Gov. Mark Gordon recently made news with a pair of statements that received national attention. In the first, Gov. Gordon participated in a discussion involving Wyoming’s economy and future at the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government.

Newspaper work involves going to many meetings, whether it’s as a beat reporter or an editor trying to get the day’s news to readers. Having done both jobs, to me there’s no question which is more stressful. No offense to journalists in the trenches covering confounding government meetings, then hustling to explain the intricacies under a tight deadline. But I’d jump at that assignment over any newspaper budget meeting.

Thank you, Evanston Civic Orchestra and Chorus, for the Christmas musical program recently presented at Davis Middle School. Many thanks to all who performed or provided supportive help to make this program possible. Also many thanks to those who have donated financially to make programs such as this feasible.

This letter is in response to Uinta County Assessor Lori Perkins’ letter printed on your opinion page on Nov. 8, in opposition of the 50% Property Tax Initiative.

Merry Christmas all! And happy New Year! I hope 2023 was a good year for you. It didn’t start out well for me. Ever since early 2020, I’ve had the feeling that I’m running from something. And last winter, it caught me … COVID. I couldn’t be sure until I took the test, but I knew something was wrong because there was chocolate in the house and I didn’t feel like eating it.

When I was 15, I fell hard for a guy who also happened to be my friend. We talked nearly daily and spent a lot of time together, in school and out. He didn’t seem to notice I was crazy about him and saw him as far more than a friend. He was dating somebody else at the time.

I see the Wyoming governor and state legislature have put a lump of coal in the Wyomingites stockings this year. Gov. Gordon mentioned, in a Uinta County Herald Op-Ed dated Dec. 6, a fact that the state experiences financial swings of boom and bust. If I am not mistaken, we are experiencing a bust, so I am surprised that Gov. Gordon and the Wyoming State Legislature are placing needed funds in a rainy-day fund when it is snowing! It would be prudent and aligned with our conservative values to save funds, but after we assist our current citizenry in need.

As we approach the Christmas holiday, I would like to wish all of our county residents a happy and peaceful season. I hope you have been able to take advantage of many of the good things that go on in all of our communities.

My friend said she wished she could make Christmas as glorious for her grandkids as it was when she was growing up. I told her of course Christmas was happier when she was a child. She wasn’t doing all the cooking then.

Nearly one-quarter of women in the Equality State live more than 30 miles away from a birthing hospital, making much of Wyoming a “maternity care desert.” That leaves many with no choice but to make long, dangerous trips in harsh weather to other communities here or in nearby states.

Property tax is a hot issue in Wyoming politics. Residential property tax assessments have increased in recent years, and some are feeling the squeeze. These concerns are not entirely without cause, as some genuinely struggle with the increase. However, the reasons why assessments have increased are not well understood and the main proposed response would do more harm than good.

I’m not what you’d call an experienced traveler. I think that makes me extra observant when my husband and I travel — except when I doze off, which I tend to do in a moving vehicle of any kind. That’s why we don’t travel by motorcycle. Also why I don’t think space travel would be worth the cost for me.

On Nov. 13, the project coordinator of Scottish Stained Glass reached out to update us on the progress of the stained glass windows being restored for Union Presbyterian Church. At that time, they had started to create the build plans and categorize all the materials.

When you’re stuck in a massive snowstorm on a Wyoming highway this winter — or when you can’t leave your home for days because the roads are closed — here are a few things to think about while waiting for an underpaid snowplow driver to rescue you. The Wyoming Legislature put $1.4 billion into savings earlier this year, the largest deposit like that in the state’s history.

Editor: I would like to extend my personal “thank you” to Joy Bell for her service to Unita Senior Citizens Inc. (USCI), her commitment to community and most of all the selfless time she donated to serve the seniors and clients for the past 10 months.

Editor: Martha Jenkins’ recent article, “Wyomingites have a chance to defend a national treasure,” accused Gov. Mark Gordon, Rep. Bill Allemand and other legislators as being up in arms and hyperbolic over an upcoming BLM land management proposal for the Red Desert. She defends the BLM as if it were some docile agency out for everybody’s good.

’Tis the season to be thankful. Just in time, I came across an exercise shared by Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast. When he’s waiting, say for a medical appointment, he goes through the alphabet. And with each letter, he considers what he appreciates about the first word that comes to him. I can see how focusing on gratitude would be more enjoyable than worrying about the mole you’re there to have removed or the root canal you’re about to have.

The separation of church and state is fundamental to our democracy, but as America’s involvement in organized religion dwindles, politics are filling the void.

You know how sometimes when you’re going 70 mph and suddenly a stupid fly in the car starts bothering the hell out you? You know how it keeps buzzing around your head, landing on your windshield, and you have to open the window and try to shoo it out without crashing your car? Well, Vivek Ramaswamy reminded me of that fly during the Republican primary debate Wednesday night.

ditor: Property taxes in the state of Wyoming are based on the market. So when we have five or more sales within a neighborhood that indicate our values are low compared to what they are selling for, we are required to put a market adjustment on the neighborhoods where the homes are located. This, in turn, is driving up the market in Uinta County. Therefore, the assessed value has gone up, and so have your taxes. This is difficult for the residents of the county who have no interest in selling their homes.