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The old adage, “You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” is something that still resonates with me. It’s also something I wish other people would remember when they are approaching me for a favor. Like most people, I don’t like people demanding that I do something for them. If you really want me to do a favor for you, would it kill you to ask nicely? I just don’t understand where the simple common courtesies such as “please and thank you” are going. It seems as though those are thr...
President Trump’s State of the Union address set forth a vision and agenda for America in the next year, highlighting key priorities for the Administration and the Congress, including infrastructure. Hopefully, Congress and the President understand that to fix the nation’s infrastructure deficit involves more than roads, bridges, highways, railways and waterways. It must include other essential community infrastructure, particularly public-school buildings and their grounds—where nearly 55 million children and adults are every school day....
Obamacare promised Americans affordable health insurance. The reality fell far short. Now we have a way to let people save money on coverage and get back some of the freedom they lost. We can create an escape hatch for people to get out of Obamacare. Last week, the Trump administration took steps to expand “short-term limited-duration” health plans. We should go even further. These plans existed for people who experienced a break in coverage; they could have the plan for up to 364 days. The plans weren’t bound by all of the burdensome requi...
A funny thing happened at the Green River Animal Shelter last week. A reporter, going to the shelter to photograph an animal for the Pet of the Week advertisement sponsored by John Paras Furniture, was told they didn’t have pets available to adopt. While this means we won’t receive revenue from the weekly ad, this isn’t a bad problem for the community to have. All too often, people abandon their pets for a variety of reasons. Some are understandable, while others are tinged with a hint of callousness or cruelty. Having a pet is a commi...
Dear Editor, We need to have a say in determining the future management for our wilderness study areas (WSAs). Citizens in other counties have been expressing their opinions through collaborative committees and we should be able to do so as well. I ask that our county commissioners not include our WSAs on a bill being proposed by Rep. Liz Cheney — this would preclude our involvement as citizens who recreate in and understand these areas much better than Rep. Cheney does. Here in Sweetwater County, we should develop a ground-up approach to f...
Men have gone through different body image types throughout history. They have gone through the pot belly guy as the desired type in the late 1800s, the thin body frenzy of Hollywood in the ’20s to the muscular, strong guy in the ’80s popularized by celebrities like Schwarzenegger and Stallone. Current trends are that of definition and leanness. With changing perceptions, the population has constantly sought different remedies to keep up with the style. Supplement users can be broadly categorized into two groups. One that uses it to help “pr...
Lately, it seems as though all the Wyoming Legislature wants to do is cut, cut, cut, while sitting on a pile of saved money. It’s one thing to cut because there’s no other choice, but it’s another thing to cut because “education funding deserves its fair share of cutting too.” Some Wyoming Legislators have actually said things close to the quoted statement above. Before I continue, I want to make it clear that when I speak of the Wyoming Legislators, I am mostly talking about the ones who are no...
In the upcoming 2018 legislative session, many states will be considering legislation, termed Tobacco 21. Tobacco 21 will effectively raise the legal sale age for all tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, to 21 – mirroring alcohol restrictions. This bill is aimed at saving the lives of U.S. citizens from the leading cause of preventable disease and premature death. Cigarettes today are engineered to addict. When a person becomes a smoker, they are regularly consuming the only legal product that, when used as intended, will kill h...
We’re at the cusp of another election year and with the usual races for state and local offices, residents will have the opportunity to vote on the county’s lodging tax. We think this tax provides an amazing benefit for the county, giving it a better opportunity to promote itself as a tourist destination. That’s why even though we’re only midway through February, we can say supporting this tax is in Sweetwater County’s best interests. We realize a tax is inherently a tough pill to swallow for many residents and rightfully so, but the lodging t...
It’s every mother’s challenge. Trying to figure out where their kids’ mittens, boots, shoes, hats and even coats are at. What’s worse is then they start attending school and these items don’t come home anymore. I know I’m not the only one who has children with this problem because when I went to my sons’ school to dig through the lost and found bin, there were three bins. In fact, so many items had been lost that they had a system for it. One bin was for all the missing hats, a second was fo...
I love the quote by Lisa M. Hayes, ‘Be careful how you are talking to yourself because you are listening.’ Self-talk is so important because what you tell yourself every day will either lift you up or tear you down. Many times we are harder on ourselves than anyone else could ever be. And sometimes, we may be the only one we can depend on in that moment, so we can’t give up on ourselves too. I try to remember that in every situation I find myself in, self-talk will help me get halfway there - one way or the other. Negative self-talk gets me ha...
It takes a village to raise a child, as the saying goes, and nowhere is that more evident than in Green River. Green River’s residents are generous and quick to donate towards a worthy cause. The city’s altruistic nature is perfectly displayed in Green River High School students’ continued work in both the annual Make-A-Wish Foundation fundraising drive and the recent blood-drive challenge. Since last Thursday, students have worked hard to raise money for the foundation. The amounts raised haven’t been small either. Teaming with student...
All this talk of economic diversity in Wyoming—it’s critical. And key to every conversation is education: How do we prepare and retain a workforce to keep our state strong for years to come? There is a bold answer that will lead more Wyoming students to higher education and prosperous career options: computer science. Computer science is not learning how to use a word processor or create a spreadsheet. Computer science is the foundation for every career of the future and includes programming, computational thinking, data science, networking, cy...
Every year since 1997, the World Wetland Day is celebrated on Feb. 2 to raise global awareness about the value of the wetlands for people, wildlife, the environment and the planet. This year, the theme of the celebration is “Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future.” Many cities around the world are established in or near wetlands. Unfortunately, many of their inhabitants, especially from big cities, are still unaware of the great beneficial services or functions that urban wetlands provide for their cities. Urban wetlands reduce flooding ris...
With wasteful government spending, one generally thinks about plush, high-dollar office furniture and $700 light fixtures decorating government offices. Examples of wasteful spending can encompass much more however and a recent purchase approved by the Rock Springs Historical Museum’s board illustrates this concept perfectly. The museum board recently decided to purchase a $3,400 penny stamping machine from donations given to the museum. It will, for 50 cents and a penny, smash the penny into an oval-shaped commemorative image. Some people e...
For a few weeks, I couldn’t escape a small mountain of Diet Mt. Dew. It’s a taste I can’t stand, representing everything bad about diet soda pop. That weird, unnatural sweetness the moment it hits your tongue to that unmistakable punch to the tastebuds at the end, it’s a soda letting you know in no uncertain terms of its diet status. It’s a terrible concoction and anyone who likes it must have some seriously messed up taste buds. My father enjoyed it. Whenever I came by to visit him, it was so...
Despite improved revenue forecasts, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that Wyoming has once again dodged the golden bullet. Wyoming faces a very, very steep climb to get out of this difficult budget deficit particularly with correctly funding K-12 education. That is why the Wyoming Taxpayers Association encourages a simple strategy used by many Wyoming households when money is tight. Reduce spending and temporarily stop putting funds into savings until you can earn more money. First, the recommendations in the recent state efficiency r...
It is no news that there is perineal shortage of doctors in the rural U.S. While about 20 percent of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, only around 9 percent of the physicians practice in rural areas. Rural medicine poses a number of problems for patients and the doctors who want to practice there. Patient’s plight They suffer due to lack of doctors and particularly due to lack of specialists. Distance and weather conditions pose a unique problem in harsh areas like Wyoming. For the aging population who is in real need for specialist s...
As Green River continues to face economic challenges, we’re happy to see people still believe in establishing businesses in the city. Last week, the Green River City Council approved a liquor license for the Town Bar and Grill, a restaurant aiming to open up downtown on Railroad Avenue. Work continues on a Taco Bell location near the old Sweetwater Ford building and O’Reilly Auto Parts shop. Of course there’s the ongoing renovations at the Tomahawk Building too, which we believe will ultimately create a economic beacon in downtown Green River...
When you head up one of the world’s largest tech companies, your plans inevitably become the news. Such is the case with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who recently announced his goal for 2018 is to fix the problems that have plagued the company. The past couple of years have not been kind the Facebook. The social media platform was embroiled in controversies surrounding foreign influences using Facebook in an attempt to influence the 2016 election, questions about how its algorithms dictate w...
I couldn’t sleep the other night so I got up and watched some late night TV. As I was flipping through the channels, I actually came across a gentleman talking about time management. I can’t recall his name right now nor the channel the show was on or even the title of the program, but I do recall one key point this gentleman brought up. He said time waits for no one, nor their problems. He followed that comment up with a rhetorical question. He said, “Why is there never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over?...
At first glance, it may look odd. What was its exact purpose? When would someone wear something like this? What is it exactly? This artifact is a nightcap, which was also referred to as a dust cap, boudoir cap, or bed cap. Nightcaps date back to the 13th century. They were initially worn in cooler climates in Europe as a way to keep the head warm while sleeping. Both men and women wore nightcaps, with men's nightcaps often taking the shape of a triangle. One of the most iconic depictions of a me...
This year, as our family celebrated Christmas I started to reflect on Christmases past and which ones truly stood out for me. So I present to you my top three Christmases ever; or at least so far. 1. This one is the most recent. It happened about five years ago. My oldest son Matthew had just turned three and my youngest son John was about 1 1/2 years old. It was this particular Christmas that Santa Claus had decided to bring the boys a wagon. Not just any wagon, a double seated wagon with cup...
It’s a new year and that means it’s time to set some goals to help 2018 be a successful year! The Green River URA/Main Street Agency will be doing just that in the coming weeks with a strategic planning session. We’ve been working on a transformation strategy action plan and it is nearly complete. We are anxious to finalize our plan and get to work. Here are a few suggestions to consider for your small business to help set the course for this year: Make a Plan Putting a business plan in place is the first step in creating a successful busin...
Winning enough electoral votes to make Trump president was completely unexpected. It was shocking and awful in every way. Within hours, however, a concept calling itself “The Resistance” formed. Even here in conservative Wyoming, this resistance, this awakening, has been impressive. This has been good until now, but it’s time to ratchet things up to “The Revolt.” The goals of the Rebellion should be: 1. The removal of Donald Trump as president. 2. Put all major legislation, such as related to “tax reform”, and the size of national monu...
