Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
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Several veterans were joined by Senator John Barasso this weekend as the Donald Eisenhauer American Legion Post 60 celebrated a brick laying ceremony recognizing the time and sacrifice that many of them made during their lives. "Wyoming is unique in that cowboys never quit, and cowboys never complain, and neither will the United States Military. They will never let us down" stated the senator in his opening remarks to those in attendance. Barrasso shared many of the unique experiences of his...
After a short break, Governor Mark Gordon once again took to the podium to continue to keep Wyomingites informed of the current COVID situation. Currently there are 866 positive cases of Corona in Wyoming 106 of those cases coming up in the last week. This is double the amount of cases that were confirmed in the first week of June, and while there are 852 cases of recovering or recovered cases Gordon is concerned that we are seeing a rising trend. “What that means is that sadly, we are trending higher with the 232 active cases. It seems to me t...
For the family members of a soldier or sailor there is a collective sigh of relief when that person manages to come home safely from war, but for many of those service members the war comes home with them. Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD is a problem for many service members that is finally making itself known to the general population. After generations of our nation’s heroes have found themselves homeless, troubled, and even suicidal the nation is finally starting to see that not all our service members are coming home okay. W...
June 18 saw the first Pine Bluffs Recreation Pet Parade in the park. Hosted by recreation director Sonja Fornstrom, the small group was entertained by a dog named Tinkerbell and a feisty little rabbit courtesy of Diana Sanchez Everyone that attended was awarded a participation ribbon, and Tinkerbell the dog was able to show off her wardrobe. Diana Sanchez's bunny won a blue ribbon for being the most entertaining pet in attendance. A big thank you sent out to Desiree Johnson for bringing...
This last Saturday the Pine Bluffs Volunteer Fire Company put on an Advanced Extrication training for firemen with all levels of experience. Firemen from District four and five worked all day to prepare for the possibility of having to pull someone from their car. Derek Walls, Fire Chief for Pine Bluffs was eager to provide this type of training and expressed how valuable it would be in the future to make extractions easier and faster. For individuals trapped in their vehicles, the faster they...
In a show of a little more normality than we have seen in the past few months, the council was able to hand out their Mayoral Scholarships this past Monday. While the students did not get to finish out the year in class, they were still working hard to make grades that allowed for them to get into their college of choice. This year the council awarded two scholarships to two of the many deserving seniors. Reagan Pachel was the first recipient and is planning to use those funds to attend the...
Monday’s town council meeting saw yet another discussion about opening the pool. While residents find themselves angry and confused over the inability to open the pool this year, council has determined that the cost of trying to open and maintain the pool for the short amount of time that it would be open is just not conducive to the already skimmed down budget. Residents were available to discuss some of the options that they had come up with to help with some of those costs. Residents discussed the fact that they had come up with possible don...
The Wyoming Rodeo Association came to Pine Bluffs this weekend to hold their annual small-town rodeo. This event occurs in many of the surrounding states in their small towns and the association is doing their best to ensure that the state of Wyoming and the rodeo remain synonymous. While the COVID situation was a factor in some of the entries, there were still plenty of participants for the two-day affair. Pine Bluffs local Charity Hoar was able to snag third place in the Breakaway event and wh...
Pine Bluffs Sunday Market has started once again and is doing simply fine at its new location at the community center. While the first market did not have as many vendors as we have seen in the past, the next one is promising even more vendors. While the turn out for this market was a little light, more options will prove to be a good draw for more customers. With the wind doing its best to knock everyone down representatives from Scentsy, Back Yard Creations, and Paparazzi were available for...
Strong winds and heavy rains have battered our small town for the last couple of days. Several property casualties have been reported, and winter weather conditions have closed portions of interstate 80 between Cheyenne and Laramie. While Wyoming residents are no strangers to diverse weather conditions, there was some dismay when it was discovered by locals that our Veteran's Memorial Park suffered the loss of one of its statues. Town treasurer Kim Patterson assures residents that the glass...
Since the introduction of the Coronavirus a few short months ago its been hard to remember that life indeed does go on for many of our community members. Laramie County School District #2 was proud to send a hearty farewell to six of its staff members this week as they head off into retirement. Craig Spatz has worked for LCSD#2 for almost as long he can remember. The FFA/Agricultural teacher at Burns High School, Spatz has seen more than twenty years of students come and go during his career...
In yet one more conference since the COVID situation, Governor Mark Gordon once again hit the podium to keep Wyomingites informed of the ongoing situation. Joined by Dr Alexia Harrist, Wyoming Department of Health, and Josh Dorrell, CEO of the Wyoming Business Council, Gordon continues to make sure that the residents of Wyoming stay up to date on the ever-changing situation. While the news is not always good, and certainly not always what people want to hear, Gordon is making every effort to make sure that the information is delivered. Gordon...
Started in 2008 in Wisconsin, the Cobblestone Hotels were originally a smaller operation that was originally intended to be the private label of the owners, something that there would just be one or two of. With the advancement of hotel reservations, phone apps, and central reservation systems bigger chain hotels are just not interested in moving into smaller towns. The Holiday Inn cannot justify building an 80 to 100 room facility in a town like Pine Bluffs. The idea of the Cobblestone name...
Once again Governor Mark Gordon took to Facebook to update Wyoming citizens on the continuing effort to open up the state and restart the currently lagging economy. Joined by Wyoming State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist, Wyoming Agricultural Director Doug Miyamoto, and representatives from six of the states largest rodeo events, Gordon continues to keep Wyomingites informed as to the summer’s events. Governor Gordon began by stating that Wyoming now has 653 lab confirmed cases of COVID-19 with a probable 207 more positive cases. Gordon a...
Monday night’s town council meeting opened with the third and final reading of 2020-01 the budget for fiscal year 2021. As many residents already knew there is a shortage of funds for many of the towns summer activities, and while the frustration is well known and well felt, as with many of our own home budgets, when there isn’t any money, there just isn’t any money. There were two changes made to the budget, first a cost increase for the monthly command center fees that help keep smart meters up and running, and the second change to the budge...
With the COVID situation appearing to have no real end in sight, I was able to touch base with Ann Anderson Pine Bluffs Health Clinic director to ask about how our local office was handling some of the challenges that have been brought forth. Battling the rumor mill, the virus, and the steady need for medical care here in town, Anderson and her team continue to attempt to offer the best service that they can. Pine Bluffs has been lucky there are very few people here who have been touched by COVI...
In yet another press conference Governor Mark Gordon spoke about the opening of Yellowstone National Park, and yet another spike in positive COVID-19 cases. There has been one more death, and 73 new confirmed cases over the week. On the positive side, there have been no new hospitalizations leading to the idea that those that are getting sick are getting better currently Openly wearing his own mask, the Governor is trying to emphasize the importance of social distancing and wearing masks. The COVID-19 metric is showing that a couple of areas...
This week in Cheyenne there has been a fierce debate over the President’s decision to lower the flags to half mast for the Memorial Day celebrations. For the first time in our history there were several people in the state of Wyoming that want the lowered flags to represent people other than those who lost their lives in service to their country. Since May 30, 1868, American’s have celebrated those who paid the ultimate price for their country. Originally known as Decoration Day, the first Memorial Day took place in Arlington Cemetery. Acc...
Across the nation today Memorial Day looks different than it has in the past. Instead of families and friends gathering to celebrate those who lost their lives in the name of freedom we are still practicing social distancing and waiting for the go-ahead to open our country back up. Americans are running around in face masks and staying inside trying to figure out when things will return to normal. What did not look different today was the annual celebration at the Pine Bluffs cemetery. The Donal...
Once again the Ladies Auxiliary of the Pine Bluffs American Legion stepped out for Memorial Day to give out poppies for donations to help American Veterans with essential needs. On Friday the ladies managed to raise $73.25 and on Saturday they pulled in $84. The ladies were at the Texas Trail Market for both days and even with the shortened hours for the holiday people were still willing to donate even while times are hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ladies of the Pine Bluffs Donald...
While the wind carried away the soft sounds of Pomp and Circumstance the 46 Burns High School seniors walked across the football field to their futures. For the first time in the school's history graduation was held on the football field, another first for Burns was the graduation of more than 45 students. Students that began their final year never expected to have to finish online, they never expected to miss their prom, their class trip, and everyday lunches with friends, but they held their...
This time of year always brings people back to their own graduation, their own entry into the adult world. It’s about this time that we start to hear us old folks saying things like, “If I only knew then what I know now,” or “I wish I had the energy that I had back then with the wisdom I have now.” As well meaning as all of us old folks are, I can almost hear the eyes of every senior rolling when we start talking. This year was even more of a challenge with the introduction of COVID-19. In mid-March seniors went home from school only to find ou...
Monday’s town council meeting opened once again with a larger number of building permits as residents continue to fix home issues throughout the COVID-19 shutdown. While many can work from home, this seems to be the best time to get that garden planted or that fence built. Keeping with the new standard of social distancing, residents are being seen outside working in their yards and tending to their homes. The council also had the second reading of the FY 2021 budget. While many citizens are seeing the necessity to tighten their belts and w...
Monday night’s town council meeting saw some residents frustrated over the closing of the pool for the summer due to the COVID-19 situation. The council and the local census representative Stephanie Freeman would like residents of Pine Bluffs to understand that failing to respond to the census could impact some of our local amenities even more. Numbers from the current census will impact things like school lunch programs, firefighters, families in need, and plans for highways. According to 2020census.gov “Census results affect planning and fun...
Back in 1907 when Laramie County also included what is now called Platte and Goshen County, the Laramie County fair was held in Wheatland. Hundreds of people would Load up on the train and ride the rails to take their spot in what was called Cheyenne Day at the origin of the fair. Back in 1907 the fair consisted of bake offs, animal showing, and rodeoing. While there were no rides, and no vendors, children still came from miles around to play the games and eat the food. From 1908 to 1917 the fair was usually held in September and typically on...
