The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
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Dear Editor, There’s a time for everything. I have been waiting to write this letter for a long time. Listening to the Vice President Debate with Joe Biden made the right time for this letter. When Harris was asked about abortion she said it’s my body, but the way I understand it, the baby has its own body that’s growing in time of conception. If you plant any kind of grain you get a crop if weather is right. When a woman gets pregnant, she is pregnant with a living human being. When she has an abortion, she is murdering a living human being...
Wyoming legislators have been working this fall on further erosion of public notices in newspapers. This time the target is the publication of the salaries of local government employees. A bill changing state law so that those no longer have to be published is in the works. A committee passed it in September. As it stands now, our taxpayer-funded municipal governments, county governments and public school districts must, at the very least, publish a list of positions and how much the people who hold them are paid. In some cases the actual...
Dear Editor, The coming election is one of the most critical in many years on the federal, state and local levels. If you are planning on voting by mail, you should consider doing so by next week to ensure your voice is heard. While many state elections have been decided in the primaries, the senior mill, the 1% specific purpose tax and local membership on governing bodies are still to be decided. Your vote will help to shape our future. John Aloisio Moorcroft...
There is one week set aside each year to salute newspapers for the important role they have played in our nation, a role that goes back to the beginning of these United States. This year, however, waiting until October 4-10 and National Newspaper Week has been difficult, because the coronavirus pandemic and a variety of major news events across our land have tested newspapers, and our communities, in ways we might never have fathomed. Taking stock of the contributions by newspapers, large and...
Dear Editor: The current level of polarization in the United States is corrosive and destructive of personal relationships, essential political discourse and a cohesive social fabric. Fortunately, many organizations and individuals are focused on defusing and healing our divisions. Braver Angels is a national volunteer nonprofit that promotes the exchange of ideas by teaching people how to listen and speak to each other – essential skills for depolarizing the current political and cultural environment. Among its activities are workshops, d...
I am alarmed at the free college rhetoric that hit the Wyoming news cycle over the past week. I know our post-secondary institutions are concerned about enrollment being down this fall and the financial hardship that will cause. But dangling the offer of free college with federal CARES money is not the right message or strategy for that money or our state. It is all too easy in contemporary politics for politicians to offer free everything, we can do better than that in Wyoming. A draft bill, proposed by Speaker Harshman, and supported by...
Dear Editor, This coming November, two items will appear on the ballot. First will be the one mill levy to support the countless services provided to our senior citizens throughout the county; these range from home visits, meals, transportation to doctor appointments and so much more. Second is the 1% specific use tax, which provides much-needed funds for infrastructure in each community of Crook County. When is a tax “good”? When we impose it on ourselves for the betterment of our community. All the funds raised by these initiatives stay her...
Food insecurity is a largely invisible problem, most typically experienced within the privacy of a home or kept an uncomfortable secret in a school setting. Walk into any grocery store in Wyoming and it’s hard to imagine how anyone might not have enough to eat, but that’s the irony of hunger: it isn’t that there isn’t enough food to eat, but that families and children aren’t always able to access that food. Kids who don’t have reliable access to food are much more likely to face unhealthy, unsuccessful and uncertain futures. This is an all-t...
Dear Editor, You work hard you do the right thing and bam you get screwed! Why even bid a contract if you are not going to take the bids seriously? Really a bid is a good faith expectation by both parties, the bidder believes they will be given the bid if they are lower than their competitors, the Town bids to keep things fair and to be good stewards of the tax dollars they are spending. So why is the highest bid accepted over a 10% lower bid? The reason is they had good references and were well-liked? That being the case let’s just give the w...
Over the past two months, the nation has engaged in unprecedented shutdowns in an effort to contain the outbreak of COVID-19. After many weeks of economically crippling restrictions and stay-at-home orders, citizens are beginning to question the justification for these measures and whether continued enforcement unreasonably infringes on important constitutional rights and liberties. These concerns are becoming more acute now that we have a better understanding of the impact on our medical system and the economy across the nation and here in...
Dear Editor, There is a lot of discussion in regards to the possibility of a new hospital in Sundance and clinic in Hulett with also a few words about a clinic in Upton. What I have been hearing so far is this would be funded with the money that was allocated for COVID-19 relief thru the CARES act. While a new hospital in Sundance, possible clinic in Hulett and Upton would be an improvement, I am wondering has any consideration been given to after the project is complete? What will be the cost to operate and from where will those funds be gathe...
What we have come to value and measure in education policy – assessments, accountability and student seat time – were immediately ditched in the face of the pandemic. Our schools, despite being closed to students, remain hubs for teaching, learning and providing meals to students. How is this being accomplished? For starters, we know that technology has made remote delivery of quality instruction possible. Since April 6, every school district in Wyoming has operated under their state-approved “Adapted” Learning Plan” that summarizes their app... Full story
These are extraordinarily challenging times for the nation’s hospitals and health care workers. In just a couple of months, the coronavirus has swept around the globe and across the country, disrupting and destroying countless lives and wreaking havoc on the nation’s health-care system. I have spent most of my professional life working in health care in Wyoming: as an orthopedic surgeon at the Wyoming Medical Center, as medical director of the Wyoming Health Fairs and as president of the Wyoming Medical Society. In fact, people here at home kno...
Dear Editor, Crook County Seniors you may not realize it yet, but you are in good hands, the hands of Jenna Ellsbury. Jenna is the new Director of Crook County Senior Services and she is a woman you should get to know. If you get the publication of Senior Moments you will have read a little about Jenna but there is so much more. Jenna had been on the job two weeks, was getting acquainted with her staff at the office and in the Senior Centers throughout the county, was attending meetings, fielding phone calls, meeting the public, etc. etc., all...
By Dan Nordberg, SBA’s Regional Administrator and Amy Lea, Wyoming District Director Wyoming’s small businesses are the fabric of our economy and their success is dependent on the ability to freely market products and services to communities across the state. As Americans face the new reality of “social distancing” measures, our local small businesses are bearing the brunt of that impact and are addressing serious concerns regarding declining customer traffic. In order to assist businesses adversely impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-... Full story
Dear NP, What does COVID-19 do to the body? What are the symptoms of COVID-19? J. R. Dear J. R., It’s safe to say that COVID-19, a novel coronavirus, is on everybody’s mind. Knowledge is power in times of fear, so it’s critically important that you educate yourself on what the coronavirus actually does to the body so you can recognize its symptoms in yourself and your loved ones. What are the symptoms of COVID-19? According to the CDC, the symptoms of COVID-19 mainly include fever, cough and sho...
“If you wanted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a classroom.” In his book, Brain Rules, author John Medina lays out the science and research to back up this statement—and he’s not the only one. A growing number of researchers, policymakers and educators, in Wyoming and across the nation, are speaking out about the need for change. Wyoming has responded in kind in several ways: Boot-Up Wyoming is Wyoming’s computational thinking and compu...
Dear Editor, Don’t forget what Christmas stands for. I know it’s different strokes for different folks. I wonder if they got the dates mixed up. That sign east, on Highway 51 says “Happy Holidays”. This is not the Fourth of July, this is Christmas. There is a reason for the season. Please don’t take Christ out of Christmas. I’m sure “Merry Christmas would look better this time of year. You could even add Happy New Year. Please don’t get your dates mixed up again for the believers. Look up the true meaning of Christmas on your computer. God B...
The story of our country is often told by the decades that define it. With the end of this decade so close at hand, it can often be tempting to imagine what the last ten years will be remembered for. Or for that matter, the last year alone. For me, 2019 will be remembered by the people I had the pleasure to meet, businesses I had the opportunity to visit and the projects I have had the privilege to work on. Between spending time in our nation’s capital and back home in Wyoming, I’ve been able to meet with hundreds of workers and families fro...
Dear Editor, The CCMSD (Crook County Medical Services District) Board regular meeting took place on October 29, 2019. I would like to share a few positive items from that meeting and from things we’ve done this year. Strategic planning meeting October 18, 2019. Twenty-three “stakeholders” from the community, staff, board, etc., took part in the meeting. The trainers worked with us to set short-term and long-term goals for the Hospital District and medical area. We had very positive input from those attending. We would like to thank all who atte...
Retirement is a milestone many look forward to but do not want to confront. It is estimated that only 40 percent of working adults have calculated the income they will need for retirement, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. This is an alarmingly low number because without a goal, many could be undercutting their monthly savings they need to be secure. Of course, you can’t predict your future, but you can commit to save yourself from retirement financial disaster. For many of us, life is all about working hard and spending t...
Dear Editor, I am the homeowner, also referred to as “the neighbor” on the front page, above the fold, two column, large print headlined article of September 26. All of the information is from the voices of several individuals without any input from me. Now, let me clear up a few facts for the article. The “years ago” were many years before Glenn Construction occupied that property. The agreement was made by Ancil Sisson, the owner of the property I now own, Gill’s and Mayor Borthwick. Apparently, the agreement was verbal and a handshake...
Technology is amazing. It helps us see our front door when we aren’t home. It allows us to have vacuums roam around our house cleaning while we are at work. It also provides us with communication and messaging tools that give us access to information in real time. We are more in-tune with our politics and our world than ever before, but sometimes this comes at a price. Our world has lost civility. If a disagreement arises, there is automatically an enemy on the other side of the argument rather than an opposing point of view to consider. T...
Government needs to reunite savings bonds with rightful owners By Wyoming State Treasurer Curt Meier During my time as Treasurer, I have seen thousands of individuals across the State of Wyoming locate money being held by our Unclaimed Property Division. Some of these checks have been in the six-figure range, and the rightful owner may not have ever been paid if not for the Unified Unclaimed Property laws in our great state. I have seen first-hand how effective this program can be, yet our federal government doesn’t want to turn over nearly $...
Dear Editor, I am writing this letter in an effort to end the stigma that people suffering from mental health illnesses are dangerously violent and unpredictable. According to Mentalhealth.gov, “The vast majority of people with mental health problems are no more likely to be violent than anyone else. Most people with mental illness are not violent and only 3 to 5 percent of violent acts can be attributed to individuals living with a serious mental illness. “In fact, people with severe mental illnesses are over 10 times more likely to be vic...
