EVANSTON — Finding commonalities is a passion for Dudley Gardner, who serves as commissioner for Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources. Gardner has been director of Western Anthropological and Archaeological Research Institute for 10 years and taught at Western Wyoming Community College prior to that for 33 years. Gardner presented at the Beeman-Cashin Building in Evanston on June 8, on the topic of China Town in Evanston. Spending time overseas he has traveled and taught in China and said, “On a larger scale there needs to be a coming together of people’s minds.”
The Wyoming Legislature moves past the halfway point this week and a number of bills have not made the cut. The supplemental budget was the focus last week for both the House and the Senate. With the large budget surplus there were some opportunities to restore cuts and enhance mental health, social services, education and job training. The Senate also added $1 billion dollars to permanent savings.
Greetings and a whirlwind of activity this week with the reception of Senate bills to consider in House. I carried to the Floor and debated multiple times on merits of “HB/SF0078 Apprenticeship and job training promotion in schools.” There was an attempt to remove ‘registered’ within the sentence.
The Bear River Outdoor Recreation Alliance (B.R.O.R.A.) hosted a ski day at the Purple Sage Nordic Center on the morning of Jan. 21. Ski gear was available free of charge.
Cheyenne – The fourth week of the 2020 Budget Session came to a close this week. Today, the Wyoming House of Representatives will finish debate on HB0001 also known as the supplemental budget bill. We are focused on determining how the Legislature should allocate a nearly $2 billion budget surplus. Much of this is a one-time windfall, which owes to improved revenues from oil and gas production, smart investments, and federal stimulus spending. I am focused on saving, investing and meeting the needs of Wyoming citizens. Balancing fiscal prudence with strategic investments is a challenging balance to strike-- but the work so far is leading us in that direction.
Cheyenne – I would like to first begin with an update on where property tax legislation is at. At last count there are 20 property tax bills on file. The above list includes Senate bills as well. We have only heard two at this point that have been sent to the Senate. We just finished up with the Supplemental Budget last night and we will be back on bills this week. We must find relief on this critical issue, and I intend to support these efforts for our citizens.
By House Rep. Jon Conrad District No. 19 The House debated extensively on a number of matters including, Suicide Prevention - I spoke in favor of HB0065 stating “Suicide not only impacts that person, but their families, their communities and their employers…Although we can debate the value of the money, I encourage all of us to think about our Wyoming values.” Permanent funding for the 988-lifeline had firm and vocal support, but others urged House members to reject the bill. Those of us in support continue to work on funding for this critical issue.
Due to the generosity of local residents, the ongoing support from the Feed America program, the Casper Food Bank, First Lady Jenny Gordon’s Hunger Initiative and a generous donation of 250 turkeys from the Ogden, Utah, Latter-Day-Saints Storehouse, the holidays were made brighter for local families. Lord’s Storehouse food bank Director Kay Rossiter said, at Thanksgiving, entire meals were provided for 335 families and 10,050 pounds of food were distributed. During the month of December, 30,472 pounds of food were distributed to 757 families.
Students raised $9,925 during the Clark PTA Turkey Trot Fundraiser. The proceeds help with larger purchases for our school like new TVs for every classroom, skis, book bins for the library, ukuleles for the music room, etc. The PTA also makes a monetary donation and a donation of canned goods to the Lord’s Storehouse Food Bank to help with the increased needs over the holiday season. Students then ran in the Turkey Trot race. First place winners received a turkey, second place winners received a pie, and third place winners receive dinner rolls.
The Uinta County Commissioners held a regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 3, and opened with Eric South nominating Mark Anderson to succeed him as the Commission’s chairman. Upon taking the position, Anderson thanked South for his service. “Six years is a long time to chair this board,” he said. “He’s done it really well, so I’d like to thank him for that time and all he’s done to help the community.”
The city council work session on Tuesday, Dec. 13, involved a hearty and sometimes boisterous discussion on the subject of garbage. City Prosecuting Attorney Amanda Kirby and EPD Chief Mike Vranish asked the mayor and council to consider approving an amendment to the city code titled petit larceny and retitling it as “theft” and adding an additional section titled, “theft of services.”
Soroptimist International of Evanston held its annual scholarship awards dinner at the Legal Tender on Thursday, Dec. 8. Three young women, Katie Taylor, Madyson Green-Brown and Cassidy Schreiner, were in attendance to receive the awards and a fourth recipient, Brendee Weston, was unable to attend. President of the local Soroptimist Wendy Sather opened the evening with a game of matching the names of Christmas songs to pictures on a paper she had given to each person in attendance.
Residents at the Homestead Apartments for the elderly held a tree-decorating party in the lobby of their apartment building on Thursday, Dec. 1. The group enjoyed refreshments and the time to visit. They decorated a tree and the lobby area for the holiday.
The Evanston chapter of Rotary International is well-known for providing aid to Uinta County students and hosting community events, but their largest projects are nearly 3,000 miles away. In 2010, members of Evanston Rotary joined a book delivery program in the Central and West Highlands of Guatemala. Nowadays, the club sets up computer systems, trains teachers and sponsors students. It does all of this alongside more than 800 Rotary clubs through the Guatemala Literacy Program (GLP.)
Tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part in an adventure that has become a family tradition among generations. Families and students, birders and scientists, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists go out on an annual mission—often before dawn. For over 100 years, the desire to both make a difference and to experience the beauty of nature has driven dedicated people to leave the comfort of a warm house during the holiday season.
On every Friday and Saturday, from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas, the Salvation Army bell ringers with the hanging red kettles will be standing outside Walmart and Smith’s Food & Drug encouraging shoppers to share with those less fortunate. In Bridger Valley, the Salvation Army has a stand at Benedict’s Grocery and Sterling Fairbourn organizes volunteers who monitor the donation kettle.
A young man obsessed with love for a young woman, the lines drawn between the rich and the poor, inequality for women, and a lot of hilarious confusing courtship attempts suggested by various characters to help Sostratos, make up the plot of the Greek tale of “Dyskolos.”
U.S. Congressional frontrunner Harriet Hageman had a meet and greet at Jody’s Diner in Evanston on Monday. Linda Ottley shakes hands with Hageman during the event. (HERALD PHOTO/Hayden Godfrey)
Hundreds of Lincoln County residents, county and city officials and guests from surrounding counties gathered at the Lincoln County Training and Events Center to hear from developers of specific projects happening in the county. At a three and a half hour meeting on Thursday, Oct. 6, attendees received a boxed supper during a meet and greet and then listened to presentations given by executives of five companies: Williams Resources; RAIN FIRE/Canyon Road Holdings; TriSight, LLC; TerraPower/Natrium Reactor Demonstration Project; and Bechtel — Engineering, Construction & Project Management.
Brown Bag Lunch hosted by the Uinta County Museum