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"Hey, I am going to the lake, what about you," says seven-year-old Bella, a black lab mix, as she pokes her head out of a car window at a stop light on a warm sunny day in Rock Springs. "What's a lake? Maybe I am going to the lake too," replies six-month-old Charlie, a pig who struggles to reach his snout out through a small opening in an overcrowded transport truck. The truck carries two hundred pigs en route to slaughter. My heart was filled with joy when I read the press release in the...
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Republican Party issued a statement highlighting an outpouring of opposition from its members in response to U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., voting to impeach President Donald Trump on Wednesday for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot that occurred a week earlier. The party issued the statement late Wednesday night, a few hours after Cheney joined nine other Republican representatives in voting to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, making him the first president to be impeached t...
For the past several years, the waterline on Flaming Gorge Way has broken, resulting in the city spending time and money closing a section of the street, digging up the line and replacing it. Nearby residents and businesses are inconvenienced because their access to water is shut off while city workers fix the problem and It’s no secret that section of line is old, being made from cast iron. The fact that the line is only 4 inches in diameter is a problem in itself, as the city admits the amount of water it provides isn’t suitable to provide ad...
The response of two Wyoming officials to President Donald Trump inciting a riot at the Capitol last Wednesday is delusional, dishonest and disturbing. As security escorted her out after violent Trump backers stormed the building, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) questioned who was responsible for the attack. “I hope it’s not Trump supporters that are involved in the mayhem,” she reportedly told a Capitol Hill reporter. “In my previous experience with these Trump supporters, they have been peaceful demonstrators, happy people, very patriot...
In the past, we’ve published pieces in this space supporting coal and wishing for it to return to prominence as an economic generator in Southwest Wyoming. As the years roll on, that’s looking less and less likely. While many local leaders continue to work on making the Middle Baxter Road industrial complex dream a reality, there’s a saying of not putting all of one’s eggs into a single basket. While mineral extraction, specifically trona extraction, will likely be a big economic generator in Sweetwater Count for the foreseeable future,...
Well-considered comments and e-mails following the discussion of Wyoming’s excess tax capacity, and the one-page legislative document that measured it, differed widely and reflected all of the various political positions one might expect. But a number of astute readers raised the same valid concern: Our discussion omitted the issue of ability to pay. In other words, unless Wyoming residents can actually afford to bridge the gap between what we pay in taxes and what our neighbors pay on average, then tax capacity as measured is just a bunch o...
It’s an understatement to say the last year was unprecedented for those of us who didn’t live during the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic. With so many activities canceled or postponed a year to limit COVID-19’s spread, a lot of the regular avenues for entertainment were unavailable for much of the year. Some people binge watched new and favorite television programs on their favorite streaming apps while others took to enjoying activities they could do while socially distancing. For me, I ended up pl...
We’re thankful to see the Green River Fire Department healing from the trial disgraced former fire chief Mike Nomis put it through. Part of that healing process involved firefighters, some of whom had known Nomis for decades, talking about how his actions impacted them on a professional and personal level. Each victim impact statement, either read to the court by Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe or given by firefighters themselves, told a larger story of how Nomis’ actions publicly alienated a group of men and women committed to ser...
(Editor’s note: Since Friday is Christmas Day, we thought we’d share what has become the most republished newspaper editorial in history which proves Santa Claus is real. The unsigned editorial, published Sept. 21, 1897 in New York’s Sun newspaper, was the work of Francis Pharcellus Church. According to the Newseum, the editorial has been republished countless times over the years in multiple languages and excerpts have appeared in books, plays, stamps, posters and other editorials.) Dear Editor, I am 8 years old. Some of my little frien...
The legislature’s budget and fiscal staff recently prepared a very novel one-page document that merits the attention of every Wyoming lawmaker and citizen. “Wyoming Estimated Tax Capacity” asks and answers a seemingly simple question: How much additional revenue could Wyoming raise if its tax rates equalled, on average, those of adjoining states? The question may be straightforward enough, but calculating an answer required an extensive review of tax policies in neighboring states and an equally rigorous comparison with Wyoming’s. Sales a...
Depending on where you live, it looks like we may not have a “picture perfect” white Christmas this year. It seems fitting given the many things about 2020 which were not what we imagined, let alone “perfect.” While the holidays can be a season of happiness and joy, for many they are accompanied by anger and sorrow. Missing loved ones from the past, remembering relationships that soured, thinking of hopes and dreams that never materialized can make customarily joyous Christmas carols sound like fingernails on a chalkboard. It can be hard to...
There is a lot of criticism that can be laid to Gov. Mark Gordon’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the largest of which was his steadfast refusal to tighten statewide restrictions in the face of a huge spike in COVID-19 infections. Last week, finally, he reversed course and issued a statewide mask and facial covering mandate. In Sweetwater County, more than 2,400 residents have contracted COVID-19, with a large percentage of that number being as recent as last month. So far, 16 people have died as a result of complications from the d...
For most of us in Wyoming, 2020 brought many challenges. As we head into 2021, we can celebrate a new year with some much-needed encouraging news: We have multiple effective vaccines for COVID-19. During the past year, the federal government has focused on Operation Warp Speed. This is a true private-public partnership, involving America’s best scientists, business, military and health care leaders. The goal was to create and distribute a safe, potent and effective vaccine for COVID-19. That goal was achieved in record time. This is a h...
Wyoming’s fiscal situation has grown very stormy in 2020. The state has already administered a 10% cut across all agencies, followed by another $500 million this fall, with possibly more to come. It now looks like we’ll have to reduce the two-year budget from about $3.3 down to $2.4 billion in order to make it balance. This is too much to withstand if we hope to maintain needed state services. Observers have long noted that Wyoming suffers because it has resisted diversifying the revenue streams with which it pays for general state government a...
A curious email showed up in my inbox last Wednesday. The Wyoming GOP sent an email to its members reflecting on the Thanksgiving holiday and the pilgrims who came to the New World 400 years ago in 1620. The first few paragraphs are legitimately great view of Republican values viewed through the lens of the pilgrims and the Mayflower Compact that was created to ensure the Plymouth Colony would survive. Three paragraphs from the end is where this message takes a high turn to Crazy Town....
In loving support of senior citizens who are the pillars of our society residing in Mission at Castle Rock, Villa Rehabilitation Center or Sage View Care Center please consider giving a small gift of love during the holiday season. Most of us remember Mom and Dad or Grandma and Grandpa making sure we had that special gift under the Christmas tree on Christmas Day. It wasn’t just the bicycle, baby doll or Army fort that we dreamed about that our parents made sure came true for us, it was the unconditional love with which it was given. In the m...
It’s a smell I’ll never forget. I’ve had the unfortunate duty of covering house fires over the years and the smell always takes me back to the time I experienced it firsthand. Over the weekend, a Green River family awoke to the terror a house fire can bring and sadly, not everyone survived. Elizabeth Andrews, along with two pet dogs, died in the fire. Anyone passing by the home as they drive up Colorado Street or along Idaho Street can see the story first hand. The home is a complete loss -- al...
Dear Editor, Your recent letter writer is apparently not getting the reaction to her weekly missives that she desires (witness the longer, more strident, and IN CAPS in case we missed HER POINT letter). So, risking that no one will come threatening me with their long guns for offering my opinion here’s another side of the mask “debate” for local citizens to consider. First of all, there’s the issue of rights. Somehow in all the noise generated by the 24-hour “news” cycles, we’ve lost sight of the fact that rights entail not only one’w own rig...
The Legislature’s Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration rarely makes headlines. Its meetings are lengthy, the subject matter is complex and tangible results are slow-developing. The vast majority of time during early committee meetings is spent listening to expert presentations. Yet, public-school-finance policy impacts every community in the state and we overlook its crafting at our peril. This year of vastly shrinking state revenues it holds added significance with potential changes to the funding model itself. Past state S...
With everything the year has thrown at us, it might feel difficult to be thankful during the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow. Yet, despite the ongoing pandemic and constant political turmoil as the nation shifts towards a new presidential administration, several things come to mind. The residents of Green River live in the best town in Wyoming. We have the opportunity to enjoy an ample amount of dedicated park land, trees and the river itself. The city’s parks and recreation department received a major award this year for excellence in parks a...
Dear Editor, I have lived in Wyoming for over 40 years and have seen many things that have interfered with our civil liberties. Mask mandating takes the cake! It is NOT my responsibility to “take care” of MY fellow neighbors, peers or coworkers’ health. I do not choose their doctors or pay their health costs. It is unconstitutional to “make” people wear masks. BREATHING through your nose and mouth is a RIGHT, unlike driving which is a privilege! It is not a form of PPE either! People working in the trona patch are MADE to wear masks while the...
Dear Editor, She didn’t try to escape from my arms, maybe because she felt safe with me. I could feel her heart beating right next to mine when I carried her from Norbest Turkey Processing Plant (slaughterhouse) to a farm sanctuary. The most beautiful 25 pounds I ever carried! Like most people, I had never seen a live turkey. I always thought turkeys were meant for Thanksgiving Day, but one cold winter evening in 2018 in Moroni, Utah changed my perspective about Thanksgiving turkeys forever. As a part of a mass rescue action I had the p...
With the celebration of one of our most important holidays fast approaching, and the recent explosion of a second wave of COVID-19 cases, I feel it is very important as your mayor to express my thoughts regarding the various issues involved. During a recent meeting, several of our local doctors and their various support staff from Memorial Hospital, Castle Rock Medical Center, and county health expressed their tremendous concern for the huge spike in new COVID-19 cases in our community, and discussed how it was overwhelming our health care...
As the largest employers in Southwest Wyoming we are growing increasingly alarmed with the steep increase in community spread positive COVID-19 cases. Since October 28th , the Sweetwater County positivity rate has spiked from less than 5% to over 31%, with cases doubling in less than 10 days. We fully support all efforts to ensure the health and safety of everyone in the community, including the use of masks and physical distancing measures in public situations. These efforts align with many of the steps we have taken at our businesses and...
A mask mandate will not work. Comments from Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe and Green River Police Chief Tom Jarvie last week indicate enforcement of a mask mandate is impossible. In an email to the Star, Erramouspe wrote, “we would not prosecute any violations, as I believe such an order is unenforceable.” The question is this: what do we do to get more people to follow recommendations to wear a mask while in public and to socially distance themselves from other people, especially when Thanksgiving is weeks away and we’re appro...
