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Since November 2016 marks another election year, this month’s artifact of the month comes from political advertising for elections. This artifact is a matchbook advertisement from John Warden Opie’s re-election campaign for County Coroner around the 1940s. The matchbook reads, “Let’s all vote for & support your present County Coroner J. Warden Opie, Democratic Candidate, The Logical Man For The Office.” Opie originally hailed from Oroville, Wash., where he started his career in the funeral business. He moved around to other towns such as W...
During the past week, we’ve received a few phone calls from concerned residents regarding the upcoming general election. The calls stem from one concern in particular: the legitimacy of the results. Fears ranging from Russian influence hijacking local results to the dead rising from the grave to cast their ballots are out there, but we think the election will remain untainted. Sweetwater County Clerk Dale Davis said it wouldn’t be impossible to influence an election in the county, but said it would be extremely difficult to pull off. A nef...
“Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble.” -- William Shakespeare With Halloween right around the corner, the Green River URA/Main Street Agency wants to share some tips to ensure a fun and safe experience for everyone. These recommendations are from the American Academy of Pediatrics: -- Plan costumes that are bright and reflective. Make sure that shoes fit well and that costumes are short enough to prevent tripping, entanglement or contact with flame. -- Consider adding reflective tape or striping to costumes and tri...
The fight in California over a ballot initiative that would begin to control the price of pharmaceuticals paid by state programs shows how difficult it is to “do something” about the high price of prescription drugs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. drug spending rose 7 percent this year - the biggest increase in 24 years – and most Americans now think drug prices are unreasonable. So it’s not surprising the pharmaceutical industry is running scared and, with its deep pockets, is spending big to convince millions of Califor...
Dear Editor, In what would seem an outrageous overreach of power, Senate File No. 12 was passed by our Wyoming legislature and signed into law by Gov. Mead. This file banned citizens from collecting data from ANY Wyoming land outside city limits. In so many words, if you saw cattle destroying creek banks or their manure polluting a mountain stream and/or campground, took a picture of it and submitted that photo to a public agency, you would be subject to prosecution resulting in up to a $5,000 fine and a year in prison! That’s but one e...
Dear Editor, Did you know the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees more than 200 million acres of lands owned in part by each and every American? Forty years ago, a law was passed by Congress to ensure that we all have a say in how these lands are managed. Prior to 1976, your public lands currently managed by the BLM were not necessarily viewed as America’s crown jewels like the national parks, and the BLM often sold off acreage for oil and gas, mining and ranching. The law called the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) c...
This presidential election has been one of the most venomous in history. The amount of mud slung during the primaries in both the Democratic and Republican races for the presidential nomination, as well as the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, cannot be understated. Even now, the venom continues to spew across the county. A Republican election office in North Carolina was firebombed recently, with the words “Republican Nazis get out” painted nearby the gutted office space. Some Republicans have claimed there will be an armed rev...
Spotting the crack in the cliff from the dry floor of the canyon, it looked to require an ascent of about 300 feet on loose scree, some bushwhacking, and then a short climb. What I was looking for, I didn’t know, but probably would once I found it. These kinds of hiding places abound in the west. In the interest of not having a lot of people flock to the location, I will only say that I was within Canyonlands National Park. Over the years I’ve done about 10 hikes in Canyonlands, always from four to 10 days. This is not extremely long, but lon...
Recently, the Wyoming Association of Municipalities produced its first Municipal Finance Report in an effort to address Wyoming’s economic downturn and potential solutions for the long-term financial health of cities and towns. This report was compiled by a team of Wyoming municipal leaders forming a Municipal Finance Task Force that met throughout the summer. Representatives from Casper, Cheyenne, Jackson, Lander, Laramie, Sheridan, Cody, Upton, and Green River, along with the WAM staff were tasked to come up with an action plan to review, a...
Fall foods are more than just caramel apples, pumpkin-spiced lattes and pumpkin pie. Of course, I like all of these things, but I also like baking cookies or trying a new snack. This weekend, I decided to try a recipe my friend had shared with me. It is called caramel marshmallow popcorn. My friend said the recipe was easy to make, kids like it and it’s delicious. All three of those sounded good to me. So my sons, Matthew, 6, and John, 4, and I set to work making this yummy popcorn treat. First,...
Wyoming voters will have a tough choice on their ballots Nov. 8 when deciding if they want Liz Cheney or Ryan Greene to represent the state in Washington, D.C. Cheney, who came out ahead of a nine-person field for the Republican nomination in August, has certainly poised herself to make a strong push during the last month of the campaign, having generated more than $1.4 million in donations. One question voters should ask themselves is if Cheney is more interested in speaking for Wyoming, as...
What’s even tougher than being a youth sports coach or parent? The answer is being a youth sports referee or umpire. The youth sports official has one of the most demanding and essential roles in youth sports. It is obvious that the youth sports official is responsible for enforcing the rules of the game, but what else is the official responsible for? A good ref or umpire should check to see if a child is injured on a play, make sure players and coaches practice good sportsmanship, encourage players that may be having a rough time, try to make...
A couple of weeks ago, I read an article by tennis great, Serena Williams titled “Leadership Lessons.” (Coach, September/October 2016) In it, Serena talked about four traits she tries to live by in order to be the best tennis player she can be. I share this with you, because these traits are not only good reminders for effective living, at work, at home, when you deal with others and how you carry yourself. First, Serena says that people need to take the “long-term view”. She says that for her life is more than just tennis, which is her job. I...
Newspapers across the county are celebrating National Newspaper Week, an observance usually made by printing verbose editorials celebrating the newspaper’s importance to the community it serves. We decided to take a different tactic. We decided to show you how a newspaper can continue to be valuable, even now. On the front page of the newspaper this week, we published two articles involving campaign finances. One focuses on what was spent in the local political contests for city council and county commission while the other highlights c...
Can you believe it is already October? Where did September go? The Green River URA/Main Street Agency finished up the Farmers’ Market season Sept. 14. We had a good season and best of all, it didn’t even rain every Wednesday like it did last year! The vendors really enjoy our Farmers’ Market and we sure appreciate the support of the community for this important summer event. We’re already looking forward to next year. October brings the cooler weather and some exciting events. Last weekend, the Green River URA/Main Street Agency hosted the Fir...
October is the month when most think of Halloween. Over here at the Sweetwater County Library, we think of Harry Potter. For years now, we have worked hard each October to create the best, most realistic, and most fun Harry Potter party for you. We love doing it and we hope you love coming to it. The party starts at 1 pm.. on Saturday and this year, we’re celebrating “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” the fifth book in the seven-book series. Everything is new this year – activities and crafts that you’ve never seen before. Begin by me...
In Wyoming, we know how devastating floods can be to our communities. With Senate passage of a bipartisan water bill, towns across Wyoming are one step closer to improving dam safety and better preparing for floods. Senate Passes Bill to Help Wyoming Communities Prepare for Flood On Sept. 15, the Senate passed the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) by a vote of 95 to 3. This bill authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to improve and maintain dams, inland waterways, ports, and projects to prevent flooding and ensure water delivery...
This month’s featured artifact is a Geiger counter donated to the Sweetwater County Historical Museum by Arnold M. Hannum. Geiger counters are used to detect ionizing radiation, and similar objects have been used in the uranium mining business in Wyoming. This particular Geiger counter was produced by the Eberline Instrument Corporation of Santa Fe, N.M., and was copyrighted July 29, 1966 as the PRM-4 model. The Eberline Instrument Corporation was established in 1958 by Howard Clayton Eberline, a former employee of the Los Alamos Scientific L...
We realize safety is a major concern, however that doesn’t mean we should shut everything down the moment a threatening email is received. We think cooler heads could have prevailed Thursday, especially when looking at the email from a logical perspective. Hiding 500 pounds of plastic explosives across 40 schools across the state would take an impressive amount of coordination. Couple that with filling 10 school fire-sprinkler systems with napalm, hiding 650 pipe bombs in government buildings, 50 sets of C4 explosives at Cheyenne Regional Airpo...
Recently I got a note from a reader of these columns who lives in Warren, Ohio. He had seen conflicting reports about next year’s insurance premiums. The man was skeptical of an article he had read, which reported that insurance premiums are cheaper than they were in 2010, and that the Affordable Care Act will cost $2.6 trillion less than estimated. Somehow that didn’t compute with what he had read about premiums going up. He was right to be skeptical, and his comments are important because they zoom right in on the spin that’s been circu...
On Sept. 27, the City of Green River was the guest presenter for the Green River Chamber’s “Lunch and Learn” series they have each month. This is the second time they presented the “State of the City,” for chamber members and guests, and they did it to a packed house. What’s good to share at these events is the many programs, projects, and updates from different department head perspectives and governing body representatives. This year we also had a guest speaker from the state director for the office of the Corporation for National an...
We realize we might be beating a dead horse with this, but think about another grocery store in Green River. Yes, that survey conducted by the now-defunct Sweetwater Economic Development Agency argued Green River could not support another grocery store, but let’s suppose we walked away with the wrong interpretation. At face value, it appears Green River residents have a number of options for their grocery needs. Yet, a majority of those “options” were actually convenience stores -- places residents wouldn’t do a bulk of their grocery shoppin...
One year ago this month, the Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell stood on a stage flanked by Republican Governor Matt Mead of Wyoming and Democratic Governor Steve Bullock of Montana. They were joined by ranchers, conservationists and other westerner stakeholders to proclaim the Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the greater sage-grouse did not warrant a listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to the creation of the strong, science-based Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land management plans...
June 12 seemed like just another early summer Sunday. At least, until 3:45 p.m. when a damaging hail storm passed through. In addition to the piles of hail and leaf covered streets the storm left in its path, it also left behind damaged roofs, siding and even a few broken windows. Almost immediately after the storm, Green River Community Development started to see an increase in permits for re-roofing projects. Of the 50 building permits issued in the month of June, nearly half (23) were issued for re-roofing projects. The extent of structural...
I, like millions of other people, have a Facebook account. I don’t use it all the time; and when I am on vacation I don’t even bother looking at it. I am not one of those people who are constantly updating my Facebook status on what I am eating, where I am eating it at, what I am watching, what I am reading and just about anything else one can think of posting. A lot of my posts are about my kids, but in that area too, I don’t go overboard. On Thursday, I was trying to find story ideas. Every...
