Sorted by date Results 1226 - 1250 of 1692
At least now we have something to do with the rainy-day fund, and some people may need orange jump suits. It just seemed like a big hole in the ground, and how could that be bad out on the empty prairie. It was four decades ago. Cities like Gillette, Wyoming, wouldn’t even be there now, maybe it would be a town, like a prairie-dog town, but not much in human economic terms. All these big coal mining companies came in, like Arch and Alpha and Peabody. They promised thousands of jobs and infrastructure and a great source of tax money. They a...
Who protects consumers of healthcare? Two recent emails from readers got me thinking about that question. I don’t mean consumers in their role as patients whose medical well-being is looked after by state medical boards and health departments that police doctors and hospitals. Those organizations don’t always do a perfect job protecting patients from harm, but at least they are in place. But who protects patients when things go wrong on healthcare’s financial side? What happens when you receive a bill you didn’t expect and can’t afford to...
When someone thinks of salad, most think about a huge mass of lettuce, along with a mix of some other vegetables. The lettuce is the star, despite the fact that the most common type used, iceberg lettuce, is a tasteless substance that cries out for dressing because it’s so bland. Because it’s so common, it’s nearly impossible to find a salad that doesn’t use lettuce as a base. Go to the store and check out the bagged salad section. Easily 95 percent of the offerings use lettuce as the major i...
Attending the Western Wyoming Karate Tournament this weekend was a familiar sight to me. I even donned my 2005 tournament T-shirt for the occasion. It has been many years since I laid eyes on the hustle and bustle of the tournament. People were everywhere. My involvement in Jim Dean’s studio of Pineda’s Kenpo karate started while I was a student at Green River High School. I even remember Jim Dean and his family attending my high school graduation party just shy of a decade ago. Many of the fac...
In Wyoming, if someone has a question about where their tax money is being spent or how much is spent on their county libraries, they can ask to look at the public documents containing that information. However, there are people who think local governments should be able to charge their constituents a fee simply because they want to look at a list of employee salaries or a yearly budget. We think they’re wrong. A proposed rule change in Wyoming would allow local governments to charge “reasonable costs” for producing and building a copy of an...
Being a lifelong Wyoming resident, I can’t help but get upset every time I read about someone doing something stupid at Yellowstone National Park. Stupid is the only real word here, as I’m sure anyone reading this has the sense to not walk up to a bison and pet it, purposefully walk over the Grand Prismatic Springs or take a bison calf to a ranger station because it looks cold. Yet, each of those situations I just described has actually happened. The worst of the bunch is the Grand Pri...
The school year is almost over already; and I can hardly believe it. With only a couple of weeks left, my boy’s schedules are packed. John, my four-year-old going on 18, will have his last day of preschool Thursday, while Matthew, my six-year-old kindergartener will have his last day June 2. Where did the year go? It seems like yesterday I was literally chasing the bus down the street to make sure he got off of it; and now he will be attending his kindergarten graduation. With picnics, class p...
If you need a risky, complicated surgery, would you go to a hospital or surgeon who had performed the procedure only a time or two before? Most people would say no, but the evidence indicates otherwise. Patients do go to doctors and hospitals that have seldom performed the procedures they need. Yet, for almost 40 years, study after study has shown that patients’ death rates were significantly lower for surgeries done at hospitals that were experienced in the procedure. The same is true for physicians. In March, for example, a large study of p...
If Wyoming wants to break out of its boom and bust economy, the state has to liberate itself from worshiping the minerals and energy industries. In Sweetwater County, many of us know all too well the cycles of the boom and bust economies. When times are good, money is everywhere, from the state’s coffers to the wallets of residents working in those booming industries. When times are bad, all one needs to do is look at the stories we’ve published about funding woes local governments face to see the impact. The problem is, the cycle will lik...
What is Arbor Day and what exactly is it all about, you ask? Well, let’s take the last 150 plus years and compact it into a few short paragraphs. We’ll start in 1854 when a journalist turned pioneer named J. Sterling Morton, and his wife moved to Nebraska, as individuals who valued nature they planted greenery; shrubs, flowers and different varieties of trees. It was through Morton’s writings that he was able to reach out to fellow pioneers, encouraging them to plant trees. The trees were good for soil conservation, shade, fruits, firew...
I teach classes at the college. In one class we talked about doing things out of the ordinary, or out of their comfort zone. I challenged my students to do something they wouldn’t normally do, like sitting on the other side of the cafeteria for lunch, or sitting in a different seat in class. I didn’t ask them to do anything earth-shattering, just something out of their normal routine and then report back as to how they felt. We are all creatures of habit. Routine is comfortable and dependable. Many of us order the same thing most every time we...
Mother’s Day. The one day of the year set aside so children can show their mothers just how much they love their mothers. For me, no matter how bad of a day I am having or how terrible things seem to be, if I can’t get a hold of my husband, the next person I call is my mother. I know she will always be there to listen, be supportive, but most of all she tells me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear. She may be two states away, but I can always count on her. Growing up was no dif...
The warm sun permeates the air, trees sprout the beginning of green buds and light pink blossoms. Like hibernating bears waking from our winter slumber, we emerge from our homes and look out onto our porch. Feeling the inviting sun on our skin, we take a step further. We take a cup of coffee in our hands and decide to spend some time enjoying the fresh air. I love springtime. The warming temperature melts away not only the winter’s chill in the air, but the chill in our hearts and souls as w...
Admittedly, my first experiences with sake weren’t terribly positive. The first time I tried it, I was a poor college student in Laramie and still getting used to the fact that I could legally get into a liquor store and actually buy something. Having had an interest in Japanese things since I was a small child, I was immediately surprised I could find a bottle of rice wine in Laramie. It was in a dark green bottle and the price was right too, so I bought it and quickly took it back to my d...
Judy Norblade, a retired marketing director, and her husband, Paul, a retired teacher, thought they had all their financial bases covered. They had Medicare, good supplemental coverage from a Medigap policy, a drug plan that paid for most of their prescriptions and long-term-care insurance for a nursing home they hoped they would never need. “I thought we were pretty well set for healthcare in our retirement years,” she said. Then the Norblades bumped head on into a notorious Medicare rule that has caught thousands of families off guard ove...
We have to take a stand against statements designed to make us a fearful and paranoid electorate. Such are the statements made by Republican congressional hopeful Darin Smith, who claims 10 percent of all Muslims are “radicalized.” Smith works for the Christian Broadcasting Network and helps plan and conduct humanitarian projects throughout the world. Humanitarian work should always be commended, though Smith readily admits that his work helps combat Saudi Arabia and “big mosque” money he believes are aimed at spreading Islamic beliefs and Sha...
0Dear Editor, Each year on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers across the county collect non-perishable food donations from our customers. These donations go directly to the local food pantries to provide assistance to people in need of services. The need for food donations is great. Currently, 49 million Americans -- one out of six-- are unsure of where their next meal is coming from. Sixteen million are children who feel hunger’s impact on their overall health and ability to perform in school. Over 5 million seniors over the age of 6...
When is the last time you visited the great little museum we have right in the heart of our downtown? Well, if it’s been a while, I suggest that you check it out because they’ve recently expanded their gift shop and have some terrific new items like charming children’s books, toys, unique gift cards, jewelry and much more. The Sweetwater County Historical Museum was established in 1967 and was housed in the basement of the Sweetwater County Courthouse until 2001, when it moved into the historic post office downtown. The Post office build...
One of the most difficult things we must do in life is saying goodbye to someone we love. As challenging as it is for adults to do, it’s an entirely different experience for a child. There is already so much about life that children do not yet understand; death is a concept that many children cannot comprehend. Add in emotions that can be confusing to the child, and the situation becomes even harder to deal with. What can we do as adults to help children navigate this terrain that is so hard for us to handle? Should we wait until the child e...
Nothing says love like homemade ice cream. Growing up, I can remember the big family get-togethers we had on our small, Minnesota dairy farm. They were always a blast, even though I often had to be pulled away from the fun to take care of my chores. I can still recall how much fun they were. Usually, at these family get-togethers we would make homemade ice cream. It is something my late grandpa Otto Rahn, or Gramps, as we called him, loved to do. It's not like making homemade ice cream the way...
Those of us who grew up in small rural communities in the 1950s and 60s, expected to have longer life spans than our parents. The trends were in our favor. White women born in 1900 could expect to live, on average, just shy of 49 years; white men 46.6 years. Those were our grandparents and our neighbors. By 1950, life expectancy had climbed to 72 years for white women born that year and 66.5 for white men. By 2000, life expectancy was still increasing, with female babies expected to live to nearly 80 and males to almost 75. America was on the r...
The importance of Wyoming’s public meetings laws cannot be understated. Those laws allow every Wyoming resident the right to attend and learn about how their government works. They allow residents the opportunity to learn about what’s happening in their towns, school districts, public hospitals – even their local water and sewer systems. When we say we think a board is acting against the spirit of those laws, it’s not something we do lightly, and we believe the board of trustees for Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County are acting against thos...
Dear Editor, As a delegate to the Wyoming State Republican Convention this year, I was disillusioned. It appeared to me some of the events that occurred in the process could be considered fraudulent. Transparency only occurs with windows, not in elections, so I will present the facts and allow you to make your own decisions. Most importantly, the State Chairman is supposed to be neutral, representing the “entire” Republican party and all candidates, while avoiding the appearance of using his position to further his own agenda. The State Cha...
Dear Editor, On April 28, the unions of the AFL-CIO observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job and to renew the fight for safe jobs. This year we will come together to call for work in this country that is safe and healthy and pays fair wages. We will celebrate the victories won by working people and commit to fighting until all workers have safe jobs and the freedom to form unions without the threat of retaliation. The Occupational Safety and Health Act and Mine Safety and Health Act promise workers...
You may have noticed that there is a lot of work going on around town these days. This summer is going to be a very busy season for Green River. Many projects that have been in the planning for years will finally be coming to fruition and a few new projects are happening too. To begin with, Second South Street is getting a makeover. You’ve probably noticed the detour signs already and may have wondered what was happening. A few years ago, citizens voted on several projects to be funded by the Sixth Penny Tax and improvements to Second South w...
