National Library Week was recognized by a proclamation from the Green River City Council during their April 1 meeting. Pictured in front from left are Alan Vaughan, Mayor Pete Rust, and Becky Iwen. Pictured in back from left are Council Members Sherry Bushman, Robert Berg, Mike Shutran, Jessica Maser, and Ron Williams.
Katie Fryer and Kenzee Mullins accepted a proclamation for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week from the Green River City Council.
Karla Campbell accepted a proclamation for Sexual Assault Awareness Month from the Green River City Council.
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
"National Library Week is held every April as a way to celebrate the contribution of libraries and librarians in their communities," Sweetwater County Library System Director Lindsey Travis explained. "We encourage the public to use the resources of our libraries during this week. And we also have a lot to celebrate this year."
Travis went over some of the recent developments at the libraries with the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners. She explained that several library buildings will be able to have new construction projects completed thanks to grant funding. The libraries received a generous facility grant from the Wyoming Library Multipurpose Community, Travis said, which will be used to enhance library spaces like meeting rooms. Construction recently started at the Sweetwater County Library in Green River to put this grant to use. Since library meetings rooms are popular and were used nearly 1,500 times in the 2024 Fiscal Year, Travis explained, these improvements will benefit the community.
The library will also do work to repair the HVAC system in the White Mountain Library in Rock Springs, thanks to a Mineral Royalty Grant approved by the commissioners earlier in Tuesday's meeting. This work will help improve the building and increase its longevity, according to Travis.
Other recent developments for the library system include the StoryWalk in Green River, and Travis reported that library system use as a whole has increased 13.3% over the past year.
"The mission of the Sweetwater County Library System is that the library improves the quality of life in our communities," Travis said. "I definitely believe we're fulfilling that mission."
National Library Week takes place April 6 to 12 and has the theme "Drawn to the Library" this year. To go with this theme, the library is hosting a bookmark design contest. Anyone can stop by to design a bookmark, and the winners of each age group will have their design printed an available at the library.
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week
"It's a week to recognize our first first responders, the ones that take the 911 call and dispatch the resources that the community needs," David Halter said of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
Halter is the IT director and current interim executive director of the Sweetwater Combined Communications Joint Powers Board. Halter explained that the SCC takes 64,000 calls a year, with 911 calls accounting for about 15,000 calls. The center also processes nearly 80,000 calls for service, according to Halter.
"I think you're very much so the unsung heroes that a lot of people forget about but we certainly don't," County Commission Chairman Keaton West told Halter. "Thanks for everything you do to help Sweetwater County. We appreciate it."
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week takes place April 13 - 19.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
"This is a large thing even in a small town like in Wyoming," YWCA of Sweetwater County Executive Director Melinda Baas explained regarding the problem of sexual assault.
One in six women and one in 33 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, Baas explained. Every 68 seconds, someone nation-wide is sexually assaulted. This year, the Victims Advocacy Center for the YWCA of Sweetwater County served 38 victims of sexual assault, Baas said.
"And those are the ones that told us," she added. "To be honest this is one of the most under-reported crimes."
Out of 1,000 assaults, only 50 lead to arrest convictions, and 63% of assaults aren't reported to police, according to Baas.
The YWCA seeks to use Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April to educate people about the crime of sexual assault and the resources available to those who have experienced assault. Baas encouraged everyone to be open to supporting any who do open up about assault, and asked people to call out negative comments and behavior that lead people to believe sexual assault isn't the serious problem that it is.
Events the YWCA uses to support sexual assault awareness include "Denim Day" on April 30 and the annual "Run with the Badges" event on April 26 in Green River.
Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month
The City Councils of both Green River and Rock Springs also issued a joint proclamation recognizing April as Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month.
"Every child is precious and deserves to grow up in a healthy, safe, nurturing environment free from harmful effects of abuse and neglect," the proclamation states.
The proclamation also recognizes multiple organizations in Wyoming that work toward child advocacy, such as the Children's Trust Fund Board, Prevent Child Abuse Wyoming, the Wyoming Citizen Review Panel, the Wyoming Department of Family Services, and the Wyoming Office of the Attorney General. Together these partners "join to prevent abuse and neglect through outreach, education, and intervention," according to the proclamation.
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