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As 2015 comes to a close, we begin looking ahead to next year and all that we’d like to accomplish. The Green River Urban Renewal/Main Street Agency will have their strategic planning session in January to set the goals of the organization. One thing we know we will be working on in 2016, is developing an Urban Renewal Plan for the Central Business District in downtown Green River. The city has been awarded a Business Ready Community Planning Grant from the Wyoming Business Council for the purpose of completing this plan. Why do we need a...
An investment scheme that’s become a cliched mystery plot attracts new interest in the digital age. Most everyone reading this will probably not know what a tontine is, but they’re likely familiar with the concept. For example, a small circle of people are in a pool to determine the inheritor of a fortune and members of that circle start turning up dead. Sound familiar? Tontines, according to the Washington Post, once represented a majority of the American insurance market, holding 7.5 percent o...
With the holiday season well under way, life may seem hectic. Between shopping, decorating, working, volunteering and going to holiday parties, stress can overwhelm what should be a time to relax and celebrate. If you’re looking for a great way to reduce your stress load this season, pick up a book and read. Reading is one of the best and fastest ways to reduce stress, according to a study by the University of Sussex. That study concluded that reading for just six minutes can be enough to reduce your stress levels by more than two-thirds. T...
Hello, Green River, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Stacey Palmer, and I am the new Young Adult Librarian at the Sweetwater County Library. I am excited to be working with Green River’s middle school and high school students at the library and through programs and events. We are always planning new things, so stop on by, say hi, and tell me what kinds of activities you would like to participate in. Since I’m new to town, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I just moved here from Los Angeles, but I grew up in Mountain Vie...
Starting anything new can be a daunting task, even something as simple as joining an organization, taking up a hobby or checking out new places. For some people, even the Green River Recreation Center could be intimidating. But don’t worry; the smiling staff is there to help. The Green River Recreation Center is not a business; it’s a part of the community. Once through the door, there are so many different areas to exercise, like the weight room, pool, gym, racquetball courts and even the fitness class room. If the exercise takes its toll or y...
A couple months ago, I was trying some new hair styles. One day, I decided to curl my hair, which is something I had not done in a very long time. As I was curling my hair, I was getting frustrated because it didn’t seem to keep the curl. I switched curling irons, and the new one was working better. After I was done, I decided to spritz my hair with spritz hair spray. I then noticed I missed a spot. So I picked up the curling iron, grabbed that piece of hair and put it into the curling iron. M...
This is how the terrorists win. Last week, a man walking his dog near Green River High School prompted the school district to initiate lockout procedures at every school in Green River, except Washington Elementary School. Our fear and paranoia stemming from the supposed threat of a mass shooting has caused us to be suspicious of everything. A man simply walking his little dog around the high school becomes a nefarious villain aiming to shoot students when looked through the lens of paranoid fear. Social media, admittedly the fastest way to...
I have several little children in my house and we enjoy our evening reading time together. One of our favorite books right now is called “It Could’ve Been Worse,” by A.H. Benjamin and Tim Warnes. The book is about a little mouse who is returning home to his mother, after a day out exploring. On the way home he encounters some trouble. Each time he is faced with a situation he grumbles and complains “why me?” What little mouse is unaware of, is that each of these seven situations he faces throughout the book, could have been much worse for...
While some of the Sweetwater County Commissioners don’t think the county should pay for its proposed justice center with bonds when it can pay for the building with cash reserves, we believe investigating and possibly using bonds to pay for at least a portion of the building will help the county in the long run. During a discussion Tuesday about alternate funding methods the county could utilize for the justice center, Sweetwater County Treasurer Robb Slaughter said the county may be in for a long economic downturn. Supposing this does h...
When it comes to the holidays, my family has a tradition – we decorate the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. At the same time, we break out the holiday music. Typically, we listen to the same two Christmas CDs that we’ve had for years. This year, however, we were able to break out of our holiday music rut, thanks to the Sweetwater County Library System. The library can help you spice up your music collection without having to spend any money. All you have to do is use Hoopla, a service that provides streaming music for the library sys...
This Thursday at 5:30 p.m. the city lights up the Mayor’s Tree in downtown Green River. Baring that in mind, we thought it might be amusing to share a bit of history about one of America’s most beloved Holiday traditions. If you are a fan of Christmas Carols you may be familiar with “O Tannenbaum,” and may even know that it’s a German carol made popular in America during the days when groups of singers went door to door serenading their neighbors or perched on bustling street corners as Christmas shoppers whirled by. But you may not know that...
Prostitution has suddenly become a more prominent crime during the past month, originally involving a bust at the Rock Springs Motel 6, and over the weekend with a sting operation conducted by the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office. While prostitution is a crime, we’re not sure if it should be a major focus for area law enforcement. Ignoring the moral arguments against the activity, we admit there are good reasons why a crackdown on prostitution would benefit the community. Those who engage in unsafe sexual practices can contract a variety of s...
It’s Thanksgiving, Let’s Eat! Today is the day before Thanksgiving. It is Thanksgiving Eve, if you will. Perhaps you are brining your turkey or baking that last pumpkin pie. You might be doing some last-minute house cleaning or ironing of your tablecloths. Whatever you are doing, I hope you’re taking some time to relish the holiday. Whatever traditions you hold in your own families, I’m sure they involve food. Thanksgiving, in my own family, is a time for too many cooks in the kitchen, indescribable smells wafting throughout the house, too many...
We take technological progress for granted these days. It isn’t that surprising to hear about a smaller, faster and more powerful computer, nor is it really surprising when all a person needs to do to pay for something, is to hold their phone up to a scanner. Despite that, occasionally a bit of technological improvement can take us by surprise, which happened to me during a recent visit to McDonald’s. In Green River, as well as much of Wyoming, residents are accustomed to being somewhat beh...
Fall is slowly giving way to winter and one more week until the start of the holiday season. In Sweetwater County, a majority of us are blessed in one way or another. There are good jobs here, we live in a place where a short drive means escaping civilization, and we have a lot to be thankful for. However, for some of the county’s residents, the holiday season is a difficult time. Many seniors living off of small payoffs from social security or pension plans are forced to make tough budgetary choices that can cause them to choose between n...
Dear Editor, This is the time of year when we take time to ponder the many things that we are grateful for. One of the items at the top of my list is that I have sufficient food to feed myself and my family. That is not the case with many people in Sweetwater County. Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to visit with Kathy Siler, the director of the Sweetwater County Food Bank. Since it was the second Tuesday of the month, she was in Rock Springs serving the food need of the people there. When I asked about the number of people the food bank is...
“All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is.” ― Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five Sometimes I wish that time didn’t take so long. I know that sounds strange, but I’m sure you’ve been in situations in which time seems to pass very slowly. A recent example for me is a road trip back from a funeral in Illinois. It was a 17-hour drive to get back home to Green River, and for some of it, it felt as though we were traveling in slow motion. We saw cornfield after cornfield and farmhou...
Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28, falling between Black Friday and Cyber Monday to encourage people to support small, local businesses. So why shop local? Because spending money locally: Stimulates the local economy When you purchase at locally owned businesses rather than nationally owned stores, about 70 cents of every dollar stays local. Only 40 cents of every dollar spent stays local when shopping at a big box store. Preserves community character The unique character of our local community is defined in large part by the businesses that...
Normally, on this portion of the Opinion Pages, we chose a topic to write about in an attempt to weigh-in on an issue and sometimes explain what we think the best course of action is to deal with that issue. There are a huge number of subjects for us to broach too. A few ideas we’ve had kicking around include local housing, the U.P. Depot, community involvement and how the city should have planned how to pay for the water-treatment facility years ago. But, we figure those thoughts can wait a week. Instead, what we want to do is urge Green R...
According to the American Library Association, in the past 20 years, numerous studies have exposed a startling truth: by the time children from low-income families reach the age four, they will have heard 30 million fewer words than their more advantaged peers. This word gap has a profound influence on a child’s ability to succeed in school and later in life. The Sweetwater County Library is joining libraries and partner organizations across the country to help bridge this word gap with a new initiative: Babies Need Words Every Day: Talk, R...
Expedition Island - A National Historic Landmark in the heart of Green River. One might ask, what does it mean to be recognized as a National Registered Historic Landmark? To be listed the site must possess an exceptional value in commemorating a part of history to the United States. The Island obtained this status a mere 100 years after the famed river expeditions of John Wesley Powell in 1869 and again in 1871. Powell, a U.S. Army Major in the Civil War, launched his 1869 river adventure in May; Wyoming was not declared a territory until...
The GreenLight A Vet campaign is something I never heard of until this year. I was watching my stories on the television, when a commercial came on about lighting a green light on Veterans Day to show veterans support. I didn’t quite understand the whole concept, so I searched for more information on it on the Internet. While on the website www.greenlightvet.com, I found out more about the cause. U.S. citizens are encouraged to change one of their lights to green in a visible location, such a...
A man just walked in the office asking about why the local movie theatre listings are not in the newspaper. Truth is, we’d love to see the movie theatre listings back in the newspaper just as much as anyone else. Perhaps the movie theatre just assumes we all happily do an internet search for movie listings every time we’d like to go out to a movie, and such is not the case. Of course, unless we want to make the drive to the movie theatre or search for the movie theatre’s phone number to call. Ou...
More health insurance upheaval is coming your way. The value of your health insurance is shrinking, and you may be paying more for less this year and in years to come. Perhaps your employer has taken away the choice of plans with large provider networks and instead is offering those with a much narrower selection of doctors and hospitals. Some companies are enticing workers with lower premiums if they leave preferred provider organizations (PPOs), which let them use any provider, and choose health savings accounts. These are tax-advantaged...
The Wyoming Arts Council’s national partner, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), is in the process of celebrating its 50th anniversary. Now 48 years old and counting, the Wyoming Arts Council celebrates its long partnership with the NEA. Our budget includes NEA funding, funding from the State Legislature, and a small amount of money from private sources. Every dollar we provide is matched locally with $18 plus $3 in in-kind donations. Add all of this together and you come up with a flourishing arts scene in this vast state. In 1965, a s...
