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Yes, the Thompson family once again survived the long 18-hour drive to and from Minnesota. The trip itself was a blast, but the grueling hours spent in the car with a son who never stops talking is enough to try even the most patient parent. Every time you even thought of taking a nap, there was a kick on the back of the car seat or one of the boys needed something. I must admit here that I did nap more than anyone else in the car, but it was restless napping. No matter how much preparation I...
In what may seem schizophrenic from our editorial last week, we believe the city needs to be clear in how it handles fireworks-related issues. Last week, we advocated for a set area, the Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport in our example, free of debris where people could light fireworks in a controlled setting with limited supervision by fire fighters and police officers. Anyone acting like a jackass with their fireworks would get a citation from the officer and the firefighters would be on hand to put out any fires that do start. We...
The Green River URA/Main Street Agency is excited about this summer. We kicked it off with a Movie in the Park. This event was hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department in the past and had to be cut due to budget restrictions, but we are thankful that we were able to bring it back as a free event for the public. Movies in the Park will be at Centennial Park on the second Friday of every month, through September. Be watching our Facebook page for the movie titles. We also hosted our first summer-time Downtown Rhythms and Rhymes. Many local...
This month’s artifact of the month is the first of a four-month series revolving around World War I and patriotic artifacts. The Sweetwater County Museum will host a traveling exhibit on World War I from mid-July to early October, to celebrate the war’s 100-year anniversary. We decided to design an accompanying exhibit as well as feature World War I artifacts for Artifact of the Month in conjunction of the traveling exhibit. For July, we are featuring a 48-star American flag from 1905. The flag has “GAR 1905” written on it. GAR stands for the...
The governing body passed the recent fiscal year 2017-2018 budget this last week as part of the June 20 council meeting. This year’s internal budget process was again focused on maintaining service levels with less funding. To get to this approval we as the city, the council, the finance committee, the department heads, and staff had to focus on the budget with a view of being able to reset, rethink, and refocus all areas of the city. While we are always looking at the budget throughout the year, and managing all of its elements, we zeroed in o...
Green River is sitting on a fantastic business opportunity. With Rock Springs canceling their July 4 fireworks show, Green River can capitalize and draw Rock Springs residents to the city for its own fireworks display. We’re not criticizing the Rock Springs municipal government for its decision to save money by cutting the yearly display. In fact, it’s a move which proves both how dire funding to Sweetwater County’s municipalities is, as well as the city’s commitment to not laying off its employees. However, there are more than a few Rock Sp...
Having attended legislative committee meetings, educator trainings, and community events these past several weeks, I felt it was time to update you on school funding and another topic I have been working on since being elected: School funding: Pick up a Wyoming newspaper these days and chances are good that you will read about the dire education funding crisis. We face a cumulative shortfall of over $1.5 billion in our school operations account and roughly $500 million in our school construction account through the year 2022. The legislature is...
We’ve heard a lot of talk in Green River about how Flaming Gorge Days will be different this year, with a few pessimistic voices claiming it won’t be good because the events have been relocated to Expedition Island. We think they’re dead wrong. Yes, Flaming Gorge Days will be different this year than those hosted previously, but that doesn’t mean the event isn’t worth attending. The schedule of events is, as always, jam packed with excitement. There is something for almost anyone to enjoy. The annual competitions, the three-on-three basketbal...
It seems like whenever you least expect it, life decides to hand you a bunch of lemons. For me, my turn to receive a handful of lemons was on Friday. The day started out with me waking up with a terrible sinus headache. I just took some Tylenol because I don’t like how regular allergy-sinus medications make me feel. Despite my smart thinking, I felt as though I had just taken a Benadryl. I made it to the office and there was a message about the band surprising Green River High School Band D...
Recently I heard from a woman in rural Nebraska who told me about her 76-year old father, who in late April had a lemon-size cancerous mass removed from his brain. The man chose to have his chemotherapy and radiation treatments at a hospital close to his home instead of at one of the larger hospitals farther away. Not surprisingly he wanted family nearby. Nearly two months later, in mid-June, his treatments finally began. Why the delay? His daughter told me the nearby hospital “had no record of two appointments they had made with my dad and r...
Last week, when the Green River City Council was supposed to discuss and deliberate on an increase to residents’ solid waste rates, anyone interested in listening to what individual Council representatives thought about the proposed increase was met with only one response. Total silence. According to Robert’s Rules of Order, when a piece of business to be introduced to a governing body fails to receive a motion to do so, it dies for a lack of motion and the governing body moves on to its next piece of business. However, allowing this to hap...
Run for your life. This phrase can have many meanings, but in the Green River Parks and Recreation Department, we are talking about health. More specifically we are talking about the benefits of running. Everyone knows that running is good for your health, but not everyone knows in what ways. Running is known to be one of the best aerobic exercises for your heart and lungs. It is a great way to get started if you are trying to lose weight as well. Running can also strengthen your immune system making you less likely to become sick. It is a...
Last month, Project for Public Spaces and the National Main Street Center, Inc., conducted training for communities statewide, “Cultivating Place in Main Street Communities” in Douglas. “Cultivating Place” is a series of intensive trainings designed to strengthen and expand Main Street’s capacity for implementing placemaking strategies and public space improvements. Wyoming was selected for this specialized placemaking training because of our unique challenges and innovative ways Main Street’s are beginning to create spaces where people want...
Driving along throughout Sweetwater County, it’s easy to become annoyed with one’s fellow motorist. I’m not annoyed too much with people who make a turn without using their signal or someone passing by me at 95 mph on Interstate 80. Those sorts of situations are understandable, even if the other driver is singing along to Taylor Swift’s latest breakup song on their way to karaoke. What I fail to grasp, and what never fails to annoy me, are the decorations and pieces of flair people sometim...
Green River’s residents stand to benefit from a potential affiliate agreement between Castle Rock Hospital District and Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County and we’re happy to see the two healthcare organizations taking the first steps in drafting a new agreement. The two had a previous agreement in place, but one of the last moves MHSC made under former CEO Jerry Klein was to pull out of the agreement, which blindsided Castle Rock. A new affiliate agreement between the two would mean an improved working relationship. In the past, MHSC had...
I read an article in the Athletic Business magazine, from April 2017, entitled, “Commonsense tips for Successful Leadership” by Don Schumacher. Schumacher is the recently retired Executive Director of the National Association of Sports Commissions. He feels that one of the reasons he was successful in his last position and in other leadership positions he held was due in large to the use of common sense. In fact, he says that one of the most useful books he read, that helped him with a common sense approach, was the book, “All I Really Neede...
Dear Editor, The main highway 30 ran straight through town. There were no tunnels by passing town. There was a great high school, Lincoln High, gymnasium and track and football field now demolished. The main street was lined with trees, green lawns, gas stations, cafes, bars, barber shop, the courthouse, post office and homes. The Union Pacific Depot is now a shell of it former self. At one time there was a ticket window, benches, a lunch counter called The Beanery, freight office, offices, and the freight office yardmaster’s tower. There w...
Many readers have no doubt heard about newly-elected Montana governor Greg Gianfonte “body slamming” a reporter from UK-based news organization The Guardian. Regardless of where individual opinions lie with what happened, one thing we can all agree on is we’re living in a very peculiar moment in American history where the people tasked with reporting on events are eyed with an incredible amount of suspicion. We do think Gianfonte is in the wrong for using physical violence on the reporter as there isn’t a situation that would call for that ki...
Spring has sprung, and with the change of weather comes a new slate of construction projects throughout the City of Green River. Several Sixth Penny projects are currently active in the city. This includes the completion of Second South Street, the start of Hitching Post Drive, and the Rock Springs Water Line Project. Last year’s Sixth Penny Project, Second South Street, is nearing completion as we finish up the wiring to the new lights and other various odds and ends. We expect the final items to be completed in the next few weeks. This y...
Older Americans may be in for a rough ride if the changes Washington politicians are considering come to pass. Because good, explanatory journalism is in short supply and TV shouting matches don’t tell you much, I decided to use this space to discuss some of the possible changes that could soon affect millions of people in their 60s and older. First, let’s consider Medicaid, the federal-state program that finances healthcare for the poor and long-term care for the middle class. Virtually all the talk about cutting Medicaid by more than $800 bil...
Graduation week is in full swing in Sweetwater County. Ceremonies at Western Wyoming Community College, Green River High School and Expedition Academy have already concluded while students at Rock Springs High School will receive their diplomas Saturday. For all graduates, not just those receiving their high school diplomas, we have a word of advice: Don’t be afraid. It’s easy to fear the unknown. After all, ambiguous nature of the future is a major reason why people get nervous about what lies ahead during the course of several months or sever...
With great fishing, hunting and recreation opportunities, Sweetwater County in southwestern Wyoming is a paradise for Americans seeking to enjoy the outdoors and the wide open spaces of our federal public lands. The Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area and Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge contain world class fishing opportunities and our federal lands provide outstanding hunting opportunities - especially within the vicinity of the Pine and Little Mountain areas south of Rock Springs. Additionally, these open spaces provide unlimited...
The Rock Springs Rocket-Miner May 18 story, “Budget reductions could end juvenile detention program,” while factual, does not tell the whole story. The story reports that I told the Sweetwater County Commissioners May 16 that “steep budget cuts could mean the end of the juvenile detention program.” And while that is true, the real story - the whole story - is why the proposed cuts could eliminate the program and the sheer scale of what the Sheriff’s Office is, and will be, responsible for. The new Sweetwater County Justice Complex, under con...
When people talk about the price of progress, they are often referring to replacement of older buildings with “modern” buildings or public amenities. In the case of Green River’s Centennial Park, some century-old houses as well as an old church were razed to make way for green space in downtown Green River. Carl Morck remembers the houses in that neighborhood as mostly being small buildings with deep lots, probably originally Union Pacific Railroad housing. The lots were handy for storing non-running cars, or for growing tumbleweeds, or as repo...
As I watched my five-year-old son John walk down the isle with a smirk on his face, my heart fluttered. Yes. There he was in his red graduation cap and gown enjoying all the attention he was receiving from the audience. I quickly learned my son, likes and knows how to captivate and audience, yet I couldn’t help but wonder how did we get to this point in our lives so quickly. What happened to time? How can this be happening already? Is he really my youngest? I haven’t even gotten rid of the baby...
