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I am back! Some of you might not have even noticed or missed me, but some of you may have noticed I haven’t written in a few months. In fact, I have been asked by some people why they hadn’t seen any new articles in the paper or on my website in a bit. The answer is simple. I was tired. I wasn’t sleepy tired, although there have been a few days. I wasn’t depressed tired. I wasn’t tired of writing. I was just busy, pulled in many directions, mostly at work, and I was giving everything I had left (which wasn’t much sometimes), to my family. But...
Dear Editor, There is much about Wyoming that our visitors adore. Lots of room, peace and quiet - good neighbors and a great heritage. We’re the smallest state in the union - but a state of solid citizens. One of the most significant ingredients in this character is a belief in God and one of the most compelling types of evidence for that belief is the “Cokeville Miracle.” Recently, I have contacted our national senators and representatives with a proposal that we share our faith by promoting and creating a national memorial remembering that ev...
One summer during my college years, I had a roommate who suffered from suicidal thoughts. She’d attempted suicide before we met, and been hospitalized, but continued to struggle. Back in the late 80s, there was very little public understanding of mental health issues, and the stigma was even stronger than it is today. Our other roommate and I didn’t know what to do, or where to turn. Not surprisingly, we didn’t handle it well. However, we did one thing right: we restricted access to lethal means. We secured the knives, and took control of her m...
Dear Editor, Your article in the 9/8/22 issue entitled “Non-Profit Scrutiny” on page one and continued on page 3 with the title “Fraudulent activity with federal funds poses risk to Sweetwater County” is incorrect and should be retracted. The embezzled funds were private funds from families whose children were enrolled in the RS-YAHC Early Learning Center, not federal, state, county, or any other governmental funds as inferred in your article. The federal funds in question are those that Rachelle Morris obtained through her sham LLC under t...
Wyoming doesn’t need another warning that we can no longer rely on the fossil fuel industry to propel our economy and pay the lion’s share of our government services. We’ve seen for years growth in renewables like wind and solar. Coal plants are retiring in favor of cleaner sources of energy. The market is responding to climate change with innovation that will reduce our country’s dependence on carbon-based fuels to power our cars, our homes and our industries. Earlier this month, we saw yet another sign of the change that is coming, regardl...
Dear Editor, I am just a nobody but if I was a someone that would be listened to, I would ask that people consider more regarding what their values could have in regards to a person’s life. Anyone who has been in trouble with the law knows that you gotta pay to play. What if a person wasn’t playing? What if a person could not pay? To treat human beings like cattle and use them to make money is wrong but that is most local government’s “cash cow.” Excuse the pun. As I said, I am a nobody but I would like to believe that somebody would notice if...
I grew up in Middle Earth. Granted, my first journey there was when I was five, and Gollum in the animated 1977 “Hobbit” film scared me so bad I couldn’t watch anything remotely strange or fantastic for a few years. But the rest of my family loved the first two “The Lord of the Rings” films that had come out in the early 2000s, so I eventually got pulled in. I watched “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers,” and, at the risk of being cliche, they changed my life. I got my hands on t... Full story
Labor Day is a day to celebrate the workers who keep our country running. They’re the ones who keep our businesses open and our economy strong. However, as I’ve visited policymakers, business owners and workers throughout the state, one question invariably pops up: Where have all the workers gone? We’ve all heard the phrases “the Great Resignation,” “quiet quitting,” “boomeranging,” “gig workers,” and other new terms to describe a new workforce and workplace. But what does this mean to businesses clamoring for help and workers still looking...
A lot of art was created in Sweetwater County in the 24 hours from last Friday night to Saturday night. Two different creative 24-hour events took place over the weekend. The Art on the Green and connected Battle on the Green competitions were happening in Green River, while the Actors’ Mission page to stage event was going on in Rock Springs. While Art on the Green has been around for almost two decades, the page to stage event was the first time the Actors’ Mission has done a 24-hour playwriti...
One of the things Sweetwater County — especially Green River — prides itself on is having that small-town vibe and being a close-knit community. This doesn’t go away during elections. If anything, it becomes even more important. We want the people who lead us to be our friends and neighbors, people we can pass on the street, people who are active in our community, people we know and trust. But when it comes to election season, it can be too easy to separate the concept of a candidate from the concept of a human being. We value them being a par...
Dear Editor, Charlie Manson and Donald Trump have several things in common. Both have initiated violent crimes that neither man was directly involved in, yet these crimes would not have happened except for their planning, brainwashing, and encouragement. This is known as “vicarious conspiracy,” while they share “vicarious liability,” or responsibility. Part of Manson’s brainwashing efforts involved the name of a Beatles song, “Helter Skelter.” Manson envisioned a coming race war that he called The Helter Skelter. Black people were going to rise... Full story
Dear Editor, Well… The Wyoming Primary is coming around again (like it does every 2 years). We get to decide who is running for the Democrat and Republican tickets. This is the most important election for the State of Wyoming, even though is a Primary. Currently, we have some newly minted Republicans (from the Democrat Party) running in August 16, 2022 Primary: Rob Slaughter, running for County Commissioner, is a new Republican of several months. He was a died-in-the-wool Democrat during the 45 years I have lived in Sweetwater County. Jeff R...
Dear Editor, I’ve been feeling blue. Today I did something that was hard for me. I changed my party affiliation. Now, I’ve lived in Wyoming my whole life. On my eighteenth birthday, I registered to vote. I registered as a Democrat. Being blue in a red state is no easy feat. It has meant keeping my mouth shut with my in-laws to keep the peace. It has meant choosing to nod along and hold my tongue when strangers talk to me, and it has meant keeping a distance from people I care about in political seasons. To be quite honest, it has made me fee...
As the pandemic was in full swing during July 2020, Harper’s Magazine published “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate,” which argued that a growing intolerance was becoming a threat to free speech. Far from a conservative response to so-called “cancel culture,” the over 150 signatories of the letter included some of the most prominent voices of the political left, including feminist Gloria Steinem, linguist Noam Chomsky, and New York Times editor, Bari Weiss, who would resign her position at the paper a week later citing the newsroom...
Dear Editor, To all the residents of Wyoming, You are very fortunate to have a Patriot representing you, not all states are that fortunate. Liz Cheney is your representative, she is a Patriot, you should feel honored having such a great lady as your representative. She is doing a masterfull job as Vice chair of the January 6th committee. She is fearless in her presentations of the facts. Again, I say she IS a PATRIOT, REMEMBER THAT. The January 6th committee is bringing out all the facts about who was responsible for the insurrection on January...
While it’s great Wyoming is taking steps in the right direction to help with suicide prevention and offering mental health resources, it’s also clear our state still has a mental health crisis, and more work needs to be done. I’m excited about the nation-wide switch to 988 for the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. This number is definitely easy to remember, and a better option in a moment of crisis than having to look up a full 10-digit phone number (or having to save it to your phone or memor...
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” — Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 Of course the founders of our country did not wholly agree that all men were created equal. Certainly not Black Americans, or Indigenious people, or even women for t...
We know many of our furry companions love a good car ride, but as summer temperatures rise they need to be left at home. Temperatures in Cody have been in the 80s and will likely stay in that range for much of the summer. This can be deadly for animals left in a vehicle – even if it’s just for a moment, and even if the windows are cracked. Recently at Walmart, when the temperature was 87 degrees, two dogs sat in a parked car. Thankfully they were OK, but it could have had a much different ending. According to the ASPCA, on an 85 degree day it...
Chances are you’ve at least heard of “Stranger Things,” even if you aren’t one of the fans of the popular Netflix series. I remember hearing that title everywhere before I even knew what it was back when it first came out in 2016. With the recent release of the fourth season, the name is on everyone’s lips again. In fact, so many people tried to watch the last two episodes of season 4 when they released July 1 that they actually crashed Netflix. Needless to say, it’s popular, and with the po...
A few weeks shy of one year ago, I wrote a column on these pages introducing myself as the new Green River Star staff writer. In it I explained how journalism is in my blood, but I never expected to go into this field. Life had other plans. That column has been on my mind this week as I've taken my first steps in my new role as the editor of the Green River Star. In many ways, it's hard for me to believe and accept this new role. Putting "editor" next to my name just looks funny. It's probably b... Full story
Dear Editor, In a piece written on May 26, the editorial board of the Green River Star asserted the “State should back away from crypto” as “none of this will benefit Wyoming in the long run.” I have to say, I couldn’t disagree more. Wyoming is at a crossroads. We have long relied on our trifecta of industry – energy, agriculture, and tourism – to fund our state and local governments and employ our residents. Those industries will always be important to the fabric of our state, but that shouldn’t prevent us from welcoming other emerging industr...
Dear Editor, I was disappointed to learn that the C&M circus will be in Green River on July 1. Culpepper and Merriweather Circus, operated by Eugene “Trey” Key III and Key Equipment Inc, was cited by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for failure to provide shelter to animals from the elements, proper veterinary care, nutrition, and handling. In addition, USDA had confiscated an underweight tiger cub from the circus. And its license was suspended for six months by an administrative law judge. The link to all the violations is...
“What we want, and what we shall have, is the royal American privilege of living and dying in a country town, running a country newspaper, saying what we please when we please, how we please and to whom we please.” — William Allen White Those words are printed on the copy of “Community Journalism” I’ve had since being a student at the University of Wyoming. The book was written by Bruce Kennedy, who once owned the Green River Star through his Sage Publishing Company. While I’ve read through that... Full story
After 15 months of ignoring a court order, the Biden Administration recently announced the long-overdue resumption of federal oil and gas lease sales – at a greatly reduced scale. With the available acreage significantly cut back and royalty rates hiked, it’s hard to see the move as anything other than a grand gesture to appease the critics who want more energy security and those who want fewer fossil fuels. A grand, but empty gesture that will offer few actual solutions to building up our domestic energy reserves, leaving us continually vulner...
Here’s a good question: how does political affiliation inform how a county assessor or county clerk performs their duties? We’re not sure they do as state statutes govern how they operate. Yet, throughout Wyoming many of the political races involved in the upcoming elections will be focused on offices that are dictated by state statute, not political ideology and that shouldn’t be the case. How would a Republican do a better job than a Democrat when it comes to running an office like the Sweetwater County Clerk of District Court’s Office?...
