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Elevated levels of methane gas were the cause of a mine evacuation at Ciner Saturday morning. According to a press release from Ciner, monitors detected elevated methane levels early Saturday morning. The levels were high enough to trigger an evacuation of the mine. “We evacuated all personnel from the mine and turned off the power,” a release from Ciner states. The release stated surface operations continued to function by utilizing ore from the mine’s stockpile. However, on Tuesday miner...
Sweetwater County is requesting about $5.3 million in impact funds for the TransWest transmission-line project, which will run through portions of the county. During a recent Sweetwater County Commissioners meeting, the commissioners unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding between Sweetwater County, Carbon County, Baggs, Dixon, Sinclair, Saratoga, Rawlins and Wamsutter for the impact funding request. According to information in the MOU, a high-voltage transmission system will extend...
City and county residents will have a chance to have their voices heard about a proposed Love’s Travel Stop during an open house meeting with company representatives Friday. The area west of Jamestown has garnered interest in the past year due to increased water availability following improvements to the Jamestown-Rio Vista water system. Interest in commercial development has also increased, with two parcels of land near Interstate 80’s Exit 85 recently converted from agricultural use to com...
Sweetwater County will offer a volunteer separation program for qualifying employees. During the Sweetwater County Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning, the Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution allowing for the Voluntary Separation Program. At the Commissioners previous meeting, county human resources director Garry McLean was asked to meet with department supervisors and elected officials about the proposed VSP to find out if they had any areas of concern. McLean reported he had...
Discussion about whether or not the Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County will take over Sweetwater County’s ambulance service took place at the Sweetwater County Commissioners meeting. Representatives from MHSC, Sweetwater Medics and members of the Ambulance Service Board were on hand to answer questions the Commissioners had about the hospital possibly getting into the ambulance service business. Scott Kitchner, chairman of the ambulance service board, said Sweetwater Medics and the hospital...
The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Department will probably move forward with the purchase of a reconditioned snowcat. During a recent Sweetwater County Commissioners meeting, Sheriff John Grossnickle asked the board if he could pursue the purchase of a reconditioned Hagglund snowcat from Natrona County. The snowcat and a trailer to pull it is available for purchase at about $74,000. Grossnickle said this type of a machine is used by the military and can hold up to 16 passengers, which would e...
A parcel next to the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport may be given back to the Bureau of Land Management. Rickey Rocky, Sweetwater County Parks and Recreation board president, said the model RC Airport, which is located on Baxter Road near the airport, is no longer serviceable. "The rule changes from the Federal Aviation Administration have condemned that space unflyable for RC controlled planes, drones or anything radio controlled," Rocky said. He said the space was meant to be run by a club...
It was a Monday morning that will stick with Sweetwater County Sheriff John Grossnickle for the rest of his life. Standing in front of friends, family and otherelected officials, Grossnickle recited his oath of office Jan. 7. “It was an overwhelming and humbling experience,” Grossnickle said. In the weeks following the oath, Grossnickle’s attention has primarily focused on reorganizing the office. Grossnickle said the reorganization has taken longerthan he anticipated, describing it as the b...
Sweetwater County will look at offering a volunteer separation program for employees who qualify. During the Sweetwater County Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning, human resources director Garry McLean presented the board with information about the Voluntary Separation Program. McLean said since 2012, the county has offered early retirement packages when it saw a reduction in the oil and gas industry. He said the county was being proactive when they had money to come up with the early...
Twin toddlers and an infant were among those rescued from a downed aircraft Monday night. According to the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, the Sweetwater Combined Communications Center received a report of a downed plane at about 6:30 p.m., Monday evening. The pilot had been in contact with authorities at the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport, reporting he had landed his Piper Archer fixed-wing, single-prop-engine aircraft into a snowy field near the airport after running low on fuel. The pilot was flying from Wayne, Neb., to his home i...
Before the Federal government shutdown stopped, residents were asked to help TSA employees at the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport to make ends meet until the shutdown was over. The seven TSA employees at the airport had been working since Dec. 22 without being paid, this means they have missed two paychecks, airport director Devon Brubaker. Due to the loss in pay, Brubaker asked the community to help by donating nonperishable food items, diapers and wipes, groceries, laundry detergent, dish...
A man was injured after being hit by a Wyoming Department of Transportation snow plow last week. According to Sgt. Jeremy Beck of the Wyoming Highway Patrol, a semi had gotten stuck on Wyoming 530, 9 miles south of Green River Monday morning. The truck was headed northbound and stuck in the southbound lane during a time when WYDOT had issued a no unnecessary travel restriction on the highway. The driver was outside his truck and placing chains on the tires with the help of another motorist who h...
The Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office recently completed an investigation into a violation of state campaign finance law in Rock Springs, stemming from a paid letter of support posted on the SweetwaterNOW website. According to a media release from the county attorney’s office, no charges were filed against the letter’s authors or employees at SweetwaterNOW. “I felt that it was clear that no one intended to violate campaign finance laws. Had the parties been aware of the specific law, or not been charged a fee, then a violation would not hav...
A grant matched by Sweetwater County will continue to be used to fund two full-time Sweetwater County Emergency Management Agency positions. During the Sweetwater County Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning, the Commissioners unanimously approved a fiscal year 2018 Emergency Management Performance Grant agreement from the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security. Under the agreement for the $120,000, the grant will provide $60,000 and the county will match it with $60,000. According to Judy...
For at least the past five years, Sweetwater County has participated in a nationwide homeless population count to determine just how many homeless people are in the county. The annual Point in Time Count will take place from sundown Jan. 22 to sundown Jan. 23 to gather this information. The national PIT county is an unduplicated count on a single night of the people in a community who are experiencing homelessness. This includes both sheltered and unsheltered populations. Kathy Tacke, member of...
To sum up 2018: it was a both a good and bad year for fires. Sweetwater County Fire Warden Mike Bournazian gave the Sweetwater County Commissioners an update on the 2018 fire season, but he wasn’t going to give out any predictions on what 2019 would bring. “What 2019 will hold, I do not know,” Bournazian said. “I never predict what next year’s going to be.” However he does know that things can’t continue the way they are now. “We can’t stretch our folks to the level we did,” he said. Bournazian...
A county resident has been tapped to head up the Sweetwater Combined Communications Center. Last week, the joint powers board overseeing the center announced it hired Rick Hawkins as its next executive director. Hawkins was most recently employed with the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, where he was the captain of the administrative section under former Sheriff Mike Lowell. Hawkins started his new position Jan. 8. Hawkins has 28 years of experience in law enforcement and volunteer f...
An opinion issued by the Wyoming Attorney General’s office has determined electronic terminals titled “Wyoming Skill Games” to be illegal, causing establishments in Green River to pull the plug on the popular games. The office issued a press release two weeks ago regarding the legality of the games. The terminals utilize an interface which looks like a slot machine’s reels. A player pays the machine to spin the reels, then receives an opportunity to change the result to a more favorable combina...
It was a year of tough decisions for the Sweetwater County Commissioners. In March, the Commissioners were faced with a packed room of residents all waiting for their turn to voice support or opposition to U.S. Representative Liz Cheney’s proposed Wilderness Study Area bill, which would release Wyoming’s WSAs. With a 3-2 vote, the Commissioners approved a motion for a full release of all 13 WSAs, including the three areas that run into other counties. Commissioners Wally Johnson, Don Van Mat...
Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County is still celebrating the milestone it reached on Dec. 2. On that day in 1893, dedication ceremonies were held with the Masons of Rock Springs Lodge No. 12 placing the cornerstone. It was completed and opened within a year at the top of C Street in Rock Springs. The hospital went through many transformations before it moved to its 1200 College Drive location. Parts of that history can be found in the hospital lobby, on the hospital’s website at sweetwatermemorial.com, and at the Sweetwater County Museum a...
Questions continue to arise regarding the ice jam near Jamestown that's impacting a few Jamestown residents. Finger pointing and claims that the U-drop diverting water into the Killdeer Wetlands in the Green River is to blame have also started. Both, representatives from the city of Green River and Sweetwater County have started to look into the issue. Jamestown residents Todd and Susie Heslep whose home is being threatened because of the jam have been watching the jam closely to see if there...
Residents are one step closer to seeing a new truck stop in Sweetwater County. Tuesday, the Sweetwater County Commissioners approved a zone change for two parcels west of Jamestown. The commissioners approved the change from agricultural to commercial in a 3-2 vote where Commissioners John Kolb and Reid West voted against the change. The proposal passed through the Sweetwater County Planning and Zoning Commission with a 3-1 decision Dec. 12. According to meeting documents, the truck stop is in...
With access to water opening up development west of Green River, plans for a new housing subdivision were recently submitted to the Sweetwater County Planning and Zoning office. Known as the Ranch View Subdivision, it is proposed to encompass more than 115 acres of land, which is planned to be split into 40 residential lots. The plans are in the sketch plat phase of development, which according to Jim Zimmerman of the planning and zoning office, is the earliest phase. Zimmerman said the...
Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County will receive $1 million from the county to help pay for a central plant upgrade project. During the Sweetwater County Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning, the Commissioners unanimously approved a budget amendment for $1 million to help pay for the $3.2 million project. “We want to start addressing some of those needs and we’d appreciate your assistance on it,” MHSC CEO Irene Richardson said. According to documents in the county commissioners’ packet,...
