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Thanksgiving is a time people are asked to give thanks for what they have, yet for a number of Sweetwater County residents, there is a lot they’re making due without. During the winter months, the Sweetwater County Food Bank sees more people seeking its services than other times of year. While the reasons for food shortages vary with the individuals who visit the food bank, the fact remains there are many who need help during this time of year. Please consider donating to the food bank to help our neighbors out. Cash donations can go a long w...
It isn’t hard to feel as though I’m beating a dead horse with continued coverage of the fallout from the special tax election Nov. 2. The vote is in and it wasn’t even close. People did not like the idea of the general sales tax or how it was presented to them, then voted accordingly. Yet, even weeks after the election ended, many unanswered questions regarding election signs purchased by the Green River Chamber of Commerce remain. What didn’t help was the fact that the chamber initial... Full story
Pfizer has a antiviral pill the company claims can cut the chance of hospitalization and death by 89%. This is good news in a country that has so far had more than 750,000 COVID-19 related deaths and 46.4 million cases reported since the start of the pandemic. This might be the turning point in the course of the pandemic, which is something we all should hope for. Regardless of whatever drugs or treatments are developed to combat the illness, the best means of protecting oneself and others is by receiving a vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines are...
Veterans Day is set aside as a day to honor all the men and women who have served our country. In my own family, that’s a long list. Both my Grandpas served — Grandpa Romero in the Army and Grandpa Jarvie in the Navy. My Uncle Tom served in the Army during the Gulf War. My brother-in-law was in the Coast Guard. My step-uncle served, as did all of his kids, which included two serving in the Middle East. Many of my great uncles were veterans as well. My great uncles Don, Ren, Roy and Robert all...
The Green River Chamber of Commerce shouldn’t have gotten involved in the special general purpose tax election and has overstepped its bounds. The chamber paid for signs urging voters to support the 1% sales tax local governments wanted to use to fund ambulance subsidies, emergency services and economic development efforts. The chamber is a organization that is independent of the Green River municipal government and Sweetwater County, yet it receives a substantial amount of funding from the city to continue its operations. In the 2021-2022 budg...
What does it say about a special legislative session when the most memorable moment of the first week was a former House speaker dropping a couple F-bombs to disparage another lawmaker? Perhaps it’s a sign that everyone involved in this lame effort to show the federal government it can’t push Wyoming around should just go home before the state wastes any more money. This special session to fight a federal COVID-19 “vaccine mandate” has already cost taxpayers at least $100,000. Lawmakers who demanded a public forum in which to grandst...
Responding to an article by Wyoming Rep. Marshall Burt, there is a need for “A Word” from the more rational side of the COVID-19 debate. Burt is opposed to the Biden Administration’s efforts to battle COVID-19, citing that it is an unconstitutional overreach of power. Meanwhile, we should remember that this virus, like past ones, laughs at our political arguments. COVID-19 never gets tired, and it might be just beginning. Children are increasingly dying. All COVID-19 requires is an unvaccinated population, and Wyoming freely offers this to th...
The upcoming general purpose special election should not be supported by the county’s voters. This is a tough position for us to take because we can see the need for an increased sales tax, but we believe the tax as presented is a 10-gallon solution to a one-gallon problem. Yes, we are aware of the funding challenges the cities and county have faced in the past few years. The general reduction in sales tax revenue has caused problems for the cities as their governing bodies look at how to provide the same services they offer with less r...
Dear Editor, The upcoming tax initiative is a Trojan horse with no accountability. 1. It is a general use tax. The explanation from the county commissioners: up to 75% MAY be used for emergency services; 25% for other projects. Since there is no specific amount or percentage of the collected tax, the commissioners can spent as low as 10% on emergency services. The rest of the tax collected is not adequately defined. What will our hard earned money be spent for? Will it be used to increase the county commissioners’ salaries? Or what? 2. The n...
It’s the spookiest time of the year and while people may have different opinions on Halloween and horror, I think everyone should be able to appreciate the fun that comes with creativity. Let me be honest — I’m not a fan of scary things. Ever since I watched the 1977 animated Hobbit film when I was about five and got scared out of my mind by Gollum, I grew up being very sensitive to things that were creepy, ugly, disturbing and so on. Even as I got older and could handle scary things a littl...
It isn’t hard to see some residents’ opposition to the proposed one penny general purpose sales tax. They’ve got signs posted on their front lawns and in many visible locations throughout the county. What is hard is knowing why this tax is being proposed in the first place. Readers of the Green River Star undoubtedly know about the funding challenges haunting local governments. Revenue challenges are what caused the county commissioners to decide not to solely fund ambulance subsidies, one of the key issues driving this tax proposal. Howev...
Dear Editor, I am writing this letter today as someone who is torn. Some of you may not be aware, but there is a special election coming up on November 2, 2021 where the only issue on the ballot is a General Purpose additional 1% county sales tax. We are told this is to help solve our county’s ongoing ambulance service issue, but upon deeper scrutiny of the resolution itself, I’m not sure it will. Now please hear me out. I have family working for Sweetwater Medics and have, in the past, utilized EMS services for which I believe you cannot put...
Dear Editor, Providing a free Ambulance Service sounds like a novel idea. However, if the general purpose sales tax does pass, there is no statutory guarantee Ambulance will receive any funding. City Council members and County Commissioners will have ultimate authority on which entities are supported every year. Our current relationship with the City of Green River is very good. They have told us they will fund the current losses, but that also assumes we will generate revenue ourselves by billing patient insurance. If we stopped billing...
Despite a day being named for him, there is little about Christopher Columbus that should be celebrated. The Columbus of reality is a far cry from the noble explorer of myth. While we can’t argue his exploits are not historically significant, they also do not warrant a day of remembrance in his name. The Wyoming Legislature should vote to recognize Indigenous’ Peoples Day over Columbus Day. The man commonly believed to have discovered the New World (he didn’t), Columbus was the first to introduce the brutality of European conquest to the Ameri...
Dear friends and neighbors, Daily, our staff, your friends and family members, are treating patients with COVID-19. It is a battle. We need your help. The Delta variant is two times more contagious than previous variants and results in more severe illness and hospitalizations. The patients admitted to our hospital with COVID-19 are the youngest and the sickest we have seen during the pandemic. It is heartbreaking, frustrating, and exhausting. It is also preventable. Talk to your doctor and learn about the vaccine and help us, but more...
Zombies seem to be a bit passé these days, don’t they? Sure, AMC’s “The Walking Dead” is going strong in its final season, but the mindless, reanimated corpses seemingly everywhere in the mid to late 2000s gave way to the sparkly vampires and teen werewolves of the early 2010s, which itself has given way to the current infatuation with comic book superheroes. Even Capcom’s Resident Evil, which has often involved its characters surviving a zombie outbreak, has shied away from using zombies in...
It’s hard not to feel defeated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Just as things begin to look up, something happens that casts doubt on if this thing will ever end. We have several widely-available vaccines now — that’s awesome! Oh wait, Wyoming only has a 38.2% vaccination rate. That’s not so awesome. The vaccines were meant to be an important tool in curbing COVID-19 transmission. “Tool” is the important word here as nothing short of an actual cure for the disease itself will single-handedly end the pandemic once and for all. Vaccines ar...
October is a month dedicated to the spooky, the grotesque and the scary and the video game industry certainly doesn’t have a shortage of titles focusing on those themes. This month, I thought it might be fun to focus on some of the games that have had the largest impacts on the industry and we’re starting with one that people who don’t play video games have likely heard of. The Mortal Kombat franchise has left an impression on the video game industry since its introduction in 1992. Ever wonde...
Supposing the proposed 1% general purpose sales tax is approved, there are two things local governments should do: make the county’s various ambulance services a public service and provide ambulance service for free. Before anyone rushes to their keyboard to fire off an email to complain about this newspaper supporting a socialist cause, consider the following thoughts. First, the fact we’re already subsidizing ambulance services and have done so for years shows it isn’t a viable private business in Sweetwater County. Before Sweetwater Medic...
My father was a coal miner. After learning about Bridger Coal Company’s plans to close its underground mine, I found myself thinking about him and his work. He was a miner throughout much of his life, spending a lot of his years working underground. He was one of the first people to work at Bridger’s underground mine and was one of the last to leave the Stansbury Mine when it was operated by Arch Minerals. He took me into the Stansbury Mine when I was 11 as part of an open house at the min...
If you go see “Dear Evan Hansen” (and you should), bring a box of tissues and an open mind. “Dear Evan Hansen” has been one of my favorite Broadway musicals since I first listened to the soundtrack and read through the script about four years ago. Three years ago my best friend and I were able to go to Denver for the first performance of the national tour. So when I heard a film version was being made, with Ben Platt reviving his Tony-winning role as Evan, I was excited. Despite my excitem...
Dear Editor, In support of your readers of a more independent mindset, those who harbor a healthy skepticism of government-backed science, I would like to direct your attention to one of many scientifically honest articles refuting the government-approved narrative concerning face masks. (Found at: https://www.justfacts.com/news_face_masks_deadly_falsehoods) Traditionally, the scientific method consists of five steps: Observation, Hypothesis, Experiment, Conclusion, and Communication of Theory. Unfortunately, with the involvement of...
Dear Editor, The health of the children and adults in Wyoming should be the current number one priority of the State of Wyoming. Our hospital ICU beds and emergency rooms are full or nearing capacity. These emergency rooms and ICU beds are occupied by a majority of unvaccinated individuals. Consequently, all people who depend on hospital services risk receiving less than optimum care, having to wait for care, or being turned away. Hospital staff are being required to prioritize admittance in Idaho. Will Wyoming hospitals need to adopt these...
