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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...
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...
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...
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...
Sweetwater County School District No. 2 is taking a different tack in how it deals with quarantines related to COVID-19 exposure. “What we’re doing now is not working,” Superintendent Craig Barringer told the district’s board of trustees Monday evening. The board opted to update its Smart Start guidelines and change when students are sent to quarantine. The approved update now allows students who are masked, vaccinated or in an environment that allows for social districting that are exposed...
By DAVID MARTIN Editor A workshop regarding the deer in Green River underscores the difficulty the city faces in dealing with its resident deer herd. Reed Clevenger, Green River’s city administrator, said the issue is something that would be impossible to address and please all of the city’s residents. Citing a survey of residents conducted by the city, Clevenger said residents have a nearly even split regarding if the city should find ways to curb their numbers or leave them alone. Leading to...
My father was a coal miner. After learning about Bridger Coal Company’s plans to close its underground mine, I found myself thinking about him and his work. He was a miner throughout much of his life, spending a lot of his years working underground. He was one of the first people to work at Bridger’s underground mine and was one of the last to leave the Stansbury Mine when it was operated by Arch Minerals. He took me into the Stansbury Mine when I was 11 as part of an open house at the min...
With three All-State mentions and a boys team that looks to be ready to compete for a state title, head tennis coach Phil Harder says he's feeling motivated after the state tournament. The tennis teams traveled to Gillette to compete at the tournament, with the boys finishing sixth overall and the girls taking fifth. For the boys, Braxton Cordova, who plays Singles No. 1 took fourth at the tournament, earning All-State in the effort. Singles No. 2 player Korbin Arnell was knocked out of the...
The Wolves took another loss Friday night as the Evanston Red Devils held them to only one touchdown during Green River’s homecoming game, winning it 27-7. While the Wolves’ previous outing with the Worland Warriors was a high-scoring contest, Green River’s meeting with Evanston was more defensive as both teams initially struggled to find the end zone. The Wolves were the first to receive, but were forced to punt as they sized up the Evanston defense. Evanston’s first possession of the game near...
The harriers are posting good times according to head cross country coach Craig Leavitt. The varsity teams traveled to Saratoga to take part in the Shana Ward Memorial Invitational at the Saratoga Inn Golf Course. A segment of the team had originally planned to go to Utah to compete in the Border Wars Cross Country Championships in Salt Lake City, but later declined to attend. “They had some good times, some nice PRs (Personal Records),” Leavitt said. For the girls, sophomore Madison Mur...
Claiming euthanasia by gas chamber to be inhumane, a group opposing the use of gas chambers in Wyoming wants the city to move away from euthanizing animals at its animal shelter in this manner. A spokesperson for Wyoming Against Gas Chambers, Madhu Anderson, spoke to the Green River City Council Tuesday evening to highlight the practice. Anderson said the practice is not only inhumane and cruel, but also causes physical and psychological stress on animal shelter workers and says the practice is...
Absentee ballots for the general purpose tax election have been sent out, asking county residents if they would support an additional penny of sales tax to fund public safety funding and economic development. The 1% sales tax, if approved, would be divided amongst Green River, Rock Springs and the county based on population, with at least 75% going to public safety, with up to 25% going to economic development. The election will take place Nov. 2. According to Chris Meats, finance director for G...
The Green River Police Department has a Marine joining their ranks. Monday, new recruit Jennie Kordus received her badge and was welcomed into the fold. A 2013 graduate of Green River High School, she returns to her hometown after spending the last eight years in the Marines. Kordus said she initially wanted to go into a career in healthcare, but the amount of time she would have spent in college caused her to seek another path. She started looking into enlisting in the armed forces and decided...
