Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 25
The city is seeking impact assistance funds related to the Ciner expansion project. Last week, the Green River City Council voted to send a letter to Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to become a party in future Industrial Siting Council meetings regarding the project. On June 8, Ciner filed an application with Wyoming DEQ to build its Unit 8 refinery and associated facility to increase its soda ash production by 1.1 million tons a year. According to Wyoming DEQ, the project will...
The giant Boise-based agribusiness J.R. Simplot Company has agreed to pay $775,000 to resolve allegations it violated federal waste and community-protection laws at its phosphoric acid and fertilizer plant outside Rock Springs. Simplot representatives signed a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice on July 9 in which they agreed to pay injunctive relief and civil penalties to resolve a suit brought by the federal agency. Simplot “illegally placed” hazardous material in a waste pile of calcium sulfate byproducts known as a phosphogyp...
Kids will be returning to their schools Aug. 19 if its reopening plan is approved by the state. The Sweetwater County School District No. 2 board of trustees approved its Smart Start Plan, which creates the three-tiered opening plan for the school year. The district will open in the first tier, but will change what tier it operates under depending on guidelines issued from county and state health officers. The first tier allows for in-person classes and activities as appropriate and buildings...
The Green River Knights baseball team has been tearing up the fields as they compete this season. Starting the season with a loss against the Jackson Giants, scoring seven to six, the Knights started the season in slump. However, the team continued to fight hard as they made their way through their competition season. The COVID-19 pandemic threw several curveballs at the team. According to Ben Lail, the head of the Knights baseball program, the team had to start their season a month and a half late. Due to the delay, a lot of the coaching had...
Jerry Gene Kenitzer, 87 passed away peacefully at home, Saturday, June 20, 2020 with his grandson Joshua, wife Patricia and his family in Clarkston, GA, who had been caring for him as he battled cancer and multiple other health issues. At the time of his passing he was surrounded with love. He was born in Gillette, WY to Victor and Vera Kenitzer where he loved spending time with his grandparents. He was the oldest of six brothers and one sister. He spent most of his childhood between Gillette...
On Monday May 11th, 2020, Lavern "Vern" Jones, loving husband, father of four and Papa to many passed away at the age of 83 in his home surrounded by his family. Vern's story starts on October 18, 1936. He was born in Concordia, KS, the 3rd child of Armel and Helen (Schaffer) Jones. Vern grew up in Concordia where he and his brothers worked with their dad on the family farm. He enlisted in the Army on March 14, 1954 where he was a proud Airborne Paratrooper with the 11th Airborne Division in...
Judy Wilcox, 80, of Green River died on July 25, 2020 with family by her side. She died following a lengthy illness. Judy Wilcox was born on Aug. 22, 1939 in Rock Springs, the daughter of the late Richard and Hattie (Stoddard) Brown. She married James Wilcox in an evening ceremony on May 2, 1959, at the First Congregational Church in Rock Springs. They have three daughters, Connie Wilcox-Timar and husband Kent Timar of Rock Springs, Brenda Wilcox, and Shelley (Wilcox) Rust and husband Pete Rust...
Gary M. Crump of Fruita, Colorado passed away Monday July 13, 2020. Gary was born to Kenneth Paul and Frances Ann Crump on October 10, 1950 in Cedar Rapids, IA. Gary graduated from Regis High School and attended Kirkwood Community College. Gary earned a Certificate in Auto Mechanic and Automotive Body, learning skills he would use throughout his career. Gary moved to Sheridan, Wyoming in 1978, where he met Barbara Vigil. The couple married July 26, 1980. They moved to Green River, Wyoming in...
William Robert “Bob” Poncik, 76, passed away Tuesday, July 14, 2020. Bob was born in El Campo, Texas, in Wharton County at Nightingale Hospital. He was the middle child of three children to Willie and Agnes Poncik. He was the class of 1962 at Louise High School in Louise, Texas. He was a United States Army Veteran and served as an Airborne Infantry Sniper with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam. He was a certified deep sea diver. He earned an Associates of Science in Geology and an Associates of Arts in Accounting from Jefferson Davis Com...
It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Patriarch, who left us blessed and grateful to have known and been known by him, loved and loved by him. He was a kind and gentle man. He taught us well and left us with uncountable memories of laughter, happiness and love. Paul Shablo left this Earthly existence on July 24, 2020. He was in his own home and in the company of his family, surrounded by love. Paul Eugene Shablo was born in Trinidad, Colorado on...
Jacob Michel Dunnuck, 25, passed away Sunday, July 19, 2020 with his best friend Steven Reed. He was a resident of Rock Springs, Wyoming. Jacob was born on September 13, 1994 in Whitley County, California, the son of Dennis and Julianne Dunnuck. He attended schools in Lyman and received a GED. Jacob was a driller for Nucore Drilling Inc. for the last year and a half. He loved to spend his time outdoors and enjoyed doing just about anything outside. Jacobs interests also included basketball,...
Steven Allen Reed, 32, passed away Sunday, July 19, 2020 with his best friend Jacob Dunnuck. He was a life-long resident of Wyoming. He was born on August 29, 1987 in Casper, WY, the son of David Reed and Geri Gartner Le Hew. Steven attended Natrona County high school and received his GED in 2007. He was a driller for Nucore Drilling Inc. Steven married Marley Pickett on March 11, 2008 in Casper, Wyoming. Mator, the man, the legend. He was a proud member of Power Puff Rednecks. He loved...
We’re delving into uncomfortable territory this week, but we think it’s an important topic all the same. Last week, we reported on an investigation the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office is conducting into allegations of a man trespassing into privately-owned corrals to engage in sexual acts with horses north of Rock Springs. An interesting piece to the issue is the fact that Wyoming is one of four states where those sorts of acts are not illegal. The definitions to animal cruelty don’t apply either. This certainly should be remedied. We unde...
Sometimes, life has lessons for us that we don’t truly appreciate until much later. Many years ago, when I was a very wet behind the ears new doctor, I had the privilege of being part of the care team for an elderly Native American woman. She had been transferred from somewhere in rural South Dakota to our hospital in the city in hopes of identifying her disease and ascertaining how best to help her. Her daughter accompanied her. The medical team was convinced we knew “best,” while her daughter was determined that we were not going to take...
Dear Editor, This is truly it. Russia had its Bolshevik revolution in October 1917. China its October 1949 and August 1966. Now we face our own Red October 2020 in America. Will the outcome be enslavement, mind control and the death of millions as with these prior socialist “experiments?” Time, and the extent to which we stand up for ourselves and our kids, will tell. Some of us have long seen this coming. Most of you are just now starting to think “where did all this come from?” A couple of you still cling to “let’s just get along,” una...
Casper Star-Tribune Via Wyoming News Exchange CASPER — The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding collapse in energy markets have wreaked havoc in the oil and gas sector. An estimated 76,000 direct oil and gas jobs were slashed across the U.S. from February to June, a low not witnessed since around 2006. Though oil prices have rebounded in part, thousands of energy workers remain without work. But a new report compiled by the Resources for the Future and Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy proposes a potential solution. The res...
CHEYENNE -- Laramie County District Judge Steven Sharpe acquitted Michael Abrams of two felony counts of attempting to injure a police officer Thursday afternoon. “The system worked in this case,” Robert Moxley, Abrams’ attorney, told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on Friday morning. “If we hadn’t had body cameras, they could have said anything they wanted to. Those things saved Michael.” The acquittal came after trial lawyers and Sharpe spent roughly two hours Thursday reviewing the police body camera footage of the incident in question, w...
LARAMIE — The federal government is investigating the Western Research Institute, a Laramie-based nonprofit, for making false claims to win more than $500,000 in research funding between 2015 and 2018, according to a document obtained by the Boomerang. WRI used a “paper company,” Thermosolv, to obtain four grants that it would have otherwise been ineligible for, according to federal prosecutors. Prosecutors claimed that WRI had Thermosolv make false claims about its independence in order to win the grants. Mark Klaassen, the U.S. Attor...
The critical point Sweetwater County is at pushed Rock Springs resident Joe Barbuto to seek election to the Sweetwater County commissioners’ office. Barbuto, a Democrat, believes Sweetwater County is at a crossroads as its revenues and job opportunities decline. He said it is important for county leaders to start planning for the future, which is one of the main tasks he would like to tackle if elected. Barbuto would also like to focus on creating opportunities as well as jobs for residents. According to Barbuto, community effort is a must f...
After being appointed to the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners last July, Lauren Schoenfeld seeks election to the board. Schoenfeld has been working with the other commissioners to ensure Sweetwater County is in the best possible position during this very difficult time. “I have jumped at every opportunity to push for strong and diverse economic development, sound and fiscally conservative decisions, and a community that collaborates to be strong and viable,” Schoenfeld said in a press release. Schoenfeld believes that if the cou...
The Rock Butte Apartments community garden is in bloom with the summer season. Roughly a year and a half ago, the Rock Butte Apartments' residents and volunteers worked to build a garden on the property. However, due to lack of soil, seeds and the weather, nothing was planted. After finding out about this garden, Wendy Neilson, who works with the Cent$ible Nutrition program at the University of Wyoming, took interest in getting the garden planted and flourishing. Neilson had worked with resident...
A manuscript by Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County’s Dr. Banu Symington and several of her colleagues recently was accepted and published online by the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The manuscript, “Hepatitis B Virus Screen and Management for Patients with Cancer Prior to Therapy: ASCO Provisional Clinical Opinion Update,” was published online July 27, 2020, at https://ascopubs.org/journal/jco. Symington is one of 14 contributors to the piece. The manuscript presents a clinically pragmatic approach to hepatitis B virus (HBV) screen and m...
There are a variety of tests available associated with COVID-19. “The first step is simple. If you have questions about the novel coronavirus, talk to your provider,” Deb Sutton, Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County spokeswoman, said. “It also might help to have a better understanding of what the hospital offers and why.” The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, typically causes an upper respiratory disease. Because of that, healthcare professionals find nasopharyngeal testing to be most effective, said Mary Fischer, MHSC Laboratory Directo...
