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Are you in the market for some baked goods? Try our local bakery, The Daily Knead, located downtown on Flaming Gorge Way. Loanda Slaton opened her bakery about 5 and a half years ago to start a college fund for her two sons. She and her son, Aaron, do all the baking themselves and everything they sell is homemade. Loanda said that she decided to start a bakery because she loves baking for other people. She really enjoys watching people’s expressions as they take a bite of one of her goodies and seeing the look of joy that comes over their f...
What would make your medicines cheaper? That’s a question Americans are asking every time they go to the pharmacy and find the price of a maintenance drug they’ve been taking has doubled or tripled, or that a new medicine, like one of the new diabetes drugs, their doctors have prescribed is beyond their means. Increasingly the answer from the drug industry, which pretty much can charge whatever it wishes, is more patient assistance programs that come in the form of coupons, co-pay cards, or vouchers to help people buy their drugs. People nee...
(Editor’s Note: This was originally submitted as a letter to the editor, however due to its length and the topics covered, we’re publishing this as a guest column.) By CHRIS STEFFEN Green River Police Chief After reading the article about the mistake made by the joint tactical team in (the March 23) Green River Star, I felt compelled to respond, where possible, to the items you referenced in the article. As a department we did respond on each of the items you discussed at a level we felt was adequate when they occurred. With additional comments...
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” This is one of my favorite lines of poetry. Mary Oliver ends her poem, “The Summer Day,” with this question. The bulk of the poem meditates upon a moment of a grasshopper’s life. The beauty of poetry, I think, is its ability to take ordinary things and use them to push you to examine yourself, your actions, your life. April is National Poetry month. Millions of teachers, students, librarians, booksellers, publishers, bloggers, authors, and poets take part in this cele...
A few months ago the ity formed a beautification committee in partnership with Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism. Just this week the Beautification Committee learned that they have been awarded a grant from the Wyoming Department of Transportation, which means their first project will get underway this summer. The project is the first phase of a xeriscaping plan at the east entrance of town. The round grassy field diagonally across from the chamber’s sign is the first focus of the beautification committee’s efforts. It will be lan...
During a recent visit to Copenhagen, I squeezed in a visit with city officials to learn more about the Danish health system particularly the country’s arrangements for long-term care, a topic that draws endless complaints from American families, including many readers of this column. Coincidentally, the day I returned home, I learned the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which runs both programs, had just released star ratings for the country’s home care agencies that provide services to nearly 5 million Americans. The home hea...
It’s interesting when a politician starts openly fighting for public access to meetings. Yes, that statement comes from a somewhat jaded outlook, as it most often has been politicians who have argued the case for less transparency, not more. So imagine our surprise when Sweetwater County Commissioner John Kolb started talking about being declined access to committee meetings involving Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County’s Board of Trustees. His comments to us about the problem certainly got our attention. Kolb alleges he was kept out of com...
Spring did officially start last weekend and though there is snow on the ground today, now is still the right time to be thinking about the garden. The solid waste team here at the city doesn’t just handle curb side trash pickup, we also manage “green waste”. Beginning in April we will be setting out the “green waste” dumpsters again in several convenient locations. These dumpsters are for yard clippings, grass and leaves, etc. Basically, almost anything green from your yard can go in one of theses. But as a friendly reminder, plastic b...
Not many of us think about needing air ambulances. We don’t dwell on that possibility, but for people hurt in car accidents or who live in smaller or rural communities without medical care at hand, being airlifted to a hospital can mean the difference between life and death. Increasingly, the service also can mean the difference between getting well at a price you can afford or at a price that could push you over a financial cliff. Air ambulances have become the centerpiece of a nationwide dispute over balance billing, a practice that r...
Once again, I was trying to shop local instead of purchasing the same items on the internet, but it failed. I not only try to support little ma and pa shops, but I try to support the local well-known retailers as well. Why? Because it seems like more and more of them keep closing. I recently had a birthday, and because of this I received a lot of coupons in the mail or on my email encouraging me to visit a certain store and take advantage of “special birthday” savings. My oldest son, Mat...
As everyone knows at this point, members of the county’s SWAT team completely failed when they conducted a raid at a wrong address in Green River nearly three weeks ago. Unfortunately, the Green River Police Department’s response after the incident is also a failure, especially considering the severity of the issue. Sure, people have poked fun at the incident, with a few suggesting the department require its officers a degree in forestry to help them differentiate between the tree streets, the...
On the surface, caucuses appear to be a perfectly democratic process, but we think there are problems. For the Republicans, people living within each precinct get together and elect representatives to the county convention based on who they support, who then go on to a county convention and again vote for a delegate that best represents that group’s vote on who should be the party’s Presidential nominee. For Democrats, the process starts at the county level, but follows a similar path. The inherent problem with caucuses is they seem to mai...
Can you believe that it’s almost spring? This winter went by quickly, and while it may still snow a few more times (we do live in Wyoming) things have pretty much thawed out for the year. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s a time of renewal, a time to get outside, a time to try something new. Speaking of trying something new, have you gotten hooked on audiobooks yet? Spring Break starts in Green River next week, so if you’re planning to take a vacation, now would be a good time to stop by the library and pick up an audio...
What goes around comes around! Especially when it comes to customer service; 90 percent of all service people fail to perform basic common courtesies such as greeting, making eye contact and really listening. Customer service is extremely important if you want your business to succeed. Customers are vital to your organization. Customers will spend 10 percent more for the same product if they receive better service. Unhappy customers will talk about their experience with 9-15 people, and those people will tell five or six others. A good...
(Editor’s Note: As part of Sunshine Week, which promotes transparent government, we’re publishing this guest column) Government must be held accountable. The only way for the public to hold government accountable is for all of the actions of government to be out in the open. That is why open government is part and parcel of democracy. When government is allowed to operate behind closed doors, it grows out of control, is not responsive to the public and is subject to corruption. These are some of the reasons the media, watchdog groups — and m...
My journey with hospice started about two years ago, long after the word “cancer” became part of my family’s regular vocabulary; long after my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer. No doubt, when hospice came into our lives, it was a difficult time. Thinking about it, it’s hard to put down in words. Even though we knew his death would come, I was not ready for it. In my mind, I don’t think I really fully accepted the fact that he would pass, or thought it really would happen, but it did. When...
Gotta catch’ em all! Pokémon players or “trainers” have been catching and battling Pokémon for 20 years now. Pokémon celebrated it’s 20th birthday on Feb. 27. I heard word of it recently being Pokémon Day and of it being a big anniversary for the Pokémon franchise. So I decided to make a google search on the topic. I found out a lot about Pokémon that I didn’t know before. My search even prompted me to buy an old Pokémon game that had originally been released on the Nintendo 64, titled “Hey...
Admittedly, this isn’t something on our readers’ radar, but trust us, it’s an important issue. The Environmental Protection Agency announced it would stop running public notices of its Clean Air Act permits in newspapers, opting to post the notices on their website only. For a state as distrustful of the EPA as Wyoming, this is a problem. The EPA’s move inherently shrouds the agency’s business in secrecy. Residents curious about what the EPA is working on in their backyard will have to keep their eyes posted to the EPA’s website, something that...
We have a lot of new and exciting activities going on in the Sweetwater County Library Teen Program! Because I am new to the area, I wanted to get a better idea of what the local teens were looking for in a public library teen program. So in January, we surveyed students at Green River High School to see what kinds of programs they would be interested in getting involved in. We received responses from 425 students, which helped us understand what a variety of students were passionate about and wanted to see available at the library as teen...
It is that time of year when the long parade of cold and dreary days is almost over and we begin to think about sunny tomorrows. Teachers from schools around Sweetwater County start calling the Green River Recreation Center to set up field trips, so their students can participate in activities here, at their local health and athletics facility. Students in the community of Green River are eager to take advantage of the amenities that we have to offer. Smaller communities across southwest Wyoming also set up field trips to visit the Green River...
Each time a business closes downtown, people tend to reminisce about all the good times they had there. This is especially true for restaurants because these tend to be places where people linger long after the meals are finished, while they socialize and make connections. Restaurants are where we have memorable special events like birthday parties and wedding receptions. Like an extension of the dinner table where family comes together, restaurants serve not only food but also community links....
The Green River Mercantile is rich in history and has been home to many businesses; it was even a mortuary at one time. Currently it houses the Southwestern Beauty Academy, Up, Up and Away Flowers and Balloons, and Tolly’s Coffee Shop. Susan Hehr is the owner and she gave me some background. Susan’s grandfather built the store himself in 1905 where it began as a department store. Susan worked there with her mother until her mother passed away, at which time Susan took over the management of the business with the help of her family. After Sus...
Everyone is creative in their own way. Some people like to paint. Some people like to write. Some people like crafts. That’s the great thing about the library, you can find materials on all of your interests. We have books on painting, writing, crafting and a whole variety of other creative activities. Not only do we have materials on these activities, we also host events where you can learn something new. You can discover a new hobby, learn a new artistic technique, and make something. We have an event like this coming up this month. The S...
Readers may wonder why we take such an interest in the local business climate. Simply put, it doesn’t make sense why many businesses seemingly struggle here. It’s very bizarre that people living in a city of nearly 13,000 residents feel they have to travel a round trip of at least 30 miles to purchase their necessities. Worse yet, we’re upset with the general apathy displayed by many residents and elected officials about Green River’s economic environment, making excuses that the city is nothing more than a “bedroom community” or saying “bus...
Dear Editor, I would like the people of Green River to know that Hazel Koenig at the Veterans Service Office in Green River is a wonderful person and does her best to help veterans. She works out of the Golden Hour Senior Center. There are times when we are unable to travel to Rock Springs and she is able to do the same things here as the Rock Springs office. She works from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday and is able to help on requests with special appointments. Hazel is here to help the county’s vets in any way possible. Ross M...
