at each other to shut up, call each other liars, tell each other they didn't know what they were talking about, and basically treat each other more like nameless strangers on the other side of a computer screen than like neighbors. The Town Hall event with Representative Harriet Hageman was interesting, to say the least. Personally, I had friends and family members on both "sides," both cheering...
Many local drivers have found themselves spending more time in the car than they'd like to recently, especially when traveling on I-80 going to Green River from Rock Springs. With traffic delays caused by road work following the recent tunnel accident, as well as weather delays and accidents caused by a major winter storm last week, many residents ended up stuck in traffic, sometimes for multiple hours. While traffic on westbound Interstate 80 has currently moved back to being head-to-head...
Residents can now prepare for a cut on their property taxes, while local services and entities prepare for a cut to their budgets. After months of discussion regarding what changes could affect property taxes this year, and how those changes could affect local funding, Green River and Sweetwater County now have a better idea what to expect. One of the main bills affecting property tax, Senate File 0069, was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Mark Gordon with a 25% cut to property...
The Westvaco and Granger trona mines outside Green River that were owned and operated by Genesis Alkali have now been purchased and will be operated by WE Soda. "WE Soda is pleased to announced it acquired Genesis Alkali, the largest producer in the U.S. of natural soda ash," the company shared in a press release Monday morning. "Obviously, the Westvaco and the Granger sites have been very successful for 70 years, and they've got a great workforce," Craig Rood, Director of Government Affairs...
Workers from Sweetwater County and across Wyoming gathered on the steps of the State Capitol last Friday to make their voices heard. "Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, workers of all trades, today I stand before you to talk about something that affects every single one of us -- our safety, our rights, and our ability to work with dignity," Marshal Cummings said in a speech at the event. Cummings, the union president for United Steelworkers Local 13214, helped organize the rally to...
While some of our community members stood on the steps of the Wyoming Capitol last Friday, others stood on the stage of the Broadway Theater, but both groups shared a message about the importance of workers and their need to be protected. This week, three different plays are being performed in our community, and while they all have very different stories, they all have very timely messages. I feel especially connected to the three plays this weekend. One of them, I'm performing in. One of them...
Stories about mythical Greek gods and heroes, 1920s radium dial painters in New Jersey, and 1930s nightclub goers in Berlin may not initially seem to have much in common. However, all of these stories present their own challenging truths, and all of them are coming to life on stages across Sweetwater County this weekend. "Hadestown (Teen Edition)," performed by the Green River High School Theater Department, is a musical retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. "Radium Girls" from the Acto...
First responders in Green River have had a busy and difficult few weeks. Following a pile-up crash at the Interstate 80 westbound tunnel on February 14, local first responders have also had to respond to another fatal crash as well as a house fire. "When it rains, it pours," as the Green River Fire Department said. Less than a week after the tunnel accident that claimed three lives, another vehicular crash claimed two more lives, this time of Green River residents. On Wednesday, February 19, at...
